Jacques Amyot

By the secretary he was recommended to Margaret of France, Duchess of Berry, and through her influence was made professor of Greek and Latin at Bourges.

[1] Pius V promoted him to the bishopric of Auxerre in 1570,[2] and here he continued to live in comparative quiet, repairing his cathedral and perfecting his translations, for the rest of his days, though troubled towards the close by the insubordination and revolts of his clergy.

His vigorous and idiomatic version of Plutarch, Vies des hommes illustres, was published in 1558, later translated into English by Sir Thomas North, and supplied Shakespeare with materials for his Roman plays.

Montaigne said of him, "I give the palm to Jacques Amyot over all our French writers, not only for the simplicity and purity of his language in which he surpasses all others, nor for his constancy to so long an undertaking, nor for his profound learning ... but I am grateful to him especially for his wisdom in choosing so valuable a work.

Amyot took great pains to find and interpret correctly the best authorities, but the interest of his books today lies in the style.