If this is dying, I don't think much of it.

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.

Perhaps the best test of a man's intelligence is his capacity for making a summary.

Modern as the style of Pascal's writing is, his thought is deeply impregnated with the spirit of the Middle Ages. He belonged, almost equally, to the future and to the past.

Though, with the ascendancy of Louis, the political power of the nobles finally came to an end, France remained, in the whole complexion of her social life, completely aristocratic.

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

If this is dying, I don't think much of it.