Classic French Course in English

by William Cleaver Wilkinson

We cannot consent to have said here our very last word, without emphasizing once again our sense of the really extraordinary pervasiveness in French literature of that element in it which one does not like to name, even to condemn it,—we mean its impurity. The influence of French literary models, very strong among us just now, must not be permitted insensibly to pervert our own cleaner and sweeter national habit and taste in this matter. But we, all of us together, need to be both vigilant and firm; for the beginnings of corruption here are very insidious. Let us never grow ashamed of our saving Saxon shamefacedness. They may nickname it prudery, if they will; but let us, American and English, for our part, always take pride in such prudery.

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INDEX.

[The merest approximation only can be attempted, in hinting here the pronunciation of French names. In general, the French distribute the accent pretty evenly among all the syllables of their words. We mark an accent on the final syllable, chiefly in order to correct a natural English tendency to slight that syllable in pronunciation. In a few cases, we let a well-established English pronunciation stand. N notes a peculiar nasal sound, ü, a peculiar vowel sound, having no equivalent in English.]

• Ab'é-lard (1079-1142), [6].
• Academy, French, [10], [12], [75], [156], [287].
• Æs'chy-lus, [94], [152], [166], [168].
• Æ'sop, [85].
• Al-ci-bi'a-des, [289].
• Alembert. See [D'Alembert].
• Al-ex-an'der (the Great), [5], [131].
• Al-ex-an'drine, [5], [86], [153].
• Am-y-ot' (ä-me-o´), Jacques (1513-1593), [8].
• An'ge-lo, Michel, [156].
• Ariosto, [245], [247].
• Ar'is-tot-le, [50].
• Ar-nauld' (ar-nō´), Antoine (1612-1694), [119].
• Ar'thur (King), [5].
• Au'gus-tīne, St., Latin Christian Father, [83].
• Au'gus'tus (the Emperor), [131].
• Ba'con, Francis, [48], [63].
• Ba'ker, Jehu, [226].
• Bā´laam, [154].
• Băl´zac, Jean Louis Guez de (1594-1654), [10], [11].
• Beau-mar-chais´, de (bō-mar-shā´), Pierre Augustin Caron (1732-1799), [287], [289].
• Benedictines, [29].
• Boi-leau´-Des-pré-aux´ (bwä-lō´-dā-prā-o´), Nicolas (1636-1711), [9], [12], [14], [83], [84], [167], [168], [171], [289].
• Bolton, A. S., [69].
• BOS-SU-ET´(bo-sü-ā´), Jacques Bénigne (1627-1704), [11], [12], [77], [127], [166], [170], [182-188], [205], [206], [224], [225].
• BOUR-DA-LOUE´, Louis (1632-1704), [3], [12], [77], [143], [148], [182], [185], [188], [189-197], [198], [201], [202].
• Brook Farm, [38].
• Bry´ant, William Cullen, [290], [291].
• Buckle, Henry Thomas, [234].
• Buffon (büf-foN´), Georges Louis Leclerc de (1707-1788), [287].
• Bur´gun-dy, Duke of (1682-1712), [177], [207], [208], [209], [214], [216].
• Burke, Edmund, [48], [75].
• Bussy (büs-se´), Count, [135].
• By´ron, Lord, [48].
• Cæsar, Julius, [56], [131].
• Calas (cä-lä´), Jean, [253].
• Calvin, John (1509-1564), [7].
• Carlyle, Thomas, [251], [255].
• Catherine (Empress of Russia), [285].
• Cham-fort´ (shäN-for´), Sébastien Roch Nicolas (1741-1794), [85].
• Chanson (shäN-soN´), [5].
• Char-le-magne´ (shar-le-mān´), [5].
• Charles I. (of England), [170], [185].
• Charles IX. (of France), [63].
• Cha-teau-bri-and´ (shä-tō-bre-äN´), François Auguste de (1768-1848), [3], [13], [14], [206], [277], [289].
• Chaucer, Geoffrey, [5], [20].
• "Classicism," [10], [14], [224], [289], [290].
• Claude, Jean (1619-1687), [182].
• Coleridge, S. T., [7], [34], [43].
• Comines (kō-meen´), Philippe de (1445-1509), [7], [25], [28].
