Frédéric-Édouard Plessis (February 3, 1851 – January 29, 1942) was a French poet, novelist, journalist and classical philologist.

Biography

Family

The Plessis family originates from Côtes d'Armor. His father, Édouard-Henri-Joseph Plessis, a naval surgeon, was born in

Saint-Brieuc Saint-Brieuc (, Breton language, Breton: ''Sant-Brieg'' , Gallo language, Gallo: ''Saent-Berioec'') is a city in the Côtes-d'Armor Departments of France, department in Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in northwestern France. History ...

. His mother Marie-Louise Brunot was born in

Guingamp Guingamp (; ) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France. With a population of 7,115 as of 2020, Guingamp is one of the smallest towns in Europe to have a top-tier professional football team: En Avant Guin ...

. They married in Guingamp in November 1846. Marie-Louise Plessis, née Brunot, was the daughter of a

subprefect A subprefect is a senior government official in several countries at the local level, such as Brazil and France. Brazil In Brazil, a subprefect (''subprefeito'') is the highest official of a subprefecture, which is a subdivision of certain large ...

of Guingamp. Well-educated, she had a great literary influence on her son Frédéric.

Childhood

Plessis was born in Brest, on February 3, 1851. He lived in Brest until he was thirteen years old. A brilliant and serious student, he had good grades, particularly in Latin. In 1864, the Plessis family moved from Brest to Paris. Plessis was educated at the

Lycée Louis-le-Grand The Lycée Louis-le-Grand (), also referred to simply as Louis-le-Grand or by its acronym LLG, is a public Lycée (French secondary school, also known as sixth form college) located on Rue Saint-Jacques (Paris), rue Saint-Jacques in central Par ...

, receiving his baccalaureate two years later.

Education

After his baccalaureate, Plessis began studies in medicine, as his father did, at 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 ...

. After one year, he decided that he did not want to pursue this path. He then applied to the department of law at the

University of Rennes The University of Rennes (French: ''Université de Rennes'') is a public university, public research university located in Rennes, Upper Brittany, France. Originally founded in 1460, the university was split into two universities in 1970: Univers ...

. But the study of law did not satisfy him either, so he decided to study the humanities. In 1878, he received a Bachelor of Arts from the

University of Clermont-Ferrand The University of Clermont-Ferrand was officially founded in 1896, by merging of two existing faculties (Literature and Sciences) and a medical school. In 1976, due to political issues, the University split between University Clermont-Ferrand I - ...

, where he formed friendships with Emmanuel des Essarts and

Pierre de Nolhac Pierre Girault de Nolhac (15 December 1859, Ambert – 31 January 1936, Paris), known as Pierre de Nolhac, was a French historian, art historian and poet. Biography After studying at Le Puy-en-Velay, in Rodez and Clermont-Ferrand, Pierre ...

. He took the courses of

Eugène Benoist Eugène Benoist (28 November 1831, Nangis – 23 May 1887, Paris) was a French classical philologist. From 1852 he studied at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, followed by work as a schoolteacher at the lycée in Marseille. In 1862 he ...

and linguist

Michel Bréal Michel Jules Alfred Bréal (; 26 March 183225 November 1915), French philologist, was born at Landau in Rhenish Palatinate. He is often identified as a founder of modern semantics. He was also the creator of the modern marathon race, having pr ...

. In 1884, he defended his dissertation for a degree of Doctor of the Arts, entitled Études critiques sur Properce et ses élégies. Included in this dissertation were six photographs of the Codex Neapolitanus of Propertius which he took while he was in

Wolfenbüttel Wolfenbüttel (; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel District Wolfenbüttel (; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel (district), Wolfenbüttel Distri ...

, Germany.

University career

In 1880, Plessis began his career in higher education. He taught Latin and Latin literature in different French universities:

Poitiers Poitiers is a city on the river Clain in west-central France. It is a commune in France, commune, the capital of the Vienne (department), Vienne department and the historical center of Poitou, Poitou Province. In 2021, it had a population of 9 ...

, from 1880 to 1884;

Caen Caen (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Calvados (department), Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inha ...

, from 1884 to 1887;

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

, from 1887 to 1891; and

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

, from 1891 to 1892. He was named docent at the

École normale supérieure École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by Secondary education in France, secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing i ...

, where he taught courses from 1894 to 1907. In 1905, he obtained the position of chair of Latin poetry at Sorbonne University, which he occupied until his retirement, in 1922. He produced a number of translations and Latin works (

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 ...

Propertius Sextus Propertius was a Latin elegiac poet of the Augustan age. He was born around 50–45 BC in Assisium (now Assisi) and died shortly after 15 BC. Propertius' surviving work comprises four books of '' Elegies'' ('). He was a friend of the ...

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...

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

Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 BC – 27 November 8 BC), Suetonius, Life of Horace commonly known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). Th ...

), dealing mainly in Latin poetry.

Death

He died in his house in Paris. He is buried in the

Vaugirard Cemetery Vaugirard Cemetery (''cimetière de Vaugirard'') is a cemetery in Paris, located at 320 rue Lecourbe and occupying 1.5 hectares of land to the west of that street. It opened in 1787 (or 1798 according to an information panel at its entrance) and c ...

Personal life

Plessis married Berthe Le Carpentier in

in 1883. They had five children.

