Comptes rendus PFSCL XLVI, 90 (2019) DOI 10.2357/ PFSCL-2019-0014 225 Jean Leclerc (ed.) : Antoine Furetière, Le Voyage de Mercure et autres satires. Paris, Hermann, « Bibliothèque des littératures classiques », 2014. 406 p. Among scholars of French 17 th -century literature, Antoine Furetière (1619-1688) is mostly known for his funny and ferociously satirical 1666 novel Le Roman bourgeois, his factums in defense of his dictionary against the Académie française, and, of course, the monumental Dictionnaire universel itself (1 st edition 1690, posthumous), which has known numerous reeditions to this day. Professor Jean Leclerc (University of Western Ontario), a widely acknowledged specialist of 17 th -century French burlesque literature, has brought to the French 17 th -century scholarly community (and hopefully beyond) the delightfully satirical poem Le Voyage de Mercure. The 84-page introduction abundantly displays Leclerc’s all-encompassing scholarship, already demonstrated in previous works. From contemporary texts and ancient ones, to the latest studies, the author systematically footnotes in that edition every source he mentions. Carefully classified both by chronology and categories, the extensive 13-page bibliography attests to the scope of the author’s inquiry. All 6 editions of Le Voyage de Mercure (1653 to 1965) are listed at the beginning of the bibliography, and within the text the variations are carefully identified and footnoted. Leclerc takes the 1662 edition (Paris, Louis Billaine), as the base text for his own work, explaining his choice relatively to earlier and later ones. While demonstrating a thorough and exhaustive reading of Furetière’s poem, he manages at the same time to paint a comprehensive historical, social, intellectual and esthetic picture of the genre. Furetière’s dedicatory epistle, “À personne,” although in verse, reminds the reader of Sorel’s prose “Épître aux grands,” as a preface to Francion (1623), in which the author informs the aristocratic class that he’s not dedicating his novel to them, as he deems them unworthy of such an honor. With a casualness worthy of Diogenes the Cynic, Furetière declares that he couldn’t care less if his poem were censored, as no illustrious person was its dedicatee. The octosyllabic verse (also known as burlesque verse) is particularly well-suited to satire and mockery. Book One hilariously recounts the aftermath of the Gigantomachy, with the gods running around in confusion, trying to repair their abode. The link to Saint-Amant’s Le Melon (c. 1629, vv. 117-300) springs to mind. The book concludes on Mercury being ordered by Zeus (vv. 486-488) to descend to Earth, observe incognito the doings of earthlings, and report back to the gods. PFSCL XLVI, 90 (2019) PFSCL XLVI, 90 (2019) DOI 10.2357/ PFSCL-2019-0014 226 Book Two wittily satirizes the pastoral novel and its complete lack of realism. Portraying Mercury’s occupational choice as a shepherd, Furetière compares the mawkishness of fictional ones - solely preoccupied with love, while their sheep look after themselves, with no fear of straying or predators - with the real ones of his time, whose mores and demeanor were as rough as their attire. Intertextuality, like beauty, may be in the eye of the beholder, but how can one not think of Sorel’s Berger extravagant (1627), whereby the author pitilessly shreds what he sees as the mushy soppiness of the pastoral genre, and of course, Book 9 of the Francion and its raunchy take on what a shepherd really does with his time? Tired of looking after sheep, Mercury soon abandons that calling to turn to commerce, where he shows his talent for crookedness. The text displays enough knowledge of the financial and fiscal world to remind us that Furetière was “procureur fiscal” of the abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés before he wrote the Voyage de Mercure. He nails the financiers’ dishonesty with the same glee as he’ll do 14 years later in Le Roman bourgeois with the grubbiness and pettiness of the legal profession, of which he was an early member. Book Three sees Mercury assuming the role of a (pedantic) schoolmaster, just like Francion’s Hortensius (intertextuality, again! ), having lost all his money at the end of Book Two - a recurring topos. Let’s note in verse 2 that Mercury “[se voit à] la croix de par Dieu”, which means he’s back at the starting point. The term refers to an old alphabet primer used to introduce small children to reading. The front cover bore a cross, which led to its popular nickname. The poem reminds the modern reader of the pedagogical tools used in Furetière’s time, such as the Flemish grammarian Jean Van Pauteren’s (Jean Despautère †1520) Commentarii grammatici (Paris, 1537), used to teach Latin until the 18 th century. Otherwise, Mercury as a pedant displays the same sordid avarice, greed and propensity to plagiarism we see in Francion’s Hortensius. Also, Furetière gives the reader in Book Three a comprehensive education in the art of fake erudition, and how to profit from it. Law, medicine and alchemy are the next professions that Mercury tries, each getting a sound drubbing in the process. At the beginning of Book Four, Mercury has - again! - lost all his money. He’ll try now the trade of a poet - a “poète crotté” - of all things. Here we have a detailed description of his costume and behavior, a valuable prefiguration of what the miserable Mythophilacte (in the second part of Le Roman bourgeois) would have looked like in life. Furetière’s razor-sharp wit not only dissects the humiliating relationship of client to patron - which justifies a posteriori the dedication “À personne” - but also puts down the Muses, calling them bawds (maquerelles) for their role in seducing (honest? ) women by means of verse. Mercury bravely embraces the trade of Comptes rendus PFSCL XLVI, 90 (2019) DOI 10.2357/ PFSCL-2019-0014 227 a “pimp” in the same way, by writing for pay endearments in order to help in their amorous endeavors men with more money than inspiration. He thus enriches himself and can in turn court and seduce beautiful women, having traded his rags for elegant attire. His fluctuating fortunes turn him into a lowlife: (real) pimp, gigolo, professional gambler, as he profits from the general immorality he sees all around him. Book Five sees Mercury back in Olympus. Still fearful of the Titans, the gods ask him whether earthlings continue to represent a danger to them. Mercury reassures them: debauchery, degradation, irreligion and widespread venality have rendered them harmless. That Book paints a picture of humanity as scathing as it is detailed. I shall skip the Satires (in alexandrine verse, unlike the Voyage), merely listing them: Satire I is dedicated to Michel de Marolles (1600-1681), churchman and translator, famous for his enormous collection of prints, which became the foundation of the Cabinet des Estampes. Satire II is dedicated to Paul Pellisson (1624-1693), academician and secretary to Nicolas Fouquet, then historiographer to Louis XIV. Satire III is dedicated to François de Maucroix (1619-1708), friend of La Fontaine and canon of the Reims cathedral. Satire IV is addressed to Valentin Conrart (1603-1675), a pivotal figure in the Académie française and famous letter-writer. The grammarian and historian Gilles Ménage (1613-1692) is the dedicatee of Satire V. The edition is completed by a Glossary, whose terms are excerpted from Furetière’s own dictionary (1690 edition), and by a Repertory of proper nouns - which is not an index nominum - drawn from various dictionaries of the time. Although the latter two pieces testify to Leclerc’s exacting and thorough scholarship and afford the reader access to substantial parts of the first edition of the Dictionnaire universel, as well as a recap of the characters that appear in the Voyage de Mercure and the Satires, one might have wished for a more conventional index, not a luxury in a work of such wide scope. Leclerc’s edition represents the kind of outstanding scholarship he had already displayed in the revised version of his dissertation L’Antiquité travestie et la vogue du burlesque en France (1643-1661), published in 2008 by the Presses de l’université Laval (Québec) in the République des Lettres collection. The present tome constitutes a very valuable addition not only to Furetière studies, but also to our understanding of what burlesque is and its cultural and intellectual aims and values. Francis Assaf