the nation, which, according to him, had called them in to govern it. This system, though unfolded with a degree of skill and ability that, at first, procured many zealous partisans, was attacked by Montesquieu at the end of the thirtieth book of the Esprit des lois. Dubos' principle work, Réflexions critiques sur la poésie et sur la peinture, was published for the first time in 1719 (2 vols, but often reprinted in three volumes). In France it was considered an important text for the study of aesthetics and was a popular textbook until the 19th century. Like his history of the League of Cambray, it was highly praised by Voltaire. The work was rendered more remarkable by the fact that its author had no practical acquaintance with any one of the arts whose principles he discussed. This work has been noted for elevating criticism to a place among the arts. Besides the works above enumerated, a manifesto of Maximilian II Emanuel, elector of Bavaria, against the emperor Leopold (relative to the succession in Spain) has been attributed to Dubos from the excellence of the style. Excerpts "[O]ne of the greatest wants of man is to have his mind incessantly occupied. The heaviness which quickly attends the inactivity of the mind, is a situation so very disagreeable to man, that he frequently chooses to expose himself to the most painful excesses, rather than be troubled with it." Critical Reflections, I. I References External links Critical Reflections – 1748 English translation by Thomas Nugent of Dubos's Réflexions critiques sur la poésie et sur la peinture. An incomplete bibliography with some notes on the works. 1670 births 1742 deaths People from Beauvais Members of the Académie Française 18th-century French writers 18th-century French male writers 18th-century French historians French literary theorists Philosophers of art French male non-fiction writers