most to censure in them. However, we are far from being ready to endorse the whole contents of the book. Victor Cousin, the high priest of the Eclectics, is the most fiercely handled of all; Taine denounces him as a charlatan, and satirises him vigorously in five long chapters. This specimen of Taine's polemics excited great attention. Cousin's enemies applauded vehemently, and even his friends rejoiced secretly while they condemned openly. If we are to give credit to Mr. Fraser Rae, the distinguished man himself cherished henceforth a more than merely scientific antipathy to his young assailant; he could not forgive the former student of the Ecole Normale for this shock to his throne hitherto held sacred. At the close of the volume, which had originally appeared serially in the Revue de l'Instruction Publique, the writer gives a sketch of his own method of pursuing philosophic investigations; for this purpose he again adopts the form of a dialogue between Peter' and 'Paul.'

In 1858 Taine republished a collection of articles, which had formerly appeared in magazines, on Macaulay, Thackeray, Dickens (these three were afterwards incorporated in the History of English Literature), Fléchier, Guizot, Plato, Saint-Simon, Madame de Lafayette, Montalembert, and Michelet under the title of Essais de critique et d'histoire. His method is here the same as in his larger works. Seven years later he followed this up with a similar volume of New Critical and Historical Essays, in which the articles on Balzac, La Bruyère, Racine, Jefferson, and Marcus Aurelius are conspicuous for their merit. In the interval he had made his first journey to England, in order to become more closely acquainted with this country, for which he had always had a great predilection, and to pursue his studies of English literature in the reading-room of the British Museum. He met with the most hearty reception and enjoyed intercourse with the most eminent personages. During his somewhat protracted stay he contributed a series of letters to the Paris Temps, afterwards published in book form as Notes sur l'Angleterre (1861), and again with considerable revision in 1871 after his second visit (the eighth edition appeared in 1884); these are admirable pictures of the social, political, and domestic life of the English. Taine is very favourably disposed towards them without flattering them; he censures what appears to him deserving of censure, but never degenerates into incivility. This work, Mr. W. F. Rae's translation of which has obtained great popularity in England, would be his best book of travels had he not so often allowed himself to be misled by his inductive process into superficial and inaccurate conclusions. He methodically and with exaggerated acumen ascribes influences to 'surrounding circumstances,' which anyone acquainted with England, and unbiassed by foregone conclusions, sees to be purely imaginary. Numerous are the erroneous generalisations founded on superficial and imperfect comprehension of facts. We are sometimes reminded

of the traditional traveller who, finding a red-haired chambermaid at an inn in Alsace, recorded in his journal 'Alsatian women have all red hair,' or the other who saw some wandering gipsies making nails by the roadside, and drew the inference that the inhabitants of the country led a nomad life and subsisted by manufacturing quincaillerie. But such slips are too trifling to militate against the reputation of the author as an exceptional traveller, delicate observer, and master of descriptive style. He is the ideal of the intelligent

foreigner.'

In the year 1863 Taine was appointed examiner in the German language and French literature at the Military Academy of St. Cyr; when he was removed from this post in 1865, the press raised so vigorous a protest that he was recalled a few days afterwards. In October 1864 he was made professor of æsthetics and the history of art at the École des Beaux-Arts' in Paris. Here he found a rich field for his activity, as is proved by the works, Philosophy of Art, The Ideal in Art, Philosophy of Art in Italy, Philosophy of Art in Greece, Philosophy of Art in the Netherlands. He travelled through these countries in the Sixties. We recognise all through the learned, delicate, animated critic. Every sentence bears the stamp of originality and is full of suggestive meaning. Taine does not need to repeat what others have said before him, he thinks for himself. He never writes without a special purpose. He always, says what he believes to be true, and not what people like to hearand that means something in France. As in the above-named books, he applies his consistently defended 'method' even in the domain of art, they were as vehemently attacked as his philosophico-historical works. Apart from numerous essays, there is a whole array of pamphlets and lesser books which are directed against Taine's critical method. On the other hand, it is held in high esteem in certain quarters, as, for example, in three issues of Sainte-Beuve's Nouveaux Lundis, in Emile Zola's paper Taine as an Artist (Mes Haines), &c.

