14
CHAMFORT AND THE ANECDOTE Describing a conversation he had had with a bookseller, Francois Metra said that the latter had admitted to him that the only money to be had was from compila- rions,' that the public only wanted collections of 'morceaux detaches'; that 'les jrands ouvrages que vous voyez annonces dans nos journaux sont bien plus destines k l'ostentation qu'k l'usage'.' It was a tendency that had become more and more apparent during the course of the e^hteenth century and, much to the annoyance of Voltaire in particular,^ it had in the second half of the century even taken on epidemic proportions. Chamfort quotes a joke about a writer who put his library in his books (537),' and the abbe Joseph de La Porte was said to have as his motto: 'II n'est pas necessaire de faire des livres, il suffit d'en imprimer.'* La Porte was merely one of a whole school of compilers who had turned publishing into a 'friperie litteraire',^ in which the major productions were collections of anecdotes. It would be a gargantuan task, indeed, to try and catalogue all such collections that appeared during Chamfort's lifetime. The anecdotes were on all subjects and had, ostensibly, a multitude of differing aims. They were used for education as in the works of Mme de Genlis. They could be frankly sentimental and reworked into stories as in Baculard d'Arnaud's Delassements d'un homme sensible (1783-93). More often than not, however, they appealed to the would-be cynical and claimed to capture the atmosphere of the times, as in the works of Pierre Nougaret, who pro- duced Les Astuces de Paris, ou anecdotes parisiennes dans lesquelles on voit les ruses que les intriguans et les jolies femmes mettent communement en usage pour tromper les gens simples et les etrangers (London, 1775), Les Sottises et les folies parisiennes, aventures diverses (London, 1781), and Les Historiettes dujour, ou Paris tel qu'il est (London, 1787). Nearly all events of importance were followed by the publication ofthe anecdotes surrounding them, be it the visit of Joseph II of Austria, followed by Du Coudray's .inecdotes interessantes et historiques de rillustre voyageur pendant son sejour a Paris (1777), or the events leading up to and into the Revolution, as in L. A. de Caraccioli's Anecdotes piquantes relatives aux Etats-Generaux (1789), or Sylvain Marechal's Anec- dotes peu connues sur lesjournees des 10 ao&t, 2 et 3 septembre iyg2 {1793). There were collections of clerical anecdotes: Anecdotes ecclesiastiques, contenant tout ce qui s'est passe dans les Eglises d'Orient et d'Occident (1772), by the abbes P. Jaubert and ]. A. T. '' Dinouart; medical and scientific anecdotes: Anecdotes de medecine, ou choix de faits mgdiers qui ont rapport a I'anatomie, la pharmacie, I'histoire naturelle, etc. (1762), by P- J. Du Monchaux, and Anecdotes historiques, litteraires et critiques sur la medecine, la chirurgie et la pharmacie (1785), by Pierre Sue; artistic anecdotes as in the Anecdotes its Beaux-arts, contenant tout ce que la peinture, la sculpture, la gravme, I'architecture, la litterature, la musiqite, etc., et la vie des artistes qffrent de plus curieux chez tous les peuples ('776-Bo), by Nougaret and N. T. Leprince; literary anecdotes as in Antoine ^ F. Metra, Correspondance litteraire secrete, 18 vols (London, 1787-1790), 30 July 1783 (xv, 25—26). ' iej Deux Siicks, lines 87-92. 'To save space, I use the numbering adopted in most modern editions of Chamfort's Prodmts de la •^^^'ilisaiion perfectiormee, including the two most easily obtainable editions, that by Jean Dagen in the Gamier Flammarion series (1968) and that by Genevi^e Renaux in the Livre de Poche (1970). ^]. F. de La Harpe, QsrrespmdarKe litteraire, 6 vols (Paris. 1801), in, 45. 1-a Harpe, in, 45; M^tra, 25 July and 5 August 1780 (x, 79-80 and 108-09); Memoires secrets P"irseriiiri I'histoire de ta republigiie des Uttres en France, 36 vols (London, 1771-89), 30 July 1764 and '7 March 1769 (n, 78 and xix, 54).

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CHAMFORT AND THE ANECDOTE

Describing a conversation he had had with a bookseller, Francois Metra said thatthe latter had admitted to him that the only money to be had was from compila-rions,' that the public only wanted collections of 'morceaux detaches'; that 'lesjrands ouvrages que vous voyez annonces dans nos journaux sont bien plusdestines k l'ostentation qu'k l'usage'.' It was a tendency that had become more andmore apparent during the course of the e^hteenth century and, much to theannoyance of Voltaire in particular,^ it had in the second half of the century eventaken on epidemic proportions. Chamfort quotes a joke about a writer who put hislibrary in his books (537),' and the abbe Joseph de La Porte was said to have as hismotto: 'II n'est pas necessaire de faire des livres, il suffit d'en imprimer.'* La Portewas merely one of a whole school of compilers who had turned publishing into a'friperie litteraire',^ in which the major productions were collections of anecdotes.

It would be a gargantuan task, indeed, to try and catalogue all such collectionsthat appeared during Chamfort's lifetime. The anecdotes were on all subjects andhad, ostensibly, a multitude of differing aims. They were used for education as inthe works of Mme de Genlis. They could be frankly sentimental and reworked intostories as in Baculard d'Arnaud's Delassements d'un homme sensible (1783-93). Moreoften than not, however, they appealed to the would-be cynical and claimed tocapture the atmosphere of the times, as in the works of Pierre Nougaret, who pro-duced Les Astuces de Paris, ou anecdotes parisiennes dans lesquelles on voit les ruses que lesintriguans et les jolies femmes mettent communement en usage pour tromper les gens simples etles etrangers (London, 1775), Les Sottises et les folies parisiennes, aventures diverses(London, 1781), and Les Historiettes dujour, ou Paris tel qu'il est (London, 1787).

Nearly all events of importance were followed by the publication ofthe anecdotessurrounding them, be it the visit of Joseph II of Austria, followed by Du Coudray's.inecdotes interessantes et historiques de rillustre voyageur pendant son sejour a Paris (1777),or the events leading up to and into the Revolution, as in L. A. de Caraccioli'sAnecdotes piquantes relatives aux Etats-Generaux (1789), or Sylvain Marechal's Anec-dotes peu connues sur lesjournees des 10 ao&t, 2 et 3 septembre iyg2 {1793). There werecollections of clerical anecdotes: Anecdotes ecclesiastiques, contenant tout ce qui s'estpasse dans les Eglises d'Orient et d'Occident (1772), by the abbes P. Jaubert and ]. A. T.

