reader to a greater or less degree, in accordance with
the extent of his reading, parallel passages, and simi-
lar ideas. Of ancient writers Rochefoucauld most
strongly reminds us of Tacitus; of modern writers, Ju-
nius most strongly reminds us of Rochefoucauld. Some
examples from both are given in the notes to this trans-
lation. It is curious to see how the expressions of the
bitterest writer of English political satire to a great ex-
tent express the same ideas as the great French satirist
of private life. Had space permitted the parallel
could have been drawn very closely, and much of the
invective of Junius traced to its source in Rochefou-
cauld.

One of the persons whom Rochefoucauld patronised
and protected, was the great French fabulist, La
Fontaine. This patronage was repaid by La Fontaine
giving, in one of his fables, "L'Homme et son Image,"
an elaborate defence of his patron. After there depict-
ing a man who fancied himself one of the most lovely
in the world, and who complained he always found
all mirrors untrustworthy, at last discovered his real
image reflected in the water. He thus applies his
fable:--
"Je parle a tous: et cette erreur extreme,
Est un mal que chacun se plait d'entretenir,
Notre ame, c'est cet homme amoureux de lui meme,
Tant de miroirs, ce sont les sottises d'autrui.
Miroirs, de nos defauts les peintres legitimes,
Et quant au canal, c'est celui