CIHM ICMH. Microfichile Series (Monographs) Collection de microfiches (monographles) 'ih^' '"CiA

le

CIHM

Microfichi Series

(Monographs)

ICMH

Collection de

microfiches (monographles)

Canadian

Institute for Historical Microreproductions/Institut Canadian de microraproductionshistoriques

'iH^' '"CiA

Technical and Bibliographic Notes

/

Notes _{techniques et} bibliographiques The

Institute has attempted to obtain the best original

copy available for filming. Features of this copy which

may

be bibliographicallyunique, which

may

alter anyof the

images

in the reproduction, or

which may

significantly

change

the usual

method

of filming are checkedbelow.

Coloured covers/

Couverture

de

couleur Covers

damaged

/

Couverture

endommag^

Coversrestoredand/or laminated/

Couverturerestaur^et/ou pellicul^e

I

Cover

title missing/Letitredecouverture

manque

I

Coloured

maps

/Cartesg6ographiques encouleur

I I

Colouredink(i.e. other than blueor black)/

^

Encre decouleur(i.e. autre

que

bleueounoire)

Colouredplatesand/orillustrations/

Plancheset/ouillustrationsencouleur

I I

Bound

withothermaterial/

D D D D

Reli§avecd'autres

documents

Onlyedition available/

SeuleEdition disponible

Tight binding

may

cause

shadows

ordistortionalong interior margin / La reliure serr6e peut causer de I'ombre ou

de

la distorsion le long de la

marge

int^rieure.

Blank leaves

added

during restorations

may

appear

withinthetext.

Whenever

possible,thesehave been omitted fromfilming / IIsepeut

que

certainespages

blanches

ajout6es lors

d'une

restauration apparaissent

dans

letexte,mais, lorsquecela6tait possible,cespagesn'ontpas6t6 film6es.

Additional

comments

/

Commentaires

suppl^mentaires:

L'Institut a microfilm^ le meilleur exemplaire qu'il lui a 6t6 possible

de

se procurer. Les details

de

cet

exem-

plairequi sont peut-6tre uniques

du

point

de

vue bibli-

ographique, qui peuvent modifier une

image

reproduite,

ou

qui peuvent exigsr

une

modification

dans

la m6tho-

de

normale

de

filmage sont indiqu6s ci-dessous.

I I

Coloured

pages

/

Pages de

couleur

I I

Pages damaged

/

Pages endommag6es

D ^Pages

^restoredand/or laminated/

Pages

restaur^set/ou pellicul^es

Pages

discoloured, stained orfoxed/

Pages

d^olor^es,tachet^esou

piques

I I

Pages

detached/

Pages

_d6tach6es [y/

1

Showthrough/Transparence

I I

Qualityof printvaries/

D D D

Quality in^galede I'impression Includessupplementarymaterial/

Comprend

dumaterielsupplementalre

Pages

whollyorpartiallyobscured by en-ata slips, tissues,etc., have

been

refilmedtoensurethebest possible

image

/

Les pages

totalement

ou

partiellementobscurcies parunfeuilletd'errata,une pelure, etc., ont 6t6 film6esk

nouveau de

fa^on a obtenirlameilieure imagepossible.

Opposing pages

with varying colouration or discolourations are filmed twice toensurethe best possible image / Les pages s'opposant ayantdes colorations variables ou des decolorations sont film6es deux fois afin d'obtenirla meilieure image possible.

This Jtamisfilmedat

Mw

raduetfonratiochaeicadiMiow/

Ce documenteatfilm«autauxderMuctionindiqtrfci-dessous.

lOx 14x 18x

12x 16x

7[

20x

22x 26x 30x

24x 28x

:

32x

Th« copy

filmed h«r« has

b««n raproducsd thanks

to tha ganarosity of:

National Library of Canada

L'axamplaira film* fut raproduit grica A la

gAnArositA da:

Bibliotheque nationale du Canada

Tha imagas

appaaring hara ara tha bast quality possibia considaring tha condition

and

lagibility oftha ^original

copy and

ⁱⁿ

kaaping

with tha filming contractspocificationa.

Original copias in printad papar covaraara fiimad beginning with tha ^front covar

and

anding

on

tha last

paga

with a printad or illuatratad impras- sion, ortha

back

covar

whan

appropriate. Ail othar original copias ara fiimad beginning

on

tha

first

page with

a printad or illustrated impres- sion,

and anding on

the last

page

witha printed or illuatrated impression.

Les

images

suivantas ont AtA raproduitas avac la

plus grand soin,

compta

tanu

da

la condition at

da

la nartet*

da

raxemplaire film*, at

an

conformity

avac

lea conditions

du

contrat

da

filmaga.

Lea exemplaires originaux

dont

la couvartura an papier eat

imprim^a

sont filmAa an

commanpant

par lapremier plat at

»n

terminant soit par la

darniire

paga

qui

comporta une emprainta

d'impression

ou

d'illustration. soit parla

second

plat, salon ^le cas.

