Jean-Baptiste Dureau de la Malle (27 November 1742,

Ouanaminthe Ouanaminthe ( ht, Wanament or Wanamèt; es, Juana Méndez) is a commune or town located in the Nord-Est department of Haiti. It lies along the Massacre River, which forms part of the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Ouanaminth ...

, Saint-Domingue – 19 September 1807) was a Saint Dominican writer of

French literature French literature () generally speaking, is literature written in the French language, particularly by citizens of France; it may also refer to literature written by people living in France who speak traditional languages of France other than F ...

and translator. He was made a member of the "

Corps législatif The was a part of the French legislature during the French Revolution and beyond. It is also the generic French term used to refer to any legislative body. History The Constitution of the Year I foresaw the need for a ''corps législatif''. ...

" in 1802 and was admitted into the Académie française in 1804.

Biography

Jean-Bapiste was the son of Laurent Dureau de la Malle and Elisabeth Sauvage. He went to study in Paris and, freed from earning a living by his large fortune, devoted himself entirely to letters and made it his mission to meet the most distinguished French writers of the day. He was made a member of the "

" in 1802 and of the Académie française in 1804. He married Elisabeth-Renée Maignon, who had also been born in Saint-Domingue, and their son was

Adolphe Dureau de la Malle Adolphe Jules César Auguste Dureau de la Malle (3 March 1777 – 17 May 1857) was a Saint Dominican geographer, naturalist, historian and artist. He was the son of the scholar and translator Jean-Baptiste Dureau de la Malle. Dureau de la Ma ...

Works

His first work, a translation of the ''De Beneficiis'' of

Seneca the Younger Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger (; 65 AD), usually known mononymously as Seneca, was a Stoic philosopher of Ancient Rome, a statesman, dramatist, and, in one work, satirist, from the post-Augustan age of Latin literature. Seneca was born in ...

, came in 1776. He followed it in 1793 with a translation of

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his two major works—the ...

– this made his reputation, was reprinted in 1808, 1816 and later, and was said by the

Dictionnaire Bouillet ''Dictionnaire Bouillet'' is the informal title of the ''Dictionnaire universel d'histoire et de géographie'' ("Universal Dictionary of History and Geography"), a French reference work in the public domain. The first edition was published in 18 ...

to be the best translation of the works right up until the publication of that by Jean Louis Burnouf. Dureau de la Malle's translation of

Sallust Gaius Sallustius Crispus, usually anglicised as Sallust (; 86 – ), was a Roman historian and politician from an Italian plebeian family. Probably born at Amiternum in the country of the Sabines, Sallust became during the 50s BC a partisan ...

appeared in 1808. His translation of

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...

was incomplete on his death and was completed by his son and by François Noël and published posthumously in 15 volumes from 1810 to 1815.

References

*''This page is a translation of its French equivalent.'' French classical scholars Members of the Académie Française 1807 deaths 1742 births Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery Haitian people of French descent People from Saint-Domingue French male non-fiction writers 18th-century French writers 18th-century French male writers 19th-century French writers 19th-century French male writers 19th-century French translators 18th-century French translators {{france-translator-stub