See W. K. Loftus,Chaldaea and Susiana(1857).
See W. K. Loftus,Chaldaea and Susiana(1857).
(J. P. Pe.)
LARTET, EDOUARD(1801-1871), French archaeologist, was born in 1801 near Castelnau-Barbarens, department of Gers, France, where his family had lived for more than five hundred years. He was educated for the law at Auch and Toulouse, but having private means elected to devote himself to science. The then recent work of Cuvier on fossil mammalia encouraged Lartet in excavations which led in 1834 to his first discovery of fossil remains in the neighbourhood of Auch. Thenceforward he devoted his whole time to a systematic examination of the French caves, his first publication on the subject beingThe Antiquity of Man in Western Europe(1860), followed in 1861 byNew Researches on the Coexistence of Man and of the Great Fossil Mammifers characteristic of the Last Geological Period. In this paper he made public the results of his discoveries in the cave of Aurignac, where evidence existed of the contemporaneous existence of man and extinct mammals. In his work in the Périgord district Lartet had the aid of Henry Christy (q.v.). The first account of their joint researches appeared in a paper descriptive of the Dordogne caves and contents, published inRevue archéologique(1864). The important discoveries in the Madeleine cave and elsewhere were published by Lartet and Christy under the titleReliquiae Aquitanicae, the first part appearing in 1865. Christy died before the completion of the work, but Lartet continued it until his breakdown in health in 1870. The most modest and one of the most illustrious of the founders of modern palaeontology, Lartet’s work had previously been publicly recognized by his nomination as an officer of the Legion of Honour; and in 1848 he had had the offer of a political post. In 1857 he had been elected a foreign member of the Geological Society of London, and a few weeks before his death he had been made professor of palaeontology at the museum of the Jardin des Plantes. He died at Seissan in January 1871.
LARVAL FORMS,in biology. As is explained in the article onEmbryology(q.v.), development and life are coextensive, and it is impossible to point to any period in the life of an organism when the developmental changes cease. Nevertheless it is customary to speak of development as though it were confined to the early period of life, during which the important changes occur by which the uninucleated zygote acquires the form characteristic of the species. Using the word in this restricted sense, it is pointed out in the same article that the developmental period frequently presents two phases, the embryonic and the larval. During the embryonic phase the development occurs under protection, either within the egg envelopes, or within the maternal body, or in a brood pouch. At the end of this phase the young organism becomes free and uses, as a rule, its own mouth and digestive organs. If this happens before it has approximately acquired the adult form, it is called a larva (Lat.larva, ghost, spectre, mask), and the subsequent development by which the adult form is acquired constitutes the larval phase. In such forms the life-cycle is divided into three phases, the embryonic, the larval and the adult. The transition between the first two of these is always abrupt; whereas the second and third, except in cases in which a metamorphosis occurs (seeMetamorphosis), graduate into one another, and it is not possible to say when the larval stage ends and the adult begins. This is only what would be expected when it is remembered that the developmental changes never cease. It might be held that the presence of functional reproductive organs, or the possibility of rapidly acquiring them, marks off the adult phase of life from the larval. But this test sometimes fails. In certain of the Ctenophora there is a double sexual life; the larva becomes sexually mature and lays eggs, which are fertilized and develop; it then loses its generative organs and develops into the adult, which again develops reproductive organs (dissogony; see Chun,Die Ctenophoren des Golfes von Neapel, 1880). In certain Amphibia the larva may develop sexual organs and breed (axolotl), but in this case (neoteny) it is doubtful whether further development may occur in the larva. A very similar phenomenon is found in certain insect larvae (Cecidomyia), but in this case ova alone are produced and develop parthenogenetically (paedogenesis). Again in certain Trematoda larval stages known as the sporocystand redia produce ova which have the power of developing unfertilized; in this case the larva probably has not the power of continuing its development. It is very generally held by philosophers that the end of life is reproduction, and there is much to be said for this view; but, granting its truth, it is difficult to see why the capacity for reproduction should so generally be confined to the later stages of life. We know by more than one instance that it is possible for the larva to reproduce by sexual generation; why should not the phenomenon be more common? It is impossible in the present state of our knowledge to answer this question.
The conclusion, then, that we reach is that the larval phase of life graduates into the later phases, and that it is impossible to characterize it with precision, as we can the embryonic phase. Nevertheless great importance has been attached, in certain cases, to the forms assumed by the young organism when it breaks loose from its embryonic bonds. It has been widely held that the study of larvae is of greater importance in determining genetic affinity than the study of adults. What justification is there for this view? The phase of life, chosen for the ordinary anatomical and physiological studies and labelled as the adult phase, is merely one of the large number of stages of structure through which the organism passes during its free life. In animals with a well-marked larval phase, by far the greater number of the stages of structure are included in the larval period, for the developmental changes are more numerous and take place with greater rapidity at the beginning of life than in its later periods. As each of the larval stages is equal in value for the purposes of our study to the adult phase, it clearly follows that, if there is anything in the view that the anatomical study of organisms is of importance in determining their mutual relations, the study of the organism in its various larval stages must have a greater importance than the study of the single and arbitrarily selected stage of life called the adult.
The importance, then, of the study of larval forms is admitted, but before proceeding to it this question may be asked: What is the meaning of the larval phase? Obviously this is part of a larger problem: Why does an organism, as soon as it is established at the fertilization of the ovum, enter upon a cycle of transformations which never cease until death puts an end to them? It is impossible to give any other answer to this question than this, viz. that it is a property of living matter to react in a remarkable way to external forces without undergoing destruction. As is explained inEmbryology, development consists of an orderly interaction between the organism and its environment. The action of the environment produces certain morphological changes in the organism. These changes enable the organism to move into a new environment, which in its turn produces further structural changes in the organism. These in their turn enable, indeed necessitate, the organism to move again into a new environment, and so the process continues until the end of the life-cycle. The essential condition of success in this process is that the organism should always shift into the environment to which its new structure is suited, any failure in this leading to impairment of the organism. In most cases the shifting of the environment is a very gradual process, and the morphological changes in connexion with each step of it are but slight. In some cases, however, jumps are made, and whenever such jumps occur we get the morphological phenomenon termed metamorphosis. It would be foreign to our purpose to consider this question further here, but before leaving it we may suggest, if we cannot answer, one further question. Has the duration and complexity of the life-cycle expanded or contracted since organisms first appeared on the earth? According to the current view, the life-cycle is continually being shortened at one end by the abbreviation of embryonic development and by the absorption of larval stages into the embryonic period, and lengthened at the other by the evolutionary creation of new adult phases. What was the condition of the earliest organisms? Had they the property of reacting to external forces to the same extent and in the same orderly manner that organisms have to-day?
