AMYOT, JACQUES (1513-1593), French writer, was born of poor
parents, at Melun, on the 30th of October 1513. He found his
way to the university of Paris, where he supported himself by
serving some of the richer students. He was nineteen when he
became M.A. at Paris, and later he graduated doctor of civil
law at Bourges. Through Jacques Colure (or Colin), abbot of
St Ambrose in Bourges, he obtained a tutorship in the family
of a secretary of state. By the secretary he was recommended
to Marguerite de Valois, and through her influence was made
professor of Greek and Latin at Bourges. Here he translated
Theagene et Chariclee from Heliodorus (1547 fol.),
for which he was rewarded by Francis I. with the abbey of
Bellozane. He was thus enabled to go to Italy to study the
Vatican text of Plutarch, on the translation on whose
Lives
(1559; 1565) he had been some time engaged. On the way he
turned aside on a mission to the council of Trent. Returning
home, he was appointed tutor to the sons of Henry II., by one
of whom (Charles IX.) he was afterwards made grand almoner
(1561) and by the other (Henry III.) was appointed, in spite
of his plebeian origin, commander of the order of the Holy
Ghost. Pius I. promoted him to the bishopric of Auxerre, and
here he continued to live in comparative quiet, repairing his
cathedral and perfecting his translations, for the rest of his
days, though troubled towards the close by the insubordination
and revolts of his clergy. He was a devout and conscientious
churchman, and had the courage to stand by his principles.
It is said that he advised the chaplain of Henry III. to
refuse absolution to the king after the murder of the Guise
princes. He was, nevertheless, suspected of approving the
crime. His house was plundered, and he was compelled to leave
Auxerre for some time. He died on the 6th of February 1593,
bequeathing, it is said, 1200 crowns to the hospital at Orleans
for the twelve "deniers" he received there when "poor and
naked" on his way to Paris. He translated seven books of
Diodorus (1554), the Daphnis et Chloe of Longus (1559) and
the Opera Moralia of Plutarch (1572). His vigorous and
idiomatic version of Plutarch, Vies des hommes illustres,
was translated into English by Sir Thomas North, and supplied
Shakespeare with materials for his Roman plays. Montaigne
said of him,"I give the palm to Jacques Amyot over all our
French writers, not only for the simplicity and purity of his
language in which he surpasses all others, nor for his constancy
to so long an undertaking, nor for his profound learning .
. . but I am grateful to him especially for his wisdom in
choosing so valuable a work." It was indeed to Plutarch that
Amyot devoted his attention. His other translations were
subsidiary. The version of Diodorus he did not publish,
although the manuscript had been discovered by himself. Amyot
took great pains to find and interpret correctly the best
authorities, but the interest of his books to-day lies in the
style. His translation reads like an original work. The
personal method of Plutarch appealed to a generation addicted to
memoirs and incapable of any general theory of history. Amyot's
book, therefore, obtained an immense popularity, and exercised
great influence over successive generations of French writers.
There is a good edition of the works of Amyot from the firm of Didot
(25 vols., 1818-1821). See also Auguste de Blignieres, Essai sur
Amyot et les traducteurs francais au xvie siecle (Paris, 1851).
This article is from the 1911 edition of an
encyclopedia, which is out of copyright here in the U.S. It is in the
public domain and you may copy, download, print and distribute this work
as you see fit.
Every effort has been made to present this text accurately and
cleanly, but no guarantees are made against errors. Neither Melissa
Snell nor About may be held liable for any problems you experience with
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