Five covered wagons, Jan Breughel, known as Velvet, pen
drawing in brown ink.
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Le voyageur Bien que de santé fragile, et vivant dans un temps où les transports n'étaient pas commodes, Peiresc saisit, dans sa jeunesse et son âge adulte, toutes les occasions qui s'offrent à lui de connaître l'Europe. L'Italie le fascine. Il rêve, comme son contemporain et futur ami, Pierre-Paul Rubens, de Rome, de Padoue. Bientôt, son souhait s'exauce. En septembre 1599, il embarque à Cannes et gagne, par mer, Gênes et ses palais. Il visite Pise, arrive à Padoue où, en plusieurs mois de séjour, il rencontrera les plus grands savants. Il les séduit par son érudition : les bibliothèques, les collections s'ouvrent devant lui. Il en sera de même à Venise, à Florence, à Rome, où il arrive un an après son départ de Provence, à Naples, à Pérouse, à Viterbe. Trois ans de séjour en Italie le convainquent de poursuivre ses études de juriste à Padoue, "célèbre pour le droit", auxquelles il consacre dix heures par jour. Et c'est le retour en France, où il achève, à Montpellier, l'étude du droit. En 1605, Guillaume Du Vair, premier président du Parlement de Provence, séduit, l'emmène à Paris où, une fois de plus toutes les portes lui sont ouvertes. Un an plus tard, Henri IV envoie Antoine de la Boderie en ambassade à la Cour d'Angleterre. Grâce à Du Vair, Peiresc a la chance d'être du voyage. Il passe l'été à Londres, gagne la Hollande, s'attarde, entre autres, à Leyde, chez Joseph Scaliger, grand philosophe français calviniste réfugié là, rentre en France en passant par Anvers, par Bruxelles, par Louvain, où Juste-Lipse, au grand regret de Peiresc, vient de mourir. En 1616, Du Vair est appelé à Paris par le roi. Il y devient Garde des Sceaux, et Peiresc l'accompagne. Son protecteur l'y initie aux affaires de l'Etat, l'y charge de missions délicates, qui ne l'empêchent pas de poursuivre sa quête inlassable de découvertes nouvelles. En 1623, l'état de santé de son père, et les obligations de sa charge de Conseiller au Parlement - qui ne l'ont guère contraint jusqu'ici - le décident à quitter Paris et à regagner Aix. Les longs voyages sont désormais du passé : la poste voyagera pour lui. |
Traveller Although he was in frail health and lived in an age when transport was not comfortable, Peiresc, in his youth and adulthood, seized every available opportunity of getting to know Europe. Italy fascinated him. Like his contemporary and future friend, Peter Paul Rubens, he dreamed of Rome and Padua. His wish was soon granted. In September 1599 he set sail from Cannes and by sea reached Genoa and its palaces. He visited Pisa, and arrived in Padua, where, during a stay of several months, he met the most eminent scholars. He won them over with his erudition : libraries and collections were opened to him. The same was to happen in Venice, Florence and Rome, where he arrived one year after leaving Provence, and in Naples, Perugia and Viterbo. His three-year stay in Italy made him determined to pursue his legal studies, to which he was devoting ten hours a day, in Padua, which was 'famous for law'. Then came his return to France, where he completed his study of law at Montpelier. In 1605, Guillaume Du Vair, the first President of the Parliament of Provence, charmed by Peiresc, took him to Paris, where once again all doors were opened to him. One year later, Henri IV sent Antoine de la Broderie as ambassador to the Court of England. Thanks to Du Vair, Peiresc had the opportunity to join the voyage. He spent the summer in London, went on to Holland, and, amongst other places, stayed for a while in Leyden at the home of Joseph Scaliger, the great French Calvinist philosopher who had taken refuge there. He returned to France by way of Antwerp, Brussels and Louvain, where, to Peiresc's great sadness, Juste-Lipse had recently died. In 1616, Du Vair was called to Paris by the King. There he became Guardian of the Great Seal (Garde des Sceaux), and Peiresc went with him. His protector gave him an initiation into the business of the state and entrusted him with sensitive missions, which did not prevent him from continuing his tireless quest for new discoveries. In 1623, his father's state of health, and the demands of his position as Councillor at the Parliament &endash; which hitherto had not greatly encumbered him &endash; made him decide to leave Paris and return to Aix. Long journeys were from now on to be a thing of the past &endash; the post was to travel for him. |
