Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet
Roman Catholic Church | |
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Diocese | Meaux |
See | Cathedral of Saint Stephen |
Installed | 17 November 1681 |
Term ended | 12 April 1704 |
Predecessor | Dominique de Ligny |
Successor | Henri-Pons de Thiard de Bissy |
Personal details | |
Born | |
Died | 12 April 1704 Paris, France | (aged 76)
Occupation | Bishop, writer, tutor |
Alma mater | College of Navarre, Paris |
Signature |
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Catholic philosophy |
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Jacques-Bénigne Lignel Bossuet (French:
A native of Dijon, Bossuet was educated at a Jesuit school before enrolling in the College of Navarre in Paris, where he studied philosophy and theology. In 1652, he was ordained a priest and became a Doctor of Divinity. He spent the next seven years at Metz, where he honed his skills in oratory and politics, before returning to Paris and establishing his reputation as a great preacher. By the early 1660s, Bossuet was preaching regularly before the court of King Louis XIV at Versailles. He was appointed tutor to the Dauphin in 1670 and elected to the Académie Française a year later. In 1681, he was appointed Bishop of Meaux, a position he held until his death. Bossuet was a strong advocate of political absolutism and the divine right of kings. Later in his life, he was also involved in the controversies over Gallicanism and Quietism, and supported the king's revocation of the Edict of Nantes, which abolished the rights of the Huguenot Protestant minority. Bossuet died in 1704 at the age of 76.
The works of Bossuet best known to English speakers are three great orations delivered at the funerals of
Biography
Early years
Bossuet was born at
The boy was sent to school at the Collège des Godrans, a
In 1642, Bossuet enrolled in the
For the time being, however, Cornet and Arnaud were still on good terms. In 1643, Arnaud introduced Bossuet to the Hôtel de Rambouillet, a great centre of aristocratic culture and the original home of the Précieuses. Bossuet was already showing signs of the oratorical brilliance which served him so well throughout his life. On one celebrated occasion at the Hôtel de Rambouillet, during a dispute about extempore preaching, the 16-year-old Bossuet was called on to deliver an impromptu sermon at 11 pm. Vincent Voiture famously quipped: "I never heard anybody preach so early nor so late".[2]
Early clerical career
Bossuet became a Master of Arts in 1643. He sustained his first thesis (tentativa) in theology on 25 January 1648, in the presence of the Prince de Condé.[1] Later in 1648, he was ordained a subdeacon by Sébastien Zamet, Bishop of Langres. His ordination as a deacon came in 1649,[4] after which he began to preach his first sermons.
He sustained his second thesis (sorbonica) on 9 November 1650. Then, in preparation for the
Priest at Metz
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In January 1652, Bossuet returned to public life, being named
He spent the next seven years at Metz, where he now had the office of archdeacon. He was plunged at once into the thick of controversy; nearly half of Metz was
In 1657, in Metz, Bossuet preached before Anne of Austria, mother of Louis XIV. As a result, he received the honorific title of "Counselor and Preacher to the King".
