The Académie Française, created in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, remains an active entity today. The death of one of its forty immortels this past spring caught the eye of writer Joseph A. Harriss, whose essay in The American Spectator of June 10, 2009, cited the Cardinal's founding mission statement: "To work with all possible care and diligence to give strict rules to our language and to make it pure, eloquent, and capable of dealing with the arts and sciences."

Mr. Harriss' essay discusses Richelieu's rationale for forming the Académie. It also mentions the dictionary of 1694, which required sixty years to produce. The essay provides the student of French history and culture with an interesting blend of current issues and their historical underpinnings. The witch and her raven will lead you to the article, "The Most Exclusive Club in Paris."