You will be noble, continues Boileau, even in
comedy, and be playful with dignity, you must
" badiner noblement." Avoid naturalness which is
only natural, observes La Bruyere at the same time :
" A farce writer may draw comical effects from a
scene with a peasant or a drunkard. . . . The
characters, it is said, are natural ; but according to


that rule, the whole amphitheatre will soon be en-
tertained by a whistling valet, a sick man in his closet,
a drunken man in his dormition or vomition. Can
anything be more natural r " l For your serious plays,
resumes Boileau, choose heroes of antiquity, with
sounding names, quite different from the " Childe-
brands " of ancient France. Let your conclusion be
abrupt and simple ; resort, when you can, to the
effective means of a suddenly revealed secret : —

" D'un secret tout a coup la verite connue,"

will bring about a prompt and interesting ending.

On examining closely this ideal, which was that of
all thinking France, one is struck with the real gran-
deur that appears amidst so many puerilities. This
nature, which should be observed unceasingly, must
also be restrained ; at that cost only is she worthy of
constant study ; man must overcome himself. The
share of picturesqueness in life and art will be
diminished : for if we act according to rules our deeds
will have nothing unexpected ; but the share of noble-
ness will be augmented. One cannot have too much
dignity ; dignity may be only a garment, but are there
not examples to show that garments have influenced
characters ? To more than one soldier, who was not
born a hero, the uniform has given heart. The dresses
worn under Louis Quatorze scarcelv allow their wearers
to roll on the grass, to fall prostrate on carpets, or
even, in the agonies of remorse, on the steps of a
church. Man is magnified bv the ideas of the time ;


everything relates to him ; what is not man has little
interest : let him, therefore, justify the honour done
him, and first of all, let him on all occasions be
master of himself. He must possess himself even
in moments of passion, even in his poetical trans-
ports ; otherwise he lowers his nature, he approaches
to madness, and the beauty of his outbursts can
never compensate for the danger of them