27. ODE À LA FORTUNE. 16. SYLLA (138-78 B.C.), the enemy of Marius and author of the bloody proscription against the adherents of his rival. 17. ALEXANDRE, Alexander the Great. 18. ATTILA, king of the Huns from 434 to 453, who ravaged southern and western Europe from 450 to 452 and was known as "the scourge of God."
28. 16. LE RETOUR, i.e. the adverse turn.
ÉVARISTE-DÉSIRÉ DESFORGES DE PARNY.
1753-1814.
He wrote mostly in a lighter and erotic vein. He had many admirers in his day who styled him the French Tibullus. His influence is perceptible in the style of Lamartine.
Works: Poésies érotiques, 1778; Opuscules poétiques, 1779, enlarged in succeeding editions; les Rosicroix, 1807; Oeuvres, 5 vols., 1808; Oeuvres choisies, 1827.
For reference : Sainte-Beuve, Causeries du lundi, vol. xv; Portraits contemporains, vol. iv; George Saintsbury, Miscellaneous Essays, London, 1892.
NICOLAS GILBERT.
1751-1780.
He has often been compared with Chatterton and has owed much of his fame to the unfounded legend that he was a child of genius brought to an untimely death by poverty and lack of recognition. His satires on the vices of his time enjoyed a temporary reputation, but his real legacy to posterity is the well-known lines here given.