'' Dinouart; medical and scientific anecdotes: Anecdotes de medecine, ou choix de faitsmgdiers qui ont rapport a I'anatomie, la pharmacie, I'histoire naturelle, etc. (1762), byP- J. Du Monchaux, and Anecdotes historiques, litteraires et critiques sur la medecine, lachirurgie et la pharmacie (1785), by Pierre Sue; artistic anecdotes as in the Anecdotesits Beaux-arts, contenant tout ce que la peinture, la sculpture, la gravme, I'architecture, lalitterature, la musiqite, etc., et la vie des artistes qffrent de plus curieux chez tous les peuples('776-Bo), by Nougaret and N. T. Leprince; literary anecdotes as in Antoine

^ F. Metra, Correspondance litteraire secrete, 18 vols (London, 1787-1790), 30 July 1783 (xv, 25—26).' iej Deux Siicks, lines 87-92.'To save space, I use the numbering adopted in most modern editions of Chamfort's Prodmts de la

•^^^'ilisaiion perfectiormee, including the two most easily obtainable editions, that by Jean Dagen in theGamier Flammarion series (1968) and that by Genevi^e Renaux in the Livre de Poche (1970).

^]. F. de La Harpe, QsrrespmdarKe litteraire, 6 vols (Paris. 1801), in, 45.1-a Harpe, in, 45; M^tra, 25 July and 5 August 1780 (x, 79-80 and 108-09); Memoires secrets

P"irseriiiri I'histoire de ta republigiie des Uttres en France, 36 vols (London, 1771-89), 30 Ju ly 1764 and'7 March 1769 (n, 78 and xix, 54).

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Taiilefer's Tableau historique de I'esprit et du caractere des litterateurs franfais, depuis larenaissance des lettres Jusqu'en iy8fi, ou reateil de treats d'esprit, de bms mots, et d'anecdoteslitteraires (Versailles, 1785), etc. Above all, there were collections of historicalanecdotes such as the alab^ Guillaume Bertoux's Anecdotes franfaises depuis I'etabiisse-mentdelamoruirchieJusqu'auregnedeLouisXV{iy6-j) a n d j . F. de La Croix's JDicJion.rtaire portatif des faits et dits memorables de I'histoire andertne et modeme (1768). Therewere collections of anecdotes on every country imaginable, such as Dubois-Fontanelle's Anecdotesafricaines (1777), Antoine Hornot's Anecdotes americaines {iT;6).Jean Castilhon's Anecdotes chinoises, Japonaises, siamoises, etc. (1774), Bertoux'sAnecdotes espagnoles et portugaises (1773), A. G. Gontant d'Orville's Anecdotes ger-rrmniques (1769), and various productions by J. F. de La Croix: Anecdotes italiermes{1769), Anecdotes du Mord, comprenant la Suede, le Danemark, la Pologne et la Rnssie(1770), Anecdotes des republiques, auxquelles on a Joint la Saoaye, la Hongrie et la Baheme(1771), Anecdotes arabes et musulmanes (i 772), etc. Reflecting the intellectual influenceof England on eighteenth-century France, there was a particular taste for Englishanecdotes as shown in La Croix's Anecdotes anglaises (1769) and Contant d'Orville'sLes JVuits anglaises ou recueil des traits singuliers (1770).

There were also encyclopsedic collections such as the Dictionnaire d'anecdetes, iktraits singuliers et caracieristiques (1766), by H. Lacombe de Prezel and Malfilatre.Jacques Lacombe's Encyclopediana (1791) (part of Panckoucke's Encyclopedierrtethodique), and, with a title that sought not to leave anything out, FredericLemarie 's J\''ouveau dictiormaire d'tmecdotes, ou I'art d'eviter Fennui; contenant une collec-tion nouvelle et interessante de traits curieux, historiques, littiraires, politiques, moraux,critiques, satyriques, tragiques et comiques sans aucune indecence, pour I'ornement de I'espritet de la memoire des lecteurs de toutes les conditions (Liege, 1783). T o back up suchproductions, anecdotes also appeared regularly in periodicals, notably the Mercurede France, which had a special column for them during the time the paper was editedby Jacques Lacombe, from 1768 to 1778. They also appeared in alrnanacs, of whichthe best known was Aqu in de Cha t eau Lyon's Almanack littiraire ou Etrennes d'Apollm,contenant de Jolies pikes en prose et en vers, des saillies ingenieuses, des varietes interessantes etbeaucoup d'autres morceaux curieux, avec une notice des ouurages remplis d'anecdotes piquanies.and which, from 1777 onwards, gave a selection of anecdotes from the year's newpublications.

Obviously, people always have liked and always will like what Voltaire calls thehidden details of history and the lives of the great,^ or, on a lower level, the littlestories of human interest that are to be found in any good conversation. Forinstance, one comes across anecdotes in the Bible and in many of tbe works of theclassical lvriters of Antiquity. Yet, there are various reasons that explain why theyshould have been particularly popular in France in the second half of the eighteenthcentury. For a start, three outstanding developments show that the traditions ofthepublished genre were already well established. Firstly, many anecdotes are found ina form ofliterature that flourished in France from the Middle Ages on and parti-cularly in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the memoirs of private andpublic figures. The popularity of these memoirs, as with the correspondence ofMme de Sevigne and the Historiettes of Tallemant des Reaux, is due at least in partto the general public's desire to learn about the lives of those who came to live

' Le Siicte de Louis XIV. chapter 25.

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CHRISTOPHER TODD 299

more and more apart from the rest of the nation, the king and his courtiers. Thecontinuing interest in people of prominence is seen, in the period that concerns ushere, with the publication of the Galerie de I'ancienne com (1781), Moufled'Angerville's Vie privee de Louis XV (London, 1781), and Pidanset de Mairobert'sAnecdotes sur Mme la comtesse du Barri (London, 1775).

