File:General biography; or, Lives, critical and historical, of the most eminent persons of all ages, countries, conditions, and professions, arranged according to alphabetical order (1818) (14589530049).jpg

Identifier: generalbiographyv2pt1aiki (find matches)
Title: General biography; or, Lives, critical and historical, of the most eminent persons of all ages, countries, conditions, and professions, arranged according to alphabetical order
Year: 1818 (1810s)
Authors: Aikin, John, 1747-1822 Enfield, William, 1741-1797
Subjects: Biography
Publisher: London : Smeeton
Contributing Library: University of California Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Internet Archive

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s company of comedians, whicli heafterwards quitted for that of Molicre. Hethen passed some time in performing withprovincial companies ; but at length returningto Moliere, he acted many years with him atParis, the object of universal admiration andapplause. He succeeded equally in tragedyand comedy, though he seems to have obtainedhis principal glory in the former. His figurewas noble, his voice sonorous, his gesture na-tural, his judgment exquisite. Racine, whenbringing his Andromache upon the theatre,after taking pains to give the other actors aproper idea of their parts, turning to Baron whowas to act Pyrrhus, said, To you, (ir, I haveno instructions to give. Your own heart willtell you more than my lessons can inform you.Baron, indeed, found himsili placed by hisgenius above rules, and trusted to the naturalexpression of the passions he felt. Preachersfrequently came to a grated box in order tostudy his action, and thence (says Voltaire)went to declaim against the theatre. He was
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CA^ESAJi. 3^41\pJVTVy BAR ( 1^ ) BAR sufficiently sensible of his own merit, and, inallusion to the title which was given him of theRoscitis of his age, he said, that every cen-tury produced a Cxsar, but that it required200O years to produce a Baron. He wascaressed by the great, and lived with them ona footing of assumed familiarity, wiiich occa-sionally met with a repulse from the pride ofnobility. Disgust on this account, or someother motive, caused him to quit the stage in1691, witli a pension from the king. To thesurprise of the public, he resumed his professionafter an interval of 29 years, in 1720, and wastlien, at the age of 68, as much applauded asever. He continued to act till September1729, wlien his infirmities obliged him to re-tire ; and he survived only two montlis. Theprofession of an actor, it is well known, isanathematised by the Romish church; butliaron died, according to Voltaire, with a pro-testation that he had never felt any scruple inrepresenting before the publ

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