Phyllis Leffler - The ''Histoire Raisonnée,'' 1660-1720. A Pre-Enlightenment Genre

The "Histoire Raisonnee," 1660-1720: A Pre-Enlightenment Genre
Author(s): Phyllis K. Leffler

Source: Journal of the History of Ideas , Apr. - Jun., 1976, Vol. 37, No. 2 (Apr. - Jun.,
1976), pp. 219-240
Published by: University of Pennsylvania Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.com/stable/2708822
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THE "HISTOIRE RAISONNEE," 1660-1720:
A PRE-ENLIGHTENMENT GENRE
BY PHYLLIS K. LEFFLER
An important transitional genre and philosophy of history ev

in France during the "pre-Enlightenment" era ca. 1660-1720. Thi
proach to history, termed l'histoire raisonnee, combined fa
analyses, moral digressions, and literary techniques, thereby in
ducing many of the characteristics of Enlightenment historiogr
One seventeenth-century writer defined l'histoire raisonnee as
... celle qui a receu divers ornemens de 1'esprit et de l'adresse des Histo
... qui sans s'arrester a l'ecorce, et a l'apparence des choses, vajusque d
pens6e des personnes qui ont agi, d6couvre leurs intentions, et fait vo
1'evenement des choses qu'ils ont entreprises la sagesse de leur condu
leur d6faut dejugement.'
The appearance of the histoire raisonnee as a distinct historiograp

form was noted by contemporary historians and by numerous
mentators who have left philosophies of history. It was, theref
recognized in its own time as a significant historiographica
velopment.
Authors of histoires raisonnees espoused a philosophy which would
synthesize the often diverse purposes of the historian into a unified nar-
rative form. They demanded more varied skills of an historian and sug-
gested that a work of history meet numerous tests. As continuators of
a tradition of humanist writing, these authors emphasized their
function as moralists and teachers. They felt a responsibility to place a
moral judgment on the facts chosen, and these judgments appeared
through their commentary and reflection. There was a definite didactic
quality to their works. Yet, authors of histoires raisonnees also
asserted that the truth had to be presented impartially and that the tab-
leau of history had to be painted with all its diversity and intricacy.
Moreover, in this classical age many authors remained concerned with
the literary form of their writing. All three elements were an indis-
pensable part of the finished product. Theirs was far more than the
merely "literary" history for which they subsequently have been ex-
coriated.2
'Claude FranCois Menestrier, Les divers caracteres, des ouvrages historiques
(Lyon, 1694), 38-39. [Spelling (accents) modernized in some words.-Ed.]
2Typical condemnations of these seventeenth-century "literary histories" can be
found in Arthur A. Tilley, The Decline of the Age of Louis XIV, or French Literature,
1687-1715 (Cambridge, 1929), 160, and Emile Bourgeois, "Les Memoires et l'histoire,"
Histoire de la langue et de la litteraturefrancaise des origines a 1900 (Paris, 1897), IV,
219

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220 PHYLLIS K. LEFFLER
Authors of this genre absorbed aspec

previous ages, but with these remnants
view of history which moved beyond m
Renaissance historians, they absor
literary art, combining rhetoric wit
with stylistic beauty. Yet, they wer
tradition of Philippe de Commynes
composing fictitious dialogues to add
posing concise, readable, and didactic
from the sixteenth to the seventeenth centuries there was a subtle "shift
from virtue to prudence, from eloquence to truth."4 In other words,
seventeenth-century historians valued practical wisdom more than
moral integrity, and were more concerned with fact than with stylized
expression. This emphasis on fact reveals an inheritance from
sixteenth-century erudits who, through their legal perspectives, argued
that history was a science, that historical data had to be carefully se-
lected from dusty archival sources, and that accuracy was its own
reward. Yet these erudits left no models of integrated narrative his-
tories.5 Not content to follow the path of these legists into the work of
seventeenth-century antiquarians, writers of histoires raisonnees were
nonetheless more aware of historiographical methodology than their
659. Other negative responses to the historiography of seventeenth-century French

authors can be detected in Dorothy F. Dallas, Le romanfrancais de 1660 a 1680 (Paris,
1932), 139; Nathan Edelman, Attitudes of Seventeenth-Century France toward the
Middle Ages (New York, 1946), 72-74; Henri-Jean Martin, Livre, pouvoirs et societe a
Paris au XVIIe siecle (1598-1701), 2 vols. (Geneva, 1969), I, 840ff.
3Wilfred H. Evans, L'historien Mezeray et la conception de l'histoire en France au
XVIIe siecle (Paris, 1930), 12; George Huppert, The Idea of Perfect History: Historical
erudition and historical philosophy in Renaissance France (Chicago, 1970), 17; James
W. Thompson, A History of Historical Writing, 2 vols. (New York, 1942), I, 510-14;
Emile Bourgeois and Louis Andre, Les sources de l'histoire de France: XVIIe siecle, 8
vols. (Paris, 1913-35), I, 267; Gustav Dulong, L'abbe de Saint-Real: Etude sur les Rap-
ports de l'Histoire et du Roman au XVIIe siecle, 2 vols. (Paris, 1921), I, 5-8; Eduard
Fueter, Histoire de I'Historiographie Moderne (Paris, 1914), 171.
4Peter Burke, "A Survey of the Popularity of Ancient Historians, 1450-1700," His-
tory and Theory, 5 (1966), 151.
5For detailed studies of these erudits: Huppert, The Idea of Perfect History, and
Donald R. Kelley, Foundations of Modern Historical Scholarship: Language, Law, and
History in the French Renaissance (New York, 1970). While these legists had an aware-
ness of historical development and an interest in causation, they did not generally
compose narrative histories. Therefore, specific comparisons between them and the
group analyzed in this essay should be avoided. This essay studies those who wrote his-
torical works or who specifically commented on the appropriate form for such works.
Sixteenth-century erudits reached their conclusions not as historians but as legal
scholars. While often called legal humanists, they did not compose what has tradi-
tionally been termed humanist history, while the group dealt with in the text of this
article are, more properly, the followers of a humanist tradition in the composition of
history.

