Paul Mouterde (1892– 14 January 1972) was a French

Jesuit 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 ...

missionary and

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

, and the director of the Oriental Library at the

Saint Joseph University Saint Joseph University of Beirut (; French: ''Université Saint-Joseph de Beyrouth'', commonly known as USJ) is a private Catholic research university in Beirut, Lebanon, founded in 1875 by French Jesuit missionaries and subsidized by the Go ...

of Beirut. He published two previously unknown

homilies A homily (from Greek ὁμιλία, ''homilía'') is a commentary that follows a reading of scripture, giving the "public explanation of a sacred doctrine" or text. The works of Origen and John Chrysostom (known as Paschal Homily) are considered e ...

of fifth-century Syriac poet-

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

Jacob of Serugh Jacob of Serugh (, ; ; 452–521), also called Jacob of Sarug or Mar Jacob (), was one of the foremost poets and theologians of the Syriac Christian tradition, second only to Ephrem the Syrian and equal to Narsai. He lived most of his life as ...

, and multiple works on Levantine flora, including a three-volume work on the

flora of Lebanon The flora of Lebanon includes approximately 2,600 plant species. Situated on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Basin, Lebanon is a reservoir of plant diversity and one of the world's biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities. Endemic ...

and Syria.

Early life

Paul Mouterde was born in 1862 in

Bruyères Bruyères () is a commune in the Vosges department in Grand Est in northeastern France. The town built up around a castle built on a hill in the locality in the 6th century. It was the birthplace of Jean Lurçat, in 1892. History In World W ...

, in the French Department of

Vosges The Vosges ( , ; ; Franconian and ) is a range of medium mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single geomorphological unit and ...

. His father was Professor of Law at the

Catholic University of Lyon The Catholic University of Lyon (UCLy), also known as the Lyon Catholic Institute ( French: ''Institut Catholique de Lyon''), is a French private university based in Lyon and Annecy, Southeastern France. History The Lyon Catholic University has ...

Selected works

* ''Petite flore des environs de Beyrouth'' (1935) * ''La Flore du Djebel Druze'' (1953) * ''Deux homélies inédites de Jacques de Saroug'' (1944) * ''Nouvelle flore du Liban et de la Syrie'' (1966–1978)

References

Citations

Sources

* * * * * * * * * {{Authority control 1892 births 1972 deaths 20th-century French zoologists 20th-century French botanists French Jesuits 20th-century French biologists French ethnologists