Pierre Desfontaines
Encyclopedia
The Abbé
Pierre François Guyot-Desfontaines (1685 in Rouen
- 16 December 1745 in Paris) was a French journalist
, translator
and popular historian
.
Known today for his quarrels with Voltaire
, Desfontaines can be regarded as the founder of the new literary criticism
and journalism in France, insofar as he sought to found his criticism on aesthetic and ethical
lines, rather than merely summarising, reproducing or paraphrasing.
before devoting himself exclusively to letters until 1715. In 1724, he became a contributor to the Journal des scavans
, attempting to introduce an amenity of style into his scientific articles, avoiding dryness and pedantry.
He then published, with various collaborators such as Élie Fréron, Granet, the Abbé Destrées, periodical collections of criticism: Le Nouvelliste du Parnasse [The Short-Story Writer of Parnassus] (1731–1734, 5 vols.), and Observations sur les écrits modernes Observations on modern writing (1735 on, 34 vols.). These hastily written periodicals distinguished themselves by the vivacity of their criticism and partisanship.
Desfontaines notably attacked the dramatic works of Voltaire, who had earlier helped clear the abbé's name when, accused of sodomy
, he spent time in prison in 1724, and had also used his influence to help him return to Paris after his exile. Voltaire retorted with a lampoon
entitled Le Préservatif, ou critique des Observations sur les écrits modernes [The Condom, or criticism on Observations on modern writing] (1738), which Desfontaines answered anonymously with a short satirical writing entitled La Voltairomanie (1738), which compiled all the scandalous anecdotes defaming its author at the time. This last saw a libel action which Voltaire only gave up after Desfontaines repudiated the work in the Amsterdam Gazette of 4 April 1739. The war continued several years, so that today the memory of Desfontaines is only perpetuated by the epigram
s of Voltaire, and those of Alexis Piron
, a one-time ally of Voltaire who promised to bring the abbé an epigram every morning, and did so for fifty days.
Abbé
Abbé is the French word for abbot. It is the title for lower-ranking Catholic clergymen in France....
Pierre François Guyot-Desfontaines (1685 in Rouen
Rouen
Rouen , in northern France on the River Seine, is the capital of the Haute-Normandie region and the historic capital city of Normandy. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe , it was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages...
- 16 December 1745 in Paris) was a French journalist
Journalism
Journalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
, translator
Translation
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. Whereas interpreting undoubtedly antedates writing, translation began only after the appearance of written literature; there exist partial translations of the Sumerian Epic of...
and popular historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
.
Known today for his quarrels with 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...
, Desfontaines can be regarded as the founder of the new literary criticism
Literary criticism
Literary criticism is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often informed by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of its methods and goals...
and journalism in France, insofar as he sought to found his criticism on aesthetic and ethical
Ethics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
lines, rather than merely summarising, reproducing or paraphrasing.
Biography
Desfontaines entered the order of Jesuits after being raised by them, and taught rhetoric in BourgesBourges
Bourges is a city in central France on the Yèvre river. It is the capital of the department of Cher and also was the capital of the former province of Berry.-History:...
before devoting himself exclusively to letters until 1715. In 1724, he became a contributor to the Journal des scavans
Journal des sçavans
The Journal des sçavans , founded by Denis de Sallo, was the earliest academic journal published in Europe, that from the beginning also carried a proportion of material that would not now be considered scientific, such as obituaries of famous men, church history, and legal reports...
, attempting to introduce an amenity of style into his scientific articles, avoiding dryness and pedantry.
He then published, with various collaborators such as Élie Fréron, Granet, the Abbé Destrées, periodical collections of criticism: Le Nouvelliste du Parnasse [The Short-Story Writer of Parnassus] (1731–1734, 5 vols.), and Observations sur les écrits modernes Observations on modern writing (1735 on, 34 vols.). These hastily written periodicals distinguished themselves by the vivacity of their criticism and partisanship.
Desfontaines notably attacked the dramatic works of Voltaire, who had earlier helped clear the abbé's name when, accused of sodomy
Sodomy
Sodomy is an anal or other copulation-like act, especially between male persons or between a man and animal, and one who practices sodomy is a "sodomite"...
, he spent time in prison in 1724, and had also used his influence to help him return to Paris after his exile. Voltaire retorted with a lampoon
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
entitled Le Préservatif, ou critique des Observations sur les écrits modernes [The Condom, or criticism on Observations on modern writing] (1738), which Desfontaines answered anonymously with a short satirical writing entitled La Voltairomanie (1738), which compiled all the scandalous anecdotes defaming its author at the time. This last saw a libel action which Voltaire only gave up after Desfontaines repudiated the work in the Amsterdam Gazette of 4 April 1739. The war continued several years, so that today the memory of Desfontaines is only perpetuated by the epigram
Epigram
An epigram is a brief, interesting, usually memorable and sometimes surprising statement. Derived from the epigramma "inscription" from ἐπιγράφειν epigraphein "to write on inscribe", this literary device has been employed for over two millennia....
s of Voltaire, and those of Alexis Piron
Alexis Piron
Alexis Piron was a French epigrammatist and dramatist.He was born at Dijon, where his father, Aimé Piron, was an apothecary. Piron senior wrote verse in the Burgundian language. Alexis began life as clerk and secretary to a banker, and then studied law...
, a one-time ally of Voltaire who promised to bring the abbé an epigram every morning, and did so for fifty days.
Works
- Apologie du caractère des Anglois et des François [Apology for the character of the English and the French], 1725
- Dictionnaire néologique à l'usage des beaux esprits du siècle [Neological dictionary for the use of modern wits], 1726
- Lettres d'un rat calotin à Citron Barbet; Relation de ce qui s’est passé au sujet de l'illustre Mathanasius à l'Académie françoise, [Letters of a churchgoing rat at Citron Barbet; Account of what happened on the subject of the famous Mathanasius at the Académie françoiseAcadémie françaiseL'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,...
] 1727 - Translation of Jonathan SwiftJonathan SwiftJonathan Swift was an Irish satirist, essayist, political pamphleteer , poet and cleric who became Dean of St...
's Gulliver's TravelsGulliver's TravelsTravels into Several Remote Nations of the World, in Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships, better known simply as Gulliver's Travels , is a novel by Anglo-Irish writer and clergyman Jonathan Swift that is both a satire on human nature and a parody of...
, 1727 - Entretiens sur les Voyages de Cyrus, [Talks on the Voyages of Cyrus] 1728
- Nouvelle Histoire de France par demandes et par réponses [New history of France by questions and answers], 1730
- Le Nouveau Gulliver, [The New Gulliver] 1730
- Nouvelle Histoire de France, [New History of France] 1730
- La Voltairomanie, 1738
- Racine vengé, ou examen des remarques de l'abbé d'Olivet sur les œuvres de Racine, [RacineJean RacineJean Racine , baptismal name Jean-Baptiste Racine , was a French dramatist, one of the "Big Three" of 17th-century France , and one of the most important literary figures in the Western tradition...
avenged, or examination of the remarks of the abbé of Olivet on the works of Racine] 1739. - Traduction en prose des poèmes de Virgile [Prose translation of the poems of VirgilVirgilPublius Vergilius Maro, usually called Virgil or Vergil in English , was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He is known for three major works of Latin literature, the Eclogues , the Georgics, and the epic Aeneid...
], 1743 - Lettre d'un comédien françois au sujet de l'Histoire du théâtre italien [Letter of a French actor on the History of the Italian theatre]