Jacques-Benigne Bossuet (1627-1704)
French prelate, one of the greatest orators in French history. At an
early age he was made a canon at Metz; he became bishop of Condom and was
(1670-81) tutor to the dauphin (father of Louis XV), for whom he wrote his great
Discourse on Universal History (1681, tr. 1778, 1821), Politics
Derived from Holy Writ (1709), and Treatise of the Knowledge of God and
One's Self (1722). In 1681 he became bishop of Meaux. Unrivaled for his
eloquence, he is celebrated for his Funeral Orations (1689), particularly
those on Henrietta of England, on her daughter, and on Condé, which are
masterpieces of their kind. He was also a great moralist, a magnificent stylist,
and a powerful controversialist, brilliantly attacking Fénelon and the
quietists, the Jesuits, and the Protestants.
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