the ascendency over the weaker.-If we add to the knowledge of languages, the scientific advantages which the modern system of education gives, we excite attention and respect by awakening curiosity. It is by charming the ear and the imagination that we penetrate to the heart and succeed in our endeavours to enlighten and persuade. It is with the assistance of language that the mind of one single man is infused into a whole assembly, a whole nation. We may also say that language is the most sure weapon wherewith we can establish a lasting dominion, and that all great writers are true conquerors.

Charles the Fifth used to say that a man who knew four languages was worth four men; in fact, all men have need of one another, and a stranger may be said not to exist for us, if we cannot understand his language. In short, the literature of every country reveals to him who can understand it a new sphere of ideas. As to the dead languages, the man of letters, jealous of extending and multiplying his knowledge, penetrates into past ages, and advances over the scattered monuments of antiquity to gather from them, amidst traces often all but obliterated, the spirit and the thoughts of the great men of all times.

A knowledge of living languages (says Rollin) serves as an introduction to all the sciences. By its means we arrive, almost without difficulty, at the perception of an infinite number of beautiful things, which have cost their inventors long and tedious labours. By its means all ages and all countries are open to us. It renders us to a certain extent contemporaries of all times and citizens of all nations, and enables us to converse even at the present day with all the wisest men that antiquity has produced, who seem to have lived and to have laboured for us. In them we find, as it were, so many masters whom we may consult at any time, so many friends ready at all hours to join in all our pursuits, whose conversation, ever useful and agreeable, enriches our minds with the knowledge of a thousand curious facts, and teaches us to derive equal profit from the virtues and from the vices of the human race. Without the assistance of languages, all these oracles are dumb for us, all these treasures are closed to us; and from the want of the key which can alone throw open the entrance to us, we remain poor in the midst of so many riches, and ignorant in the midst of all the sciences.

Voltaire tells us, that "of all the modern languages the French ought to be the most generally spoken, for it is the one most fitted for conversation." In fact, it is distinguished by the clearness, the order, the precision and the purity of its phraseology; it proceeds as thought and observation proceed; it can express and describe everything; it has all the qualifications necessary to satisfy the wants of reason, genius and feeling. Therefore men do it the honour of cherishing and of speaking it: it is the language of princes, of their ambassadors, of the great, of all men throughout Europe whose education has been cultivated with care.

PAGE 238.-The first man relates his first actions, his first sensations, his first opinions after the Creation*.

I remember the moment, replete with joy, amazement and anxiety, when I perceived for the first time my singular existence. I neither knew what I was, where I was, nor whence I came. I opened my eyes; what an increase of sensation! The light, the celestial vault, the verdure of the earth, the transparency of the waters, everything, in a word, gave animation to my spirits, and conveyed pleasures which exceed the powers of expression. I at first believed that all these objects existed within me, and formed a part of myself. When totally absorbed in this idea, I turned my eyes to the sun: his splendour overpowered me. I involuntarily shut my eyes, and felt a slight degree of pain. During this moment of darkness, I imagined that I had lost my whole being. Whilst reflecting with grief and astonishment upon this great change, I was roused by a variety of sounds. The singing of birds, and the murmuring of the breezes, formed a concert which excited the most sweet and enchanting emotions. I listened long, and was convinced that these harmonious sounds existed within me.

Totally occupied with this new species of existence, I had almost forgotten the light, though the first part of my being that I had recognised, when I again, by accident, opened my eyes. What a joy

to find myself again in possession of so many brilliant objects! My pleasure surpassed every former sensation, and suspended, for a time, the charming melody of sound. I fixed my eyes on a thousand objects; I soon perceived that I had the power of losing and of recovering them, and that I could, at pleasure, destroy and renew this beautiful part of my existence; and although it appeared to me endless in extent, both on account of the numerous effects of light and the variety of the colours around me, I fancied that the whole of it was contained in a portion of my own being. I now began to see without astonishment and hear without anxiety, when a gentle breeze, whose freshness I felt, wafted perfumes which produced within me a most delightful sensation, and gave me a feeling of self-love.