At the same time, following in the footsteps of Plato and Xenophon, the tradi-tion of collecting the aru or witty sayings of famous men was also kept alive. Thefirst collection of modern French arm appears to be the Menagiana of 1693, basedon the conversations with friends of Gilles Menage, and doubtlessly inspired by theLatin Scaligerana or sayings of Joseph Scaiiger, published in r66g. Other collectionsfollowed, notably the Fureteriana of 1696. The thirty years leading up to the Revolu-tion saw the publication of the collected wit and sayings of d'AIembert, Bour-daloue, Castel, Clement XIV, Pierre Comeille, the abbe Desfontaines, Duguet,Fontenelle, Pierre Fourier, Henri IV, Jesus, La Mothe le Vayer, Leibnitz, Mme deMaintenon, Marivaux, Moliere, Montaigne, Necker, Nicole, the abbe Raynal,].-}. Rousseau, Saint-Evremond, Saint-Real, Saurin, Mile de Scudery, Sully,Saitit Theresa, Thomas, and Voltaire.^ As one disgruntled contemporary- com-mented: 'C'est aux anecdotes et aux bons mots qu'on trouve dans les papierspuhlics et les Ana modernes, qu'on peut surtout appliquer ce mot de Salomon,nikil sub sole nomim.'^

Finally, one must not forget the influence of the precieux and of La Bruyere andMontesquieu. In a century where the touchstone for all things is man, there is aconstant love of portraits and ofthe description of actions by individuals that revealuniversal human characteristics. In the first half of the century, Vauvenargues —who himself wTote some Caracteres — infinitely preferred the manner of La Bruyereto that of La Rochefoucauld, whom he found austere and off-putting (Maximes,337, 417). Wary of giving too general an application to individual maxims in theabstract (Maxime, 111), he too wanted to use contemporary society to illustratemoral principles (Maxime, 651). Later in the century, an advertisement for MmeDufrenoy's Courrier lyrique et amusant ou passe-temps des toilettes explains the success ofanecdotes as being 'conforme au gout d'une nation qui aime a couvrir de I'attraitattachant des graces I'austerite de ia morale et la profondeur de la philosophie'.^It is undoubtedly as an answer to this taste for illustration that in i 759 tlieAcademie Fran^aise started to give prizes for eulogies of famous tnen rather thanstraightforward moral dissertations (see Chamfort, 74.8). As well as anecdotes,''nits d'heroisme et de bienfaisance regularly appeared in the press, and the lawyermd amateur poet, Duchosal, praised the editors of the Journal de Park for realizingthat 'le recit des belles actions vaut mieux qu'un gros livre de morale'.* Perhapsthe best known imitation of La Bruyere to appear just before tbe Revolution isSenac de Meilhan's Considerations sur I'esprit et les mcsurs (London, 1787). Maintain-"ig the sharper tradition of the hidden observer of Marana and Montesquieu,and of their imitators stich as Saint-Foix, the marquis d'Argcns, Mme de Graffigny,fjodard d'Aucour, and Maubert de Gouvest, one also finds Pidanset de Mairobert

A. A. Barbier, Dictiomtaire des ouvrages arumymes. Troisieme edition, 4 vols (Paris, t87a-79), 11, col.'79-96.

'^Joamat de Paris, 3 November 1785 (p. 1267).Jmmal de Paris, 19 December 1786 (supplement) (p. 1475).Joiirmt de Paris, 21 May 1786 (p. 571).

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300 Chamfort and the Anecdote

with his Observateur anglais, ou correspondance secrete entre Milord All'Eye et MilordAir Ear (London, 1777-78), and Ange Goudar and his Espion chinois (Cologne,1765-74)-

However, what would seem to explain much more readily the extraordinarysuccess of anecdotes in the years preceding the Revolution is the boredom foundin Parisian polite society, and which expressed itself in both ceaseless agitationand a feeling of satiety. Describing the social round in which, between visits andescaping from increasing political problems, ladies rushed firom the magnetizer'stub to various musees scientjfiqties in which they studied the principles of the balloonand water-divining or whatever other scientific craze happened to be in vogue,La Harpe commented that in France 'le premier jour est pour I'engouement, lesecond est {X)ur la critique et le troisifeme pour l'indifKrence'.^ Announcing theCourier a ta Mode, ou le Journal du GoAt, t he Memoires secrets de Bachaunumt insisted onthe importance of this new publication, since it showed the nation's 'caprices, quivarient chaque mois sur quelque objet'.^

Literary society was divided into more and more factions, taken up with pettysquabbles. Little by little, the great writers and thinkers were disappearing fromthe scene, and without their presence or encouragement lesser men found it difficultto stick to serious writing. With the increasing growth of journalism, many writersof promise were seen to spend more time describing the works of others than actuallyproducing anything original themselves.' The salons were no longer the meeting-places for great minds, but places where each automaton 'jouait son role parhabitude'.* In the best traditions ofthe salon, abstract problems were still discussed,but mostly only superficially and for their passing effect. Above all, one playedwith words. With major exponents such as the marquis de Bifcvre, it was the dayof the pun.* Inspired by the dictionaries of Girard, Beauzee, and Roubaud, therewas a craze for synonyms, but there again precision was sacrified to wit.'' To passthe long hours of the early evening, one invented epigrams, anagrams, charades,and riddles, where coarseness of thought was often only masked by cleverness ofexpression. The chevalier de BoufHers sought to entertain a company of ladies witha riddle on the two syllables ofthe name Condi^ but then, for a long time, even menof the cloth had told dirty stories in public* Metra, for one, felt that his contem-poraries had no longer either the time or the inclination to produce solid work:J'ai ddja observe que i'on voulait de nos jours tout avoir en morceaux d£tach<^: qui auraitmaintenant la patience, ie temps m«rae de lire, de m&iiter des traits. II faut encore que leschoses les plus sirieuses soient dites avec gaiety, avec esprit. Dieu sait a quoi aboutisisent detelles instructions, mais qu'importe? Pourvu que Ton s'amuse, et que Ton meuble sa t6tede

1 La Harpe, ra, 365.' Memoires secrets, 14 July 1768 (xix, 4-5).' Metra, 31 May 1777 (iv, 385).* Horace Walpok's Correspandente, edited by W. S. Lewis, 39 vols (London, 1937-74), ^^> ' 5 ^ (from a

letter from Mme Du Deffand of ao October 1766).' Metra, 14 November 1781 (xn, 151-52).' Mfea, 9 February, 3 June 1773, 16 and 24 February 1776, i March J777, 26 November 1783

(1, 204-05, 408; n, 383, 391; rv, 189; XV, 23g), etc.' See the preface to the Recueil de vrais synorymes (Geneva, 1786), quoted in the Joitnud de Po'^

3 May 1786 (p. 498), and the letter on the subject from G. Feydel in the same paper, 6 April 17™(pp. 429-30)-

* Metra, 19 December 1778 (vii, 169).' E. J . F. Barbier, Journal historique et mecdotiqiie du ripie de Loais XV, 8 vols (Paris, )

VIII, 316.

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CHRISTOPHER TODD 3OI

nuelques connaissances superficielles, on a rempU son but; on porte dans les soci6t& uneliberty d'esprit que pourraient d6tniire ces Etudes profondes qui absorbent, qui rendentinsupportable.'

