BOILEAU DESPREAUX, NrcotAs, an illustrious French poet, was b. near Paris, Nov, 1, 1630. After hesitating for some time in the choice of a profession, lie betook himself to In 1660, his fine powers first obtained an adequate expression in the satire, entitled Adieux d'un Poete d laVille de Paris. In 1666; he published Ins seven Sidires. The favorable reception which they met with, induced hitn to continue, until lie had increased the number to,twellt, of which the eighth and ninth are considered the hest. In these satires, B. even ventures to castigate the corypluei of the world of lettem—Chapelain. Cotin, Scudery, etc. To his honor, however, it must be said that malice does not once animate his pen: Ile- is always pleasant and gay, never cruel. His contemporaries are his laughing-stocks, not his victims. Between the years 1669 and 1696 appeared his Troelr'e Epistles. They indicate a riper genius than the Satires. The versification has more ease and grace; the style, a quicker movement and a firmer con sistency; the thou•Alts are more vigorous, and more strictly concatenated; everywhere there is greater truth. color, and energy. The one addressed to Racine. who, along with R, filled the office of royal historiographer. is reckoned among his finest. In 1674, 11. published L' Art Poeh,:tpte, nenompattied by a translation from the Greek of Longinus 071 the &Ulnae, and--the'gl'eater' part of 7;atein. Theso are by many French critics consid fs-d'(rurre. The first is indeed an exquisite performance, and has been copiously Imitated in Pope's Essay on Criticism. It lays down rules for almost every i species of poetry, in a clearer and more metliodieal manner than had ever been dime before, xvhile the whole poem is sprinkled with touches of delicate satire. The second, i Lutria, s a comic epic in six cantos, immensely admired by his countrymen. Besides
these, 13. wrote several minor pieces, both in prose and verse, such de Rouutn, Dissertation sur Joeonde, E Arra Burlesque, and Diseours sur la Satire. A large number of his letters have been collected. Among them are twenty to laeit.e. The letters of B. are in general extremely- valuable, from the fact that they contain a large proportion of the literary history of the time. They also enable us to form a just idea of his character. lie was high-minded, generous. and pure. In fact, his impul sive disposition and imprudent warmth of heart quite contradict the common notion of what a satirist is. When Corneille's pension was ordered to be stopped, after the death of Colbert, 13. flew to the king, remonstrated against so "barbarous a spoliation," and threatened to resign his own if the decree were carried into effect. Ile courageously denounced the persecutors of the nuns of Port Royal; expressed his admiration of Arnauld, when the latter was on the point of being arrested: extricated out of pecunimy einbarrassineuts ninny friends; and through sheer kindliness of heart, forced on a recon ciliation with various of his literary adversaries. An admirer of Pitseal, and a friend of the Janseuists, he could yet rentlar homage to the talents of such Jesuits as Bourdnloue, Bonhours, and Rapin; lint his most intimate and cherished companions were Moliire, Racine, and Lafontaine. Until 1706, B. lived much in public, but after that his bodily infirmities induced hint to retire to Auteuil. He died Mardi 13, 1711. I3.'s influence on French literature has been immense, and, ou the whole, beneficial. Voltaire pro claimed him the legislator of Parnassus."