Now we arrive at a very remarkable and characteristic book. We are only half agreed with its contents; yet it is so charmingly written, so bright, fascinating, and flowing in its style, that in spite of all differences of opinion we felt impelled to translate it into German. We allude to Taine's chief work, the History of English Literature, the first three volumes of which appeared in 1863, while the fourth followed a year later, and under the title of Contemporaries contains monographs of Macaulay, Dickens, Carlyle, Mill, Thackeray, and Tennyson, in which he takes six of the greatest authors of the time as representative types of their different classes of literature, and in the most skilful manner uses them as illustrations of his subject. This history is the best which a foreigner has yet written on English Literature. In France also it created great excitement. The author tendered it to the Academy, which handed

it over to a committee appointed to decide upon the bestowal of a special prize of four thousand francs. Each member of this committee read the book, and each declared it to be worthy of the prize which had been founded 'for historical works which show talent.' Yet an unprecedented occurrence took place-this unanimous decision was thrown out by the full assembly of the Academy. The majority confessed indeed to not having read the work which was the object of contention, yet they left unheeded the representations of the spokesman-the aged Villemain, who himself had written so well about England. The Bishop of Orleans pronounced the book irreligious and immoral, because the author denied free will, preached fatalism, slighted the Fathers of the Church, and distinctly commended the Anglican Book of Common Prayer. In short, Monseigneur Dupanloup denounced Monsieur Taine as a heretic in religion and a sceptic in philosophy. Victor Cousin seized this favourable opportunity, on the one side to show that he was completely reconciled with the Church, on the other to avenge himself on his assailant. The learned assembly lent an ear to these two distinguished speakers; without proceeding to a closer examination, they denied the prize to Taine, although its founder had demanded simply talent and not the defence of particular views. A year before, they had refused to admit Littré into the ranks of the Forty. Since that time there has been a considerable change in the spirit and in the constituent members of the Academy. Littré and Alexandre Dumas took their seats in the halls of the Immortals, and a few years ago the gates of the palace on the Quai Conti were thrown open to Taine himself. As a drawback, however, he, who had ever exercised the full rights of free criticism with regard even to the highest intellects, was compelled by the rules of the Academy to pronounce, on this occasion, the panegyric of his somewhat mediocre predecessor, M. de Loménie.

Exceptions, numerous and justifiable, may be taken to the History of English Literature, but its importance can never be denied. The fact is, Taine builds up his system with such a loyal striving for accuracy, that it is impossible to refuse our attention to it, even though we may consider that the desired accuracy has not been attained. Emile Zola designates the History of English Literature 'a delicately and finely constructed valuable work of art.' Any reader who takes up the work with the expectation of finding a methodical history of literature will be disappointed, but not disagreeably so, for instead of a history he will be introduced to a series of portraits on a large scale. He will miss much which appertains to an actual history of literature; many an estimable work and many an author of eminence is barely named or even altogether omitted; hardly any regard is paid to chronology; all literature since Byron, with the exception of the six great portraits above mentioned, is passed over in silence, or only acknowledged by a stray mention of

isolated names; nor is there the slightest allusion to the periodical literature which plays so conspicuous a part in the modern life of England. With all these omissions, however, what remains is sufficient to bring clearly before our eyes the rich treasures to be found in the field of British authorship. The main reason, however, why this masterpiece of Taine's fails to deserve the title of History of Literature lies in the prominence which it gives to the treatment of the psychology of England. He uses literature only as a delicate, sensitive apparatus, with the aid of which he measures the gradations and variations of a civilisation, seizes all the characteristics, peculiarities, and nuances of the soul of a people. In short, he applies his method' -an ingenious conglomerate of the Hegel-Condillac-Taine inductive philosophy-to the literature of a nation as a whole, as he has hitherto applied it to individual men, to individual works, to art and to observations by the way. The book has met with universal appreciation, but even its admirers cannot overlook its faults. It would no doubt have been easier to disarm opposition, if Taine had given to the work a title more corresponding to its contents, such as 'Psychology of the History of English Culture illustrated by Portraits from Literature;' or, as a somewhat less long-winded title, 'Psychology of English Literature;' Sainte-Beuve suggested 'Histoire de la race et de la civilisation anglaises par la littérature.'