The a.hb6 Blanchet who, like Chamfort, had a reputation for misanthropy and hadmost of his works published after his death, said that he would rather walk 'deuxlieues a pied que d'ecrire deux lignes'.^ It is a sentiment that Chamfort shared.'He too published less and less, since 'le public ne s'interesse qu'aux succes qu'iln'estime pas'.*

In an age with little time for anything except the essential ideas without acces-sories or link passages, the anecdote became almost a subject of veneration. Thesayings of Chamfort himself were faithfully recorded as were those of all men with areputation for wit.^ Like Louis XV intercepting the mail, people looked everywherefor snippets of gossip. At his death in 1762, Dr Camille Falconet ieft to La Curne deSainte-Palaye a collection of 150,000 anecdotes on cards.^ A large part of theManoires secrets de Bachaumont is based on entries made in registers by visitors to thesalon of Mme Doublet.' The editors of the Memoires secrets even claimed to save thereader time by sparing him from having to look for all he should know aboutcontemporary society 'dans une multitude fatigante et souvent ennuyeuse d'ouv-rages periodiques' (i, 5). In the same way, Metra's Correspondance litteraire secrete,with its host of anecdotes 'creees par les circonstances', was seen as presenting'une matiere inepuisable aux observations philosophiques' (i, iv). The author oftheChronique scandaleuse, G. Imbert, also insisted that it was only through anecdotesthat one could give a true picture ofthe period.*

^ a i n typical of an age that witnessed an important increase in popular journal-ism is a genre in which all problems tend to be over-simplified witbout furthercotnmentary, and in which one only sees what is immediately striking. Typical ofthe treatment handed out by the compilers of ana is that given to Mme de Sevignein the Sevigniana, whose editors were proud to have cut out of her letters 'tout cequi ne fait point anecdote, tout ce qui ne sert point a former I'esprit et le cceur'.'The danger was and is to believe that the sum of individual anecdotes can give thewhole picture of what is studied.'" Often, unfortunately, as Voltaire points out ,"history is also founded on what is not striking or memorable in itself. It is somethingChamfort himself admits.•'^

Nevertheless, feeling that any day in which one did not laugh was wasted (80),he also admitted to finding great pleasure and instruction in anecdotes: 'C'est envain que la philosophie semble dedaigner les details anecdotiques, ou du moins

' M&ra, 22 October 1783 (xv, 169-70).' Mfca, 12 January 1785 (xvn, 255).

(Etmes de Chamfort, 5 vols (Paris, 1825), v, 240.* One of the list of answers to the question 'Pourquoi ne donnez-vous pltis rien au public?',

printed at the beginning of the Prodmts de ta Civilisation perfeciionnee. See also maxim 436.'SeeMitra, 30 May 1778 (5 June 1779); 8 April 1781 (vi, 252); vm, 64-55x1, 191-92; La Harpe,

'^'•^^i; Correspondance littermre,philosophique et critique, 16 vols (Paris, 1877-82), xn, 24B; xv, 259, etc.'Memoires secrets, 9 February 176a (i, 39-40).

See R. S. Tate, 'Petit de Bachaumont: bis circle and the Memoires secrets'. Studies on Voltaire and\Eighteentk Century, 65 (1968), 135-49.

^ Quoted by Mitra, 23 June 1783 (xrv, 391).^^'^oted in itie Journal de Paris, ia July 1788 (pp. 845-46).

SeeMitra, 27 June 1781 (xi, 331).JJ Le Sikle de Lams XIV, chapter i.

Meratre de Frame, 9 April 1791, p. 78.

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302 Chamfort and the Anecdote

reclame contre le plaisir qu'elle trouve a s'y arreter. Un interet involontaire nousattache malgre nous a ces contrastes de la grandeur des choses et de la petitesse despersonnes, du bonheur apparent et du malheur reel.'' Because of doubts about thebasis of established morality, which he saw as linked to custom and the vagariesof public ophiion (3-5, 50, 53, 58, 75, 92, ioo, 130, 134, 145, 223, 280, a88, 290,471), he did not believe — any more than did Vauvenargues — that individualmaxims should be given too general an application (1-2, 17, 126, 150, S91, 293).The truth is to be arrived at through a cumulative host of observed details (177),At the same time, he felt that the history ofthose living under despotism could onlybe told in anecdotes, since the principles of despotism were not worth following(486) and, looking back at the anden regime, he saw that it presented 'sous centaspects differents le tableau de vices, d'absurdites, d'horreurs et de ridicules'.'So it is that this man, who published little, kept notes of his own observations andof anecdotes which were brought out after his death by his firiend, Ginguene, undera title he had left on a scrap of paper: Produits de la Civilisation perfectionnee.^

Inevitably, with a work left unfinished by its author, it is tempting to wonderwhat woiild have been its definitive state. As it is, there is a certain junount of over-lapping and repetition in both the Maximes et pensees and Caracteres et anecdotes.^At least three ofthe anecdotes are taken textualiy from the work of other writers.'The final anecdote (1340) is reprinted from Chamfort's own review* of Dudos'sVoyage en Italie.'' It is noticeable that a fair number of Chamfort's Maximes et penseesare direct echoes, not of his own observation, but of his reading, with references tothe Bible, to niythology, to Greek and Roman history', and to literature in generalThus it is that in the Caracteres et anecdotes one frequently finds direct and indirectallusions to the works of others, as in the case of Duclos's comments on the Italiansin Rome (956)* or the ill-remembered lines by Diderot on kings and priests {899).'Frequently, Chamfort calls on the common fund of anecdotes, only adaptingthem slightly to his own needs, though often making them more succinct. A greatnumber of his anecdotes must date from before his birth or from before he made hkentrance to the literary scene. Apart from one reference to Caesar (1276), we havenamed events fi-om the fifteenth century (1284), the sixteenth century {674, 104.3-1147), and the early seventeenth century (720). Quite a number of anecdotes datfopenly from the reign of Louis XIV (643, 658, 665, 732, 741, 777, 780, 822, 825,838, 859, 888, 907, 915, 917, 926, 930, iioi, 1121, 1122, J125, 1165, 1211, 1216,1226, 1228, 1244, 1275, 1277, 1323), and a few from the Regency (677, 724., 728.

' Mercttre de France, 17 April 1790, pp. 122-23.• Mercure de Frarux, 16 April 1791, p. 120.° Other anecdotes and maxims have been added since the first edition. I would only argue h e

witlitheplacii^ofthelatera/i/wrafi«jat the end ofthe Maxinwj el Pettjm (maxims 534-607). Mostofthese additions surely belong more with the Caracthes et Anecdotes? See conunents by Pierre Grw-claude in his edition ofthe Maximes et Pensees, Caractires et Anecdotes (Paris, 1953), n, 288-91.

