Gaspard Abeille ( Riez, 1648 –

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, 22 May 1718) was a French

lyric Lyric may refer to: * Lyrics, the words, often in verse form, which are sung, usually to a melody, and constitute the semantic content of a song * Lyric poetry is a form of poetry that expresses a subjective, personal point of view * Lyric, from t ...

and tragic poetry poet. He received the title of ''Abbé'' and in 1704 was elected a member of the

Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

. His brother Scipion was also a poet and a surgeon.

Biography

He came to Paris as a young man, and was

Duke of Piney-Luxembourg Duke of Piney () was a title in the Peerage of France. The holders were also sometimes called duc de Luxembourg, after the House of Luxembourg, from whom they were descended. History The duchy-peerage was created in 1581 for François de Luxem ...

, the

List of counts and dukes of Vendôme Count of Vendôme and, later, Duke of Vendôme were titles of French nobility. The first-known holder of the comital title was Bouchard Ratepilate. The county passed by marriage to various houses, coming in 1372 to a junior branch of the House of ...

and the Prince de Conti. L'abbé Abeille,” writes

Jean le Rond d'Alembert Jean-Baptiste le Rond d'Alembert ( ; ; 16 November 1717 – 29 October 1783) was a French mathematician, mechanician, physicist, philosopher, and music theorist. Until 1759 he was, together with Denis Diderot, a co-editor of the ''Encyclopé ...

, ‘was admitted to this brilliant society, and made a name for himself by the pleasures of his wit, by his natural gaiety, by jokes to which he knew how to give a piquant form, and yet measured enough never to leave the bounds of circumspection and decency’. He wrote tragedies, first under his own name, then hen? because he was criticized for lacking the dignity of his ecclesiastical state, under the name of the actor La Thuillerie, who played the lead role in several of his plays. His Coriolan ran for almost twenty performances, bringing him to the attention of

Pierre Corneille Pierre Corneille (; ; 6 June 1606 – 1 October 1684) was a French tragedian. He is generally considered one of the three great 17th-century French dramatists, along with Molière and Racine. As a young man, he earned the valuable patronage ...

and

Jean Racine Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ; ; 22 December 1639 – 21 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille, as well as an important literary figure in the Western tr ...

. But his tragedy Lyncée was a failure, and nasty epigrams were circulated about its author. A member of the Académie d'Arles since 1670, he became a member of the

Académie Française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

in 1704. He presented verse odes and epistles at public sessions of the Académie, but these were judged to be just as mediocre as his plays. D'Alembert nevertheless paid him this tribute: “Benevolent and disinterested, he never used his credit except to oblige those who had recourse to him; all who suffered had a right to his heart; and although his position offered him frequent opportunities to increase his fortune, he died in that honest mediocrity which gives so much lustre to virtue.” He was the brother of Scipion Abeille, who was born in Riez and died in Paris on December 9, 1697. He was a poet, but his main interest was in the art of healing, and he wrote a number of works.

Plays

* ''Argélie, reine de Thessalie'', five-act tragedy, in verse, Paris, Théâtre de l'Hôtel de Bourgogne, novembre 1673 * ''Coriolan'', five-act tragedy, in verse, Paris, Théâtre de l'Hôtel Guénégaud, 24 janvier 1676 * ''Lyncée'', five-act tragedy, in verse, Paris, Théâtre de l'Hôtel de Bourgogne, 25 février 1678 * ''Soliman'', five-act tragedy, in verse, Paris, Théâtre de l'Hôtel de Bourgogne, 11 octobre 1680 * ''Crispin bel esprit'', one-act comedy, in verse, Paris, Théâtre de l'Hôtel Guénégaud, 11 juillet 1681 * ''Hercule'', five-act tragedy, in verse, Paris, Théâtre de l'Hôtel Guénégaud, 7 novembre 1681

References

1648 births 1718 deaths People from Alpes-de-Haute-Provence Members of the Académie Française 17th-century French poets 17th-century French male writers 17th-century French dramatists and playwrights {{France-playwright-stub