Early career in Paris
In 1657, St. Vincent de Paul convinced Bossuet to move to Paris and give himself entirely to
Bossuet quickly gained a reputation as a great preacher, and by 1660, he was preaching regularly before the
In Paris, the congregations had no mercy on purely clerical logic or clerical taste; if a preacher wished to catch their ear, he had to manage to address them in terms they would agree to consider sensible and well-bred. Having very stern ideas of the dignity of a priest, Bossuet refused to descend to the usual devices for arousing popular interest.[5]
The narrative element in Bossuet's sermons grew shorter with each year. He never drew satirical pictures like his great rival Louis Bourdaloue. He would not write out his discourses in full, much less learn them off by heart: of the two hundred printed in his works, all but a fraction are rough drafts. Ladies such as Mme de Sévigné forsook him when Bourdaloue dawned on the Paris horizon in 1669, though Fénelon and La Bruyère, two much sounder critics, refused to follow their example.[5]
Bossuet possessed the full equipment of the orator: voice, language, flexibility, and strength. He never needed to strain for effect; his genius struck out at a single blow the thought, the feeling, and the word. What he said of Martin Luther applied peculiarly to himself: he could fling his fury into theses and thus unite the dry light of argument with the fire and heat of passion. These qualities reached their highest point in the Oraisons funèbres (Funeral Orations).[5]
Bossuet was always best when at work on a large canvas; besides, here no conscientious scruples intervened to prevent him from giving much time and thought to the artistic side of his subject. The Oraison, as its name betokened, stood midway between the sermon proper and what would nowadays be called a biographical sketch. At least that was what Bossuet made it; for on this field, he stood not merely first, but alone.[5]
137 of Bossuet's sermons preached in the period from 1659 to 1669 are extant, and it is estimated that he preached more than a hundred more that have since been lost.[citation needed] Apart from state occasions, Bossuet seldom appeared in a Paris pulpit after 1669.[5]
Tutor to the Dauphin, 1670–1681
A favourite of the court, in 1669 Bossuet was gazetted
On 18 September 1670 he was appointed tutor to the nine-year-old
Bossuet's tutorial functions involved composing all the necessary books of instruction, including not just handwriting samples, but also manuals of philosophy, history, and religion fit for a future
The Grand Dauphin had often forgotten these duties, but his son,
The whole chain of argument seemed to him so clear and simple. Philosophy proves that God exists and that He shapes and governs the course of human affairs. History shows that this governance is, for the most part, indirect, exercised through certain venerable corporations, as well civil and ecclesiastical, all of which demand implicit obedience as the immediate representatives of God. Thus all revolt, whether civil or religious, is a direct defiance of the Almighty.[5]
Oliver Cromwell becomes a moral monster, and the revocation of the Edict of Nantes was the greatest achievement of the second Constantine. The France of his youth had known the misery of divided counsels and civil war; the France of his adulthood, brought together under an absolute sovereign, had suddenly burgeoned into a splendour comparable only with ancient Rome. Why not, then, strain every nerve to hold innovation at bay and prolong that splendour for all time? Bossuet's own Discours sur l'histoire universelle might have furnished an answer, for there the fall of many empires is detailed; but then the Discours was composed with a single purpose in mind.[5]
To Bossuet, the establishment of
Bishop of Meaux, 1681–1704
With the period of the Dauphin's formal education ending in 1681, Bossuet was appointed
Efforts to combat Protestantism
The Gallican storm a little abated, he turned back to a project very near his heart. Ever since the early days at
Finally, in 1688, his great Histoire des variations des Églises protestantes ("History of the Variations of the Protestant Churches"), perhaps the most brilliant of all his works, appeared. Few writers could have made the Justification controversy interesting or even intelligible. His argument is simple enough. Without rules, an organized society cannot hold together, and rules require an authorized interpreter. The Protestant churches had thrown over this interpreter; and Bossuet had small trouble in showing that, the longer they lived, the more they varied on increasingly important points.[9]
The Protestant Minister Pierre Jurieu having responded to the Histoire des variations, Bossuet published the Avertissements aux protestants sur les lettres du ministre Jurieu contre l'Histoire des variations (Warnings to Protestants on the letters of Minister Jurieu against the History of Variations, 1689–1691). In the fifth of these Avertissements (1690), he denied the thesis of the explicit or implicit contract between the prince and his subjects, which Jurieu supported, and formulated the famous sentence: "To condemn this state [= slavery], it would not only be condemn the law of nations, where servitude is admitted, as it appears by all the laws; but that would be to condemn the Holy Spirit, who commands slaves, through the mouth of St. Paul,[10] to remain in their state, and does not oblige their masters to free them.[11] Flaubert, in his Sottisier,[12] noted that in the 19th century, Catholic theology had varied to the point of expressing ideas on slavery diametrically opposed to those of Bossuet.
