the idea, that his reputation was entirely exempt from criticism, immediately changed from the excess of confidence to the excess of discouragement, and now renounced all hopes from the theatre. In consequence of this resolution, he devoted more of his time to general literature, which seemed to be, at this period, his favourite element.

The academic institutions, so common at this period in most of the cities of France, presented an opportunity for young men to distinguish themselves, and also procured for them, if they were so fortunate as to obtain a prize, considerable pecuniary resources. The French Academy had introduced the custom of proposing either the eulogies of great men, or the solution of some great question, either moral or philosophical. M. de la Harpe entered into this career, in which Thomas had already distinguished himself; and it is allowed by all, that his academic discourses possessed a certain degree of dignity, which is rarely to be found in those of his rivals.

Being now resolved to marry, he se lected a young woman for his wife, whose parents had been very poor, but who, notwithstanding this, had received an excellent education. He was at pains to inspire her with a taste for literature, and appeared, above all, solicitous that she should be able to converse with him, relative to those objects which occupied his attention. This lady, who had frequent ed the Theatre Français, was soon capable of declaiming; and by repeating the speeches composed by her husband, was thus enabled to afford him an idea, as it were, by anticipation, in what manner they would be received on the stage. But after the misadventure that occurred to "Gustave," this proved of but little service, and the young couple were soon reduced to great distress.

On this, Voltaire, with his accustomed generosity, interposed, and expressed a wish that they should remain with him at Ferney, until the complete re-establishment of their affairs. The residence of this kind patron was, at this period, the centre of the correspondence of all the philosophers of Europe, while he himself was looked up to as their patriarch. Men of rank, courtiers, magistrates, and even trades-people, imposed on themselves the obligation of performing a pilgrimage to the Pay de Gex, in which his little domain was situate, Accustomed to correspond and converse familiarly with princes and even kings, he himself seemed to resemMONTHLY MAG., No. 159.

ble a sovereign, and enjoyed almost similar honours; for his anti-chamber was crowded every morning with strangers, who repaired thither merely to see him, and were enraptured if he but deigned to open his mouth.

It was at this court, the first which any poet had ever formed around him, that M. and Madame de la Harpe now arrived. Voltaire had erected a theatre, on which his earlier tragedies were acted, and by its means he also formed a notion of such as he had recently composed. His new guests immediately formed part of the dramatis persona; and as they possessed good figures, and were accustomed to declaim, they soon united all the suffrages in their favour.

It was precisely at this period that the subject of the present memoir began to conceive hopes of being admitted into the French Academy. His claims consisted of a tragedy, which had become a stockpiece at the theatre, together with two discourses which had been crowned. D'Alembert, and even Marmontel, considered his pretensions to be well founded, and did every thing in their power to pave the way for his reception; but Dorat, then in great vogue at Paris, had been offended by some of his criticisms, and having become his enemy, prevented his success.

His distress at this period was so great, that he had at one time nearly consented to repair to the Court of St. Petersburgh; but he was prevented by the remonstrances of Voltaire, with whom he had now resided for the space of thirteen months. During this visit, he had written some scenes of his tragedy of " Baremecides," and also, "La Reponse à l'Epître de l'Abbé de Rancé."

A new epoch in his life now occurred. On his return to the capital, he betook himself, as before, to criticism, and had the good fortune, as he then deemed it, to be associated with Lacombe, at that period the proprietor and the editor of the "Mercure." On this, that journal assumed a new appearance; for, by means of his pen and his talents, it soon acquired an uncommon degree of circulation and celebrity.

M. Dupati having, nearly at the same time, proposed the Elogy of Henry IV. on the part of the Academy of Rochelle, La Harpe became a candidate for the prize; but he only obtained the accessit. He was also introduced, by means of Voltaire, to the Duc de Choiseul, and soon acquired the friendship of that mi

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nister, who entertained a high respect for his merit. When the French Premier was weary of public affairs, he conversed with him on the subject of literature; and, on all occasions, he expressed his opinions with a degree of frankness which the other had hitherto been but little accustomed to. It was to please him that he translated Suetonius into French, which was begun and completed in the space of two months. We lament to add, that it was immediately published, while still in an imperfect state; and as he had, by this time, increased the number of his enemies, in consequence of the boldness and severity of his criticisms, they took care to point out all its faults, and that too with an unexampled degree of bitterness. La Harpe, on the other hand, admitted all the errors attributed to him, with a degree of frankness which was but little expected, and this contributed not a little to obtain his pardon with the public.

