Critical Miscellanies (Vol 2 of 3), Essay 1: Vauvenargues

This essay opens by positioning Vauvenargues within the grand sweep of French Enlightenment thought, using Pascal’s formidable legacy as a reference point. It explains how eighteenth‑century writers, from Voltaire to Condorcet, mounted a sustained revolt against Pascal’s bleak view of human nature, and how Vauvenargues occupies the delicate balance between that pessimism and the ideal of perfectibility. The introduction also sketches the intellectual climate that shaped his ideas, setting the stage for a deeper exploration of his own moral philosophy.

The subsequent sections trace Vauvenargues’s modest origins, his education, and the hardships that forged his character, before turning to his Parisian life and friendships, especially with Voltaire. Readers are guided through his religious sensibilities, his subtle psychological insights, and his critiques of contemporary dramatists. The essay also compares his aphoristic style with that of English moralists, illuminating his unique emphasis on spontaneous feeling, the will, and the central role of character in achieving greatness.