[1] _Denys le Tyran_ (1748); _Aristomène_ (1749); _Cléopâtre_ (1750);
_Héraclides_ (1752); _Egyptus_ (1753).
MARMORA (anc. _Proconnesus_), an island in the sea of the same name.
Originally settled by Greeks from Miletus in the 8th century B.C.,
Proconnesus was annexed by its powerful neighbour Cyzicus in 362. The
island has at all times been noted for its quarries of white marble
which supplied the material for several famous buildings of antiquity
(e.g. the palace of Mausolus at Halicarnassus).
See C. Texier, _Asie mineure_ (Paris, 1839-1849); M. I. Gedeon,
[Greek: Proikonnêsos] (Constantinople, 1895); an exhaustive monograph
by F. W. Hasluek in _Journ. Hell. Stud._, xxix., 1909.
MARMORA, SEA OF (anc. _Propontis_; Turk. _Mermer Denisi_), the small
inland sea which (in part) separates the Turkish dominions in Europe
from those in Asia, and is connected through the Bosporus with the Black
Sea (q.v.) and through the Dardanelles with the Aegean. It is 170 m.
long (E. to W.) and nearly 50 m. in extreme width, and has an area of
4500 sq. m. Its greatest depth is about 700 fathoms, the deepest parts
(over 500 fathoms) occurring in three depressions in the northern
portion--one close under the European shore to the south of Rodosto,
another near the centre of the sea, and a third at the mouth of the Gulf
of Ismid. There are several considerable islands, of which the largest,
Marmora, lies in the west, off the peninsula of Kapu Dagh, along with
Afsia, Aloni and smaller islands. In the east, off the Asiatic shore
between the Bosporus and the Gulf of Ismid, are the Princes' Islands.
MARMOSET, a name derived from Fr. _marmouset_ (meaning "of a gross
figure"), and used to designate the small tropical American monkeys
classed by naturalists in the family _Hapalidae_ (or _Chrysothricidae_).
Marmosets are not larger than squirrels, and present great variation in
colour; all have long tails, and many have the ears tufted. They differ
from the other American monkeys in having one pair less of molar teeth
in each jaw. The common marmoset, _Hapale_ (or _Chrysothrix_) _jacchus_,
is locally known as the _oustiti_, while the name piriché is applied to
another species (see PRIMATES).
MARMOT, the vernacular name of a large, thickly built, burrowing Alpine
rodent mammal, allied to the squirrels, and typifying the genus
_Arctomys_, of which there are numerous species ranging from the Alps
through Asia north of (but including the inner ranges of) the Himalaya,
and recurring in North America. All these may be included under the name
marmot. In addition to their stout build and long thickly haired tails,
marmots are characterized by the absence of cheek-pouches, and the
rudimentary first front-toe, which is furnished with a flat nail, as
well as by certain features of the skull and cheek-teeth. Europe
possesses two species, the Alpine or true marmot (_A. marmotta_), and
the more eastern bobac (_A. bobac_); and there are numerous kinds in
Central Asia, one of which, the red marmot (_A. caudata_), is a much
larger animal, with a longer tail. Marmots inhabit open country, either
among mountains, or, more to the north, in the plains; and associate in
large colonies, forming burrows, each tenanted by a single family.
During the daytime the hillock at the entrance to the burrow is
frequently occupied by one or more members of the family, which at the
approach of strangers sit up on their hind-legs in order to get a better
view. If alarmed they utter a shrill loud whistle, and rush down the
burrow, but reappear after a few minutes to see if the danger is past.
In the winter when the ground is deep in snow, marmots retire to the
depths of their burrows, where as many as ten or fifteen may occupy the
same chamber. No store of food is accumulated, and the winter sleep is
probably unbroken. From two to four is the usual number of young in a
litter. In America marmots are known as "wood-chucks" (q.v.), the
commonest species being _A. monax_. The so-called prairie-dogs, which
are smaller and more slender North American rodents with small
cheek-pouches, form a separate genus, _Cynomys_; while the term
pouched-marmots denotes the various species of souslik (q.v.),
_Spermophilus_ (or _Citillus_), which are common to both hemispheres,
and distinguished by the presence of large cheek-pouches (see RODENTIA).
(R. L.*)
[Illustration: The Alpine Marmot (_Arctomys marmotta_).]
