Savinien de Cyrano of Bergerac

Comic works

First writing known and asserted by Cyrano

Epistle of the “Judgment of Paris”, written in 1648 by that which some think of having been his/her lover: Charles Coypeau d' Assoucy. The title of this epistle is “to the stupid reader and not with wise”. A whole program…

pointed Talks (1662)

Small collection of twenty-two “Point S”, i.e. of word games having of another value only their immediate comic effect, preceded by a foreword where Cyrano defends the Calembour, ensuring that it “reduces all things on the foot necessary to its agrémens, without having regard to their own substance. ”

Letters (1654)

The Lettres of Cyrano are various forms and natures: poetic, satirical, in love… Addressed to characters real, like Scarron, of Assoucy under the name of “Soucidas”, François de Gerzan, or fictitious, they raise less reflection than of the exercise of style, even of the “prose poem”, as the risk Jacques Prévot in his edition of the complete Œuvres (Paris, Belin, 1977).

the Pedant played (1654)

Comedy in five acts. One of the first comedies in prose, and where however the use of prose is such as the part will be scorned by the critic and will be forsaken by the researchers until the prospects opened by the Theater of the absurd make it possible to rehabilitate.

The intrigue, extremely banal, returns to a traditional diagram inherited the Italian theater: a ridiculous old man prevents two couples of young people from carrying out their love, but those manage to deceive it with the assistance of a servant crafty one. But Cyrano introduced into this structure of the characters typified until paroxysm, sometimes completely foreign with the intrigue, expressing itself by long tirades and whose speech always concerns a particular use of the language: Granger, the pedant; Chasteaufort, the “Soldier-fanfaron”; Gareau, the peasant, and first character to be expressed in patois on the French scene…

One said this part which she Co-had been written by Molière, because this last took again of them two scenes in its Fourberies of Scapin (in particular “scene of the galère celebrates it”). It was proven since this collaboration was very improbable, the two men not having attended at the same time the teaching of the philosopher Gassendi.

Mazarinades (1649)

The seven Mazarinades of Cyrano - attribution which is sometimes disputed to him - are for him an occasion to cultivate its leaning for the lampoon and the satire, at the same time as to oppose to the financial policy of the Cardinal Mazarin of the levelling and modern ideas. They are in prose, except one, in worms burlesques: the Minister of Estat, flambe .

the Letter against the Slingers (1651)

Cyrano, initially, takes party against the Mazarin cardinal. In 1651 the Letter against the Slingers takes the defense of Mazarin, and speaks in praise of the absolute monarchy.

the other world (1657/62)

This work, considered as one of the first novels of Science fiction, is articulated in two parts: comic History of Estats and empires of the Moon and comic History of Estats and empires of the Sun . Cyrano describes with the first anybody a voyage in the Moon and the Sun and the observations which it could there even make shocking indigenous companies, from which the lifestyle is sometimes completely different from ours, and sometimes on the contrary identical to ours, which makes it possible the author to indirectly denounce the limits of them. This voyage in the imaginary one is thus before any pretext to express its philosophy materialist. The two accounts were published only on a purely posthumous basis, and after “expurgation”, by his/her friend Bret.

the Fragment of Physics (1662)

Before its death, Cyrano prepared a treaty of physics whose this text is the outline. This disciple of Gassendi already opposes it the Cartesian principles which make existence of God a reality acquired, since it speaks there about the uncertainty of physics, “increased by ignorance in which we are secrecies of God. ” Madeleine Alcover very strongly puts doubts it in her edition the attribution of this fragment with Cyrano of Bergerac.

Quotation

“ an honest man is neither French, neither German, nor Spanish, he is Citoyen of the world, and its fatherland is everywhere. ”

Tragedy

the Death of Agrippine (1654)

Tragedy in five acts and worms whose topic dominating is the lie like engine of the speech of the men between them; the gods are excluded from it, in particular through a scene which made scandal, in which Sejanus professes its atheism:

These beautiful riens that one adores, and without sçavoir pourquoy,

These deteriorate blood of the bestes which one strikes,

These Gods whom the man has faict, and who do not have faict the man,

Of firmest Estats this odd soustien,

Va, goes, Térentius, which fears them, does not fear anything.

Critical editions

complete Works. I, the other world or states and empires of the moon. States and empires of the sun. Fragment of physics , ED. Madeleine Alcover, Paris, Champion, 2001-6 ISBN 2745314521
complete Works. II, Letters. Pointed talks. Mazarinades , ED. Luciano Erba, Paris, Champion, 2001 ISBN 2745304291
complete Works. III, Theater: The played pedant; the death of Agrippine , ED. Andre Blanc, Paris, Champion, 2001 ISBN 2745304194

Online editions

'' true Histoire of Lucien de Samosat; History of the birds '', Amsterdam; Paris, [s.n., 1787]
'' the Death of Agrippine '', Paris, Charles de Sercy, 1654
'' the burlesque Minister of estat flamed in worms '', Paris, [s.n., 1649]
'' comic, gallant and literary Œuvres '', ED. P.L. Jacob, Paris, A. Delahays, 1858

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