WeRead Powered by ReaderPub
The Wise and Ingenious Companion, French and English; / or, A Collection of the Wit of the Illustrious Persons, Both Ancient and Modern cover

The Wise and Ingenious Companion, French and English; / or, A Collection of the Wit of the Illustrious Persons, Both Ancient and Modern

Chapter 2: A Prefatory INTRODUCTION; CONCERNING The Excellency, Nature and Use of wise Sayings witty Repartees, Jests, and pleasant Stories.
By Abel Boyer
Open in WeRead

Explore more books like this:

Essays, Letters & Speeches

About This Book

A bilingual anthology gathers apophthegms, noble sentiments, witty repartees, jests, and pleasant anecdotes drawn from ancient and modern notable figures, presented in English and French. A prefatory essay examines the nature and use of such sayings, distinguishing grave apophthegms from playful repartees, criticizing mere puns, and recommending selection based on translatability and intellectual substance. The collection aims to balance entertainment and instruction by supplying concise maxims, moral observations, and pointed examples intended to enliven conversation and offer practical reflections for readers of both languages.

A Prefatory INTRODUCTION; CONCERNING The Excellency, Nature and Use of wise Sayings witty Repartees, Jests, and pleasant Stories.

SEntences, witty Repartees and Jests, have ever been esteem’d by all civilized Nations: The ancient Greeks and Romans have shewn what account they made of them, by their care of Collecting and Quoting them. Julius Cesar made a Collection of the Jests of his Contemporaries; the famous Historian Plutarch is very exact in recording all those of the illustrious Men of whom he writes the Lives: Wherein he has been imitated by Diogenes Laertius, in his lives of the Philosophers; and among the Moderns, my Lord Bacon, Guichardin, and several others have enrich’d their Writings with them.

These Testimonies carry so much weight with them, that we cannot but join our Approbation with that of so many illustrious Persons: The only Question is how to make a good Choice, and not confound true Wit and Sense with abundance of low Thoughts, and dull, and vulgar Jests which are imposed upon the World; and this I have proposed to do in the following Collection.

INTRODUCTION En forme de PREFACE, TOUCHANT L’Excellence, la Nature, & l’Usage des Sentences, Reparties fines, Bons Mots, & Contes Plaisans.

LES Sentences, les Reparties fines, & les Bons Mots ont toujours été estimez de toutes les Nations policées: Les anciens Grecs & Romains ont fait voir le cas qu’ils en faisoient, par le soin qu’ils ont eu de les recueillir & de les citer. Jules Cesar fit un Recueil des Bons Monts de ses Contemporains; le celebre Historien Plutarque est fort exact à rapporter tous ceux des Hommes illustres dont il écrit les Vies; en quoi il a été imité par Diogene Laërce dans les Vies des Philosophes; & parmi les Modernes mylord Bacon, Guicharchin, & plusieurs autres en ont enrichi leurs Ecrits.

Ces Témoignages sont d’un si grand Poids, que nous ne saurions nous dispenser de joindre nôtre approbation à celle de tant d’illustres Personnes: Il s’agit seulement de faire un bon choix, & de ne pas confondre l’Esprit & le bon Sens avec quantité de Pensées basses, & de Plaisanteries froides & vulgaires qui se debitent dans le monde, & c’est ce que je me suis proposé de faire dans ce Recueil.