Esthétique de la langue française

This work examines aesthetic principles for the French language, arguing that its beauty depends on attention to sound, form, and origin. It analyzes word origins, doublets, and the distinctions between popular, learned, and foreign vocabulary, criticizing the careless importation of exotic terms. Chapters address deformation, metaphor, and the prospect of a semantic dictionary while linking literary judgment with philology and general linguistics. The author urges that aesthetic sensibility complement grammatical observation to guide future usage, illustrating points with phonetic, historical, and comparative examples.