« So far as literature was concerned, the French countryside, during those years which led up to and included the Grand Siècle, were almost flowerless. The lilies of the field were there all right; but the poets did not consider them. »

« En matière de littérature, la campagne française, durant ces années qui conduisirent au Grand Siècle et le comprirent, était pratiquement dépourvue de fleurs. Les lys des champs se trouvaient bien là ; mais les poètes n’en n’ont pas tenu compte. »

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