biography
| name: |
Saint-Evremond, Charles Marguetel de Saint Denis, seigneur de (Lord of)
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pronunciation:
[sĩt ayvruhmõ]
| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1613/14–1703)
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| biography:
| Polemicist and gentleman of letters, born in Saint-Denis-le-Gast, NW France. Pursuing a military career in his early life, he followed Condé and Nordlingen but stayed loyal to King Louis XIV during the Fronde. On discovery of a facetious letter to François de Bonne Créqui (?1624–89) deriding the Peace of the Pyrenees, Evremond was forced to flee by way of Holland to England (1661), where he remained in spite of Louis' pardon (1689). He published little in his lifetime, writing mainly for friends. His works include a comedy in verse, La Comédie des académistes (1644) and the prose comedy Sir Politick Would-Be (c.1664). His philosophical criticism of classical writers, Essai sur la Morale d'epicure et le génie du peuple romain, foreshadowed the mocking tone of the Encyclopédists, notably in his reflections on religion. He was buried in Westminster Abbey. |
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