705 



STEPHENS. 



STEPHENS. 



7C6 



his mind, a statement which, if true, can only apply to the last few 

 days of his life. It is a mistake to suppose that Stephens died in 

 poverty because he died iu au hospital ; for the proceeds of his books 

 alone, which were publicly sold and fetched low prices, were sufficient 

 to pay his creditors and to leavo something for his wife and children. 

 Stephens died without a will; and Casaubon, who went to Geneva to 

 receive his wife's dowry, which was still owing, together with her 

 share of the inheritance, was generous enough to leave Henry's 

 library, manuscripts, and printing-establishment, in the hands of his 

 son Paul. 



There is no scholar to whom the Greek language and literature is 

 under greater obligations than it is to Henry Stephens. He knew his 

 superiority, and sometimes showed that he felt it. The number of 

 books which he printed, edited, or wrote, is immense ; and it is truly 

 astonishing that, even during the rambling life of his latter years, 

 he was continually producing new works. During the earlier part of 

 his life he was a man of inflexible resolution, and never rested till he 

 had effected his purpose ; and he was always planning something, 

 even to the last days of his life. He has often been censured for his 

 alteration of passages in ancient writers without being supported by 

 the authority of manuscripts, and without even assigning a reason for 

 his alterations. This has been said more especially in regard to his 

 edition of Plutarch, which came out in the Fame year that he pub- 

 lished his Thesaurus ; but Wyttenbach, on examining several manu- 

 scripts for his own edition, found that H. Stephens was in most cases 

 supported by manuscript authority. 



EGBERT STEPHENS ir., the youngest son of Robert Stephens i., and 

 brother of Henry Stephens n., was born at Paris in 1530. The first 

 time that we find him taking part in the publication of a work was in 

 1556, when he and Morel, who was then royal printer, published the 

 edition of Anacreon prepared by H. Stephens. The title of ' royal 

 printer' was conferred upon Robert in 1561, as appears from some 

 books printed by him in this year, at the same time' that he came into 

 possession of the printing-office of Charles Stephens. In this office he 

 continued till his death. In activity and accurate and beautiful 

 printing he was worthy of his father, but this is all that we know of 

 him. As royal printer he was much employed in printing edicts and 

 ordonnances, as may be seen from the list of his publications by 

 Renouard. He died in 1571. Among his publications we only 

 mention the following : a reprint of the Historical Dictionary (' Dio- 

 tionarium Propriorum Nomiuum Virorum, Mulierum, Populorum, 

 &c.') of Charles Stephens, 4to, 1560 ; ' Josephi Scaligeri Coujectanea in 

 M. Terent. Varronem,'' 1565; and several editions of Donatus, 'De 

 Partibus Orationis.' 



After his death his wife married again, and kept up the printing 

 establishment. There are publications down to the year 1588, ' Ex 

 officina Robert! Stephani' 



ROBERT STEPHENS in., son of Robert Stephens ir., was educated 

 by the poet and abbe" Desportes, who inspired him with a love for 

 poetry, and with whom he appears to have stayed at least till 1584. 

 He did not commence printing till 1606, so that eighteen years elapsed 

 without a publication appearing from the press of Robert Stephens. 

 His first publication was ' D. Gregorii Nysseni ad Eustathiam, Ambro- 

 siam, Basilissam, Epistola, Graece. I. Casaubonus nunc primum pub- 

 licavit, Latine vertit et notis illustravit,' 8vo, Lutetise, 1606. He 

 probably worked in the printing establishment which had belonged to 

 his father, and continued to print until 1631. He distinguished him- 

 self also by his Latin, Greek, and French verses, and by a French 

 translation of the first two books of Aristotle's 'Rhetoric,' which was 

 printed in 8vo, 1630. In his publications he generally added to his 

 name the letters R. F. R. N., that is Robert! Filius, Roberti Nepos, to 

 distinguish himself from his father and grandfather. He printed a 

 great number of books ; the principal are, ' Menandri et Philistionis 

 Sententiae Comparatae, Grsece, ex Bibliotheca Regia ; cum notis, cura 

 N. Rigaltii,' 8vo, Lutetiao, 1613 ; 'D. Junii Juvenalis Satyrarum Libri 

 v. Sulpicise Satyra, Cura Rigaltii, &c.,' Lutet., 1616 ; ' Dictys Creten- 

 sis, De Bello Trojano, et Dares Phrygius De Excidio Trojae,' &c., 

 16mo, 1618. 



There are several other members of the Stephens family of the name 

 of Robert, but none of them were distinguished. During the last 

 century there was a French writer of the name of Robert Stephens 

 (Robert Etienne), who claimed a descent from the illustrious family of 

 printers. 



PAUL STEPHENS, a son of Henry Stephens n., by his second wife, 

 was born at Geneva in 1566. He received his early education at home, 

 and was then sent out by his father to visit the principal towns of 

 Europe, and the distinguished scholars with whom his father was 

 acquainted. Lipsius, whom he visited at Leyden, was much pleased 

 with him, and in one of his letters calls him 'mitis adolescens.' On 

 his return to Geneva he assisted his father in printing and editing. 

 He afterwards made several other journeys, partly perhaps in connec- 

 tion with the business of his father. In 1594 he spent some time in 

 London, where, among other distinguished men, he made the acquaint- 

 ance of John Caatolius. In 1595 he was at Heidelberg, and in 1596 

 at Frankfort, where he stayed in the house of the jurist Dionysius 

 Gothofredus. He had married in 1589. His first literary production 

 was 'Pauli Stephani Versiones Epigraminatum Grsecorum Antho- 

 logist, Latinis versibus,' 8vo, Genevse, 1593. He was always fond of 



BIOG. DIV. VOL. V. 



making Latin verses, but his poetry is stiff and unanimated. Ilia 

 best is perhaps the poem on the death of his father. 