For the moment, the Protestants were pulverized; but before long, they began to ask whether variation was necessarily so great an evil. Between 1691 and 1701, Bossuet corresponded with
Next, Protestant writers began to accumulate some alleged proofs of Rome's own variations; and here, they were backed up by Richard Simon, a priest of the Paris Oratory and the father of biblical criticism in France. He accused St Augustine, Bossuet's own special master, of having corrupted the primitive doctrine of grace.[9]
Bossuet set to work on a Defense de la tradition, but Simon calmly went on to raise issues graver still. Under a veil of politely ironic circumlocutions, such as did not deceive the Bishop of Meaux, he claimed his right to interpret the Bible like any other book. Bossuet denounced him again and again; Simon told his friends he would wait until the old fellow was no more. Another Oratorian proved more dangerous still. Simon had endangered miracles by applying to them lay rules of evidence, but Malebranche abrogated miracles altogether. It was blasphemous, he argued, to suppose that the Author of nature would violate the law He had Himself established. Bossuet might scribble nova, mira, falsa in the margins of his book and urge Fénelon to attack them; Malebranche politely met his threats by saying that to be refuted by such a pen would do him too much honor. These repeated checks soured Bossuet's temper.[9]
In his earlier controversies, he had borne himself with great
Controversy with Fénelon
This section needs additional citations for verification. (September 2016) |
Three years later, he was battling with Bishop François Fénelon over the love of God.[9] Fénelon, 24 years his junior, was an old pupil who had suddenly become a rival; like Bossuet, Fénelon was a bishop who served as a royal tutor.[citation needed]
The controversy concerned their different reactions to the opinions of
Bossuet now composed Instructions sur les états d'oraison, a work that explained the Articles d'Issy in greater depth. Fénelon refused to endorse this treatise, however, and instead composed his own explanation as to the meaning of the Articles d'Issy, his Explication des Maximes des Saints. He explained his view that the goal of human life should be to have love of God as its perfect object, with neither fear of punishment nor desire for the reward of eternal life having anything to do with this pure love of God. King Louis XIV reproached Bossuet for failing to warn him that his grandsons' tutor had such unorthodox opinions and instructed Bossuet and other bishops to respond to the Maximes des Saints.[citation needed]
Bossuet and Fénelon thus spent the years 1697–1699 battling each other in pamphlets and letters until the Inquisition finally condemned the Maximes des Saints on 12 March 1699. Pope Innocent XII selected 23 specific passages for condemnation. Bossuet triumphed in the controversy and Fénelon submitted to Rome's determination of the matter.[citation needed]
Death
Until he was over 70 years, Bossuet enjoyed good health, but in 1702 he developed chronic
Preaching
Bossuet is widely considered to be one of the most influential
Works
An edition of Bossuet's sermons was edited by Abbé Lebarq in 6 vols. (Paris, 1890, 1896), as the Œuvres oratoires de Bossuet. His complete works were edited by Lachat in 31 vols. (Paris, 1862–1864).