For the purpose of obtaining light upon the genetic affinities of an organism, a larval stage has as much importance as has the adult stage. According to the current views of naturalists, which are largely a product of Darwinism, it has its counterpart, as has the adult stage, in the ancestral form from which the living organism has been derived by descent with modification. Just as the adult phase of the living form differs owing to evolutionary modification from the adult phase of the ancestor, so each larval phase will differ for the same reason from the corresponding larval phase in the ancestral life-history. Inasmuch as the organism is variable at every stage of its existence, and is exposed to the action of natural selection, there is no reason why it should escape modification at any stage. But, as the characters of the ancestor are unknown, it is impossible to ascertain what the modification has been, and the determination of which of the characters of its descendant (whether larval or adult) are new and which ancient must be conjectural. It has been customary of late years to distinguish in larvae those characters which are supposed to have been recently acquired ascaenogenetic, the ancient characters being termedpalingenetic. These terms, if they have any value, are applicable with equal force to adults, but they are cumbrous, and the absence of any satisfactory test which enables us to distinguish between a character which is ancestral and one which has been recently acquired renders their utility very doubtful. Just as the adult may be supposed, on evolution doctrine, to be derived from an ancestral adult, so the various larval stages may be supposed to have been derived from the corresponding larval stage of the hypothetical ancestor. If we admit organic evolution at all, we may perhaps go so far, but we are not in a position to go further, and to assert that each larval stage is representative of and, so to speak, derived from some adult stage in the remote past, when the organism progressed no further in its life-cycle than the stage of structure revealed by such a larval form. We may perhaps have a right to take up this position, but it is of no advantage to us to do so, because it leads us into the realm of pure fancy. Moreover, it assumes that an answer can be given to the question asked above—has the life-cycle of organisms contracted or expanded as the result of evolution? This question has not been satisfactorily answered. Indeed we may go further and say that naturalists have answered it in different ways according to the class of facts they were contemplating at the moment. If we are to consider larvae at all from the evolution point of view, we must treat them as being representative of ancestral larvae from which they have been derived by descent with modification; and we must leave open the question whether and to what extent the first organisms themselves passed through a complicated life-cycle.
From the above considerations it is not surprising to find that the larvae of different members of any group resemble each other to the same kind of degree as do the adults, and that the larvae of allied groups resemble one another more closely than do the larvae of remote groups, and finally that a study of larvae does in some cases reveal affinities which would not have been evident from a study of adults alone. Though it is impossible to give here an account of the larval forms of the animal kingdom, we may illustrate these points, which are facts of fundamental importance in the study of larvae, by a reference to specific cases.
The two great groups, Annelida and Mollusca, which by their adult structure present considerable affinity with one another, agree in possessing a very similar larval form, known as thetrochosphereortrochophore.
1. The apical plate.
2. Long cilia of preoral band (velum).
3. Long cilia of postoral band.
4. Mouth.
5. Excretory organ.
6. Mesoblastic band.
7. Anus.
A typical trochosphere larva (figs. 1, 2) possesses a small, transparent body divided into a large preoral lobe and a small postoral region. The mouth (4) is on the ventral surface at the junction of the preoral lobe with the hinder part of the body, and there is an anus (7) at the hind end. Connecting the two is a curved alimentary canal which is frequently divided into oesophagus, stomach and intestine. There is a preoral circlet of powerful cilia, called the “velum” (2), which encircles the body just anterior to the mouth and marks off the preoral lobe, and there is very generally a second ring of cilia immediately behind the mouth (3). At the anterior end of the preoral lobe is a nervous thickening of the ectoderm calledthe apical plate (1). This usually carries a tuft of long cilia or sensory hairs, and sometimes rudimentary visual organs. Mesoblastic bands are present, proceeding a short distance forwards from the anus on each side of the middle ventral line (6), and at the anterior end of each of these structures is a tube (5) which more or less branches internally and opens on the ventral surface. The branches of this tube end internally in peculiar cells containing a flame-shaped flagellum and floating in the so-called body cavity, into which, however, they do not open. These are the primitive kidneys. The body cavity, which is a space between the ectoderm and alimentary canal, is not lined by mesoderm and is traversed by a few muscular fibres. Such a larva is found, almost as described, in many Chaetopods (fig. 1), inEchiurus(fig. 2), in many Gastropods (fig. 3), and Lamellibranchiates (fig. 4). This typical structure of the larva is often departed from, and the molluscan trochosphere can be distinguished from the annelidan by the possession of a rudiment at least of the shell-gland and foot (figs. 3 and 4); but in all cases in which the young leaves the egg at an early stage of development it has a form which can be referred without much difficulty to the trochosphere type just described. A larva similar to the trochosphere in some features, particularly in possessing a preoral ring of cilia and an apical plate, is found in the Polyzoa, and in adult Rotifera, which latter, in their ciliary ring and excretory organs, present some resemblance to the trochosphere, and are sometimes described as permanent adult trochospheres. But in these phases the resemblance to the typical forms is not nearly so close as it is in the case of the larva of Annelida and Mollusca.After Hatschek, “Echiurus” in Claus’sArbeiten aus dem zoolog. Institut der Wien.After Patten, “Patella” in Claus’sArbeiten aus dem zoolog. Institut der Wien.Fig. 2.—Young Trochosphere Larva of the GephyreanEchiurus, seen in optical section.Fig. 3.—Larva of the GastropodPatella, seen in longitudinal vertical section.1. Apical plate.2. Muscle-bands.3. Preoral band of cilia (velum).4. Mouth.5. Mesoblastic band.6. Anus.1. Apical plate.2. Cilia of preoral circlet (velum).3. Mouth.4. Foot.5. Anal tuft of cilia.6. Shell-gland covered by shell.In the Echinodermata there are two distinct larval forms which cannot be brought into relation with one another. The one of these is found in the Asteroids, Ophiuroids, Echinoids and Holothuroids; the other in the Crinoids.After Hatschek on “Teredo” in Claus’Arbeiten aus dem zoolog. Institut der Wien.Fig. 4.—A, Embryo, and B, Young Trochosphere Larva of the LamellibranchTeredo.In A the shell-gland (1) and the mouth (2) and the rudiment of the enteron (3) are shown; (4) primitive mesoderm cells.In B the shell-gland has flattened out and the shell is formed. 