Tous

las autras axamplairas originauxsont filmte an

commanpant

par la

premiire

page

qui

comporte une emprsinte

d'impreasion

ou

d'illustration at

an

terminant par

la derniire

page

qui

comporte une

telle

empreinte.

The

laat recorded

frame on eech

microfiche shall contain the

symbol -^ (meaning "CON- TINUED"),

or tha

symbol V (meaning "END"), whichever

applies.

Un

des

symboles

^suivants apparaitra sur la

derniire

imege de cheque

microfiche, salon le cas: le

symbols — ^

^signifie

"A SUIVRE",

le

symbols

signifie "FIN".

Maps,

plates, charts, etc..

may be

^{filmed at} different reduction ratios.

Those

too large to

be

entirely included in

one expoaure

^{are filmed} beginning ⁱⁿ the

upper

left

hand

corner, leftto right

and

top to

bottom,

as

many frames

as required.

The

following

diagrams

^{illustrate the}

method:

Leacartaa. planches, tableaux, etc..

peuvent

atre film«s A

des

taux

de

reduction diffirants.

Lorsqua

le

document

est trop grand pour atre reproduit

en un

seul clichA. il est film* * partir

de

Tangle supArieur

gauche, de gauche

i droite.

et

de

haut

an

bas,

en

prenant la

nombre d'imagea

nicassaira. Las

disgrammas

suivants illustrent la

mithode.

1 2 3

1 2 3

4 ^{5 6}

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FRENCH

ESSAYS AND ESSAY- WRITING

I

&M?S.^.

FRENCH

ESSAYS & ESSAY-WRITING

(LA COMPOSITION FRAN^AISE)

BY

J. P. R.

MARICHAL

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///^rights reserved

PREFACE

There

Is

no doubtithat

essay-writing_is

becoming an important

factor

m

education,

and

this is

why

it appears as «

French

Essays, _either

compulsory

_{or optional, in}

the majority of

examinations where

_a

knowledge

of

French

isrequired

To

assist

m

their task the large

number

of students

who

ZXT Tl? ''T ^{\^'''''^'}

^""^ '"^ ^'S^t^'^ '^^

^«^k

of their

al tit

^{. .}

^{^7«}

brought

_together,

classified,

and m some

cases treated a fairly large

number

of various subjects,

most

of

which have been

_chosen

from

_{questions set in}

examinations

ether

m France

or in

England.

I

have

_prefaced

them by two

sections oi Consetls

Generaux

dealing with the matter

and

with the

form

_; the theoretical part of these should

be

read

and

used for reference rather

than

learnt

by

heart,

whUst

the exercises

they contam

_{afford a valuable}

intellectual driU

To

help the

work

of beginners, a third section (Exercices

Z^tTT-

^'""'^"''*^'"''

elementary

_examples,

and

outlines for the

solution-one

_{at a}

time-of

the

commonest _problems

a simultaneous occurrence _of

which might

_cause

some

dis-

couragement. These

three _sections

form

Part I.

which

except for the examples, is

witten

in English, as it

was

felt that

no

useful

purpose

could be served

by

giving theoretical explana- tions

m French

at this stage.

Part

II., in

French throughout contams

extracts

from

_{the best authors}

in each _genre-^

t^y may _prove

_useful,

_both

_as

examples,

and

as affording

sime

o^

the special

vocabulary

_required.

These

_{extracts are}

foUowed by

subjects for treatment,

each accompanied by

a

number

of

expWions and

ideas _sufficient to lead to a fair'development

which m some

ca.es is given in full.

The

_student

_wiU

_arrange

the Ideas ifnecessary,

when

only

an

outline _is given,

and add

fo

Ti

FRENCH _ESSAYS AND ESSAY-WRITING

them

according to his or her abUity.

At

the

end

of

every chapter

there _will

be found

a

wide

selection of subjects to be treated, involving the

immediate and

repeated application of the prmciples just learnt. Special attention

has been

given to proverbs

and

dissertations,

both

of

which have not

always, in

matter

or form, their equivalent in English.

I did

not deem

it advisable to limit the usefulness of this

book

to the special requirements _of

any

particular examination.

Here,

agam,

the underlying _principles being established, the

aim

of education is precisely that of leading the pupil to

apply them

to the solution of the different

problems which

confront him. This

book may

accordingly

prove a

useful addition,

from

a purely educational standpoint, _in

every

class (from the second

year upwards) where French

istaught.

Yet on account

of the disposition of its chapters, it will at the

same time

afford a suitable

means

of preparing (not

cramming

!) for various examinations.

From

the earlier

and

easier stages

where ample

_{material is}

_provided

_for

elementary work and

generous

hdp

is afforded,the studentisgradually_{led to}

examples

of

moderate

difficulty

: Narrations, Dialogues, _Lettres, Por-

traits_; then to

more advanced work such

asmoral, philosophical, orliterary Dissertatims.

The _ground

_covered

_extends

_therefore

from

the

nuddle forms

of a

secondary

_{school to university}

classes.

