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Notes
P. L. Jacob, ed.,Œuvres comiques, galantes et lettéraires de Cyrano de Bergerac (Paris: A. Delahays, 1858), p. 227.
Jacob, p. 228.
Jacob, p. 227.
Critics do not always consider Cyrano's possible responsibility for the suppression of his works. Lachèvre believes that only financial difficulties kept thePedant from the stage: “Le Pédant joué, composé en 1645 ou 1646, par un pauvre diable n'ayant pas de Mecène, était condamné à l'oubli. Cyrano a manqué même l'argent nécessaire pour le faire imprimer avant 1654,”Les Œuvres libertines de Cyrano de Bergerac (2 vols.; Paris: H. Champion, 1921), II, 6. The author of the most recent book on Cyrano's novels, Jacques Prévot, describes on several occasions Cyrano's intention of publishingL'Autre Monde—for example, “Cyrano étant mort avant d'avoir fait publier son roman.”Cyrano de Bergerac romancier (Paris: Berlin, 1977), p. 7. There is, however, no evidence to justify these parallel opinions. On other occasions, with theMazarinades, for example, Cyrano proved himself to be an author capable of getting a text to press rapidly—and both thePedant andL'Autre Monde share the ability to scandalize that insured the speedy publication of theMazarinades.
Lachevre, II, 7.
Le Pedant joue, comedy by Cyrano de Bergerac. With a Life of Cyrano by H. B. Stanton (Harvard University, 1900).And a preface by Prof. Ferdinand Bòcher, (Boston: Jean de Peiffer, 1899).
A History of French Dramatic Literature in the Seventeenth Century (Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press, 1932), Pt. II, Vol. II, 497.
I will be using the term “bookishness” in this context to refer to the quality of a work allegedly destined for oral transmission, but actually interpretable only when read.
Granger's right-hand man, Paquier, uses some Latin phrases, as any aspiring pedant would, but his usage does not differ from that of his master in the art of pedantry. By confiding these problematic speech acts to the only two characters with similar names (“Granger” and “Gareau” have four letters in common), was Cyrano merely contrasting, or also comparing, the roles of thepaïsan and thepedan(t)?
II, ii. Lachevre, II, 25–6. References to thePedant will be indicated in parentheses in the text.
I do not intend to take sides in the much-debated issue of thePedant's influence on Moliere. It seems probable that in certain instances (the “galere” scene of theFourberies de Scapin, for example) Molière did look to Cyrano for “inspiration,” and it is likely that when creating patois, he would also consult his predecessor's solution to the problem. I bring up the example of Moliere here because it is useful to measure Cyrano against a successful playwright.
Sidias, for example, generally limits himself to rather transparant Latin interventions. “Il m'a voulu soustenir queodor in pomo non erat accidens.”Fragments d'une histoire comique. Œuvres complètes de Theophile de Viau, ed. Alleaume (Paris: 1856), II, 21. It should be noted in this context that several of Sidias Latin phrases are actually garbled quotations from such classical authors as Virgil. Quotation in theFragments is, however, merely part of the satire on pedantry and does not reach the level of complexity I will describing here.
The quotations from Despautere are unidentified for a spectator of the play. A reader does note the presence of quotation marks around the appropriate passages, but since he has no reason to suspect that Granger's Latin is borrowed, he may conclude that these marks serve to punctuate a foreign language and not quotations.
Despautere's name is mentioned once in thePedant. Paquier, begging Granger for new clothing, says: “ Domine, saepe quidem doeti repetunt bene praeposituram,” c'est-a-dire que toute la Nature vous presche, avec Jean Despautère, de m'armer tout à cru d'un bon lange de bure” (p. 65). The fact that the source of the pedant's borrowing here is not kept completely hidden does nothing to clear up the complexity of this use of citation and perhaps even makes matters worse. Although Paquier's phrasing is not very precise, he does seem to indicate that the Latin he uses is lifted from Despautere. The phrase that he chooses to identify as a “borrowing” is, however, a problematic one. Lachèvre admits that he has not been able to trace this particular line to Despautere. He can conclude only that this is “probably” a quotation from Despautere. The possibility cannot be ruled out that Cyrano identifies as belonging to Despautere one of the few Latin phrases in thePedant that does not originate in his treatises.
(Princeton University Press, 1968), p. 8.
Johannis Despauterii Ninivitae Commentarii Grammatici (Paris: Ex Officina Roberti Stefani, 1537), p. 277.
Despautere, p. 219.
Lachevre footnotes fifteen quotations from Despautere in his edition of thePendant, and there are undoubtedly others he missed.
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DeJean, J. Cyrano de Bergerac'sLe Pédant joué: Play or word play?. Neophilologus 66, 167–178 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02050608
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02050608