In pure literature, the writers of the eighteenth century achieved, indeed, many triumphs; but their great, their peculiar, triumphs were in the domain of thought.

The old interests of aristocracy - the romance of action, the exalted passions of chivalry and war - faded into the background, and their place was taken by the refined and intimate pursuits of peace and civilization.

Perhaps of all the creations of man language is the most astonishing.

The history of the Victorian Age will never be written: we know too much about it.

The amateur is very rare in French literature - as rare as he is common in our own.

How far the existence of the Academy has influenced French literature, either for good or for evil, is an extremely dubious question.

When Louis XIV assumed the reins of government France suddenly and wonderfully came to her maturity; it was as if the whole nation had burst into splendid flower.