Here as elsewhere Taine shows himself to be an acute critic, and even his errors reveal the subtle thinker. But he is something besides thathe is also a true artist./He wields, indeed, not the brush, nor the chisel, nor a musical instrument, nor does he write verses or novels; his art is that of treating learned and scientific subjects attractively and beautifully, of raising them to a high level, especially in the History of English Literature. As a rule, those who have to deal with a dry theme, think they have done quite enough if they have expressed their ideas and views with perspicuity and in appropriate language, and how frequently they do not even succeed in that! The possibility of working up the material and arranging it so as to produce the greatest possible effect did not enter the mind of many writers before Taine. He understands better than most how to impart not only instruction but literary enjoyment at the same time. If only for this reason, his English Literature, as we have said, remains, in spite of all deficiencies, a remarkable and unique work.

After its completion Taine began to suffer the ill-effects of overexertion, in the form of total intellectual paralysis. For a considerable time he was incapable of study, of writing, of concentrating his thoughts; even the reading of a newspaper was too much for him. It was not till after a long period of absolute rest from every kind of intellectual effort that he recovered permanently. He afterwards published Jean Graindorge; or, Notes on Paris, a very amusing and popular book satirising modern customs in the French capital;

Universal Suffrage, a little brochure; a French translation of the English work, A Residence in France from 1792 till 1795; La Raison (1870), two volumes in which he transfers his method to a purely philosophical domain. In 1868 Taine married a daughter of the rich merchant Denuelle; since that event he spends the summer and autumn of every year at his country seat at Menthon, in Savoy, the winter and spring in Paris. Just before the outbreak of the last Franco-German war he travelled through Germany, apparently with the intention of producing a work on that country, which, however, he did not do, perhaps in consequence of the hostile attitude towards everything German which his countrymen assumed after Sedan. He is a great admirer of German culture and literature, and has read a good deal of German; a large share of his intellectual tendencies are rooted in German soil. In France, as Paul Janet remarks, he generally passes for an interpreter of German ideas, especially as a follower of Hegel and Spinoza.' He himself has no objection to be called a Hegelian, though he stated some years ago, in a private letter to me, that he owed his ideas specially to Montesquieu and Condillac. 'Hillebrand classes him as nearly allied intellectually with Herder In two points Taine bears a certain resemblance to Hegel; over-haste in drawing conclusions, and fearlessness in starting, combined with wit in maintaining, the most extravagant assertions. (

III.

The latest and also the most considerable work of our author is Les origines de la France contemporaine. It certainly bristles with all Taine's peculiarities, but with this difference, which we gladly acknowledge, that in this case he applies his method with much greater caution and moderation than hitherto, and consequently stumbles into fewer hasty and illogical paradoxes and generalisations than on former occasions. This is a great advantage, and adds to the charm which we find in the book.

Taine is first and foremost a psychologist and historian of civilisation, or we may say a psychological historian of civilisation. He dissects English literature in order to lay open the essence of contemporary English society. He writes the social history of France with the object of deducing from it the essential character of contemporary France. The first section of the comprehensive work now before us. issued from the press in the beginning of 1876. The first volume of the second section happened to appear shortly before the centenary of the death of the sponsors of the great Revolution-Voltaire and Rousseau-therefore immediately before the appearance of Renan's Caliban (1878), which is neither more nor less than a treatment of the same theme in the same sense, only in a dramatic, poetic form, instead of that of dry analysis. The second part of the second section appeared in 1882, the third in January 1885.