Jacques de la Palice
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Jacques de la Palice or la Palisse (1470–1525) was a French nobleman and military officer. His full name and titles are Jacques II de Chabannes, Lord of La Palice, of Pacy, of Chauverothe, of Bort-le-Comte and of Héron. In 1511, he received the title of Grand Master of France.
As a Marshal under Francis I, he fought against Italian armies, and died during the battle of Padua. His soldiers composed a song in his honor, which said "hélas, s'il n'était pas mort, il ferait encore envie" ("Alas, if he wasn't dead, he would still be envied"). That line, misread as il serait encore en vie, inspired a burlesque song by Bernard de la Monnoye, who replaced it by
- Un quart d'heure avant sa mort, il était encore en vie.
("A quarter hour before his death/He was still quite alive"), and attributed to Jacques several other similar feats, like his custom to always go in person when eating at his neighbors. From that song came the French term lapalissade meaning an utterly obvious truth—i.e. a truism or tautology.
Chanson de La Palisse / Song of La Palice
From the French Wikipedia (http://fr.wikipedia.org/)
| Messieurs, vous plaît-il d'ouïr | Gentlemen, hear if you please |
| l'air du fameux La Palisse, | the song of famous La Palisse, |
| Il pourra vous réjouir | You may indeed enjoy it |
| pourvu qu'il vous divertisse. | as long as you find it fun. |
| La Palisse eut peu de biens | La Palisse didn't have the means |
| pour soutenir sa naissance, | to pay for his own birth, |
| Mais il ne manqua de rien | But he did not lack anything |
| tant qu'il fut dans l'abondance. | once his riches were plenty. |
| Il voyageait volontiers, | He was quite fond of travel, |
| courant par tout le royaume, | going all over the kingdom, |
| Quand il était à Poitiers, | When he was in Poitiers |
| il n'était pas à Vendôme ! | You would not find him in Vendôme! |
| Il se plaisait en bateau | He enjoyed a boat ride |
| et, soit en paix soit en guerre, | and, whether in peace or in war, |
| Il allait toujours par eau | He would always go by water |
| quand il n'allait pas par terre. | when he didn't go by land. |
| Il buvait tous les matins | He drank every morning |
| du vin tiré de la tonne, | some wine from a barrel, |
| Pour manger chez les voisins | For eating at his neighbors |
| il s'y rendait en personne. | he would always go in person. |
| Il voulait aux bons repas | He preferred at good meals |
| des mets exquis et forts tendres | his dishes to be tasty and tender |
| Et faisait son mardi gras | And had his Mardi Gras |
| toujours la veille des cendres. | always on the eve of Ashes. |
| Il brillait comme un soleil, | He shone like a sun, |
| sa chevelure était blonde, | his hair was blonde, |
| Il n'eût pas eu son pareil, | He would have had no equals |
| s'il eût été seul au monde. | had he been the only one. |
| Il eut des talents divers, | He had diverse talents, |
| même on assure une chose : | some even claimed this: |
| Quand il écrivait en vers, | Whenever he wrote in verse, |
| il n'écrivait pas en prose. | he did not write in prose. |
| Il fut, à la vérité, | He was, to tell the truth |
| un danseur assez vulgaire, | a rather mediocre dancer, |
| Mais il n'eût pas mal chanté | But he did not sing so bad |
| s'il avait voulu se taire. | if he chose to shut up. |
| On raconte que jamais | They tell that he would never |
| il ne pouvait se résoudre | have taken the decision |
| À charger ses pistolets | of loading his two pistols |
| quand il n'avait pas de poudre. | when he had no ammunition. |
| Monsieur d'la Palisse est mort, | Monsieur d'la Palisse is dead, |
| il est mort devant Pavie, | he died before Padua, |
| Un quart d'heure avant sa mort, | A quarter hour before his death, |
| il était encore en vie. | he was still quite alive. |
| Il fut par un triste sort | He was by sorry fate |
| blessé d'une main cruelle, | wounded by a cruel hand |
| On croit, puisqu'il en est mort, | Since he died of it, we fear |
| que la plaie était mortelle. | that the wound was a mortal one. |
| Regretté de ses soldats, | Lamented by his soldiers, |
| il mourut digne d'envie, | his death is to be envied, |
| Et le jour de son trépas | And the day of his passing away |
| fut le dernier de sa vie. | was the last day of his life. |
| Il mourut le vendredi, | He died on a Friday, |
| le dernier jour de son âge, | the last day of his age, |
| S'il fût mort le samedi, | Had he died on the Saturday, |
| il eût vécu davantage. | he would have lived longer. |