• Compare 93 and 1190, 499 and 961, 587 and 1043, 778 and 1189.' 915 is taken from La Place's PUces interessaxtes eipeu commes, 2 vols (Bruxelles, 1785), n, 4^49

and I27|i and 132a from Lacombe's Eruyclopedicma (Paris, r79i), pp. 797, 814. See the notes b>'.Iea"Mistier in his edition ofthe Maximes et Arucdotes (Monaco, 1944), pp. 216-17.

• Mercure de France, 3 September 1791, pp. 43-44.' See CEumes de Ducks, 10 vols (Paris, 1806), x, 74-77." Although Duclos actually wrote 'ies habitants de Rome (car je ne puis les appeler

( )»'Les Eleutheromanes', (Eiaires computes de Diderot, edited by Assfaat and Toumeux, 20 1*

(Paris, 1875-77), K. 16.

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CHRISTOPHER TODD 3O3

735' 77^' ^7°' ' "49' ^^99' I3°^)- Nearly fifty anecdotes — too many to list here —seem to date fr-om between 1723 and 1760 and do not appear at first sight to havebeen told to Chamfort by either the protagonists or witnesses. Refiecting generalcontinuing interest in England, there are a fair number of English anecdotes (643,658, 719, 720, 856, 890, 914, 1043, 1107, I IBJ , 1217, 1220, 1232, 1265, 1266, 1275,

igoi), and there are even two from the Iberian peninsula (772, 850).One or two of Chamfbrt's stories are already found in the Menagiana, such as

that ofthe man falling on his back and breaking his nose (1235); that ofthe manwho would be a priest, should he be damned (630),- that of the gambler who isnever at home in daylight to see whether his lodgings are well-lit or not (1302), andthat of the priest who would have his congregation pray for the lord of the manorwho had been mortally wounded, or rather broken on the wheel (541).^ Chamfortis said to have been responsible for the 'Elite de bons mots, d'anecdotes, de traitsd'humanite' in the first two volumes ofthe Bibliothique de Sodite (1771), a compila-tion that was later completed by L. T. Herissant. In this work, one finds at least sixofthe stories later incorporated in revised form into the Caracteres et anecdotes: thaton the 'revolutions' of the abbe de Vertot (1212); that on the minister — named asColbert rather than d'Ormesson — who wished to remain undisturbed in thecompany of Boileau and Racine (905); that on Fontenelle's disbelief at seeing amiserly academician contribute to a collection (639); that ofa lady — not namedin the original — who inadvertently identifies herself as the heroine of a story byusing the firet person (1171); that of the visitor to Rome who tells the Pope hewould love to see a conclave (1145); and the exchange of niceties between themarechal de Bassompierre and his ex-mistress. Mademoiselle d'Entragues (i 138).*The story of Fontenelle's disbelief (639) also figures in H. Lacombe de Prezel'sDictiormaire d'anecdotes — where the miser is named as the president Rose — as doesthe story of the confessor asking a young girl how many times she has 'estime' avoung man (1132).* The anecdote on the marquis de Villequier's reaction to thearrest of Conde in 1650 (822) is also given by Mme de Genlis in her Armales de laxrtti (1781).'

. s we have seen, a noteworthy source for Chamfort's anecdotes were the writingsof Duclos. The anecdote on Rochester's cowardice (914) comes from La Place'sPieces interessantes et peu connues — based on Duclos's manuscripts — as does that ofGranunont selling the manuscripts of the memoirs of which he is the doubtful hero(917).* Aiso taken from the manuscripts of Duclos is the anecdote on FatherKeuville and the due de Choiseul (919).' The joke on Voltaire's lack of true

' Menagiana. Troisieme edition, plus ample de rnoitH et plus corrects que les precedentes, edited by Bernard,p '". Monnoye (1715), reprciduced by C. G. T. Garnier in his Ana ou collection de Sons mots, 10 vok•Paris, 1789-an vn), 11, 136; n, 170; iv, 107.

^ A. A. Barbier, iv, coL 413.BibiiolMque de Sodite, 4 vols (Paris, 1771), i(ii), 237, 203, 83, 168; n, 84, 233. This last is repro-

duced textualiy in the Mercure de France, 28 February 1784, pp. 184-85. Another version ofthe same'lory appears in the same paper, July 1772,11, 196-97.

Jfoimlle edition, 2 vols (Paris, 1767), i, 86-88; n, 185.•Quoted by Metra, 7 March 1781 (xi, 130-31).

J J- ''"''dies, 1785), n, 351-52; n, 95. A sUghdy different version of the latter comes in the (Etivres* Dmhs, X, 234.

' Gaierie de I'Anderme com. Seconde edition, augmeniee i vols (Paris, 1789), IV, 369, and (Euvres df"<«hs, X, 263-64.

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universality (749) is also attributed to Duclos in a letter from Sabathier de Castresin the Affiches de province.^

Some of the anecdotes given here seem to have circulated widely in the societyof the day, for instance, that of the comte de Tressan's being admonished by thedue de Nivernois in 1780 (614), that of the visitor to Versailles being told that it isthe late queen he sees at Mass {569), and that of the woman who feels alone andthus bored when with her husband (i 136). The same is true of Louis XV's remarkon Joseph Vernet (874).* Chamfort possibly read in the newspapers anecdotes suchas that of the Irish American who took a whole company of Englishmen prisonerduring the War of Independence (1245).* One also finds in the newspapers ofthetime variants of other anecdotes such as that of the man hoping God will give himtime enough to be buried in his chapel (1255), and that of Charles le Temeraire'sbeing 'hannibalized' (1284).^

Inevitably, as stories get repeated details change. Chamfort, for instance — as ifimitating Elizabeth 1 of England* — has Louis XV shocked at being ordered aboutby his doctor while on his deathbed in 1774 (704), while Mme Dufrenoy inthe Courrier lyrique'' places the event during the king's illness at Metz in 1743.Voltaire's remark on the Academie de Soissons (1242) should, according to themarquis de Villette in his £trennes chronologigues et historiques (1785),* be directedat the Academie de Chalons. In another version ofthe story of Hamilton wanting toput the servant he has killed on the bill (1232), the hero becomes a German.'According to Meister, the witticism that Chamfort attributes to the abbe Trublet(567) was in fact spoken to the latter by the abbe de Canaye.^" In t\ie. Souvenirs ieMme de Caylus,^^ the victim of the due de Vendome's remark on a woman lookinglike a parrot eating a cherry is not as in Chamfort (926) Mme de Nemours, but theduchesse de Sforce. Colle names ^ as the object of Stanislas's gallantry (632) Mmede Boufflers and not Mme de Bassompierre.

