de Broglie's
brother, and subsequently, on the death of Madame de Pompadour,
commissioner of war. Terrible were the sufferings which the unhappy
Deforges endured on account of his luckless poem.
Theophile was condemned to be burned at Paris on account of his book _Le
Parnasse des Poetes Satyriques, ou Recueil de vers piquans et gaillards de
notre temps_ (1625, in-8), but he contrived to effect his escape. He was
ultimately captured in Picardy, and put in a dungeon. He was banished from
the kingdom by order of the Parliament. In his old age he found an asylum
in the house of the Duke of Montmorency. The poet's real surname was
Viaud. The following impromptu is attributed to Theophile, who was asked
by a foolish person whether all poets were fools:--
"Oui, je l'avoue avec vous,
Que tous les poetes sont fous;
Mais sachant ce que vous etes,
Tous les fous ne sont pas poetes."
His poems are a mere collection of impieties and obscenities, published
with the greatest impudence, and well deserved their destruction. On one
occasion he travelled to Holland with Balzac, and used this opportunity
for bringing out an infamous charge against him, which he had most
probably invented. His book, the cause of all his woes, was burnt with the
poet's effigy in 1623.
Many authors have ruined themselves by writing scandalous works, offensive
to the moral feelings of not very scrupulous ages.
Pages:
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164