A few

essays

have

also

been

set at the end,

which

require specialised

knowledge and

a

good command

of the

language

;

they

are intended for the use of students

(and

I

know, from

experience, there are

many

such)

who

like to try

and

raise their

own _standard

_{to that of}

advanced

_subjects rather

than

lowering themselves to kindergarten work.

Although my notes— _which

_are

based on almost

ten years'

teachmg,

_{given to}

some _hundreds

_of

pupils-have but now

taken

_the

form

of a book, yet

they have _undergone

_various

practical tests, with

very

satisfactory _results.

Hence

I

hope

that, despite their possible shortcomings,

they

will

prove no

less useful to

my coUeagues and

their students.

PREFACE

Til I

wish

to

thank Mr Walter Rippmann

_{for his}

_very

valuable suggestions,

and

for _his pennission to use

some

_{of t7e}

pTc"^!

fateful

to all. teachers or students,

who,

after using _this

book

sions

and

their suggestions.

impres

QuBEN's University Ohriilmat, 1913

R. M.

TABLE DES MATIERES

PART

I

I-MATTER

Chapteb

I.

IDEAS

Memory,p.2; Imagination,_{p. 3}

; KeisoninK,p.3^; Sensibility,p. ^.0.'

Chapter

II.

SOURCES ....

Reading,_p.6

; OralPractice,p. 7; Observation, p.8^;*Reieareli,_p. 8. <•

Chaptkr

_III.

DISPOSITION ....

Selection, _p. 9: Arrun«ement (Outline, p. 9: Unity, p ^»• UoVemei.t .. lIi-

Proportion,_p.10; OrderofArgument^,p. 11; Tra^rl.uion,'. p ?1) ^'

"• _* =

II-FOBM Chapter

I.

VOCABULARY

Chapter

II.

THE SENTENCE

OrderofWord.,p.3«; Grammaticalfigures(iillipsls, p.21^,. Pleonasm,_{p. ii).}

Chapter

III.

STYLE

Qualities, p. 22. Figures(ofWords,p.27; of Thougiit,p.28).

III-EXERCICES PREPARATOIRES Chapter L EXERCICES ELEMENTAIRES

Con«II^,^g<!n«raux, p.30

; Mots groupds enphrases,p.31^; Exerclcesdereproduction,

Chapter

_II.

DESCRIPTION ....

^'""n^^J?/"' 'J? ".''J**' P' •"= "" '^hangement, p. 38; un t-r'e anim'i p 4«.

images'

V«';

'"'*'^''K''«^'' P- «= "ciamati^e, _{p. 43;} identlflcaOon,^p. u\

d'aprtsI'ouie,p.49; d'apres lodorat,!e goflt, ietoucher,p.CI.

Chapter

IIL

EXERCICES COMPLEMENTAIRES

Elocution,_p.82; Vers-prose(transcription,_p.S3; traduction,_{p. 64)';} Resume.,^p.'s4.

Chapter

IV.

EXPRESSION DE SENTIMENTS, ETC

Sentiments(gaieti, p.84; pItleS.p.S«; cralnte,p..57; regrets,p.88) ^{' '} VnwS*r''"^''"''°'^'oP"= sati.e,p.69;sentimentmoral,_p.61);Compdraison D 62 Volom|^(or rea, _p. 63; souhaits, _p. 04; remercimen- _{ei^cuse^ p. 64;}

demkSde';

Chapter

V.

ECRIRE UNE LETTRE

Adresse,commencement,fin,p 66

Specimens (demande,_?.67; r^ponse,p.67; renseignements,_{p. 68).}

CONCLUSION

tUI

• • _. . ,

I

6 9

12

20 22

30

35

52 54

65

69

2fc«K

PAKTIK LE8 GENRES

I-

LA DESCRIPTION

Exemplts(Lonlizeiii«nt d 71- r.. i»«... j , , .

dan, „„eviile .luK?h,S; J'^t,';*LeTl^,!;,';'";; ^•""''««^-. _T- T4: Lu .ncendie

11.

LE PORTRAIT

G(;n(;rallt(<s, p.so.

' _'

' '

Snjetadevelopp,?,,_p.96; aujetn ^traifer. p.M.

III.

LA NARRATION

Examples(I,<.nauftacede l«BI/nclir\,.f n 08. I ^•

' '

Sajet,developnc.,,

p. ,06= ,„jetsatraitor,^.n".

'""°'"'^"""-P" "^>-

71

89

98

IV.

LA LETTRE ET LE DISCOURS

"^n^ralltes,p.115.

'"?^:^r;. u7'?r';f^^Sr/-p''Ai

_'C'^:*'^{"'^''}

^--

"'-"^<'-_p- •>«=

Pll9). ^* ^""^'•P-"'^: ''enuete pour une boateillede _vin.

Sujets d^velopp^,,_p. 120; ,ujet»ittraiter,_p.

m.

V.

LE DIALOGUE

IK

CesaretBiuius,_p.|

130.

