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THOMAS CORNEILLE (1625-1709) |
FRENCH
dramatist Thomas Corneille was born at Rouen on the 20th of August
1625, being nearly twenty years younger than his brother, the
great Corneille. His
skill in verse-making seems to have shown itself early, as at
the age of fifteen he composed a piece in Latin which was represented
by his fellow-pupils at the Jesuits' college of Rouen. His first
French play, Les Engagements du hasard, was acted in 1647.
Le Feint Astrologue, imitated from the Spanish, and imitated
by Dryden, came next year.
At his brother's death he succeeded to his vacant chair in the
Academy. He then turned his attention to philology, producing
a new edition of the Remarques of C.F. Vaugelas in 1687,
and in 1694 a dictionary of technical terms, intended to supplement
that of the Academy. A complete translation of Ovid's Metamorphoses (he
had published six books with the Heroic Epistles some
years previously) followed in 1697. In 1704 he lost his sight
and was constituted a "veteran," a dignity which preserved
to him the privileges, while it exempted him from the duties,
of an academician. But he did not allow his misfortune to put
a stop to his work, and in 1708 produced a large Dictionnaire
universel géographique et historique in three volumes
folio. This was his last labour. He died at Les Andelys on the
8th of December 1709, aged eighty-four. It has been the custom
to speak of Thomas Corneille as of one who, but for the name
he bore, would merit no notice. This is by no means the case;
on the contrary, he is rather to be commiserated for his connection
with his brother who outshone him as he would have outshone almost
anyone. But the two were strongly attached to one another, and
practically lived in common. Of his forty-two plays (this is
the utmost number assigned to him) the last edition of his complete
works contains only thirty-two, but he wrote several in conjunction
with other authors. Two are usually reprinted as his masterpieces
at the end of his brother's selected works. These are Ariane (1672)
and the Comte d' Essex, in the former of which Rachel
attained success. But of Laodice, Camma, Stilico and some
other pieces, Pierre Corneille himself said that "he wished
he had written them," and he was not wont to speak lightly.
Camma (1661, on the same story as Tennyson's Cup)
especially deserves notice. Thomas Corneille is in many ways
remarkable in the literary gossip-history of his time. His Timocrate
boasted of the longest run (80 nights) recorded of any play in
the century. For La Devineresse he and his coadjutor de
Visé (1638-1710, founder of the Mercure galant,
to which Thomas contributed) received above 6000 livres, the
largest sum known to have been paid. Lastly, one of his pieces
(Le Baron des Fondrières) contests the honor of
being the first which was hissed off the stage.
This article was originally
published in Encyclopedia Britannica, Eleventh Edition.
Cambridge: University Press, 1911.
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