Catalogue James de Rothschild, n\u00b0 1143; Tchemerzine-Scheler, II, 235; Pellison, Histoire de l\u2019Acad\u00e9mie fran\u00e7oise. Depuis l\u2019\u00e9tablissement de l\u2019Acad\u00e9mie jusqu\u2019en 1652, 1743 ; Picot, Bibliographie corn\u00e9lienne, n\u00b0 1380; Rahir, La Biblioth\u00e8que de l\u2019amateur, 379 ; Bulletin Morgand, n\u00b0 7835 (“Ce fut Chapelain que l\u2019Acad\u00e9mie nomma pour recueillir ses observations”); see Biblioth\u00e8que Hector de Backer, II, no. 852. Not in Brunet.<\/i><\/p>\n
First edition of the first book published by the Acad\u00e9mie Fran\u00e7aise.<\/span><\/p>\n For its first publication, the Acad\u00e9mie faced a thorny problem: not only did it take up a dispute that was raging in French literary circles between supporters of Le Cid<\/i> and its opponents, at a time when hundreds of pamphlets were being published in response to one another, but it also exposed itself to a legal problem. According to its statutes, the Academy could only review works published by its members. For other writers, it could only issue opinions. Through this work, the Acad\u00e9mie Fran\u00e7aise took part in the heated controversy sparked by the publication of Corneille’s masterpiece in 1637.<\/p>\n The success of Le Cid<\/i> had strengthened Corneille’s ego, and on February 20, 1637, he published Excuse \u00e0 Ariste in response to the first criticisms of his play:<\/p>\n \u00ab Je sais ce que je vaux, et crois ce qu’on m’en dit. <\/i> This overconfidence did not sit well with playwrights and other academics, and Georges de Scud\u00e9ry responded anonymously to Corneille by publishing his Observations sur le Cid<\/i> (Observations on Le Cid). Supported by Richelieu, he continued his endeavor and in June 1637 published a Lettre de Mr de Scudery a l’Illustre Acad\u00e9mie<\/i> (Letter from Mr. de Scud\u00e9ry to the Illustrious Academy), in which he requested that Le Cid<\/i> be reviewed.<\/p>\n The publication of the Sentiments de l’Acad\u00e9mie fran\u00e7aise sur la tragi-com\u00e9die du Cid<\/i> (Opinions of the French Academy on the Tragicomedy of Le Cid) marked the final stage of the dispute. On June 30, 1637, Chapelain presented his memoir to the Academy and then to Richelieu. The latter corrected it in several places, as evidenced by the manuscript preserved at the BNF, which includes numerous notes \u201cin the hand of Mr. Citois, his first physician.\u201d It was finally published at the end of the year after a privilege was granted on November 26.<\/p>\n The book, which was widely distributed, brought an end to the dispute thanks to the official judgment of the Academy. It was therefore a double success for the Academy, which became widely known thanks to this publication and succeeded in imposing its authority as a learned society.<\/p>\n \u00ab Scud\u00e9ry s\u2019\u00e9tant avis\u00e9 d\u2019\u00e9crire un libelle contre Corneille sous le titre d\u2019Observations sur le Cid<\/i>\u2019 et d\u2019en appeler au jugement de l\u2019Acad\u00e9mie, le cardinal de Richelieu prit son parti et for\u00e7a la Compagnie, malgr\u00e9 ses r\u00e9pugnances, \u00e0 se m\u00ealer d\u2019une affaire dans laquelle le sentiment public s\u2019\u00e9tait d\u00e9j\u00e0 vivement prononc\u00e9 : \u2018En vain contre le Cid un ministre se ligue Tout Paris pour Chim\u00e8ne a les yeux de Rodrigue<\/i>\u2019. Le 16 juin 1637, l\u2019Acad\u00e9mie, pour complaire \u00e0 son puissant protecteur, confia \u00e0 trois commissaires, dont Chapelain et Conrart, le soin de pr\u00e9parer la r\u00e9ponse aux \u2018Observations<\/i>\u2019 de Scud\u00e9ry. Le manuscrit de Chapelain est conserv\u00e9 \u00e0 la Biblioth\u00e8que nationale. Presque \u00e0 chaque page, de la main du cardinal ou de celle de Citois, son m\u00e9decin, on trouve des notes marginales, des passages soulign\u00e9s, des ratures qui t\u00e9moignent de l\u2019intervention passionn\u00e9e de Richelieu. Si bien qu\u2019on peut presque affirmer que le livre qui a pour titre : \u2018Les Sentimens de l\u2019Acad\u00e9mie fran\u00e7oise sur la tragi-com\u00e9die du Cid<\/i>\u2019, est bien plus son \u0153uvre que celle de la Compagnie. \u00bb Biblioth\u00e8que H. De Backer, n\u00b0852.