Jean-Baptiste Gail
Encyclopedia
Jean-Baptiste Gail was a French Hellenist
scholar, member of the Institut de France
(French Institute).
. During the French Revolution
, he maintained his professional duties, taking no part in politics, although he managed to ingratiate himself with those in authority.
to the post of keeper of Greek
manuscript
s in the royal library
over the heads of the candidates proposed by the other conservators, an appointment which made him many enemies. Gail believed there was an organized conspiracy to belittle his learning and professional success, and there was a feud between him and his literary opponents, the most distinguished of whom was PL Courier.
. The most notable of these is his edition of Theocritus
(1828). He also wrote a number of elementary educational works, based on the principles of the school of Port-Royal. His communications to the Académie des Inscriptions being coldly received and seldom accorded the honour of print, he inserted them in a vast compilation in 24 volumes, which he called Le Philologue, containing a mass of ill-digested notes on Greek grammar
, geography
, archaeology
, and various authors.
A list of his works will be found in JM Quérard
, La France littéraire (1829), including the contents of the volumes of Le Philologue.
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
scholar, member of the Institut de France
Institut de France
The Institut de France is a French learned society, grouping five académies, the most famous of which is the Académie française.The institute, located in Paris, manages approximately 1,000 foundations, as well as museums and chateaux open for visit. It also awards prizes and subsidies, which...
(French Institute).
Early years
Gail was born in Paris on July 4, 1755. In 1791 he was appointed deputy, and in 1792 titular professor at the Collège de FranceCollège de France
The Collège de France is a higher education and research establishment located in Paris, France, in the 5th arrondissement, or Latin Quarter, across the street from the historical campus of La Sorbonne at the intersection of Rue Saint-Jacques and Rue des Écoles...
. During the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
, he maintained his professional duties, taking no part in politics, although he managed to ingratiate himself with those in authority.
Career
In 1815 he was appointed by King Louis XVIII of FranceLouis XVIII of France
Louis XVIII , known as "the Unavoidable", was King of France and of Navarre from 1814 to 1824, omitting the Hundred Days in 1815...
to the post of keeper of Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
manuscript
Manuscript
A manuscript or handwrite is written information that has been manually created by someone or some people, such as a hand-written letter, as opposed to being printed or reproduced some other way...
s in the royal library
Library
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
over the heads of the candidates proposed by the other conservators, an appointment which made him many enemies. Gail believed there was an organized conspiracy to belittle his learning and professional success, and there was a feud between him and his literary opponents, the most distinguished of whom was PL Courier.
Achievements
Without being a great Greek scholar, Gail was a hard worker, devoted to his favourite studies, and effectively rescued Greek from the neglect into which it had fallen during the revolutionary period. The list of Gail's published works filled 500 quarto pages of the introduction to his edition of XenophonXenophon
Xenophon , son of Gryllus, of the deme Erchia of Athens, also known as Xenophon of Athens, was a Greek historian, soldier, mercenary, philosopher and a contemporary and admirer of Socrates...
. The most notable of these is his edition of Theocritus
Theocritus
Theocritus , the creator of ancient Greek bucolic poetry, flourished in the 3rd century BC.-Life:Little is known of Theocritus beyond what can be inferred from his writings. We must, however, handle these with some caution, since some of the poems commonly attributed to him have little claim to...
(1828). He also wrote a number of elementary educational works, based on the principles of the school of Port-Royal. His communications to the Académie des Inscriptions being coldly received and seldom accorded the honour of print, he inserted them in a vast compilation in 24 volumes, which he called Le Philologue, containing a mass of ill-digested notes on Greek grammar
Grammar
In linguistics, grammar is the set of structural rules that govern the composition of clauses, phrases, and words in any given natural language. The term refers also to the study of such rules, and this field includes morphology, syntax, and phonology, often complemented by phonetics, semantics,...
, geography
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
, archaeology
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
, and various authors.
A list of his works will be found in JM Quérard
Joseph Marie Quérard
Joseph Marie Quérard , was a French bibliographer.He was born at Rennes, where he was apprenticed to a bookseller...
, La France littéraire (1829), including the contents of the volumes of Le Philologue.