Machiavelli, Molière, Montaigne, Dante, Descartes, Pascal, Voltaire, Rousseau, Balzac. The French and Italian traditions are rich with philosophers and artists who spoke about the sublime and beautiful in voices of unparalleled elegance. Craufurd Tait Ramage gathers the most distinct and succinct of these thoughts, presenting them in their original French and Italian alongside an English translation.