Jean-François Marmontel (11 July 1723 – 31 December 1799) was a French historian, writer and a member of the

Encyclopédistes The Encyclopédistes () (also known in British English as Encyclopaedists, or in U.S. English as Encyclopedists) were members of the , a French writers' society, who contributed to the development of the ''Encyclopédie'' from June 1751 to Decembe ...

movement.

Biography

He was born of poor parents at

Bort Bort, boart, or boort is an umbrella term used in the diamond industry to refer to shards of non-gem-grade/quality diamonds. In the manufacturing and heavy industries, "bort" is used to describe dark, imperfectly formed or crystallized diamonds ...

Limousin Limousin (; oc, Lemosin ) is a former administrative region of southwest-central France. On 1 January 2016, it became part of the new administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It comprised three departments: Corrèze, Creuse, and Haute-Vienn ...

(today in

Corrèze Corrèze (; oc, Corresa) is a department in France, named after the river Corrèze which runs through it. Although its prefecture is Tulle, its most populated city is Brive-la-Gaillarde. Corrèze is located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, ...

). After studying with the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

at Mauriac,

Cantal Cantal (; oc, Cantal or ) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France, with its prefecture in Aurillac. Its other principal towns are Saint-Flour (the episcopal see) and Mauriac; its residents are known as Cantalians (fren ...

, he taught in their colleges at

Clermont-Ferrand Clermont-Ferrand (, ; ; oc, label=Auvergnat (dialect), Auvergnat, Clarmont-Ferrand or Clharmou ; la, Augustonemetum) is a city and Communes of France, commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions of France, region, with a population ...

and

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

; and in 1745, acting on the advice of

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his ...

, he set out for

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 ...

to try for literary success. From 1748 to 1753 he wrote a succession of

tragedies Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...

: ''Denys le Tyran'' (1748); ''Aristomene'' (1749); ''Cleopâtre'' (1750); ''Heraclides'' (1752); ''Egyptus'' (1753). These literary works, though only moderately successful on the stage, secured Marmontel's introduction into literary and fashionable circles. He wrote a series of articles for the ''

Encyclopédie ''Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers'' (English: ''Encyclopedia, or a Systematic Dictionary of the Sciences, Arts, and Crafts''), better known as ''Encyclopédie'', was a general encyclopedia publis ...

'' evincing considerable critical power and insight, which in their collected form, under the title ''Eléments de Littérature'', still rank among the French classics. He also wrote several comic operas, the two best of which probably are '' Sylvain'' (1770) and '' Zémire et Azore'' (1771). In the

Gluck Christoph Willibald (Ritter von) Gluck (; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of the Holy Roman Empire, he g ...

– Piccinni controversy he was an eager partisan of Piccinni with whom he collaborated in

Roland (Piccinni) ''Roland'' is a tragédie lyrique in three acts by the composer Niccolò Piccinni. The opera was a new setting of a libretto written by Philippe Quinault for Jean-Baptiste Lully in 1685, specially adapted for Piccinni by Jean-François Marmontel ...

(1778) and Atys (1779), both using

Jean Baptiste Lully Jean-Baptiste Lully ( , , ; born Giovanni Battista Lulli, ; – 22 March 1687) was an Italian-born French composer, guitarist, violinist, and dancer who is considered a master of the French Baroque music style. Best known for his operas, ...

's libretto by Quinault as basis, '' Didon'' (1783) and ''Penelope'' (1785). In 1758 he gained the patronage of

Madame de Pompadour Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour (, ; 29 December 1721 – 15 April 1764), commonly known as Madame de Pompadour, was a member of the French court. She was the official chief mistress of King Louis XV from 1745 to 1751, and rema ...

, who obtained for him a place as a civil servant, and the management of the official journal '' Le Mercure'', in which he had already begun the famous series of ''Contes moraux''. The merit of these tales lies partly in the delicate finish of the style, but mainly in the graphic and charming pictures of French society under King

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reache ...

. The author was elected to 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 1763. In 1767 he published ''Bélisaire'', now remarkable in part because of a chapter on religious toleration which incurred the censure of the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

and the archbishop of Paris. Marmontel retorted in ''Les Incas, ou la destruction de l'empire du Perou'' (1777) by tracing the cruelties in Spanish America to the religious fanaticism of the invaders. He was appointed historiographer of France (1771), secretary to the Academy (1783), and professor of history in the Lycée (1786). As a historiographer, Marmontel wrote a history of the regency (1788). Reduced to poverty by the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

, Marmontel retired during the

Reign of Terror The Reign of Terror (french: link=no, la Terreur) was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the First Republic, a series of massacres and numerous public executions took place in response to revolutionary fervour, ...

to Evreux, and soon afterwards to a

cottage A cottage, during Feudalism in England, England's feudal period, was the holding by a cottager (known as a Cotter (farmer), cotter or ''bordar'') of a small house with enough garden to feed a family and in return for the cottage, the cottager ...

at Abloville (near

Saint-Aubin-sur-Gaillon Saint-Aubin-sur-Gaillon (, literally ''Saint-Aubin on Gaillon'') is a commune in the Eure department in Normandy in northern France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It ...