Agitated by all these sensations, and by the pleasure emanating from so large and beautiful an existence, I suddenly arose, and felt myself transported by the perception of an unknown power. I had made but a single step, when the novelty of my situation rendered me immoveable. My surprise was extreme. I thought my being fled from me; the movement I had made confounded the objects of

*The above extract, taken from Buffon's Natural History,' contains a vivid and fanciful description of the slow and painful process by which human beings acquire what may be called the use and knowledge of their senses. The idea, that Adam had to undergo nearly the same discipline as a little child, before he acquired a knowledge of himself and of that sublime creation of which he was then the sole heir, is, of course, altogether imaginary, and merely assumed for the purpose of illustration.

vision, and the whole creation seemed to be in disorder. I raised my hand to my head; I touched my forehead and my eyes, and I felt every part of my body. The hand now appeared to be the principal organ of my existence. The perceptions afforded by this instrument were so distinct and so perfect; the pleasures conveyed by it were so superior to those of light and sound, that, for some time, I attached myself entirely to this substantial part of my being, and I perceived that my ideas began to assume a consistence and reality which I had not before experienced. Every part of my body, which I touched with my hand, reflected the sensation, and produced in my mind a double idea. By this exercise I soon learned that the faculty of feeling was expanded over every part of my frame; and I began to recognise the limits of my existence, which at first seemed to be of an immense extent. I surveyed my body, and I judged it to be of a size so immense, that all other objects which caught my sight, seemed, in comparison, to be only luminous points. For a long while, observing with delight my wonderful being, I continued to follow my hand with my eyes, and to watch its motions. The ideas I was forming of all these objects were both confused and fallacious. I imagined that the motion of my hand was a kind of fugitive existence, a mere succession of similar causes; I brought my hand near my eye, it then seemed to be larger than my whole body; for it concealed from my view almost every other object.

I began to suspect that there was some illusion in the sensation conveyed by the eyes. I distinctly perceived that my hand was only a small part of my body, and I was unable to comprehend how it had increased to a size which appeared so enormously large. I therefore resolved to depend for information upon the sense of touch alone, which had not hitherto deceived me, and to be on my guard against all the other modes of sensation. This precaution was extremely useful to me. I again moved forward, and walked with my face turned towards the heavens, when I struck against a palm-tree; seized with terror, I ventured to lay my hand upon the object, and discovered it to be a being distinct from myself, because it gave me not, like touching my own body, a double sensation. I turned from it with horror, and perceived, for the first time, that there was something external, something which did not constitute a part of my own existence. More agitated by this new discovery than I had been by all that preceded, it was with difficulty that I regained confidence; but, after reflecting on the event which had happened, I concluded that I ought to judge concerning external objects in the same manner as I had judged concerning the parts of my body, and that the sense of touch alone could ascertain their existence. I resolved, therefore, to touch every object that I saw. I had a desire to touch the sun; I accordingly stretched forth my hands to embrace the horizon, but they met in the empty air. Every experiment I made served only to increase my astonishment; for all objects appeared to be equally near; and it was not till after an infinite number of trials,

U

that I learned to use my eye as a guide to my hand. As the hand gave me ideas totally different from the impressions I received by the eye, my sensations were contradictory; the judgments I formed were imperfect; and my whole existence was disorder and confusion.