It is possible to date some anecdotes either by reference to a definite event — asba the case ofthe comte d'Artois's duel (645) on 16 March 1778 ^ — or to Cham-fort's biography. For instance, in one anecdote there is a reference to Plombieres(776), meaning perhaps that Chamfort heard it while in the Vosges in 1771. Oneor two anecdotes refer to events leading up to the Revolution and thus date fromafter 1787 (611, 753, 754, 855, 886, 961, 980, 1051, 1124, 1270). A few mention theRevolution as having already begun (706, 996, 1044). It is interesting to note that,quite apart from naming the author of a quip he quotes, he frequently names ausually oral source for many an anecdote in its entirety (619, 634, 657, 879, 904.

^ Quoted in Metra, 20 April 1779 (vii, 391).* M^tra, la January 1781 (xi, 23); 8July 1780 (x, 58); 16 August 1777 (v, iai-22)." La Harpe, n, 267; v, 126.* Esprit des Joamaux, November 1788, pp. 394-95.^ Mercure de France, August 1772, p. 176; January 1774, H, 197.* 'Is must a word to be addressed to princes ?' (J. R. Green, A Short History of the English Pespii-

4 vols (London, 1893), n, 931).' Qaot&l in Hie Journal de Paris, 17 December 1785 (p. 145a), and the £ifri(ifej Joareawf, Februa"

1786, p. 402.' Quoted in Metra, 25 April 1785 (xvin, 338).' Esprit des Journaux, October 1786, p. 377.

" Correspondance litteraire, philosophigue et critique, v in , 497.* (Amsterdamj 1770), p. 88." Journal et mmoires, 3 vok (Pads, 1868), i, 38." Correspondance litteraire, j ", p/aiosophique et critique, xn , 66-67.

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CHRISTOPHER TODD 305

906, 940. 94i> 949. 953. 1076, 1104, 1125, 1155, 1156, 1159, 1198, 1216, 1274).Sometimes he cannot remember all the details of an anecdote and says so (613,735) ^99' ^2^3)- Some anecdotes seem bom directly of society's love of discussingabstract ideas (1066, 1071). A considerable number purport to be records ofwitticisms addressed to Chamfort himself and often form a reply to a remark fromkim ('M . . . me disait / me racontait / m'ecrivait / me peignait / J'ai ou! direque', etc.). A fair number would also appear to record what he himself said toothers — tising the first person singular — or at least refer to an event in which hewas involved (626, 648, 663, 669, 729, 738, 773, 821, 845, 876, 885, 951, 984, 1019,1020, 1029, 1174, S236). In many anecdotes there appears a mysteriotis M. . . . ,who couldjust be a cover-up for someone Chamfort does not want to name, but whooften appears to be Chamfort himself— as can be sensed from what is said.

When he put Chamfort's notes in order and arranged the Maximes et pensees inchapters, Ginguene made no attempt to separate the caractires from the anecdotes. Thetask is, admittedly, well-nigh impossible. There are straightforward portraits (652,738,817,830,845,993,999, 1000, loio, 1022, 1054, 1056, 1057, 1061, 1079) andgeneral self-explanatory examples of social types (654,1118) or of types of behaviour(675, B29), just as there are general observations on people doing something thatreflects society (608, 790, 1008, 1279). There are also incisive witty remarks thatsummarize an individual rather rudely (657, 860, 926, 975, 990, 1004, 1005, 1063,1078, 1103, 1161, 1175, 1209, 1219, 1224, 1252). A number of remarks give rise tospeculation by Chamfort himself {745, 805), and many anecdotes have interneilcommentary that appears to be his (770, 803, 873, 877, 954, iooi, 1012, 1026,1043, 1045, 1052, 1104, ti42, 1173, 1205, 1226, 1340). Sometimes anecdotes makehim think of others (922, 1043, 1189) and sometimes one anecdote is made tocomment on another (1335)- Chamfort is also partictilarly fond of descriptiveanecdotes or miniature stories that reveal an aspect of human behaviour. He likesto quote examples of fatuousness {655, 693, 707, 726, 750, 787), and one can oftensee how he thinks of anecdotes as showing character with remarks such as 'J'ai vuplusieurs de ces scfcnes dignes du pinceau de La Bruyfere' (829), 'Ce mot peint toutun caractire' (839), 'Ce mot le peint tout entier' (1137). At the other end of thescale there are one or two stark general aphorisms (i 185, it95), so stark, indeed,tkat one wonders whether they are not misplaced.

Cbamfort learned to despise the polite society of his day, but always appreciatedits use of language. He shared its fear of pedantry {20, 238). He too felt that glitter— even if only empty glitter — was everything (309). He stressed how importantit was to know how to shock (89) and annoy while not losing one's own temper(196). He valued subtlety (243) and the joy of conversation (265), the art of what isimplied rather than said (382) and of making words mean what you want them tomean (258). So in both his maxims and anecdotes one finds puns, cruel andcynical ones (690, 1103) as well as facUe ones (1139, 1273). He too plays withsynonyms. The shaUowness of society is reflected in the stress given to the dif-ference between aimable and plaire (968), aimer and aimabie (1109, ti88), aimerMid estimer (1110), and, notably,/o/w and sottise, etc. (6t8, 755, 852,902). There is a'^Kk aside to the reader when what is described comes too near to vulgarity {725)sad there are examples of double-edged gallantry in the best eighteenth-centuryiBanner (632, 791). Chamfort shows his interest in language by reproducingiiiscussion of the origin of a word (1274) and commenting on the use of familiar

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3o6 Chamfort and the Anecdote

expressions (ra63). As in his maxims, Chamfort likes to give modified proverbs(775) 936' 1120), and once more many anecdotes amplify or make use of a quotationor saying (674, 737, 841, 980, 1086, 1089, 1130, 1190, 1203, 1254, 1257). Reflect-ing society's love of charades there are riddles (703, 1146, 1262). There is alsorepetition, especially in repartee, where the word is thrown back slightly altered(1133, 1256).