1, Apical plate; 2, muscles; 3, shell; 4, anal invagination; 5, mesoblast; 6, mouth; 7, foot.The cilia of the preoral and postoral bands are not clearly differentiated at this stage.The first is, in its most primitive form, a small transparent creature, with a mouth and anus and a postoral longitudinal ciliated band (fig. 5, A). In Asteroids the band of cilia becomes divided in such a way as to give rise to two bands, the one preoral, encircling the preoral lobe, and the other remaining postoral (fig. 5, B). In the other groups the band remains single and longitudinal. In all cases the edges of the body carrying the ciliary bands become sinuous (fig. 6) and sometimes prolonged into arms (figs. 7-9), and each of the four groups has its own type of larva. In Asteroids, in which the band divides, the larva is known as the bipinnaria (fig. 7); in Holothurians it is called the auricularia (fig. 6); in Echinoids and Ophiuroids, in which the arms are well marked, it is known as the pluteus, the echinopluteus (fig. 9) and ophiopluteus (fig. 8) respectively.All these forms were obviously distinct but as obviously modifications of a common type and related to one another. They present certain remarkable structural features which differentiate them from other larval types except the tornaria larvae of the Enteropneusta. They possess an alimentary canal with a mouth and anus as does the trochosphere, but they differ altogether from that larva in having a diverticulum of the alimentary canal which gives rise to the coelom and to a considerable part of the mesoblast. Further, they are without an apical plate with its tuft of sensory hairs.In Crinoids the type is different (fig. 10), and might belong to a different phylum. The body is opaque, and encircled by five ciliary bands, and is without either mouth, anus or arms, and there is a tuft of cilia on the preoral lobe. A resemblance to the other Echinoderm larvae is found in the fact that coelomic diverticula of the enteron are present.From Balfour’sComparative Embryology, by permission of Macmillan & Co., Ltd.After J. Müller.Fig. 5.—Diagrams of side views of two young Echinoderm Larvae, showing the course of the ciliary bands. A, auricularia larva of a Holothurian; B, bipinnaria larva of an Asteroid;a, anus;l.c, in A primitive longitudinal ciliary band, in B postoral longitudinal ciliary band;m, mouth;pr.c, preoral ciliary band;st, stomach.Fig. 6.—Auricularia stelligera, ventral view, somewhat diagrammatic. The larva of a Holothurian.1. Frontal area.2. Preoral arm.3. Anterior transverse portion of ciliary band.4. Posterior transverseportion of same.5. Postoral arm.6. Anal area.7. Posterior lateral arm.8. Posterior dorsal arm.9. Oral depression.10. Middle dorsal arm.11. Anterior dorsal arm.12. Anterior lateral arm.13. Ventral median arm.14. Dorsal median arm.15. Unpaired posterior arm.The larvae of two other groups present certain resemblances to the typical Echinoderm larvae. The one of these is the tornaria larva of the Enteropneusta (fig. 11), which recalls Echinoderms in the possession of two ciliary bands, the one preoral and the other postoral and partly longitudinal, and in the presence of gut diverticula which give rise to the coelom; but, like the trochosphere, it possesses an apical plate with sensory organs on the preoral lobe. The resemblance of the tornaria to the bipinnaria is so close that, taking into consideration certain additional resemblances in the arrangementof the coelomic vesicles which arise from the original gut diverticulum, it is impossible to resist the conclusion that there is affinity between the Echinoderm and Enteropneust phyla. Here we have a case like that of the Tunicata in which an affinity which is not evident from a study of the adult alone is revealed by a study of the young form. The other larva which recalls the Echinoderm type is the Actinotrocha ofPhoronis(fig. 12), but the resemblance is not nearly so close, being confined to the presence of a postoral longitudinal band of cilia which is prolonged into arm-like processes.
A typical trochosphere larva (figs. 1, 2) possesses a small, transparent body divided into a large preoral lobe and a small postoral region. The mouth (4) is on the ventral surface at the junction of the preoral lobe with the hinder part of the body, and there is an anus (7) at the hind end. Connecting the two is a curved alimentary canal which is frequently divided into oesophagus, stomach and intestine. There is a preoral circlet of powerful cilia, called the “velum” (2), which encircles the body just anterior to the mouth and marks off the preoral lobe, and there is very generally a second ring of cilia immediately behind the mouth (3). At the anterior end of the preoral lobe is a nervous thickening of the ectoderm calledthe apical plate (1). This usually carries a tuft of long cilia or sensory hairs, and sometimes rudimentary visual organs. Mesoblastic bands are present, proceeding a short distance forwards from the anus on each side of the middle ventral line (6), and at the anterior end of each of these structures is a tube (5) which more or less branches internally and opens on the ventral surface. The branches of this tube end internally in peculiar cells containing a flame-shaped flagellum and floating in the so-called body cavity, into which, however, they do not open. These are the primitive kidneys. The body cavity, which is a space between the ectoderm and alimentary canal, is not lined by mesoderm and is traversed by a few muscular fibres. Such a larva is found, almost as described, in many Chaetopods (fig. 1), inEchiurus(fig. 2), in many Gastropods (fig. 3), and Lamellibranchiates (fig. 4). This typical structure of the larva is often departed from, and the molluscan trochosphere can be distinguished from the annelidan by the possession of a rudiment at least of the shell-gland and foot (figs. 3 and 4); but in all cases in which the young leaves the egg at an early stage of development it has a form which can be referred without much difficulty to the trochosphere type just described. A larva similar to the trochosphere in some features, particularly in possessing a preoral ring of cilia and an apical plate, is found in the Polyzoa, and in adult Rotifera, which latter, in their ciliary ring and excretory organs, present some resemblance to the trochosphere, and are sometimes described as permanent adult trochospheres. But in these phases the resemblance to the typical forms is not nearly so close as it is in the case of the larva of Annelida and Mollusca.
1. Apical plate.
2. Muscle-bands.
3. Preoral band of cilia (velum).
4. Mouth.
5. Mesoblastic band.
6. Anus.
1. Apical plate.
2. Cilia of preoral circlet (velum).
3. Mouth.
4. Foot.
5. Anal tuft of cilia.
6. Shell-gland covered by shell.
In the Echinodermata there are two distinct larval forms which cannot be brought into relation with one another. The one of these is found in the Asteroids, Ophiuroids, Echinoids and Holothuroids; the other in the Crinoids.
In A the shell-gland (1) and the mouth (2) and the rudiment of the enteron (3) are shown; (4) primitive mesoderm cells.In B the shell-gland has flattened out and the shell is formed. 1, Apical plate; 2, muscles; 3, shell; 4, anal invagination; 5, mesoblast; 6, mouth; 7, foot.The cilia of the preoral and postoral bands are not clearly differentiated at this stage.
In A the shell-gland (1) and the mouth (2) and the rudiment of the enteron (3) are shown; (4) primitive mesoderm cells.
In B the shell-gland has flattened out and the shell is formed. 1, Apical plate; 2, muscles; 3, shell; 4, anal invagination; 5, mesoblast; 6, mouth; 7, foot.
The cilia of the preoral and postoral bands are not clearly differentiated at this stage.