- Méditation sur la brièveté de la vie (1648)
- Réfutation du catéchisme de Paul Ferry (1655)
- Oraison funèbre de Yolande de Monterby (1656)
- Oracion funebre e Valeria Slazar (1657)
- Panégyrique de saint Paul (1659)
- Oraison funèbre de Nicolas Cornet (1663)
- Oraison funèbre d'Anne d'Autriche (1667)
- Oraison funèbre d'Henriette Marie de France (1669)
- Oraison funèbre d'Henriette d'Angleterre(1670)
- Exposition de la doctrine de l'église catholique sur les matières de controverse (1671)
- Sermon pour la Profession de Mademoiselle de La Vallière (1675)
- Traité de la connaissance de Dieu et de soi-même (1677)
- Traité du libre arbitre (1677)
- Logique (1677 – published only in 1828)
- Conférence avec le pasteur Claude (1678 – published 1682)
- Discours sur l'histoire universelle or Speech of Universal History (1681)
- Politique tirée de l'Écriture sainte (Politics Drawn from the Very Words of Holy Scripture) (1679 – published 1709)
- Sermon sur l'unité de l'Église (1682)
- Oraison funèbre de Marie Thérèse (1683)
- Oraison funèbre d' Anne de Gonzague, princesse Palatine (1685)
- Oraison funèbre de Michel Le Tellier (1686)
- Oraison funèbre de Mme du Blé d'Uxelles (1686)
- Oraison funèbre du prince de Condé(1687)
- Catéchisme du diocèse de Meaux(1687)
- Histoire des variations des Églises protestantes (1688)
- Explication de l'Apocalypse (1689)
- Avertissements aux Protestants (I, II, III) (1689)
- Avertissements aux Protestants (IV, V, VI) (1690–91)
- Défense de l'Histoire des variations (1690–91)
- Correspondence avec Leibniz (1691–93)
- Défense de la Tradition et des Saints Pères (1691–93)
- Traité de la concupiscence (1691–93)
- Lettre au P. Caffaro (1694–95)
- Maximes et réflexions sur la comédie (1694–95)
- Méditation sur l'Evangile (1694–95)
- Élévations sur les mystères (1694–95)
- Instructions sur les états d'oraison (replying to Fénelon) (1697)
- Relation sur le quiétisme(1698)
- Instructions pastorales pour les Protestants (manual for Protestant converts to Catholicism) (1701)
- The Sermon on the Mount (An English translation) (1900)
Politics Drawn from the Very Words of Holy Scripture
This section needs additional citations for verification. (July 2017) |
When Bossuet was chosen to be the tutor of the Dauphin, oldest child of Louis XIV, he wrote several works for the edification of his pupil, one of which was Politics Derived from the Words of Holy Scripture, a discourse on the principles of royal absolutism. The work was published posthumously in 1709.
The work consists of several books which are divided into articles and propositions which lay out the nature, characteristics, duties, and resources of royalty. To justify his propositions, Bossuet quotes liberally from the Bible and various psalms.
Throughout his essay, Bossuet emphasizes the fact that royal authority comes directly from God and that the person of the king is sacred. In the third book, Bossuet asserts that "God establishes kings as his ministers, and reigns through them over the people." He also states that "the prince must be obeyed on principle, as a matter of religion and of conscience." While he declares the absolute authority of rulers, he emphasizes the fact that kings must use their power only for the public good and that the king is not above the law "for if he sins, he destroys the laws by his example."
In books six and seven, Bossuet describes the duties of the subjects to the prince and the special duties of royalty. For Bossuet, the prince was synonymous with the state, which is why, according to him, the subjects of the prince owe the prince the same duties that they owe their country. He also states that "only public enemies make a separation between the interest of the prince and the interest of the state." As far as the duties of royalty, the primary goal is the preservation of the state. Bossuet describes three ways that this can be achieved: by maintaining a good constitution, making good use of the state's resources, and protecting the state from the dangers and difficulties that threaten it.
In books nine and ten, Bossuet outlines the various resources of royalty (arms, wealth, and counsel) and how they should be used. In regards to arms, Bossuet explains that there are just and unjust grounds for war. Unjust causes include ambitious conquest, pillage, and jealousy. As far as wealth is concerned, he then lays out the types of expenditures that a king has and the various sources of wealth for the kingdom. He emphasizes that the true wealth of a kingdom is its men and says that it is important to improve the people's lot and that there would be no more poor.[19]
Trivia
This article contains a list of miscellaneous information. (December 2019) |
The exterior of
A character in Les Misérables, being from Meaux and an orator, is nicknamed Bossuet by his friends.
Bossuet was one of several co-editors on the "Ad usum Delphini" book series (commonly known as the
Bossuet was the uncle of Louis Bossuet.
Bossuet was quoted and mentioned in the song 'Un poison violent, c'est ça l'amour' by Serge Gainsbourg in Anna (1967 film)
Bossuet has a school named after him.
