Guez de Balzac
Jean-Louis Guez de Balzac (1597–1654) was a notable French writer and political figure, likely born in Angoulême, France. He received a Jesuit education in various institutions before briefly studying at the University of Leiden. Balzac served as Secretary to the duc d'Epernon and later to Cardinal Valette in Rome. Appointed historiographer of France in 1624, he became a prominent member of the Académie Française in 1634. Although he spent a significant amount of time in Paris, he preferred the tranquility of his residence in the Charente region due to his frail health.
Balzac is renowned for his political and critical essays, as well as a substantial correspondence with the French aristocracy, which established him as a key figure in elite literary circles. His letters, characterized by clarity and precision, significantly shaped the prose style of educated society in his time. Despite seeking patronage from influential figures like Cardinal Richelieu, Balzac's literary contributions were more impactful than his political aspirations. His writings reflect the influence of classical rhetoric while celebrating the uniqueness of the French language, marking a pivotal moment in the evolution of French prose style. Balzac's legacy continues to be recognized for its clarity and stylistic innovation.
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Subject Terms
Guez de Balzac
Author
- Born: May 31, 1597
- Birthplace: Angoulême or Balzac, near Angoulême, France
- Died: February 18, 1654
- Place of death: Angoulême, France
Biography
Jean-Louis Guez de Balzac was probably born in Angoulême, France, in May of 1597. He was educated at the Jesuit colleges of Angoulême and Poitiers and at the Collège de la Marche in Paris. In 1615, he visited the United Provinces with Théophile de Viau and enrolled in the University of Leiden, but returned to Paris the following year. He became Secretary to Jean-Louis de Nogaret de la Valette, duc d’Epernon, and then to his son. From 1620 to 1622, he was in Rome in the service of Cardinal Valette. In 1624, he was appointed historiographer of France.
From 1624 to1628, Balzac spent a considerable amount of time in Paris, but he preferred the solitude of his residence in the countryside of the Charente. Since his health was rather frail, he was easily exhausted by the tumult of Parisian society and found written correspondence with his friends and associates more satisfying than attending the Parisian salons. He became a member of the Academie Française in 1634. He spent most of the rest of his life in Angoulême where he died on February 18, 1654.
Balzac wrote both political and critical essays and maintained a voluminous correspondence with members of the French court and nobility throughout his lifetime. His letters were circulated in aristocratic society and gained for him the status of a habitué (regular) at the Hôtel Rambouillet. With their clarity, precision and idiomatic use of the language, the letters set the style for writing French prose in the educated and cultured aristocratic society of the time. In 1624, he published his first volume of letters. Having been encouraged by Armand Jean du Plessis, Cardinal de Richelieu, Balzac hoped that his letters would gain an important position for him at court. But even though in his treatise Le Prince (1631), he had defended the political program of Richelieu and Louis XIII, he did not receive the patronage he had sought. In spite of his disappointment, Balzac continued to write and express his views on politics, social manners, religion and literary considerations.
In his writings, the influence of his Jesuit school masters was readily apparent; the classical tradition of oratory and rhetoric flowed throughout his letters, which were meant to advise and to persuade their readers. However, his writings were never mere imitations of the great works of the classical authors written in French; they evinced an appreciation of French as a unique language. Just as François de Malherbe reformed French poetic style, Balzac reformed French prose style.