Exetnples(Lesaveticr etlefinancier,_p.vj- Sujetsdevelo,,p^,,_p.129; ,^^etsktraiter.^p.'

VL LA DISSERTATION

G^nrrulltp'i, p. 131

•''ujatsraoraux et pedaRogiques,_p.153.

>njet.iphllosophiquea,p.154.

.>ujets^piciHiix,_p. 154.

127

131

I f

FIRST PAKT

I

—MATTER

Generalities

How

often has the unfortunate

bov

or air] ».iA u ^•

into

French U generllly'^S

'"'°""'"'''

"""^"'i-'

which

i, ,0 often offered

Ide

^th

"PP^"'?™*' Kprod»ction which

_{the original}

tcTt

Zt V'™"

^°' """''ation,

and

in rendered,

has'no alw^f ctrbt? °^"'"!'^'"' "'"'""^

probable that practice

n ZiL^Z"T"^'^

^' '""' _''

"

afforded

a bctlr trainil fe°° I"'! T?' ""•*

'"''"

education

and

of the

ac,ni5.iorf

^:,X7:Ut """^

Chapter

I.—

_Ideas

apoi'o^rto^iLrr ^"'

" -'"' _"-' ^— ^(With

We ^. ^however, ^^^^'^ ^^Tl^l-^^^

«

FRENCH ESSAY-WRITING

coupled

_{with the} acquisition of

some

special

knowledge

of the subject to be treated, is

conducive

to tho _{result desired.}

The

faculties that

need development

arc the Vlemory, tho

Imagina-

tion, the Reasoniiij; Powers, tho Sensibility ;

and

the special

knowledge

of

each

subject will be acquired

by means

of

Reading,

Observation, Oral practice,

and

Research.

Memory.— While

this is not the

most important

quality requiredfor writing, yet it is necessaryto apreat extent.

When

it is

weak,

steps shouldtherefore be taken to

improve

it.

With-

out trespassing

upon

the province _{of special treatises,}

we may

say that

memory

is

developed

_{largely in}

consequence

of the training of wUl-power,

and

such training

must

enforce constant attention

on

the

one hand,

constant _repetition

on

the other.

Let

the student acquire the haLit of carefully noting

what U

sees or hears, let

him

be the ^"

puliceman on

duty,"

whose

watchful eyes

and

ears

mark

all the little things unnoticed

by

the casual observer.

Let him

often recall to his

mind and

visualise, partially orcompletely, the details of thingspreviously

s^n. He

should, for instance,

when returnmg from

the theatre, try to picture tohimself the differentacts of the play, intheorder of their occurrence ; he should act

them

again, dwelling

on

the

most

beautiful passages,

humming

the

most

striking tunes.

The

student

who

does this regularlyIn connection

with

ordinary ha^-^^enings,

who

every

day

learns

by

heart a

few

lines of prose or poetry, will

soon make

the discovery that

memorv can

-acquire a

normal

or

even an

extraordinarycapacity, inthe

same way

as muscles reach their full size

by means

of regular

gym-

nastics. This appears not to be in strict accordance with the opinion of

some modern

psychologists,

whose

opinions,

by

the

way, have been

alteredprettyoftenin recent years

about

various questions_; it is,

however, my

beliefafter

many

yearsof practical teaching inthe class-room. In

every

case there

must

be

mental

activity

wHch

will be of benefit,

not

only to the

memory but

also to the imagination.

Imagination.—

This is indeed the

next

requisite.

Memory

I

IDEAS

dissociate

them and

to concei rlT ^.."

'^'^"^ ***

'^^'"^^^ or

fiction, the engineer

XolT.'^'r'''^- ^{Th« "^ter}

^of

whose

_t.,ent

evolves

TettS' V^ ^{^jf ir'}

^{]'' "^'^^}

;mag.nat.on to their respective I

m, tLv\

'?P'^''"« *^«'' to notice, to

connect

_{or senarnf!}

T

^.

^{^^^.^''^^ been}

^trained

"imply extending

the process

^^'^?;?'"^

^{'^''''}

^"^ ^^^^ "«

-tici.ns app,/to i.r r;* _;an 1^ tlT

"'^' '' ""''''' realones.

The

acquisition

of _n^ter

_{I ti}

_f

_K

7^" ^{''"^'}

^^""^

the

a,m

be to train the

memo v

_{or t' i} ^{^.'}'"'"''' ''^'''^^'''

but the selection of certain

mZr^

^I' ,7"''''' '^' imagination

;

association of ideas

which Tthe d^ ^

"f^^'^'^

«'

«*h-«.

_the

and

the manifestation _of

o g „alit Irfr^

""' '"^''^'^^'^^^

by

_constant

and

_capable

su^tt^n _oTtt

_t'

_T'''^^

'''"^'^

be as useless to givehere r^ene-.r

!T

^{, *^*'^''- ^^ ^o'ild}

as to

undertake toTacf _bv ;

'

'^P^^^

*"

«^«^

«t"dent.

riding a oicycle.

