Robert Estienne

Biography

Second wire of Henri Estienne (the old one), it was one of the most erudite men of his century. He enriches the literature by the most correct editions. He applied to the study of the literature and made very fast progress there. II had not only Latin and the Greek but still Hebrew, as the excellent editions prove it which it gave in these various languages.

After the death of his father, he worked, a few years in company with Simon de Colines, which rested on him care to supervise printing works. Robert Estienne was son-in-law of Simon de Colines, printer, and was initially his associate. It was at that time that it published an edition of the New Testament , more correct and in a format more convenient than all those which had appeared up to that point.

The prompt flow of this edition alarmed the doctors of the Sorbonne, who saw with sorrow multiplying the specimens of a work from which the partisans of the new opinions drew the majority of their arguments; but they could never find even a pretext to ask the suppression of it. Robert Estienne married shortly after Pétronille, girl of the printer Jose Badius. She taught itself the elements of Latin to her children and with its servants, so that in the house of Estienne, there was nobody who did not hear and this language with facility did not speak.

He left the company of Hills towards 1526, and establishes a printing works under his name, in the same district that his/her father had lived. The first structure which it put under press was the Partitions oratories of Cicéron, supporting the date of the 7 of the kalendes of March 1527.

Since this year until its death, it occurred from there no without it making appear some new editions of traditional, higher than all preceding ones, and the majority enriched by notes and forewords full with interest. It is said that, to make sure more of the correction of the works which it printed, it posted the tests of them by promising rewards with those which would discover faults there.

It made use initially of the same characters as his father and Simon de Colines; but it made some engrave, towards 1552, of a form much more elegant, than it employed for the first time in the beautiful edition of the Bible in Latin who appeared the same year. Estienne had not neglected anything to make a masterpiece of its art of them; it had re-examined of it the text with the greatest care on two manuscripts, one of Saint-Germain-of-Meadows, the other of Saint-Denis, and moreover had consulted the most erudite theologists, who had given him their approval.

It leant towards the Réforme, which caused to him difficulties on behalf of the Théologien S, but it was a long time protected by François I {{er}}. It accepted all the conditions that one imposed to him, and it even subjected more anything to print without the assent of the Sorbonne. It had just put at the day the first edition of sound Thesaurus linguœ latinœ , work excellent, full with research and scholarship, to which it had worked several years, helped by the scientists of which he was the friend and the benefactor. The deserved success of this work did not plug it on its imperfections, and it made there, with each edition, of the changes and the increases which finally returned it a masterpiece in this kind. Estienne was named, in 1539, printer of the king for Latin and Hebrew, and it was with its request that François Ier dissolved the types, by Garamond.

However, the theologists, jealous of the confidence which the king granted to a man of which they suspectaient the feelings as regards faith, sought the occasion to convince it of heresy. They believed to have found it in the new edition of the Bible that Estienne published in 1545, containing a double Latin version and notes of François Vatable.

Leon de Juda, known to be a partisan of Zwingle, was the author of one of these versions; and it was claimed that if the notes were of Vatable, they had been corrupted by Estienne. This charge, did much noise and François Ier was obliged to once again stop the continuations directed against his printer. This large prince died, and Robert Estienne wanted to give a mark of his recognition, by printing with a particular care the funeral oration of this prince by Pierre Duchâtel. The speaker had said that François Ier had passed from this life in eternal glory. This idea, so common that it finds in all the speeches of this kind, was the subject of a denunciation of the Sorbonne, which claimed that this proposal was contrary with the doctrines of the Church touching the purgatory.

Estienne realized soon that it was not to count, near the new king, on the protection which it had enjoyed hitherto; and after having fought during a few years against its adversaries, it took finally the resolution to be withdrawn with Geneva with its family. It arrived there at the beginning of 1552. It embraced the Calvinisme openly there. His/her brother Charles Estienne had to take again the direction of family printing works.

He printed there, the same year, in company with Conrad Badius, his brother-in-law, the New Testament in French. He establishes then a particular printing works which several good works left, was accepted middle-class from Geneva in 1556 and died downtown this the September 7th 1559.

Its name was given to the Estienne University arts and the graphic industries, to Paris, specialized in graphic arts and printing works.

Theodore de Bèze, Jean Dorat and Holy-Marthe gave him great praises. Jacques-Auguste de Thou the met above Alde Manuce and Johann Froben, and adds

that France and the Christian world owe him more recognition than with the largest captains, and than it more contributed to immortaliser the reign of François Ier that the most beautiful actions of this prince.

The mark of this printer is an olive-tree, whose several branches are detached, with these words: Noli altum sapere , to which he added sed time sometimes. The works which it published as printer of the king are marked of a lance around which a snake and a branch of olive-tree are interlaced. One reads with bottom it worms of Homère: Bϰσιλξῖ ἲ ἂγαΦᾢ ϰρατξρᾤ ἲ αῒχμητᾔ, which one can return by these words: “ With the good king, and the valiant soldier. ” Charles Estienne, Adrien Turnèbe, Guillaume Morel, Jean Bienné ( Bucket natus ), and all those which had the permission to employ the Greek characters of the king adopted this emblem.

