Bernard-Joseph Saurin
Encyclopedia
Bernard-Joseph Saurin was a lawyer, poet, and playwright born in Paris
in 1706 and who died in that city on 17 November 1781.
, a converted Protestant minister and mathematician who had been accused in 1712 by Jean-Baptiste Rousseau
of being the actual author of defamatory verses that gossip had attributed to Rousseau.
Attracted to literature, and frequenting the Society of the Caveau, he became a lawyer at Parliament, a career which he did not like, but endured for fifteen years in order to support his family. His professional life in the theatre began when he was forty.
Neither his comedy Les Trois rivaux (The Three Rivals), nor his tragedy Aménophis met with success, which came in 1760 with the tragedy Spartacus and the comedy Les Mœurs du temps (The Manners of the Time), which were applauded at the Comédie-Française
. In the following year, the author was elected a member of the French Academy.
He attended the literary cafes and the salons of Madame de Staël
, Mme de Tencin
, Madame Geoffrin
and Madame d'Épinay. Friend of Voltaire
, Saint-Lambert, Montesquieu
, Turgot and Helvétius, he could be regarded as one of the philosophers.
He translated some English works into French, and saw some of his works translated in turn into English. Among the better known of his plays was Béverlei (1768), a tragedy.
when available :
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in 1706 and who died in that city on 17 November 1781.
Biography
Bernard-Joseph Saurin was the son of Joseph SaurinJoseph Saurin
Joseph Saurin was a French mathematician and a converted Protestant minister. He was the first to show how the tangents at the multiple points of curves could be determined by mathematical analysis...
, a converted Protestant minister and mathematician who had been accused in 1712 by Jean-Baptiste Rousseau
Jean-Baptiste Rousseau
Jean-Baptiste Rousseau was a French poet.-Biography:Rousseau was born in Paris, the son of a shoemaker, and was well educated. As a young man, he gained favour with Boileau, who encouraged him to write. Rousseau began with the theatre, for which he had no aptitude...
of being the actual author of defamatory verses that gossip had attributed to Rousseau.
Attracted to literature, and frequenting the Society of the Caveau, he became a lawyer at Parliament, a career which he did not like, but endured for fifteen years in order to support his family. His professional life in the theatre began when he was forty.
Neither his comedy Les Trois rivaux (The Three Rivals), nor his tragedy Aménophis met with success, which came in 1760 with the tragedy Spartacus and the comedy Les Mœurs du temps (The Manners of the Time), which were applauded at the Comédie-Française
Comédie-Française
The Comédie-Française or Théâtre-Français is one of the few state theaters in France. It is the only state theater to have its own troupe of actors. It is located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris....
. In the following year, the author was elected a member of the French Academy.
He attended the literary cafes and the salons of Madame de Staël
Anne Louise Germaine de Staël
Anne Louise Germaine de Staël-Holstein , commonly known as Madame de Staël, was a French-speaking Swiss author living in Paris and abroad. She influenced literary tastes in Europe at the turn of the 19th century.- Childhood :...
, Mme de Tencin
Claudine Guérin de Tencin
Claudine Alexandrine Guérin de Tencin was a French salonist and author. She was the mother of Jean le Rond d'Alembert, philosophe and contributor to the Encyclopédie.- Early life :...
, Madame Geoffrin
Marie Thérèse Rodet Geoffrin
Marie Thérèse Rodet Geoffrin has been referred to as one of the leading female figures in the French Enlightenment. From 1750-1777, Madame Geoffrin played host to many of the most influential Philosophes and Encyclopédistes of her time...
and Madame d'Épinay. Friend of Voltaire
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet , better known by the pen name Voltaire , was a French Enlightenment writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and for his advocacy of civil liberties, including freedom of religion, free trade and separation of church and state...
, Saint-Lambert, Montesquieu
Charles de Secondat, baron de Montesquieu
Charles-Louis de Secondat, baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu , generally referred to as simply Montesquieu, was a French social commentator and political thinker who lived during the Enlightenment...
, Turgot and Helvétius, he could be regarded as one of the philosophers.
He translated some English works into French, and saw some of his works translated in turn into English. Among the better known of his plays was Béverlei (1768), a tragedy.
Theatre
Works are listed chronologically and include links to the text in Gallica at the Bibliothèque nationale de FranceBibliothèque nationale de France
The is the National Library of France, located in Paris. It is intended to be the repository of all that is published in France. The current president of the library is Bruno Racine.-History:...
when available :
- Aménophis, a tragedy which premiered at the Comédie-FrançaiseComédie-FrançaiseThe Comédie-Française or Théâtre-Français is one of the few state theaters in France. It is the only state theater to have its own troupe of actors. It is located in the 1st arrondissement of Paris....
on 12 November 1752 - Spartacus, a tragedy which premiered at the Comédie-Française on 20 February 1760, revived in February 1772 and on 20 August 1818
- Les Mœurs du temps, a prose comedy in one act, which premiered at the Comédie-Française on 22 December 1760 (It was revived 69 times between 1760 and 1785)
- Blanche et Guiscard, in imitation of the English Comedy Tancred and Sigismunda by James Thomson, was presented for the first time at the Comédie-Française on 25 September 1763
- L'Orpheline léguée, a comedy in 3 acts in free verse, Fontainebleau, Comédiens français ordinaires du Roi, 5 November 1765; Paris, 6 November 1765
- Béverlei, in imitation of the English tragedy The Gamester by Edward Moore, in five acts and in free verse, Paris, Comédiens français, 7 May 1768
- L'Anglomane, ou l'Orpheline léguée, a comedy in one act and in free verse, Fontainebleau, Comédiens français, 5 November 1772; Paris, 23 November 1772
- Sophie Francourt, a prose comedy in 4 acts, Paris, Comédiens italiens ordinaires du Roi, 18 February 1783