In addition to this, he now added greatly to his former reputation by means of a drama, entitled" Melanie," respecting which Voltaire, D'Alembert, and most of the celebrated men of that age, had already raised the curiosity of the public. The moral of it was wholly directed against monastic institutions, and vows made at a period when the contracting party was incapable of judging as to the solemnity and extent of the engagement. The poet of Ferney wrote to him as follows on this subject: "You have all the philosophers and the ladies on your side, and, with such a recommendation, it is impossible to fail."

This prophecy was fully confirmed by the event; but, in the very zenith of his reputation, he was in danger of being sent to the Bastile, in consequence of some satirical verses against the Duke de Richelieu, a nobleman celebrated for his gallantries and debaucheries of all kinds, but whose influence at the court of Louis XV. a prince of a similar temperament, was such, as to have shut up one half of the men of letters in Paris, on bare suspicion, had he been so inclined! Voltaire on this, as on every other occasion, interposed his ægis, and preserved his friend.

Meanwhile the Elogy of Fenelon, which obtained the prize at the French Academy, conferied new reputation on the labours of La Harpe, and he pleased the philosophical party, by whom he had been constantly protected, in con-equence of some sly attacks on the cha

Pacter of Bossuet. As D'Alembert was now in high credit with this body, he was at length certain that he would be admitted a member, and this consideration supported and enabled him to continue his labours.

On the accession of Louis XVI. M. Turgot, become one of the new ministers, took every opportunity of exhibiting a high degree of regard for the subject of this meinoir, who was now busily occu pied about three different dramatic works, which were to point at three different objects. In the "Baremecides," he endeavoured to describe heroism and generosity; in "Jeanne de Naples," the fa tal effects of the passions; and in “Menzikoff," the disgrace of a powerful minister, a disgrace the better calculated to obtain interest and attention, by being accompanied with a degree of resignation almost without a parallel in history. The last of these attracted such applause, that the young Queen became desirous to be present at the representation; and such was the effect of this trifling circumstance in a despotic country, that it put the adversaries of the author to silence!

Nearly at the same time, he obtained the long-expected chair of the French Academy, having succeeded Colardeau. From this moment his enemies became more reserved in their attacks, and be in his censures. M. Necker also, on his advancement to a high situation in the management of the finances, evinced the greatest respect for La Harpe: but it was to Calonne, with whom he had no manner of connexion, that he was indebted, about this period, for a pension.

After having distinguished himself by his criticisms in three different literary journals, all of which he rendered cele brated, M. de la Harpe at length determined to commence a "Cours de Litté rature" at the Lyceum. In the capacity of a Professor, he accordingly read a course of lectures to the Parisians, both male and female, who were so captivated with his taste and talents, that this amusement not only became fashionable, but he himself obtained the appellation of "The French Quintilian."

When the Revolution occurred, not witheranding the loss of his pension, dur author for some time adopted the pruciples of the reformers. During too whole years, he remamed ära to the party that then triumphed; at be to sooner imagined that they had overstepped the bound es at which they mat to have stopped, thau he wrote against

them in the "Mercure." On this he was denounced, and obliged in some degree to retract, and that circumstance afterwards furnished a pretext for the most odious calumnies on the part of his enemies. In 1793, he was at length arrested, and imprisoned in the Luxembourg, By this time, a large proportion of those with whom he had been intimately connected had lost their lives on the scaffold, and the same fate appeared to be reserved for himself. La Harpe now be came melancholy, and was ready to fall into despair: on this he, who had hither to distinguished himself as a man of letters, and an academician, without paying any attention to the prevailing opinions relative to religion, determued to taste of the consolations of Christianity,

A pious female, with whom he had got acquainted during his confinement, is said to have first inspired him with this idea; and having advised him to seek for consolation in the Psalms of David, he was so charmed with them, that he immediately commenced a literary commentary, in which he pointed out their beauties. This was afterwards converted to a Preliminary Discourse to the Translation of the Psalms, the first work in which he announced his conversion.

That event occasioned some noise; more especially as he informs his readers in one of the notes, that he was accustomed to obtain comfort in his affliction, by opening the Psalms, as if by accident, and looking at the first passage which occurred. In this, he at one particular penod, not only found great consolation, but he says that he received from it a solution of all his difficulties.

On being released from confinement, De la Harpe entered the world quite a different man from what he was before, being now determined to support that cause with intrepidity, which he had embraced with so much ardour. He accordingly resolved thenceforward to dedicate his literary harangues, which were originally intended to form the taste of his auditors, to the defence of religion. Great labour and much attention were required, to give this direction to his "cours de littérature:" but notwithstanding the multitude of obstacles that interposed, he in the space of a very few years completed that vast Circle of Literature, in which both ancients and moderns are judged and appreciated.

