A child prodigy, quoted in Enfants célèbres by Baillet, Baron Longepierre began by giving translations of Greek poets accompanied by scholarly notes.

The coldness and infidelity of these translations earned him the sarcasm of Jean-Baptiste Rousseau, who then mocked his trials at tragedies.

His best play, Medea (1694), was first greeted coldly but triumphed when it was revived in 1728 and every time a talented actress undertook the title role.

This tragedy, devoid of love, has terrifying passages, but it is static and the style is hard, verbose and declamatory.

Despite Rousseau's epigrams, Longepierre, who had a large fortune, enjoyed general respect and was preceptor to the Count of Toulouse, then to the Duke of Chartres, future regent of the kingdom, of which he became ordinary gentleman.