MARNE, a river of northern France, rising on the Plateau of Langres, 3
m. S. by E. of Langres, and uniting with the Seine at Charenton, an
eastern suburb of Paris. Leaving Langres on the left the river flows
northward, passing Chaumont, as far as a point a little above St Dizier.
Here it turns west and enters the department of Marne, where it waters
the Perthois and the wide plain of Champagne-Pouilleuse. Soon after its
entrance into this department it receives the Blaise; and turning
north-west passes Vitry-le-François where it receives the Saulx,
Châlons, below which it resumes a westerly course, and Epernay, where it
enters picturesque and undulating country. Its subsequent course lies
through the departments of Aisne, where it flows through
Chateau-Thierry; Seine-et-Marne, where it drives the picturesque mills
of Meaux; Seine-et-Oise and Seine. Its chief tributaries in those
departments are the Petit-Morin, the Ourcq and the Grand-Morin. The
length of the Marne is 328 m., the area of its basin 4894 sq. m. It is
joined a mile from its source of the Marne-Saône canal which is
continued at Rouvroy by the Haute-Marne canal as far as
Vitry-le-François. From that town, which is the starting-point of the
canal between the Marne and the Rhine, it is accompanied by the lateral
canal of the Marne to Dizy where its own channel is canalized. At Condé,
above Epernay, the river is joined by the canal connecting it with the
Aisne. From Lizy, above Meaux, it is accompanied on the right bank,
though at some distance, by the Ourcq canal.
MARNE, a department of north-eastern France, made up from
Champagne-Pouilleuse, Rémois, Haute-Champagne, Perthois, Tardenois,
Bocage and Brie-Pouilleuse, districts formerly belonging to Champagne,
and bounded W. by Seine-et-Marne and Aisne, N. by Aisne and Ardennes, E.
by Meuse, and S. by Haute-Marne and Aube. Pop. (1906), 434,157. Area
3167 sq. m.
About one-half consists of Champagne-Pouilleuse, a monotonous and barren
plain covering a bed of chalk 1300 ft. in thickness. On the west and on
the east it is commanded by two ranges of hills. The highest point in
the department (920 ft.) is in the hill district of Reims, which rises
to the south-west of the town of the same name, between the Vesle and
the Marne. The lowest level (164 ft.) where the Aisne leaves the
department, is not far distant. To the south of the Marne the hills of
Reims are continued by the heights of Brie (700 to 800 ft.). All these
belong geologically to the basin of Paris. They slope gently towards the
west, but command the plain of Champagne-Pouilleuse by a steep descent
on the east. On the farther side of the plain are the heights of Argonne
(860 ft.) formed of beds of the Lower Chalk, and covered by forests;
they unite the calcareous formations of Langres to the schists of
Ardennes, and a continuation of them stretches southward into Perthois
and the marshy Bocage. The department belongs entirely to the Seine
basin, but includes only 13 miles of that river, in the south-west; it
there receives the Aube, which flows for 10 miles within the department.
The principal river is the Marne, which runs through the department for
105 miles in a great sweep concave to the south-west. The Aisne enters
the department at a point 12 miles from its source, and traverses it for
37 miles. Two of its affluents on the left, the Suippes and the Vesle,
on which stands Reims, have a longer course from south-east to
north-west across the department.
Marne has the temperate climate of the region of the Seine; the annual
mean temperature is 50° F., the rainfall about 24 in. Oats, wheat, rye
and barley among the cereals, lucerne, sainfoin and clover, and
potatoes, mangold-wurzels and sugar-beet are the principal agricultural
crops. The raising of sheep of a mixed merino breed and of other stock
together with bee-farming are profitable. The vineyards, concentrated
chiefly round Reims and Épernay, are of high value; the manufacture of
the sparkling Champagne wines being a highly important industry, of
which Épernay, Reims and Châlons are the chief centres. Several communes
supply the more valuable vegetables, such as asparagus, onions, &c. The
principal orchard fruits are the apple, plum and cherry. Pine woods are
largely planted in Champagne-Pouilleuse. The department produces peat,
millstones and chalk.
