Name Matthieu Marais Died June 21, 1737 | Role Writer | |
Matthieu Marais (16641 - 21 June 1737) was a French jurist and writer. Legal advocate at the Parlement of Paris, he was one of the luminaries of the bar during his times.
Marais was born and died in Paris. A friend of Pierre Bayle and Henry de Boulainviller, he collaborated on the Dictionnaire Historique, and wrote the articles "Henri III", "Henri, duc de Guise", "Marguerite, reine de Navarre", etc. Bound up with the president Jean Bouhier, he maintained with him an interesting correspondence, published in the Journal de Paris from 1721 to 1727. He also wrote (for the "Mercure") a Critique of the panegyric of Sacy (by Madame Lambert).
Chardon de la Rochette discovered a posthumous writing of Matthieu Marais: Histoire de la Vie et des Ouvrages de M. de la Fontaine; Paris, 1811, in -12 et in -18 ("History of the life and works of Mr de la Fontaine"). Marais is also author of Memoires interessants sur les premieres annees du regne de Louis XV, which was published during those same years. (Larousse's Encyclopedia2 reports that he wrote a Journal et Memoires de Mathieu Marais, avocat au Parlement de Paris, sur la Regence et la regne de Louis XV, 1715-1737 (1863-1868) ("Journal and Memoirs of Mathieu Marais, lawyer at the Parlement of Paris, on the Regency and the reign of Louis XV, 1715-1737"). This may be the same work referred to as Memoires interessants . . . . above.)
Marais also praised Voltaire's epic poem La Ligue, remarking that 'C'est un ouvrage merveilleux, un chef-d'oeuvre d'esprit'.