Author Description

In 1808, Napoleon I (1769-1821), emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815, commissioned a series of reports on the progress of scientific research since 1789. Published in 1810, this report on the current state of history and classical literature was edited by the French historian, philologist and colleague of Champollion, Bon-Joseph Dacier (1742-1833). The translator of Xenophon's Cyropaedia (1777) and other classical texts, Dacier was elected to the Académie Française in 1822. The report provides an introduction by Dacier himself and an overview of works published in Europe between 1789 and 1808. The remainder of the book was written by experts, such as the Orientalist Silvestre de Sacy (1758-1838) on oriental languages and literatures, and the architect Louis Visconti (1791-1853) on philology and antiquities. It also includes contributions on ancient, medieval and modern history, and on philosophy.