The woollen industry has brought together in the neighbourhood of Reims
establishments for spinning, carding, dyeing and weaving. The materials
wrought are flannels, merinoes, tartans, shawls, rugs and fancy
articles; the manufacture of woollen and cotton hosiery must also be
mentioned. The manufacture of wine-cases, corks, casks and other goods
for the wine trade is actively carried on. Marne contains
blast-furnaces, iron and copper foundries, and manufactories of
agricultural implements. Besides these there are tan-yards, currying and
leather-dressing establishments and glassworks, which, with sugar,
chemical, whiting and oil works, potteries, flour-mills and breweries,
complete the list of the most important industries. Biscuits and
gingerbread are a speciality of Reims. The chief imports are wool and
coal; the exports are wine, grain, live-stock, stone, whiting, pit-props
and woollen stuffs. Communication is afforded chiefly by the river Marne
with its canal connexions, and by the Eastern railway. There are five
arrondissements--those of Châlons (the capital), Épernay, Reims, Ste
Ménehould and Vitry-le-François--with 33 cantons and 662 communes. The
department belongs partly to the archbishopric of Reims and partly to
the see of Châlons. Châlons is the headquarters of the VI. army corps.
Its educational centre and court of appeal are at Paris. The principal
towns--Châlons-sur-Marne, Reims, Épernay and Vitry-le-François--are
separately treated. The towns next in population are Ay (4994) and
Sézanne (4504). Other places of interest are Ste Ménehould (3348),
formerly an important fortress and capital of the Argonne; Montmort with
a Renaissance château once the property of Sully; Trois-Fontaines with a
ruined church of the 12th century and the remains of a Cistercian abbey
founded in 1115; and Orbais with an abbey church dating from about 1200.
MARNIAN EPOCH, the name given by G. de Mortillet to the period usually
called in France the Gallic, which extends from about five centuries
before the Christian era to the conquest of Gaul by Caesar. M. de
Mortillet objects to the term "Gallic," as the civilization
characteristic of the epoch was not peculiar to the ancient Gauls, but
was common to nearly all Europe at the same date. The name is derived
from the fact that the French department of Marne has afforded the
richest "finds."
MAROCHETTI, CARLO, BARON (1805-1867), Italian sculptor, was born at
Turin. Most of his early life was spent in France, his first systematic
instruction being given him by Bosio and Gros in Paris. Here his statue
of "A Young Girl playing with a Dog" won a medal in 1829. But between
1822 and 1830 he studied chiefly in Rome. From 1832 to 1848 he lived in
France. His "Fallen Angel" was exhibited in 1831. In 1848 Marochetti
removed to London, and there he lived for the greater part of his time
till his death in 1867. Among his chief works were statues of Queen
Victoria, Lord Clyde (the obelisk in Waterloo Place), Richard
Coeur-de-Lion (Westminster), Emmanuel Philibert (1833, Turin), the tomb
of Bellini (Père-la-Chaise), and the altar in the Madeleine. His style
was vigorous and effective, but rather popular than artistic.
Marochetti, who was created a baron by the king of Sardinia, was also a
chevalier of the Legion of Honour.
MARONITES (Arab. _Mawarina_), a Christian people of the Ottoman Empire
in communion with the Papal Church, but forming a distinct denomination.
The original seat and present home of the nucleus of the Maronites is Mt
Lebanon; but they are also to be found in considerable force in
Anti-Lebanon and Hermon, and more sporadically in and near Antioch, in
Galilee, and on the Syrian coast. Colonies exist in Cyprus (with a large
convent near Cape Kormakiti), in Alexandria, and in the United States of
America. These began to be formed during the troubles of 1860. The
Lebanon community numbers about 300,000, and the total of the whole
denomination cannot be much under half a million.