• Condé (koN-dā´), Prince of, "The Great Condé" (1621-1686), [144].
• Condillac (koNde-yäk´), Étienne Bonnot de (1715-1780), [287].
• Condorcet (koN-dor-sā´), Marie Jean Antoine Nicolas Caritat de (1743-1794), [128].
• CORNEILLE (kor-nāl´), Pierre (1606-1684), [2], [11], [12], [16], [78], [79], [80], [151-166], [167], [168], [169], [170], [182], [183], [239].
• Cotin (ko-tăN´), Abbé, [100].
• Cotton, Charles (1630-1687), [44], [48].
• Cousin (koo-zăN´), Victor (1792-1867), [128].
• [D'Alembert] (dä-läN-bêr´), Jean le Rond (1717-1783), [13], [251], [286], [287].
• Dante, [50], [93], [94], [114].
• David (King), [198].
• Descartes (dā-kärt´), René (1596-1650), [11], [12], [104], [115].
• [D'Holbach] (dōl-bäk´), Paul Henri Thyry (1723-1789), [287].
• Dickens, Charles, [35], [149].
• Diderot (de-drō´), Denis (1713-1784), [13], [237], [250], [284], [285], [286], [287].
• Dryden, John, [48], [166].
• Duclos (dü-klō´), Charles Pineau (1704-1772), [287].
• "Écrasez l'Infâme," [252].
• Edinburgh Review, [140].
• Edward (the Black Prince), [21-25].
• Edwards, President, [194].
• Emerson, Ralph Waldo, [49], [51], [52], [61].
• Encyclopædia Britannica, [18].
• ENCYCLOPÆDISTS, [13], [218], [249], [250], [282-288].
• Epictetus, [65].
• Epicurus, [50].
• Erasmus, [43], [126].
• Euripides, [153], [166], [171].
• Fabliaux (fab´le-ō´), [6].
• Faugère (fō-zhêr´), Arnaud Prosper (1810- ), [128].
• FÉNELON (fān-loN´), François de Salignac de la Mothe (1651-1715), [12], [85], [177], [178], [181], [205-224].
• Fléchier (flā-she-ā´), Esprit (1632-1710), [182].
• Foix (fwä), Count de, [26], [27].
• Fontenelle (foNt-nĕl´), Bernard le Bovier (1657-1757), [289].
• Franciscans, [29].
• Frederick (the Great), [254].
• Friar John, [40].
• FROISSART (frwä-sar´), Jean (1337-1410?), [7], [18-28].
• Gaillard (gă-yar´), Gabriel Henri (1726-1806), [155].
• Gar-gant´ua, [29], [36], [37], [39].
• Gibbon, Edward, [153].
• Goldsmith, Oliver, [83], [225].
• Grignan (green-yäN´), Madame de, [138].
• Grimm, Friedrich Melchior (1723-1807), [287].
• Gulliver's Travels, [37].
• Guyon (ğe-yoN´), Madame (1648-1717), [210].
• Hallam, Henry, [18], [34].
• Havet (ä-va´) (editor of Pascal's works), [128], [129].
• Hawkesworth, Dr., [222].
• Hazlitt, W. Carew, [48].
• Helvétius (ēl-vā-se-üss´), Claude Adrien (1715-1771), [287].
• Henriette, Princess, [170].
• Henry of Navarre, [63].
• Herod (King), [198].
• Herodotus, [7], [18].
• Holbach. See [D'Holbach].
• Homer, [244].
• Hooker ("The judicious"), [205].
• Horace, [245].
• Hugo (ü-go´), Victor. See [Victor Hugo].
• Hume, David, [48], [276].
• Isaiah (the prophet), [94].
• Israel, [154].
• James (King), [210].
• Job, [94], [210].
• John (the Baptist), [198].
• John (King), [21], [22].
• Johnes, Thomas, [19].
• Johnson, Samuel, [160], [249].
• Joinville (zhwăN-vel´), Jean de (1224?-1319?), [7].
• Julian (the Apostate), [178].
• Kant, Emmanuel, [42].
• Knox, John, [198].
• La Boëtie (lä bō-ă-tē´), Étienne (1530-1563), [58], [59].
• LA BRUYÈRE (lä brü-e-y êr´), Jean (1646?-1696), [12], [75-81], [153].
