ABSTRACT
Voltaire described 'la critique', in his Dictionnaire philosophique, as a form of envy, as old as human nature. In Taine's view two essential ingredients go towards the composition of a truthful and scientific history. First, 'la critique' collects and analyses particular facts. Secondly, philosophy organizes these facts into general laws. Journalism, in the second half of the century, had become a vehicle for the essay, a form of writing which displayed curious characteristics. By its very title, the essay conveys a suggestion of tentativeness. By concentrating on an individual author or an individual work, the essayist becomes a specialist in one small area, before moving on to another one. This limitation brings with it an ephemeral quality, as a detached fragment unrelated to any whole. Taine's imagery and his minute unpicking of Jouffroy's definitions effectively deflected attention away from his surprisingly transparent admiration for Jouffroy's psychology.
