Henri Basnage de Beauval
Encyclopedia
Henri Basnage de Beauval (7 August 1657–29 May 1710) was a French Huguenot
historian and lexicographer, known also as a journal editor.
, son of the advocate Henri Basnage de Franquesnay and brother of Jacques Basnage. After the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, he made some attempts to stay in France, but left for Rotterdam
in the Netherlands
in 1687. He died in The Hague
.
of Pierre Bayle
, who had sheltered him and his brother Jacques. The change of title was in fact cosmetic, to avoid trouble with the publisher of the Nouvelles. Basnage himself did almost all the editorial, and the review's of John Locke
's works, in particular, did much to spread his ideas.
He worked over the Dictionnaire universel of Antoine Furetière
, producing an expanded edition; it went through numerous editions, before being taken up by Jean Brutel de la Rivière (1727, The Hague). Basnage's version was considered "Protestant"; the Jesuits of the Mémoires de Trévoux found heresy in articles where they considered he had introduced a Protestant view. Basnage defended himself in the Journal des sçavans
, but the Jesuits went ahead with an expurgated edition, a model for the Dictionnaire de Trévoux
. Basnage's lexicographical approach was in fact more descriptive than normative.
Under the pseudonym Le Fèvre, Basnage also wrote the Lettre sur les differends de M. Jurieu & de M. Bayle.
His publications were:
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
historian and lexicographer, known also as a journal editor.
Life
He was born at RouenRouen
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...
, son of the advocate Henri Basnage de Franquesnay and brother of Jacques Basnage. After the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, he made some attempts to stay in France, but left for Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
in 1687. He died in The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
.
Works
He wrote Tolérance des religions, published by Henri de Græff at Rotterdam in 1684; it was a plea to French Catholics for religious tolerance. His Histoire des ouvrages des savans was a periodical appearing from 1687 to 1709; it was a sequel to the Nouvelles de la République des LettresNouvelles de la république des lettres
Nouvelles de la république des lettres was a periodical devoted to reviews of current publications, edited and in large part written by Pierre Bayle...
of Pierre Bayle
Pierre Bayle
Pierre Bayle was a French philosopher and writer best known for his seminal work the Historical and Critical Dictionary, published beginning in 1695....
, who had sheltered him and his brother Jacques. The change of title was in fact cosmetic, to avoid trouble with the publisher of the Nouvelles. Basnage himself did almost all the editorial, and the review's of John Locke
John Locke
John Locke FRS , widely known as the Father of Liberalism, was an English philosopher and physician regarded as one of the most influential of Enlightenment thinkers. Considered one of the first of the British empiricists, following the tradition of Francis Bacon, he is equally important to social...
's works, in particular, did much to spread his ideas.
He worked over the Dictionnaire universel of Antoine Furetière
Antoine Furetière
Antoine Furetière , French scholar and writer, was born in Paris.-Biography:He studied law and practised for a time as an advocate, but eventually took orders and after various promotions became abbé of Chalivoy in the diocese of Bourges in 1662...
, producing an expanded edition; it went through numerous editions, before being taken up by Jean Brutel de la Rivière (1727, The Hague). Basnage's version was considered "Protestant"; the Jesuits of the Mémoires de Trévoux found heresy in articles where they considered he had introduced a Protestant view. Basnage defended himself in the Journal des sçavans
Journal des sçavans
The Journal des sçavans , founded by Denis de Sallo, was the earliest academic journal published in Europe, that from the beginning also carried a proportion of material that would not now be considered scientific, such as obituaries of famous men, church history, and legal reports...
, but the Jesuits went ahead with an expurgated edition, a model for the Dictionnaire de Trévoux
Dictionnaire de Trévoux
The Dictionnaire de Trévoux, as the Dictionnaire universel françois et latin was unofficially and then officially nicknamed because of its publication in the town of Trévoux , appeared in several editions from 1704 to 1771...
. Basnage's lexicographical approach was in fact more descriptive than normative.
Under the pseudonym Le Fèvre, Basnage also wrote the Lettre sur les differends de M. Jurieu & de M. Bayle.
His publications were:
- Tolérance des religions; edited by Elisabeth Labrousse, New York; London, Johnson Reprint Corp., 1970
- Histoire des ouvrages des savans. Volumes 1-24. (September 1687-June 1709), Geneva, Slatkine Reprints, 1969
- Dictionnaire universel: contenant generalement tous les mots françois tant vieux que modernes, & les termes des sciences et des arts ... : et enfin les noms des auteurs qui ont traitté des matieres qui regardent les mots, expliquez avec quelques histoires, curiositez naturelles, & sentences morales, qui seront rapportées pour donner des exemples de phrases & de constructions : le tout extrait des plus excellens auteurs anciens & modernes. New edition by Jean-Baptiste Brutel de La Rivière (1727). Reprinted by Hildesheim, New York, Georg Olms, 1972.
- Traitez de mechanique, de l'equilibre des solides et des liqueurs : où l'on ajoute une nouvelle maniere de demontrer les principaux théorêmes de cette science, with Bernard Lamy, Amsterdam, Mortier, 1734
- Lettre sur les differends de M. Jurieu & de M. Bayle, 1690
- Réponse de l'auteur de l'Histoire des ouvrages des sçavans à l'Avis de M. Jurieu, Rotterdam, Reinier Leers, 1690
- Lettres historiques: contenant ce qui se passe de plus important en Europe; et les réflexions nécessaires sur ce sujet. Tome I [-101]. Mois de Janvier 1692 [-Dec. 1736], with Jean DumontJean DumontJean Dumont Baron de Carlscroon was a French publisher. He followed the profession of arms but, not obtaining promotion so rapidly as he expected, he left the service and travelled through different parts of Europe. He stopped in Holland with the intention of publishing an account of his travels...
et al., The Hague, Adrian Moetjens, 1692-1736