登陆注册
14926100000140

第140章

Two special condiments enter into the cuisine of this century, and, according to the hand that makes use of them, they furnish all literary dishes with a coarse or delicate seasoning. In an Epicurean society, to which a return to nature and the rights of instinct are preached, voluptuous images and ideas present themselves involuntarily; this is the appetizing, exciting spice-box. Each guest at the table uses or abuses it; many empty its entire contents on their plate. And I do not allude merely to the literature read in secret, to the extraordinary books Madame d'Audlan, governess to the French royal children, peruses, and which stray off into the hands of the daughters of Louis XV,[13] nor to other books, still more extraordinary,[14] in which philosophical arguments appear as an interlude between filth and the illustrations, and which are kept by the ladies of the court on their toilet-tables, under the title of "Heures de Paris." I refer here to the great men, to the masters of the public intellect. With the exception of Buffon, all put pimento into their sauces, that is to say, loose talk or coarseness of expression. We find this even in the" Esprit des Lois;" there is an enormous amount of it, open and covered up, in the "Lettres Persanes."Diderot, in his two great novels, puts it in by handfuls, as if during an orgy. The teeth crunch on it like so many grains of pepper, on every page of Voltaire. We find it, not only piquant, but strong and of burning intensity, in the "Nouvelle Hélo?se," scores of times in "Emile," and, in the "Confessions," from one end to the other. It was the taste of the day. M. de Malesherbes, so upright and so grave, committed "La Pucelle" to memory and recited it. We have from the pen of Saint-Just, the gloomiest of the "Mountain," a poem as lascivious as that of Voltaire, while Madame Roland, the noblest of the Girondins, has left us confessions as venturesome and specific as those of Rousseau[15]. - On the other hand there is a second box, that containing the old Gallic salt, that is to say, humor and raillery. Its mouth is wide open in the hands of a philosophy proclaiming the sovereignty of reason. Whatever is contrary to Reason is to it absurd and therefore open to ridicule. The moment the solemn hereditary mask covering up an abuse is brusquely and adroitly torn aside, we feel a curious spasm, the corners of our mouth stretching apart and our breast heaving violently, as at a kind of sudden relief, an unexpected deliverance, experiencing a sense of our recovered superiority, of our revenge being gratified and of an act of justice having been performed. But it depends on the mode in which the mask is struck off whether the laugh shall be in turn light or loud, suppressed or unbridled, now amiable and cheerful, or now bitter and sardonic. Humor (la plaisanterie) comports with all aspects, from buffoonery to indignation; no literary seasoning affords such a variety, or so many mixtures, nor one that so well enters into combination with that above-mentioned. The two together, from the middle ages down, form the principal ingredients employed by the French cuisine in the composition of its most agreeable dainties, -fables, tales, witticisms, jovial songs and waggeries, the eternal heritage of a good-humored, mocking people, preserved by La Fontaine athwart the pomp and sobriety of the seventeenth century, and, in the eighteenth, reappearing everywhere at the philosophic banquet. Its charm is great to the brilliant company at this table, so amply provided, whose principal occupation is pleasure and amusement. It is all the greater because, on this occasion, the passing disposition is in harmony with hereditary instinct, and because the taste of the epoch is fortified by the national taste. Add to all this the exquisite art of the cooks, their talent in commingling, in apportioning and in concealing the condiments, in varying and arranging the dishes, the certainty of their hand, the finesse of their palate, their experience in processes, in the traditions and practices which, already for a hundred years, form of French prose the most delicate nourishment of the intellect. It is not strange to find them skilled in regulating human speech, in extracting from it its quintessence and in distilling its full delight.

IV. THE MASTERS.

The art and processes of the masters. - Montesquieu. - Voltaire.

- Diderot. - Rousseau. - "The Marriage of Figaro."In this respect four among them are superior, Montesquieu, Voltaire, Diderot and Rousseau. It seems sufficient to mention their names. Modern Europe has no greater writers. And yet their talent must be closely examined to properly comprehend their power.- In tone and style Montesquieu is the first. No writer is more master of himself, more outwardly calm, more sure of his meaning. His voice is never boisterous; he expresses the most powerful thoughts with moderation. There is no gesticulation; exclamations, the abandonment of impulse, all that is irreconcilable with decorum is repugnant to his tact, his reserve, his dignity. He seems to be always addressing a select circle of people with acute minds, and in such a way as to render them at every moment conscious of their acuteness. No flattery could be more delicate; we feel grateful to him for making us satisfied with our intelligence. We must possess some intelligence to be able to read him, for he deliberately curtails developments and omits transitions; we are required to supply these and to comprehend his hidden meanings. He is rigorously systematic but the system is concealed, his concise completed sentences succeeding each other separately, like so many precious coffers or caskets, now simple and plain in aspect, now superbly chased and decorated, but always full.

