aken from "Des Ouvrages de L'Esprit" of
La Bruyere's _Les Caracteres_. Though retaining the sequence of these
observations, he has deleted certain paragraphs. In most cases he has
translated the French faithfully, but here and there he has paraphrased
a passage or added a brief remark of his own. There was little he could
do, of course, with La Rochefoucauld, from whose _Maximes_ all of page
282 and about half of 283 of the second selection are taken. Boyer was
content to translate almost literally these remarks upon wit and
judgment which he collected from widely scattered sections of the
_Maximes_.

Boyer's own contribution to his collection was slight, covering, all
told, little more than fifteen of the 383 pages. Distinguished neither
by originality of conception nor individuality of style, it is,
nevertheless, marked by good sense. A moderate man in his
pronouncements, Boyer was less clever than reasonable.

Boyer's remarks on wit are in keeping with his character. Like many of
his contemporaries, he has something to say on the subject, but uses the
term rather loosely. He would seem, though, to identify wit with genius,
which gives evidence of itself in literary utterance. But judgment is a
necessary concomitant of good wit. Conversely, the would-be wit lacks
genius, expression, and judgment, and therefore turns critic, that he
may denounce in others what is not to be found in himself. Hence the
word critic has come to mean a fault finder rather than a man of sound
judgment.

The following selections are reproduced, with permission, from a copy of
_The English Theophrastus_ in the library of the University of Michigan.

W. Earl Britton

University of Michigan

THE

MANNERS

Of the AGE.

_Authors, Wits, Poets, Criticks,_ Will's _Coffee-House, Play-House,_ &c.

"Eubulus fancying himself Inspir'd, stands up for the Honour of Poetry,
and is mightily provok'd to hear the Sacred Name of _Poet_, turn'd into
Scandal and Ridicule; He tells you what a profound Veneration the
_Athenians_ had for their Dramatick Writers; how greatly _Terence_ and
_Virgil_ were Honour'd in _Rome_; the first, by _Scipio_ and _Laelius_,
the other by _Augustus_ and _Mecaenas_; how much _Francis_ the First, and
Cardinal _Richelieu_, encourag'd the Wits of _France_; and drawing his
Argument more home, he relates to you, how in this Island the
_Buckinghams_, the _Orrerys_, the _Roscommons_, the _Normanbys_, the
_Dorsets_, the