The origin of Maronism has been much obscured by the efforts of learned
Maronites like Yusuf as-Simani (Assemanus), Vatican librarian under
Clement XII., Faustus Nairon, Gabriel Sionita and Abraham Ecchellensis
to clear its history from all taint of heresy. We are told of an early
Antiochene, Mar Marun or Maro, who died about A.D. 400 in the odour of
sanctity in a convent at Ribla on the Orontes, whence orthodoxy spread
over mid-Syria. But nothing sure is known of him, and not much more
about a more historical personage, Yuhanna Marun (John Sirimensis of
Suedia), said to have been patriarch of Antioch, to have converted
Lebanon from Monothelism, and to have died in A.D. 707. It is, however,
certain that the Lebanon Christians as a whole were not orthodox in the
time of Justinian II., against whose supporters, the Melkites, they
ranged themselves after having co-operated awhile with the emperor
against the Moslems. They were then called Mardaites or rebels, and were
mainly Monothelite in the 12th century, and remained largely so even a
century later. The last two facts are attested by William of Tyre and
Barhebraeus. It seems most probable that the Lebanon offered refuge to
Antiochene Monothelites flying from the ban of the Constantinopolitan
Council of A.D. 680; that these converted part of the old mountain folk,
who already held some kind of Incarnationist creed; and that their first
patriarch and his successors, for about 500 years at any rate, were
Monothelite, and perhaps also Monophysite. It is worth noting that even
as late as the close of the 16th century the Maronite patriarch found it
necessary to protest by anathema against imputations of heresy. In 1182
it is said that Amaury, patriarch of Antioch, induced some Maronite
bishops, who had fallen under crusading influences, to rally to Rome;
and a definite acceptance of the Maronite Church into the Roman
communion took place at the Council of Florence in 1445. But it is
evident that the local particularism of the Lebanon was adverse to this
union, and that even Gregory XIII., who sent the _pallium_ to the
patriarch Michael, and Clement VII. who in 1596 dispatched a mission to
a synod convoked at Kannobin, the old patriarchal residence, did not
prevail on the lower clergy or the mass of the Maronites. A century and
a half later Clement XII. was more successful. He sent to Syria,
Assemanus, a Maronite educated at the Roman college of Gregory XIII.;
and at last, at a council held at the monastery of Lowaizi on the 30th
of September 1736, the Maronite Church accepted from Rome a constitution
which is still in force, and agreed to abandon some of its more
incongruous usages such as mixed convents of monks and nuns. It
retained, however, its Syriac liturgy and a non-celibate priesthood. The
former still persists unchanged, while the Bible is read and
exhortations are given in Arabic; and priests may still be ordained
after marriage. But marriage is not permitted subsequent to ordination,
nor does it any longer usually precede it. The tendency to a celibate
clergy increases, together with other romanizing usages, promoted by the
papal legate in Beirut, the Catholic missioners, and the higher native
clergy who are usually educated in Rome or at St Sulpice. The legate
exercises growing influence on patriarchal and other elections, and on
Church government and discipline. The patriarch receives confirmation
from Rome, and the political representation of the Maronites at
Constantinople is in the hands of the vicar apostolic. Rome has
incorporated most of the Maronite saints in her calendar, while refusing
(despite their apologists) to canonize either of the reputed eponymous
founders of Maronism.
While retaining many local usages, the Maronite Church does not differ
now in anything essential from the Papal, either in dogma or practice.
It has, like the Greek Church, two kinds of clergy--parochial and
monastic. The former are supported by their parishes; the latter by the
revenues of the monasteries, which own about one-sixth of the Lebanon
lands. There are some 1400 monks in about 120 monastic establishments
(many of these being mere farms in charge of one or two monks). All are
of the order of St Anthony, but divided into three congregations, the
Ishaya, the Halebiyeh (Aleppine) and the Beladiyeh or Libnaniyeh
(local). The distinction of the last named dates only from the early
18th century. The lower clergy are educated at the theological college
of Ain Warka. There are five archbishoprics and five bishoprics under
the patriarch, who alone can consecrate. The sees are Aleppo, Baalbek,
Tripoli, Ehden, Damascus, Beirut, Tyre, Cyprus and Jebeil (held by the
patriarch himself _ex officio_). There are also four prelates _in
partibus_.
The Maronites are most numerous and unmixed in the north of Lebanon
(districts of Bsherreh and Kesrawan). Formerly they were wholly
organized on a clan system under feudal chiefs, of whom those of the
house of Khazin were the most powerful; and these fought among
themselves rather than with the Druses or other denominations down to
the 18th century, when the Arab family of Shehab for its own purposes
began to stir up strife between Maronites and Druses (see DRUSES).
Feudalism died hard, but since 1860 has been practically extinct; and
so far as the Maronites own a chief of their own people it is the
"Patriarch of Antioch and the whole East," who resides at Bkerkeh near
Beirut in winter, and at a hill station (Bdiman or Raifun) in summer.
The latter, however, has no recognized jurisdiction except over his
clergy. The Maronites have four members on the provincial council, two
of whom are the sole representatives of the two _mudirats_ of
Kesrawan; and they have derived benefit from the fact that so far the
governor of the privileged province has always been a Catholic (see
LEBANON). The French protection of them, which dates from Louis XIV.,
is no longer operative but to French official representatives is still
accorded a courteous precedence. The Maronite population has greatly
increased at the expense of the Druses, and is now obliged to emigrate
in considerable numbers. Increase of wealth and the influence of
returned emigrants tend to soften Maronite character, and the last
remnants of the barbarous state of the community--even the obstinate
blood-feud--are disappearing.
