CORNEILLE, Thomas, French dramatist, brother of the preceding: b. Rouen, 20 Aug. 1625; d. Andelys, 8 Dec. 1709. He lived in the most friendly union with his brother till the death of the latter. They had married two sis ters, lived in the same house without any divi sion of means, and were remarkable for the conformity of their tastes. His first comedy, (Les engagements du hasard,> appeared in 1647 and was successful. The number of his dra matic works is 42; yet most of them are now little Icnown. His comedies, however, at the time of their appearance were received with greater interest, if possible, than those of the great Corneille, in imitation of whom Thomas applied himself to tragedy; and his (Timocrate' (1656) was received with such continual ap plause that the actors, weary of repeating it, entreated the audience, from the. stage, to per mit the representation of something else, other wise they should forget all their other pieces. Since that time it has not been brought upon the boards at all. (Camma,) in 1661, produced an equal sensation. The spectators thronged m
such numbers to witness the representation that scarcely room enough was left for the perform ers. His best tragedy is (Arlene' (1672). 'Le Comte d'Essex> (1678) has also retained some celebrity, although marred by the ignorance it displays of English manners and history. (L'Inconnu,' a heroic comedy, appeared in 1675. In 1677 he versified (Le Festin de Pierre' at the request of the widow of Moliere, and until recently, when the prose of Moliere superseded it, it was always represented in his version. He was a dramatist of the second rank, laborious but wanting in originality, yet not without con siderable resources. In 1685 he succeeded his brother in the French Academy by a unanimous vote. His 'Works' were edited by Thierry (Paris 1881). Consult Reynier, 'Thomas Cor neille, sa vie et son theatre' (Paris 1893) and Alfred de Vigny, 'Fragments inedits de critique sur Pierre et Thomas Corneille' (1905).