Character Catalog

La Bruyère's masterpiece and a monument of classical French literature, this collection of satirical portraits, moral reflections, and observations on society is a sharp critique of 17th-century humanity. The work went through ten editions during the author's lifetime, each enriched with new texts.

La Bruyère himself translated the Characters of the Greek philosopher Theophrastus (4th century BC) and placed them at the beginning of his own collection. This translation reflects his attachment to Antiquity and his position in the Quarrel of the Ancients and the Moderns.

Delivered upon his election to the Académie française, this speech expresses La Bruyère's position in favor of the Ancients in the great literary quarrel between partisans of Antiquity and champions of modernity. Its polemical tone caused a genuine scandal.

Published after his death, these dialogues reflect La Bruyère's interest in the religious debates of his time, notably the Quietism controversy that set Bossuet against Fénelon.

Everything has been said, and we come too late, since more than seven thousand years have passed in which men have existed and have thought.

There is no more laborious trade in the world than that of making a great name for oneself: life comes to an end when one has barely begun one's work.

The court does not make one content; it prevents one from being so anywhere else.

The ancients have left us most of the finest ideas and the best rules of eloquence and poetry, and have enabled us to imitate them.

Giton has a fresh complexion, a full face and pendulous cheeks, a steady and assured eye, broad shoulders, a high chest, a firm and deliberate gait. He speaks with confidence; he makes those who speak to him repeat themselves, and he finds only moderate pleasure in what they say to him.

La Bruyère was born and raised in Paris. He frequented Parisian intellectual and literary circles, sharpening his critical eye on the urban and bourgeois society of the 17th century.

The main residence of Louis XIV from 1682, Versailles was the stage for La Bruyère's sharpest observations. It was there that he rubbed shoulders with courtiers and great lords, from whom he drew the merciless portraits found in Les Caractères.

The main residence of the princes of Condé, Chantilly was La Bruyère's workplace as tutor to the Duke of Bourbon. This aristocratic setting provided him with a privileged vantage point for observing the customs of the high nobility.

La Bruyère was elected to the Académie française in 1693, after a difficult campaign. The institution, founded by Richelieu in 1635, was the official temple of French letters and the arena for the literary quarrels of the era.

La Bruyère wrote his observations and portraits with a quill pen, constantly correcting and enriching his Characters from one edition to the next. The inkwell and trimmed quill were the daily instruments of his work as a writer and moralist.

La Bruyère drew directly on the Characters of the Greek philosopher Theophrastus to structure his own work. He translated this ancient text himself and placed it at the head of his collection, thereby acknowledging his debt to Antiquity.

To appear at Versailles and Chantilly in the service of the Condés, La Bruyère was required to wear the court dress dictated by Louis XIV's codes of dress. This attire was at once a constraint and a disguise, allowing him to observe the social comedy while participating in it.

Travel between Paris, Versailles, and Chantilly was made by carriage or sedan chair. These journeys allowed La Bruyère to observe society in motion, from great lords to common people encountered along the roads.

La Bruyère was a sincere Catholic, close to Jansenist circles. Devotional books were a constant presence in his daily life and influenced his reflections on the vanity of worldly greatness, a central theme of the Characters.

Working by candlelight at night was common practice for writers of the 17th century. La Bruyère composed and reworked his texts by the glow of candles, in a silence conducive to inner observation and moral reflection.