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A PRE-ENLIGHTENMENT GENRE 221
humanist forebears. The addition of the trappin

their narratives was part of their legacy to historia
ment.
In this period of intellectual fermentation, when the traditions of

skepticism, humanism, rationalism, and classicism all seemed to con-
verge, the genre underwent a development of its own. Although the
general didactic moral purpose remained constant, there developed a
subtle yet significant broadening of the subject matter which the his-
torians considered worth treating. The scope of history was expanded,
which in turn involved its author in more analysis. The historian's per-
ception of the audience for whom he was writing also changed. And
coincident with this, the historian became increasingly less concerned
with literary form. Despite these specific developments, one of the most
important unifying elements of this genre was the historian's self-con-
scious effort to present a philosophy of history. The debate over the
structure, purpose, and methods of history was argued in the works of
history themselves or in separate essays specifically addressed to the
nature and purposes of history.
This article will examine that evolving philosophy of history of the
histoire raisonnee. The primary emphasis will be placed on the
philosophy rather than on the construction of the history of this genre.6
Materials for this study are drawn from both philosophers of history in
general7 and authors who wrote histoires raisonnees. By examining
their views on the purpose and subject matter, the form, and the me-
thodology of history, it is possible to see the continuing traditions be-
tween this seventeenth-century format and the narrative histories of the
Enlightenment.8
6In this article I intend to explore the attitudes toward history expressed by these
representatives of the histoire raisonnee. Therefore, relatively little analysis of the
actual structure of the works is possible. For further discussion of the format of these
works, see my, "L'Histoire Raisonn6e: A Study of French Historiography, 1660-1720"
(Ph.D. dissertation, Ohio State University, 1971), Ch. VI.
7One could also explore the many references to history made by non-historians of
the period. The anti-historical Cartesian thought, for example, adds to the complexity
of the issue, and the reaction to Cartesianism helped develop the pre-Enlightenment
spirit. The exploration of this strain, however, would require a far more extensive
article, so I shall limit my remarks to a group who can be identified as historians.
8This article implicitly continues the debate on the dating of historicism in France.
Works contending that the Enlightenment era marks the beginning of modern his-
toriography include John B. Black, The Art of History (London, 1926); J. H. Brumfitt,
Voltaire: Historian (London, 1958); Ernst Cassirer, The Philosophy of the Enlighten-
ment (Boston, 1965); Peter Gay, The Enlightenment. An Interpretation, 2 vols. (New
York, 1966-69). In 1970, Donald Kelley and George Huppert claimed that French legal
humanists of the Renaissance were responsible for the development of historicism.
They look to the studies of legists like Estienne Pasquier, Francois Baudouin, Charles
Dumoulin, Lancelot de La Popeliniere, and Pierre Pithou, whose historical conscious-
ness arose from the nature of their work. Yet, these men were not engaged in the
writing of narrative histories, and commentators on seventeenth-century historiog-

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I. The Purpose and Subject Matter

historians of this period and genre,
struct: history was a didactic art. Th
struct properly was a function of h
viewpoint was to be superimposed on
of the author, shown in his choice of
facts, and his organization, gave life
Advocates and authors of the histoir
the historian inevitably would be select
the self-conscious appraisal of his pur
While the didactic task of the h
element, historians differed with re
priate for the genre. An evolutionar
substantial historiographical develop
1660's and 1670's, many theorists arg
only examples of great events worthy
religious maxims. Pierre Le Moyne (
the static tradition from Polybius to B
1670, De l'histoire. In history, "Know
unfolded, the Political and Moral h
crown'd and Vice punish'd.... 'Tis
Counsels, Degrees of Honour and In
presented were justifications for the
(such as the Salic Law and Divine Righ
the King. These teachings were ap
audience, and such spokesmen, there
serve specifically those in importa
Through history, "Princes are taught
ters Intelligent and Faithful; Captain
pert without the Assitance of Exper
raphy have often noted a split between erud
Hazard, The European Mind (New Haven, 19
Constitution and the Feudal Law (Cambridg
torical Revolution: English Historical Writi
1962), 46. Huppert and Kelley are generally
teenth-century historians, suggesting that th
followed: Kelley, Foundations of Modern His
The Idea of Perfect History, 170, 58, 87, 166.
tions of seventeenth-century historians to the
9For reflective statements: Pierre Le Moy
Judging of History, with Reflections upon
(London, 1695), 117-18; "Lettre de M.N. a M
regne de Louis XIV, par Larrey," Le Nouveau
38.
'?Bodin's Methodus was more concerned with exposing general laws than with
examining particular circumstances: Huppert, Idea of Perfect History, 94.
"Le Moyne, On the Art both of Writing and Judging of History, 117-18.
'2Ibid., 29; also 53, 92.

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ported this argument, like Jacques-Benigne Bossuet (1

FranQois Faure13 (1612-87), mouthed fairly simplistic
which revealed little understanding of the complexities
moral realities. They were essentially copiers of an earl
being superseded by those with a deeper understanding of
During the latter half of this period, some historian
that the greatest value of history lay not in providing exa
sophic and moral principles, but in exposing the motiv
the customs of nations, and the dynamics of change. To th
ject matter of history should be specific and concre
continued to argue that the purpose of history was dida
more interested in instruction based on history than on
literature. Thus, it was not the elucidation of the gene
tory, but the analysis of the unique situation which
challenge for the historian.
Following in the tradition of the sixteenth-century hist
de la Popeliniere, who in 1582 argued that history was
human actions . . . ,14 was Abbe de Saint-Real (1639-92
and a distinguished classicist. Since the individual had a
creating political and moral realities, the study of histo
examination of the motives, opinions, and passions of m
argued, cause events to occur and thereby furnish history
terial:
... savoir, c'est connoltre les choses par leurs causes; ainsi s
c'est connoitre les hommes, qui en fournissent la matiere, c
hommes sainement; 6tudier l'Histoire, c'est etudier les motif
les passions des hommes, pour en connoitre tous les ressorts
d6tours, enfin toutes les illusions qu'elles savent faire aux es
prises qu'elles font aux coeurs.16
Men can be known, we are told, not by portraying

examining motives: ". . . il faut toujours remonter aux
veut connoltre les hommes: car c'est dans leurs motifs,
proprement leur espirt, et toute l'etendui de ce dont il
By so examining motives, Saint-Real contends, one see
principal fault is that he is ambitious and vain. This "v
tinguer" interferes with all his judgments, and makes m
faithful, and partial. According to Saint-Real, history i
'3Chefs-d'oeuvre de Bossuet (Paris, 1844), 1; FranCois Faure,
Panegyrique (Paris, 1680), 10. For a further discussion of Bossuet; inf
4 Huppert, Idea of Perfect History, 89.
'5Dallas, Le roman francais de 1660 a 1680, 158-59; Dulong, L'abb
I, 105.
16Abb6 de Saint-R6al, De I'usage de l'histoire (Paris, 1671), 4; N
Dufresnoy, Methode pour etudier l'histoire, 4 vols. (Paris, 1729), I
statement almost verbatim.
'7Saint-R6al, De l'usage de l'histoire, 35.

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expose these general, unchanging tra

that man may better understand him
Charles Auguste de La Fare (1664
Memoires, implicitly cautioned a
tending that the different circum
unique responses. History must be
human experiences; it must present m
Quel est donc mon dessein? C'est de f

maine. II ne s'agit pas ici de ce que les Ho
de ce qu'ils pensent, de ce qu'ils font et d
juger par ce qu'ils ont fait.19
The progressive stages of man's de

to passion to reason-must be taken
to explain the motivations of human
growth within the individual, histor
differentiated on the basis of thei
their customs. Rich men act diffe
whether the bourgeois, the laborer, t
own "esprit" and responds diffe
Moreover, the customs of a partic
and change slowly) give rise to hab
men.20 In exchange for the metap
character, La Fare supports the es
diversity of human nature.21
Thus, for authors and commentat
important concern was an examinat
analysis, it was shown that man's n
sult of a multiplicity of cultural,
While difficult to comprehend the
tions, it was nonetheless worthwhile
tions. Through this detailed delinea
of human experience.
A second way in which the autho
'8lbid., 17-19, 102-03, 109, 128-30. Other

motives, opinions, and passions of men was
Dufresnoy and Charles Marguetel de Sain
Henri Philippe de Limiers. See Lenglet Duf
2-3; Saint-Evremond, Discours sur les hist
sterdam, 1739), III, 231-32; Henri Phili
francoise, 3 vols. (Amsterdam, 1724), I, Pr
19La Fare, Memoires et reflexions sur les
XIV(Rotterdam, 1717), 6; 47-48. 20bid., 7-16.
21 For a further analysis of the Gassendist position,
century, see Antoine Adam, Histoire de la litteratur
(Paris, 1962), I, 298.

