Dominique Bouhours
Encyclopedia
Dominique Bouhours was a French Jesuit priest, essayist and neo-classical critic
.
Bouhours entered the Society of Jesus
at the age of sixteen, and was appointed to read lectures on literature in the Collège de Clermont at Paris, and on rhetoric at Tours
and Rouen
. He afterwards became private tutor to the two sons of Henri II d'Orléans, duc de Longueville
.
He was sent to Dunkirk to the Romanist refugees from the Commonwealth of England
, and in the midst of his missionary occupations published several books. In 1665 or 1666 he returned to Paris, and published in 1671 Les Entretiens d'Ariste et d'Eugène, which was reprinted four more times at Paris, twice at Grenoble
, and afterwards at Lyon
, Brussels
, Amsterdam
, Leiden and other cities. The work consists of six conversations (entretiens) between two companionable friends whose Greek- and Latin-derived names both mean "well-born", in the agreeable discursive manner of the well-informed amateur as it had become established in the salons
— "the free and familiar conversations that well-bred people have (honnêtes gens, a by-word of the précieuses
of the salons) when they are friends, and which do not fail to be witty, and even knowledgeable, though one never dreams there of making wit show, and study has no part in it." The subjects, erudite
but devoid of pedantry, are the Sea, considered as an object of contemplation, the French language, Secrets, True Wit ("Le Bel Esprit"), The Ineffable ("Le Je ne sais quoi") and Mottoes ("Devises"), all expressed in flawless idiom and effortless allusions to the Classics or Torquato Tasso
. The popularity of Bouhours' discursive, heuristic
Entretiens extended to Poland, where Stanisław Herakliusz Lubomirski imitated them in Dialogues of Artakses and Ewander.
His thoughts on the elusive je ne sais quoi that was in vogue in the seventeenth century, expressed through his characters, ends in assessing it a mystery that escapes a rational inquiry. It determined by its delicate presence, its grace and invisible charm, the sense of what pleases or displeases in Nature as well as Art, and remained an essential part of the French critical vocabulary until the advent of Romanticism.
His Doutes sur la langue française proposés aux Messieurs le l'Académie française (Paris, 1674; corrected second edition, 1675) was called "the most important and best organized of his numerous commentaries on the literary language of his time" when it was edited in a critical edition. His doubts are collected under five headings: vocabulary, phrases and collocations, grammatical constructions, clarity, and stylistic consistency, in each case setting literary quotations under scrutiny. His standards, expressed in the suggestions he offered for improving each example, showed the way out of ambiguities, skirting incongruous juxtapositions and untidy constructions. The work was widely accepted and Bouhours standards are still the accepted norm among literate readers today.
The chief of his other works are La Manière de bien penser sur les ouvrages d'esprit (1687), which appeared in London in 1705 under the title, The Art of Criticism, Vie de Saint Ignace de Loyola (1679), Vie de Saint François Xavier (1682), and a translation of the New Testament
into French (1697). His letters against the Jansenists had a wide circulation. His practice of publishing secular books and works of devotion alternately led to the mot, qu'il servait le monde et le ciel par semestre. Bouhours died at Paris in 1702.
According to the book Mother Tongue
by Bill Bryson
, Bouhours' dying words were "I am about to -- or I am going to -- die: either expression is used."
Critic
A critic is anyone who expresses a value judgement. Informally, criticism is a common aspect of all human expression and need not necessarily imply skilled or accurate expressions of judgement. Critical judgements, good or bad, may be positive , negative , or balanced...
.
Bouhours entered the Society of Jesus
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
at the age of sixteen, and was appointed to read lectures on literature in the Collège de Clermont at Paris, and on rhetoric at Tours
Tours
Tours is a city in central France, the capital of the Indre-et-Loire department.It is located on the lower reaches of the river Loire, between Orléans and the Atlantic coast. Touraine, the region around Tours, is known for its wines, the alleged perfection of its local spoken French, and for the...
and Rouen
Rouen
Rouen , in northern France on the River Seine, is the capital of the Haute-Normandie region and the historic capital city of Normandy. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe , it was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages...
. He afterwards became private tutor to the two sons of Henri II d'Orléans, duc de Longueville
Henri II d'Orléans, duc de Longueville
Henri II d'Orléans, duc de Longueville or Henri de Valois-Longueville , a legitimated prince of France and peer of France, was a major figure in the civil war of France, the Fronde, and served as governor of Picardy, then of Normandy.Longueville headed the French delegation in the talks that led...
.
