CONTENTS: I: Introduction // II: The Sixteenth Century: The development of French -- A brief political and religious history -- The ascendance of French -- The search for purity: Efforts to improve the language (Meigret and spelling reform; Grammars) // III: The Seventeenth Century (Until 1661) -- Brief history (Manners and morals) -- Malherbe and Purity -- The French Academy -- Vaugelas and Prescriptivism // IV: Rationalism -- Renaissance Philosophy -- Looking for fundamentals of language (The Modistae; Scaliger; Ramus; Sanctius) // V: The Jesuits -- Introduction -- The Ratio studiorum (The Plan; Sources of the Ratio studiorum) -- Opposition to the Jesuits and their schools // VI: Jansenism -- Jansen -- Saint Augustine -- Persecution -- Port-Royal // VII: The “Petites-Écoles” -- History and philosophy of the schools -- Life at the schools -- Evaluation // VIII: Language study at Port-Royal -- Its importance -- The study of Latin and French / IX: Lancelot and Arnauld -- Lancelot (Biography; His works on language; 1. La Nouvelle Méthode Latine; 2. La Nouvelle Méthode Grecque; 3. Le Jardin des Racines Grecques; Other works; Conclusion) -- Arnauld (Biography; Arnauld and Cartesianism; The Port-Royal Logic) // X: The Grammaire générale et raisonée -- Part one: The letters and characters of writing -- Part two: The principles and reasons on which the various forms of the signification of words are founded // XI: Conclusions: Who wrote the GGR? -- What was the purpose of the GGR? -- Why was the GGR so successful and influential? // Appendix I: After Port-Royal // Appendix II: Discours de la méthode / References