regard to his
son's distinction), and the honour was renewed in favour of his sons
Pierre and Thomas in 1669, when a general repeal of the letters of
nobility recently granted had taken place. There appears, however, to be
no instance on record of the poet himself assuming the "de" of nobility.
His mother's name was Marthe le Pesant.

After being educated by the Jesuits of Rouen, Corneille at the age of
eighteen was entered as _avocat_, and in 1624 took the oaths, as we are
told, four years before the regular time, a dispensation having been
procured. He was afterwards appointed advocate to the admiralty, and to
the "waters and forests," but both these posts must have been of small
value, as we find him parting with them in 1650 for the insignificant
sum of 6000 livres. In that year and the next he was _procureur-syndic
des Etats de Normandie_. His first play, _Melite_, was acted in 1629. It
is said by B. le B. de Fontenelle (his nephew) to have been inspired by
personal experiences, and was extremely popular, either because or in
spite of its remarkable difference from the popular plays of the day,
those of A. Hardy. In 1632 _Clitandre_, a tragedy, was printed (it may
have been acted in 1631); in 1633 _La Veuve_ and the _Galerie du
palais_, in 1634 _La Suivante_ and _La Place Royale_, all the last-named
plays being comedies, saw the stage. In 1634 also, having been selected
as the composer of a Latin elegy to Richelieu on the occasion of the
cardinal visiting Rouen, he was introduced to the subject of his verses,
and was soon after enrolled among the "five poets." These officers (the
others being G. Colletet, Boisrobert and C. de l'Etoile, who in no way
merited the title, and J. de Rotrou, who was no unworthy yokefellow even
of Corneille) had for task the more profitable than dignified occupation
of working up Richelieu's ideas into dramatic form. No one could be less
suited for such work than Corneille, and he soon (it is said) incurred
his employer's displeasure by altering the plan of the third act of _Les
Thuileries_, which had been entrusted to him.

Meanwhile the year 1635 saw the production of _Medee_, a grand but
unequal tragedy. In the next year the singular extravaganza entitled
_L'Illusion comique_ followed, and was succeeded about the end of
November by the _Cid_, based on the _Mocedades del Cid_ of Guillem de
Castro. The triumphant success of this, perhaps the most "epoch-making"
play in all literature, t