He was introduced by family connections into the salons of Madame de la Fayette and the Marquise de Lambert in Paris. He was elected to the Académie française in 1695, although he had previously produced no notable work; his election was an episode in the Quarrel of the Ancients and the Moderns, Saint-Pierre being a clear representative of the latter. The same year he gained a footing at court as chaplain to Madame, the king's sister-in-law. From 1703 to his death, he was abbot of Tiron.