Not on '

must trr'""

^{*'^}

^{"«*^°^}

^{^^}

difficulty

and keep

_his

bllancf _but thtT'

'^'"'"P^ ^{"^''^^} «^^^

correctevery_{error of}

judgmertbvr

i

''^"

"^"^* ^

«nce

Uere _must

_be.

^^t.l'^:Xrl:^'ti7^''''^^''-'^^-

feeling of contact,

sympathetic ZlT'

''""*' '°'^«*^'^*

the blades _of

two _exierlnced In" t

^{^' '''''''}

^{^^^^^^n}

cavalry _of

two

_{armies in}

Sid ^

^*''

"^"^'^^

has been

established _it

must _ne^r'

_h ,

""^-^ ^"'^^ '""'^ ^«"tact to fly with _his

own winrwhenT

^{.*'" '^'} ^'"^^"^_{'« ^ble}

showing what _{he can} do

'""^ ^'^^^

^"

opportunity _of

bemr:^^;;:^^:;—^

general _{principles of}

logic

anT ff r

'";'!"'"n'«d

»*

tie

P«p.«ition,.,^i,„,i,„,/:^;."^tt™r:(ri"

^:'' -"'"'= _°'

mductoe

_inference,

and

_{scientific ?u}

J^^"""'*

"""boning, logic

and

the still broader

snbS _of't^'*'.

Unfortunately to

be even .Ut a

_learned

SSnt „f "itT ^{\^°} """ ^'""

'

a

_.econda,,.

.natter in

»co„da" °'htL

^'

T""

"""' ""^^

^

^'"

' they are practi-

FRENCH BSSAY.WRITINC

i' ^' ii

cally absent.

How many

stupid conclusions

would

havfl

b«en

avoided if

one had not taken

for

granted what was

actually to he

proved

?

How many absurd

_deductions

have bean

_arrived at

on

the strength of irreproachable

arguments based on

a

fal84^ principle ?

How many

errors

have

arisen

from

_{using a}

certain

word

with

one meaning

at the beginning of

an

essay

and another

m»''ning aftorwards ? Therefore, let the student

beware

lest he should sharj the misfortune of

La

Fontaine's

milkmaid

carrying milk to the

next

town.

Her arguments were unimpeachable

; she

reckoned

accurately the

money

that

was

to result

from

the sale of the

milk

; she rightly

concluded

that the

amount

w< uld enable her to

buy

a small pig,

which

after being reared

would

realise

enough

to procure a cow,

which

in turn

would

present her with

enough

calves to

make

her rich^ !

!

Combien de

gens

ne

sont

pas

plus sages

!

All this reasoning

was

perfect,

but

. . . the

milkmaid had

reglected the

one important

point, that of

making

sure that the initial

amount

(the proceeds ofthe sale of the milk)

was an accomplished

fact.

And

the fabulist

shows

us

how

the

whole

castle in the air

crumbled

for lack of solid foundations.

The

maid,

jumping

for joy, upset the milk,

and

Adieu, veaux, vaches,

cochons

. . . !

Moral

:

make

sure of the foundations first.

But even when

the basis is sound,

we must guard

against mistakes

caused through

hurry, carelessness, lack of

common

sense. It is

no

lighttaskto avoid allthe pitfallslaid in our

path by

ourconceit,

our own

interest,

our

feelings, our passions

and our

prejudices.

It is not

always in

easy

matter

to

examine both

sides of

a

question

with an open mind,

to

conduct an

analysis or a reason- ing to its logical conclusion. This requires fine

moral

qualities

and a

critical

mind.

If to

know how

to reason

depends on

the

IDEAS

cautions miiiutieuseB, _1« tict

omui^

i.

ir.

.

'

deal

with

it

aderullti Z

^{"^'',^} ««««y-writing doubtless oftheii

WHYS

ways. I?_It

if !L

^.

.7

^{''' ^"^'^ '««^^^«*i} ^^« Parting

18 a great

mistake

_{to allow}

nuniU

to

thLi

.

can,

assume

_the

_Frenrh «,n^r

r ^•

/

""-^ *^ "^"^^ »»

te .nu

.hi. i,

wtra tiS r7t::t"r"'"* ""«•

^

^

nuke good

_{their claim, whill}

_,T °V ^"«

^{'a°«u»ges fail to}

«der.Ld anr^^H^'clt tttrer*"'' ^" "'"""'^

Dah«,„„l,7Wj,„„,^.^„

Item*

_{Co. 2..6d}

FRENCH ESSAY-WRITING

Chapter

II.—

Sources

Reading.—As was

stated above, together

with

_{the training} of certain faculties, the acquisition of special

knowledge

is

required

;

and

in the first instance ^"reading

" was mentioned.

This exercise provides the

mind and

the imagination with all

the varied materials required for essay-writing,

which

observa- tion alone could never supply.