) in the ''

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivity, territorial collectivities"), between the regions of France, admin ...

'' of

Eure Eure () is a department in Normandy in Northwestern France, named after the river Eure. Its prefecture is Évreux. In 2019, Eure had a population of 599,507.Jean Baptiste Massillon Jean-Baptiste Massillon, CO (24 June 1663, Hyères – 28 September 1742, Beauregard-l'Évêque), was a French Catholic prelate and famous preacher who served as Bishop of Clermont from 1717 until his death. Biography Early years Massillon wa ...

, whom more than half a century previously he had seen at Clermont, to

Honoré Mirabeau Honoré is a name of French origin and may refer to several people or places: Given name Sovereigns of Monaco Lords of Monaco * Honoré I of Monaco Princes of Monaco * Honoré II of Monaco * Honoré III of Monaco * Honoré IV of Monaco * Honor� ...

. The book was nominally written for the instruction of his children. It contains an exquisite picture of his own childhood in the

; its value for the literary historian is great. Marmontel lived for some time under the roof of Madame Geoffrin, and was present at her famous dinners given to artists; he was welcomed into most of the houses where the encyclopaedists met, and was a contributor to the ''

Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers ''Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers'' (English: ''Encyclopedia, or a Systematic Dictionary of the Sciences, Arts, and Crafts''), better known as ''Encyclopédie'', was a general encyclopedia publi ...

''. He thus had at his command the best material for his portraits, and made good use of his opportunities. After a short stay in Paris when elected in 1797 to the ''Conseil des Anciens'', he died at Abloville. He was a member of the Masonic lodge

Les Neuf Sœurs La Loge des Neuf Sœurs (; The Nine Sisters), established in Paris in 1776, was a prominent French Masonic Lodge of the Grand Orient de France that was influential in organising French support for the American Revolution. A "Société des Neuf Sœ ...

John Ruskin John Ruskin (8 February 1819 20 January 1900) was an English writer, philosopher, art critic and polymath of the Victorian era. He wrote on subjects as varied as geology, architecture, myth, ornithology, literature, education, botany and politi ...

named him as one of the three people in history who were the most influential for him. In his autobiography,

John Stuart Mill John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 – 7 May 1873) was an English philosopher, political economist, Member of Parliament (MP) and civil servant. One of the most influential thinkers in the history of classical liberalism, he contributed widely to ...

credits ''Memoires d'un père'' with curing him of depression.

Works

Theatre

Marmontel published many opera librettos and mostly operas comiques librettos, a genre in which he excelled but could not compete with

Charles-Simon Favart Charles Simon Favart (13 November 1710 – 12 May 1792) was a French playwright and theatre director. The Salle Favart in Paris is named after him. Biography Born in Paris, the son of a pastry-cook, he was educated at the Lycée Louis-le-Grand, a ...

. *1748: ''Denys le tyran'', tragedy, 5 February *1749: ''Aristomène'', tragedy, 30 April *1750: ''Cléopâtre'', tragédie, 20 May *1751: ''

La Guirlande ''La guirlande'' (full name: ''La guirlande, ou Les fleurs enchantées'') is an opera by the French composer Jean-Philippe Rameau with a libretto by Jean-François Marmontel. It takes the form of an ''acte de ballet'' (a one-act opera with many danc ...

'', acte de ballet, music by

Jean-Philippe Rameau Jean-Philippe Rameau (; – ) was a French composer and music theory, music theorist. Regarded as one of the most important French composers and music theorists of the 18th century, he replaced Jean-Baptiste Lully as the dominant composer of Fr ...

*1751: '' Acante et Céphise'', pastorale héroïque in three acts, music by Jean-Philippe Rameau *1752: ''Les Héraclides'', tragedy, 24 May *1753: ''Égyptus'', tragedy *1753: '' Lisis et Délie'', pastorale héroïque in 1 act, music by Jean-Philippe Rameau *1753: ''

Les sibarites ''Les sibarites'' (''The Sybarites'') is an opera in the form of a one-act ''acte de ballet'' by Jean-Philippe Rameau, first performed on 13 November 1753 at Fontainebleau. The libretto is by Jean-François Marmontel. It tells the story of a wa ...

'', acte de ballet, music by Jean-Philippe Rameau *1761: '' Hercule mourant'',

tragédie lyrique This is a glossary list of opera genres, giving alternative names. "Opera" is an Italian word (short for "opera in musica"); it was not at first ''commonly'' used in Italy (or in other countries) to refer to the genre of particular works. Most c ...

, music by

Antoine Dauvergne Antoine Dauvergne (3 October 1713 – 11 February 1797) was a French composer and violinist. Dauvergne was born in Moulins, Allier. He served as master of the ''Chambre du roi'', director of the Concert Spirituel from 1762 to 1771, and direc ...