The structures which it published in Geneva do not support the name of this city, but only the olive-tree, with these words with bottom Oliva Roberti Stephani . It is not, as one said, this famous printer which invented the method to divide the text of the Bible by verses. What one added, which it had done this work for the New Testament , being to horse, in a voyage from Paris with Lyon, is only one fable.

Before the editions published by Estienne one knew already this division by verses, since it is observed in the Latin Bible of Pagninus, 1527, in-4°; in the Psalterium to quintuple , 1509, and in other works. One showed Estienne to have carried in Geneva the Greek characters of royal printing works, but the fact is not proven. The matrices which had been used to melt these characters found indeed in Geneva but all the circumstances of the repetition which was made by it seem to establish that they had become the property of the family of Robert Estienne; how and with which title? It is what one could not explain. The clergy of France having solved to make reprint the works of the Greek Fathers , presented request to the king to request it to claim seigniory of Geneva the matrices of the Greek characters engraved by order of François Ist On this request intervened a stop of the council, at the date of the March 27th 1619, bearing that them known as matrices would be repurchased for the price of 5.000 books, payable, either with the seigniory of Geneva, or with the heirs to Robert Estienne. It is seen that it is question, neither in the request, nor in the stop, to claim unlawfully removed objects, but to repurchase effects previously alienated.

Editions

Among the beautiful editions left his presses, one distinguishes:

the Hebraic Bibles , 4 vol. in-4° and 8 vol. in-16; the amateurs give the preference to this one for the convenience of the format;
the Latin Bible , 1538 - 1540, in-fol. ; the execution in is perfect; but the bibliophiles hardly seek but the specimens of them on very large paper;
the Greek New Testament , 1550, in-fol., it is often looked like more the Greek beautiful book which ever was prints;
the same work, 1546, 1549, in-16, commonly called O mirificam , because it is accompanied by a Latin foreword which starts with these words. In the foreword of the edition of 1549, the word plures is written pulres , and it was claimed that it was the only misprint which it had there in the work; Michael Maittaire however found four in the Greek text of them; it is true that this edition does not have errata, and that the twelve faults indicated in the errata of the edition of 1546 are corrected in that of 1549.
Historiae ecclesiasticcu scriptores, Eusebii prœparatio and demonsiratio evangelica , in Greek, 1544, 2 vol. in-fol. ; it is the first book printed with the new characters engraved by Garamond. None of these authors had still been printed; it is the same of Denys d' Halicarnasse, Dion Cassius, Eusèbe de Césarée and others of which it published the first the Greek text, according to the manuscripts of the library of the king.
the works of Cicéron, Terence, Plaute, etc

Publications

In addition to the forewords and the notes whose Robert Estienne decorated several works, he is author of the following:

Thesaurus linguœ latinœ , Paris, 1532, These two editions appeared under the title of Dictionarium linguœ latinœ, seu Thésaurus, etc ; Paris, 1565, 2 vol. in-fol. ; Lyon, 1575, 4 vol. in fol. This edition, given by Robert Constantin, though fuller, is estimated than the preceding one, which with the advantage of being carried out under the eyes of Estienne; London, 1734 - 1735, 2 vol. in-fol., beautiful edition carried out well, Basle, 1740 - 1743, 4 vol. in-fol. This one is due to the care of Ant. Birr, which increased it notes written by Henri Estienne on the margins of a specimen preserved at the library of Geneva. This edition is, correctly printed besides but it is considered it regrettable that paper is not beautiful; Leipzig, 1749, 4 vol. in-fol., published by the scientist professor J. - M. Gessner;
Dictionarium latino-gallicum , Paris, 1513, 2 vol. in-fol., is the oldest Latin and French dictionary. (" Dictionary François-Latin, containing the motz and the manners of speaking Francois, turn in Latin ") published in 1539, which passes for the first French dictionary, by establishing there the inventory of the richnesses of this language. One must of the recognition in Robert Estienne, to have the first published such a useful work, and which required as many research and care. It gave of it then an extract, under the title of Dictionariolum puerorum latino-gallicum , Paris, 1550, in-4°;
AD censured theologorum parisiensium, quibus Biblia has Roberfo Stephano excused calumniose notarunt responsio , Geneva, 1552, in-8°. It appeared about it, the same year, a French translation.
Gallicœ grammatices libellus , Geneva, in-8°; French Grammar , 1558, in-8°. In its Treated French grammar , it fixed the principles of the language. This work was reprinted in Paris, 1569, in-8°, by Robert II Estienne. This resemblance of name gave place to a great number of mistakes. It is by error that Maittaire allots to Robert Ier Estienne a French translation of the Rhétorique of Aristote; this translation is of Robert III Estienne; but it was misled by the false indication of an edition of 1529.

Robert Estienne proposed to publish new Commentaires on the Bible , and it had joined, for this work, Augustin Marlorat, famous theologist; it had even the project to give a Greek language dictionary within sound Thésaurus ; but this honor was reserved for his/her son, Henri II Estienne, to which it gave all materials that it had collected in this sight. Robert Estienne had several children; but the only ones which deserves to be quoted are Henri II, Robert II, François II, and a named girl Catherine, married to Jacquelin, royal notary in Paris.

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