mpany of ladies
of the Marais Theatre and that of La Fontaine might not tend to
edification. So thought Racine's aunts; and, with the expectation
that he would take orders, he was exiled to Uzes, where his uncle
was vicar-general, and where the nephew could study the _Summa_ of
theology, but also the Odyssey, the odes of Pindar, Petrarch, and
the pretty damsels who prayed in the cathedral church.

In 1663 he was again in Paris, was present at royal levees, and in
Boileau's chambers renewed his acquaintance with La Fontaine, and
became a companion of Moliere. His vocation was not that of an
ecclesiastic. Two dramatic works of earlier date are lost; his first
piece that appeared before the public, _La Thebaide_, was presented
in 1664 by Moliere's company. It is a tragedy written in discipleship
to Rotrou and to Corneille, and the pupil was rather an imitator of
Corneille's infirmities than of his excellences. _Alexandre_
followed towards the close of the ensuing year--a feeble play, in
which the mannered gallantry of the time was liberally transferred
to the kings of India and their Macedonian conqueror. But amorous
sighs were the mode, and there was a young grand monarch who might
discover himself in the person of the magnanimous hero. The success
was great, though Saint-Evremond pronounced his censures, and
Corneille found ridiculous the trophies erected upon the imagined
ruins of his own. Discontented with the performers at the Palais-Royal,
Racine offered his play to the Hotel de Bourgogne; Moliere's best
actress seceded to the rival house. Racine's ambition may excuse,
but cannot justify an injurious act; a breach between the friends
was inevitable.

Boileau remained now, as ever, loyal--loyal for warning as well as
for encouragement. Nicole, the former guide of Racine's studies, in
his _Visionnaires_, had spoken of dramatic poets as "public
poisoners." The reproach was taken to himself by Racine, and in two
letters, written with some of the spirit of the _Provinciales_, he
turned his wit against his Jansenist friends. Thanks to Boileau's
wise and firm counsel, the second of these remained unpublished.

Madame de Sevigne was the devoted admirer of the great Corneille,
but when she witnessed his young rival's _Andromaque_ she yielded
to its pathos six reluctant tears. On its first appearance in 1667
a triumph almost equal to that of the _Cid_ was secured. Never before
had grace and passion, art and nature, idealit