François Guyet, also known as Guyetus, (1575) was a French

classical scholar Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

. Born in

Angers Angers (, , ;) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Duchy of Anjou, Anjou until the French Revolution. The i ...

, he studied

Classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

at Paris and travelled to Italy and the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

, making the acquaintances of various contemporary intellectuals. Back in France, he worked as a tutor at the estate of the aristocrat

Jean Louis de Nogaret de La Valette Jean Louis de Nogaret de La Valette (1554–1642), created Duke of Épernon, was a powerful member of the French nobility at the turn of the 17th century. He was deeply involved in plots and politics throughout his life. Life He was born at C ...

. After being named abbot of the

priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. They were created by the Catholic Church. Priories may be monastic houses of monks or nuns (such as the Benedictines, the Cistercians, or t ...

Saint-Andrade, he lived and worked at the , a constituent college of the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

. He is best known for his annotations on

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

and

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

texts, which were published after his death in 1655. Guyet's work includes comments on the Roman authors

Terence Publius Terentius Afer (; – ), better known in English as Terence (), was a playwright during the Roman Republic. He was the author of six Roman comedy, comedies based on Greek comedy, Greek originals by Menander or Apollodorus of Carystus. A ...

Vergil Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: the ''Eclogues'' ...

Suetonius Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (), commonly referred to as Suetonius ( ; – after AD 122), was a Roman historian who wrote during the early Imperial era of the Roman Empire. His most important surviving work is ''De vita Caesarum'', common ...

, and Phaedrus.

Life

François Guyet was born in

in 1575. His family belonged to the region's

upper class Upper class in modern societies is the social class composed of people who hold the highest social status. Usually, these are the wealthiest members of class society, and wield the greatest political power. According to this view, the upper cla ...

and his father René had been the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

of Angers in 1555. Little is known about his childhood, though it is accepted that he moved to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in 1599, where he began studying the

ancient world Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history through late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the development of Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient h ...

alongside the future scholar Pierre Dupuy at the residence of

Jacques Auguste de Thou Jacques Auguste de Thou (sometimes known by the Latin version of his name Thuanus) (8 October 1553, Paris – 7 May 1617, Paris) was a French historian, book collector and president of the Parlement of Paris. Life Jacques Auguste de Thou wa ...

, who then served as the

président à mortier President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsidente ...

, a high-ranking magistrate. In the early 1600s, Guyet travelled extensively through Italy and the

. On his journeys, he made the acquaintances of several French intellectuals, including the

satirist This is an incomplete list of writers, cartoonists and others known for involvement in satire – humorous social criticism. They are grouped by era and listed by year of birth. Included is a list of modern satires. Early satirical authors *Aes ...

Mathurin Régnier Mathurin Régnier (December 21, 1573 – October 22, 1613) was a French satirist. Life Régnier was born in Chartres, which at that time was part of the Orléanais. His father, Jacques Régnier, was a bourgeois of good means and position; his ...

and the

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

Gabriel de L'Aubespine. After his return to France, his connections with the essayist

Jean-Louis Guez de Balzac Jean-Louis Guez de Balzac (31 May 1597 – 18 February 1654) was a French author in Baroque Précieuses style, best known for his epistolary essays, which were widely circulated and read in his day. He was one of the founding members of the . ...

helped Guyet to a position at the estate of the influential aristocrat

, whose third son he tutored. As a reward for his service to the family, he was made the abbot of the

Saint-Andrade in the diocese of Bordeaux. His position as abbot provided Guyet with the financial stability to begin teaching at the , a constituent college of the

. This period saw the majority of his scholarly production on

and

literature. Having enjoyed robust health for his times, Guyet suffered from

kidney stone disease Kidney stone disease (known as nephrolithiasis, renal calculus disease, or urolithiasis) is a crystallopathy and occurs when there are too many minerals in the urine and not enough liquid or hydration. This imbalance causes tiny pieces of cry ...

in his later life. At the age of fifty-one, he faced a

lithotomy Lithotomy from Greek for "lithos" (stone) and "tomos" ( cut), is a surgical method for removal of calculi, stones formed inside certain organs, such as the urinary tract (kidney stones), bladder (bladder stones), and gallbladder (gallstones), t ...

, which was at that time known as the "operation for the stone" and almost always caused the death of the patient. Guyet would not agree to be tied down, and during the operation he neither uttered a cry, nor breathed a sigh, keeping his eyes fixed on his copy of Lucan's ''

Pharsalia ''De Bello Civili'' (; ''On the Civil War''), more commonly referred to as the ''Pharsalia'' (, neuter plural), is a Latin literature, Roman Epic poetry, epic poem written by the poet Lucan, detailing the Caesar's civil war, civil war between Ju ...

'', on the verses Lucan is said to have recited while dying. He survived the ordeal and lived many more years. Guyet died on 13 April 1655 and was buried at the church of

Saints Cosmas and Damian Cosmas and Damian ( – or AD) were two Arabs, Arab physicians and early Christian martyrs. They practised their profession in the seaport of Yumurtalık, Aegeae, then in the Roman province of Cilicia (Roman province), Cilicia. Cosmas and ...

in the 6th arrondissement of modern-day Paris.

Work

After his death, editions of Guyet's annotations on the work of various classical authors were published. His works include comments on the historian

(edited by

Johann Georg Graevius Johann Georg Graevius (originally ''Grava'' or ''Greffe''; Latin: Joannes/Johannes Georgius Graevius; 29 January 1632 – 11 January 1703) was a German classical scholar and critic. He was born in Naumburg, in the Electorate of Saxony. Life Graev ...

), the

fabulist Fable is a literary genre defined as a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse, that features animals, legendary creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that are anthropomorphized, and that illustrates or leads to a partic ...

Phaedrus, the

comedian A comedian (feminine comedienne) or comic is a person who seeks to entertainment, entertain an audience by making them laughter, laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolishly (as in slapstick), or employing prop c ...

, and

References

Works cited

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Guyet, Francois 1575 births 1655 deaths People from Angers French classical scholars People from the Province of Anjou 17th-century French scholars