La Bruyère, Jean de

La Bruyère, Jean de
born August 1645, Paris, France
died May 10/11, 1696, Versailles

French satiric moralist.

As a tutor and librarian in a royal household, he observed aristocratic idleness, fads, and fashions. His The Characters, or Manners of the Age, with the Characters of Theophrastus (1688) was appended to his translation of Theophrastus and written in the latter's style. A masterpiece of French literature, it was an indictment of the vanity and pretensions around him. Eight editions of Characters, with expanded character sketches and topical allusions, appeared through 1694.

* * *

▪ French author
born August 1645, Paris, France
died May 10/11, 1696, Versailles
 French satiric moralist who is best known for one work, Les Caractères de Théophraste traduits du grec avec Les Caractères ou les moeurs de ce siècle (1688; The Characters, or the Manners of the Age, with The Characters of Theophrastus), which is considered to be one of the masterpieces of French literature.

      La Bruyère studied law at Orléans. Through the intervention of Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet, the eminent humanist and theologian, he became one of the tutors to the Duke de Bourbon, grandson of the Prince de Condé, and remained in the Condé household as librarian at Chantilly. His years there were probably unhappy because, although he was proud of his middle-class origin, he was a constant butt of ridicule because of his ungainly figure, morose manner, and biting tongue; the bitterness of his book reflects the inferiority of his social position. His situation, however, afforded him the opportunity to make penetrating observations on the power of money in a demoralized society, the tyranny of social custom, and the perils of aristocratic idleness, fads, and fashions.

      La Bruyère's masterpiece appeared as an appendage to his translation of the 4th-century BC character writer Theophrastus in 1688. His method was that of Theophrastus: to define qualities such as dissimulation, flattery, or rusticity and then to give instances of them in actual people, making reflections on the “characters,” or “characteristics,” of the time, for the purpose of reforming manners. La Bruyère had an immense and richly varied vocabulary and a sure grasp of technique. His satire is constantly sharpened by variety of presentation, and he achieves vivid stylistic effects, which were admired by such eminent writers as the 19th-century novelists Gustave Flaubert and the Goncourt brothers.

      Eight editions of the Caractères appeared during La Bruyère's lifetime. The portrait sketches were expanded because of their great popularity. Readers began putting real names to the personages and compiling keys to them, but La Bruyère denied that any was a portrait of a single person.

      Topical allusions in his book made his election to the French Academy difficult, but he was eventually elected in 1693. The Duke de Saint-Simon, the diplomat and memoirist, described him as honourable, lovable, and unpretentious.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • La Bruyère, Jean de — • Born at Paris in 1645; died at Chantilly in 1696. He was the son of a comptroller general of municipal revenue Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006 …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • La Bruyère, Jean de — (1645 1696)    moralist    Born in Paris and educated principally at the University of orléans, Jean de La Bruyère, an attorney, through the influence of jacques bénigne bossuet was appointed tutor then secretary to the duke of Bourbon of the… …   France. A reference guide from Renaissance to the Present

  • Jean de La Bruyère — Jean de La Bruyére Nombre Jean de La Bruyére …   Wikipedia Español

  • Jean De La Bruyère — Pour les articles homonymes, voir La Bruyère. Jean de La Bruyère …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Jean de La Bruyere — Jean de La Bruyère Pour les articles homonymes, voir La Bruyère. Jean de La Bruyère …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Jean de la Bruyère — Pour les articles homonymes, voir La Bruyère. Jean de La Bruyère …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Jean de la bruyère — Pour les articles homonymes, voir La Bruyère. Jean de La Bruyère …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Jean de La Bruyère — (* 16. August 1645 in Paris; † 10. Mai 1696 in Versailles) war ein französischer Schriftsteller. Der als Moralist zu den großen französischen Klassikern gerechnete Autor stammte aus einer bürgerlichen, wohl erst seit kurzem in Paris ansässigen F …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Jean de La Bruyere — Jean de La Bruyère Jean de La Bruyère (* 16. August 1645 in Paris; † 10. Mai 1696 in Versailles) war ein französischer Schriftsteller. Der als Moralist zu den großen französischen Klassikern gerechnete Autor stammte aus einer bürgerlichen, wohl… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Jean de la Bruyère — (* 16. August 1645 in Paris; † 10. Mai 1696 in Versailles) war ein französischer Schriftsteller. Der als Moralist zu den großen französischen Klassikern gerechnete Autor stammte aus einer bürgerlichen, wohl erst seit kurzem in Paris ansässigen… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”