Jean-Baptiste de Mirabaud
Encyclopedia
Jean-Baptiste de Mirabaud (1675, Paris
- 24 June 1760, Paris) was a French writer and translator.
and fought at the battle of Steenkerque
in 1692. A friend of Jean de La Fontaine
, he wrote various works of literature, history and philosophy, but failed to publish them. The Duchess of Orléans
(1677-1749) made him her secretary and put him in charge of her two daughters' educations. In 1724, he published a translation of Jerusalem Delivered
by Torquato Tasso
, which brought him much admiration and led to his election two years later to the Académie française
. In 1741, his translation of Orlando Furioso
by Ludovico Ariosto
had a more mixed reception. Becoming secrétaire perpétuel to the Académie in 1742, he left this post in 1755 when he felt age no longer allowed him to carry it out.
The name of Mirabaud remains associated with that of Baron d'Holbach
, who had his Système de la Nature
published under Jean-Baptiste Mirabaud's name in 1770. Voltaire
, who violently condemned the Baron's work, denounced the deception thus" "Alas! our good Mirabaud was not capable of writing a single page of the book of our redoutable adversary." »
On his death in 1760, Buffon
gave him a glowing homage : "Mirabaud always joined feeling to esprit, and we liked to read him just as we liked to hear him ; but he had so little attachment to what he produced, he so feared the noise and glare, that he sacrificed those which could contribute most to his glory . »
Translations
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
- 24 June 1760, Paris) was a French writer and translator.
His life and work
He studied with the OratoriansOratory of Saint Philip Neri
The Oratory of Saint Philip Neri is a congregation of Catholic priests and lay-brothers who live together in a community bound together by no formal vows but only with the bond of charity. They are commonly referred to as Oratorians...
and fought at the battle of Steenkerque
Battle of Steenkerque
The Battle of Steenkerque was fought on August 3, 1692, as a part of the Nine Years' War. It resulted in the victory of the French under Marshal François-Henri de Montmorency, duc de Luxembourg against a joint English-Scottish-Dutch-German army under Prince William of Orange...
in 1692. A friend of Jean de La Fontaine
Jean de La Fontaine
Jean de La Fontaine was the most famous French fabulist and one of the most widely read French poets of the 17th century. He is known above all for his Fables, which provided a model for subsequent fabulists across Europe and numerous alternative versions in France, and in French regional...
, he wrote various works of literature, history and philosophy, but failed to publish them. The Duchess of Orléans
Françoise-Marie de Bourbon
Françoise Marie de Bourbon, Légitimée de France was the youngest legitimised daughter of Louis XIV of France and his maîtresse-en-titre, Françoise-Athénaïs, marquise de Montespan. Originally known as the second Mademoiselle de Blois, that style eventually gave way to the name Françoise Marie de...
(1677-1749) made him her secretary and put him in charge of her two daughters' educations. In 1724, he published a translation of Jerusalem Delivered
Jerusalem Delivered
Jerusalem Delivered is an epic poem by the Italian poet Torquato Tasso first published in 1581, which tells a largely mythified version of the First Crusade in which Catholic knights, led by Godfrey of Bouillon, battle Muslims in order to take Jerusalem...
by Torquato Tasso
Torquato Tasso
Torquato Tasso was an Italian poet of the 16th century, best known for his poem La Gerusalemme liberata , in which he depicts a highly imaginative version of the combats between Christians and Muslims at the end of the First Crusade, during the siege of Jerusalem...
, which brought him much admiration and led to his election two years later to the Académie française
Académie française
L'Académie française , also called the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. The Académie was officially established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to King Louis XIII. Suppressed in 1793 during the French Revolution,...
. In 1741, his translation of Orlando Furioso
Orlando Furioso
Orlando Furioso is an Italian epic poem by Ludovico Ariosto which has exerted a wide influence on later culture. The earliest version appeared in 1516, although the poem was not published in its complete form until 1532...
by Ludovico Ariosto
Ludovico Ariosto
Ludovico Ariosto was an Italian poet. He is best known as the author of the romance epic Orlando Furioso . The poem, a continuation of Matteo Maria Boiardo's Orlando Innamorato, describes the adventures of Charlemagne, Orlando, and the Franks as they battle against the Saracens with diversions...
had a more mixed reception. Becoming secrétaire perpétuel to the Académie in 1742, he left this post in 1755 when he felt age no longer allowed him to carry it out.
The name of Mirabaud remains associated with that of Baron d'Holbach
Baron d'Holbach
Paul-Henri Thiry, Baron d'Holbach was a French-German author, philosopher, encyclopedist and a prominent figure in the French Enlightenment. He was born Paul Heinrich Dietrich in Edesheim, near Landau in the Rhenish Palatinate, but lived and worked mainly in Paris, where he kept a salon...
, who had his Système de la Nature
The System of Nature
The System of Nature or, the Laws of the Moral and Physical World is a work of philosophy by Paul Henri Thiry, Baron d'Holbach . It was originally published under the name of Jean-Baptiste de Mirabaud, a deceased member of the French Academy of Science...
published under Jean-Baptiste Mirabaud's name in 1770. Voltaire
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...
, who violently condemned the Baron's work, denounced the deception thus" "Alas! our good Mirabaud was not capable of writing a single page of the book of our redoutable adversary." »
On his death in 1760, Buffon
Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon
Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon was a French naturalist, mathematician, cosmologist, and encyclopedic author.His works influenced the next two generations of naturalists, including Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and Georges Cuvier...
gave him a glowing homage : "Mirabaud always joined feeling to esprit, and we liked to read him just as we liked to hear him ; but he had so little attachment to what he produced, he so feared the noise and glare, that he sacrificed those which could contribute most to his glory . »
Publications
Philosophy and history- Sentiments des philosophes sur la nature de l'âme (1743). Published by Fontenelle in his Nouvelles libertés de penser. Online text
- Le Monde, son origine et son antiquité. De l'Âme et de son immortalité (1751). Published by César Chesneau Du MarsaisCésar Chesneau DumarsaisCésar Chesneau, sieur Dumarsais or Du Marsais was a French philosophe and grammarian. He was a prominent figure in what became known as the Enlightenment, and contributed to Diderot’s Encyclopédie....
and Jean-Baptiste Le Mascrier. Online text 1 2 - Opinions des anciens sur les juifs (posthumously, 1769). Reissue : Hachette, Paris, 1972. Online text
- Réflexions impartiales sur l'Évangile (posthumously, 1769). Work also attributed to baron d'Holbach. Online text
Translations
- Jérusalem délivrée, poème héroïque du Tasse, nouvellement traduit en françois (2 volumes, 1724)
- Roland furieux, poème héroïque de l'Arioste, traduction nouvelle (4 volumes, 1741)