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Jean-Antoine Roucher (February 22, 1745 - July 25, 1794), was a French poet.

Roucher was the son of a tailor from Montpellier. His epithalamium on Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette won him the favour of Turgot, and a salt-tax collectorship. His poem, entitled Les Mois, appeared in 1779, was praised in manuscript, but critically lambasted until the 19th century. The malicious wit of Antoine de Rivarol's mot on the critical failure of the poem, "Cest le plus beau naufrage du siècle," reflects the fact that one of the most elaborate passages describes a shipwreck.

Roucher was a disciple of Voltaire, and a friend of the French Revolution, but he remained moderate in his opinions. He presided over an anti-Jacobin club, and denounced the tyranny of the popular demagogues in supplements published with the Journal de Paris in 1792. He was arrested on October 4, 1793, and, accused of being the leader of a conspiracy among the prisoners at Saint Lazare, was sent to the guillotine on the same tumbril as his friend André Chénier on July 25, 1794.

Roucher translated in 1790 Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations. His letters from prison were edited by his son-in-law under the title of Consolations de ma captivité (1797), and his death was made the subject of a tragedy in 1834 by his brother Claude Roucher-Deratte, a voluminous writer.

Reference

This entry incorporates public domain text originally from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica.

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-'''Jean-Antoine Roucher''' ([[February 22]], [[1745]] - [[July 25]], [[1794]]), [[France|French]] [[poet]], was the son of a tailor of [[Montpellier]].
+'''Jean-Antoine Roucher''' ([[February 22]], [[1745]] - [[July 25]], [[1794]]), was a [[France|French]] [[poet]].
-By an epithalamium on [[Louis XVI of France|Louis XVI]] and [[Marie Antoinette]] he gained the favor of [[Anne Robert Jacques Turgot, Baron de Laune|Turgot]], and obtained a salt-tax collectorship. His poem was entitled ''Les Mois''; it appeared in 1779, was praised in manuscript, damned in print and restored to a just appreciation by the students of literature of the [[19th century]]. It has the drawbacks of merely didactic-descriptive poetry on the great scale, but occasionally displays much grace and spirit. The malicious wit of [[Antoine de Rivarol|Rivarol]]'s ''mot'' on the ill-success of the poem, "Cest le plus beau naufrage du siècle," is not intelligible unless it is said that one of the most elaborate passages describes a shipwreck.
+Roucher was the son of a tailor from [[Montpellier]].  His [[epithalamium]] on [[Louis XVI of France|Louis XVI]] and [[Marie Antoinette]] won him the favour of [[Anne Robert Jacques Turgot, Baron de Laune|Turgot]], and a salt-tax collectorship. His poem, entitled ''Les Mois'', appeared in 1779, was praised in manuscript, but critically lambasted until the [[19th century]].  The malicious wit of [[Antoine de Rivarol]]'s ''mot'' on the critical failure of the poem, "Cest le plus beau naufrage du siècle," reflects the fact that one of the most elaborate passages describes a shipwreck.
-Roucher was a disciple of [[Voltaire]], and therefore a friend of the [[French Revolution|Revolution]], but he remained moderate in his opinions. He frequently presided over an anti-Jacobin club, and denounced the tyranny of the popular demagogues in supplements published with the ''Journal de Paris'' in 1792. He was arrested on [[October 4]], [[1793]], and, accused of being the leader of a conspiracy among the prisoners at [[Saint Lazare]], was sent to the [[guillotine]] on the same tumbril with his friend [[André Chénier]] on the 25th of July 1794.
+Roucher was a disciple of [[Voltaire]], and a friend of the [[French Revolution]], but he remained moderate in his opinions. He presided over an anti-[[Jacobin]] club, and denounced the tyranny of the popular demagogues in supplements published with the ''Journal de Paris'' in 1792. He was arrested on [[October 4]], [[1793]], and, accused of being the leader of a conspiracy among the prisoners at [[Saint Lazare]], was sent to the [[guillotine]] on the same tumbril as his friend [[André Chénier]] on [[July 25]], 1794.
-Roucher translated in [[1790]] [[Adam Smith]]'s ''Wealth of Nations''. His letters from prison were edited by his son-in-law under the title of ''Consolations de ma captivité'' (1797), and his death was made the subject of a tragedy in 1834 by his brother Claude Roucher-Deratte, a voluminous writer.
+Roucher translated in [[1790]] [[Adam Smith]]'s ''[[Wealth of Nations]]''. His letters from prison were edited by his son-in-law under the title of ''Consolations de ma captivité'' (1797), and his death was made the subject of a tragedy in 1834 by his brother Claude Roucher-Deratte, a voluminous writer.
-See A Guillois, ''Pendant La terreur, La poète Roucher'', 1745-1794'' (1890), founded on the poet's papers by one of his descendants.
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