In fact, this use of repartee reflects particularly clearly the kind of wit Chamfortwas looking for in anecdotes. It was not so much a clever use of language for itsown sake, with brilliant conceits, btit the art of knowing how to use language to suitthe circumstances and with the grace of high society {1205). He likes to quote adiplomatic use of language (642) or, even more, show examples of one-upmanship(812). In a century where duelling was no longer fashionable, where one said'sortez' instead of'sortons' {927), it is as if words, as in Laclos, had taken on therole of the sword. In the jungle of society, instead of looking for blood, one wantsa moral victory, confounding one's enemy with a verbal 'mise en boite'. So, manyanecdotes in Chamfort are centred around the art of knowing what to say whenneeded. There are meditated witty admonitions (614, 616, 646, 736, 740, 766, 767,784, 795,832, 840,848,857, 862,865,889, 920,924,939,976, 1042, 1050,1060,1 i4g,1164, 1201, 1215, 1334), and even more sharp, adroit replies ofthe type that aresupposed to leave the interlocutor dumbfounded, and which are often associatedwith the names of Fontenelle and Voltaire (611, 633, 639, 643, 649, 659, 686, 698,71 IJ 749> 759> 785> 799> 801, 825, 826, 854, 868, 870, 874, 882, 908, 921, 925, 927,929. 937. 955> 9% 1036, !o62, 1072, 1080, 1135, 1136, 1143, 1157, 1160, ti791183, 1193, 1206, 1222, 1244, 1267, 1292). Some of these — in the Figaro tradi-tion— are insolent, almost to the point of rudeness (658, 824, 880, 900, 910, 1231,1233). There are also examples of intended rudeness (708) and ofthe desire to letthe interlocutor know exactly where he stands (625, 725). There are also cases ofironic interruptions {615), or even of straight mockery (685, 784, 78B), indicativeof a society that admired pure cheek (819, 1127, 1328). Indicative of this spirit isthe practical joke hiding the death of a young man (1297) which many wouldprobably not find funny at all. There are, luckily, also cases ofthe catcher caught(1265, 1288). In the same line of knowing what to do and say, we have examples ofthe comment that completely upsets what everybody else has previously said (622)and a use of bathos to show how everyone, including the reader, has been fooled(1314). There is even some joking Uterary criticism (712, 861, 1196, 1214, 1218).

Half the humour comes from the topsy-turvy morality ofthe day, like the pictureofthe priest ashamed to be found saying Mass (1319), or the courtier's lack ofrespect, even for his king (702). Another source of humour that Chamfort parti-cularly admired was that which came tmwittingly and which revealed characteragain, when people failed to appreciate the full value of what they were saying(1296). The naivety of this kind that he likes to show above all is that due to asometimes dangerous pretentiousness (612, 623, 631, 644, 645, 665, 666, 668, 684,696, 724, 743, 796, 809,833,84a, 850,871,875, 887, 928,943, 954, 983, 1026, I 111:1147, 1148, 1150, 1153, 1216, 1241, 1243, 1269, 5312, 1327, 1330), or, as a corollaryto this, that in which a speaker uses an unsuitable expression (630, 1210, 1255-1260, 1278, 1303), or gives an unintended pun (1158). There are some merrygaffes (713, 730, 804, 823, 1145, 1171, 1236). Alongside these anecdotes, there arealso those that show mock naivety {621, 683, 798, 806, 915, 1081, 1131, ti34.1^59:

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1271, 1283, 1304). Sometimes naivety shows purity (638, 765, 803, 1187, 1199,1282, 1316, 1324, 1325, 1331) or at least a hint of it (982}. Chamfort liked littlestories with common sense comments by the proletariat (629, 635).

Sometimes also, remarks reveal consummate egoism (822, 838), and veryfrequently they reveal the opposite of naivety, the thorough cynicism of thespeaker (636, 664, 673, 769,680, 681,687,695,697,699, 700, 721, 744, 760, 774, 793,800, 802, 813, 815, 834,846, 893,896, 897,904,909, 914, 933,938,947,948,950, 955,963, 973. 978, 991. 994. 995= 1009, l o i i . 1023. 1030, 1066, 1069, 1071, 1084, 1087,1088, 1092, 1105, 1123, 1144, II52, I163, II70, 1178, 1180, t2OO, 1204, 1223,1240, 1268, 1272, 1280, 1326), or — echoing Chamfort's own feelings — a sense ofconaplete world-weariness (669, 672, 678, 691, 715, 718, 761, 769, 771, 789, 811,843, 847, 863, 878, 879, 888, 891, 918, 962, 971 — even in a child, 974, 981, 986,988, 1024, 104T, 1049, 1059, 1166, 1191)- Many anecdotes derive their force fromthe very strength of irony directly stated {624, 861, 864, 867, 872, 960), or suggestthe idea of an endless mad round, by being open-ended (739). Others have a quietsureness of simple affirmation, reflecting the views of the honnete homme (957, 966,1034, t037, 1067, 1077).

The all-pervading tone of Chamfort is one of disabused weariness. Life and deathare mere facets of a comedy (18, 79, 113, 315). He feels like Cassandra— unlistenedto (169). He stresses the anguish of living {338) and believes that a form of melan-choly is a sign of greatness (556). In other words, he often sounds as though he werethoroughly disillusioned and sick of mankind (597-600). Yet, in a much quotedpassage, Roederer was to say that he had often heard Chamfort claim that 'Touthomme qui a quarante ans n'est pas misanthrope, n'a jamais aime les hommes'..\gain and again in his maxims, in true Rousseauesque vein, Chamfort gives thepieture of society corrupting all that is noble and good in the individual, andstanding in opposition to lost purity and innocence. The choice of anecdotes againindicates those faults in society that Chamfort wanted to stress. Again there is akind of affected misanthropic attitude to life and death (669, 745, 769, 925, 937,95'' 974 986, 996, 1013, 1047, to88, 1186, 1326), a kind of grin and bear itattitude (988). Once more we find the views of the sensitive man cut off fromnature and hardened to society (637, 657, 738, l o i i , 1022, 1056, 1117, 1185), theidea that society debauches purity and innocence (653, 700, 770, 1003). Againthere are echoes of a philosophy ofthe heart (627, 652, 1005), but again there ismistrust of showing too much sentiment (945). As in his maxims, Chamfort stilldefends the usefulness of withdrawing from society (723, 822, 828, 888, 992,•012, 1017, tO24, 1041, 1049, 1097, 1098, t i79, 1194, 1279), of practising self-sufficiency (609, 671, 688, 701, 878, 963, 966, 979, 999, 1002, 1006, 1007, ioio,1034,1037, 1045, 1046, 1067, 1072, 1073, 1077, 1095, 1115, 1167), of developing aprotective shell (77t, 830, 902, 923, 1085), and of becoming indifferent to publicopinion (617, 624), which is, as we have seen, easily manipulated (973). Moralconduct is again dictated by the desire not to hurt yourself or others (957) and notby public custom, which is often laughable {740). Once more there is nostalgia fortrue love (638, 648, 651, 692, 709, 774, 776, 950).