*1762: '' Annette et Lubin'' *1766: ''La Bergère des Alpes'' *1768: ''

Le Huron ''Le Huron'' (''The Huron'') is a French ''opéra comique'' in two acts by André Grétry. The libretto is by Jean-François Marmontel based on the story ''L'Ingénu'' (1767) by Voltaire. It was the composer's first big success with Parisian audien ...

'', opera comique, music by

André Grétry André Ernest Modeste Grétry (; baptised 11 February 1741; died 24 September 1813) was a composer from the Prince-Bishopric of Liège (present-day Belgium), who worked from 1767 onwards in France and took French nationality. He is most famous ...

*1769: '' Lucile'', opéra comique, music by André Grétry *1770: ''Sylvain'', opéra comique, music by André Grétry *1771: ''L'amie de la maison'', opéra comique, music by André Grétry *1771: ''

Zémire et Azor ' (''Zémire and Azor'') is an opéra comique, described as a ''comédie-ballet mêlée de chants et de danses'', in four acts by the Belgian composer André Grétry. The French text was by Jean-François Marmontel based on ''La Belle et la bête'' ...

'', opéra comique, music by André Grétry *1773: '' Céphale et Procris'', ballet héroïque, music by André Grétry *1775: ''La Fausse magie'', opéra comique, music by André Grétry *1783: '' Didon'', opera, music by

Niccolò Piccinni Niccolò Piccinni (; 16 January 1728 – 7 May 1800) was an Italian composer of symphonies, sacred music, chamber music, and opera. Although he is somewhat obscure today, Piccinni was one of the most popular composers of opera—particularly th ...

*1785: ''

Pénélope ''Pénélope'' is an opera in three acts by the French composer Gabriel Fauré. The libretto, by René Fauchois is based on Homer's ''Odyssey''. It was first performed at the Salle Garnier, Monte Carlo on 4 March 1913. The piece is dedicated ...

'', opéra comique, music by Niccolò Piccinni *1788: ''

Démophoon ''Démophoon'' (sometimes spelt ''Démophon'') is an opera by the composer Luigi Cherubini, first performed at the Académie Royale de Musique (the Paris Opera) on 2 December 1788. It takes the form of a ''tragédie lyrique'' in three acts. The ...

'', music by Luigi Cherubini.

Poetry

* ''Polymnie'', satire en 11 chants *1751: ''L’établissement de l’École militaire'', *1752: ''Vers sur la convalescence du Dauphin'', *1753: ''La naissance du duc d’Aquitaine'', *1760: ''Épître aux poètes'', *1820: ''La Neuvaine de Cythère'', (licencious poem)

Novels

*1755–1759: ''Contes moraux'', *1767: '' Bélisaire'', Reprinted in 1787 by the Bibliothèque amusante. (see the two paintings by Jacques Louis David '' Bélisaire demandant l'aumône'') *1777: ''Les Incas, ou la destruction de l'empire du Perou'' *1792: ''Nouveaux contes moraux''

Essays

*1763: ''Poétique française'', 3 parts: a work in which

Racine Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ) (; 22 December 163921 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille as well as an important literary figure in the Western traditi ...

and Boileau are strongly attacked. *1777: ''Essai sur les révolutions de la musique en France'', *1785: ''De l’Autorité de l’usage sur la langue'', *1787: ''Éléments de littérature''. Modern edition at Desjonquères, presented, established and annotated by Sophie Le Ménahèze, 2005. *1788: ''Mémoire sur la régence du duc d’Orléans'' *1792: ''Apologie de l’Académie française''.

Varia

*1746: '' L'Observateur littéraire '': literary journal established with Jean-Grégoire Bauvin (or Beauvin) ; « ''Cette feuille, écrira-t-il, n'étant ni la critique infidèle et injuste des bons ouvrages, ni la satire amère et mordante des bons auteurs, elle eut peu de débit.''» . The title was revived by abbé de La Porte in 1758. *1712–1714: ''The Rape of the Lock'' by Alexander Pope, translated into verse ''La boucle de cheveux enlevée'', 1746. Edition bilingue moderne chez Rivages poche, 2010, 142 pages () *1759: édition remaniée de ''Venceslas'' by Rotrou, *1766: ''La Pharsale de Lucain'', translated into prose, *1775: édition des ''Chefs d’œuvres dramatiques de Mairet, Du Ryer et Rotrou'', with a ''Commentaire'', *1800: ''Mémoires d’un père pour servir à l’instruction de ses enfants'', *1806: ''Leçons d’un père à ses enfants sur la langue française''.

Notes

References

* *

External links

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Marmontel
on Wikisource {{DEFAULTSORT:Marmontel, Jean-Francois 1723 births 1799 deaths People from Corrèze 18th-century French male writers 18th-century French dramatists and playwrights 18th-century French novelists 18th-century French poets 18th-century French journalists French opera librettists French literary critics 18th-century French historians French fantasy writers Members of the Académie Française Les Neuf Sœurs Contributors to the Encyclopédie (1751–1772) French historiographers Prisoners of the Bastille 18th-century French memoirists