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at the boundaries of didacticism and moralism was th

to make culture and civilization a viable subject of th
de Boulainvilliers (1658-1722), for example, well u
historian needed to delve into the specific environme
circumstances and responses of men in order to unde
... croyez-vous ... que l'on soit bien avance de savoir

evenements, le nom des princes, de leurs ministres, de
leurs maitresses, si l'on ignore d'ailleurs les ressorts de
gouvernement, si 1'on ne s'instruit du genie de chaque s
moeurs, des idees dominantes, ou pour tout dire des pas
les hommes?22
Boulainvilliers was one of the many historians who perceived that men
were both responsible for and influenced by the unique cultural climate
in which they lived. Increasingly, theorists claimed that historians had
to examine the differences as well as the similarities in the human con-
dition.
The cultural relativism which had also inspired the work of
sixteenth-century legal humanists23 led to the contention that the his-
torian's task was to examine the customs, manners, and spirit of na-
tions. Much earlier than Boulainvilliers, Charles Sorel (1596?-1674),
typical of seventeenth-century Gallicanism, emphasized the importance
of knowing the culture of the French. His own history of France, he
claimed, would include information on the style of dress, the language
and laws in use, and the arts which have been practiced, as well as the
more common details on the founding of cities, churches, colleges, and
the lives of kings.24 Pere Gabriel Daniel (1649-1728), too, believed that
the depiction of moeurs was the proper field for the historian:
La science de l'Historien se fait sentir par les remarques qu'il seme dans sa
narration sur les moeurs des Peuples dont il fait l'Histoire. Par ce mot de
moeurs, on n'entend pas seulement le genie de la Nation, mais encore les Cou-
tumes, les Usages, les Loix, la Jurisprudence, la maniere du Gouvernement
Civil et Militaire, et autres choses semblables, avec les changements qui y sont
arrives dans la suite des tems.25
22Quoted in Renee Simon, Henry de Boulainvillier: Historien, Politicien, Astrologue

(Gap, 1940), 48.
23Examples of cultural relativism from this period can be found in the works of
Loys Le Roy and La Popeliniere: Huppert, Idea of Perfect History, 116, 142.
24Charles de Souvigny Sorel, Avertissement sur l'histoire de la monarchiefrancoise
(Paris, 1628), 55; Charles de Souvigny Sorel, "Supplement des traitez de la con-
noissance des bons livres," De la prudence ou des bonnes reigles de la vie (Paris, 1673),
5; also Emile Roy, La Vie et des oeuvres de Charles Sorel, Sieur de Souvigny (Paris,
1891), 337; Edelman, Attitudes of Seventeenth-Century France toward the Middle
Ages, 75.
25Pere Gabriel Daniel, Histoire de France depuis l'etablissement de la monarchie
francoise dans les Gaules, 17 vols. (Paris, 1755), I, 1; also his Histoire de la milice
francoise. 2 vols. (Paris, 1721), I, ii-iii.

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But, unlike sixteenth-century relativis

used such perceptions in political and
theorists used the histoire raisonnee as
cultures and civilizations.
Theorists argued that the historian should address his attention not
only to the cultural differences between nations, but to the evolution of
customs within a nation. The roots of this relativism can be traced
easily to the institutional perspective of sixteenth-century legists,
Estienne Pasquier, whose interest in the rights of the Crow
Parlement, Church, and Estates led him to the study of the evolution
these institutions. But Pasquier never wrote any integrated narra
history. He followed the method of philologists, writing learned
torical essays contoured to the available sources, in the effort to justi
a French nationalism independent of royalism and Romanism
apologist for the Gallican constitution, Pasquier subordinated his
to this purpose. His significance lies in his consciousness that "Fra
is a continually changing concept which can only be defined by its
tory.26 Building upon this awareness of an ever-changing cultura
mate, La Fare stated that the spirit and character of each century
French history was unique.27 Likewise, Fenelon (1651-1715), autho
Telemaque, argued that the customs of a nation evolve during
course of time, and that the good historian must be conscious of t
subtleties:
Le point le plus n6cessaire et le plus rare pour un historien, est qu'il sache
exactement la forme du gouvernement, et le detail des moeurs de la nation
dont il ecrit l'histoire, pour chaque siecle. Un peintre qui ignore ce qu'on
nomme il costume ne peint rien avec verite.... Chaque peuple change souvent
pour ses propres moeurs. . . . Notre nation ne doit point etre peinte d'une
facon uniforme: elle a eu des changemens continuels .. .28
Boulainvilliers was particularly interested in researching the origins of

French institutions and families.29 Louis de Rouvroy de Saint-Simon
(1675-1755), the acerbic critic of Louis XIV, also recognized the
critical importance of tracing les moeurs of the French nation, which he
claimed "serviront de clef a l'intelligence pour leur gouvernement." In
his Parallele des trois premiers rois Bourbons, he clearly revealed his
26Huppert, Idea of Perfect History, 35, 37, 45, 47, 63; idem, "Naissance de l'histoire
en France: Les 'Recherches' d'Estienne Pasquier," Annales. Economies, Societes,
Civilisations, 23 (Jan.-Fev., 1968), 71, 76; Kelley, Foundations of Modern Histori-
cal Scholarship, 285-90.
27La Fare, Memoires, 16, 18-20.
28Francois de Fenelon, "Lettre a M. Dacier, Secr6taire perp6tuel de 1'Acad6mie
Franqaise, sur les occupations de 1'Academie," Oeuvres completes de Fenelon, 10 vols.
(Paris, 1852), VI, 639-40.
29See esp. Henri comte de Boulainvilliers, Etat de la France, 6 vols. (London, 1737);
and his Histoire de l'ancien gouvernement de la France, 3 vols. (La Haye, 1727).