The first is, in its most primitive form, a small transparent creature, with a mouth and anus and a postoral longitudinal ciliated band (fig. 5, A). In Asteroids the band of cilia becomes divided in such a way as to give rise to two bands, the one preoral, encircling the preoral lobe, and the other remaining postoral (fig. 5, B). In the other groups the band remains single and longitudinal. In all cases the edges of the body carrying the ciliary bands become sinuous (fig. 6) and sometimes prolonged into arms (figs. 7-9), and each of the four groups has its own type of larva. In Asteroids, in which the band divides, the larva is known as the bipinnaria (fig. 7); in Holothurians it is called the auricularia (fig. 6); in Echinoids and Ophiuroids, in which the arms are well marked, it is known as the pluteus, the echinopluteus (fig. 9) and ophiopluteus (fig. 8) respectively.
All these forms were obviously distinct but as obviously modifications of a common type and related to one another. They present certain remarkable structural features which differentiate them from other larval types except the tornaria larvae of the Enteropneusta. They possess an alimentary canal with a mouth and anus as does the trochosphere, but they differ altogether from that larva in having a diverticulum of the alimentary canal which gives rise to the coelom and to a considerable part of the mesoblast. Further, they are without an apical plate with its tuft of sensory hairs.
In Crinoids the type is different (fig. 10), and might belong to a different phylum. The body is opaque, and encircled by five ciliary bands, and is without either mouth, anus or arms, and there is a tuft of cilia on the preoral lobe. A resemblance to the other Echinoderm larvae is found in the fact that coelomic diverticula of the enteron are present.
1. Frontal area.
2. Preoral arm.
3. Anterior transverse portion of ciliary band.
4. Posterior transverseportion of same.
5. Postoral arm.
6. Anal area.
7. Posterior lateral arm.
8. Posterior dorsal arm.
9. Oral depression.
10. Middle dorsal arm.
11. Anterior dorsal arm.
12. Anterior lateral arm.
13. Ventral median arm.
14. Dorsal median arm.
15. Unpaired posterior arm.
The larvae of two other groups present certain resemblances to the typical Echinoderm larvae. The one of these is the tornaria larva of the Enteropneusta (fig. 11), which recalls Echinoderms in the possession of two ciliary bands, the one preoral and the other postoral and partly longitudinal, and in the presence of gut diverticula which give rise to the coelom; but, like the trochosphere, it possesses an apical plate with sensory organs on the preoral lobe. The resemblance of the tornaria to the bipinnaria is so close that, taking into consideration certain additional resemblances in the arrangementof the coelomic vesicles which arise from the original gut diverticulum, it is impossible to resist the conclusion that there is affinity between the Echinoderm and Enteropneust phyla. Here we have a case like that of the Tunicata in which an affinity which is not evident from a study of the adult alone is revealed by a study of the young form. The other larva which recalls the Echinoderm type is the Actinotrocha ofPhoronis(fig. 12), but the resemblance is not nearly so close, being confined to the presence of a postoral longitudinal band of cilia which is prolonged into arm-like processes.
The following groups have larvae which cannot be related to other larvae: the Porifera, Coelenterata, Turbellaria and Nemertea, Brachiopoda, Myriapoda, Insecta, Crustacea, Tunicata. We may shortly notice the larvae of the two latter.
ee, Apical plate.
aa, Preoral ciliary band.
bb, Postoral ciliary band.
dd, Mouth.
ff, Anterior coelomic vesicle and pore.
gg, Alimentary canal.
hh, Anus.
1. Apical plate.
2. Mouth.
3. Postoral ciliary band and arms.
4. Perianal ciliary band.
1. 2. 3. The three pairs of appendages of the nauplius larva (the future first and second antennae and mandibles).
3. Mandible.
4. First maxilla.
5. Second maxilla.
6. First maxilliped.
7. Second maxilliped.
8. Third maxilliped.
In the Crustacea the larvae are highly peculiar and share, in a striking manner, certain of the important features of specialization presented by the adult, viz. the presence of a strong cuticle and of articulated appendages and the absence of cilia. They are remarkable among larvae for the number of stages which they pass through in attaining the adult state. However numerous these may be, they almost always have, when first set free from the egg, one of two forms, that of thenauplius(fig. 13, A) or that of thezoaea(fig. 13, B). The nauplius is found throughout the group and is the more important of the two; the zoaea is confined to the higher members, in some of which it merely forms a stage through which the larva, hatched as a nauplius, passes in its gradual development. The nauplius larva is of classic interest because its occurrence has enabled zoologists to determine with precision the position in the animal kingdom of a group, the Cirripedia, which was placed by the illustrious Cuvier among the Mollusca.In the Tunicata the remarkable tadpole larva, the structure and development of which was first elucidated by the great Russian naturalist, A. Kowalevsky, possesses a similar interest to that of the nauplius larva of Cirripeds, and of the tornaria larva of the Enteropneusta, in that it pointed the way to the recognition of the affinities of the Tunicata, affinities which were entirely unsuspected till they were revealed by a study of the larvae.
In the Crustacea the larvae are highly peculiar and share, in a striking manner, certain of the important features of specialization presented by the adult, viz. the presence of a strong cuticle and of articulated appendages and the absence of cilia. They are remarkable among larvae for the number of stages which they pass through in attaining the adult state. However numerous these may be, they almost always have, when first set free from the egg, one of two forms, that of thenauplius(fig. 13, A) or that of thezoaea(fig. 13, B). The nauplius is found throughout the group and is the more important of the two; the zoaea is confined to the higher members, in some of which it merely forms a stage through which the larva, hatched as a nauplius, passes in its gradual development. The nauplius larva is of classic interest because its occurrence has enabled zoologists to determine with precision the position in the animal kingdom of a group, the Cirripedia, which was placed by the illustrious Cuvier among the Mollusca.
In the Tunicata the remarkable tadpole larva, the structure and development of which was first elucidated by the great Russian naturalist, A. Kowalevsky, possesses a similar interest to that of the nauplius larva of Cirripeds, and of the tornaria larva of the Enteropneusta, in that it pointed the way to the recognition of the affinities of the Tunicata, affinities which were entirely unsuspected till they were revealed by a study of the larvae.
With regard to the occurrence of larvae, three general statements may be made. (1) They are always associated with a small egg in which the amount of food yolk is not sufficient to enable the animal to complete its development in the embryonic state. (2) A free-swimming larva is usually found in cases in which the adult is attached to foreign objects. (3) A larval stage is, as a rule, associated with internal parasitism of the adult. The object gained by the occurrence of a larva in the two last cases is to enable the species to distribute itself over as wide an area as possible. It may further be asserted that land and fresh-water animals develop without a larval stage much more frequently than marine forms. This is probably partly due to the fact that the conditions of land and fresh-water life are not so favourable for the spread of a species over a wide area by means of simply-organized larvae as are those of marine life, and partly to the fact that, in the case of fresh-water forms at any rate, a feebly-swimming larva would be in danger of being swept out to sea by currents.