On his reassuming the chair at the Lyceum, he made a full, public, and

ample recantation, of his former opinions; but he was twice proscribed, and obliged to fly. During the latter of those persecutions, he obtained an asylum at a house but a few leagues distant from Paris, by the interposition of the pious female who had been the means of producing the alteration in his religious opinions, while imprisoned at the Luxem bourg; and during this period of his life, he composed his celebrated pamphlet, entitled "Le Fanatisme dans la Langue revolutionnaire," which was read with an extraordinary degree of avidity, but, at the same time added not a little to the fury of his enemies.

After this, he entirely occupied his time with, "l'Apologie de la Religion," and perused and studied the Lives of the Saints, and other holy books, for the express purpose of deriving arguments from these sources, against the Philosophers and their writings. On this occasion he must be allowed to have possessed one advantage, not enjoyed before by any of his predecessors, as he knew both the weak and the strong points of the doctrine he now combated; and indeed, according to his own expression, he had spent nearly the whole of his life in the enemy's camp."

M. de la Harpe had always been industrious in his literary labours, and his aptitude for application appears to have increased during the period of his proscription. The chamber occupied by him overlooked a garden surrounded with very high walls, where he could walk whenever he was so disposed. During the whole of the morning, he was accustomed to write at a table near the window; and in the afternoon, he took the only recreation he permitted himself to enjoy; this consisted solely in a solitary walk.

On his return to his apartment, he resigned himself to pious exercises, and concluded the evening by reading works analagous to those he was engaged on. This uniform and sedentary life did not in the least tire him; all the activity of his mind was occupied in that cause to which he had devoted himself; and the continual dangers to which he remained exposed, could not in the least alter that mental tranquillity so eminently enjoyed by him. He was often accustomed, indeed, to remark, that the epoch of his proscription proved the happiest portion of his life: his health, indeed, seemed to improve, and his friends flattered them selves that his career would still prove 4 R2

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long and brilliant: but they were disappointed!

No sooner were the apprehensions of M. de la Harpe dissipated, and he had returned to mix with the world, than all the flattering appearances of longevity were immediately dissipated. A number of infirmities, to which he had hitherto been a stranger, now shewed themselves; and he himself began to anticipate the melancholy catastrophe. Firmly convinced in his own mind, that he could never better repair his former errors, than by a work calculated to enlighten the incredulous, he laboured with additional ardour at his Apology for Religion, in which he had embraced a vast and extensive plan. He was often accustomed to observe, when speaking on this subject, that he could die without regret, provided he were but able to finish this work.

La Harpe had no occasion for these warnings to prepare himself for death, for he not only fulfilled all the duties of religion with the most minute exactitude, but even expiated his former mistakes, by means of a most rigorous penance. Several of his surviving friends have beheld him at times, when he did not think himself observed, lying with his face towards the earth, and exhibiting the most lively signs of a sincere repentance.

His last illness, which exhibited a complication of diseases, announced itself in a manner so as to demonstrate from the very first, that the termination would be fatal. No sooner did he perceive death inevitable, than his resignation, amidst the most cruel sufferings, became equally instructive and affecting to those who surrounded him. His friends were astonished that,notwithstanding the impetuosityof his character, he was able to support the agonies of dissolution without a groan. But what still surprised them more, was the indifference which he affected for his own works; an indifference which not only extended to his literary, but even his religious productions. During the whole of his illness, he never once mentioned his "Apologie de la Religion," to which he had before attached such importance, but contented himself with merely exclaiming, a few days before his dissolution, "God has not permitted me to repair the evil I have committed."

At the approach of death, his agonies seemed to be somewhat alleviated; he also preserved his usual presence of mind,

and was still capable of conversing with his friends. His eyes, however, could no longer bear the light, and he was kept constantly shut up within the curtains of his bed. In this position he heard and understood every word that was uttered, and sometimes he himself would mention to his friends the consolations which he derived from religion.

One of them remarks on this occasion," that no affectation of courage was observable in his discourse, which was characterized by an humble resignation. The philosophers," adds he, "endeavour to die in a theatrical manner; but Christians, on the other hand, are filled with reflexions of a nature superior to all human vanities."

M. de la Harpe resigned his life February 11, 1803, in the 64th year of his age.

His will, which was made at the beginning of his illness, contains a variety of legacies to his relations and the poor, as well as his best wishes for the prosperity of France. On the evening before his demise, he made the following declaration, which we shall here transcribe, without any commentary whatsoever, leaving it entirely to the reader to decide relative to the religious opinions of this very extraordinary man:

"Having yesterday enjoyed the happiness," says he, "of receiving the holy communion for the second time, I deem it my duty once more to make the last declaration of those sentiments which I have publicly manifested during the last nine years, and in which I still persevere. A Christian by the grace of God, and professing the catholic apostolical and Roman religion, in which I have had the happiness to be born and educated, and in which it is my concluding wish both to live and to die, I declare, that I firmly believe in whatsoever is believed and taught by the Roman church, the only church founded by Jesus Christ.

