Abbé
''Abbé'' (from Latin , in turn from Greek , , from Aramaic ''abba'', a title of honour, literally meaning "the father, my father", emphatic state of ''abh'', "father") is the French word for an abbot. It is also the title used for lower-ranki ...
Auguste-Th̩odore-Paul de Broglie (June 18, 1834 РMay 11, 1895) was professor of
apologetics
Apologetics (from Greek ) is the religious discipline of defending religious doctrines through systematic argumentation and discourse. Early Christian writers (c. 120–220) who defended their beliefs against critics and recommended their f ...
at the Institut Catholique in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, and writer on apologetic subjects.
He was the son of
Achille-Victor, Duc de Broglie, and his wife,
Albertine, baroness Staël von Holstein
Albertine Ida Gustavine, Baroness de Staël-Holstein or simply Albertine (8 June 1797– 22 September 1838), was the daughter of Erik Magnus Staël von Holstein and Madame de Staël, the granddaughter of Jacques Necker and Suzanne Curchod, wife t ...
, a Protestant and the daughter of
Madame de Staël Madame may refer to:
* Madam, civility title or form of address for women, derived from the French
* Madam (prostitution), a term for a woman who is engaged in the business of procuring prostitutes, usually the manager of a brothel
* ''Madame'' ( ...
. After the death of his mother, who died young, he was brought up by the Baroness
Auguste de Staël, née Vernet. This aunt, although also a Protestant, exerted herself "to make a large-minded Christian of him in the Church to which she did not belong" (Monseigneur d'Hulst in ''
Le Correspondant
''Le Correspondent'' was a French Catholic review, founded in March 1829 by Louis de Carné, Edmond de Cazalès, and Camille-Augustin de Meaux. The motto of this moderately royalist Catholic review was "Liberté civile et religieuse par tout l†...
'', 25 May 1895).
Broglie studied at the
École Polytechnique
(, ; also known as Polytechnique or l'X ) is a ''grande école'' located in Palaiseau, France. It specializes in science and engineering and is a founding member of the Polytechnic Institute of Paris.
The school was founded in 1794 by mat ...
, leaving in 1855. Still young, he entered the navy; he was appointed ensign in 1857 and soon after lieutenant. After a voyage to
New Caledonia
New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...
in which he came in contact with active missions, he felt himself called to the religious life. He entered the
Seminary of Saint Sulpice in Paris in 1867. After completing his studies there he was ordained priest on 18 October 1870. He was named professor of apologetics at the Institut Catholique in 1879. His teaching, which included philosophical, theological, biblical and historical themes, were intended to defend the Catholic faith from perceived attacks from
Positivism
Positivism is a philosophical school that holds that all genuine knowledge is either true by definition or positivemeaning '' a posteriori'' facts derived by reason and logic from sensory experience.John J. Macionis, Linda M. Gerber, ''Soci ...
and
Rationalism
In philosophy, rationalism is the Epistemology, epistemological view that "regards reason as the chief source and test of knowledge" or "the position that reason has precedence over other ways of acquiring knowledge", often in contrast to ot ...
. He maintained the harmony and autonomy of the two spheres of knowledge, religion and reason.
Works
In his numerous publications the Abbé de Broglie was always a faithful defender of Catholic dogma. At the time of his death, which resulted from the violence of an insane person he had taken under his protection, he was preparing a book on the agreement of reason and faith.
His most important work is (Paris, 1886). Of his other writings, some of which were pamphlets or articles in reviews, the following may be mentioned:
* (2 vol., ParÃs 1880-81)
* (1883)
* (1885)
* (1886)
* (1894)
*
*
*
*;
*
*
*
*
*
Two posthumous publications, (1896) and (1897) were edited by the Abbé Piat.
References
* C. Piat, ''L'apologétique de l'abbé de Broglie (Paris, 1896)
* A. Largent, ''L'abbé de Broglie, sa vie et ses œuvres'' (Paris, 1903), with a complete list of his works
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*
External links
Short biographyand a synopsis of his philophy
Selected bibliography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Broglie, Auguste-Theodore-Paul de
1834 births
1895 deaths
19th-century French Roman Catholic priests
French scholars
Children of prime ministers of France