AMPERE, JEAN JACQUES AtcrorxE, son of the above named, professor of modern literature in the college de France, at Paris, and member of the French academy, was b. at Lyon, Aug. 12, 1800. He acquired a brilliant reputation on account of the keen and searching character of his manifold literary efforts. After laying the groundwork of his comprehensive studies in Paris, he proceeded to Italy, Germany, and Scandi navia. In 1829, when he returned from his travels, he saw no prospect of becoming a professor in Paris, and so consented to give a course of lectures on the history of litera ture at Marseille. After the,July revolution, he succeeded Andrieux as professor in the college de France, and also took the place of Villemaiu in the normal school. In both chairs be taught with great success. He was especially versed in the knowledge of German literature; while his valuable writings upon China, Persia, India, Egypt, and Nubia, as well as his Levantine voyages, proved that the far east itself was embraced within the circle of his studies. A. allowed many of his linguistic and historico-literary
investigations to see the light first in reviews, especially the Revue des Deux In 1833, he published an essay on the relations of French literature to that of other coun tries in the middle ages; in 1841, an Essay on the Formation of the •ench Language—a most valuable contribution to philology in general; and in 1850, a work entitled Greece, Rome, and Dante, which shows his acquaintance with classical and south-European litera ture. Many of his papers for periodicals have been collected under the title LitMrature et Voyages (2 vols.; Paris, 1834). Deep research and judicious criticism, expressed in a clear and classical style, distinguish his various compositions. He d. March 27, 1564.