Boileau-Depreaux, Nicolas (bwah-lo-day-pray-o). A critic, poet, and satirist who lived in the time of Louis XIV. Born in 1636. His "Art of Poetry," his epistles, and his satires gained him the title of "Master of Parnassus." He was the friend of Moliere, La Fontaine, and Racine. With the last, he was appointed historiographer of France, and received a pension of 2,000 livres. He died in 1722. His brothers, Giles and James, were also much esteemed writers. The former died in 1669, the latter in 1716.

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