La Bruyère, Jean de

(1645-1696)

   moralist

   Born in Paris and educated principally at the University of orléans, Jean de La Bruyère, an attorney, through the influence of jacques-bénigne bossuet was appointed tutor then secretary to the duke of Bourbon of the house of condé. La Bruyère is famous for a particular work, Les caractères de Théophraste, traduite du grec, avec les caractères ou les moeurs de ce siècle (1688). It is a translation of the ancient Greek philosopher Theophrastus, combined with maxims, critical comments on French society, and La Bruyère's sharp, incisive, and often satirical literary portraits of eminent contemporaries. Written in a concise, pointed style, this work had immediate popularity, with nine editions published between 1688 and 1696. The book, however, also brought La Bruyère the enmity of those he had ridiculed and, consequently, many of them caused the delay of his election to the académie FRANÇAISE until 1693.