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awareness that customs evolve and change during

though his initial purpose in this work was to co
Henry IV, Louis XIII, and Louis XIV, he often indi
bination of circumstances within each reign cr
differences that no comparison could be drawn.30
By studying the customs and manners of di
theorists learned that the context of history was
Indeed, men might always be characterized by th
virtues, but the ever changing circumstances ofte
behavioral responses. While these historians did no
of the progress of the human species, they did re
nature of history. Actions and events had to be judge
time and circumstances in which they occurred.
From the examination of the causes for individual action and insti-
tutional change, there arose a general interest in the development and
process of history. The subject matter of history, according to some
spokesmen for histoires raisonnees, should be expanded through an at-
tention to the movements and dynamics of history. The analysis of cau-
sation became an independent field of interest and study.31
Paul Pellisson (1624-93), historian to Louis XIV, believed that to
fulfill his purpose the writer had to explain "les veritables dispositions
des choses par toute l'Europe, les preparatifs longtems dissimules et
caches, les causes secretes de ces grands effets...."32 According to
Saint-Simon, the historian could best teach by exposing the origins,
causes, and contingencies of events.33 Similarly, Daniel argued that the
research into historical change was the most beautiful part of history,
"ce qui en fait l'ame, ce qui la soutint, ce qui lui donne de la dig-
nite....34 According to Fenelon, all interconnections and circum-
stances should be revealed: "Sans les circonstances, les faits demeurent
comme ddcharnes: ce n'est que la squelette d'une histoire."35
It was Geraud de Cordemoy (16??-1684) who, perhaps more than
any other theorist of this genre, emphasized the crucial need to under-
stand historical movement:
Ne raconter que les grands dvenemens, et n'6crire rien en detail que les causes
des grands changemens.... Songer bien que les Rois sont a la verite les plus
30Louis de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon, Parallele des trois premiers rois Bourbons
(Paris, 1967), 58; also 59, 67, 69, 74-82, 147, 305-06; also Memoires de Saint-Simon, 41
vols. (Paris, 1879), I, 10; XXVIII, 276, 280.
31A similar interest in the analysis of causes had been expressed by La Popeliniere in
the sixteenth century as the basis for the "New History": Huppert, Idea of Perfect His-
tory, 26, 89, 137.
32Paul Pellisson-Fontanier, Histoire de Louis XIV, depuis la mort du Cardinal Ma-
zarin en 1661jusqu'a lapaix de Nimegue en 1678, 3 vols. (Paris, 1749), III, 48.
33Saint-Simon, Memoires, I, 5-6, 14, 18.
34Daniel, Histoire de France, I, Preface, xxv.
35 Fnelon, "Lettre a M. Dacier," Oeuvres completes de Fenelon, VI, 638.

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remarquables personnes de l'Histoire, mai

le veritable sujet.... 36
To understand change, one needed to

nation would derive better instructio
from an expose of deeds and of battl
ancient history, for example, Cordem
for his wife, which led to the end of
tional attachment caused Candaules t
the house of Croesus. According to C
quential (and often superficial) detail
the historian's attention.37 It is the
which most profitably instructs the re
came to be conscious of historical dif
histoire raisonnee was their vehicle
these new subjects. How typical Cor
was to become at the hands of Bayle
suggest motivation while holding the in
Particularly striking for this period
XIV manipulated his image as "le Die
vast majority of historians of met
tutor to the Dauphin, and author of
verselle (1679), is often cited as typical
His work, essentially representative
histories, begins with the fall of man
inspired by God. Yet, even Bossuet f
and Augustine by juxtaposing politic
ones.38 Long before Bossuet publish
torians were rejecting providential th
realm of knowledge of the historian. T
spirit of seventeenth-century skeptics
a priori premises, and believed on
36Geraud de Cordemoy, "Ce qu'on doit ob
traitez de metaphysique, d'histoire et de pol
necessite de l'histoire, de son usage, et de l
sciences en la faisant lire a un prince," ibid., 70
37Cordemoy, "Observations sur l'histoire d
is all that Cordemoy writes on the subject of t
is, however, somewhat different than Cordem
tionary of Proper Names mentioned in Anc
1949), 124, and Paul Harvey, ed. and comp.,
Literature (Oxford, 1940), 192. For other sta
Cordemoy, "Ce qu'on doit observer en ecriva
Sevin de Quincy, Histoire militaire du regne
(Paris, 1726), I, eii; Lenglet Dufresnoy, Metho
Claude Chalons, Histoire de France, 3 vols. (P
38Adam, Histoire de la litteraturefrancaise

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experience.39 Even Charles Sorel, who stated that his

instruction in the mysteries of faith and religion, advis
acceptance of miraculous stories. The test for the ad
stories should be reason.40 By submitting providentia
the test of reason, historians took the first step toward
of God's power. When Pierre de Lesconvel (1650?-172
praisal of the Histoire abrege of Mezeray, he critici
maintaining "popular" opinions about supernatural eve
supporting natural theories of causation.41 Simon de
93) distinguished between final and secondary causes
plicitly:
Nous s;avons tous, que rien n'arrive dans le monde que par la permission de
Dieu ... mais l'Historien ne doit point entrer dans ces considerations, son de-
voir est d'exposer niiement les actions des hommes, et le motif pour lequel
elles ont est6 entreprises et executees. Car en effet, Dieu laisse agir les Crea-
tures raisonnables avec une liberte toute entiere: I1 concourt veritablement
avec les causes secondes; mais il ne leur impose aucune necessite d'agir.... .42
It was the task of the historian to analyze the concrete facts rather than
to delve into illusory metaphysical explanations in a work of his craft.
Man's actions were to be understood not as a function of final,
transcendental forces, but as a product of his personal psychological
motivations. To expose these motivations, the historian had to under-
stand not only the individual, but his culture, and his total environment.
History was a tableau not only of human life, but of the society at large.
Moreover, since each society was different and mutable, the historian
ought not engage in cross-cultural comparisons, but should examine
each cultural unit as a separate entity. Unlike sixteenth-century hu-
manists who used past cultures as a static basis of comparison,43 these
writers on the histoire raisonnee suggested that the heterogeneous
nature of cultures should be exposed as an example of the diversity in
civilization. By means of such statements, these historians clearly
foreshadowed the similar views expressed by French philosophes. These
seventeenth-century theorists acted as a catalyst to the emergence of
the spirit of the Enlightenment.
39Adam, Grandeur and Illusion, trans. Herbert Tint (New York, 1972), 124-25.
40Sorel, De laprudence, 19; Advertissement sur l'histoire, 109-10.
4"[Pierre de Lesconvel], Observations critiques sur l'histoire de France ecrite par
Mezerai (Paris, 1700), 2-3.
42Simon de Riencourt, Histoire de la monarchiefrancoise, 2 vols. (Paris, 1688), I,
Discours, 17.
43Pocock, The Ancient Constitution and the Feudal Law, 5; Huppert, Idea of
Perfect History, 65. There is some ambiguity in sixteenth-century statements regarding
cultural relativism. At the same time that Pasquier argued that French and Roman
systems could be compared, he claimed that all laws were the product of history and
thus were relative to their culture: Huppert, ibid., 152-54.

