Montesquieu

Quote: "Le roi de France est le plus puissant prince de l'Europe. Il n'a point de mines d'or comme le roi d'Espagne son voisin; mais il a plus de richesses que lui, parce qu'il les tire de la vanité de ses sujets, plus inépuisable que les mines. On lui a vu entreprendre ou soutenir de grandes guerres, n'ayant d'autres fonds que des titres d'honneur à vendre; et, par un prodige de l'orgueil humain, ses troupes se trouvaient payées, ses places munies, et ses flottes équipées."

Synopsis: The concept behind Lettres persan is a Persian visiting France and writing letters to back home about what he encounters, which is basically just a vehicle for Montesquieu to ridicule society, government, Christianity, and the French.

In De l'Esprit des lois, as the title suggests, Montesquieu describes the nature of law and the reason and necessity behind it. He then describes three major types of government: republic, monarchy, and despotism.

Response: The Lettres persan were very enjoyable to read since they were so chock full of satire. They reminded me of C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters, (I highly recommend it if you haven't read it!) because of the format and the critical content. I wonder if Lewis was inspired by Lettres persan.

I found De l'Esprit des lois fascinating in that it was written from the perspective of one who had only ever lived in a monarchy. Living in the US, we're taught from birth that democracy is the only way to go and that all other forms of government are inferior or outdated or something, but Montesquieu finds fault with all major forms of government and I think he's completely right. Don't get me wrong, I'd definitely rather be living in a republic than in a tyranny, but if the politicians and public servants running the republic are corrupt then it's no better than other types of government. I was also impressed that Montesquieu had such insight into the nature of law and into different forms of government without having experienced them firsthand.

La Fontaine

Quote:
"Mon bon Monsieur, apprenez que tout flatteur vit aux depens de celui qui l'ecoute: cette lecon vaut bien un fromage, sans doute."

Synopsis:
Les Fables generally talk about the different characters of animals and also a little bit of the nature. Some animals think that they are smarter than others.

Reader's response:
I thought La Fontaine's style of writing is different from the other ones we have read and discussed in class so far. it seems to me that his interest is animals, talking about their characters, the nature and not so much of humans. I felt like I didn't get anything from Fables. It was too dry for me.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld

Quote:  "On ne donne rien si liberalement que ses conseils."

Synopsis:  The ultimate quotation book . . . or a collection of some of the maxims from the pen of La Rochefoucauld.  The topics broadly cover the general themes of vanity, jealousy, love, selfishness, justice, praise, hope, hypocrisy, and integrity.

Reader's Response: The genius in La Rochefoucauld's work lies in the uniting of brevity, clarity, fulness of meaning and point.  Although the maxims tend to be a bit sardonic, they are not dark epigrams, but realistic, if cynical platitudes; they are concise, candid sermons on the broad facets of human nature.

Blaise Pascal

Quote: Divertissement. Les hommes n'ayant pu guérir la mort, la misère, l'ignorance, ils se sont avisés, pour se rendre heureux, de n'y point penser.

Synopsis: Les Pensées. Pascal explains the many things that influence our thoughts. Like stated in the beginning, the majesty of man is like an eternal lamp that lights the universe. Thoughts effect everything that we do and are. He talks about our reason, and when it is deceived our thoughts are also deceived. Our imagination can be a great aid to us, and also it can be deceiving.
Le mystère de Jésus. Here Pascal speaks of the atonement of Jesus Christ, and his sufferings for all. He speaks of the mercy of God, and its importance for us. Then he has a pacifying conversation with Jesus.

Readers Response: I really liked reading the thoughts and opinions of Pascal. You can really see how his religion influenced him and his writings. He gave some great insights into imagination that were very interesting. And in the mystery of Jesus you can even feel his search for a peace and mercy as he talks about and with Jesus.

Madame De Lafayette- La Princesse De Cleves

La Princesse De Cleves

Je vais vous faire un aveu que l'on n'a jamais fait a un mari; mais l'innocence de ma conduite et de mes intentions m'en donne la force.....

Synopsis: The princess in the story is married to a man who she admires but is not in love with. She meets a different man at a party who she falls in love. When she starts acting weird her husband confronts her and she admits she loves someone else. Her husband though touched by her devotion to him and her ability to not touch cannot help but get mad and jealous of the new man. He ends up dying and she goes into a convent.

Reaction: I actually loved this story. I was inspired by her ability to remain loyal to her husband and a little sad that he admitted to still loving her after she told him the truth. I wish it could have ended a little happier but oh well. It was an example to me of how much love can hurt if it is not returned by the person you love. I also wonder how they ended up getting married in the first place? Did she think she would develop love later?

Madame de Sevigne

Quote: "Mais, ma pauvre bonne, ce que je ferai beaucoup mieux que tout cela c'est de penser a vous".

Synopsis: I found madame Sevigne perspective on life to be like most females. She loves her daughter, she gossips a little, and she loves nature and it beautiful colors. She clings to these beautiful things because they are all she has.

Reader's Response: I thought that her writting gave us an insight on how France was at the time. These letters seem to reflect her belief in God, her love for her daughter, and I find them to be very genuine. She loves to talk with her daughter and tell her of all the beauty she see's around her. I think she uses these things in nature to describe her love for her daughter. She also writes these letters of deep thinking to those in her social circle. I found them to be good letters and that's all I have to say about them.