ON COTIN
Of all the pens which my poor rimes molest,
Cotin’s is sharpest, and succeeds the best.
Others outrageous scold and rail downright,
With hearty rancor, and true Christian spite.
But he, a readier method does design,
Writes scoundrel verses, and then says they’re mine.
Alan René Le Sage, novelist and dramatist, is best known for his celebrated work, Gil Blas. He also wrote many farce-operettas, which offer no opportunity for quotation.
Jean de la Bruyère, is best known for his work called The Characters, an imitation of Theophrastus.