PICARD, Louis Benoit, French dramatist: b. Paris, 29 July 1769; d. there, 31 Dec. 1828. He went on the stage and began writing for it at the age of 18, and had his first play, 'Le Bandinage Dangereux,' a comedy, accepted in 1789. In 1791 his play 'Encore des Menechmes) gained for him repu tation as a playwright. During the Revolution he acted in several of his plays. In 1800 he be came director of the Louvois Theatre. In 1807 he was elected a member of the French Acad emy. In the same year he was appointed di rector of the Opera, but gave up this position in 1816 to become director of the Odeon where he continued until 1821. Though not a drama tist of the first class, his plays, comedies in prose and verse, exhibit many pleasing char acteristics. His style was easy, his power of invention considerable, his humor unforced, his dialogue very natural. He was a prolific writer, producing 94 comedies and seven novels. In some of the former he was assisted by laborators. His novels were of small import-. ance and added little, if anything, to his literary reputation. Among his best plays are Medio cre et Rampant' (1797) ; 'La Petite Ville' (1801) ; Marionettes' (1807) ; (L'Intri guant Maladroit) (1820). Part of his works were published in 1812. A full collection of than was published as de Picard' in 10 volumes (Paris 1821). Various selections have
been issued: (CEuvres Choisies) (New York 1830) ;
de Picard' (2 vols., Paris 1877) ; (Theatre Choisi de L. B. Picard' (Paris 12). Many of his plays have been translated into various foreign langUages. Only two, how ever, have been translated in English: 'The Parasite, or the Art to Make One's Fortune' (Philadelphia 1872) ; 'The Rebound> (trans. by B. H. Clark, New York 1915). Two of his plays—
des Menechine0 and
et Rampant' —have been translated into German by Schiller, and from his German into English as 'The Nephew as Uncle' (by G. G. Harris, Leipzig 1856; by T. C. Wilkinson, Ipswich 1882) ; and
Parasite, or, the Art to Make One's Fortune' (by F. S. Nysson, Leip zig and New York 1856; by J. S. S. Rothwell, Munich 1859). Of his novels only one has been translated into English as
Gil Bias of the Revolution, or, the Confessions of Law rence Giffard' (3 vols., London 1825). Con sult Dawson, J. C.,