Dominique Bouhours
Dominique Bouhours (1628-1702) was a prominent French Jesuit, grammarian, and rhetorician born in Paris. At the age of sixteen, he joined the Society of Jesus, which set the foundation for his lifelong engagement with education and literature. Bouhours taught literature at the College of Clermont and later held various teaching positions in Tours and Rouen, culminating in his role as tutor to notable figures, including the sons of the Duc de Longueville and Jean Colbert, Louis XIV's finance minister. He was deeply involved in the discourse surrounding the French language, advocating for its improvement and standardization.
His influential works include "Les Entretiens d'Ariste et d'Eugène" (1671), a defense of classical rhetoric that garnered considerable acclaim, and "La Manière de bien penser sur les ouvrages d'esprit" (1687), which outlined rules for poetic composition. Bouhours' contributions were significant during a time when literary standards and criteria were hotly debated in France, amidst various societal and ideological conflicts. In addition to his secular writings, he authored biographies of saints and translated the New Testament into French, further cementing his impact on both literary criticism and religious scholarship.
On this Page
Subject Terms
Dominique Bouhours
Jesuit
- Born: 1628
- Birthplace: Paris, France
- Died: May 27, 1702
- Place of death: Paris, France
Biography
Dominique Bouhours was born in Paris in 1628. When he was sixteen, he entered the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits). He first lectured on literature at the College of Clermont in Paris, and was subsequently sent to Tours and Rouen, where he taught grammar and rhetoric. He then became the tutor of the Duc de Longueville’s sons. This position was followed by a missionary assignment to Dunkirk to minister to the Catholic refugees from England who were assembled there. He returned to Paris in 1666 to become tutor to the eldest son of Jean Colbert, Louis XIV’s minister of finance.
As a grammarian and rhetorician, he took a very active part in the discussions to improve and standardize the French language and develop criteria for works written in French. In 1671, he published Les Entretiens d’Ariste et d’Eugène, in which he defended the classical rhetorical tradition and purity of language. The work enjoyed wide popularity and was printed five times at Paris and twice at Grenoble. These printings were followed by several others, including one at Lyon and one at Amsterdam.
Bouhours followed this work with Doutes sur la langue française proposez à messieurs de l’Académie française par un gentilhomme de province in 1675. His La Manière de bien penser sur les ouvrages d’esprit appeared in 1687. This work on literary theory proposed certain rules which should be adhered to in poetic composition. Citing a number of examples from Latin, French, Spanish, and Italian literature, it also maintained the superiority of classical and French literature over that of Spain and Italy.
The development of criteria for literary composition and criticism was one of the main concerns of seventeenth century French society. Questions such as, how is literature different from other writing, what is beauty in literature, and what is correct and acceptable language were occupying the grammarians of the day. This development was a very complicated issue, for it was entwined with several conflicts of the period.
The seventeenth century was a time of contending factions and how thoughts were expressed was an integral part of each of these groups. The king’s court stood in opposition to the Palais de Justice (law courts); the religious orders of Jesuits (Society of Jesus) and Jansenists continually engaged in polemics. Worldliness of court society was in conflict with the religious austerity of Jansenism. The situation was further complicated as Jesuits and Court aristocracy were for the most part united against the parlementaires of the law court and the Jansenists. Bouhours, being a Jesuit and a grammarian, entered into the conflict with his severe criticism of the writings of authors connected with the Jansenist center of Port Royal.
In addition to his secular works on grammar and language, Bouhours wrote on the two lives of saints: his Vie de Saint Ignace de Loyola was published in 1679, followed by Vie de S. François-Xavier in 1682. He also published a translation of the New Testament into French in 1682. He played an important role in the development of literary criticism.