Reading

_constantly replenishes

our

stock of ideas

and words

;

it enables us to reap the benefits of centuries of experience_\

It

opens up

to us the

accumulated wealth

of original

thoughts

supplied

by many

_great

men who knew how

to see

and how

to write. This

borrowing

_will

no more

preclude us

from making

personal observations

than

the reading of Theophile Gautier's Voyage en Italic or the perusal of Taine's

Voyage aux

Pyrenees

would prevent

us

from paying

avisit to eitherplace.

But what

is to be read ?

Are we

to suggest the greatest writers as alone offering

examples

of

what

is beautiful, or as

bemg

less likely to be

open

to criticism

on account

of their

fame

_?

Or

shall

we

select

works from

second-rate authors as well, these being nearer to the level of the

average

_reader

and

therefore

more

easily assimilated

by him?

It

would seem

best that,

under

his teacher's guidance, the student should read both. Diderot said: "II n'y a point de

bons

livres

pour un

sot ; il n'y

en

a peut-etre pas

un mauvais pour un homme de

sens."

(He no doubt meant

^"

pour une femme de

_sens^" _as

well.)

Joubert wTote

:

"II

est impossible

de

devenir tres instruitsi

on ne

lit

que

ce qui plait."

Therefore,

read

widely. This is possible,

even

at school, in spite of

an overcrowded

time-table.

Do not

confine

your

reading to

works

of the nineteenth century,

but extend

youi-

welcome

to those of the eighteenth

and

seventeenth centuries

;

as

you

get proficient,

do not

neglect to

become acquainted with

older writers

such

as Froissart or Joinville.

Do not

treat

SOURCES

French

translations of Latin anri n^^^i ^{^ •}

conte^p, _even

_if

,„„ JTZ Sf lat IZS ^tel*

f you

_cannot,

do

not listen to those

who Witl tC

ⁱ i

translations

: it is better tolisten to ^•

Lohen^

^1°.

^i' it" f

organ than

to ignore

Wagner's existent aCether TW

^hiTno^Sttir""' -

^'"

_'-- ^---

wi!rSst;i„x::^ _rzra^rstir e~

ine

_student

ought

to refer,

when

necessary, to

a French

Jic

to

him He may examme

the newly-gathered _{ideas in} th.

ight of previous reading, of actual facts'or

ofhis own

xperi ence.

He must,

of .ourse, take notes in

French Torr^T."

res^u^oi

striking ideas

and

recording the

pa Lgt mosTThar

acteristic

on account

_{of theirstyle or}

vocabidary.

ThTpersonal

impression of the reader should be

added

_{afterwards the no^e}

^fc.r towards bating _harmonious

_the

language

^'iif I'

-ncouraged

but

its

mam purpose

_{is to} develop the _{faculty of}

thmkmg m French and

_expressing

ideas fluently_in that

lan^Le

Before th,» result is obtained

no _French

_essay

_can

be

S ^fn

for

Almd

_«,, grammalice. aliud latme logui.

and

it

m ^t

generally

conceded

that the ,eniu, _„f

a ang„rge can^ft t

»

FRENCH ESSAY-WRITING

appreciated except

by

the oral use of that language.

Smce

the direct

method

isincreasingly

used

in

modem language

_teaching, there is

every hope

that this part of the subject

wiU

receive

due

attention. _It

may

_{be noted, at the}

_same

_time,

that conversa- tion ₁₈ a necessary preliminary to the writing of dialogues or letters,

both

of

which

are treated _{fully in} the chapter

on

Les

(renres.

Observation—Someone, on

noticing that the

French name

lor _• bat

was

"chauve-souris," could not resist giving this explanation

: "

La

chauve-souris est ainsi appelee parce _qu'elle

n

est ni chauve, ni souris."

Now

that person

was undoubtedly

a better observer

than

the

one

responsible _for the appeUation.

It

would

_{be delightful if}

_every

essay-writer

were an

observer.

Most

essays _{relate to}

something

real, to events that

took

place at a

certam

spot, during a well-defined period.

Some

of the particulars

may

be supplied _{to us,} others _will

depend upon our imagmation

or

knowledge.

_{In either case,}

we _must

_carefully

observe everything, _notice the

importance

_{of customs, religions}

government,

race, age, country, _{social relations}

; the resi- of prejudices, _vices, virtues, belief, unbelief ; the influenc. of

contemporary

_{events, peculiar}

habits, accidents,

atmospheric

conditions,

time

of occurrence. This

can

only be

done by

observers of

an

inquiring turn of

mind.

_{Therefore observe} elucidate,

by

asking questions _or

by

research, everything that

18

not

clear.

Above

all, note the result of

your

observation in

each

case.

Research.-The young

student

cannot

be

expected

to

do

post-

graduate

work,

nor

to

emulate

either A. Thierry

when he was

turning the leaves of

numerous MSS.

in the Bibliotheque Nationale, or flaubert,

who made

a

journey

to

Tunis

_{to obtain}

documents

for

Salammbo.

_{Yet, if such great}

writers find it

advisable to collect trustworthy _{materials, the} student

whose

gener.

knowledge

is far

more

limited, _will find

some

research invaluable

even

for easy essays. See, for

example,

_{the outline} given ,n

Chapter

III

about

L'_Alouette.