After the death of his father, when the affairs of the family were 

 settled, and Casaubou had left Geneva, Paul was placed at the head of 

 his father's printing establishment (1599), which he conducted with 

 great energy. He first reprinted a number of classical authors which 

 had been edited by his father, and were then out of print, such 

 as Virgil, Horace, the letters of Pliny, and the Latin panegyrists and 

 others. The two works which do him most credit are 'Euripidia 

 Tragcediao quao extant, cum Lat. Guil. Canteri Interpretatione,' &c., 

 containing the Greek scholia and commentaries of several scholars, 

 2 vols. 4to, 1602 ; and ' Sophoclis Tragcediae Septem, una cum omnibus 

 Graecis Scholiis et Latina Viti Windemii ad verbum Interpretatione,' 

 &c., likewise containing the scholia, and also notes by H. Stephens. 

 In 1619 he printed a folio edition of Herodotus, founded upon that of 

 his father, with a Latin translation and notes by Sylburg. No other 

 publication issued from his press till 1626, when he published a fifth 

 edition of the lyric Greek poets : ' Pindari et ceterorum Octo Lyri- 

 corum Carmina.' This was his last publication. The inactivity in 

 his establishment during the last years appears to have been the con- 

 sequence of his want of capital, to which we may perhaps also attribute 

 the fact that most of his works are printed on very bad paper. In 

 1626 or 1627 he sold his whole establishment to the brothers Clouet. 

 It is not known what became of him after this, and the time of his 

 death is also unknown. He had eight children, two of whom only, 

 Anthony and Joseph, survived their father. 



FBANCIS STEPHENS it, son of Robert Stephens i., and an elder brother 

 of Henry Stephens n., followed his father to Geneva, and is said to have 

 been a good Greek and Latin scholar. After the death of his father 

 he established at Geneva a printing-office of his own, which he con- 

 ducted from 1562 to 1582, with an interruption however of nearly ten 

 years. Even during the remaining ten years he printed very few 

 books, and most of them for publishers : this appears to have been 

 owing to his want of capital. The first work, and almost the only 

 one that he printed on his own account, was Calvin's ' Commentaries 

 on the Psalms,' fol., 1563. His last publication was Amyot's French 

 translation of the 'Moralia' of Plutarch, 2 vols. fol., 1581-82. After 

 this time he gave up printing and settled in Normandy, and we hear 

 no more about him. 



ANTHONY STEPHENS, son of Paul Stephens, was born at Geneva iu 

 1592. He studied at Lyon, and afterwards finished his education at 

 Paris, where he abjured Protestantism before Cardinal du Perron. 

 In 1612 he obtained letters-patent of naturalisation in France, and at the* 

 same time the office of huissier de I'assemble'e du clergd, with a salary 

 of 500 francs, which he held until the year 1635. Long before this 

 time however he had been in the possession of a printing establish- 

 ment. Some writers mention a work by Perron, which Anthony 

 Stephens is said to have printed in 1605. But this cannot possibly ba 

 correct, as Anthony was then only thirteen years old. The earliest 

 work which he printed belongs to the year 1613, and henceforth he 

 conducted his establishment with an activity worthy of his great 

 ancestors until the year 1664. He was also honoured with the title of 

 royal printer, through the influence of Cardinal Perron, and he 

 received a pension of 600 francs, but the time when he first received it 

 is uncertain. The pension was stopped when Perron died, and 

 Anthony after this was several times in great pecuniary difficulties. 

 Among his numerous publications, which comprise all the works of 

 Perron, there are several valuable editions of ancient authors, such as 

 Casaubon's edition of Strabo, 1620 ; of Plutarch's Works, with 

 Xylander's translation, 2 vols. fol., 1624; Leunclavius's edition of 

 ' Xenophon,' 1625; Aristotle's Works, 2 vols. fol., 1629. For many 

 years after the death of his patron Anthony was in very straitened 

 circumstances, and was supported by his son Henry, who, from the 

 year 1646, had a printing-office of his own, where, among other works, 

 Montaigne's ' Essays' were printed. When his son died in 1661, and 

 Anthony was deprived of his last and only support, he sank rapidly : 

 he became infirm, and at last lost his sight. In this state he dragged 

 on a wretched existence until the year 1674, when he died in the Hotel- 

 Dieu at Paris, at the age of eighty-two. He had six children, all of 

 whom died before him. 



Besides the members of the Stephens family whom we have men- 

 tioned above, there are two more, who however were never engaged in, 

 printing. The one is Henry Stephens, a son of Robert Stephens n., 

 who was treasurer of the royal palaces; the other likewise called 

 Henry, and a son of the former, acquired some reputation as a poet, 

 and also wrote some other works in French. 



Respecting the lives of the Stephens, see Th. Jansonii ab Almeloveen, 

 'Dissertatio Epistolica de Vitis Stephanorum,' Amsterdam, 1685; 

 Maittaire, 'Stephanorum Historia,' 2 vols. in 4 parts, London, 1709, 

 which contains a list, though not complete, of their publications ; 

 Greswell, 'A View of the early Parisian Greek Press, including the 

 lives of the Stephani,' Oxford, 1833 ; Ant. Aug. Renouard, ' Annales 

 de I'lmprimerie des Etienne, ou Histoire de la Famille des Etienne et 

 de ses editions,' 2 vols. 8vo, Paris, 1837. This last work contains in 

 the first volume a very complete list of all the publications of the 

 Stephens, and various interesting and important facts, derived from 

 the public records of Paris and Geneva, which were unknown to 

 former biographers. 



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