1. The association of larvae with small eggs. This is a true statement as far as it goes, but in some cases small eggs do not give rise to larvae, some special form of nutriment being provided by the parent,e.g.Mammalia, in which there is a uterine nutrition by means of a placenta; some Gastropoda (e.g.Helix waltoni,Bulimus), in which, though the ovum is not specially large, it floats in a large quantity of albumen at the expense of which the development is completed; some Lamellibranchiata (Cyclas, &c.), Echinodermata (manyOphiurids, &c.), &c., in which development takes place in a broodpouch. In the majority of cases, however, in which there is a small amount of food yolk and no special arrangements for parental care, a larva is formed. No better group than the Mollusca can be taken to illustrate this point, for in them we find every kind of development from the completely embryonic development of the Cephalopoda, with their large heavily-yolked eggs, to the development of most marine Lamellibranchiata and many Gastropoda, in which the embryonic period is short and there is a long larval development. The Mollusca are further specially interesting for showing very clearly cases in which, though the young are born or hatched fully developed, the larval stages are passed through in the egg, and the larval organs (e.g.velum) are developed but without function (e.g.Paludina,Cyclas,Onchidium). As already mentioned, the larval form of the Mollusca is the trochosphere.2. Free-swimming larvae are usually formed when the adult is fixed. We need only refer to the cases of the Cirripedia with their well-marked nauplius and cypris larvae, toPhoroniswith its remarkableactinotrocha, to the Crinoidea, Polyzoa, &c. There are a few exceptions to this rule,e.g.the Molgulidae amongst the fixed Tunicata,Tubularia,Myriothela, &c., among the Hydrozoa.3. Internal parasites generally have a stage which may be called larval, in which they are transferred either by active or passive migration to a new host. In most Nematoda, some Cestoda, and in Trematoda this larva leads a free life; but in some nematodes (Trichina) and some cestodes the larva does not become free.
1. The association of larvae with small eggs. This is a true statement as far as it goes, but in some cases small eggs do not give rise to larvae, some special form of nutriment being provided by the parent,e.g.Mammalia, in which there is a uterine nutrition by means of a placenta; some Gastropoda (e.g.Helix waltoni,Bulimus), in which, though the ovum is not specially large, it floats in a large quantity of albumen at the expense of which the development is completed; some Lamellibranchiata (Cyclas, &c.), Echinodermata (manyOphiurids, &c.), &c., in which development takes place in a broodpouch. In the majority of cases, however, in which there is a small amount of food yolk and no special arrangements for parental care, a larva is formed. No better group than the Mollusca can be taken to illustrate this point, for in them we find every kind of development from the completely embryonic development of the Cephalopoda, with their large heavily-yolked eggs, to the development of most marine Lamellibranchiata and many Gastropoda, in which the embryonic period is short and there is a long larval development. The Mollusca are further specially interesting for showing very clearly cases in which, though the young are born or hatched fully developed, the larval stages are passed through in the egg, and the larval organs (e.g.velum) are developed but without function (e.g.Paludina,Cyclas,Onchidium). As already mentioned, the larval form of the Mollusca is the trochosphere.
2. Free-swimming larvae are usually formed when the adult is fixed. We need only refer to the cases of the Cirripedia with their well-marked nauplius and cypris larvae, toPhoroniswith its remarkableactinotrocha, to the Crinoidea, Polyzoa, &c. There are a few exceptions to this rule,e.g.the Molgulidae amongst the fixed Tunicata,Tubularia,Myriothela, &c., among the Hydrozoa.
3. Internal parasites generally have a stage which may be called larval, in which they are transferred either by active or passive migration to a new host. In most Nematoda, some Cestoda, and in Trematoda this larva leads a free life; but in some nematodes (Trichina) and some cestodes the larva does not become free.
(A. Se.*)
LARYNGITIS,an inflammation of the mucus of thelarynx. There are three chief varieties:acute,chronic, andoedematous. The larynx is also liable to attacks of inflammation in connexion with tubercle or syphilis.
Acute Laryngitismay be produced by an independent catarrh, or by one extending either from the nasal or the bronchial mucous membrane into that of the larynx. The causes are various, “catching cold” being the most common. Excessive use of the voice either in speaking or singing sometimes gives rise to it. The inhalation of irritating particles, vapours, &c., and swallowing very hot fluids or corrosive poisons are well-recognized causes. It may also occur in connexion with diseases, notably measles and influenza. As a result of the inflammation there is a general swelling of the parts about the larynx and the epiglottis, the result being a narrowing of the channel for the entrance of the air, and to this the chief dangers are due. The symptoms vary with the intensity of the attack; there is first a sense of tickling, then of heat, dryness, and pain in the throat, with some difficulty in swallowing. There is a dry cough, with expectoration later; phonation becomes painful, while the voice is husky, and may be completely lost. In children there is some dyspnoea. In favourable cases, which form the majority, the attack tends to abate in a few days, but the inflammation may become of the oedematous variety, and death may occur suddenly from an asphyxial paroxysm. Many cases of acute laryngitis are so slight as to make themselves known only by hoarseness and the character of the cough, nevertheless in every instance the attack demands serious attention. The diagnosis is not, in adults, a matter of much difficulty, especially if an examination is made with the laryngoscope; in children, however, it is more difficult, and the question of diphtheria must not be lost sight of. The treatment is, first and foremost, rest; no talking must be allowed. The patient should be kept in bed, in a room at an even temperature, and the air saturated with moisture. An ice-bag round the throat gives much relief, while internally diaphoretics may be given, and a full dose of Dover’s powder if there be much pain or cough.
Chronic Laryngitisusually occurs as a result of repeated attacks of the acute form. It is extremely common in people who habitually over-use the voice, and is the cause of the hoarse voice one associates with street sellers. The constant inhalation of irritating vapours, such as tobacco smoke, may also cause it. There is usually little or no pain, only the unpleasant sensation of tickling in the larynx, with a constant desire to cough. The changes in the mucous membrane are more permanent than in the acute variety, and there nearly always accompanies this a chronic alteration of the membrane of the pharynx (granular pharyngitis). The treatment consists in stopping the cause, where known,e.g.the smoking or shouting. Careful examination should be made to see if there is any nasal obstruction, and the larynx should be treated locally with suitable astringents, by means of a brush, spray or insufflation. Overheated and ill-ventilated rooms must be avoided, as entrance into them immediately aggravates the trouble and causes a paroxysm of coughing.