He was sent to Dunkirk to the Romanist refugees from the Commonwealth of England
Commonwealth of England
The Commonwealth of England was the republic which ruled first England, and then Ireland and Scotland from 1649 to 1660. Between 1653–1659 it was known as the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland...
, and in the midst of his missionary occupations published several books. In 1665 or 1666 he returned to Paris, and published in 1671 Les Entretiens d'Ariste et d'Eugène, which was reprinted four more times at Paris, twice at Grenoble
Grenoble
Grenoble is a city in southeastern France, at the foot of the French Alps where the river Drac joins the Isère. Located in the Rhône-Alpes region, Grenoble is the capital of the department of Isère...
, and afterwards at Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
, Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, Leiden and other cities. The work consists of six conversations (entretiens) between two companionable friends whose Greek- and Latin-derived names both mean "well-born", in the agreeable discursive manner of the well-informed amateur as it had become established in the salons
Salon (gathering)
A salon is a gathering of people under the roof of an inspiring host, held partly to amuse one another and partly to refine taste and increase their knowledge of the participants through conversation. These gatherings often consciously followed Horace's definition of the aims of poetry, "either to...
— "the free and familiar conversations that well-bred people have (honnêtes gens, a by-word of the précieuses
Précieuses
The French literary style called préciosité arose in the 17th century from the lively conversations and playful word games of les précieuses , the witty and educated intellectual ladies who frequented the salon of Catherine de Vivonne, marquise de Rambouillet; her Chambre bleue offered a...
of the salons) when they are friends, and which do not fail to be witty, and even knowledgeable, though one never dreams there of making wit show, and study has no part in it." The subjects, erudite
Erudition
The word erudition came into Middle English from Latin. A scholar is erudite when instruction and reading followed by digestion and contemplation have effaced all rudeness , that is to say smoothed away all raw, untrained incivility...
but devoid of pedantry, are the Sea, considered as an object of contemplation, the French language, Secrets, True Wit ("Le Bel Esprit"), The Ineffable ("Le Je ne sais quoi") and Mottoes ("Devises"), all expressed in flawless idiom and effortless allusions to the Classics or Torquato Tasso
Torquato Tasso
Torquato Tasso was an Italian poet of the 16th century, best known for his poem La Gerusalemme liberata , in which he depicts a highly imaginative version of the combats between Christians and Muslims at the end of the First Crusade, during the siege of Jerusalem...
. The popularity of Bouhours' discursive, heuristic
Heuristic
Heuristic refers to experience-based techniques for problem solving, learning, and discovery. Heuristic methods are used to speed up the process of finding a satisfactory solution, where an exhaustive search is impractical...
Entretiens extended to Poland, where Stanisław Herakliusz Lubomirski imitated them in Dialogues of Artakses and Ewander.
His thoughts on the elusive je ne sais quoi that was in vogue in the seventeenth century, expressed through his characters, ends in assessing it a mystery that escapes a rational inquiry. It determined by its delicate presence, its grace and invisible charm, the sense of what pleases or displeases in Nature as well as Art, and remained an essential part of the French critical vocabulary until the advent of Romanticism.
His Doutes sur la langue française proposés aux Messieurs le l'Académie française (Paris, 1674; corrected second edition, 1675) was called "the most important and best organized of his numerous commentaries on the literary language of his time" when it was edited in a critical edition. His doubts are collected under five headings: vocabulary, phrases and collocations, grammatical constructions, clarity, and stylistic consistency, in each case setting literary quotations under scrutiny. His standards, expressed in the suggestions he offered for improving each example, showed the way out of ambiguities, skirting incongruous juxtapositions and untidy constructions. The work was widely accepted and Bouhours standards are still the accepted norm among literate readers today.
The chief of his other works are La Manière de bien penser sur les ouvrages d'esprit (1687), which appeared in London in 1705 under the title, The Art of Criticism, Vie de Saint Ignace de Loyola (1679), Vie de Saint François Xavier (1682), and a translation of the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
into French (1697). His letters against the Jansenists had a wide circulation. His practice of publishing secular books and works of devotion alternately led to the mot, qu'il servait le monde et le ciel par semestre. Bouhours died at Paris in 1702.
According to the book Mother Tongue
The Mother Tongue (book)
The Mother Tongue is a book by Bill Bryson which compiles the history and origins of the English language and the language's various quirks. It is subtitled English And How It Got That Way...
by Bill Bryson
Bill Bryson
William McGuire "Bill" Bryson, OBE, is a best-selling American author of humorous books on travel, as well as books on the English language and on science. Born an American, he was a resident of Britain for most of his adult life before moving back to the US in 1995...
, Bouhours' dying words were "I am about to -- or I am going to -- die: either expression is used."