Description de l'Abbaye de la Trappe

, Paris, 1671, reprinted in 1682. It is a letter from M. Felibien to the Duchess of Liancon.

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[No. 595]Friday, September 17, 1714

—Non ut placidis cœant immitia, non ut Serpentes avibus geminentur, tigribus agni—
Hor.

If ordinary Authors would condescend to write as they think, they would at least be allow'd the Praise of being intelligible. But they really take Pains to be ridiculous; and, by the studied Ornaments of Style, perfectly disguise the little Sense they aim at. There is a Grievance of this Sort in the Common-wealth of Letters, which I have for some time resolved to redress, and accordingly I have set this Day apart for Justice. What I mean is, the

Mixture of inconsistent Metaphors,

which is a Fault but too often found in learned Writers, but in all the unlearned without Exception.