Saint-Victor, Paul Bins, Comte De
SAINT-VICTOR, PAUL BINS, COMTE DE (1827-1881), known as Paul de Saint- Victor, French author, was born in Paris on the nth of July 1827. His father Jacques B. M. Bins, comte de Saint-Victor (1772-1858), is remembered by his poem L'Esperance, and by an excellent verse translation of Anacreon.
Saint-Victor, who ceased to use the title of count as being out of keeping with his democratic principles, began as a dramatic critic on the Pays in 1851, and in 1885 he succeeded Theophile Gautier on the Presse. In 1866 he migrated to the Liberte, and in 1869 joined the staff of the Monileur uniiiersd. In 1870, during the last days of the second empire, he was made inspectorgeneral of fine arts. Almost all Saint- Victor's work consists of articles, the best known being the collection entitled Hommes et dieux (1867). His death interrupted the publication of Les Deux Masques, in which the author intended to survey the whole dramatic literature of ancient and modern times. SaintVictor's critical faculty was considerable, though rather onesided. He owed a good deal to Theophile Gautier, but he carried ornateness to a pitch far beyond Gautier's. Saint-Victor died in Paris on the gth of July 1881.
See also Deljant, Paul de Saint-Victor (1887).
Note - this article incorporates content from Encyclopaedia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, (1910-1911)