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II. The Form of History.-During t

portance of the literary form and te
discussed widely. Authors of histoir
debate on these matters, and their
the process, the critical question of th
to factual presentation and critical an
many remained convinced that th
substance, the debate itself fostered increased examination of the issue.
The histoire raisonnee was a forum for the questions pertinent for
modern historical form.
Some historians of this genre remained concerned that their works
reflect the standards of literary excellence established during the Sun
King's reign. These current standards diverged from the Renaissance
formula of literary taste. Where the Renaissance man of letters
stressed the utility and beauty of harangues, discourse, and orna-
mentation in a literary work, the classicist emphasized the value of
harmony, naturalness, and balance in a work of art. This difference in
perspective is reflected in the uses made of ancient historiography.
During the sixteenth century, the language, style, genres, and subjects
of the ancients were copied. Seventeenth-century writers, however,
were influenced more by the scope and subject matter of ancient his-
tories than by the language and style of their authors.44
This conflict between Renaissance and classical values resulted in a
rejection of the typically humanist work of Francois Eudes de Mezeray.
Mezeray applied Renaissance concepts of literary art to history. Hi
aim was to amuse and interest his readers. To be agreeable was mo
important than to be correct; consequently, the details of history m
tered little. In his works, historical figures pronounced moral solilo
quies through harangues, tirades, and feigned discourse-all part of
Mezeray's effort to compose in a beautiful style reminiscent of Pau
Emile and to enliven the dead and relatively meaningless details of h
tory.45 With these criteria, he discounted the need for an objective and
balanced presentation of historical facts.
Rather than providing a model for later seventeenth-centur
authors, Mezeray's work was criticized by these authors precisely fo
its literary aspects. Classicists, restrained by the values of raiso
nature, ordre, and mesure, argued that history and literature had t
follow the rules of vraisemblance. Beauty was found in simplicity,
44Rend Bray, "L'esthetique classique," Revue des cours et conferences, No. 12
(Mai, 1929), 364-65; C. H. C. Wright, French Classicism (Cambridge, 1920),
William L. Wiley, The Formal French (Cambridge, 1967), 220-21. Wiley explains th
by 1660, French language and tastes were formulated, allowing seventeenth-centu
classicists to integrate rather than imiate the ancients.
45Evans, L'historien Mezeray, 8, 125, 128, 138; Adam, Histoire de la litteratu
francaise au XVIIe siecle, V, 330; George Huppert, "The Renaissance Background
Historicism," History and Theory, 5 (1966), 52.

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clarity, and precision, rather than in flamboyant

style of writing was still important, but classical tast
Pierre de Lesconvel47 devoted an entire work, Observations cri-
tiques sur l'histoire de France, to a literary criticism of Mezeray's his-
tory. Contending that the Histoire abrege was a work of literature as
well as of history, Lesconvel reproached Mezeray for his use of com-
mon language, his tendency to exaggerate, his poor judgment, and his
choice of materials. Of particular interest to Lesconvel was the
author's style:
... que son stile est dur, qu'il fait quelquefois des periodes mal liees, et qu'il
employe des termes barbares ou connus seulement du menu peuple... .48
Daniel Lombard, a respected critic, also had stated that while Me-
zeray's style was energetic, it was "ni pur, ni elegant ... ," and Gabrie
Daniel in his Histoire de France suggested that Mezeray should have
excluded all proverbs, base expressions, and gibes.49
In part, style was determined by subject matter. By describing com-
mon details, and fabulous occurrences, Mezeray was indulging the
desires of the menu peuple, Lesconvel claimed, rather than elevating
their tastes through descriptions of aristocratic life. Moreover, his fre-
quent exaggerations and his literary ostentation, typical of the
Renaissance imitation of ancient historians, deprived his work of
vraisemblance, the cardinal principle of classicist theory.50 Lombard,
Daniel, and Lesconvel all used classical literary theory to criticize a
Renaissance literary historian.
But the issue of the proper form of historical writing was not solved
with the criticism of Mezeray, and Daniel argued that the classical style
best suited the specific needs of the historian. Style, he wrote, should be
noble, but should also be simple, natural, and moderate. History, too,
has its appropriate style and eloquence which is far removed from ora
torical rhetoric.51 The historian must avoid the use of "romanesque
episodes, forced transitions, and harangues, primarily because feigned
and contrived materials divert the writer from his portrayal of th
46For the application of classicism to history: Wright, French Classicism, 21-22,
123; Bray, Revue des cours et conferences, No. 13 (Juin 1929), 443-49; No.12 (Mai
1929), 370-74; Martin Turnell, The Classical Moment: Studies of Corneille, Moliere,
and Racine (London, 1947), 7-12.
47This work also has been attributed to Daniel, and the Biographie Universelle, ed
Michaud, suggests that it earned Daniel much hostility from his contemporaries. Evans
actually claims that the work was Daniel's: Evans, L'historien Mezeray, 24.
48Lesconvel, Observations critiques, Avis.
49Daniel Lombard, Comparaison des deux Histoires de M. de Mezeray et du Pere
Daniel, en delux Dissertations, avec line dissertation preliminaire sur l'Utilite de I'His
toire (Amsterdam, 1723), 90; Daniel, Histoire de France, I, Preface, Ixxiii.
50Lesconvel, Observations critiques, 3-5, 15-16, 27, 58-60, 98-100, 149, 152-53,
187-88.
51 Daniel, Histoire de France, I, Preface, Ixxiii.

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truth. However, sentences, maxim

digressions can serve a useful function
but moral. Through these devices the
judgment, and can thereby create the
In the case of Daniel, we have an exam
upon classical stylistic excellence in a
literary techniques could be related to t
and of judgment. In this way, style serv
function.
Some of Daniel's contemporaries imp
a conflict existed between the dem
literature. As this belief developed, th
position of history became secondary
Lenglet Dufresnoy, writing in the early
realized the importance both of litera
He restated in Pierre Le Moyne's t
judgment, maxims, and harangues con
But unlike Le Moyne, he understood tha
to penetrate the motives and causes of
the facts of history. Instead of empha
historian's craft, Lenglet Dufresnoy d
analysis of valuable sources and auxiliary
Some historians, recognizing the di
completely rejected literary technique
about composition. Isaac de Larrey
volume Histoire de France, maintained
facts simply, without any oratorical f
adherence of modern authors to form
condemned the use of maxims, ha
grounds that these devices reflected the
to the introduction of false materials,57
all superfluous ornamentation:
Un historien doit retrancher beaucoup d'e

mens du discours: par ce retranchement,
52Ibid., I, Preface, lxxix-lxxx; lxiii, lxxiii-lxx
court agreed that well-placed digressions coul
de Limiers, Histoire du regne de Louis XIV, R
sterdam, 1717), I, Preface, and Riencourt, His
53For Le Moyne's comment on the proper fo
both of Writing and Judging of History, esp
188-94.
54Lenglet Dufresnoy, Methode pour etudier l'histoire, II, 456-64.
55Isaac de Larrey, Histoire de France sous le regne de Louis XIV, 7 vols. (Rot-
terdam, 1721), I, Preface, xx.
56Cordemoy, "Observations sur l'histoire d'Herodote," Divers traitez, 51-58,
quoted material on 58.
57Riencourt, Histoire de la monarchiefrancoise, I, Discours, 14-15.

