Denis-Antoine-Luc, comte de Frayssinous (9 May 176512 December 1841) was a French

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

and

statesman A statesman or stateswoman is a politician or a leader in an organization who has had a long and respected career at the national or international level, or in a given field. Statesman or statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States ...

orator An orator, or oratist, is a public speaker, especially one who is eloquent or skilled. Etymology Recorded in English c. 1374, with a meaning of "one who pleads or argues for a cause", from Anglo-French ''oratour'', Old French ''orateur'' (14 ...

and writer. He was the eighth member elected to occupy Seat 3 of the

Académie Française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

in 1822.

Biography

De Frayssinous was born of humble parentage at Curières, in the ''département'' of

Aveyron Aveyron (; ) is a Departments of France, department in the Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Southern France. It was named after the river Aveyron (river), Aveyron. Its inhabitants are known as ''Aveyro ...

. He owes his reputation mainly to the lectures on

dogma Dogma, in its broadest sense, is any belief held definitively and without the possibility of reform. It may be in the form of an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, such as Judaism, Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, or Islam ...

tic

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

, known as the conferences of Saint Sulpice, delivered in the church of Saint Sulpice, Paris, from 1803 to 1809, to which admiring crowds were attracted by his lucid exposition and by his graceful oratory. The freedom of his language in 1809, when

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

had arrested the pope and declared the annexation of Rome to France, led to a prohibition of his lectures; and the dispersion of the congregation of Saint Sulpice in 1811 was followed by his temporary retirement from the capital. He returned with the

Bourbons The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a dynasty that originated in the Kingdom of France as a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. A branch descended from ...

, and resumed his lectures in 1814; but the events of the

Hundred Days The Hundred Days ( ), also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition (), marked the period between Napoleon's return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris on20 March 1815 and the second restoration of King Louis XVIII o ...

again compelled him to withdraw into private life, from which he did not emerge until February 1816.Sources cited: * Louis Bertrand, ''Bibliothèque Sulpicienne'' (t. ii. 135 sq.; iii. 253) for bibliography * Mathieu-Richard-Auguste Henrion (Paris, 2 vols., 1844) for ''Vie de Mgr. Frayssinous, évêque d'Hermopolis'' (biography). As court preacher and almoner to

Louis XVIII of France Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. Before his reign, he spent 23 ...

, he now entered upon the period of his greatest public activity and influence. In connection with the controversy raised by the signing of the reactionary concordat of 1817, he published in 1818 a treatise entitled ''Les vrais principes de l'Église gallicane sur la puissance ecclésiastique'', which though unfavourably criticized by Lamennais, was received with favor by the civil and ecclesiastical authorities. The consecration of Frayssinous as bishop of

Hermopolis Hermopolis (or ''Hermopolis Magna'') was a major city in antiquity, located near the boundary between Lower and Upper Egypt. Its Egyptian name ''Khemenu'' derives from the eight deities (the Ogdoad) said to reside in the city. A provincial capi ...

'' in partibus'', his election to the Académie française, and his appointment to the grand-mastership of the university, followed in rapid succession. In 1824, on the accession of

Charles X of France Charles X (Charles Philippe; 9 October 1757 – 6 November 1836) was King of France from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. An uncle of the uncrowned Louis XVII and younger brother of reigning kings Louis XVI and Louis XVIII, he supported th ...

, he became minister of public instruction and of ecclesiastical affairs under the administration of Jean-Baptiste, Comte de Villèle; and about the same time he was created a peer of France with the title of count. His term of office was chiefly marked by the recall of the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

. In 1825 he published his lectures under the title ''Défense du christianisme''. The work passed through 15 editions within 18 years, and was translated into several European languages. In 1828 he, along with his colleagues in the Villèle ministry, was compelled to resign office, and the subsequent revolution of July 1830 led to his retirement to Rome. Shortly afterwards he became tutor to the duke of Bordeaux ( Comte de Chambord) at

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, where he continued to live until 1838. He died at

Saint-Geniez-d'Olt Saint-Geniez-d'Olt (, literally ''Saint Geniez of Lot (river), Olt''; ) is a former Communes of France, commune in the Aveyron Departments of France, department in southern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Saint- ...

on 12 December 1841.

Literary quotations

The famous novel of

Gustave Flaubert Gustave Flaubert ( , ; ; 12 December 1821 – 8 May 1880) was a French novelist. He has been considered the leading exponent of literary realism in his country and abroad. According to the literary theorist Kornelije Kvas, "in Flaubert, realis ...

Madame Bovary ''Madame Bovary: Provincial Manners'' (; ), commonly known as simply ''Madame Bovary'', is the début novel by France, French writer Gustave Flaubert, originally published in 1856 and 1857. The eponymous character, Emma Bovary, lives beyond he ...

, mentions the Conferences of Saint Sulpice by the abbot Frayssinous, habitual readings during the stay of Emma Rouault (not yet Bovary) in a nunnery.

Biography

Literary quotations

References

Further reading