Gaspard Terrasson
Encyclopedia
Gaspard Terrasson was a French Oratorian, teaching humanities and afterwards philosophy, and later a well-known preacher.
. His oratorical talents were revealed at Troyes
, 1711, on delivering the funeral oration of the Dauphin, son of Louis XIV; but he did not devote himself to preaching till after the death in 1723 of his brother André Terrasson
, when he fulfilled several engagements which the latter had made. For five years he preached at Paris, and finally delivered a Lenten course in the Church of Notre Dame.
He appealed repeatedly against the papal bull
Unigenitus
; he was the anonymous author of twelve "Lettres sur la justice chrétienne" (Paris, 1733), in which, to support the Jansenists whom the bishops deprived of the sacraments, he endeavoured to prove the inutility of sacramental confession. This work was condemned by the faculty of theology at Paris (1 Sept., 1734), and by the Archbishops of Sens and Embrun, as containing erroneous, schismatical and heretical assertions.
Terrasson had to leave the Oratory and abandon preaching. He withdrew to the Diocese of Auxerre where the bishop, Charles de Caylus, a well-known Jansenist, confided to him the care of Treigni. But he was soon arrested (Oct., 1735) by the order of the king for his Jansenistic activities, and was confined during nine years either at Vincennes
or with the Minims of Argenteuil
. A belated retraction, the authenticity or sincerity of which has never been well established, was attributed to him. He was living in retirement with his family when he died at Paris.
in his "Collection des orateurs sacrés", XXIX (Paris, 1849).
Life
Terrasson was born at LyonLyon
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....
. His oratorical talents were revealed at Troyes
Troyes
Troyes is a commune and the capital of the Aube department in north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about southeast of Paris. Many half-timbered houses survive in the old town...
, 1711, on delivering the funeral oration of the Dauphin, son of Louis XIV; but he did not devote himself to preaching till after the death in 1723 of his brother André Terrasson
André Terrasson
-Life:He was born at Lyon, the eldest son of a councillor of the Lyon presidial . Gaspard Terrasson was his brother. Entering the Congregation of the Oratory, he devoted himself to preaching, where he gained a high reputation....
, when he fulfilled several engagements which the latter had made. For five years he preached at Paris, and finally delivered a Lenten course in the Church of Notre Dame.
He appealed repeatedly against the papal bull
Papal bull
A Papal bull is a particular type of letters patent or charter issued by a Pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the bulla that was appended to the end in order to authenticate it....
Unigenitus
Unigenitus
Unigenitus , an apostolic constitution in the form of a papal bull promulgated by Pope Clement XI in 1713, opened the final phase of the Jansenist controversy in France...
; he was the anonymous author of twelve "Lettres sur la justice chrétienne" (Paris, 1733), in which, to support the Jansenists whom the bishops deprived of the sacraments, he endeavoured to prove the inutility of sacramental confession. This work was condemned by the faculty of theology at Paris (1 Sept., 1734), and by the Archbishops of Sens and Embrun, as containing erroneous, schismatical and heretical assertions.
Terrasson had to leave the Oratory and abandon preaching. He withdrew to the Diocese of Auxerre where the bishop, Charles de Caylus, a well-known Jansenist, confided to him the care of Treigni. But he was soon arrested (Oct., 1735) by the order of the king for his Jansenistic activities, and was confined during nine years either at Vincennes
Vincennes
Vincennes is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. It is one of the most densely populated municipalities in Europe.-History:...
or with the Minims of Argenteuil
Argenteuil
Argenteuil is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Argenteuil is a sub-prefecture of the Val-d'Oise department, the seat of the arrondissement of Argenteuil....
. A belated retraction, the authenticity or sincerity of which has never been well established, was attributed to him. He was living in retirement with his family when he died at Paris.
Works
A volume of his discourses appeared at Utrecht in 1733, but the first real edition was at Paris in 1744 (4 vols.). The sermons of the two brothers were reprinted by MigneMigné
Migné is a commune in the Indre department in central France.-References:*...
in his "Collection des orateurs sacrés", XXIX (Paris, 1849).