EPISTLE.

bourgeois; even a chambermaid; even a peasant woman, beautiful, agreeable, and gentle according to her rank. It does not follow from this that a Great Lady, a Princess, or a Queen cannot be even more so: especially when one sees her richly outfitted and dressed in cloth-of-gold, silver, and silk: adorned with chains, carcanets ornamental necklaces or collars, gilding, and precious stones; walking with a grave majesty, with a measured and pompous step; with her ventail a folding fan and mirror of rock crystal, accompanied at once by a long suite of Gentlemen and Ladies in very good order: pages, lackeys, and grooms, dressed in her colors and liveries; with all her other equipment to match. And so it is with languages: for even though the low and vulgar tongue, if it is well spun and woven, does not fail to be passable, especially if it conforms to its subject: (for the character of a King or a lover on a stage requires a different presence and dress than that of some private person, or a tacquain a miserly or petty person who collects rents) this is not to say, however, that the rich, elevated, and haughty style is not of a more beautiful display and parade than that which crawls humbly along the ground; certainly as much as a beautiful great Steed or Jennet a small Spanish horse surpasses some thin traquenard a light, pacing horse or courtaut a short-tailed workhorse. Furthermore, to properly represent an author as he is, it is not enough to beat around the bush by seeking, through long detours and convolutions of words, to represent in some way what he wants to say, and only approximately: one must keep it as short as possible: say everything the same as he says: and in the proper manner if possible: because those who do not understand the language would like to see not only in bulk and in general the things he treats, but also his manner of writing, his structure and ar-