Augustin Nadal
Encyclopedia
The abbé Augustin Nadal was the author of plays, through the failure of which he became the butt of a withering public reply from Voltaire
that has rendered the abbé immortal.
He was born in Poitiers
. Having finished his studies there, he was appointed tutor to the young comte de Valançay, who was killed at the battle of Blenheim
(1704). Nadal put himself under the patronage of the house of Aumont
. He was received in 1706 into the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres
. With Jean-Aymar Piganiol de La Force
, he took on the editing of the Nouveau Mercure
until 1711, a premature force for literary modernism that was not successful.
In 1712 he was secretary of the embassy of the duc d'Aumont to London as liaison between King Louis XIV of France
and Anne of Great Britain
in the negotiations that led up to the Treaty of Utrecht
. In 1716 he was appointed abbot in commendam
of the Abbey of Doudeauville
.
Aside from his academic dissertations and his Histoire des Vestales ("History of the Vestal Virgins") (1725), which caused a stir of interest in this aspect of ancient Rome
, the Abbé Nadal composed five tragedies
: Saül (1705), Hérode (1709), Antiochus, ou les Machabées (1722), Mariamne
(1725) and Osarphis, all on classical or biblical subjects.
He was included in Le Parnasse françois project of Évrard Titon du Tillet
, which provoked Voltaire's sarcastic epigram (see Évrard Titon du Tillet
). Nadal was convinced his tragedy of Mariamne had failed because of Voltaire's "brigue horrible et scandaleuse" that set Paris against it, and said so in the preface to the printed play, giving Voltaire the opportunity to reply under a pseudonym
with withering compliments ("Lettre de M. Thieriot à M. l'Abbé Nadal", 1725), commiserating with Nadal, that it was solely the machinations of Voltaire's intrigues "that one hears it said so scandalously that you are the worst versifier of the century and the most tiresome writer." Voltaire's fine-honed savagery inspired Nadal to excise the uncomplimentary remarks about Voltaire in his prefaces when he came to collect and publish the plays in 1736 with others of his poems, in three small volumes. But it is in Voltaire's response that the abbé Nadal is remembered.
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire , was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, free trade and separation of church and state...
that has rendered the abbé immortal.
He was born in Poitiers
Poitiers
Poitiers is a city on the Clain river in west central France. It is a commune and the capital of the Vienne department and of the Poitou-Charentes region. The centre is picturesque and its streets are interesting for predominant remains of historical architecture, especially from the Romanesque...
. Having finished his studies there, he was appointed tutor to the young comte de Valançay, who was killed at the battle of Blenheim
Battle of Blenheim
The Battle of Blenheim , fought on 13 August 1704, was a major battle of the War of the Spanish Succession. Louis XIV of France sought to knock Emperor Leopold out of the war by seizing Vienna, the Habsburg capital, and gain a favourable peace settlement...
(1704). Nadal put himself under the patronage of the house of Aumont
Aumont family
The Aumont family take its name from the Duchy of Aumont, a small commune in the department of the Somme. The Duché-Pairie d'Aumont was established in 1665 from the Marquisat of Isles-en-Champagne, the title being granted to Antoine d'Aumont de Rochebaron...
. He was received in 1706 into the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres
Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres
The Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres is a French learned society devoted to the humanities, founded in February 1663 as one of the five academies of the Institut de France.-History:...
. With Jean-Aymar Piganiol de La Force
Jean-Aymar Piganiol de La Force
Jean-Aymar Piganiol de la Force , son of Pierre and of Marguerite Parisot, dame de La Force, was a French man of letters known above all for works of a descriptive geographical character, for which he travelled extensively in France...
, he took on the editing of the Nouveau Mercure
Mercure de France
The Mercure de France was originally a French gazette and literary magazine first published in the 17th century, but after several incarnations has evolved as a publisher, and is now part of the Éditions Gallimard publishing group....
until 1711, a premature force for literary modernism that was not successful.
In 1712 he was secretary of the embassy of the duc d'Aumont to London as liaison between King Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
and Anne of Great Britain
Anne of Great Britain
Anne ascended the thrones of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702. On 1 May 1707, under the Act of Union, two of her realms, England and Scotland, were united as a single sovereign state, the Kingdom of Great Britain.Anne's Catholic father, James II and VII, was deposed during the...
in the negotiations that led up to the Treaty of Utrecht
Treaty of Utrecht
The Treaty of Utrecht, which established the Peace of Utrecht, comprises a series of individual peace treaties, rather than a single document, signed by the belligerents in the War of Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht in March and April 1713...
. In 1716 he was appointed abbot in commendam
In Commendam
In canon law, commendam was a form of transferring an ecclesiastical benefice in trust to the custody of a patron...
of the Abbey of Doudeauville
Doudeauville, Pas-de-Calais
Doudeauville is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.-Geography:A farming village, set in a wooded valley some southeast of Boulogne, at the junction of the D127 and the D127e4 roads.-Population:...
.
Aside from his academic dissertations and his Histoire des Vestales ("History of the Vestal Virgins") (1725), which caused a stir of interest in this aspect of ancient Rome
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
, the Abbé Nadal composed five tragedies
Tragedy
Tragedy is a form of art based on human suffering that offers its audience pleasure. While most cultures have developed forms that provoke this paradoxical response, tragedy refers to a specific tradition of drama that has played a unique and important role historically in the self-definition of...
: Saül (1705), Hérode (1709), Antiochus, ou les Machabées (1722), Mariamne
Mariamne (Nadal play)
Mariamne is a 1725 French tragedy by Augustin Nadal based around the Herodian dynasty.Nadal was encouraged to produce the play after his rival Voltaire's play on the same story had failed after only one performance the previous year...
(1725) and Osarphis, all on classical or biblical subjects.
He was included in Le Parnasse françois project of Évrard Titon du Tillet
Évrard Titon du Tillet
Évrard Titon du Tillet is best known for his important biographical chronicle, Le Parnasse françois, composed of brief anecdotal vite of famous French poets and musicians of his time, under the reign of Louis XIV and the Régence.- Biography :Of Scottish origin, Évrard Titon du Tillet was the son...
, which provoked Voltaire's sarcastic epigram (see Évrard Titon du Tillet
Évrard Titon du Tillet
Évrard Titon du Tillet is best known for his important biographical chronicle, Le Parnasse françois, composed of brief anecdotal vite of famous French poets and musicians of his time, under the reign of Louis XIV and the Régence.- Biography :Of Scottish origin, Évrard Titon du Tillet was the son...
). Nadal was convinced his tragedy of Mariamne had failed because of Voltaire's "brigue horrible et scandaleuse" that set Paris against it, and said so in the preface to the printed play, giving Voltaire the opportunity to reply under a pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
with withering compliments ("Lettre de M. Thieriot à M. l'Abbé Nadal", 1725), commiserating with Nadal, that it was solely the machinations of Voltaire's intrigues "that one hears it said so scandalously that you are the worst versifier of the century and the most tiresome writer." Voltaire's fine-honed savagery inspired Nadal to excise the uncomplimentary remarks about Voltaire in his prefaces when he came to collect and publish the plays in 1736 with others of his poems, in three small volumes. But it is in Voltaire's response that the abbé Nadal is remembered.