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plus vive, plus simple, plus gracieuse. II doit inspirer par u

plus solide morale, sans moraliser: il doit eviter les sent
ecueils.58
The historian could best instruct through the unen

rejection of the literary view of history widely
manist followers coincided with a growing belief tha
tonomous discipline with its own justification.
III. The Methodology of History.-Despite the fa
histoires raisonnees did not practice the art of cri
recognized that the historian had to be wary of the s
acquiring data. This was the first step in dealing w
scholarship. Through the mouths of the comment
histoires raisonnees came an analysis of historical
revealed a growing awareness of historical techniqu
The interest in discussing the nature of "truth" an
"evidence" was indicative of the impact of the philosophies of
skepticism. Growing out of the Reformation and the French wars of re-
ligion, the philosophy of skepticism found broad appeal in intellectual
circles, and became a tool of both Catholic and Protestant opponents
of the force of reason.59 In the seventeenth century, different strands of
skepticism were embraced by Pascal, Gassendi, Descartes, Male-
branche, and Bayle-to name but the best known. The Cartesian doc-
trines, often cited as the basis of skepticism in the latter part of the
century, in fact appealed less to the historically minded because of their
implicit anti-historical strain. Descartes' principle of methodical doubt
eventually led to the admissibility of metaphysical deductions and to a
break with history and tradition. It was in the doctrines of the radical
pyrrhonist Gassendi, who denied all metaphysics and intellectual
certainty, that philosophers of history found their greater inspiration.
Academic societies were formed throughout the seventeenth century to
debate and discuss the relative merits and techniques of empiricism and
of deductionism. Historians were often participants in these societies.60
One group which centered around Gassendi, the Acadmmie puteane,
and which concentrated its attack on system builders, included the his-
torian Francois de La Mothe le Vayer (1588-1672) as part of its inti-
mate circle. This small group of friends, La Tetrade, composed a
manual of skeptical thought, called Four dialogues in imitation of the
58"Lettre a M. Dacier," Oeuvres completes de Fenelon, VI, 639.

59There are limited examples of historical skeptics in the sixteenth century, notably
La Popeliniere and Charles de La Ruelle: Huppert, Idea of Perfect History, 165, and
Huppert, "The Renaissance Background of Historicism," 49-50.
60John H. Randall, Jr., The Career of Philosophy from the Middle Ages to the
Enlightenment (Columbus, 1962), 97-99, 414-32; Richard H. Popkin, The History of
Skepticism from Erasmus to Descartes (Netherlands, 1960); xii-xiii; Craig B. Brush,
Montaigne and Bayle. Variations on the Theme of Skepticism (The Hague, 1966), 163,
167-70; Adam, Grandeur and Illusion, 127-35.

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ancients.61 In a work of his own com

le Vayer pointed out time and again
found in history. Subjectivity ent
claimed.
... ne prendre pas pour des veritez une bonne partie de ce qu'elle debite, estant
necessairement accompagnee des defauts de nostre humanite, qui ne produit
rien d'absolument parfait.62
Nationality, personal circumstances, and political involvements pro-

hibit the objectivity, balance, and impartiality of historians.63 Both
Henri Philippe de Limiers and Simon de Riencourt agreed on the vir-
tual impossibility of writing history devoid of one's personal interests,
but authors, they stated, should consciously attempt to moderate their
prejudices.64
Daniel argued that subjectivity resulted only with certain types of
facts. He drew a valuable distinction between the details of history and
the circumstances or causes for these facts. The facts, such as the
actual edicts passed, the dates of battles, the names of ministers, could
be readily ascertained. But to ask for complete "truth" with regard to
the intrigues in cabinets, the private deliberations at negotiations, or the
discussions at court would be to demand the impossible of the his-
torian. It would be unreasonable to expect the historian either to have
access to these materials or to be impartial in reporting them. In the
case of these latter materials, Daniel agreed that such details might
never be known.65 Thus, these theorists contended that the writer of
history was limited in his quest for truth by his personal sentiments and
his predispositions.
The fault did not lie entirely with the historian. He, in turn, was
limited by the documents, which themselves contained elements of sub-
jectivity. Le Moyne, previously discussed as an historian of maxims,66
commented about these commonly used sources: "Letters of Princes,
Memoirs of Statesmen, Instructions of Ambassadors, are great Suc-
cors: But Princes and Statesmen, do not they sometimes prevaricate in
their Writings; are their Pens of greater Credit than their Lips? And are
not Ambassadors necessitated to deceive. .. ? Do Princes commit their
Secrets to Gazeteers, and inform them of the Motives for which th
take up Arms?"67
61Brush, Montaigne and Bayle, 163-67; Adam, Histoire de la litteraturefrancai
au XVIIe siecle, I, 298, 305-13; Adam, Grandeur and Illusion, 124-27.
62Francois de La Mothe le Vayer, "Du peu de certitude qu'il y a dans l'histoire,
Oeuvres, XIII (Paris, 1684), 416.
63Franqois de La Mothe le Vayer, "Discours de l'histoire, ou est examinee celle
Sandoval," Oeuvres, II (Paris, 1684), 144, 146-48, 156, 189, 225, 239-40.
84Riencourt, Histoire de la monarchiefrancoise, I, Discours, 4; Limiers, Histoire
regne de Louis XIV, I, Preface [** 12].
65Daniel, Histoire de France, I, Preface, xix, xxii, xxvii. 68See above, note 1.
67Le Moyne, On the Art both of Writing and Judging of History, 76-77.

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How, then, should the historian deal with docum

Both Daniel and Limiers agreed that specific r
guidelines. If there were almost unanimous agree
event by contemporary witnesses, the historian could
true. Accounts of primary witnesses were to be given
hearsay, or secondary accounts. If more than one
was the most probable which should be accepted.
go so far as to try to extract the motivations or spirit
a document, in order to determine the value of the m
upon sixteenth- and seventeenth-century example
quarianism, and anticipating the concerns of Pierr
torians tried to formulate rules of good methodolo
possible pitfalls of human reason.
In the eighteenth century, Lenglet Dufresno
general knowledge about a particular historian
government, and culture would be useful, because t
ter understand an author's framework, and therefore could make a
more accurate judgment about the historical source. Such dat
geography, fertility of the soil, economic prosperity, could all be
plied.70 Knowledge of all the accompanying circumstances surroun
an historical event would help to determine the likelihood of a report
occurrence. These rules would allow the historian to steer a middle
course between pyrrhonism and credulity.71
Historians were theoretically and verbally committed to the ques
for historical accuracy. Their fervent cries for truth, impartiality
moderation, and objectivity were mouthed again and again. The his
torian should admit no falsity into his discourse, and should withho
no truth! The historian should adhere to no party and to no country
"A historian . . is like Melchizedech, without father, without mothe
and without genealogy."72 These words served as a kind of code
Through them, the historian distinguished himself from the novelist
the playwright, and the poet, and gained entrance into the elit
clubhouse of other historians.
Almost all authors of histoires raisonnees stated that the distin-
guishing characteristic of their works was the truth which was
contained within. Their words are plain-Daniel: "La premiere qualite
qu'ils demandent dans un Historien, est la sincerit6 et la verite...." 73
Gatien Courtilz de Sandras (1644-1712): "... je dirai les choses com-
mes elles sont; ... la sincerite ... fait le Caractere d'un fidelle His-
68Limiers, Histoire du regne de Louis XIV, I, Preface [**10-11, ***1-2]; Daniel,
Histoire de France, I, Preface, xviii-xxi, xxxv. The similarity of words in the passage
cited suggests that Limiers may have plagiarized this passage from Daniel.
69 Brush, Montaigne and Bayle, 328-30.
70Dufresnoy, Methode pour Studier l'histoire, I, 14, 16; 33-35; II, 239-42.
71bid., II, 432-38, 410-19.
72Ernest Cassirer, The Philosophy of the Enlightenment, 209.
73Histoire de France, I, Preface, xviii; xxiv, xxvii-xxix.

