Cours familier de Littérature - Volume 25

The volume opens a lively, monthly literary salon led by a celebrated French poet, guiding listeners through one of the eighteenth‑century’s most electrifying discoveries: the “Ossian” poems. First appearing in 1762, these verses sparked a sensation that rippled from Scotland to the salons of Paris, Berlin, Madrid and Milan, coloring the imagination of poets and artists with a new, mythic hue. The discussion captures the awe felt by contemporaries who saw in these works a revival of ancient heroic spirit, comparable to the impact of Homer’s epics.

Soon, however, the chorus of admiration is joined by a skeptical counterpoint. Scholars and physicians begin to question the authenticity of the texts, prompting heated debates, scholarly reports, and the formation of investigative commissions. Listeners are invited to follow this intellectual duel, witnessing how enthusiasm gives way to rigorous inquiry, and to consider what makes a literary “discovery” both credible and compelling.