Oedematous Laryngitisis a very fatal condition, which may occur, though rarely, as a sequence of acute laryngitis. It is far more commonly seen in syphilitic and tubercular conditions of the larynx, in kidney disease, in certain fevers, and in cases of cellulitis of the neck. The larynx is also one of the sites ofAngeioneurotic oedema. In this form of laryngitis there are all the symptoms of acute laryngitis, but on a very much exaggerated scale. The dyspnoea, accompanied by marked stridor, may arise and reach a dangerous condition within the space of an hour, and demand the most prompt treatment. On examination the mucous membrane round the epiglottis is seen to be enormously swollen. The treatment is ice round the throat and internally, scarification of the swollen parts, and should that not relieve the asphyxial symptoms, tracheotomy must be performed immediately.
Tubercular Laryngitisis practically always associated with phthisis. The mucous membrane is invaded by the tubercles, which first form small masses. These later break down and ulcerate; the ulceration then spreads up and down, causing an immense amount of destruction. The first indication is hoarseness, or, in certain forms, pain on swallowing. The cough is, as a rule, a late symptom. A sudden oedema may bring about a rapid fatal termination. The general treatment is the same as that advised for phthisis; locally, the affected parts may be removed by one or a series of operations, generally under local anaesthesia, or they may be treated with some destructive agent such as lactic acid. The pain on swallowing can be best alleviated by painting with a weak solution of cocaine. The condition is a very grave one; the prognosis depends largely on the associated pulmonary infection—if that be extensive, a very small amount of laryngeal mischief resists treatment, while, if the case be the contrary, a very extensive mischief may be successfully dealt with.
Syphilitic Laryngitis.—Invasion of the larynx in syphilis is very common. It may occur in both stages of the disease and in the inherited form. In the secondary stage the damage is superficial, and the symptoms those of a slight acute laryngitis. The injury in the tertiary stage is much more serious, the deeper structures are invaded with the formation of deep ulcers, which may when they heal form strong cicatrices, which produce a narrowing of the air-passage which may eventually require surgical interference. Occasionally a fatal oedema may arise. The treatment consists of administering constitutional remedies, local treatment being of comparatively slight importance.
Paroxysmal Laryngitis, orLaryngismus stridulus, is a nervous affection of the larynx that occurs in infants. It appears to be associated with adenoids. The disease consists of a reflex spasm of the glottis, which causes a complete blocking of the air-passages. The attacks, which are recurrent, cause acute asphyxiation. They may cease for no obvious reason, or one may prove fatal. The whole attack is of such short duration that the infant has either recovered or succumbed before assistance can be called. After an attack, careful examination should be made, and the adenoids, if present, removed by operation.
LA SABLIÈRE, MARGUERITE DE(c.1640-1693), friend and patron of La Fontaine, was the wife of Antoine Rambouillet, sieur de la Sablière (1624-1679), a Protestant financier entrusted with the administration of the royal estates, her maiden name being Marguerite Hessein. She received an excellent education in Latin, mathematics, physics and anatomy from the best scholars of her time, and her house became a meeting-place for poets, scientists and men of letters, no less than for brilliant members of the court of Louis XIV. About 1673 Mme de la Sablière received into her house La Fontaine, whom for twenty years she relieved of every kind of material anxiety. Another friend and inmate of the house was the traveller and physician François Bernier, whose abridgment of the works of Gassendi was written for Mme de la Sablière. The abbé Chaulieu andhis fellow-poet, Charles Auguste, marquis de La Fare, were among her most intimate associates. La Fare sold his commission in the army to be able to spend his time with her. This liaison, which seems to have been the only serious passion of her life, was broken in 1679. La Fare was seduced from his allegiance, according to Mme de Sévigné by his love of play, but to this must be added a new passion for the actress La Champmeslé. Mme de la Sablière thenceforward gave more and more attention to good works, much of her time being spent in the hospital for incurables. Her husband’s death in the same year increased her serious tendencies, and she was presently converted to Roman Catholicism. She died in Paris on the 8th of January 1693.
LA SALE(orLa Salle),ANTOINE DE(c.1388-1462?), French writer, was born in Provence, probably at Arles. He was a natural son of Bernard de la Salle,1a famous soldier of fortune, who served many masters, among others the Angevin dukes. In 1402 Antoine entered the court of Anjou, probably as a page, and in 1407 he was at Messina with Duke Louis II., who had gone there to enforce his claim to the kingdom of Sicily. The next years he perhaps spent in Brabant, for he was present at two tournaments given at Brussels and Ghent. With other gentlemen from Brabant, whose names he has preserved, he took part in the expedition of 1415 against the Moors, organized by John I. of Portugal. In 1420 he accompanied Louis III. on another expedition to Naples, making in that year an excursion from Norcia to the Monte della Sibilla, and the neighbouring Lake of Pilate. The story of his adventures on this occasion, and an account, with some sceptical comments, of the local legends regarding Pilate, and the Sibyl’s grotto,2form the most interesting chapter ofLa Salade, which is further adorned with a map of the ascent from Montemonaco. La Sale probably returned with Louis III. of Anjou, who was also comte de Provence, in 1426 to Provence, where he was acting asviguierof Aries in 1429. In 1434 René, Louis’s successor, made La Sale tutor to his son Jean d’Anjou, duc de Calabre, to whom he dedicated, between the years 1438 and 1447, hisLa Salade, which is a text-book of the studies necessary for a prince. The primary intention of the title is no doubt the play on his own name, but he explains it on the ground of the miscellaneous character of the book—a salad is composed “of many good herbs.” In 1439 he was again in Italy in charge of the castle of Capua, with the duc de Calabre and his young wife, Marie de Bourbon, when the place was besieged by the king of Aragon. René abandoned Naples in 1442, and Antoine no doubt returned to France about the same time. His advice was sought at the tournaments which celebrated the marriage of the unfortunate Margaret of Anjou at Nancy in 1445; and in 1446, at a similar display at Saumur, he was one of the umpires. La Sale’s pupil was now twenty years of age, and, after forty years’ service of the house of Anjou, La Sale left it to become tutor to the sons of Louis de Luxembourg, comte de Saint Pol, who took him to Flanders and presented him at the court of Philippe le Bon, duke of Burgundy. For his new pupils he wrote at Châtelet-sur-Oise, in 1451, a moral work entitledLa Salle.
