CHRISTOPHE

LEON

See also:

• LOUIS
• LOUIS (804–876)
• LOUIS (893–911)
• LOUIS, JOSEPH DOMINIQUE, BARON (1755-1837)
• LOUIS, or LEWIS (from the Frankish Chlodowich, Chlodwig, Latinized as Chlodowius, Lodhuwicus, Lodhuvicus, whence-in the Strassburg oath of 842-0. Fr. Lodhuwigs, then Chlovis, Loys and later Louis, whence Span. Luiz and—through the Angevin kings—Hungarian

LOUIS JUCHAULT DE

See also:

• CHRISTOPHE LEON LOUIS JUCHAULT DE LAMORICIERE (18o6–1865)

LAMORICIERE (18o6–1865)  , French general, was born at Nantes on the 1th of September 18o6, and entered the Engineers in 1828 . He served in the Algerian campaigns from 183o onwards, and by 184o he had risen to the grade of marechal-de-camp (major-general) . Three years later he was made a general of division . He was one of the most distinguished and efficient of Bugeaud's generals, rendered special service at Isly (August 14, 1844), acted temporarily as governor-general of Algeria, and finally effected the capture of Abd el-Kader in 1847 . Lamoriciere took some part in the political events of 1848, both as a member of the Chamber of Deputies and as a military commander . Under the regime of General Cavaignac he was for a time minister of war . From 1848 to 1851 Lamoriciere was one of the most conspicuous opponents of the policy of Louis Napoleon, and at the coup d'etat of the and of December 1851 he was arrested and exiled . He refused to give in his allegiance to the emperor Napoleon III., and in 186o accepted the command of the papal army, which he led in the Italian campaign of 186o . On the 18th of September of that year he was severely defeated by the Italian army at Castelfidardo . His last years were spent in complete retirement in France (he had been allowed to return in 1857), and he died at Prouzel (Somme) on the 11th of September 1865 . See E . Keller, Le General de Lamorici`ere (Paris, 1873) .

LA MOTHE LE VAYER,

FRANCOIS DE (1588–1672), French writer, was born in Paris of a noble family of Maine . His father was an avocat at the parlement of Paris and author of a curious treatise on the functions of ambassadors, entitled Legatus, seu De legatorum privilegiis, officio et munere libellus (1579) and illustrated mainly from ancient history . Francois succeeded his father at the parlement, but gave up his post about 1647 and devoted himself to travel and belles lettres . His Considerations sur l'eloquence francaise (1638) procured him admission to the Academy, and his De l'instruction de Mgr. le Dauphin (164o) attracted the attention of Richelieu . In 1649 Anne of Austria entrusted him with the education of her second son and subsequently with the completion of Louis XIV.'s education, which had been very much neglected . The outcome of his pedagogic labours was a series of books comprising the Geographic, Rhetorique, Morale, Economique, Politique, Logique, and Physique du prince (1651–1658) . The king rewarded his tutor by appointing him historiographer of France and councillor of state . La Mothe Le Vayer died in Paris . Modest, sceptical,. and occasionally obscene in his Latin pieces and in his verses, he made himself a persona grata at the French court, where libertinism in ideas and morals was hailed with relish . Besides his educational works, he wrote Jugement sur les anciens et principaux historiens grecs et Latins (1646); a treatise entitled Du peu de certitude qu'il y a en histoire (1668), which in a sense marks the beginning of historical criticism in France; and sceptical Dialogues, published posthumously under the pseudonym of Orosius Tubero . An incomplete edition of his works was published at Dresden in 1756–1759 . See Bayle, Dictionnaire critique, article "Vayer "; L .

Etienne, Essai sur La Mothe Le Vayer (Paris, 1849) . LA MOTTE, ANTOINE HOUDAR DE (1672–1731), French author, was born in Paris on the 18th of January 1672 . In 1693 his comedy Les Originaux proved a complete failure, which so depressed the author that he contemplated joining the Trappists, but four years later he again began writing operas and ballets, e.g . L'Europe galante (1697), and tragedies; one of which, Ines de Castro (1723), was produced with immense success at the Theatre Francais . He was a champion of the moderns in the revived controversy of the ancients and moderns . Madame Dacier had published (1699) a translation of the Iliad, and La Motte, who knew no Greek, made a translation (1714) in verse founded on her work . The nature of his work may be judged from his own expression: " I have taken the liberty to change what I thought disagreeable in it." He defended the moderns in the Discours sur Homere prefixed to his translation, and in his Reflexions sur la critique (1716) . Apart from the merits of the controversy, it was conducted on La Motte's side with a wit and politeness which compared very favourably with his opponent's methods . He was elected to the Academy in 1710, and soon after became blind . La Motte carried on a correspondence with the duchesse du Maine, and was the friend of Fontenelle . He had the same freedom from prejudice, the same inquiring mind as the latter, and it is on the excellent prose in which his views are expressed that his reputation rests . He died in Paris on the 26th of December 1731 .

His Euvres du thedtre (2 vols.) appeared in 1730, and his Euvres (to vols.) in 1754 . See A . H . Rigault, Histoire de la querelle

des anciens et des modernes (1859) .