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torien."74 Limiers: "... un Historien doit aimer a dire la Verite, et

n'avoir aucun sujet de la taire, parce que le moindre mensonge cor-
rompt la nature de l'Histoire, et fait de la Verite une Fable."75 Rien-
court: ". . . on ne peut estre trop circonspect, ny prendre trop de soin,
pour faire en sorte qu'elle soit eloignee de la medisance et de la flat-
terie....76 Saint-Remy: "J'espere neanmoins qu'on ne me reprochera
pas le plus grand defaut ou puisse tomber un Historien, qui est de ne
pas dire la Verite....."77 If we took them at their word, these theorists
would appear to appreciate the critical task of the historian.
Yet, it.is apparent from the works that followed that many of these
writers had no intention of presenting impartial and well-researched ac-
counts. Viewing themselves as men of letters rather than collectors of
data, they scorned both past and present erudits as mere chronologists
or annalists, and called them pedants for their quarrels over minutia.
They did little original research, and made little sustained effort to uti-
lize the most trustworthy sources. They were impatient with the tedious
collection of detailed documentation. They often distorted their ma-
terials to fit the needs of their moral arguments and to fulfill their
responsibilities to the purpose of the histoire raisonnee.
Despite this limitation, the statements themselves about meth-
odology must not be dismissed lightly. They indicate that historians
believed that their justification and value stemmed from the verity of
their accounts. In theory, they realized that the exposition of truth
comprised the historian's greatest contribution. And they did have
some very real contributions to make about the methods which could
be used to ascertain the facts of history.
IV. Ties to the Enlightenment.-The significance of the philosophy
of history described above emerges from a comparison with the
theorists of the Enlightenment. The theory of progress, the concept of
historical relativism, the appreciation of social and cultural history, the
rejection of Providence, the analysis of human psychology, and the de-
velopment of tools for distinguishing between fact and fiction have all
been ascribed to these "enlightened" thinkers.78 The intent of this
article is to suggest that authors of histoires raisonnees either laid the
74Histoire de la guerre de Hollande (Haye, 1689), Preface.

75Histoire du regne de Louis XIV, I, Preface, [** 1]; also **4, Dedication, *5.
76Histoire de la monarchiefrancoise, I, Discours, 1; 2, 24, 34.
77Pierre Surirey de Saint-R6my, Memoires d'artillerie (Paris, 1697), Preface [iv-v].
One can find other similar statements in Saint-Simon, Memoires, I, 7; Quincy, Histoire
militaire du regne de Louis le Grand, I, eii; Fenelon, Lettre a l'Academie, ed. Albert
Cahen (Paris, 1942), iii; Hyacinthe Robillard D'Avrigny, Memoires pour servir a
l'histoire universelle de l'Europe depuis 1600jusqu'en 1716, 4 vols. (Paris, 1725), I, xiii;
Larrey, Histoire de France, I, Preface, xxix, P. Adrien Jourdan, Histoire de France, et
l'origine de la maison royale, 3 vols. (Paris, 1679), Epitre [iii], 20.
78Preserved Smith, The Enlightenment. 1687-1776 (New York, 1962), 202-30;
Cassirer, Philosophy of the Enlightenment, 197-233; Gay, The Enlightenment, II, 98-
125,368-96.

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foundations for these perceptions, or actually po

ments during the years ca. 1660-1720.
Theorists of the histoire raisonnee perceived e
dynamic movement in the skeins of history.
another, the historian could detect fluctuations
governments, and the customs of societies. Man
world did not stand still, and that history did n
experiences time and again. In their statements
showed an understanding of the complexities involv
parison and therefore the difficulties in drawing
history. It would still be some time before th
systematically applied to the historical works thems
As the eighteenth century progressed, theories
increasingly pronounced. Abbe de Saint-Pierre, T
became enthusiastic believers in human perfe
progress.79 Yet, this viewpoint cannot be applie
Enlightenment philosophy. A major aim of the p
cover "reason," an abstract and implicitly ahisto
unchanging, "universal not particular, necessary
upon specific circumstances."80 As Ernst Cassire
philosophical history of the eighteenth century
philosophy, and philosophy is not relative.81 So long
torians was to moralize, as it continued to be thr
Enlightenment, the ideal of relativism might b
practice it was neglected.82 Even an historia
specifically addressed the question of progress w
biguous position in which he claimed both a p
human nature and changing circumstances of
Montesquieu, in his Spirit of the Laws, may hav
relativism, but his ideal types remain purely stat
Cartesian dualism between universal truths and sp
unresolved through much of the Enlightenment
garding historical development found in histoires
essentially unchanged during the Enlightenment.
Theorists of the seventeenth century also argu
the spirit of men and of civilizations was more v
politics and of war. In introductory essays and
79Bourgeois and Andre, Les sources de 'histoire de Fran

History of the Philosophy of History: Historical Philosop
Belgium and Switzerland (New York, 1894), 215; Charles Frankel, The Faith of
Reason: The Idea of Progress in the French Enlightenment (New York, 1969), 120-22,
125, 129-31.
80Frankel, The Faith of Reason, 102.
81Cassirer, The Philosophy of the Enlightenment, 199-200.
82Gay, The Enlightenment, II, 380. 83Ibid., 98ff.
84Cassirer, The Philosophy of the Enlightenment, 210-12.

