La Bruyere, Jean (La Bruyere Jean de)

(1645-1696)
Born in bureaucratic-bourgeois family on Aug. 16, 1645 in Paris. Studied law. At the request of Bossuet in 1684 became one of the approximate Prince of Conde, becoming a mentor of the young Duke of Burgundy, and then Secretary of the Conde. Being by nature a thoughtful and nesuetnym, . La Bruyц?re devoted himself to observing the characteristic social types, . belonging to a certain social stratum, . and gave their portraits in his only great work of Characters, . or mores of the century (Les caractres ou les murs de ce sicle, . 1688),
. The author tried to hide the prototypes for the fictional names, but those usually recognized themselves and their counterparts complained that, apparently, has identified non-election of the members of La Bruyere in the French Academy in 1691. Two years later, despite the opposition of 'new' (in 'dispute about the ancient and the new' La Bruyц?re defended the 'old' authors), he was elected to the Academy. La Bruyц?re died at Versailles on May 11, 1696.
Borrowing an idea of the characters from Theophrastus (4 in. BC), La Bruyц?re was determined to show the social mores of his age. The book opens with the characters of the Greek translation of the moralist, and in addition to the original texts were given to La Bruyere. This collection of epigrams and reflections of portraits has grown from 400 in the first edition of up to almost 1100 in the last lifetime, and viewed the author of the ninth edition (1696), going so far beyond the 'add' to Theophrastus. Bitterly noting the class and income inequality, . La Bruyц?re showed an acute awareness of the injustice of the social order, . when the illustrious court and wealthy bourgeoisie did not want to ignore people's disasters, . caught up in luxury and contentment,
. Thoughts and observations classicists La Bruyere paves the way ideology of the Enlightenment.