About
Jacques Delille, born in 1738 in Aigueperse and died in 1813 in Paris, was a French poet and translator. He became known for his verse translation of Virgil's Georgics (1769), hailed as a masterpiece. Elected to the Académie française in 1774, he taught Latin poetry at the Collège de France. His original works, such as Les Jardins (1782) and L'Homme des champs (1802), celebrate nature and rural life. During the Revolution, he emigrated to Switzerland, Germany, and London, before returning to Paris in 1802. He also translated the Aeneid and Paradise Lost.
* 1738-06-22 — † 1813-05-01
Major works
- Les Géorgiques (traduction) (1769)translation
- Les Jardins (1782)poem
- L'Homme des champs (1802)poem
- L'Imagination (1806)poem
- Les Trois Règnes de la nature (1808)poem
Key milestones
- 1769Publication of his translation of Virgil's Georgics, which made him famous.
- 1774Election to the Académie française.
- 1802Return to Paris after his exile during the Revolution.
Themes
naturerural lifetranslationimaginationdescriptive poetry
Sources: larousse.fr · britannica.com