[424] Brunot, p. 149. [425] _Oeuvres_, Lalanne's edition, iv. 91. [426] _Caracteres_, "Des Ouvrages de l'Esprit." [427] _Lettres_, i. 413. The references are to the edition by Tamizey de Larroque, Paris, 1880-1883. [428] _Ibid._ i. 156. [429] _Ibid._ i. 631 _sq._ [430] These epics have been treated at length by Duchesne, _Histoire des Poemes Epiques francais du XVII Siecle_, Paris, 1870. [431] _Lettres_, i. 269, 424. On the theories of Heinsius, see Zerbst, _Ein Vorlaeufer Lessings in der Aristotelesinterpretation_, Jena, 1887. [432] _Discoveries_, p. 80. [433] _Art Poet._ i. 37. [434] _Cf._ Brunetiere, _Etudes Critiques_, iv. 136; and Krantz, p. 93 _sq._ [435] _Art Poet._ i. 48. [436] Reported by J. B. Rousseau, in a letter to Brossette, July 21, 1715. PART THIRD _LITERARY CRITICISM IN ENGLAND_ LITERARY CRITICISM IN ENGLAND CHAPTER I THE EVOLUTION OF ENGLISH CRITICISM FROM ASCHAM TO MILTON LITERARY criticism in England during the Elizabethan age was neither so influential nor so rich and varied as the contemporary criticism of Italy and France. This fact might perhaps be thought insufficient to affect the interest or patriotism of English-speaking people, yet the most charming critical monument of this period, Sidney's _Defence of Poesy_, has been slightingly referred to by the latest historian of English poetry. Such interest and importance as Elizabethan criticism possesses must therefore be of an historical nature, and lies in two distinct directions. In the first place, the study of the literature of this period will show, not only that there was a more or less complete body of critical doctrine during the Renaissance, but also that Englishmen shared in this creation, or inheritance, of the Renaissance as truly as did their continental neighbors; and on the other hand this study may be said to possess an interest in itself, in so far as it will make the growth of classicism in England intelligible, and will indicate that the formation of the classic ideal had begun before the introduction of the French influence. In neither case, however, can early English criticism be considered wholly apart from the general body of Renaissance doctrine; and its study loses in importance and perspicuity according as it is kept distinct from the consideration of the critical literature of France, and especially of Italy.