See C. F. Schnurrer, _De ecclesia Maronitica_ (1810); F. J. Bliss in
_Pal. Expl. Fund Quarterly Statement_ (1892); and authorities for
DRUSES and LEBANON. (D. G. H.)
MAROONS. A _nègre marron_ is defined by Littré as a fugitive slave who
betakes himself to the woods; a similar definition of _cimarron_
(apparently from _cima_, a mountain top) is given in the _Dictionary_ of
the Spanish Academy. The old English form of the word is _symaron_ (see
Hawkins's _Voyage_, § 68). The term "Maroons" is applied almost as a
proper name to the descendants of those negroes in Jamaica who at the
first English occupation in the 17th century fled to the mountains. (See
JAMAICA.)
MAROS-VÁSÁRHELY, a town of Hungary in Transylvania, capital of the
county of Maros-Torda, 79 m. E. of Kolozsvár by rail. Pop. (1900),
19,522. It is situated on the left bank of the Maros, and is a
well-built town; once the capital of the territory of the Szeklers. On a
hill dominating the town stands the old fortress, which contains a
beautiful church in Gothic style built about 1446, where in 1571 the
diet was held which proclaimed the equality of the Unitarian Church with
the Roman Catholic, the Lutheran, and Calvinistic Churches. The Teleki
palace contains the Teleki collections, which include a library of
70,000 volumes and several valuable manuscripts (e.g. the Teleki Codex),
a collection of old Hungarian poems, and a manuscript of Tacitus,
besides a collection of antiquities and another of minerals.
Maros-Vásárhely has also an interesting Szekler industrial museum. The
trade is chiefly in timber, grain, wine, tobacco, fruit and other
products of the neighbourhood. There are manufactures of sugar, spirits
and beer.
MAROT, CLÉMENT (1496-1544), French poet, was born at Cahors, the capital
of the province of Quercy, some time during the winter of the year
1496-1497. His father, Jean Marot (c. 1463-1523), whose more correct
name appears to have been des Mares, Marais or Marets, was a Norman of
the neighbourhood of Caen. Jean was himself a poet of considerable
merit, and held the post of _escripvain_ (apparently uniting the duties
of poet laureate and historiographer) to Anne of Brittany. He had
however resided in Cahors for a considerable time, and was twice married
there, his second wife being the mother of Clément. The boy was "brought
into France"--it is his own expression, and is not unnoteworthy as
showing the strict sense in which that term was still used at the
beginning of the 16th century--in 1506, and he appears to have been
educated at the university of Paris, and to have then begun the study of
law. But, whereas most other poets have had to cultivate poetry against
their father's will, Jean Marot took great pains to instruct his son in
the fashionable forms of verse-making, which indeed required not a
little instruction. It was the palmy time of the _rhétoriqueurs_, poets
who combined stilted and pedantic language with an obstinate adherence
to the allegorical manner of the 15th century and to the most
complicated and artificial forms of the _ballade_ and the _rondeau_.
Clément himself practised with diligence this poetry (which he was to do
more than any other man to overthrow), and he has left panegyrics of its
coryphaeus Guillaume Crétin, the supposed original of the Raminagrobis
of Rabelais, while he translated Virgil's first eclogue in 1512. Nor did
he long continue even a nominal devotion to law. He became page to
Nicolas de Neuville, seigneur de Villeroy, and this opened to him the
way to court life. Besides this, his father's interest must have been
not inconsiderable, and the house of Valois, which was about to hold the
throne of France for the greater part of a century, was devoted to
letters.
As early as 1514, before the accession of Francis I., Clément presented
to him his _Judgment of Minos_, and shortly afterwards he was either
styled or styled himself _facteur_ (poet) _de la reine_ to Queen Claude.
