Benoist, Eugène, 1831-1887

Eugène Benoist (28 November 1831, Nangis – 23 May 1887, Paris) was a French classical philologist. From 1852 he studied at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, followed by work as a schoolteacher at the lycée in Marseille. In 1862 he obtained his doctorate, and five years later became a lecturer of ancient literature in Nancy. In 1869 he attained the title of professor, and from 1871, taught classes in foreign literature at the University of Aix-en-Provence. In 1874 he returned to Paris as a professeur suppléant of Latin poetry at the Sorbonne, where in 1876 he gained a full professorship. In 1884 he was elected a member of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres. He was the author of many works, for the most part, editions of ancient Latin authors, or critical articles on sections of Latin works; its original authors being: Plautus, Terence, Lucretius, Virgil, Horace, Catullus, Julius Caesar and Livy.