<\/p>\n \u00ab Corneille ayant fait repr\u00e9senter son \u2018Cid<\/i>\u2019, il fut mis infiniment au-dessus de tous les autres\u2026 Entre ceux qui ne purent souffrir l\u2019approbation qu\u2019on donnait au \u2018Cid<\/i>\u2019, et qui crurent qu\u2019il ne l\u2019avait pas m\u00e9rit\u00e9e, M. de Scud\u00e9ry parut le premier, en publiant ses \u2018Observations<\/i>\u2019 contre cet ouvrage, ou pour se satisfaire lui-m\u00eame, ou, comme quelques-uns disent, pour plaire au Cardinal. En de diff\u00e9rent qui partagea toute la Cour, le Cardinal sembla pencher du c\u00f4t\u00e9 de M. de Scud\u00e9ry, et fut bien aise qu\u2019il \u00e9crivit \u00e0 l\u2019Acad\u00e9mie fran\u00e7aise pour s\u2019en remettre \u00e0 son jugement\u2026 Le 16 juin 1637 il fut ordonn\u00e9 que l\u2019Acad\u00e9mie examinerait le \u2018Cid<\/i>\u2019 et les \u2018Observations<\/i>\u2019 contre le Cid. M. Chapelain pr\u00e9senta le manuscrit de ses m\u00e9moires au Cardinal. J\u2019ai vu avec beaucoup de plaisir ce manuscrit apostill\u00e9 par le Cardinal en sept endroits, de la main de M. Citois, son premier M\u00e9decin. Ces apostilles t\u00e9moignent qu\u2019il \u00e9tait persuad\u00e9 de ce qu\u2019on reprochait \u00e0 M. Corneille, que son ouvrage p\u00e9chait contre les r\u00e8gles. Il examina cet \u00e9crit avec beaucoup de soin et d\u2019attention. Ainsi furent mis au jour, apr\u00e8s environ cinq mois de travail, les \u2018Sentimens de l\u2019Acad\u00e9mie fran\u00e7oise sur le Cid<\/i>\u2019. Le Public re\u00e7ut avec beaucoup d\u2019approbation et d\u2019estime ce travail de l\u2019Acad\u00e9mie Fran\u00e7oise. Ceux-l\u00e0 m\u00eame qui n\u2019\u00e9taient pas de son avis ne laiss\u00e8rent pas de la louer : & l\u2019envie qui attendait depuis si longtemps quelque ouvrage de cette Compagnie, pour le mettre en pi\u00e8ces, ne toucha point \u00e0 celui-ci. \u00bb (Pellisson, Histoire de l\u2019Acad\u00e9mie fran\u00e7oise, 1743, pp. 110-130).<\/p>\n Fine copy in its contemporary binding.<\/p>\n Small worming in the upper white margin of the first third of the book.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 8vo (173 x 114 mm) 192 pp. Contemporary vellum, flat spine with manuscript title.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":87865,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[544],"product_tag":[1244,1450],"class_list":{"0":"post-80805","1":"product","2":"type-product","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"product_cat-literature","7":"product_tag-17th-century-literature","8":"product_tag-first-edition","9":"pa_auteur-chapelain-jean-2","10":"pa_type-de-livre-printed-book","12":"first","13":"instock","14":"shipping-taxable","15":"purchasable","16":"product-type-simple"},"acf":{"artist":"Jean CHAPELAIN","chapeau":"The book that legitimised the Acad\u00e9mie fran\u00e7aise","adresse_bibliographique":"Paris, Chez Jean Camusat, 1638","book_type":"Printed book","provenance":"","afficher_prix":""},"yoast_head":"\n
[\u2026]<\/i>
J’arrache quelquefois trop d’applaudissements ; <\/i>
[\u2026]<\/i>
Je ne dois qu’\u00e0 moi seul toute ma renomm\u00e9e, <\/i>
Et pense, toutefois, n’avoir point de rival <\/i>
A qui je fasse tort en le traitant d’\u00e9gal… \u00bb<\/i><\/p>\n