In 1519 he was attached to the suite of Marguerite d'Angoulême, the
king's sister, who was for many years to be the mainstay not only of him
but of almost all French men of letters. He was also a great favourite
of Francis himself, attended the Field of the Cloth of Gold in 1520, and
duly celebrated it in verse. Next year he was at the camp in Flanders,
and writes of the horrors of war. It is certain that Marot, like most of
Marguerite's literary court, and perhaps more than most of them, was
greatly attracted by her gracious ways, her unfailing kindness, and her
admirable intellectual accomplishments, but there is not the slightest
ground for thinking that his attachment was other than platonic. It is,
however, evident that at this time either sentiment or matured critical
judgment effected a great change in his style, a change which was wholly
for the better. At the same time he celebrates a certain Diane, whom it
has been sought to identify with Diane de Poitiers. There is nothing to
support this idea and much against it, for it was an almost invariable
habit of the poets of the 16th century, when the mistresses whom they
celebrated were flesh and blood at all (which was not always the case),
to celebrate them under pseudonyms. In the same year, 1524, Marot
accompanied Francis on his disastrous Italian campaign. He was wounded
and taken at Pavia, but soon released, and he was back again at Paris by
the beginning of 1525. His luck had, however, turned. Marguerite for
intellectual reasons, and her brother for political, had hitherto
favoured the double movement of _Aufklärung_, partly humanist, partly
Reforming, which distinguished the beginning of the century. Formidable
opposition to both forms of innovation, however, now began to be
manifested, and Marot, who was at no time particularly prudent, was
arrested on a charge of heresy and lodged in the Châtelet, February
1526. But this was only a foretaste of the coming trouble, and a
friendly prelate, acting for Marguerite, extricated him from his durance
before Easter. The imprisonment gave him occasion to write a vigorous
poem on it entitled _Enfer_, which was afterwards imitated by his
luckless friend Étienne Dolet. His father died about this time, and
Marot seems to have been appointed to the place which Jean had latterly
enjoyed, that of valet de chambre to the king. He was certainly a member
of the royal household in 1528 with a stipend of 250 livres, besides
which he had inherited property in Quercy. In 1530, probably, he
married. Next year he was again in trouble, not it is said for heresy,
but for attempting to rescue a prisoner, and was again delivered; this
time the king and queen of Navarre seem to have bailed him themselves.
In 1532 he published (it had perhaps appeared three years earlier),
under the title of _Adolescence Clémentine_, a title the characteristic
grace of which excuses its slight savour of affectation, the first
printed collection of his works, which was very popular and was
frequently reprinted with additions. Dolet's edition of 1538 is believed
to be the most authoritative. Unfortunately, however, the poet's enemies
were by no means discouraged by their previous ill-success, and the
political situation was very unfavourable to the Reforming party. In
1535 Marot was implicated in the affair of "The Placards,"[1] and this
time he was advised or thought it best to fly. He passed through Béarn,
and then made his way to Renée, duchess of Ferrara, a supporter of the
French reformers as steadfast as her aunt Marguerite, and even more
efficacious, because her dominions were out of France. At Ferrara he
wrote a good deal, his work there including his celebrated _Blasons_ (a
descriptive poem, improved upon medieval models[2]), which set all the
verse-writers of France imitating them. But the duchess Renée was not
able to persuade her husband, Ercole d'Este, to share her views, and
Marot had to quit the city. He then went to Venice, but before very long
the pope Paul III. remonstrated with Francis I. on the severity with
which the Protestants were treated, and they were allowed to return to
Paris on condition of recanting their errors. Marot returned with the
rest, and abjured his heresy at Lyons. In 1539 Francis gave him a house
and grounds in the suburbs.
It was at this time that his famous translations of the Psalms appeared.
The merit of these has been sometimes denied, it is, however,
considerable, and the powerful influence which the book exercised on
contemporaries is not denied by anyone. The great persons of the court
chose different pieces, each as his or her favourite. They were sung in
court and city, and they are said, with exaggeration doubtless, but
still with a basis of truth, to have done more than anything else to
advance the cause of the Reformation in France. Indeed, the vernacular
prose translations of the Scriptures were in that country of little
merit or power, and the form of poetry was still preferred to prose,
even for the most incongruous subjects. At the same time Marot engaged
in a curious literary quarrel characteristic of the time, with a bad
poet named Sagon, who represented the reactionary Sorbonne. Half the
verse-writers of France ranged themselves among the Marotiques or the
Sagontiques, and a great deal of versified abuse was exchanged. The
victory, as far as wit was concerned, naturally rested with Marot, but
his biographers are probably not fanciful in supposing that a certain
amount of odium was created against him by the squabble, and that, as in
Dolet's case, his subsequent misfortunes were not altogether unconnected
with a too little governed tongue and pen.