He was nearly seventy years of age when he wrote the work that has made him famous,L’Hystoire et plaisante cronicque du petit Jehan de Saintré et de la jeune dame des Belles-Cousines, Sans autre nom nommer, dedicated to his former pupil, Jean de Calabre. Anenvoiin MS. 10,057 (nouv. acq. fr.) in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, states that it was completed at Châtelet on the 6th of March 1455 (i.e.1456). La Sale also announces an intention, never fulfilled, apparently, of writing a romance ofParis et Vienne. The MSS. ofPetit Jehan de Saintréusually contain in additionFloridam et Elvide, translated by Rasse de Brunhamel from the Latin of Nicolas de Clamange, and dedicated to La Sale; alsoAddiction extraite des Cronicques de Flandres, of which only a few lines are original. Brunhamel says in his dedication that La Sale had delighted to write honourable histories from the time of his “florie jeunesse,” which confirms a reasonable inference from the style ofPetit Jehan de Saintréthat its author was no novice in the art of romance-writing. TheRéconfort à Madame de Neufville, a consolatory epistle including two stories of parental fortitude, was written at Vendeuil-sur-Oise about 1458, and in 1459 La Sale produced his treatiseDes anciens tournois et faictz d’armesand theJournée d’Onneur et de Prouesse. He followed his patron to Genappe in Brabant when the Dauphin (afterwards Louis XI.) took refuge at the Burgundian court.
La Sale is generally accepted as the author of one of the most famous satires in the French language,Les Quinze Joyes de mariage, because his name has been disengaged from an acrostic at the end of the Rouen MS. He is also supposed to have been the “acteur” in the collection of licentious stories supposed to be narrated by various persons at the court of Philippe le Bon, and entitled theCent Nouvelles Nouvelles. One only of the stories is given in his name, but he is credited with the compilation of the whole, for which Louis XI. was long held responsible. A completed copy of this was presented to the Duke of Burgundy at Dijon in 1462. If then La Sale was the author, he probably was still living; otherwise the last mention of him is in 1461.
Petit Jehan de Saintrégives, at the point when the traditions of chivalry were fast disappearing, an account of the education of an ideal knight and rules for his conduct under many different circumstances. When Petit Jehan, aged thirteen, is persuaded by the Dame des Belles-Cousines to accept her as his lady, she gives him systematic instruction in religion, courtesy, chivalry and the arts of success. She materially advances his career until Saintré becomes an accomplished knight, the fame of whose prowess spreads throughout Europe. This section of the romance—apparently didactic in intention—fits in with the author’s other works of edification. But in the second part this virtuous lady falls a victim to a vulgar intrigue with Damp Abbé. One of La Sale’s commentators, M. Joseph Nève, ingeniously maintains that the last section is simply to show how the hero, after passing through the other grades of education, learns at last by experience to arm himself against coquetry. The book may, however, be fairly regarded as satirizing the whole theory of “courteous” love, by the simple method of fastening a repulsive conclusion on an ideal case. The contention that thefabliau-like ending of a romance begun in idyllic fashion was due to the corrupt influences of the Dauphin’s exiled court, is inadmissible, for the last page was written when the prince arrived in Brabant in 1456. That it is an anti-clerical satire seems unlikely. The profession of the seducer is not necessarily chosen from that point of view. The language of the book is not disfigured by coarseness of any kind, but, if the brutal ending was the expression of the writer’s real views, there is little difficulty in accepting him as the author of theQuinze Joyes de mariageand theCent Nouvelles Nouvelles.—Both these are masterpieces in their way and exhibit a much greater dramatic power and grasp of dialogue than doesPetit Jehan. Some light is thrown on the romance by the circumstances of the duc de Calabre, to whom it was dedicated. His wife, Marie de Bourbon, was one of the “Belles-Cousines” who contended for the favour of Jacques or Jacquet de Lalaing in theLivre des faits de Jacques Lalaingwhich forms the chief source of the early exploits of Petit Jehan.The incongruities of La Sale’s aims appear in his method of construction. The hero is not imaginary. Jehan de Saintré flourished in the Hundred Years’ War, was taken prisoner after Poitiers, with the elder Boucicaut, and was employed in negotiating the treaty of Bretigny. Froissart mentioned him as “le meilleur et le plus vaillant chevalier de France.” His exploits as related in the romance are, however, founded on those of Jacques de Lalaing (c.1422-1453), who was brought up at the Burgundian court, and became such a famous knight that he excited the rivalry of the “Belles-Cousines,” Marie de Bourbon and Marie de Clèves, duchesse d’Orléans. Lalaing’s exploits are related by more than one chronicler, but M. Gustave Raynaud thinks that theLivre des faits de Jacques de Lalaing, published among the works of Georges Chastelain, to which textual parallels may be found inPetit Jehan, should also be attributed to La Sale, who in that case undertook two accounts of the same hero, one historical and the other fictitious. To complicate matters, he drew, for the later exploits of Petit Jehan, on theLivres des faits de Jean Boucicaut, which gives the history of the younger Boucicaut. The atmosphere of the book is not the rough realities of the English wars in which the real Saintré figured but that of the courts to which La Sale was accustomed.The title ofLes Quinze Joyes de mariageis, with a profanity characteristic of the time, borrowed from a popular litany,Les Quinze Joies de Notre Dame, and each chapter terminates with a liturgicalrefrain voicing the miseries of marriage. Evidence in favour of La Sale’s authorship is brought forward by M. E. Gossart (Bibliophile belge, 1871, pp. 83-7), who quotes from his didactic treatise ofLa Sallea passage paraphrased from St Jerome’s treatise against Jovinian which contains the chief elements of the satire. Gaston Paris (Revue de Paris, Dec. 1897) expressed an opinion that to find anything like the malicious penetration by which La Sale divines the most intimate details of married life, and the painful exactness of the description, it is necessary to travel as far as Balzac. The theme itself was common enough in the middle ages in France, but the dialogue of theQuinze Joyesis unusually natural and pregnant. Each of the fifteen vignettes is perfect in its kind. There is no redundance. The diffuseness of romance is replaced by the methods of the writers of thefabliaux.In theCent Nouvelles Nouvellesthe Italiannovellais naturalized in France. The book is modelled on theDecameronof Boccaccio, and owes something to the LatinFacetiaeof the contemporary scholar Poggio; but the stories are rarely borrowed, and in cases where theNouvelleshave Italian parallels they appear to be independent variants. In most cases the general immorality of the conception is matched by the grossness of the details, but the ninety-eighth story narrates what appears to be a genuine tragedy, and is of an entirely different nature from the othercontes. It is another version of the story of Floridam et Elvide already mentioned.Not content with allowing these achievements to La Sale, some critics have proposed to ascribe to him also the farce ofMaître Pathelin.The best editions of La Sale’s undoubted and reputed works are:—Petit Jehan de Saintréby J. M. Guichard (1843);Les Cent Nouvelles Nouvellesby Thomas Wright (Bibl. elzévérienne, 1858);Les Quinze Joyes de mariageby P. Jannet (Bibl. elzév., 1857).La Saladewas printed more than once during the 16th century.La Sallewas never printed. For its contents see E. Gossart in theBibliophile belge(1871, pp. 77 et seq.). See also the authorities quoted above, and Joseph Nève,Antoine de la Salle, sa vie et ses ouvrages ... suivi du Réconfort de Madame de Fresne ... et de fragments et documents inédits(1903), who argues for the rejection ofLes Quinze Joyesand theCent Nouvelles Nouvellesfrom La Sale’s works; Pietro Toldo,Contributo allo studio della novella francese del XV e XVI secolo(1895), and a review of it by Gaston Paris in theJournal des Savants(May 1895); L. Stern, “Versuch über Antoine de la Salle,” inArchiv für das Studium der neueren Sprachen, vol. xlvi.; and G. Raynaud, “Un Nouveau Manuscrit du Petit Jehan de Saintré,” inRomania, vol. xxxi.
