{
    "system": "GoGuides Verified Text",
    "api_version": "verified-text-v1",
    "status": "ok",
    "response_type": "verified_text_record",
    "source_key": "britannica_1911",
    "source_title": "Encyclopaedia Britannica (1911)",
    "license_code": "public_domain",
    "attribution": null,
    "license_url": null,
    "chunk_id": "1911:desmarest:9e6b300080e1",
    "title": "DESMAREST",
    "section": null,
    "hash_alg": "sha256",
    "hash_sha256": "c3829c639f875ff047058ce34bda8eef5e5bbb6866b3d244391002fea5cf0a4c",
    "normalizer": {
        "name": "ggnorm",
        "version": "1.0"
    },
    "verified_text": "desmarest, nicolas (1725-1815), french geologist, was born at soulaines, in the department of aube, on the 16th of september 1725. of humble parentage, he was educated at the college of the oratorians of troyes and paris. taking full advantage of the instruction he received, he was able to support himself by teaching, and to continue his studies independently. buffon's _theory of the earth_ interested him, and in 1753 he successfully competed for a prize by writing an essay on the ancient connexion between england and france. this attracted much attention, and ultimately led to his being employed in studying and reporting on manufactures in different countries, and in 1788 to his appointment as inspector-general of the manufactures of france. he utilized his journeys, travelling on foot, so as to add to his knowledge of the earth's structure. in 1763 he made observations in auvergne, recognizing that the prismatic basalts were old lava streams, comparing them with the columns of the giant's causeway in ireland, and referring them to the operations of extinct volcanoes. it was not, however, until 1774 that he published an essay on the subject, accompanied by a geological map, having meanwhile on several occasions revisited the district. he then pointed out the succession of volcanic outbursts and the changes the rocks had undergone through weathering and erosion. as remarked by sir a. geikie, the doctrine of the origin of valleys by the erosive action of the streams which flow through them was first clearly taught by desmarest. an enlarged and improved edition of his map of the volcanic region of auvergne was published after his death, in 1823, by his son anselme gaetan desmarest (1784-1838), who was distinguished as a zoologist, and author of memoirs on recent and fossil crustacea. he died in paris on the 20th of september 1815. see _the founders of geology_, by sir a. geikie (1897), pp. 48-78. (h. b. wo.) desmarets (or desmaretz), jean, sieur de saint-sorlin (1595-1676), french dramatist and miscellaneous writer, was born in paris in 1595. when he was about thirty he was introduced to richelieu, and became one of the band of writers who carried out the cardinal's literary ideas. desmarets's own inclination was to novel-writing, and the success of his romance _ariane_ in 1631 led to his formal admission to the circle that met at the house of valentine conrart and later developed into the academie francaise. desmarets was its first chancellor. it was at richelieu's request that he began to write for the theatre. in this kind he produced a comedy long regarded as a masterpiece, _les visionnaires_ (1637); a prose-tragedy, _erigone_ (1638); and _scipion_ (1639), a tragedy in verse. his success led to official preferment, and he was made _conseiller du roi_, _controleur-general de l'extraordinaire des guerres_, and secretary-general of the fleet of the levant. his long epic _clovis_ (1657) is noteworthy because desmarets rejected the traditional pagan background, and maintained that christian imagery should supplant it. with this standpoint he contributed several works in defence of the moderns in the famous quarrel between the ancients and moderns. in his later years desmarets devoted himself chiefly to producing a quantity of religious poems, of which the best-known is perhaps his verse translation of the _office de la vierge_ (1645). he was a violent opponent of the jansenists, against whom he wrote a _reponse a l'insolente apologie de port-royal ..._ (1666). he died in paris on the 28th of october 1676. see also h. rigault, _histoire de la querelle des anciens et des modernes_ (1856), pp. 80-103.",
    "source_url": "https://archive.org/details/EB1911WMF",
    "observed_at": "2026-02-08 18:42:24",
    "integrity": {
        "hash_check": "match",
        "hash_scope": "full_normalized_text",
        "computed_sha256": "c3829c639f875ff047058ce34bda8eef5e5bbb6866b3d244391002fea5cf0a4c"
    },
    "machine_use": {
        "read": true,
        "cite": true,
        "decision": "verified_public_domain_text"
    },
    "goguides_data_license": "https://www.goguides.com/data-license",
    "goguides_data_license_version": "2.0",
    "documentation": {
        "white_paper_url": "https://www.goguides.com/white-paper.php",
        "pdf_url": "https://www.goguides.com/whitepapers/goguides-ai-source-clearance-white-paper.pdf"
    }
}