If the numerous public competitors since 1789 have not produced much, the fault must not be attributed to the art; for designs and sketches, of distinguished excellence, have been exhibited at those competitions. The art itself has not declined; it possesses the same means of production as in 1759, augmented, as in painting, by the youthful talents which have since appeared with credit.

In architecture, the taste of the French was manifested prior to the revival of the arts in Europe; in proof of this assertion we may mention the churches of the 12th and 13th centuries, such as the cathedral of Amiens, and many others. But, without urging this claim of priority, it is incontestable, that, in the 16th century, France had a generation of architects who excelled their masters still more than those in the other departments of the arts. It is sufficient to mention, for the glory of that period, its great monuments, and the artists by whom they were erected; the Thuilleries, by Philibert Delorme; the Louvre, by Pierre Lescot and Jean Goujon; and the Luxembourg, by Debrosse.

The second generation existed under Louis XIV, and is still more distinguished; many of its monuments would have excited the envy of Athens and Rome. Such are the beautiful triumphal arch of the gate of St. Denis, the orangery of Versailles, and the colonnade of the Louvre, which alone would do honour to any age, and which forms at present the noble peristyle of the temple of arts, sciences, and literature.

But architecture again declined, and its genius was not again roused till towards the middle of the long reign of Louis XV, in 1732, by the beautiful Doric colonnade of the vestibule of St. Sulpice. It burst like lightning amid the darkness of night; it was like the dawn of a new day. Almost at the same time Soufflot erected the Pantheon, Antoine the Mint, Goudoin the School

VOL. III. NO. XX.

of Medicine, Peyre and Dewailly the Theatre de l'Odeon, Chalgrin the church of St. Philippe du Roule, Heurtier the peristyle of the Theatre Italien, Boulée the hotel de Brunoy, in the Champs Elysées, at the same time that the worthy David Leroy devoted his fortune and his life to the propagation of the principles of Grecian architecture.

This was the state of architecture in 1789. From that period till the year 10, it cannot afford any satisfactory views. It is not in the midst of revolutions that an art which requires tranquillity and great expence can be expected to make much progress. If vast designs were sometimes projected, those who conceived or suggested, toge ther with those who promoted them, had disappeared before their execution could begin. But many of the architects who erected the monuments just mentioned, still exist in the full vigour of their talents; others, who have not enjoyed the same opportunities of acquiring distinction, are known in the schools to be perfect masters of their art; and, as well in the competitions as in private undertakings, have displayed eminent genius not known in 1789.

It must not be denied that the art has been usurped by men unknown in the ranks of artists, and who neither had the necessary education nor sufficient talents to practise it. The same men have been seen to occupy places which have ever been reserved for talents of the first rate, to be entrusted with the care of precious monuments, though unworthy of the trust, or with the erection of new ones, in the few occasions which presented themselves. These disorders prevailed during periods of anarchy, and at the time when the government wanted strength, intelligence, and elevation.

The evils which the art has experienced are not, however, so great as might be apprehended. It is true, the eye is often struck with crude and ridiculous structures. But these are only private habitations, which like those by whom they

7

were erected, as yet exercise no influence over the public opinion.

We have now nothing but consolatory prospects. Great and important repairs succeed each other. The first, that of the Luxembourg, is posterior to 1789. The monarchy had left that beautiful palace in ruins. It appeared to have been erected, and to have excited universal admiration, only for the purpose of being almost immediately abandoned to destruction. The restoration of this monument was commenced by the republic, and it is continued with increased splendour, by the talents of the accomplished architect, M. Chalgrin, who respects the glory of Debrosse.

The ensuing times will do justice to the great encouragement given to sculpture. How rich will that picture be, to judge of it by the embellishments which Paris has received since the year 10! The noblest of them all will be the completion of the Louvre, the second appearance of which in some measure eclipses the admiration commanded by the first. Its repairs are begun; and hope, which follows them with an impatient eye, does not yet perceive great effects, because it is not the nature of any thing useful to attract notice, and because the works already done aim at the solidity, and not the external embellishment, of the edifice.

The minister of the interior has assigned a vast apartment in the palace of the arts to receive the precious collection of the most beautiful antique architectural ornaments, formed with so much care by Dufourny, during a residence of thirteen years in Italy. This great collection will be devoted to study.

For the Literary Magazine.

ON THE UNIVERSALITY OF THE FRENCH LANGUAGE.