Petit Jehan de Saintrégives, at the point when the traditions of chivalry were fast disappearing, an account of the education of an ideal knight and rules for his conduct under many different circumstances. When Petit Jehan, aged thirteen, is persuaded by the Dame des Belles-Cousines to accept her as his lady, she gives him systematic instruction in religion, courtesy, chivalry and the arts of success. She materially advances his career until Saintré becomes an accomplished knight, the fame of whose prowess spreads throughout Europe. This section of the romance—apparently didactic in intention—fits in with the author’s other works of edification. But in the second part this virtuous lady falls a victim to a vulgar intrigue with Damp Abbé. One of La Sale’s commentators, M. Joseph Nève, ingeniously maintains that the last section is simply to show how the hero, after passing through the other grades of education, learns at last by experience to arm himself against coquetry. The book may, however, be fairly regarded as satirizing the whole theory of “courteous” love, by the simple method of fastening a repulsive conclusion on an ideal case. The contention that thefabliau-like ending of a romance begun in idyllic fashion was due to the corrupt influences of the Dauphin’s exiled court, is inadmissible, for the last page was written when the prince arrived in Brabant in 1456. That it is an anti-clerical satire seems unlikely. The profession of the seducer is not necessarily chosen from that point of view. The language of the book is not disfigured by coarseness of any kind, but, if the brutal ending was the expression of the writer’s real views, there is little difficulty in accepting him as the author of theQuinze Joyes de mariageand theCent Nouvelles Nouvelles.—Both these are masterpieces in their way and exhibit a much greater dramatic power and grasp of dialogue than doesPetit Jehan. Some light is thrown on the romance by the circumstances of the duc de Calabre, to whom it was dedicated. His wife, Marie de Bourbon, was one of the “Belles-Cousines” who contended for the favour of Jacques or Jacquet de Lalaing in theLivre des faits de Jacques Lalaingwhich forms the chief source of the early exploits of Petit Jehan.
The incongruities of La Sale’s aims appear in his method of construction. The hero is not imaginary. Jehan de Saintré flourished in the Hundred Years’ War, was taken prisoner after Poitiers, with the elder Boucicaut, and was employed in negotiating the treaty of Bretigny. Froissart mentioned him as “le meilleur et le plus vaillant chevalier de France.” His exploits as related in the romance are, however, founded on those of Jacques de Lalaing (c.1422-1453), who was brought up at the Burgundian court, and became such a famous knight that he excited the rivalry of the “Belles-Cousines,” Marie de Bourbon and Marie de Clèves, duchesse d’Orléans. Lalaing’s exploits are related by more than one chronicler, but M. Gustave Raynaud thinks that theLivre des faits de Jacques de Lalaing, published among the works of Georges Chastelain, to which textual parallels may be found inPetit Jehan, should also be attributed to La Sale, who in that case undertook two accounts of the same hero, one historical and the other fictitious. To complicate matters, he drew, for the later exploits of Petit Jehan, on theLivres des faits de Jean Boucicaut, which gives the history of the younger Boucicaut. The atmosphere of the book is not the rough realities of the English wars in which the real Saintré figured but that of the courts to which La Sale was accustomed.
The title ofLes Quinze Joyes de mariageis, with a profanity characteristic of the time, borrowed from a popular litany,Les Quinze Joies de Notre Dame, and each chapter terminates with a liturgicalrefrain voicing the miseries of marriage. Evidence in favour of La Sale’s authorship is brought forward by M. E. Gossart (Bibliophile belge, 1871, pp. 83-7), who quotes from his didactic treatise ofLa Sallea passage paraphrased from St Jerome’s treatise against Jovinian which contains the chief elements of the satire. Gaston Paris (Revue de Paris, Dec. 1897) expressed an opinion that to find anything like the malicious penetration by which La Sale divines the most intimate details of married life, and the painful exactness of the description, it is necessary to travel as far as Balzac. The theme itself was common enough in the middle ages in France, but the dialogue of theQuinze Joyesis unusually natural and pregnant. Each of the fifteen vignettes is perfect in its kind. There is no redundance. The diffuseness of romance is replaced by the methods of the writers of thefabliaux.
In theCent Nouvelles Nouvellesthe Italiannovellais naturalized in France. The book is modelled on theDecameronof Boccaccio, and owes something to the LatinFacetiaeof the contemporary scholar Poggio; but the stories are rarely borrowed, and in cases where theNouvelleshave Italian parallels they appear to be independent variants. In most cases the general immorality of the conception is matched by the grossness of the details, but the ninety-eighth story narrates what appears to be a genuine tragedy, and is of an entirely different nature from the othercontes. It is another version of the story of Floridam et Elvide already mentioned.
Not content with allowing these achievements to La Sale, some critics have proposed to ascribe to him also the farce ofMaître Pathelin.
The best editions of La Sale’s undoubted and reputed works are:—Petit Jehan de Saintréby J. M. Guichard (1843);Les Cent Nouvelles Nouvellesby Thomas Wright (Bibl. elzévérienne, 1858);Les Quinze Joyes de mariageby P. Jannet (Bibl. elzév., 1857).La Saladewas printed more than once during the 16th century.La Sallewas never printed. For its contents see E. Gossart in theBibliophile belge(1871, pp. 77 et seq.). See also the authorities quoted above, and Joseph Nève,Antoine de la Salle, sa vie et ses ouvrages ... suivi du Réconfort de Madame de Fresne ... et de fragments et documents inédits(1903), who argues for the rejection ofLes Quinze Joyesand theCent Nouvelles Nouvellesfrom La Sale’s works; Pietro Toldo,Contributo allo studio della novella francese del XV e XVI secolo(1895), and a review of it by Gaston Paris in theJournal des Savants(May 1895); L. Stern, “Versuch über Antoine de la Salle,” inArchiv für das Studium der neueren Sprachen, vol. xlvi.; and G. Raynaud, “Un Nouveau Manuscrit du Petit Jehan de Saintré,” inRomania, vol. xxxi.