Though bred to the church and early settled in a good living, he led a life that was hardly edifying. He possessed brilliant talents, but failed to make the most of them. He was indolent and fond of good living, and was restive under discipline, as is evident in his work and in his irritation at Malherbe. He had a gift of keen observation, and his satires excelled in interest what he composed in the more lyrical forms of ode and elegy. Works : _Oeuvres_, 1608, 1612 ; recent editions are those of Viollet le Duc, 1853 (_Bibliothèque elzévirienne_), and E. Courbet, 1875. For reference : J. Vianey, _Mathurin Régnier_, 1896. FRANÇOIS DE MALHERBE. 1555-1628. He marks an epoch in the history of French letters. Boileau's famous phrase, "enfin Malherbe vint," dates from him the beginning of worthy French poetry. What did begin with him was that tradition of refinement, elegance, polish and perfect propriety of phrase that continued to rule French literature for two centuries. He lent the influence of a very positive voice to the growing demand for a standard of authority in grammar and versification and for recognized canons of criticism. The lyrical impulse in him was small, but some of his lines live in virtue of the finished propriety and harmony of expression. Works: _Oeuvres_, 1628; the best edition is that of L. Lalanne, 5 vols., 1862-69 {_Collection des Grands Écrivains_). For reference: G. Allais, _Malherbe_, 1891; F. Brunot, _la Doctrine de Malherbe_, 1891; F. Brunetière, _l'Évolution des genres_, vol. i, 1890; _Études critiques sur l'histoire de la littérature française_, vol. v, 1893. 21. CONSOLATION À M. DU PÉRIER. 5. TITHON, Tithonus, who obtained from the gods immortality but not eternal youth. After age had completely wasted and shriveled him he was changed into a grasshopper. 6. PLUTON, Pluto, god of the nether world, the abode of the dead. 8. ARCHÉMORE, Archemorus or Opheltes, son of Lycurgus, king of Nemea, died in infancy from the bite of a serpent. 22. I. FRANÇOIS, Francis I.; his oldest son, Francis, born in 1517, died suddenly in 1526, and Charles V. was suspected of having had him poisoned, and dire vengeance was wreaked upon the person of Sebastian de Montecuculli, cupbearer of Charles V. The suspicions proved to be wholly groundless. 5. ALCIDE, Alcides, by which name Hercules was known till he consulted the oracle of Delphi. 9. LA DURANCE, a river in southwestern France, flowing into the Rhone below Avignon. After beginning an agressive campaign in this part of France in the summer of 1536, the Spaniards were in September forced to a disastrous retreat. 13. DE MOI, _for my own part_; Malherbe had lost his first two children, Henry in 1587 and Jourdaine in 1599. 27. LOUVRE; the palace of the Louvre, begun in 1541 by Francis I. on the site of a royal château built by Philip Augustus, and added to by his successors, was a royal residence until the Revolution.