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Daniel, La Fare, Fenelon, Lenglet D

recognized that each culture had its o
unique customs, laws, religions, and g
the variety of civilizations also reveal
understanding of the relativity of cu
products of their environments.
When Montesquieu wrote that the f
laws affected the responses of men, or w
moeurs wrote that his purpose was to
were not advancing a novel conception
been popularized and debated by theo
Yet, the contribution of Enlighten
minimized. It was they who began to
historical narrative. They broadened t
and they wrote the earliest cultural
Siecle de Louis XIV: "We want to atte
the actions of a single man, but the spiri
century that ever was."85 His Essai s
compose a comparative cultural histor
European social patterns. Though the
tent outdistanced the performance
cultural comments, but was not actua
Neither should Voltaire's moralistic p
parative examples were a means to dr
Voltaire, in essence, remained a human
dactic impulse.86 Denis Diderot recogniz
wrote: "Other historians ... tell us facts in order to teach us facts. You
do it in order to excite in the depth of our souls a strong indignatio
against mendacity, ignorance, hypocrisy, superstition, fanaticism,
tyranny; and that indignation remains when the memory of facts ha
gone."87 Likewise, when Abbe DuBos wrote his Histoire critique de
l'6tablissement de la monarchie francaise, he was following in th
tradition of Boulainvilliers by using an institutional framework to ex
plore the culture of the French. While it is correct to argue tha
Enlightenment historians expanded the scope of history to include
social and cultural criteria, their debt to seventeenth-century theorist
should be credited.
It is also clear that theorists of the period ca. 1660-1720 viewed his-
tory in secular terms. Although most agreed that there existed a God
who was the Final Cause-atheism was still too radical a doctrine-this
concept did not affect their analyses of historical events. For the most
85Gay, The Enlightenment, II, 394.
86Frankel, The Faith of Reason, 110; Ira 0. Wade, The Intellectual Development of
Voltaire (Princeton, 1969), 475.

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part, either men or circumstances could explain th

tory. Their purpose, they claimed, was to portra
motivations of men, and to depict the political, soc
cumstances which gave rise to these actions. Provi
in this distinctly secular analysis. The works produce
historians did, indeed, attempt to ascribe caus
analyses, however, tended to be somewhat haphazard
lacked the patience to comb the data with sufficient
Enlightenment historians took their cues from the
seventeenth century. Their attack on metaphysica
more flamboyant and openly sacrilegious, in pa
hostility to politically active groups like the Jesuits.
Daniel for a work which is "instruit, exact, sage et
saw in him the embodiment of Jesuit failures.88 The
more of an explanation of the interaction of eve
theorists.89 Montesquieu, for example, suggested
explanation that men are governed by "climate, r
the principles of government, the example of the
fashions."90 While not advancing any sophisticat
tion, they did heartily support a strictly secular view
The philosopher of history of the seventeenth cen
he could distinguish himself by his commitment t
theoretically, these writers were passionately dete
"truth." Yet, we have seen that truth was often defi
political or moralistic end, and that only those d
their purposes were worthy of inclusion.
This did not change significantly for the narrative
Enlightenment. Historians continued to see them
whose function it was to create meaning and instruc
details. As Diderot, the tireless compiler of an enc
error, wrote:
Some may think that a knowledge of history should precede that of morality
am not of that opinion: it seems to me more useful and expedient to pos
the idea of the just and the unjust before possessing a knowledge of the action
and the men to whom one ought to apply it.91
Similarly, Rousseau, in his Discourse on the Origin of Inequali

states: "Let us begin then by laying facts aside as they do not affect th
question."92 It was the principles which historians sought, rather th
the specific details. Similarly, though Voltaire had an ideal
exactitude, he admitted that he could not be bothered with determinin
whether "'some piece of nonsense that happened six centuries a
88Brumfitt, Voltaire. Historian, 27.
89Gay, The Enlightenment, II, 388. 90Ibid., 389.
91Frankel, The Faith of Reason, 28. 92Ibid., 117.

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took place 'on the 25th or the 26

struggled through documents prep
looked at these rapidly and often carele
torians of Louis XIV who had preced
Hode, and Roussel.94 It was the antiq
historians of the Enlightenment, wh
tion of the erudits.
Finally, while authors of histoires r
sidetracked by their interest in style a
this very interest became a vehicle by
classical replaced the Renaissance t
remained concerned with style, but
the aims of historical veracity. It sh
came to the writing of history via h
years, Voltaire willingly overlooked
cause he admired the style.95 Voltair
dramatic quality, and both his Hi
Henriade should be viewed in this context.96
In the eighteenth century, as in the seventeenth, "history was a
craft, a discipline, and an entertainment."97 The conflict of the seven-
teenth century between erudite compilers often associated with re-
ligious institutions and didactic "philosophic" historians more in-
terested in civilization and more concerned with the readability of their
works, continued into the eighteenth century.98 The men of reason,
ironically, were less committed to exacting research than were the men
of faith. Yet, these narrative historians of both centuries made a
significant contribution to the development of historiography. In short,
it was the histoire raisonnee which would be refined into the historical
narrative of the Enlightenment.
University of Tennessee, Nashville.
94Brumfitt, Voltaire: Historian, 59; Wade, The Intellectual Development of Vol-
taire, 480; Gay, The Enlightenment, II, 373-74.
95Brumfitt, Voltaire: Historian, 30.
96Wade, The Intellectual Development of Voltaire, 474-75; Gay, The Enlighten-
ment, II, 371. 97Gay, The Enlightenment, II, 369.
98Arnaldo Momigliano, Studies in Historiography (New

66.44.102.167 on Sun, 23 Aug 2020 20:06:03 UTC

Phyllis Leffler - The ''Histoire Raisonnée,'' 1660-1720. A Pre-Enlightenment Genre

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The "Histoire Raisonnee," 1660-1720: A Pre-Enlightenment Genre

Author(s): Phyllis K. Leffler

Stable URL: http://www.jstor.com/stable/2708822

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An important transitional genre and philosophy of history ev

The appearance of the histoire raisonnee as a distinct historiograp

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Authors of this genre absorbed aspec

659. Other negative responses to the historiography of seventeenth-century French

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humanist forebears. The addition of the trappin

In this period of intellectual fermentation, when the traditions of

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I. The Purpose and Subject Matter

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ported this argument, like Jacques-Benigne Bossuet (1

Men can be known, we are told, not by portraying

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expose these general, unchanging tra

Quel est donc mon dessein? C'est de f

The progressive stages of man's de

'8lbid., 17-19, 102-03, 109, 128-30. Other

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at the boundaries of didacticism and moralism was th

... croyez-vous ... que l'on soit bien avance de savoir

22Quoted in Renee Simon, Henry de Boulainvillier: Historien, Politicien, Astrologue

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But, unlike sixteenth-century relativis

Boulainvilliers was particularly interested in researching the origins of

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awareness that customs evolve and change during

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remarquables personnes de l'Histoire, mai

To understand change, one needed to

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experience.39 Even Charles Sorel, who stated that his

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II. The Form of History.-During t

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clarity, and precision, rather than in flamboyant

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truth. However, sentences, maxim

Un historien doit retrancher beaucoup d'e

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plus vive, plus simple, plus gracieuse. II doit inspirer par u

The historian could best instruct through the unen

58"Lettre a M. Dacier," Oeuvres completes de Fenelon, VI, 639.

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ancients.61 In a work of his own com

Nationality, personal circumstances, and political involvements pro-

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How, then, should the historian deal with docum

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torien."74 Limiers: "... un Historien doit aimer a dire la Verite, et

74Histoire de la guerre de Hollande (Haye, 1689), Preface.

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foundations for these perceptions, or actually po

79Bourgeois and Andre, Les sources de 'histoire de Fran

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Daniel, La Fare, Fenelon, Lenglet D

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part, either men or circumstances could explain th