I

As I reflected deeply on the nature of my being, the contradictions I had experienced filled me with humility: the more I meditated, the more my doubts and difficulties increased. Fatigued with so many uncertainties, and with anxious emotions which successively arose in my mind, my knees bent, and I soon found myself in a situation of repose. This state of tranquillity added fresh force to my senses. was seated under the shade of a beautiful tree. Fruit of a vermilion hue hung down, in the form of grapes, within reach of my hand. These fruits I gently touched, and, like the fig when arrived at maturity, they instantly separated from the branch. In laying hold of one of them, I imagined I had made a great conquest; and I rejoiced in the faculty of containing in my hand an entire being which made no part of myself. Its weight, though trifling, seemed to me an animated resistance, which I had a pleasure in being able to conquer. I held the fruit near my eyes: I examined its form and its colours. A delicious odour allured me to bring it nearer still. It happened to be close to my lips, and I inhaled long draughts of its perfumes. When entirely filled with the sweetness of its fragrance, my mouth opened to exhale it: it reopened to inhale the odour a second time; and I discovered that I had an internal sense of smelling, which was more delicate and refined than the one I had previously observed. In fine, I tasted the fruit. What an exquisiteness of savour and novelty of sensation transported me now! Hitherto I had only enjoyed pleasures; but taste gave me an idea of voluptuousness. The enjoyment was so congenial and intimate, that it conveyed to me the notion of possession of property. I thought that the substance of the fruit had become part of my own, and that I was endowed with the power of transforming bodies.

Charmed with this idea of power, and with the pleasures I felt, I continued to pull and to eat, and my hand seemed never to tire of ministering to my taste. But an agreeable languor gradually overpowered my senses; my limbs grew heavy, and my mind seemed to Jose its natural activity. I perceived this inaction by the feebleness of my thoughts: the dulness of my sensations rounded all external objects, and conveyed only weak and ill-defined ideas. At this instant my eyes, become useless to me, closed, and my head, losing its natural support, reclined upon the grass. Everything now grew dim and disappeared: the train of my ideas was interrupted, and I lost the consciousness of my existence. My sleep was profound; but, having no mode of measuring time, I knew nothing of its duration. My awakening appeared to me a second birth: for I only perceived that I had ceased to exist. This temporary annihilation gave me an idea of fear, and made me conclude that my existence was not for

ever. Another perplexity arose: I suspected that sleep had robbed me of some part of my powers: I tried my different senses, and endeavoured to recognise all my former faculties. At this instant the sun had finished his course and the light disappeared. Happily conscious that I was again in existence, I scarcely perceived that I had lost the sense of seeing, and the present obscurity recalled in vain the idea of my former sleep.

EXPLANATORY NOTES.

SYNTAXE, page 243.-'. compagnons. 2. qu'on aime à trouver chez les enfants. 3. toutes les autres. 4. se repaît trop souvent de chimères. 5. venir. 6. vous viendrez à bout de votre dessein. 7. consoler. 8. est né. 9. même. 10. ont été créés pour son usage. 11 chent au travers.

12. enfanter. 13. orner.

mar

PAGE 248.-. Comment pouvez-vous réunir. 2. Combien. 3. Tant *. des. 5. Plus un homme a de connaissances, plus il est modeste. 6. brochure. 7. étaient bordés de. 8. fleuris. 9. tous voulaient me voir. 10. française. 11. le lien de la société. 12. sans elle. 13. à charge. 14. sans consolation. 15. Avez-vous jamais entendu. 16. · passer. 17. embellir. 18. aller se promener.

PAGE 250.-1. borné à. 2. Mer glaciale. 3. la Norwége, la Suède, le Danemarc et la Russie. 4. la Pologne, la Prusse, l'Allemagne, la Hollande, la Belgique, la France, la Suisse, la Bohême, la Hongrie, les îles Britanniques. 5. l'Espagne, le Portugal, l'Italie, la Turquie d'Europe. 6. des fruits de France et d'Espagne, de l'huile de Provence, et de la laine d'Angleterre. 7. Écosse. 9. demeurer. 9. rester.

PAGE 253.—1. Ne portez-vous pas. 2. de Diane.

PAGE 254.-1. et de la voir crue et supportée. 2. a fait de cet événement. 3. stathouder. 4. à la place. 5. il faut bien des siècles. 6. puisse produire.

PAGE 255.-1. se présenta. 2. aime. 3. allèrent. 4. résistèrent à cette armée aguerrie. 5. sont venus. 6. fut partagé. 7. mettra à la voile. 8. jeunes gens suivent gratuitement les cours. 9. d'avis.

PAGE 259.-1. une enfant gâtée. 2. bien aises. 3. une réserve, une retenue. 4. n'étaient que des hommes qui s'étaient distingués. 5. ar