Publications

Note: the listed date is the date of first publication

Poetry

* 1886: ''La Lampe d'argile, poésies, 1873–1886'', Alphonse Lemerre * 1897: ''Vesper, poésies (1886–1896)'', Alphonse LemerreText online from Gallica
/ref> * 1904: ''Poésies complètes : 1873–1903'', containing: ''La Lampe d'Argile'', ''Vesper'' and ''Gallica'', Alphonse Lemerre * 1921: ''La Couronne de lierre, poésies, 1904–1920'', Jouve * 1937: ''La Couronne de lierre, poésies, 1904–1934''. New edition, reviewed and changed

Scholarly works

* 1884: ''Térence, Les Adelphes ou P. Terenti. Afri Adelphoe'', Latin text, published, with an explanatory commentary and criticism, by Frédéric Plessis, C. Klincksieck * 1884: ''Études critiques sur Properce et ses élégies'' (French dissertation), Hachette * 1885: ''Italici Ilias Latina. Edidit, praefatus est, apparatu critico et indice locuplete instruxit Fridericus Plessis'' (Latin dissertation – scholarly edition in Latin), Hachette * 1885: ''Un chapitre de métrique latine : le pentamètre dactylique'', Extract from the Bulletin mensuel de la Faculté des lettres de Caen, published by F. Le Blanc-Hardel * 1885: ''Essai sur Calvus'', published by F. Le Blanc-Hardel * 1886: ''Propertiana'', E. Leroux. Extract from the Bulletin de la Société des lettres de Poitiers, published in 1885 * 1886: ''Histoire abrégée de la littérature romaine'', by Hermann Bender, translated from German by Jules Vessereau, with an introduction and notes by Frédéric Plessis, C. Klincksieck * 1889: ''Traité de métrique grecque et latine'', C. Klincksieck * 1896: ''C. Licini Calvi reliquiae. Calvus'', complete edition of fragments and manuscripts, biographical and literary work, by Frédéric Plessis, with an essay on Cicero's polemic and of the Attics, by J. Poirot, C. Klincksieck * 1903: ''Troica Roma'', Extract from the Mélanges Boissier, Albert Fontemoing * 1903: ''Œuvres d'Horace'', published with an philological and literary introduction and notes (in collaboration with Paul Lejay), Hachette * 1905: ''Poésie latine. Épitaphes'': selected texts and commentaries; with the textes choisis et commentaires; with the participation of Edmond Eggli, Henri Focillon, Maurice Gautreau, Stéphane Jolly, Henri L. de Péréra, Al. Riemann, Albert Fontemoing * 1909: ''La Poésie latine. De Livius Andronicus à Rutilius Namatianus'', C. Klincksieck * 1913: ''Virgile. Les Bucoliques'', Latin text, published with a biographic and literary study, a note on the meter, critical notes, an index of a texte latin, publiées avec une étude biographique et littéraire, une notice sur la métrique, des notes critiques, un index des proper nouns, et explanatory notes (scholarly edition, with commentary), Hachette * 1919: ''Horace'' (scholarly edition, with commentary), Hachette * 1924: ''Satires. Odes et épodes ; Chant séculaire'' (published by Paul Lejay and Édouard Galletier), Hachette * 1924: ''Q. Horati Flacci Carmina. Odes, Épodes et Chant séculaire'', published by Lahure

Novels

* 1873 ?: ''Madame de Jonquière'', in ''La Patrie'' * 1875: ''Les Étrennes malencontreuses'', published in the review ''Le Siècle littéraire'' * 1896 et 1897: ''Angèle de Blindes'', in ''La Revue des deux mondes'', afterwards by

Alphonse Lemerre Alphonse Lemerre (; Canisy, Normandy, France, 1838 – Paris, France, 1912) was a 19th-century French editor and publisher, known especially for having been the first to publish many of the Parnassian poets. Lemerre's imprints popularized the ...

* 1897: ''Indépendante. Les souvenirs de Valentine'' * 1897: ''Le Mariage de Léonie'', published in ''La Revue pour les jeunes filles'', afterwards by Alphonse Lemerre * 1897: ''Le Psychologue'' (novella) * 1902: ''Le Chemin montant'', in ''Minerva'', afterwards with Fontemoing * 1911: ''Saint-Exupère-les-Châsses'', at first in ''Le Mois'', afterwards by Maison de la Bonne Presse, published in the form of a serial in the daily newspaper ''

L'Action française ''L'Action française'', organ of Integral nationalism, was a royalist French newspaper founded in Paris on 21 March 1908. It was banned during the Liberation of France in August 1944. The newspaper succeeded the '' Revue d'Action française' ...

'' from to * 1923: ''Caroline Gévrot'', first in ''La Revue universelle'', afterwards by Perrin * 1928: ''La Petite Fanny'' (with ''Rose et Rosine''), unfinished manuscript of a novel * 1930: ''Le Clos Varin'', first in ''La Revue universelle'', afterwards by Éditions de la Vraie France * 1933: ''Muse de Follepensée'', published in the * 1938: ''Rose et Rosine'', published in ''L'Action française'' *Date unknown: ''Une attaque de diligence (1857)'' – unedited *Date unknown: ''Marie'' – unedited *Date unknown: ''Édith Sarmaise'' – unedited *Date unknown: ''Madame Darnac'' – unedited *Date unknown: ''Arrivisme ou Une jeune tante'' – unedited *Date unknown: ''Pions et Pharisiens'' – unedited

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Plessis, Frederic 1851 births 1942 deaths 20th-century French poets 20th-century French novelists People from Brest, France