Jacques Cassagne or Jacques de Cassaigne (; 1 January 1636,

Nîmes Nîmes ( , ; ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Gard Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of Southern France. Located between the Med ...

– 19 May 1679,

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 ...

) was a French clergyman, poet, and moralist.

Biography

A doctor of theology, he was 'garde' of the king's library and entered 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 ...

aged 29. In 1663, he was one of the four founder members of the "Petite Académie", which later gave birth to the

Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres The () is a French learned society devoted to history, founded in February 1663 as one of the five academies of the . The academy's scope was the study of ancient inscriptions (epigraphy) and historical literature (see Belles-lettres). History ...

. In 1665, he edited the preface to the complete works of Guez de Balzac edited by Conrart. In 1674, he published a ''Traité de morale sur la valeur'' (''Moral treatise on valour''). He translated the ''Rhetorica'' (then thought to be by

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 ...

) and

Sallust Gaius Sallustius Crispus, usually anglicised as Sallust (, ; –35 BC), was a historian and politician of the Roman Republic from a plebeian family. Probably born at Amiternum in the country of the Sabines, Sallust became a partisan of Julius ...

's ''Histories'' from Latin into French -

Chapelain Jean Chapelain (4 December 1595 – 22 February 1674) was a French poet and critic during the ''Grand Siècle'', best known for his role as an organizer and founding member of the . Chapelain acquired considerable prestige as a literary critic, ...

stated that Cassagne wrote "

n a N, or n, is the fourteenth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages, and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...

more natural than acquired

tyle Tyle may refer to: * Chris Tyle (born 1955), American musician * Tyle Mill, a mill near Sulhamstead, England * Tyle or Tylis, the 3rd century capital of a Balkan Celtic state * 21970 Tyle, a minor planet See also * Tile * Tyler (disambigu ...

especially in the field of human lettersCited on th
Académie française
". Also a renowned preacher, he was cruelly mocked by Boileau in the latter's third ''Satire'', referring to people squashed in to listen to the "sermons of Cassaigne" and those of

Charles Cotin Charles Cotin () or Abbé Cotin (1604December 1681) was a French abbé, philosopher and poet in the Baroque Précieuses style. He was made a member of the Académie française on 7 January 1655. Cotin was born and died in Paris. He was a scholar ...

. As a poet, Cassagne took the side of the moderns in the

Quarrel of the Ancients and the Moderns The Quarrel of the Ancients and the Moderns () was a debate about literary and artistic merit that expanded from the original debaters to the members of the Académie Française and the French literary community in the 17th century. Origins of ...

. In 1668, he published a poem ''Sur la conqueste de la Franche-Comté'' (''On the conquest of the

Franche-Comté Franche-Comté (, ; ; Frainc-Comtou dialect, Frainc-Comtou: ''Fraintche-Comtè''; ; also ; ; all ) is a cultural and Provinces of France, historical region of eastern France. It is composed of the modern departments of France, departments of Doub ...

'', during the

War of Devolution The War of Devolution took place from May 1667 to May 1668. In the course of the war, Kingdom of France, France occupied large parts of the Spanish Netherlands and County of Burgundy, Franche-Comté, both then provinces of the Holy Roman Empire ...

) and in 1672 a ''Poëme sur la guerre de Hollande'' (''Poem on the war with Holland'', referring to the

Franco-Dutch War The Franco-Dutch War, 1672 to 1678, was primarily fought by Kingdom of France, France and the Dutch Republic, with both sides backed at different times by a variety of allies. Related conflicts include the 1672 to 1674 Third Anglo-Dutch War and ...

). Boileau commented on these poems: ::Chacun a débité ses maximes frivoles, (''Everyone has charged its maxims as being frivolous'') ::Réglé les intérests de chaque Potentat, (''It rules on the interests of each potentate,'') ::Corrigé la Police, & réformé l'Estat ; (''It corrects the Police, and reforms the State'' ;'') ::Puis de là s'embarquant dans la nouvelle guerre, (''Then he embarks on a new war,'') ::À vaincre la Hollande, ou battre l'Angleterre. (''To vanquish Holland, or beat England.'') With failing health, Cassagne died aged only 46, possibly due (some said) to the grief this satire had caused.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cassagne, Jacques 1636 births 1679 deaths People from Nîmes 17th-century French male writers 17th-century French poets French librarians Latin–French translators French classical scholars Members of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres French male poets 17th-century French translators