Jean de La Bruyère was born in Paris in 1645, into a bourgeois family. After obtaining a law degree from the University of Orleans, he returned to Paris. After purchasing the position of General Treasurer of France in the Caen financial office, he returned to Paris. In 1686 he sold the he post from him.
On Bossuet's recommendation, in 1684 he became one of the tutors of the young Duke of Bourbon, grandson of the Grand Count. On his death in 1686, he terminated the duke's education. However, La Bruyère remained in the Condé household as a gentleman to the duke. This circumstance allowed him to closely observe the characters of the nobles and courtiers. Furthermore, he had to endure the bad manners of the duke's father and his son, a capricious and despotic young man, against whose invective La Bruyére had to defend his dignity.
In 1688 the first edition of The Characters appeared with the title Theophrasto Characters, translated from the Greek; with the characters or customs of this century. Faced with the enthusiastic reception by the public, La Bruyère expanded the work in successive editions, incorporating new portraits. The only edition that does not contain unpublished texts is the ninth and last.
In 1693 he was elected a member of the French Academy. In the acceptance speech he came out in favor of Racine to the detriment of Corneille, leading to furious criticism from prominent men of letters.
In the last years of his life he was writing Dialogues on Quietism, a work that he left unfinished, although it was published after his death.
Notorious for being a misogynist, La Bruyère died single and poor in Versailles on the night of May 10-11, 1696, the victim of a stroke.