Abstract

Georges Louis Leclerc, comte de Buffon, probably the greatest of the natural historians of the French eighteenth century, was admired and venerated for decades by the philosophes for his many works on what we would now call zoology, botany, geology and even cosmology. For most literary historians, however, the interest of those many volumes has died away, and Buffon is known primarily as the author of the Discours sur le style, the ironic discours de r6ception he gave when elected in extremis to the Acad6mie fran;aise in 1753 to replace Alexis Piron, whom Louis XV had rejected. This text is pure Buffon: an arrogant and biting criticism of the writings of his revered predecessors, especially Montesquieu. It is also a call for a writing style appropriate not to the words, but to the ideas being expressed. For Buffon,

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.