Note 894 — Chapter VI
Reading edition
Even some of its geographical details are said to be inaccurate. Compare Villemain, Littérature au XVIIIe Siècle, vol. ii. p. 33, with Kohl's Russia, p. 505. However, as M. Villemain says, this must always be the case, when writers, who only know a country from maps, attempt to enter into details respecting military geography. In regard to style, it cannot be too highly praised; and a well-known critic, Lacratelle, calls it ‘le modèle le plus accompli de narration qui existe dans notre langue.’ Lacretelle, Dix-huitième Siècle, vol. ii. p. 42. In 1843 it was still used as a text book in the French royal colleges. See Report on Education in France, in Journal of Stat. Soc. vol. vi. p. 308. Further information respecting this work may be found in Longchamp et Wagnière, Mém. sur Voltaire, vol. ii. p. 494; and in Mém. de Genlis, vol. viii. p. 224, vol. x. p. 304.