Jean de La Fontaine (July 8, 1621, Château-Thierry – April 13, 1695, Paris) was the most famous French fabulist and one of the most widely read French poets of the 17th century. He is known above all for his Fables, which provided a model for subsequent fabulists across Europe and numerous alternative versions in France, and in French regional languages.
According to Flaubert, he was the only French poet to understand and master the texture of the French language before Hugo. A set of postage stamps celebrating La Fontaine and the Fables was issued by France in 1995.
Read more about Jean De La Fontaine: Works, Popular Culture
Famous quotes containing the words jean de la, jean de and/or fontaine:
“There are only two ways of getting on in the world: by one’s own industry, or by the stupidity of others.”
—Jean De La Bruyère (1645–1696)
“Everything has been said, and we have come too late, now that men have been living and thinking for seven thousand years and more.”
—Jean De La Bruyère (1645–1696)
“Death never takes the wise man by surprise,
He is always ready to go.”
—Jean De La Fontaine (1621–1695)