Literary History of the Troubadours

PRELIMINARY.

...by an object, poetic talent
unfolds with all the more boldness
and vigor, for there are few ideas ca-
pable of distracting it, and it precedes
the cultivation of other talents.

Need, the father of industry original: "industrie"; here meaning human ingenuity or the practical application of skill., con-
tributes undoubtedly to giving it momentum
throughout the entire universe. Everywhere, there is a desire
to perpetuate the memory of certain
things, to instill certain maxims,
to inspire certain sentiments. How
is this to be done, when writing is unknown
or very rare? Common language
leaves only faint traces: it is
therefore necessary that cadence, meter original: "le nombre"; in 18th-century aesthetics, this refers to the rhythmic proportion and harmony of verse or prose., or
rhyme come to the aid of the
memory; it is necessary that a kind of dis-
course, more concise and more expressive, stri-
king the mind and the ear with more
force or more charm, remains im-
printed there in a lasting manner, and re-
calls often to men what one
would wish them to always have before...

poetic talent, industry, writing, cadence, rhyme, memory, maxims, sentiments, talents