See also
- Jacques Benigne Bossuet; a study, E.K. Sanders, London, 1921.
- Bossuet and His Contemporaries, Lear, H. L. Sidney, London, 1874.
Notes
- ^ a b c Cohn, Adolphe. "Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet", The Library of the World's Best Literature, (C.D. Warner et al. comp.) 1917 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ a b c Delamarre, Louis, and Ferdinand Brunetière. "Jacques-Benigne Bossuet." The Catholic Encyclopedia Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 15 August 2019 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ H.L. Sidney Lear, 'Bossuet and His Contemporaries' (1874, Rivingtons), p.10
- ^ a b Sanders, E.K., Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet: A Study by ... with Two Portraits, Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1921, p. 14
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Northcote 1911, p. 288.
- ISBN 978-0-521-36807-0.
- ^ Because of his work on Biblical chronology, Bossuet has been described as one of the last great practicitioners of a biblically inspired view of history. Cited by Berthoud in his paper on Heinrich Bullinger, (Berthoud, Jean-Marc, Heinrich Bullinger and the Reformation. A comprehensive faith (PDF), www.elib.org.uk, archived from the original (PDF) on 16 May 2005, retrieved 11 July 2006).
- ^ Ritzler & Sefrin 1952, p. 263.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Northcote 1911, p. 289.
- ^ I Cor, VII, 24; Ephes., VI, 7 seq.
- ^ Bossuet, Warngs to Protestants, 5th warning, § 50. Complete Works of Bossuet, t. 3, 1879, p. 610.
- ^ Extracts from Flaubert's Sottisier in the Folio edition of Bouvard et Pécuchet, 2006, p. 468.
- ^ "Bossuet, Jacques-Bénigne (27 September 1627 - 12 April 1704): Geographicus Rare Antique Maps". www.geographicus.com. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
- ^ a b Jacoebee 1982, pp. 227–242.
- ^ Edwards, p. 11.
- ^ Worcester, p. 134.
- ^ Worcester, p. 152
- ^ Voltaire 1957, pp. 10005–1006 cited in Worcester, p. 151.
- ^ Bossuet 1987, pp. 31–47.
References
- Bossuet, Jacques-Benigne (1987), "Politics Derived from the Words of Holy Scripture", in Baker, Keith Michael (ed.), The Old Regime and the French Revolution, Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, pp. 31–47
- Edwards, O. C. Jr., "Varieties of Sermon: A Survey", in Eijnatten, Joris van (ed.), Preaching, Sermon and Culture Change in the Long Eighteenth Century, p. 11[full citation needed]
- Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. .
- Jacoebee, W. Pierre (1982), "The Classical Sermon and the French Literary Tradition", Australian Journal of French Studies, 19 (3): 227–242,
- Jacques-Benigne Bossuet, New Advent
- Ritzler, Remigius; Sefrin, Pirminus (1952), Hierarchia catholica medii et recentis aevi V (1667–1730), Patavii: Messagero di S. Antonio, p. 263
- Worcester, Thomas, "The Classical Sermon", in Eijnatten, Joris van (ed.), Preaching, Sermon and Culture Change in the Long Eighteenth Century, pp. 134, 154[full citation needed]
Attribution:
- public domain: Northcote, Stafford Henry (1911), "Bossuet, Jaques Bénigne", in Chisholm, Hugh (ed.), Encyclopædia Britannica, vol. 4 (11th ed.), Cambridge University Press, pp. 287–289 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
External links
- Connell, Archibald Browning (1878), Encyclopædia Britannica, vol. 4 (9th ed.), pp. 70–72 ,
- Works by or about Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet at Internet Archive
- Works by Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
- Discours sur l'Histoire universelle ( French text – 1681 PDF)
- (in French) Livre audio mp3 gratuit: Oraison funèbre de Henriette-Anne d’Angleterre, duchesse d’Orléans. Oraison funèbre de Henriette-Marie de France, reine de la Grand’Bretagne.