同类推荐
热门推荐
  • 黑帝独宠:邂逅甜心女王

    黑帝独宠:邂逅甜心女王

    她,是众月捧星的校花。人前,她温柔、善良、体贴……但是,她还有个不为人知的另一面。黑道女王!真正的她,冷血、果断、无情。但是没想到有一天,她竟然也会栽了。而且对方还是个绝世的妖孽!所谓一物克一物,她没想到她日后的生活竟然还会和这个妖孽纠缠不清。而他身为一个黑道帝王,征服一个小小的女王自然不在话下。他冷血,但面对她却是百般的溺爱。他无情,但面对她却是满满的温柔与宠溺。
  • 成魔志

    成魔志

    热血,杀戮,一个普通的高中生,陷入异界,他将何去何从,无种马,无后宫,最真实
  • 与世无言

    与世无言

    从水里面爬出来,忘却了前尘往事,却着一身锦绣嫁衣,顶一头沉重珠翠。这世道凶险诡谲,又明知有人要取她的性命,却还是要挣扎地活着。至于活成什么样,可以推脱给命运,也可以看自己的本事。************************************************************灵,如溪流,如江河初,皆为淙淙清泉,细而澄之后,或成江河大海,博却浊之若登博且澄之境是谓大成
  • 邪帝追妻独宠天才妃

    邪帝追妻独宠天才妃

    慕玥是22世纪杀手之王,经爱人背叛重生了,哎!即来则安吧!什么?我废材?天下在手,美貌我有,偶尔虐下渣男打绿茶婊,日子还不错,可为什么蹦出个美男总要给自己暖床求包养?慕玥表示,压力山大……
  • 甜蜜爱,悲伤情

    甜蜜爱,悲伤情

    “我爱她”,“她爱我”,每一份爱情都是有挫折的过程,没有完美的爱情,只有经历过各种各样的痛苦,才有完美的最后。一次意外,发现自己的身份与那个她既然有着不可告人的秘密就像一朵花,开的正绽放的时候,那一段时光是最美丽的,也是让人喜爱的,可是枯萎的那一刻,花瓣凋零时候只有自己安抚的自己。人生就像公路永远看不到尽头爱情就像悬崖一样,只有站稳就不会摔倒,一不小心滑了一跤,永远都不会爬上这座山。爱情是一种很奇妙的东西,像流星像闪电,又像雨后彩虹那样牵动着我们那蠢蠢欲动的心,其实我们都很简单只是单纯的想要一份只属于自己的爱情……?
  • 书说世间情

    书说世间情

    ”你知道为什么年轻的爱情,总是可歌可泣吗“”因为年轻的你,根本无法守住你的爱情“”对于我来说,天空才是归途,可是我无法一直飞翔“”人类经历的东西,短短数十载怎么看的清“”你总有一天会明白你现在所疑惑的东西,而现在你只应该好好享受你正在慢慢逝去的东西“”死亡如果并不叫做死亡,那或许也是一种别样的美“
  • 真法道

    真法道

    星空之下,武者开山断河,法修掌御天下,炼师睥睨四极。飞舰巡陆,水舰镇海,光舰跨越星空,宇舰穿梭周天。彼时,符文科技确立,炼师崛起。今日,法道大昌,炼师尊崇于天下。在符文科技为人类提供了足够的能源和强大的武器,人类踏足星空和三千世界。人族独尊时代开启。
  • 老肥猫的故事

    老肥猫的故事

    在猫州平原上,生活着一种肥肥胖胖的猫。没有饥饿的压迫,没有天敌的追赶,过着无忧无虑的生活。但是随着环境的恶化,无数个生命在饥饿中倒下。做为族长的老肥猫,为了肥猫族的延续,担起了延续猫族的巨大责任...——初中生,随便写写
  • 异世轶事

    异世轶事

    她,被弃养的官家小姐。为自救,潜心学医。遇到他,让她重获新生。她:无关风月,这是友情。幼时的一次交集,他对她上了心。她:有缘无份,这是禁忌。她的机智聪慧让他不经意间,情根深种。她:这,这是个误会。
  • 隐形罪恶

    隐形罪恶

    开庭后被判处死刑的东林市建国以来最大涉黑“1012”案件主犯柯东辉等人,被送往东林市公安局监管支队第一看守所关押。柯东辉想重大立功以期保命。为了摆脱主管民警谢英鹏的主管,他趁人大代表到看守所视察之机,对谢英鹏进行诬告使民警祁军主管了柯东辉。祁军为了索取为柯东辉保命的好处费,以买房的名义在柯东辉的哥哥柯东南的朋友修洋处借得20万元钱。祁军在看守所所长时春武的协助下,把有漏罪在身的8监室的在押人员陈尚实串至10监室,陈尚实在祁军的压制和柯东辉的胁迫下,违心地把自己的漏罪说给了柯东辉。柯东辉检举的案件线索破获后,死刑判决即将被改判。