Friday, June 27, 2014

 

Dry, Poor, and Unmusical

Voltaire, letter to Madame du Deffand (May 19, 1754; tr. ‎Evelyn Beatrice Hall):
All modern languages are dry, poor, and unmusical in comparison with those of our first masters, the Greeks and Romans. We are but the fiddles of a village band.

Ah! madame, toutes nos langues modernes sont sèches, pauvres, et sans harmonie, en comparaison de celles qu'ont parlées nos premiers maîtres, les Grecs et les Romains. Nous ne sommes que des violons de village.



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