Jean Desmarets, Sieur de Saint-Sorlin (1595 – 28 October 1676) was a French writer and dramatist. He was a founding member, and the first to occupy seat 4 of the

Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

in 1634.

Biography

Born in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, Desmarets was introduced to

Cardinal Richelieu Armand Jean du Plessis, Duke of Richelieu (; 9 September 1585 – 4 December 1642), known as Cardinal Richelieu, was a French clergyman and statesman. He was also known as ''l'Éminence rouge'', or "the Red Eminence", a term derived from the ...

, and became one of the band of writers who carried out the cardinal's literary ideas when he was about thirty years old. His inclination, however, was to writing novels, and the success of his romance ''L'Ariane'' in 1632 led to his formal admission to a circle of writers that met at the house of

Valentin Conrart Valentin Conrart (; 1603 – 23 September 1675) was a French author, and as a founder of the Académie française, the first occupant of seat 2. Biography He was born in Paris of Calvinist parents, and was educated for business. However, afte ...

. When this circle later developed into the

, Desmarets became its first chancellor. He was related to Marie Dupré. His success led to official preferment, and he was made ''conseiller du roi'', ''contrôleur-général de l'extraordinaire des guerres'', and secretary-general of the fleet of the

Levant The Levant () is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean region of Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in archaeology and other cultural contexts, it is eq ...

Works

It was at Richelieu's request that he began to write for the theatre. In this genre he produced a comedy long regarded as a masterpiece, ''Les Visionnaires'' (1637), where, slightly disguised, real personages such as Madeleine de Sablé, la marquise de Rambouillet et Madame de Chavigny are staged; a prose-tragedy, ''Erigone'' (1638); and ''Scipion'' (1639), a tragedy in verse. His long epic ''Clovis'' (1657) is noteworthy because Desmarets rejected the traditional

pagan Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. ...

background, and maintained that

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

imagery should supplant it. With this standpoint he contributed several works in defence of the moderns in the famous quarrel between the Ancients and Moderns. In his later years Desmarets devoted himself chiefly to producing a number of religious poems, of which the best known is perhaps his verse translation of the ''Office de la Vierge'' (1645). He was an outspoken opponent of the

Jansenists Jansenism was an early modern theological movement within Catholicism, primarily active in the Kingdom of France, that emphasized original sin, human depravity, the necessity of divine grace, and predestination. It was declared a heresy by ...

, against whom he wrote a ''Réponse à l'insolente apologie de Port-Royal'' (1666). He died in Paris on 28 October 1676.

References

* Jean-Claude Vuillemin, "Jean Desmarets de Saint Sorlin,", in L. Foisneau, ed., ''

Dictionary of Seventeenth-Century French Philosophers The ''Dictionary of Seventeenth-Century French Philosophers'' is a dictionary of philosophical writers in France between 1601 and 1700, edited by Luc Foisneau. An augmented and revised French edition has been published in 2015. Content The ''D ...

'', 2 vols. London and New York: Thoemmes Continuum, 2008. I. pp. 355–59. * * H. Rigault (1856). ''Histoire de la querelle des anciens et des modernes'', pp. 80–103. *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Desmarets, Jean 1595 births 1676 deaths Writers from Paris 17th-century French poets 17th-century French male writers 17th-century French novelists 17th-century French dramatists and playwrights Members of the Académie Française

Biography

Works

See also

References

External links