BOILEAU, NICOLAS, (Sieur Despreaux), one .of the most able poets whom France has produced. He lived during the reign of Louis XIV. and rose to a high distinction in the cluster of wits, whose co existence has ranked that period among the golden ages of literature. He was born in 1636 ; and his various works were successively offered to the pub lic, between 1666 and 1707. He sprung, according to his own information, from a race of lawyers (Fits d'un Pere Greier,id; d'ayeux Avocats,) and was the youngest of three brothers, all of whom were ambi tious of writing for the public. The oldest, an ad vocate, produced a life of Epictetus, and a transla tion of his philosophy from the abridged view of it supplied by Arrian. He also composed occasional verses, of which a collection was published after his death. Jacques, the second brother, was Dean of the Faculty of Divinity in Paris, and a voluminous author on ecclesiastical subjects. We shall mention the titles of two of his works, for the amusement of those, whose more rational faith will tempt them to smile at the trifles, to which the dignitaries of the Gallic church attached a serious importance. One treatise of the Dean was, De tactibus impudicis, dans sequel it prouve que ees sortes d'attouchemens sort des pechez mortals : and another,'De re vestiariel homi nis sacri, dans lequcl it pretend qu'il est assez intlif fcrens aux Eeeleszastiques de porter des habits trop longs ou trop courts. Nicolas having finished his academical course at the college of Beauvais, engaged, by the persuasion of his father, in the study of law ; a study, to the repulsive inelegance of which, both France and England are indebted for some of their favourite poets. By apprising a youth of the mental exertions most uncongenial to his taste, it leads him, by that species of association resulting from contra riety, to those in which he delights ; while a profes sion less hostile to the play of imagination, might have occupied him sufficiently to prevent the disco very. Boileau, however, proceeded far enough to be ss.alled to the bar. On quitting it, he became a stu dent of theology, at the Sorbonne; but was again disgusted, and says that here he found, Chicanery had only shifted her dress. After this repetition of disappointment, he resolved to indulge his literary propensities, without the interruption even of a liter rary profession, though he humorously acknow.
ledges that his relations were displeased with the re. solution : La famille en pulit, et atilt en fremissant Dans la Poudre du Greffe un poete naissant. On tit aree horreur one muse epode Dormir des wn Greffier la grasse matinee.
To poetry, in which he had both delighted and ex. celled at Beauvais, he now returned with fresh avit, dity; and it may be presumed that, even as a poet, he reaped some advantage from Isis two unsuccessful experiments to alter his destination. They had ac quainted him with characters and topics, at which. the satirist has frequent occasion to glance, and his acquaintance with which enabled him to sharpen the poignancy, and enrich the humour of his principal production. as in Britain, the public taste was, at this period, extremely vicious, and au thors had become popular, by exposing whose faults; and thus obliquely correcting their admirers, Boileau began to prepare the latter for a favourable recep tion of his own attempts' to resist the graceful sim. plicity of the ancients. In this application of his talents we perceive their early vigour ; for to out run the judgment of our age, to resist the current of fashion, and to reject the support of popular deci sions, are the efforts of no ordinary- mind, nor is ge nius less manifest in leading back from error, than in leading forward to truth. The Satires of Boileau, which he wrote with this design, being admired in manuscript, and surreptitiously printed, an accurate edition of them was published by himself in 1666. Their appearance enraged the host of minor poets, who loudly complained of the introduction of their names ; but these complaints only served to aggra vate their sentence, by provoking Boileau to a se vere and sarcastic apology in his 9th satire. His in dependence, however, was more conspicuous in the affairs of literature, than in those of life : for Horace was not more profuse of incense to Augustus, than Boileau to Louis, who was then the darling of For tune, and therefore the idol of subjects, to whose national egotism, success is virtue. To that prince he addressed two epistles, on his different atchievemcnts, and also an ode on the surrender of Namur, which thews that its author had misjudged his powers, when he attempted to follow Horace into the higher regions of Parnassus.