ONE of the topics from which the French nation is apt to infer its

own pre-eminence in the world, is the wide diffusion of its language. This diffusion is certainly extensive and remarkable, and the causes of it are worth investigating. Frenchmen, of course, are insensible of any other cause than the intrinsic merit of the language; but though an impartial mind must be always very ready to allow this ingenious and volatile people all the merit which they really possess; to give them credit for their progress in mathematics and natural philosophy; to admire the easy levity with which they skim the surface of things in the lighter parts of literature; and willingly do justice to every work, however trifling, which they may produce; but when, because their language is cultivated in most countries, they conclude that it is entitled to such pre-eminence, by its intrinsic merit, beyond that of any other nation, they must excuse a smile at their egregious vanity.

It would be easy to enumerate many local and political causes, wholly disconnected with the grammatical properties of the language, or with the merit of its authors. One of these causes reflects but lit. tle honour on the nation, and yet deserves to be considered as in no small degree important, that is, the revocation of the edict of Nantz; in consequence of which, their language was carried into the various countries that afforded refuge to the exiled protestants, and greatly diffused by the writings of men of genius and learning among these unfortunate sufferers.

In discussing the comparative merit of languages, our judgment is liable to be misled by various circumstances. Exclusive of prejudices, either natural or acquired, in favour of any particular nation, there is always a secret preference of that language with which we are best acquainted; and we often imagine the greatest elegance and precision to be in that in which we have acquired the greatest facility of expressing ourselves: while other languages, perhaps of equal intria

sic merit, from our not having cultivated them so early in life, or to so great a degree of perfection, appear to want these advantages, merely because we cannot enter into their spirit and idiom. Hence, also, we are apt to confound the style of authors with the language in which they write; and the taste of some individuals with the national genius and character. Beside, most of those who discuss the merits of foreign languages, decide concerning them, sometimes from hearing them ill pronounced; and often, either from the appearance of their orthography, or from general principles, which admit of many exceptions. Thus the Italians have a notion that the German language is intolerably harsh, because those by whom they hear it spoken come chiefly from provinces, in which a vicious pronunciation prevails; and because they see that many words begin with sch or schw; without reflecting that the sch of the Germans, like the tsch of the Poles, is a single consonant, scarcely more harsh than the z of the Italians. Thus, also, some Frenchmen have concluded the Dutch language to be insufferably disgusting, incapable of any beautiful or elegant expression, merely because the diphthongs_00 and oe frequently occur in it. But these critics would do well to consider what awkward sounds would result from some of the softest expressions in their own language, if read according to the rules of the Italian, Spanish, or German. For instance, the words leurs beaux yeux, if read by a foreigner who was ignorant of the French pronunciation, would be transformed into the harmonious sounds of Le-ours Be-a oux y-e oux. It has been supposed that the languages of cold countries are more harsh than those of more temperate climates; but the Swedish language is softer than the German; and of this, the pronounciation is much rougher in the southern than in the northern provinces: the Polish is very pleasing to the ear; and it has been observed, that, of all the mo

dern languages, none so nearly resembles the Greek, with respect to melodiousness, as the Russian.

The most cultivated languages in Europe are the French, German, English, and Italian. An impartial observer will find it difficult to determine which of these has an absolute or intrinsic superiority over the rest. With respect to relative utility, the French, from the local situation of the country, and from political circumstances that have rendered the use of it general, has an advantage, which, for these reasons, it will probably long retain.

For the Literary Magazine.

SHAKESPEARE VINDICATED.

EVERY thing which has a tendency to bring Shakespeare into general use, and to extend the knowledge of his unequalled genius, I consider as an improvement of the public taste. There is scarcely any thing sublime or beautiful in poetry, or delightful to the imagination, which may not be found, in its best attire, in the volumes of Shakespeare. I read, therefore, with pleasure a collection of similies, in your last magazine, from Troilus and Cressida. Among other passages, your correspondent has selected this:

"I have, as when the sun doth light a storm,

Buried this sigh in wrinkle of a smile,"

and makes the following observation upon it: "This passage, however beautiful, affords a striking instance of the kind of error into which the poet so frequently falls. The wrinkle is a furrow on the cheek produced by age, though somewhat resembling those furrows which smiles produce, and hence introduces confusion and deformity into this passage."

This commentator is not the first who has fallen into error him

THE Hollanders, who are an industrious, intelligent, and saving people, during the last century contrived to make the productions of the fine arts subservient to commerce. They justly observed, that fortunes acquired by trade and navi. gation soon give birth to a taste for, and love of, the fine arts; indeed almost a necessary consequence attached to the inheritance of wealth.

