Encyclopaedia Britannica, or, a Dictionary of arts, sciences, and miscellaneous literature : enlarged and improved. Illustrated with nearly six hundred engravings > Volume 18, RHI-SCR

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Scarnm. with his mother-in-law. He pleaded the caufe in a lu-
dicrous manner, though his whole fortune depended on
the decifion. He accordingly loft the caufe. Made-
moifelle de Hautefort, compaflionating his misfortunes,
procured for him an audience of the queen. The poet
requefted to have the title of Valetudinarian to her ma-
jefty. 1 he queen fnjiled, and Scarron confidered the
fmile as the commiffion to his new office. He therefore
affumed the title of Scarron, by the grace of God, un¬
worthy valetudinarian to the queen.
Cardinal Mazarine gave him a penfion of 500 crowns *,
but that minifter having received difdainfully the dedi¬
cation of his Typhon, the poet immediately wrote a Ma-
zarinade, and the penfion was withdrawn. He then at¬
tached himfelf to the prince of Conde, and celebrated
his victories. He at length formed the extraordinary
refolution of marrying, and was accordingly, in 1651,
married to Mademoifelle d’Aubigne (afterwards the fa¬
mous Madame de Maintenon), who was then only 16
years of age. “ At that time (fays Voltaire) it was
confidered as a great acquifition for her to gain for a
huffiand a man who was disfigured by nature, impotent,
and very little enriched by fortune.” When Scarron
was queftioned about the contra# of marriage, he faid
he acknowledged to the bride two large invincible eyes,
a very beautiful ffiape, two fine hands, and a large por¬
tion of wit. The notary demanded what dowry he
would give her ? Immediately replied Scarron, “ The
names of the wives of kings die with them, but the
name, of Scarron’s wife ffiall live for ever.” She
reftrained by her modefty his indecent buffooneries,
and the good company which had formerly reforted to
his houfe were not lefs frequent in their vifits. Scar¬
ron now became a new man. He became more decent
in his manners and converfation : and his gaiety, when
tempered with moderation., was ftill more agreeable.
But in the, mean time, he lived with fo little economy,
that his income was foon reduced to a fmall annuity
and. his marquifate of Quinet. By the marquifate of
Quinet, he meant the revenue he derived from his pub¬
lications, which were printed by one Quinet. He was
accuftomed to talk to his fuperiors with great freedom
in his jocular ftyle. In the dedication to his Don Ja-
phet d' Armenie, he thus addreffes the king. “ I ffiall
endeavour to perfuade your majefty, that you would do
yourfelf no injury were you to do me a fmall favour ;
for in that cafe I ffiould become more gay : if I ffiould
become more gay,. I ffiould write fprightly comedies :
and if I ffiould write fprightly comedies, your majefty
would be amufed, and thus your money would not be
loft. All this appears, fo evident, that I ftiould certain¬
ly be convinced of it if I were as great a king as I am
now a poor unfortunate man.”
I hough Scarron wrote comedies, he had neither time
nor patience to ftudy the rules and models of dramatic
poetry. Ariftotle and Horace, Plautus and Terence,
would have frightened him ; and perhaps he did not
Know that there was ever fuch a perfon as Ariftopha-
n®s; few an open path before him, and he follow¬
ed it. It was the faffiion of the times to pillage the
Spaniffi writers. Scarron was acquainted with that
anguage, and he found it eafier to ufe the materials
which.were already prepared, than to rack his brain in
inventing a fubje# 5 a reftraint to which a genius like
s could not eafily fubmit. As he borrowed liberally
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from the Spanifh writers, a dramatic piece did not coft
him much labour. His labour confifted not in making
his comic charafters talk humoroufly, but in keeping
up ferious charadters \ for the ferious was a foreign lan¬
guage to him. The great fuccefs of his Jodelet Maitre
was a vaft allurement to him. The comedians who a#ed
it eagerly requefted more of his produdh'ons. They
were written without much toil, and they procured him
large fums. They ferved to amufe him. If it be ne-
ceffary to give more reafons for Scarron’s readinefs to
engage in thefe works, abundance may be had. He
dedicated his books to his fifter’s greyhound bitch ; and
when ffie failed him, he dedicated them to a certain
Monfeigneur, whom he praiied higher, but did not
much efteem. When the office of hiftoriographer be¬
came vacant, he folicited for it without fuccefs. At
length Fouquet gave him a penfion of 1600 livres.
Chriftina queen of Sweden having come to Paris, was
anxious to fee Scarron. “ I permit you (faid ffie to
Scarron) to fall in love with me. The queen of France
has made you her valetudinarian, and I create you my
Roland.” Scarron did not long enjoy that title : he
was feized with fo violent a hiccough, that every perfon
thought he would have expired. “If I recover (he
faid), I will make a fine fatire on the hiccough.” His
gaiety did not forfake him to the laft. Within a few
minutes of his death, when his domeftics were ffiedding
tears about him, “ My good friends (fays he), I ffiall
never make you weep fo much for me as I have made
you laugh.” Juft before eKpiring, he faid, “ I could
never believe before that it is fo eafy to laugh at death.”
He died on the 14th of Odlober 1660, in the 51ft year
of his age.
His works have been collefted and publiffied by Bra¬
zen de la Martiniere, in 10 vols i2mo, 1737. There
are, 1. The Eneid traveftied, in 8 books. It was af¬
terwards continued by Moreau de Brafey. 2. Typhon,
or the Gigantomachia. 3. Many comedies -, as, Jode¬
let, or the Mafter Valet j Jodelet cuffed ; Don Japhet
d’Armenie ; The Ridiculous Heir j Every Man his
own Guardian •, The Fooliffi Marquis ; The Scholar
of Salamanca j The Falfe Appearance ; The Prince
Corfaire, a tragi-comedy. Befides thefe, he wrote other
pieces in verfe. 4. His Comic Romance in profe, which
is the only one of his works that deferves attention. It
is written with much purity and gaiety, and has contri¬
buted not a little to the improvement of the French lan¬
guage. .Scarron had great pleafure in reading his works
to his friends as he compofed them : he called it trying
his works. Segrais and another of his friends coming
to him one day, “ Take a chair (fays Scarron to them)
and fit down, that I may examine my Comic Romance.”
When he obferved the company laugh, “ Very well
(faid he), mybook.will be well received fince it makes
perfons of fuch delicate tafte laugh.” Nor was he de¬
ceived. His Romance had a prodigious run. It was
the only one of his wmrks that Boileau could fubmit to
read. 5. Spanifti Novels tranflated into French. 6. A
volume of Letters. 7. Poems ; confifting of Songs,
Epiftles, Stanzas, Odes, and Epigrams. The whole col¬
lection. abounds with fprightlinefs and gaiety. Scarron
can. raife a laugh in the moft ferious fubjeCts ; but his
fellies are rather thofe of a buffoon than the effufions of
ingenuity and tafte. He is continually falling into the
mean and the obfcene. If we ftiould make any excep¬
tion .
Scarroir.
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