Should

the student

«H-

^:%.'

I DISPOSITION

g

a>n8dt

ar encyclopedia

about

this word, or its English equi- valent,

he would probably

_{realise the necessity}

of getting

acquainted

with the character of the

Gauls and

of revising in the

same book _{an account}

_{of the}

battle of Pharsalia.

The importance

of this part of the work,

from

the standpoint of general

knowledge,

_{will be}

realised at once, as well asthenecessity ot

Havmg

a

good

reference library ineveryschool.

Chapter

III.—

Disposition

£tudier tout le

monde

et

nHmiter 'personne.~¥KGvm\

SeIection.-When we have accumulated

_ideas

on

a subject, t IS necessarj', oefore placing

them

in their final order, to

make

a selection,

some

being _retained

and

others _rejected with-

ZlT^"^- v^'l

'''''*^'" _''

""' ^"

'^'y

matter

;

we

are

not

generally inclined to part with

what we have collected,-mavbc exirTn ""T^' t ^{^"['^'}

S'*'"^^"^ «"^>^ ^f*«^ considera^blo

Xtted

nl

"?r^

^'''''^^"^*^°" "^ '^«^«^^3^'^l^^-dy

have whateve/ '1^"

T'^' ^{^''}

^{'^''' ^^^^^^ ^e}

^no

^hesitation

H^hatever

anything

_that

weakens

the attention

due

to the

main

fact

m each paragraph

_{should be discarded.}

The

reader's

IviWthr

^1?,

^«"^««tf ^{ed upon}

^{the principal} idea under-

d^nlav

of

Jt -r?.^

^''

*^r^°^'

^{P^^^^^^P^- "^^y}

^{-^V^r^^ons}

:^:i^lJ:::iZ^T'''' ^^"-"^^^ *^-

^«

^-'^'' -^

witf ww'"'°**~''"f""~""^'

^'''

^{^'}

^{'^}

^'-

^{<^ «"'• structure}

with

what remams

after this selection ? First of all a plan or

ou

line is required,

whether we

are treating a narration or

I

developpement de pensee. In fra. ing _this outline the follow

ng

principles should be observed.

""owing Unity.~The

leading character _{or fact}

around which

every- L'af

t! t'T t\^r^'^'

^*

--t i-Portant

feature of

an

T5\

^{!u ,^''^} discovered. This requires

some

practice aided

by

the

study

_{ofthe best}

French

_{authors in}

whose

wrTtin'^

lO

FRENCH ESSAY-WRITING

various .ways of

grouping

subordinate facts

around

a central Idea

can

be observed.

Among

these authors,

La Fontaine

stands foremost _for our

purpose

; his Fables

provide an

in- exhaustible

mine

of varied examples.

Movement.-Tha

questions that arise

next

are ^: "

How must we

begin

and

conclude _?

How must we

sustain the interest tiiroughout _?

We may _{adopt an}

_exorde

which throws

us in

mediasres

_or,

on

the contrary, a fairly detailed introduction.

J^verythmg depends upon

the circumstances, but a golden rule IS that everything necessary to

make

the reader

understand what

follows

must

be contained _in the introduction.

The sequence

of

arguments

or ideas

must

be logical.

The ending must supply

a fitting conclusion

and round

off the essay so that It

forms

_a

harmonious

_whole.

"II faut

que

la cause

ou

I'effet principal des

evenements

soit visible

dans chacun

d'eux, qu'a

chaque

pai. I'esprit sente Taction croissante

de

lacause qu'il a quittee, etla proximite plus _g

nde de

I effet qu'il

va

toucher_;

que dans une

guerre, a

chaque mouve- ment,

a

chaque

baiaUle,

on decouvre

la force et la faiblesse des

deux

partis, les progres de I'un, les pertes

de

I'autre, et

qu'au

moment ou

arrive

I'evenement supreme

et I'explication

demiere

le lecteur prevoie Tissue preparee et

devance

la conclusion annoncee.

Amsi

disposee, la narration est

un

tissu continu

ou

les premiers faits attirent et necessitent _les derniers oii la logique,

non

le hasard,

gouveme

les choses, _{oii la} raison retrouve

une image de

son ordreet

de

sa beaute."

Taine, Essaisur

_Tite-IAve.

Proportion.— The

artistic impression

produced by any work

ofart,beit a statue or adrawing,

dapends

toagreatextent

upon

the senseof proportion

observed

throughout.

The same

_impres-

sion IS left

when we

read

an

essay

which

satisfies

our

sense of proportion; consequently the length of

each paragraph must depend _on

_its importance.

'^'^^^^-\r'-

DISPOSITION „ Ori^

_of

arguments.— ki

a rule,

arguments must be

given in the order _{of their} importance, the

most

striking being reserved for the end.

We must

never

have an

anti-climax.

