Bossuet, Jacques-Bénigne

(1627-1704)

   prelate, theologian, and writer

   one of the greatest French preachers and religious writers, Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet was born in Dijon and educated in Jesuit schools in Paris. In 1652, he was ordained a priest and, after being initially guided by Saint Vincent de paul, soon earned a reputation for his erudition and ability as a preacher. From 1670 to 1681, he was tutor to the son of louis XIV and marie thérèse, the grand dauphin for whom he wrote his great Discours sur l'histoire universelle (1681), one of the first philosophical interpretations of history. In it, Bossuet argued that all history is impelled by Divine Providence. In 1681, he became bishop of Meaux. A peerless orator, Bossuet is best known for his Oraisons funèbres, which he gave between 1656 and 1687 and which are his panegyrics on major national figures. The virtual head of the French Catholic Church, he participated in the quarrel between Louis XIV and Pope Innocent XI over the respective rights of the king and the pope in France and edited the Déclaration du clergé de France (1682), in which he presented his theses. supporting the monarch, Bossuet's ideas became the basis for subsequent claims of both king and church in France for independence from the papacy (see gallican-ism). He also took part in a famous dispute with the French prelate François fénelon over the mystical teachings of quietism. While Fénelon supported quietism, Bossuet considered it a heresy. His opinion influenced the pope, who soon condemned Fénelon's writings. An intense and dramatic preacher, as well as a prolific scholar, Bossuet was elected to the Académie Française in 1671. His other works include Histoire des variations des Églises protestantes (1688), Défense de l'histoire des variations (1691), and Relation sur le quiétisme (1698).