SPECIMENS OF FRENCH LITERATURE FROM VILLON TO HUGO SELECTED AND EDITED BY GEORGE SAINTSBURY SECOND EDITION Oxford AT THE CLARENDON PRESS PREFACE THE origin of this book has been described in the Preface of the Short History of French Literature (Clarendon Press), to which it is intended to form a companion. I need not here weary the reader by indicating at length the various objects I have had before me in the compilation. Among these, complete illustration of the beauties of any particular author has, it is needless to say, found no place, much less collection of my own favourite pieces. It has occasionally been necessary, for the sake of completing the panorama, to draw on what some people may not think the best work of individual writers. To make the whole a sufficient tableau of the various achievements of French literature from the literary point of view has been the main thing considered. I must emphasise the words 'from the literary point of view,' because from any other the allotment of space may seem capricious. It has also to be remembered that some kinds of literature, such as prose fiction and drama, especially the latter, lend themselves with difficulty to the purpose. For instance, Racine is undoubtedly a greater name in French literature than Alfred de Musset. But Racine wrote in a |