Antoine Houdar de la Motte

Antoine Houdar de la Motte (January 18, 1672 - December 26, 1731), was a French author.

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He was born and died in Paris. In 1693 his comedy, Les Originaux, was a complete failure, and so depressed the author that he contemplated joining the Trappists. Four years later he began writing operas and ballets, e.g. L'Europe galante (1697), and tragedies, one of which, In?s de Castro (1723), was an immense success at the The?tre Fran?ais. 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.

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He said of his own work: "I have taken the liberty to change what I thought disagreeable in it." He defended the moderns in the Discours sur Hom?re prefixed to his translation, and in his R?fiexions 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 opponents methods. He was elected to the Acad?mie fran?aise in 1710, but soon afterwards wwent 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 and the same inquiring mind as the latter, and it is on the excellent prose in which his views are expressed that his reputation rests.

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His Œuvres du the?tre (2 vols.) appeared in 1730, and his Œuvres (10 vols.) in 1754. See AH Rigault, Histoire de la querelle des anciens et des modernes (1859).

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Antoine Houdar de la Motte related Images and Photos (experimental)

Illustration from the Frontispiece of "Ines de Castro" by Antoine Houdar de La Motte	Au Dela de la Figuration	André Antoine and Léonard Antoine: Les Travailleurs De La Mer 1918	De La Soul - Car
La Motte Estate South Africa	Venus de la Mer	De la Tierra al Cielo	Oscar De La Hoya
Luz de la Maflana	Ballet De La Rose	Ana de la Reguera	Savon De La Tulipe