A portion, however, of the number, are men whose claims to
celebrity will not be denied.--Such, in the fifteenth century, were the
poets John and Clement Marot; such was the celebrated physician,
Dalechamps, to whom naturalists are indebted for the _Historia
Plantarum_; such the laborious lexicographer, Constantin; and, not to
extend the catalogue needlessly, such above all was Malherbe. The medal
that has been struck at Caen in honor of this great man, at the expence
of Monsieur de Lair, bears for its epigraph, the three first words of
Boileau's eulogium--"Enfin Malherbe vint."--The same inscription is also
to be seen upon the walls of the library. So expressive a beginning
prepares the reader for a corresponding sequel; and I should be guilty
of injustice towards this eminent writer, were I not to quote to you the
passage at length.--
"Enfin, Malherbe vint, et le premier en France
Fit sentir dans les vers une juste cadence:
D'un mot mis en sa place enseigna le pouvoir,
Et reduisit la muse aux regles du devoir.
Par ce sage ecrivain, la langue reparee,
N'offrit plus rien de rude a l'oreille epuree.
Les stances avec grace apprirent a tomber,
Et le Vers sur le Vers n'osa plus enjamber."
Wace and Baudius, though not born at Caen, have contributed to its
honor, by their residence here.
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