born Sept. 15, 1613, Paris, France
died March 16/17, 1680, Paris
French writer.
Of a noble family, he joined the army at an early age and was wounded several times. He later played a leading part in the maxime , a French form of epigram that concisely expresses a harsh or paradoxical truth. Maximes (five eds., 1665–78), his principal achievement, consists of 500 reflections on human behaviour. His Mémoires (1664) recount the plots and campaigns of mutinous nobles during {{link=Fronde, the">the Fronde .