The publication of the Psalms gave the Sorbonne a handle, and the book
was condemned by that body. In 1543 it was evident that he could not
rely on the protection of Francis. Marot accordingly fled to Geneva; but
the stars were now decidedly against him. He had, like most of his
friends, been at least as much of a freethinker as of a Protestant, and
this was fatal to his reputation in the austere city of Calvin. He had
again to fly, and made his way into Piedmont, and he died at Turin in
the autumn of 1544.
In character Marot seems to have been a typical Frenchman of the old
stamp, cheerful, good-humoured and amiable enough, but probably not
very much disposed to elaborately moral life and conversation or to
serious reflection. He has sometimes been charged with a want of
independence of character; but it is fair to remember that in the
middle ages men of letters naturally attached themselves as dependants
to the great. Such scanty knowledge as we have of his relations with
his equals is favourable to him. He certainly at one time quarrelled
with Dolet, or at least wrote a violent epigram against him, for which
there is no known cause. But, as Dolet quarrelled with almost every
friend he ever had, and in two or three cases played them the
shabbiest of tricks, the presumption is not against Marot in this
matter. With other poets like Mellin de Saint Gelais and Brodeau, with
prose writers like Rabelais and Bonaventure Desperiers, he was always
on excellent terms. And whatever may have been his personal
weaknesses, his importance in the history of French literature is very
great, and was long rather under than over-valued. Coming immediately
before a great literary reform--that of the Pléiade--Marot suffered
the drawbacks of his position; he was both eclipsed and decried by the
partakers in that reform. In the reaction against the Pléiade he
recovered honour; but its restoration to virtual favour, a perfectly
just restoration, again unjustly depressed him. Yet Marot is in no
sense one of those writers of transition who are rightly obscured by
those who come after them. He himself was a reformer, and a reformer
on perfectly independent lines, and he carried his own reform as far
as it would go. His early work was couched in the _rhétoriqueur_
style, the distinguishing characteristics of which are elaborate metre
and rhyme, allegoric matter and pedantic language. In his second stage
he entirely emancipated himself from this, and became one of the
easiest, least affected and most vernacular poets of France. In these
points indeed he has, with the exception of La Fontaine, no rival, and
the lighter verse-writers ever since have taken one or the other or
both as model. In his third period he lost a little of this flowing
grace and ease, but acquired something in stateliness, while he
certainly lost nothing in wit. Marot is the first poet who strikes
readers of French as being distinctively modern. He is not so great a
poet as Villon nor as some of his successors of the Pléiade, but he is
much less antiquated than the first (whose works, as well as the
_Roman de la rose_, it may be well to mention that he edited) and not
so elaborately artificial as the second. Indeed if there be a fault to
find with Marot, it is undoubtedly that in his gallant and successful
effort to break up, supple, and liquefy the stiff forms and stiffer
language of the 15th century, he made his poetry almost too vernacular
and pedestrian. He _has_ passion, and picturesqueness, but rarely; in
his hands, and while the _style Marotique_ was supreme, French poetry
ran some risk of finding itself unequal to anything but graceful _vers
de société_. But it is only fair to remember that for a century and
more its best achievements, with rare exceptions, had been _vers de
société_ which were not graceful.
The most important early editions of Marot's _Oeuvres_ are those
published at Lyons in 1538 and 1544. In the second of these the
arrangement of his poems which has been accepted in later issues was
first adopted. In 1596 an enlarged edition was edited by François
Mizière. Others of later date are those of N. Lenglet du Fresnoy (the
Hague, 1731) and P. Jannet (1868-1872; new ed., 1873-1876), on the
whole the best, but there is a very good selection with a still better
introduction by Charles d'Héricault, the joint editor of the Jannet
edition in the larger _Collection Garnier_ (no date). An elaborate
edition by G. Guiffrey remained incomplete, only vols. ii. and iii.
(1875-1881) having been issued. For information about Marot himself
see _Notices biographiques des trois Marot_, edited from the MS. of
Guillaume Colletet by G. Guiffrey (1871); H. Morley, _Clément Marot_,
a study of Marot as a reformer; O. Douen, _Clément Marot et le
psautier huguenot_; the section concerning him in G. Saintsburys _The
Early Renaissance_ (1901); and A. Tilley, _Literature of the French
Renaissance_, vol. i., ch. iv. (1904). (G. Sa.)