and one of the most widely read French poets of the 17th century. He is known above all for his Fables, which provided a model for subsequent fabulists
across Europe and numerous alternative versions in France, and in French regional languages.
According to Flaubert, he was the only French poet to understand and master the texture of the French language
before Hugo
.
People must help one another; it is nature's law.
Everyone calls himself a friend, but only a fool relies on it; nothing is commoner than the name, nothing rarer than the thing.
Everyone believes very easily whatever they fear or desire.
To live lightheartedly but not recklessly; to be gay without being boisterous; to be courageous without being bold; to show trust and cheerful resignation without fatalism — this is the art of living.
Je vais t'entretenir de moindres aventures,Te tracer en ces vers de légères peintures;Et si de t'agréer je n'emporte le prix,J'aurai du moins d'honneur de l'avoir entrepris.
La fourmi n'est pas prêteuse;C'est là son moindre défaut.
Nous n'écoutons d'instincts que ceux qui sont les nôtres,Et ne croyons le mal que quand il est venu.
La raison du plus fort est toujours la meilleure.