Yet

there are exceptions, as

we may

gather

from

_{the storv of that array}

officer

who had

not fired

upon

a scouting

party

^of the

enemy's

cavalry,

and who on

being

asked

the reason,

began

his defence

by

offermg half-a-dozen

more

or less valuable

arguments keepmg

_{for the}

_end

_{the fact that}

all his

ammunition had been exhausted some

time before. Here,as

everywhere

else,

common

sense

must

decide.

There

are cases

when two

solutions of the question

under

consideration

might

be given.

In

such _{cases this is} the best order to

adopt :—

(a) a refutation ofthe solution that

we do not

favour :

(b) a refutation of the objections that

might

be raised against the

one we

favour _;

(c) a

demonstration

_{of the latter.}

Transitions.—

When

everything else is settled, attention

must

_{be paid to the connecting links}

which

facilitate a

smooth

transition

from

ona idea to the next.

Here

_{again the}

study

of

French

authors will be

found

a necessary preliminary _{in class-}

room

practice.

II.— FORM

Chapter I.

— Vocabulary The _need

_{for a sufficient}

vocabulary, covering wide

ground and arranged m

methodical _order.^

has been preliolly emphasised

It _,s required in every

branch

of

language study

b(.t especially _ui the case of essay- writing.

Here _woJds mult

not only be

known, they

_{should also hav'e}

been l^aTt LTa

tfons

rC w

^, '''""''

^'?:! ;."'"*'"" ^''''"««'^«" _*»

^ (^)Defini- tions, ₍₂₎

Word-groups,

_{(3) Meanings,}

(4)

Synonyms.

Fr! ^V, fv.

"°"'-~*^-'''''''' in definitions consist in giving, in

word

;

f """'^' '^"""^^'

'''''' _'''''

^--^* '"--"4

of

tkch

^vord

under

considernt.on. This is

one

of the

most

diflicult

nr:; "V' ""i^^"

'"'''-' _*^^^ '''^'^^'

b-««*«' beca^l

rt

aims

at

ostermg

_the

very

_qualities that accrue

from

a

sound Lr r;tri.

^"''

' *''

P^^"

^' *^'"^'"^^' _^'^'i *'- ^Pti

"do

(«) iVoM«.,.-Previous _to giving definitions of

nouns

_there

tet t^il'rnh n

ⁿ

^{^'^^'r^'}

^^^^'"'

«nguishin;;n _lach

ase to v^hich of the

followmg

three

subdivisions they belong

:-

{l)Le. genre.

[2) Vespeee. ₍₃₎

La _suhdivmon.

^^

The _following

_table

will

make

this preliminary _selection Genre

un

ouvrier

un animal un vetemeut un

vegetal

Espl'ce

un may on un

poisson

une

_coiffure

un

arbre

Subdivision

un

platrier

un

brochct

une

casquette

un

sapin

•Such as in the author's Vocabulaire Fraiuaig rRplM „.. p-

FrenchPicture Vocabulary (Dent). ^{' ^}

^'

^°'

^'PP"*""

«

12

VOCABULARY

'3

The

following _list of

words wUI

provide material for

simUar

classification.

Cliissifyas

above

^:

—

(a) Easy.

(1) L'habitation, _{I'hotel, la} maiaon, la

chambre,

I'apparte-

ment,

le mobilier, ie matelas, Je fauteuil, _le

mancho,

le balai, les

meubles, la soupe, le jus, la nourriture.

(2)

La

ferme, le fouet, la creche, le hangar, la ville, la rue, la place, le pave, letraineau, legrain

de plomb,

le sport.

^

(3) L'eau, la riviere, la terre, la

montagne,

le pic, la vague, I'embrun, la mcr, le rioleil, I'astre, le ciel,

une

etoile, I'horizon.

(4)

Le

pigeon, I'oiseau, la plume, le lapin, le poil, I'animal, le granit, le mineral.

(b) DifficuU.

(1)

La

construction, le batiment,

un

edifice, le magasin,

une

usine,

un

atelier,

un

instrument,

un

outil,

une arme,

le fusil, le

canon

(barrel),

un

echantillon, lasoie,

une

etoffe, la trame.

(2)

La

matiere, le liquide, le mineral, la substance, la pierre, le marbre, le fluide, le gaz, I'oxygfene, la houille, le charbon,

un

element, la goutte, la pluie, le flocon, la neige.

(3)

La

division,la classe,

une

ecole, lasanction,la

reprimande,

la punition, le chapitre, la ligne, _le livre, le probleme,

une

addi- tion, le devoir (homework), la figure, la courbe, la ligne, le point.

In

each

of the

above

exercises give the

meaning

in

French

of _{: (1)}

one noun

belonging _{to a} genre ; (2) that of

one noun

belonging to

an espke

_{; (3)} that of

one noun

belonging to a subdivision.

The

latter exercise should be

attempted without

the help of adictionary,

but

the results

may

be

checked

afterwards.^

»Using uni.lingual Dictionaries such as DicHonnaire Gazitr (Colin), 2^f. 60: Larousse, Dictionnaire completillustri (Dent),2s.6d.