"That I condemn with my heart and spirit all that she condemns, and that I approve all that she approves.

"In consequence of which, I retract all that I have written and printed, or that has been printed under my name, which may be contrary to the catholic faith, or to good morals; hereby disavow. ing the same, and as much as lies in my power condemning and dissuading the publication of them, as well as the reprinting, and representation on the theatre, "I also hereby equally retract und

conde sin

condemn every erroneous proposition that may have escaped from me in these different writings. I likewise exhort ail my countrymen to entertain sentiments of peace and of concord; I ask pardon of all those who think they have a right to complain of me; and I, myself, at the same time, in like manner, inost sincere ly pardon all those of whom I have a right to complain."

The works of M. de la Harpe are voluminous; an edition of them was published in 1771; and in 1806 a new one appeared under the title of "Euvres Choisies & Posthumes," in 4 vols. corrected with his own hand.

Vol. I. contains Le Comte de Warwick, Melanie, Jeanne de Naples, Philoctete, Coriolan & Virginie.

Vol. II. his Moliere "a la nouvelle Salle," with extracts of Gustave, Timoleon, Pharamond, Menzicoffe, les Baremecides, Barnevel, les Muses Rivales, les Brames, Polynexe, Vengeance d'Achille, Aboulcasem, Jerusalem Delivrée, & la Pharsalie.

Vol. III. his " Discours en Vers," his "Poesies Legeres," his "Epitres & Pieces Diverses," and his "Discours Academiques."

Vol. IV. consists of "Précis Historique sur le Prince Menzicoff," and "Fragmens d'Apologie de la Religion;" containing,

1. Philosophical Prolegomena, or a demonstration of the essential connexion between Man and God.

2. The certainty of the mission of Jesus Christ and the Apostles.

3. Of Miracles.

4. Of Mysteries and the Prophecies. And, 5. Imitations in verse, of two Psalms.

MISCELLANEOUS.

"Cours complet d'Harmonie et de Composition, d'après une Théorie nouvelle; par J. J. DE MOMIGNY. Trois vol. in 8vo."-A complete Course of Haimony and Composition, after a new Theory; by J. J. de Momigny.

M. de Momigny has on this occasion endeavoured to present a series of musical compositions in every point of view; and he now appeals to the judgment of those who have occupied their attention with this charming art. Quintilian observes, that it would be fortunate if such only were to decide: "Felices essent artes si de illis soli artifices judicarent.”

The Author is allowed, by some of the critics, to possess a brilliant imagination, abounding with novelty; and is at the pame time considered as a competent

and enlightened judge. Whether or not he has found out the boundaries of the true theory of music as here pretended, still remains to be proved; but it is evident that he is a complete courtier, for he terms the union of instrumental sounds with the human voice, the "monarchical unity;" and seems to think, that every thing "democratical," "aristocratical," "directorial," or "republican," is in direct opposition to "harmony."

"Pericles: De l'Influence des Beaux Arts sur la Félicité publique; nouvelle Edition, revue & corrigée par l'Auteur."Pericles, or the Influence of the Fine Arts on the public Happiness; a new edition, revised and corrected.

The author of this work is a sovereign prince, although he is content to designate himself simply in the title-page as "Charles d'Alberg, a foreign associate of the Institute of France." It consists of seven dialogues, in which an attempt is made, by the adoption of the dramatic form, to give animation to philosophic truths respecting the fine arts; and these are here contemplated rather in respect to their utility than their elegance. By the elevation of genius, and the incitement to virtue, they are, in fine, regarded as influencing private as well as public happiness, in no common degree.

The first dialogue takes place between Anaxagoras and Euripides, on leaving the theatre after the representation of the tragedy of Helen. This serves as a preface to the whole; for, after the poet had detailed his reasons for writing for the stage, the philosopher animadverts on the connexion between the drama, and architecture, painting, sculpture, and music. He at the same time announces his design to engage Pericles to patronise and encourage all these arts.

The second dialogue is between Anaxagoras and Pericles, in the square where the latter has just harangued the people. This statesman, although fully sensible of the emotions which the fine arts confer at first resists all the insinuations and all the counsels of the philosopher.

"How is Greece interested," says he, "in respect to the embellishments of Athens? She desires that the empire of the laws may preserve her alike from despotism and anarchy: this is the only object of all her vows."

Anaxagoras, on the other hand, remarks, that, provided Athens should become a school in which distinguished talents of every kind took up their abode, great advantages would necessarily accrue

to