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tii'med the reward due to Capacity , and Intrigue took place o f Talent
; DiftinBions which would have animated Genious ferved only to
swell up the pride o f thofe who had none . Had they confulted the
good o f the Art they should have made choice o f thofe , wbofe manner
differing moft from that o f their Mafter , came neareft to the
true one , but thofe Mafters themfelves become judges turned the fcale
on the fide o f thofe who copied them moft faithfully , and one faw
thofe crowned who furpaffed all the others in a manner in which the
moft ignorant ought rather to have been chofen . Proud o f having carried
o f the prige from their rivals , flatter’d with being the objeB of
Publick choke , the Chofen thought as they had obtained it they had.
deferved i t , and that they were able Artifts becaufe they were thought
capable of becoming so . Inftead o f judging o f their works by comparing
them with thofe o f great Painters , they decided upon the merit
o f the Mafterpieces o f tbefe great men, by comparing them with their
own , and approved only as far as they refemhled them ; and as they
found that all thefe Painters had done , was direBly oppofite to what
they had been taught and knew , they rather chofe to blame the ancient
methods than to reform their own, and imagined that they would
become great men by crying out againft fuch as were realy so , and
by defpifmg what they were not able to imitate . Moft men , who
decide only from the opinions o f thofe in whom they have a confidence
and whom they beleive to have Ability , have adopted the tafte
of thefe fame Artifts ; they thought becaufe they had been jiudying in
Italy , they muft o f courfe be more learned than others , but to what
purpofe is going in Italy i f one does the fame there as one should
have done ftaying at home , i f one does not bring eyes capable o f
feeing the beauties it contains , i f one colleBs only ideas which lisc’
are incapable o f communicating , i f in short what one fees there inftead
o f deftroying does hut confirm us in the ideas which we have
brought with us from our own Country ! I t is not but that in the
Croud , men have been found , who , opening their eyes , were fenfible
o f what was to be done , and who have even made efforts to
profit by what they thought the left , but from that inftant their
nerent à eux-mêmes le titre de Profefleurs, qui en impofe au V ulg a ire ;
leurs maifons se remplirent d’apprentifs , q u ’ils appellerent leurs élev
é s , ils propoferent leurs propres ouvrages p ou r modèles , leur maniéré
pour exemple & leurs opinions pour maximes : on v i t a vec regre
t leur v o ix régler les diftinélions & décider' des récompenfes defti-
nées à l ’encouragement de la jeimeife; ayant la difpofition de ces récompenfes,
ils obtinrent les fuffrages de leurs confreres en faveur de
leurs difc ip les , & donnèrent les leurs aux difciples de leurs confreres;
la Proteélion diftribuant le p r ix qui n’e toit du qu’à la cap a c ité , l’intr
igu e tin t lieu de ta len t , & les honneurs qui eulfent animé le Génie
ne fervirent plus qu’à enorgueillir des gens qui en man quoien t. Si l ’on
eut confulté le bien de l’A r t , on eut toujours fa it ch o ix de celui dont
la maniéré différant le plus de celle de fes maitres, s’approch oit d’avantag
e de celle de la nature : mais ces Maitres eux-mêmes devenus juges
, firent pancher la balance du cô té des éleves qui les copioient
le plus fe rv ilem en t. A in fi l’on v i t couronner ceux qui furpaffoient tous
les autres , dans une maniéré où le plus ignorant é to it précifément
celui qui d evo it être c h o if i. Fiers de l’a vo ir emporté fur leurs rivaux,
flattés d’être l’objet d’un choix que le public fembloit a p p ro u v e r , ils
penfcrent le mériter p ou r l ’a vo ir obtenu , & parce qu’on les c ro yo it
capables de devenir quelque jour des bons artlftes , ils s’ imaginèrent
l ’être déjà . D è s lo r s , au lieu de juger de leurs ouvrages pa r la comparaifon
de ceux des grands peintres, ils décidèrent du mérite des chefs-
d’oe uvre des plus grands hommes, en les comparant à leurs propres ouv
ra g e s , & ne les approuvèrent qu’autant qu’ils leurs reffembloient; &
comme ils trouveront que to u t ce que ces peintres avoient fa i t , étoit
totalement oppofé à tou t ce qu’ils a voient a p p r is , ils aimerent mieux
blâmer les anciennes méthodes que de réformer la l e u r , '& s’imaginèrent
devenir des gens habiles en c ritiquant ceux qui l ’ étoient réele-
ment , & en méprifiint ce qu’ils ne pouvoient imiter . Beaucoup de
ces perfonnes , qui ne se décident que fur l ’ opinion de ceux en qui
elles ont mis leur confiance, parcequ’elles leur c roy en t de la capacité,
ont adopté le goût de ces mêmes A r t lf te s , penfant qu’ayan t étudiés en
I talie , ils devoient néceffairement être plus habiles que les autres .
Mais
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