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ANN ARBOR, Ml 48106 18 BEDFORD ROW. LONDON WC1 R 4EJ, ENGLAND 8015880 G o r d o n, K e n n e t h A l a n INTERRUPTED DIALOGUE AND THE THEORY OF THE HUMORS IN LA MOTHE LE VAYER The Ohio State University Ph.D. 1980 University Microfilms International300 N. Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48106 18 Bedford Row, London WC1R 4EJ, England Copyright 1980 by Gordon, Kenneth Alan All Rights Reserved INTERRUPTED DIALOGUE AND THE THEORY OF THE HUMORS IN LA MOTHE LE VAYER DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University by Kenneth Alan Gordon, B.S.Ed., A.M. ***** The Ohio State University 1980 Reading Committee: Approved By Charles Carlut Margarita Levisi Charles G.S. Williams Adviser Department of Romance Languages ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to thank my adviser, Professor Charles G.S. Williams, for his help during the preparation of this study. I also wish to thank my father for his encouragement throughout the period of my graduate studies. VITA August 4, 1947........ Born - Cleveland, Ohio 196 9................... B.S.Ed., Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 1969-1973 ............. Teacher, Berea City School District, Berea, Ohio 197 0 ................... A.M., University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 1973-1974 ............. Graduate Student, Department of Romance Languages, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 1974-1978 ............. Teaching Associate, Department of Romance Languages, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio 1978- ................. Instructor, Division of the Humanities, University of Minnesota, Morris Campus, Morris, Minnesota TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................. ii VITA............................................................. iii Chapter I. INTRODUCTION .......................................... 1 II. INTERRUPTED DIALOGUE IN THE CINQ DIALOGUES OF ORASIUS TUBERO ..................... 20 III. INTERRUPTED DIALOGUE IN THE QUATRE AUTRES DIALOGUES................................ 98 IV. CONCLUSION: LA MOTHE LE VAYER AND THE THEORY OF THE H U M O R S ............................. 179 APPENDICES A. EDITIONS OF THE WORKS OF FRANCOIS DE LA MOTHE LE VAYER......................... 218 B. MANUSCRIPT COLLECTIONS OF THE WORKS OF FRANCOIS DE LA MOTHE LE VAYER......................... 243 BIBLIOGRAPHY..................................................... 245 iv CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION In seventeenth-century France there was a philosophical and literary movement known as libertinage or free-thought. Antoine Adam explains that there were various types of libertinage. There was a scandalous and blasphemous type, represented by those such as Theophile de Viau.* There was also though another type of libertinage known as libertinage erudit.^ Free-thinking of this nature seriously questioned intellectual, moral and religious orthodoxy. However, while questioning religion, many of those who thought in these terms retained an outer appearance of religious faith. Members of the cabinet Dupuy,** or as it was also known, the Academie puteane, serve as an example of those 2 who were part of the libertinage erudit movement. A prominent fre- quentor of this group was Franqois de La Mothe le Vayer (1588-1672). *Theophile de Viau (1590-1626)— poet; author of Le Parnasse satyrique (1623). **This literary circle was presided over by Pierre (1582-1651) and Jacques (1586-1656) Dupuy. Both of these brothers were medieval histor­ ians. They began to preside over this group after the death of its founder, Jacques-Auguste de Thou (1553-1617), president of the Parle- ment de Paris. They were also in charge of de Thou's library after his death. In 1645, Pierre became the intendant of the Bibliotheque du roi. After Pierre's death, Jacques continued to preside over the cabinet.3 Other members of this group included Pierre Gassendi, Giovanni Diodati and Gabriel Naude.^ 1 This member of the Academie Franqaise was a prolific writer, whose interests included ancient philosophers and philosophies, history and historians, science, political systems, customs and manners of society, and religious practices. Le Vayer is best known for two volumes entitled the Cinq dialogues faits a 1*imitation des Anciens, par Orasius Tubero,* and the Quatre autres dialogues du mesme auteur. Faits comme les precedens a 1'imitation des Anciens. These dialogues, more commonly knows as the Dialogues d*Orasius Tubero, appeared between 1630 and 1632 or 1633.^ The first volume contains the dialogues entitled: De la Philosophie sceptique; Le Banquet sceptique; De la Vie privee; Des Rares et eminentes qualites des asnes de ce temps; and De la Divinite. The con­ tents of the second volume are: De 1'Ignorance louable; De 1 'Opinastrete De la Politique and Du Mariage.** *As the title of the Dialogues d'Orasius Tubero indicates, this work originally appeared as the writings of one Orasius Tubero. Rene Pintard determined that this name is a pseudonym for La Mothe le Vayer. Pintard explained that drawing on Latin and Greek vocabulary, Le Vayer created this name as follows: "Le Vayer" or "le voyeur," the one who sees, became Orasius (i^ocv- ), and "Mothe" which resembles the word "motte," a lump, bulge or hump, and which in Latin is "tuber," became Tubero.^ **The earliest complete edition of the Dialogues places the first four of these dialogues in volume one and the other five dialogues in volume two. Later editions of either only five dialogues or of all nine dialogues place together the first five dialogues listed above. One may assume, therefore, that Le Vayer decided that it was preferable for these five dialogues to appear as a unit. Further discussion of the arrangement of the dialogues may be found on pages 92-93 of this study. Also, additional information concerning the publication of the various editions of the Dialogues may be found on pages 5-6. In these dialogues, Le Vayer expresses his basic philosophical position— a defense and praise of scepticism and of the followers of this philosophy. Much of the scholarship concerning Le Vayer has dealt with the problem of determining the true nature of this sceptical position. That is, is Le Vayer sincere in his statements which exempt Christian religious beliefs and practices from the scrutiny of the scep­ tical questioning of the certitude of any position? Or is Christianity just as arbitrary as any other belief, and subject to the same lack of certitude? Overwhelmingly, critics have favored the second interpre­ tation, a position which for reasons to be considered later seems to be the most reasonable to assume. The purpose of this study thus is not to open again the debate as to whether Le Vayer was indeed a non­ believer or not. Rather my objective is to view the dialogues from a different approach, in order to increase understanding of their meaning and of Le Vayer himself. More specifically, the two major chapters of this study will deal with what I have called "interrupted dialogue." This term refers to the particular situation portrayed by Le Vayer in the Dialogues. Sceptics such as Le Vayer realize that definitive explanations of both the banal and profound questions which confront man are not possible. When the attempts of the Sceptics in the Dialogues to convince others of this fact are rejected, the result is a breakdown in communication. It is this breakdown in meaningful dialogue, resulting from the fact that the Sceptics are unable to gain acceptance of their arguments, which constitutes the situation I have termed interrupted dialogue. The analysis of each individual dialogue in this study will begin with a detailed summary of the exchanges in the dialogue. Using this summary as a point of departure, I shall then explore the notion of interrupted dialogue as it applies to the particular dialogue being analyzed. Also, I shall consider aspects of certain dialogues which further serve to illustrate Le Vayer's art of dialogue. Such factors would include his method of developing a speaker's personality, and his use of rhetorical devices to underscore his philosophical position. The last chapter of this study will begin with a consideration of the Prose chagrine (1661).