Corneille, but, on the contrary, abounded in mischievous wit, and even satire, has expressed his real thoughts in many places. And we are confirmed in this opinion by knowing that the miserable condition of the people had already attracted his attention, and that he was interesting himself in politics. He afterward composed a memorial on this subject, at the request of Madame de Maintenon; and the king having surprised her with it in her hands, was very much offended. "Does he believe, because he can write verses to perfection, that he knows every thing?" said Louis XIV.; "And because he is a great poet, does he aspire to be a minister?" From this moment Racine was in disgrace, and appeared no more at court. All these circumstances taken together, confirm the idea, that in composing this piece, Racine intended to make allusion to contemporaneous events. So that we are perfectly authorized to call Esther, not only a magnificent tragedy, but, above all, a beautiful action. TESTED. MOLIERE. J. J. ROUSSEAU. PASCAL. We know but little of the life of Jean Baptiste Poquelin Molière, who was born at Paris, January 15, 1622; and died there, February 17, 1673. It is only within a few years that we have been able to obtain a good biography of this great comic writer. The few rare incidents that have been collected, are of very great value; as showing us how this original genius was formed and developed. In order to give you at once, an idea of the merit of this remarkable man, I will cite the opinion of a competent writer. Louis XIV. one day asked Boileau, which was the most extraordinary of the great writers that had honored France during his reign. "Sire," replied the satirist, without hesitation, "It is Molière." "I had not thought so," said Louis XIV., "but you know better than I." This judgment is irreversible; and puts in bold relief the particular merit of Molière. He is above all, a rare genius, as 28 (325) his friend La Fontaine said. Not only is there but one Molière in France, there is but one in Europe. Foreign literature may, with more or less reason, boast a tragedy superior to that of our classic theatre; but it does not even dream of disputing the prize, where comedy is in question. Molière has outstripped all his predecessors, and still waits for a rival. There are good comedies; but comedies à la Molière are no longer to be seen. His style, indeed, is not equal in purity to that of many authors of his age. His verses, for instance, have neither the harmony nor clearness of Racine's. Molière did not pride himself on elegance; yet he wrote with that nerve and vigor which we find in Corneille; and which we regret not to find in Racine. He was deficient in correctness: as shown in the use of obsolete expressions, which require a commentary to make them understood. This is owing to his belonging to the first part of the great reign. Though he belongs to the seventeenth century, his face is still turned towards the sixteenth, of which he is a continuation; and this constitutes his originality. Molière is not one of those scholars whom we shall meet somewhat later; but, a man, in the genuine acceptation of the word; a great poet. He belongs to that rare class of geniuses who have written for all times, in the name of universal reason. He is not of the family of Racine or Virgil; but of that of Corneille, Shakspeare, and Walter Scott. Free, original, inventive, he does not employ marked personalities to crush all around him, like Lord Byron; but he puts himself in the place of others. His own overflowing life animates all that surrounds him. Molière is one of the few men who have the talent of being able to talk with feeling about every thing; and who |