The feelings wanted are, as shown, roughly those one associates with the tradi-tional concept ofthe honnete homme (1052, 1159). As in the maxims, there is more

Journal de Paris, 28 ventose an in/i8 March 1795 (pp. 716-18).

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3o8 Chamfort and the Anecdote

dfacussion of ingratitude (6io, 1038, 1071). There are also many examples here ofthe mechanical etiquette of a society that destroys or replaces real feelings (616,631, 645, 693, 721, 722, 747, 764, 765, 846, 970, 972, 1199) and is even afi-aid of-noble motives (847). Chamfort still concentrates on the shallowness of society{667, 715, 757, 1000), its plastering over of horrors (1056), its hypocrisy (614,H05), the loss of traditional values shown in gambling, lack of patriotism, etc.(650, 783, 1300-02), the picture of men playing at being btisy (675) or debasingthemselves (619, 694), a society where, like Tartuffe, the only thing one fears isridicule (636, 783, 1338). It is a society governed in the Beaumarchais tradition bysongs (853).

The rulers of this society are women (691) and so, following through from themaxims, even more attacks on them abound {628, 629, 744, 929, 1002, t027, '043.1050, 1061, 1064, 1082, m o , 1128, 1178, 1254). They are seen as unscrupulous(622) and insensitive (817, 818, 962, 971), again living for etiquette (1123, J'sg,1144, 1170, 1193, 1223). The power of their intrigue at court or elsewhere is shownin detail (660, 66t, 717, 746, 781, 810, 827, 1268), as is their power to debase andcorrupt (618, 696, 729, 732, 1186). As before, Chamfort mentions the battle ofthesexes (901) and attacks tnarriage (621, 845, 984, 994, 1018, 1065, 1069, 1084, 1136.1182), especially as seen in the arrai^ed marriages between partners of vastlydifferent ages (1063, 1230). Chamfort concentrates on the topsy-turvy world ofhusbands and lovers (654, 690, 699, 708, 781, 81.5, 832, 851, 895, 933, 982, 983,991), on a world where women were proud to be unfaithftJ (775, 842, 869) andwhich was ruled over by courtesans (790). With examples, Chamfort shows tis asociety which does not give proper recognition to writers or to those who reallyhelp progress and benefit mankind {623, 659, 703, 759, 773, 808, 905, 928, 1060,1107, 1159). He brings home the cut-throat, corrupt nature of society in general(687, 705, 748, 786, 820, 863,979, 1030, 1066, 1125, 1127), with pictures of corruptmen (1057, 1078, 1099), ^^^ ofthe court in particular, where a sense of insecurityprevails (660, 695, 761, 822, 873, 886, 919, 920, 936, 1019, n i 8 , 1318). Thedegrading nature of the court is also shown (805, tool, 1079, 1195), along with theterrifyit^ power of minor personages (716, 727).

Although Chamfort says that it is not his job to attack individuals (328), hecertaitily uses the examples of individuals to illustrate points and sometimes merelyto show behaviour unworthy of rank (772, 895, 912). He attacks all kings (702, 719,8] I, 850), especially war-lord kings (642, 766), but he also likes quoting particularlyharsh attacks both on Louis XIV, who is seen as being full of empty glory (iioi.1104, it43, I2!6), and on Louis XV (1146, 1300), who is seen as childish (784),as a man cut off from the interests of France (871, 954), and the contrary oftheserious-minded Louis XVI (916). Louis XV is accused of robbing France (940,942, 980), and there is a general line of attack on the nobility and court seen asrobbing the state (615, 673, 683, 735, 752, 753, 754, 961). This again ties up withthe attacks on women, because of the question of the expense of royal mistresses(613). There are also references to the crippling, unfair taxation of lihc Ancienrigm(904, 911, 1035, 1039, 1076, H92, 1346) and to the sinecures given as favours {73i)-Other anecdotes advocate defence of commoners (930, 995), the setting up of asocial contract (1270), with attacks on the rich {890) and oa a system of law whichserved only the interests ofthe rich (1295). As in the Maximes et pensees, Chamfortstill dwells on the presumption of the members of the aristocracy as prisoners oi

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CHRISTOPHER TODD 3O9

caste-prejudice and snobbery, who have lost the grandeur of the past (644, 649,655, 676, 684, 698, 796, 829, 862, 924, 927, 941, 1062, 1081, iioo). He shows theirstupidity (1051, 1058, 1102, 1334), their dishonesty {1042), and their need to marrythe daughters of the bourgeoisie (840). Stress is put on the mediocrity of men inpositions of power (680, 1202). Rather terrifying examples are given to show howcut off king and court are from other mortals (612, 664, 665, 704, 724, 855, 908,910, 1232, 1280). They are in a general way cut off from the needs ofthe nation(787, 949, 1147, 1198).

If kings are revealed in a harsh light, and again shown not to be above the law{1266), so again backing up the ideas ofthe maxims, there are attacks too on thepoiaoirs intermediaires (626, 633, 736, 839), on the excessive power of ministers (734,752), with examples of ministerial stupidity (809), abuse, and iniquity (634, 756,858, 906, 932, 1208, 1298), and further references to tyrants who go beyond the law(658, 677). There are more examples of legal abuse (686, 1303, 1304), suggestingthat there is one law for the rich and one for the poor (635). Chamfort talks of acorrupt police (733) and shows an obsession over police spies (824, 876, 997).There are attacks on the power of a corrupt, worldly-wise Church and its followers(611, 630, 640, 641, 668, 68t, 726, 807, 849, 880, 899, 915, 934, 938, 948, 1204,1241, 1319, 1340), and in many anecdotes we can see the generally rather cynicalattitude to religion that marked the age (857, 868, 1036, 1044, i t 12, S133, 1134,1148, 1149, 1152, 1153, 1162, t2oo, I2to, 1213, t227, 1240, 1259, 1261, 1278,5313: 1329)-

The sum total of these anecdotes — although some are very old — is to give avery intimate if fragmentary picture of a society in need of change. Whatevertidying up Chamfort did to these anecdotes, the collection remains under hisguidance a kind of public diary of widely-held opinions, compressed into memorablewitticisms and thus forming a kind of mnemotechnic guide to what were thepreoccupations of many educated tnen at the time. They also show a fair number ofeternal fiaws in human behaviour and illustrate eloquently the genera! points thatChamfort stresses in his Maximes et pensees. „ ^

CHRISTOPHER TODDUKIVERSITY OF LEEDS

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