Nicolas de Malézieu was a man of letters, a Hellenist and a mathematician. He was the tutor of Louis-Auguste de Bourbon, Duke of Maine (1670-1736), the legitimized son of Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan. Member of the Académie Royale des Sciences and of the Académie Française, he became one of the close friends of Louise-Bénédicte de Bourbon, Duchess of Maine (1676-1753), and of the court that she gathered in her castle of Sceaux. He was one of the main organizers of the Grandes Nuits de Sceaux and the author of the sketches, plays and entertainments that were performed there.