Gilles Ménage

Gilles Ménage (born August 15, 1613, Angers, France—died July 23, 1692, Paris) was a French scholar and man of letters known for philological works as well as for the mercuriales, Wednesday literary meetings, he sponsored for a period of over 30 years.

A lawyer’s son of strong and often controversial personality, Ménage practiced at the bar and frequented Mme de Rambouillet’s circle of précieuses, who cultivated wit and the art of polite and elegant conversation. He subsequently abandoned law for the church, becoming prior of Montdidier.

The mercuriales began in 1656 and were attended by poets and critics. The great French letter writer Mme de Sévigné and the early novelist Mme de La Fayette enjoyed his society. Ménage was both humorous and quarrelsome and made many enemies, such as the playwright Jean Racine, who prevented his entry to the Académie Française in 1684. His Requête des dictionnaires criticized the academy. He wrote a history of woman philosophers (1690) and numerous critical works, including two studies of the French language. The pedant Vadius in Molière’s play Les Femmes savantes is said to be a caricature of him. Menagiana (1693–1715) was a publication of his jokes and judgments, assembled by his friends after his death.