About
Jean-François Marmontel, born July 11, 1723, in Bort-les-Orgues and died December 31, 1799, in Abloville, was a French writer and encyclopedist. From a poor family, he studied with the Jesuits and taught at their colleges before moving to Paris in 1745 on the advice of Voltaire, who became his mentor. He contributed to Diderot and d'Alembert's Encyclopédie, and his articles were collected in his Éléments de littérature (1787). He wrote moral tales, philosophical novels such as Bélisaire (1767) and Les Incas (1777), and librettos for opéras-comiques. A member of the Académie française (1763) and royal historiographer (1771), he was reduced to poverty by the Revolution and died in Normandy.
* 1723-07-11 — † 1799-12-28
Major works
- Contes moraux (1761)collection of tales
- Bélisaire (1767)philosophical novel
- Les Incas (1777)novel
- Éléments de littérature (1787)essay
- Mémoires d'un père (1804)memoirs
Key milestones
- 1745Moves to Paris on Voltaire's advice.
- 1763Elected to the Académie française.
- 1771Appointed royal historiographer.
Themes
religious tolerancecritique of fanaticismmorality and virtue18th-century French societyliterature and aesthetics
Sources: britannica.com · catalog.princeton.edu