• LA FONTAINE (lä foN-tān´), Jean de (1621-1695), [12], [81-92].
• Lamartine (lä-mar-tēn´), Alphonse Marie Louis de (1780-1869), [14], [206], [289].
• Langue d'oc, [4].
• Langue d'oïl, [4].
• Lanier, Sidney (1842-1881), [25].
• LA ROCHEFOUCAULD (lä rōsh-foo-kō´), François, Duc de (1613-1680), [12], [48], [66-75], [131], [147], [148].
• Longfellow, Henry W., [50].
• Louis IX. (1215-1270) (St. Louis), [6], [7].
• Louis XI. (1423-1483), [7].
• Louis XIII. (1601-1643), [10], [95].
• Louis XIV. (1638-1715) (Quatorze), [10], [12], [113], [135], [136], [169], [172], [176], [181], [184], [189], [190], [198], [199], [200], [207], [208], [213], [217-219], [223], [255].
• Louis XV. (1710-1774), [199], [214], [254].
• Louvois (loo-vwä´), Marquis de, [142].
• Lowell, James Russell, [291].
• Lucan, [151], [153], [240].
• Lucretius, [94], [166].
• Luther, Martin, [7], [40].
• Maintenon (măN-teh-noN´), Madame de (1635-1719), [172], [181], [210], [211].
• Malherbe (mäl-êrb´), François (1555-1628), [9], [10], [14].
• Martin (mar-tăN´), Henri (1810- ), [183].
• Mary, Queen of Scots, [8], [198].
• MASSILLON (mäs-se-yoN´), Jean Baptiste (1663-1742), [3], [12], [148], [182], [185], [188], [197-205].
• M'Crie, Thomas, [119].
• Michael (the Archangel), [205].
• Milton, John, [92], [182], [206], [247].
• [MOLIÈRE] (mo-le-êr´) (real name, Jean Baptiste Poquelin, 1622-1673), [12], [16], [83], [92-114], [127], [154], [165], [167], [169], [240].
• Montagu, Lady Mary Wortley, [151].
• MONTAIGNE (mon-tān´), Michel Eyquem de (1533-1592), [2], [7], [8], [44-65], [67], [75], [131], [230], [234], [257], [268].
• Montespan (moN-tĕss-päN´), Madame de (1641-1707), [138], [139], [140].
• MONTESQUIEU, de (moN-tĕs-kê-uh´), Charles de Secondat (1689-1755), [13], [218], [225-237].
• Morley, Henry, [249].
• Morley, John, [249], [251], [285].
• Motteux, Peter Anthony (1660-1718), [30].
• Musset (mü-sā´) (1810-1857), Alfred de, [289].
• Napoleon Bonaparte, [13], [166].
• Nathan (the prophet), [198].
• Newton, Sir Isaac, [115].
• Nicole (ne-kŏl´), Pierre (1625-1695), [3], [143], [147], [168].
• "Obscurantism" (disposition, in the sphere of the intellect, to love darkness rather than light), [252].
• Pan-tag´-ru-el, [29], [40], [41], [42].
• Panurge (pä-nürzh´), [40], [41], [42].
• PASCAL, Blaise (1623-1662), [3], [12], [48], [62], [65], [80], [115-133], [193].
• Pascal, Jacqueline, [116].
• Pelisson (pĕl-ē-soN´), [149].
• Petrarch, Francesco, [20].
• Phædrus, [85].
• Plato, [50], [51], [59].
• Pleiades (plē´ya-dēz), [8], [10], [13].
• Plutarch, [8], [48], [56].
• Po-co-cu´rant-ism, [248].
• Pompadour, Madame de, [254].
• Pompey, [56].
• Pope, Alexander, [48], [166].
• Poquelin (po-ke-lăN´). See [Molière], [94], [95].
• Port Royal, [119], [127], [128], [147], [168].
• Pradon (prä-doN´), [171].
• Provençal (pro-väN-sal), [4].
• Ptolemy Philadelphus, [8].
• Quentin Durward, [7].
• RABELAIS (ră-blā´), François (1495?-1553?), [3], [7], [28-43], [60], [65], [83], [146].
• RACINE (rä-seen´), Jean (1639-1699), [12], [78], [79], [80], [83], [151], [152], [153], [166-181], [205].
