ravelled through France and
England, and made the acquaintance of the most eminent writers of the
period. On his return he began his lectures, and soon gained a wide
reputation, from the simplicity of his style and the precision of his
views. He continued to lecture for fifteen years, when he was compelled on
account of ill-health to resign. His fellow-citizens at once elected him a
member of the council of state, and he gained as high a reputation for his
practical sagacity as he had for his theoretical knowledge. He died at
Geneva on the 3rd of April 1748. His works were _Principes du droit
naturel_ (1747), and _Principes du droit politique_ (1751). These have
passed through many editions, and were very extensively used as text-books.
Burlamaqui's style is simple and clear, and his arrangement of the material
good. His fundamental principle may be described as rational
utilitarianism, and in many ways it resembles that of Cumberland.

BURLESQUE (Ital. _burlesco_, from _burla_, a joke, fun, playful trick), a
form of the comic in art, consisting broadly in an imitation of a work of
art with the object of exciting laughter, by distortion or exaggeration, by
turning, for example, the highly rhetorical into bombast, the pathetic into
the mock-sentimental, and especially by a ludicrous contrast between the
subject and the style, making gods speak like common men and common men
like gods. While parody (_q.v._), also based on imitation, relies for its
effect more on the close following of the style of its counterpart,
burlesque depends on broader and coarser effects. Burlesque may be applied
to any form of art, and unconsciously, no doubt, may be found even in
architecture. In the graphic arts it takes the form better known as
"caricature" (_q.v._). Its particular sphere is, however, in literature,
and especially in drama. The _Batrachomachia_, or Battle of the Frogs and
Mice, is the earliest example in classical literature, being a travesty of
the Homeric epic. There are many true burlesque parts in the comedies of
Aristophanes, _e.g._ the appearance of Socrates in the _Clouds_. The
Italian word first appears in the _Opere Burlesche_ of Francesco Berni
(1497-1535). In France during part of the reign of Louis XIV., the
burlesque attained to great popularity; burlesque Aeneids, Iliads and
Odysseys were composed, and even the most sacred subjects were not left
untravestied. Of the numerous writers of these, P. Scarron is most
pr