8 The first of these attributes was Louis's1 excessive superstition, a plague 2 with which 3 Heaven often afflicts those who refuse to listen to the dictates of religion. The remorse arising from his evil actions Louis never endeavoured to appease by any relaxation in 5 his Macchiavelian stratagems, but laboured in vain to soothe and silence that painful feeling by superstitious observances, severe penance, and profuse gifts to the ecclesiastics. The second property, 10 with which the first is sometimes found li strangely united, was a disposition to low pleasures and obscure debauchery.12 The wisest, or at least 13 the most crafty, sovereign of his time,14 was fond of ordinary 15 life, and, being himself a man of wit, enjoyed the jests and repartees of social conversation 16 more than could have been expected from 17 other points of his character. He even mingled in the comic adventures of obscure intrigue, with a freedom little consistent with the habitual and guarded jealousy of his character; 18 and 19 was so fond of this species of humble 20 gallantry, that he caused 21 a number of its gay and licentious anecdotes to be enrolled in a collection well known to 22 book-collectors, in whose eyes (and the work is unfit for any other) the right edition is very precious, 23(WALTER SCOTT, Quentin Durward.) 1 de ces traits caractéristiques de sition, whereas au moins commonly Louis XI. était une. 2 See page 27, note 8. 3 dont. expresses a minimum, as, 'we were 14 Use 'he' here, in French. 16 Simply, de la conversation. 17 d'après les. 18 son naturel méfiant et ombrageux. Put a full stop here. 19 Enfin, il. 20 ignoble. 21 See page 9, note 14. 23 pour lesquels la bonne édition est d'un très grand prix, et qui seuls doivent se permettre d'y jeter les 13 du moins; this expression generally indicates a restriction yeux. of the preceding part of the propo SKETCH OF CESAR'S CAREER AND CHARACTER 6 1 THE man who broke the power of Gallia in an eight years' war has written 1 the history of the 2 war himself. He was a 3 soldier in his youth, like most Romans of rank,1 and he had been a governor 3 in Spain shortly before he was 5 consul. But it was not till after he was more than forty years of age that his military career commenced, and he obtained a field wide enough for his daring and capacious genius. It was Cæsar's ambitions to conquer the Gauls, and it was prudent policy in the Romans, for Italy was never safe 10 so long as the restless and warlike men beyond the Alps were unsubdued. The rapidity of Cæsar's movements, the immense extent of country over which his military operations extended, his battles, his sieges, his defeats, and his victories, with their political consequences, give 12 to his work an untiring interest, if we read it with proper knowledge and in a proper way. Nor 13 let any man, who thinks that he knows 14 something of modern warfare,15 venture to disparage either the Roman or his enemies without 16 a map always before him, and his attention well awake to the significance of a few words written in the Latin language, and written by Cæsar. The Gauls fought with courage and desperation; they showed military talent,17 and in the arm of cavalry they were strong. 18 They were inferior in infantry and in their weapons ;19 and they were weakened by political disunion. Cæsar pursued 3 his bold career through hazards and dangers enough to have stopped1 a prudent man; but his eyes were always open, and his vigilance never slumbered; his presence of mind never left him, and he was full of resources in his vigorous understanding and his resolute will. He, who said himself that he was not cruel, who spared the lives of Roman citizens, his enemies, who pardoned his countrymen who would have taken his life, pursued barbarians with unrelenting ferocity. He spared neither age nor sex; he slaughtered men in battle, in flight, and after submission; he plundered them, he sold them for slaves; he mutilated them; he burnt their houses; he wasted their fields; he left them to perish in the winter, houseless and without food. His most formidable enemy, who was cruel like himself, 10 11 and, as active and as brave, the Gallic chief who, in the seventh year of the war, made a last effort to crush the Roman proconsul, and nobly surrendered to save his countrymen, was thrown into a Roman dungeon, to wait six years for Cæsar's triumph; and then 12 he was put to death. Such a man, with all his great qualities, ought not to be made the 13 object of vulgar admiration, 14 as he often is by modern writers. He ought to be estimated justly. He was better than many, perhaps than most of his contemporaries; and that is all we can say.15-(George Long, Preface to his Edition of the Gallic War.) 1 qui auraient suffi nour arrêter. 