Pierre-Louis Ginguené
Encyclopedia
Pierre-Louis Ginguené was a French
author
.
, and educated at a Jesuit
college there. He came to Paris
in 1772, and wrote criticisms for the Mercure de France
. He also composed a comic opera
, Pomponin (1777). The Satire des satires (1778) and the Confession de Zulmé (1779) followed. The Confession was claimed by several different authors and was very successful.
Ginguené's defence of Niccola Piccinni against the partisans of Glück
made him more widely known. He hailed the first symptoms of the French Revolution
, and joined Giuseppe Cerutti
, the author of the Mémoire pour le peuple français (1788), and others in producing the Feuille villageoise, a weekly paper addressed to the villages of France. He also celebrated in an indifferent ode the opening of the states-general. In his Lettres sur les confessions de J.-J. Rousseau
(1791), he defended the life and principles of his author.
He was imprisoned during the Reign of Terror
and escaped with life only by the downfall of Maximilien Robespierre
. After his release he assisted, as director-general of the "commission exécutive de l'instruction publique", in reorganizing the system of public instruction, and he was an original member of the Institute of France. In 1797, the Directory appointed him minister plenipotentiary to the king of Sardinia
. After seven months, Ginguené retired to his country house of St Prix, in the valley of Montmorency. He was appointed a member of the tribunate, but Napoleon, finding that he was not sufficiently tractable, had him expelled at the first "purge", and Ginguené returned to his literary pursuits.
, and he contributed to the volumes of this series which appeared in 1814, 1817 and 1820. Ginguené's most important work is the Histoire littéraire d'Italie (14 vols., 1811–1835). He was putting the finishing touches to the eighth and ninth volumes when he died. The last five volumes were written by Francesco Salfi and revised by Pierre Daunou
.
In the composition of his history of Italian literature he was guided for the most part by the great work of Girolamo Tiraboschi
, but he avoids the prejudices and party views of his model.
Ginguené edited the Décade philosophique, politique et littéraire until it was suppressed by Napoleon in 1807. He contributed largely to the Biographie universelle, the Mercure de France and the Encyclopidie méthodique; and he edited the works of Nicolas Chamfort
and of Lebrun
. Among his minor productions are an opera, Pomponin on le tuteur mystifié (1777); La Satire des satires (1778); De l'autorité de Rabelais dans la revolution présente (1791); De M. Neckar (1795); Fables nouvelles (1810); Fables inédites (1814).
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
.
Biography
He was born at Rennes, in BrittanyBrittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
, and educated at a Jesuit
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...
college there. He came to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in 1772, and wrote criticisms for the Mercure de France
Mercure de France
The Mercure de France was originally a French gazette and literary magazine first published in the 17th century, but after several incarnations has evolved as a publisher, and is now part of the Éditions Gallimard publishing group....
. He also composed a comic opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
, Pomponin (1777). The Satire des satires (1778) and the Confession de Zulmé (1779) followed. The Confession was claimed by several different authors and was very successful.
Ginguené's defence of Niccola Piccinni against the partisans of Glück
Christoph Willibald Gluck
Christoph Willibald Ritter von Gluck was an opera composer of the early classical period. After many years at the Habsburg court at Vienna, Gluck brought about the practical reform of opera's dramaturgical practices that many intellectuals had been campaigning for over the years...
made him more widely known. He hailed the first symptoms of the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
, and joined Giuseppe Cerutti
Giuseppe Cerutti
Giuseppe Antonio Giachimo Cerutti was a French-Italian author and politician.Cerutti was born in Turin. Having joined the Society of Jesus, he became professor at the Jesuit college at Lyon...
, the author of the Mémoire pour le peuple français (1788), and others in producing the Feuille villageoise, a weekly paper addressed to the villages of France. He also celebrated in an indifferent ode the opening of the states-general. In his Lettres sur les confessions de J.-J. Rousseau
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...
(1791), he defended the life and principles of his author.
He was imprisoned during the Reign of Terror
Reign of Terror
The Reign of Terror , also known simply as The Terror , was a period of violence that occurred after the onset of the French Revolution, incited by conflict between rival political factions, the Girondins and the Jacobins, and marked by mass executions of "enemies of...
and escaped with life only by the downfall of Maximilien Robespierre
Maximilien Robespierre
Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre is one of the best-known and most influential figures of the French Revolution. He largely dominated the Committee of Public Safety and was instrumental in the period of the Revolution commonly known as the Reign of Terror, which ended with his...
. After his release he assisted, as director-general of the "commission exécutive de l'instruction publique", in reorganizing the system of public instruction, and he was an original member of the Institute of France. In 1797, the Directory appointed him minister plenipotentiary to the king of Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
. After seven months, Ginguené retired to his country house of St Prix, in the valley of Montmorency. He was appointed a member of the tribunate, but Napoleon, finding that he was not sufficiently tractable, had him expelled at the first "purge", and Ginguené returned to his literary pursuits.
Works
He was one of the commission appointed to continue the Histoire littéraire de la FranceHistoire littéraire de la France
Histoire littéraire de la France is an enormous history of French literature initiated in 1733 by Dom Rivest and the Benedictines of St. Maur but it was abandoned in 1763 after the publication of volume XII...
, and he contributed to the volumes of this series which appeared in 1814, 1817 and 1820. Ginguené's most important work is the Histoire littéraire d'Italie (14 vols., 1811–1835). He was putting the finishing touches to the eighth and ninth volumes when he died. The last five volumes were written by Francesco Salfi and revised by Pierre Daunou
Pierre Claude François Daunou
Pierre Claude François Daunou was a French statesman and historian of the French Revolution and Empire.- Early career :...
.
In the composition of his history of Italian literature he was guided for the most part by the great work of Girolamo Tiraboschi
Girolamo Tiraboschi
Girolamo Tiraboschi was an Italian literary critic, the first historian of Italian literature.-Biography:Born in Bergamo, he studied at the Jesuit college in Monza, entered the order, and was appointed in 1755 professor of eloquence in the University of Milan...
, but he avoids the prejudices and party views of his model.
Ginguené edited the Décade philosophique, politique et littéraire until it was suppressed by Napoleon in 1807. He contributed largely to the Biographie universelle, the Mercure de France and the Encyclopidie méthodique; and he edited the works of Nicolas Chamfort
Nicolas Chamfort
Nicolas Chamfort was a French writer, best known for his witty epigrams and aphorisms. He was secretary of Louis XVI's sister, and of the Jacobin club.-Life:...
and of Lebrun
Ponce Denis Écouchard Lebrun
Ponce Denis Écouchard Lebrun was a French lyric poet.He was born in Paris at the house of the prince de Conti, to whom his father was valet....
. Among his minor productions are an opera, Pomponin on le tuteur mystifié (1777); La Satire des satires (1778); De l'autorité de Rabelais dans la revolution présente (1791); De M. Neckar (1795); Fables nouvelles (1810); Fables inédites (1814).