[An illustration of a ship, symbolizing the symbol of Paris]

Histoire de Paris

La Bruyère
Jean de La Bruyère naît ici en 1645; avocat au Parlement de Paris, il mène la vie retirée d’un sage. Le 15 août 1684, il devient grâceà Bossuet le précepteur d’histoire du duc. de Bourbon. A la cour, son regard caustique trouve un vaste champ d’observations. Les "Caractères, ou les moeurs de ce siècle" paraissent en 1688, revanche du talent et de l’esprit sur la naissance et la fortune. "Je rends au public ce qu’il m’a prêté, jai emprunté de lui la matière de cet ouvrage..." déclare-t-il dans la Préface.

[Portrait of La Bruyère]

Le succès du volume est immédiat ; les contemporains s’y reconnaissent, et très vite des clefs circulent. En 1696, à la veille de mourir d’une apoplexie, le moraliste, élu à l’Académie française en 1693, met la dernière main à la 9e édition.

One of the series of signs describing historical places in Paris. The signs were placed starting in 1992 and are also called sucettes Starck (Starck’s Lollipops) after Philippe Starck who designed them.

The sign is located near the place where Jean de La Bruyère (1645-1696) was born, a philosopher and moralist, who wrote treatises on the subject.

The place was photographed on the same day by the same photographer Click for a larger image

The portrait of Jean de La Bruyère, which appears in the center of the plaque, is shown here at magnification Click for a larger image

Translation of the text on the sign:

[An illustration of a ship, symbolizing the symbol of Paris]

History of Paris

Jean de La Bruyèrei
Jean de La Bruyère was born here in 1645; lawyer in the Parliament of Paris, he leads the retired life of a wise man. On August 15, 1684, thanks to Bossuet, he became the duke’s history tutor. of Bourbon. At court, his caustic gaze finds a vast field of observations. The “Characters, or the mores of this century” appeared in 1688, the revenge of talent and spirit on birth and fortune. “I return to the public what he lent me, I borrowed from him the material for this work...” he declares in the Preface.

[Portrait of La Bruyère]

The success of the volume was immediate; contemporaries recognized themselves in it, and very quickly keys circulated. In 1696, on the eve of dying of an apoplexy, the moralist, elected to the French Academy in 1693, put the finishing touches to the 9th edition.