They considered these as proper and as well calculated a subject of speculation as any other, either as the representative of money, or as expressed in value by the circulating medium, independent of the gratification which they afford to all persons of taste: a gratification as real and substantial, comparatively with the price of purchase, as an elegant prospect to a villa, a handsome and well-furnished mansion, or a thousand other objects of delight, which are daily the pursuit and employment of all classes of men. In fact, men who become possessed of large fortunes, whether the reward of their own labour, or acquired by the industry of their forefathers, must variously dispose of it; and why not a proportion be devoted to the fine arts, at once rewarding merit, procuring a rational enjoyment, commodiously investing a portion of property, and frequently the means of lucrative speculation? Surely it is more

honourable to collect the productions of the fine arts, than the extravagance of gambling, horse-racing, betting, &c.; habits too readily borrowed from the luxury of old countries; degrading to the morals of youth, and at once ruinous to their health and fortunes.

Consequently the arts of drawing, painting, music, &c. ought to be regarded as highly instrumental in the formation and preservation of manners; and men of fortune and prudent fathers should consider themselves as equally serviceable to their country and their families by inspiring, in their children, a taste for, and by collecting, the elegant productions of those liberal arts.

The Hollanders, thus occupied, procured both enjoyment at home, and reputation abroad, and so attracted the attention of travellers of rank, that no one would omit visiting, in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and other commercial cities of Holland, the collections of Mr. Braamkamp, Mr. Landers, Mr. Meyers, and those of other rich merchants. This was an honourable distinction to the family, and often a valuable inheritance when put up to sale.

The great objection against collections of paintings is the dead stock, without interest; but considering the gratification they afford, and comparing this with a multitude of frivolous expences, less productive of lasting and honourable enjoyment, the objection, if true, should be of small account. But the fact is otherwise. Good paintings are always encreasing in value, thus encreasing the stock, and affording, frequently, the highest interest for the quiet charge of keeping.

It must not be urged that this country is too young or too poor for any thing like encouragement of the fine arts. Holland did much when her means were no greater. The Americans have, within a few years, made a rapid progress; and it may reasonably be supposed, that the country which produced a West, a Trumbull, a Copely, &c, must be

highly disposed to the enjoyment of the sublime art in which those men are justly so famous.

Let us calculate the amount of monies spent in our rooms, and we shall find that no more would be necessary to procure good paintings, when they are to be had, than is actually given for bad prints displayed in costly frames. The difference, as articles of furniture, would be only this: that instead of three or four prints, neither worth attention nor preservation, the same money would possess us of one or two of the finest productions of the nobler art of painting; honourable to the possessors, and delightful to every beholder. Thus, possessing the means, and not deficient in disposition, we only want to be directed into the proper channel, and to enjoy the advantage of a few examples, such as that displayed by the liberal proprietor of the Woodlands, equally celebrated for its grounds, its greenhouse, and its pictures.

For the Literary Magazine.

LITERARY NEWS FROM ENGLAND.

BELSHAM has completed his History of Great Britain, from the Revolution, 1688, to the conclusion of the treaty of Amiens, 1802; and the eleventh and twelfth, or concluding, volumes, will make their appearance in a few days. This valuable publication will then constitute the only history of Great Britain, during the same important period, which has been the work of a single writer.

Sir John Sinclair, whose unwearied industry, on every subject to which he turns his attention, must command the gratitude and admiration of the world, is engaged in a work, founded on experience and extensive enquiry, entitled, "The Code of Health and Longevity." The author divides his work into three parts: 1. The circumstances

which necessarily tend to promote health and longevity, independent of individual attention. 2. The rules which, if observed by an individual, tend to preserve health and existence, even where these independent circumstances are wanting. And, 3. The regulations by which the general health and safety are protected from the various injuries to which they are liable.

W. H. Ireland, whose contrivance of the Shakespeare MSS. excited much attention a short time since, has written an amusing book, containing his confession of all the cir cumstances which attended that literary forgery, relating not only to the papers, but to the various personages who distinguished themselves while the controversy continued.

Joseph Gandy will speedily publish a work of designs for cottages, cottage farms, and rural buildings.

A. and C. K. Aikin have been preparing a Dictionary of Chemistry and Mineralogy, with their application to arts and manufactures. This work is now in the press, comprised in two quarto volumes.

Mrs. West is employed on a new work, entitled, "Letters to a Young Lady on the Character and Duties of Women."

James Hall, M. A., has in the press some important experiments and discoveries on ice, heat, and cold; which will probably prove of great advantage to the navy, and tend to illustrate some important points in natural philosophy.

Dr. Clutterbuck is shortly about to publish an Inquiry into the Seat and Nature of Fever, deducible from the Phenomena of the Disease, and the Principles of the animal Economy; in which he hopes to determine, more satisfactorily than has been hitherto done, some disputed points of this long-contested subject.

Mrs. Bayfield is preparing to publish a volume of Fugitive Poems.

Mrs. Cappe, of York, purposes to publish Remarks on Feinale Chari ty Schools, Friendly Societies, and other subjects connected with them.