2 The French construction is, in such cases, he had always the eyes open.' 3 Le même homme. 6 Translate, who has said.' 5 fit grâce de la vie à. 6 See page 115, note 7. 7 qui en voulaient à ses jours. 8 comme; without any article. 9 sans abri; or, sans asile. 10 lui. 13 être représenté comme un. 14 No article, here, as at page 26, note 2; but whilst we say, un objet d'admiration vulgaire, we should say, l'objet d'une admiration vulgaire (see page 27, note 14). 15 et c'est dire autant qu'on en peut dire. THE DEAD ASS. "AND this," said he, putting the remains of a crust into his wallet," and this should have been thy portion," said he, "hadst thou been alive to have shared it2 with me." I thought, by the accent, it had been an apostrophe to his child; but 't was to his ass, and to the very ass we had seen dead in the road, which had occasioned La Fleur's misadventure. The man seemed to lament it much; and it instantly brought into my mind Sancho's lamentation for his; but he did it with more true touches of nature.9 The mourner 10 was sitting upon a stone bench at the door, with the ass's pannel and its bridle on one side,11 which he took up from time to time, and laid them down, looked at them, and shook his head.12 He then took his crust of bread out of his wallet again,13 as if to 14 eat it, held it for some time in his hand, then laid it upon the bit of his ass's bridle.... looked wistfully at the little arrangement he had made.... and then gave 15 a sigh. The simplicity of his grief drew numbers 16 about him; and La Fleur amongst the rest, whilst the horses were getting ready; 17 as I continued sitting in the post-chaise, I could see and hear over their heads. He said he had come last1 from Spain,2 where he had been from the furthest borders of Franconia; and had got so far on his return home, when his ass died.5 Every one seemed desirous to know what business could have taken so old and poor a man so far a journey from his own home.6 8 It had pleased Heaven, he said, to bless him with three sons, the finest lads in all Germany; but having in9 one week lost two of the eldest of them by the small-pox, and the youngest falling 10 ill of the same distemper, he was afraid of being bereft of them all; and made a vow, if Heaven would not take him from him also, he would goll in gratitude to St. Iago 12 in Spain. When the mourner got thus far on 13 his story, he stopped to pay nature her tribute, 14 and wept bitterly. 11 He said, Heaven had accepted the conditions; and that he had set out from his cottage with this poor creature, who had been a patient partner of his journey, that it had eat the same bread with him all the way, and was unto him as a friend. Everybody who stood about,15 heard the poor fellow with concern. La Fleur offered him money. The mourner said he did not want it.... it was not the value of the ass 1 arrivait en dernier lieu. 2 de l'Espagne; see p. 16, n. 10. It is better to use the definite article, here, on account of où (where), which gives the noun a uore definite meaning. 3 du fin fond. 4 et qu'il avait déjà fait tout cela de chemin pour regagner son pays. 5 Translate, had died (see page 66, note 12). ce qui avait pu décider (see page 38, note 5) un homme si vieux et si pauvre à partir de chez lui pour un si long voyage. 7 de lui accorder.-'It had pleased,' &c. ; see p. 31, n. 7.-' he said; see p. 145, n. 12. 8 See p. 32, n. 6. 9 en. There is an essential difference between dans and en with reference to time. Thus, we say, 'I shall start for America in eleven days' (hence), Je partirai pour l'Amérique dans onze jours; but, on va maintenant en Amérique en onze jours, means 'people now go to America in eleven days' (in eleven days' time), in the sense of, 'it takes eleven days to accomplish the journey.' 10 Translate, having fallen' (p. 116, note 11).-'ill,' here, atteint. 11 See page 7, note 7.-'in,' par. 12 Saint-Jacques.-'in Spain ;' see page 16, note 10. 13 en fut là de; see page 59, note 6. 14 See page 35, note 19. 15 Simply, Tous les assistants. |