Menippean Satire

2 parts in one octavo volume of 255 pp., 45 pp. Limp vellum with flaps, calligraphic title on spine. Contemporary binding.

165 x 110 mm.

Chrestien, Florent (1541-1596). Menippean Satire. On the Virtue of the Spanish Catholicon, and the Holding of the Estates of Paris. Followed by: Continuation of the Spanish Catholicon. With an explanation of the word Higuiero d’lnfierno, & others included.Paris, 1594.

First printing, extremely rare(unknown to Cazeaux, the reference bibliographer for La Satyre Ménippée)of the greatly expanded original second edition ofLa Satyre Ménippée,published at the beginning of the second half of 1594, a few months after the first,“one of those texts whose literary quality as well as historical and political content ensured both extraordinary contemporary success and lasting fame, a place in the pantheon of literature” (J. P. Barbier).Labarre, no. 227; N. Ducimetière, Mignonne, allons voir… , no. 106; J.-P. Barbier-Mueller, Chronology of the first editions of the Satyre Ménippée, LXVII‑2, pp. 373-393, “These editions (J. Mettayer, 1593, 256 pp.) refer to events from March and April 1594 and could not have been printed in 1593”; Yves Cazaux, Essay on the bibliography of the editions of the Satyre Ménippée, Revue française d’histoire du livre, no. 34; Émile Paul, Catalogue of the poetic library… Herpin, no. 279, “The known editions dated 1593 are certainly backdated” (Tchémerzine, II, 392).

Several elements of the text indicate it as one of the earliest editions:

1) The portrait of Villeroy (pp. 136-137), a former leaguer restored to favor, is still present, whereas at the King's request it was removed in most editions dated 1593 or 1594.

2) Article II of the effects of the Catholicon compound drug has not yet been split into two separate articles.

3) The scatological episode (pp. 38-39) that misidentifies a person has not been corrected as in later editions. (See Yves Cazaux).

“Since Rabelais, the Gallic genius had produced nothing more fiery,” wrote the last bibliographer of this book, Yves Cazaux (Revue française d’histoire du livre, no. 34, 1982, p. 3). Charles Nodier, who reprinted the Satire in 1824, noted that here shone in all its brilliance the spirit and character of France.

Pierre Champion called the work: “A book of great patriotism and solid good sense, summarizing our history, seen from the perspective of divisions incited by foreigners with the intention of weakening France.”

“Taking advantage of the Wars of Religion, the House of Lorraine sought to seize power under the guise of the Holy League, the general union of Catholics established in 1576. Henri de Guise incited Paris against Henri III (Day of the Barricades, May 1588), but the King had him assassinated and came to terms with ‘the Béarnais,’ Henri of Navarre, heir to the throne. The Leaguers were defeated at Senlis in 1589, but Henri III was in turn assassinated by Jacques Clément. Henri IV, a Protestant prince, then had to set out to conquer his throne. He was supported by his coreligionists and by the Politiques, a moderate party whose aim was, above all, to end the civil war.

Paris was then surrendered to the ‘Sixteen,’ representing the sixteen districts of the capital and die-hard Leaguers who ruled by terror under the protection of a Spanish garrison. The Duke of Mayenne, brother of Henri de Guise, was named lieutenant general of the realm. However, Henri IV, victorious at Arques and Ivry, came to besiege Paris. In the capital, discontent was widespread: moderate Catholics (the Leaguers being ‘zealous Catholics’), supported by Parliament, rallied around a former provost of merchants, d’Aubray. Mayenne was forced to summon the Estates General (1593). This assembly, tasked with naming a king, refused to do so. Soon Henri IV, to secure peace, abjured Protestantism, and Paris opened its gates to him.

The Menippean Satire is the collective work of a group of Parisian bourgeois, happy to celebrate, in the defeat of the League, the victory of reason: the canons Gillot and Pierre Leroy, the humanist poet Passerat, a scholar Florent Chrestien, and finally legal professionals, Gilles Durant, Rapin, and Pierre Pithou. The short verses that enliven the work are by Passerat and Rapin; the Speech of M. d’Aubray, a key piece, is by Pierre Pithou. The title refers to the Cynic philosopher Menippus (3rd century BC), thus heralding a brutal and burlesque frankness.

The aim is to ridicule the opponent by attributing to him a cynical or foolish language. Thus, the League’s champions, one after the other, deliver speeches that condemn them. This device would be dear to the ironists of the eighteenth century, Voltaire in particular. The outrageous remarks provoke hearty laughter, in contrast to common sense. But the tone must vary, and the Speech of M. d’Aubray seriously and eloquently presents all the arguments in favor of Henri IV and peace. The author is a master of rhetoric; he is steeped in Cicero and skillfully handles periodic sentence, apostrophe, exclamation, and rhetorical question. His language is full of vigor, with that direct and vivid strength so characteristic of the sixteenth century. The work is appealing for its clear-sighted patriotism; compelling, despite some length, due to its distinctly French qualities; an irony full of good humor, a verve worthy of Rabelais, and a warm eloquence serving moderation and reason.

“The Satyre Ménippée is a crucible into which many literary forms and traditions are melted. It recalls the ancient ‘satire,’ to which it ascribes, through a false etymology, the free style and speech of the mythological ‘satyrs.’ The term ‘Menippean’ also refers to Antiquity, where this adjective was used to designate a work mixing prose and verse. Such pieces abound in the work of Pithou and his friends: quotations from Greek and Latin poets, popular-sounding songs mocking Mayenne’s corpulence or the flight of Catholic troops at the Battle of Ivry.

These verses introduce a “distinctly French” good humor into a rather dark scene, and remind us that the homeland of Rabelais did not intend to live forever in penance as Spanish austerity or the spirit of the Council of Trent would wish. There is, moreover, no shortage of references and allusions to Rabelais, who provided the Menippean Satire with carnivalesque themes and motifs adapted to the circumstances. Ultimately, the success of this work lies in the perfect adaptation of literary form to the ideology of a victorious Henri IV; it is the triumph of religious freedom (soon to be guaranteed by the Edict of Nantes in 1598) and literary freedom.” (D.M.).

The work was published by the Paris royal printer Jean Mettayer, who had taken refuge in Tours.

Yves Cazaux has not identified any copies of this first printing, a sign of its exceptional rarity