• Rambouillet (räN-boo-yā´), Hôtel de, [10], [11], [12], [100], [105], [155], [156], [183].
• Raphael (archangel), [205].
• Récamier (rā-kä-me-ā´), Madame (1777-1849), [11].
• Richard, the Lion-hearted, [117].
• Richelieu (rēsh-le-uh´), Cardinal, [10], [12], [95], [154], [156].
• Roman (ro-mäN´), [5].
• "Romanticism," [224], [289], [290].
• "Romanticists," [14].
• Ronsard (roN-sar´), Pierre de (1524-1585), [8], [9].
• Ronsardism, [14].
• Rousseau (roo-sō´), Jean Baptiste (1670-1741), [255].
• ROUSSEAU, Jean Jacques (1712-1778), [3], [13], [14], [48], [206], [218], [249], [250], [251], [255-281], [287].
• Ruskin, John, [73].
• Rutebeuf (rü-te-buf´) (b. 1230), trouvère, [6].
• Sablíère (sä-blï-êr´), Madame de la, [83], [84].
• Saci (sä-se´), M. de, [65].
• Saintsbury, George, [17], [58].
• Sainte-Beuve (săNt-buv´), Charles Augustin (1804-1869), [9], [14], [189], [193], [199], [235], [289].
• Sal´a-din (Saracen antagonist of Richard the Lion-hearted), [117].
• Salon (sä-loN´), [11].
• Sand (säNd), George (Madame Dudevant, 1804-1876), [3], [14].
• Saurin (sō-răN´), Jacques (1677-1730), [182].
• "Savoyard Curate's Confession," [279].
• Scott, Sir Walter, [7], [19], [25], [105].
• Selden, John ("The learned"), [205].
• Seneca, [48], [50].
• SÉVIGNÉ (sā-vēn-yā´), Madame de, Marie de Rabutin-Chantal (1626-1696), [11], [105], [134-151], [170].
• Shakspeare, [16], [48], [63], [92], [94], [114], [160], [240].
• Socrates (contrasted by Rousseau with Jesus), [280], [281].
• Sophocles, [153], [166], [168].
• Staël-Holstein (stä-ĕl´ ol-stăN´), Anne Louise Grermanie de (1766-1817), [13], [289].
• Stanislaus (King of Poland), [285].
• St. John, Bayle, [56], [58], [59].
• St. Pierre, Jacques Henri Bernardin de (1737-1814), [289].
• St. Simon (sē-moN´), Louis de Rouvroi, Duc de (1675-1755), [208], [209].
• Swift, Dean, [37].
• Swinburne, Algernon Charles, [94].
• Tacitus, [7].
• Taine, H. (1828-), [233].
• Tartuffe (tar-tüf´), [106-114], [147].
• Tasso, [245], [247].
• Thélème (tāā-lĕm´), [38], [40].
• Themistocles, [289].
• Thibaud (tē-bō´), troubadour (1201-1253), [6].
• Trajan, [254].
• Troubadour, [4].
• Trouvère (troo-vêr´), [5], [6].
• Tully (Cicero), [246].
• Turgot (tür-gō´), Anne RobertJacques (1727-1781), [287].
• Urquhart, Sir Thomas, [30].
• Van Laun, H., [17].
• Vatel, [143], [144], [145].
• Vauvenargues (vō-ve-narg´), Luc de Clapiers, Marquis de (1715-1747), [79], [80], [81].
• Vercingetorix, [226].
• [Victor] Hugo (1802-1885), [14], [16], [94], [289], [291].
• Villehardouin (vēl-ar-doo-ăN´), Geoffrey (1165?-1213?), [7].
• Villemain (vēl-măN´), Abel François (1790-1870), [118].
• Virgil, [5], [9], [81], [166], [172], [245].
• Voiture (vwä-tür´), Vincent (1598-1648), [11].
• VOLTAIRE (vol-têr´), François Marie Arouet de (1694-1778), [2], [13], [38], [48], [68], [80], [127], [152], [153], [160], [161], [162], [163], [164], [165], [204], [218], [234], [235], [238-255], [285], [286], [287].
• Wall, C. H., [106].
• Walpole, Horace, [151], [230].
• Warens (vä-räN´), Madame de, [264], [265], [268], [269], [275].
• Webster, Daniel, [188].
• Wright, Elizur, [86].