Gérard Du Doyer de Gastels (29 April 1732 – 10 April 1798) was an 18th-century French poet and playwright.

Biography

The son of a councilor by the Accounting Chamber and brother of an adviser to Parlement, the Marquis Du Doyer served for fifteen years in the regiment of Aunis which he left to become an oratorian. He remained seven years at the Oratory and became a

Jansenist Jansenism was an early modern theological movement within Catholicism, primarily active in the Kingdom of France, that emphasized original sin, human depravity, the necessity of divine grace, and predestination. It was declared a heresy by th ...

and a zealous convulsionnaire then left the community with feelings that made him consider favorably by the

Encyclopédistes The Encyclopédistes () (also known in British English as Encyclopaedists, or in U.S. English as Encyclopedists) were members of the , a French writers' society, who contributed to the development of the ''Encyclopédie'' from June 1751 to Decembe ...

. He devoted himself to the study of science and neglected none, since he had studied theology at the Oratory, to chemistry and mathematics. Frequent readings he made of Bayle completed his drive to

skepticism Skepticism, also spelled scepticism, is a questioning attitude or doubt toward knowledge claims that are seen as mere belief or dogma. For example, if a person is skeptical about claims made by their government about an ongoing war then the p ...

and he eventually believed nothing without mathematical evidence. He was only twenty-two when

Claude Joseph Dorat Claude Joseph Dorat (31 December 1734 – 29 April 1780) was a French writer, also known as Le Chevalier Dorat. He was born in Paris, of a family consisting of generations of lawyers, and he joined the corps of the king's musketeers. He became f ...

had the opportunity to introduce him to mademoiselle Deligny, young actress of the Theatre français. Du Doyer doted on her, and addressed her an epistle in verse, which was printed in the 1766 edition of the '' Almanach des Muses''. Having married her, he composed some plays and lived to the age of 65, still in love with her and always happy, although other records indicate that they did not live in such close intimacy. Dudoyer had several plays presented at the

Comédie-Française The Comédie-Française () or Théâtre-Français () is one of the few state theatres in France. Founded in 1680, it is the oldest active theatre company in the world. Established as a French state-controlled entity in 1995, it is the only state ...

: * ''Laurette'', two-act comedy in free verse, played 14 September 1768 ; * ''le Vindicatif'', drama in 5 acts and in free verse, 1774, in-8°, which had several presentations ; *''Adélaïde ou l’Antipathie contre l’amour'', comedy in 2 acts and in ten syllables verse, 1780, in-8°;"A triffle, said Laharpe, whose bottom, it is true, is very worn, but that is written with ease, sometimes with grace, and of with few details and the actors' performances made pretty much the merit." ''Œuvres de Jean François de La Harpe, accompagnées d'une notice sur sa vie et sur ses ouvrages (avec des estampes)'', vol.11, Paris, Verdière, 1820, 499 pages, (p. 289–90). * Several of his poems were inserted in the ''Almanach des Muses'' ; he left several manuscripts, among which a tragedy whose title and subject are unknown.

Notes

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External links

Gérard Dudoyer de Gastels
on data.bnf.fr {{DEFAULTSORT:Du Doyer de Gastels, Gerard 18th-century French dramatists and playwrights 18th-century French poets 18th-century French male writers 1732 births People from Eure-et-Loir 1798 deaths