Guillaume-Hyacinthe Bougeant, known as le Père Bougeant (4 November 1690,

Quimper Quimper (, ; br, Kemper ; la, Civitas Aquilonia or ) is a commune and prefecture of the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France. Administration Quimper is the prefecture (capital) of the Finistère department. Geography Th ...

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...

– 17 January 1743,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

) was a French Jesuit and historian. Bougeant entered the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

in 1706, taught classics in the College of Caen and Nevers and lived for a number of years in Paris until his death. His ''Amusement philosophique sur le language des bêtes'' (Philosophical Amusements on the Language of the Animals), published in 1737, attracted the censure of his superiors, leading to his brief exile from Paris. It was translated into English, Italian, and German. His historical works on the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...

and on the

Treaty of Westphalia The Peace of Westphalia (german: Westfälischer Friede, ) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought pea ...

have been regarded as among the best historical books written by Jesuits. They were translated into German. He is also the author of a theological treatise on the form of consecration of the

Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...

, and of a ''Catechism'' divided into three parts, historical, dogmatic, and practical. This catechism, translated into Italian and German, went through many editions and was still in use in 1900. In his three comedies, ''Le Femme Docteur'', ''Le Saint déniché'', and ''Les Quakres français'' he satirizes the

Jansenists Jansenism was an Early modern period, early modern Christian theology, theological movement within Catholicism, primarily active in the Kingdom of France, that emphasized original sin, human Total depravity, depravity, the necessity of divine g ...

. The first of the three went through twenty-five editions in a few months, and was translated into Italian, Polish, Spanish, and Dutch. Between 1725 and 1737 he contributed many articles to the ''

Mémoires de Trévoux ''Mémoires'' (''Memories'') is an artist's book made by the French social critic Guy Debord in collaboration with the Danish artist Asger Jorn. Its last page mentions that it was printed in 1959, however, it was printed in December 1958. This p ...

''.

References

* Sommervogel, Carlos, ''Bibliothèque de la Campagnie de Jesus'', I, 1873–85.

External links

* *
Father Bougeant, ''A Philosophical Amusement Upon the Language of Brutes''
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bougeant, Guillaume Hyacinthe 1690 births 1743 deaths Writers from Quimper 18th-century French Jesuits 18th-century French writers 18th-century French male writers 18th-century French dramatists and playwrights 18th-century French historians