thumb|Guez de Balzac
Jean-Louis Guez de Balzac (31 May 1597 – 18 February 1654) was a French author in Baroque Précieuses style, best known for his epistolary essays, which were widely circulated and read in his day. He was one of the founding members of the .
In 1612, he met Théophile de Viau when de Viau's troupe visited Angoulême, and fled from home with the troupe. The two traveled together with the troupe for some time, but when the troupe arrived at Leiden, they enrolled as students at the city's university in May 1615,