Johann Heinrich Samuel Formey
Encyclopedia
Johann Heinrich Samuel Formey (31 May 1711 – 7 March 1797) was a German
author who wrote in French
.
, Brandenburg
, as the son of immigrant Huguenots. He was educated for the ministry, and at the age of twenty became pastor of the French Protestant church at Brandenburg. Having in 1736 accepted the invitation of a congregation in Berlin, he was in the following year chosen professor of rhetoric
in the French college of that city and in 1739 professor of philosophy
. On the reorganization of the academy of Berlin
in 1744 he was named a member, and in 1748 became its perpetual secretary. He died at Berlin.
written with the view of enforcing the precepts of the Wolfian philosophy; Bibliothque critique, ou memoires pour servir a l'histoire littraire ancienne et moderne (1746); Le Philosophic chrétien (1740); L'Emile chrétien (1764), intended as an answer to the Emile
of Rousseau; and Souvenirs d'un citoyen (Berlin, 1789). He also published an immense number of contemporary memoirs in the transactions of the Berlin Academy.
Besides his activities as a journalist or editor, he contributed to the French Encyclopédie
.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
author who wrote in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
.
Life
Formey was born in BerlinBerlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Brandenburg
Margraviate of Brandenburg
The Margraviate of Brandenburg was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806. Also known as the March of Brandenburg , it played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe....
, as the son of immigrant Huguenots. He was educated for the ministry, and at the age of twenty became pastor of the French Protestant church at Brandenburg. Having in 1736 accepted the invitation of a congregation in Berlin, he was in the following year chosen professor of rhetoric
Rhetoric
Rhetoric is the art of discourse, an art that aims to improve the facility of speakers or writers who attempt to inform, persuade, or motivate particular audiences in specific situations. As a subject of formal study and a productive civic practice, rhetoric has played a central role in the Western...
in the French college of that city and in 1739 professor of philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
. On the reorganization of the academy of Berlin
Prussian Academy of Sciences
The Prussian Academy of Sciences was an academy established in Berlin on 11 July 1700, four years after the Akademie der Künste or "Arts Academy", to which "Berlin Academy" may also refer.-Origins:...
in 1744 he was named a member, and in 1748 became its perpetual secretary. He died at Berlin.
Works
Formey's principal works are La Belle Wolfienne (1741–1750), a kind of novelNovel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
written with the view of enforcing the precepts of the Wolfian philosophy; Bibliothque critique, ou memoires pour servir a l'histoire littraire ancienne et moderne (1746); Le Philosophic chrétien (1740); L'Emile chrétien (1764), intended as an answer to the Emile
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer of 18th-century Romanticism. His political philosophy influenced the French Revolution as well as the overall development of modern political, sociological and educational thought.His novel Émile: or, On Education is a treatise...
of Rousseau; and Souvenirs d'un citoyen (Berlin, 1789). He also published an immense number of contemporary memoirs in the transactions of the Berlin Academy.
Besides his activities as a journalist or editor, he contributed to the French Encyclopédie
Encyclopédie
Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers was a general encyclopedia published in France between 1751 and 1772, with later supplements, revised editions, and translations. It was edited by Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond d'Alembert...
.
Publications
- Essai sur les songes (1746)
- De l’obligation de se procurer toutes les commodités de la vie (1750)
- De la conscience (1751)
- De l’étendue de l’imagination (1754)
- Sur les allégories philosophiques (1755)
- Sur l’origine du langage, des idées et des connaissances humaines (1759)
- Sur le goût (1760)
- Sur les spectacles (1761)
- Sur l’influence de l’âme sur le corps (1764)
- Considérations sur ce qu’on peut regarder aujourd’hui comme le but principal des académies et comme leur but le plus avantageux (1767–1768)
- Sur la culture de l’entendement (1769)
- Considérations sur l’Encyclopédie française (1770)
- Éloge de J.-B. Boyer, marquis d’Argens (1771)
- Discours sur la question : Pourquoi tant de personnes ont si peu de goût ou même un si grand éloignement pour tout ce qui demande l’exercice des facultés intellectuelles (1772)
- Sur la physiognomie (1775)
- Examen de la question : Si toutes les vérités sont bonnes à dire (1777)
- Sur quelques anciennes procédures contre les magiciens (1778)
- Éloge de Sulzer (1779)
- Éloge de Cochius (1780)
- Éloge de Beguelin (1788 et 89)
- Sur les rapports entre le savoir, l’esprit, le génie et le goût (1788–89)
- Sur le fanatisme (1792–93)