LAFONTAINE, JEAN DE

   celebrated French author, born at Château-Thierry, in Champagne; a man of indolent, gay, and dissipated habits, but of resplendent genius, known to all the world for his inimitable "Tales" and "Fables," and who was the peer of all the distinguished literary notabilities of his time; the former, published in 1665, too often transgress the bounds of morality, but are distinguished by exquisite grace of expression and sparkling wit; the latter, published in 1668, have an irresistible charm which no reader can withstand; he was the author also of the "Amours of Cupid and Psyche"; he was the friend of Boileau, Molière, and Racine, and in his later years a confirmed Parisian (1621-1695).