Pierre-Louis Ginguené (25 April 1748 – 16 November 1816) was a French author.

Biography

He was born at Rennes, in

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

, and educated at a

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college there. He came to Paris in 1772, and wrote criticisms for the ''

Mercure de France The was originally a French gazette and literary magazine first published in the 17th century, but after several incarnations has evolved as a publisher, and is now part of the Éditions Gallimard publishing group. The gazette was published f ...

''. He also composed a comic opera, ''Pomponin'' (1777). The ''Satire des satires'' (1778) and the ''Confession de Zulmé'' (1779) followed. The ''Confession'' was claimed by several different authors and was very successful. Ginguené's defence of Niccola Piccinni against the partisans of

Gluck Christoph Willibald (Ritter von) Gluck (; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period (music), classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of the ...

made him more widely known. He hailed the first symptoms of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

, and joined Giuseppe Cerutti, the author of the ''Mémoire pour le peuple français'' (1788), and others in producing the ''Feuille villageoise'', a weekly paper addressed to the villages of France. He also celebrated in an indifferent ode the opening of the states-general. In his ''Lettres sur les confessions de J.-J. Rousseau'' (1791), he defended the life and principles of his author. He was imprisoned during the

Reign of Terror The Reign of Terror (french: link=no, la Terreur) was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the First Republic, a series of massacres and numerous public executions took place in response to revolutionary fervour, ...

and escaped with life only by the downfall of

Maximilien Robespierre Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (; 6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) was a French lawyer and statesman who became one of the best-known, influential and controversial figures of the French Revolution. As a member of the Esta ...

. After his release he assisted, as director-general of the "''commission exécutive de l'instruction publique''", in reorganizing the system of public instruction, and he was an original member of the Institute of France. In 1797, the Directory appointed him minister plenipotentiary to the king of

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

. After seven months, Ginguené retired to his country house of St Prix, in the valley of Montmorency. He was appointed a member of the tribunate, but

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

, finding that he was not sufficiently tractable, had him expelled at the first "purge", and Ginguené returned to his literary pursuits.

Career

He was one of the commission appointed to continue the ''

Histoire littéraire de la France ''Histoire littéraire de la France'' is an enormous history of French literature initiated in 1733 by Dom Rivet and the Benedictines of St. Maur. It was abandoned in 1763 after the publication of volume XII. In 1814, members of the Académie de ...

'', and he contributed to the volumes of this series which appeared in 1814, 1817 and 1820. Ginguené's most important work is the ''Histoire littéraire d'Italie'' (14 vols., 1811–1835). He was putting the finishing touches to the eighth and ninth volumes when he died. The last five volumes were written by Francesco Salfi and revised by

Pierre Daunou Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

. In the composition of his history of Italian literature he was guided for the most part by the great work of

Girolamo Tiraboschi Girolamo Tiraboschi S.J. (; 18 December 1731 – 9 June 1794) was an Italian literary critic, the first historian of Italian literature. Biography Born in Bergamo, he studied at the Jesuit college in Monza, entered the order, and was appointed i ...

, but he avoids the prejudices and party views of his model. Ginguené edited the ''Décade philosophique, politique et littéraire'' until it was suppressed by

in 1807. He contributed largely to the ''Biographie universelle'', the ''Mercure de France'' and the ''Encyclopidie méthodique''; and he edited the works of

Nicolas Chamfort Sébastien-Roch Nicolas, known in his adult life as Nicolas Chamfort and as Sébastien Nicolas de Chamfort (; 6 April 1741 – 13 April 1794), was a French writer, best known for his epigrams and aphorisms. He was secretary to Louis XVI's siste ...

and of Lebrun. Among his minor productions are an opera, ''Pomponin on le tuteur mystifié'' (1777); ''La Satire des satires'' (1778); ''De l'autorité de Rabelais dans la revolution présente'' (1791); ''De M. Neckar'' (1795); ''Fables nouvelles'' (1810); ''Fables inédites'' (1814).

Legacy

Ginguené is buried in the Père-Lachaise cemetery in Paris. The Rue Ginguené in Rennes is named after him. Cimetière du Père-Lachaise, Paris, France

Works

* '' Pomponin, ou le tuteur mystifié'', opéra bouffon en 2 actes, représenté au

château de Fontainebleau Palace of Fontainebleau (; ) or Château de Fontainebleau, located southeast of the center of Paris, in the commune of Fontainebleau, is one of the largest French royal châteaux. The medieval castle and subsequent palace served as a residence f ...

1777 Events January–March * January 2 – American Revolutionary War – Battle of the Assunpink Creek: American general George Washington's army repulses a British attack by Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis, in a second ...

* ''La Satire des satires'',

1778 Events January–March * January 18 – Third voyage of James Cook: Captain James Cook, with ships HMS ''Resolution'' and HMS ''Discovery'', first views Oahu then Kauai in the Hawaiian Islands of the Pacific Ocean, which he na ...

* ''Épître au poète Le Brun pour l’engager à publier le recueil de ses poésies'', avril 1785 * ''Éloge de

Louis XII Louis XII (27 June 14621 January 1515), was King of France from 1498 to 1515 and King of Naples from 1501 to 1504. The son of Charles, Duke of Orléans, and Maria of Cleves, he succeeded his 2nd cousin once removed and brother in law at the tim ...

, Père du peuple'', discours qui a concouru pour le prix de l’Académie française in 1788 * ''Ode sur les États généraux'', 1789 * '' De l’Autorité de Rabelais dans la révolution présente et dans la constitution civile du clergé, ou institutions royales, politiques et ecclésiastiques, tirées de "Gargantua" et de "Pantagruel"'', 1791 * ''Lettres sur les Confessions de J.-J. Rousseau'', 1791 * ''Tableaux de la Révolution française, ou Collection de quarante-huit gravures, représentant les événements principaux qui ont eu lieu en France depuis la transformation des États généraux en Assemblée nationale, le 20 juin 1789'', en collaboration avec l’abbé Claude Fauchet,

Chamfort Sébastien-Roch Nicolas, known in his adult life as Nicolas Chamfort and as Sébastien Nicolas de Chamfort (; 6 April 1741 – 13 April 1794), was a French writer, best known for his epigrams and aphorisms. He was secretary to Louis XVI of Fran ...

et Pagès, 1791–1804 * ''De M. Necker, et de son livre intitulé : "De la révolution française"'', 1796 * ''Notice sur la vie et les ouvrages de Nicolas Piccinni'', 1800 * ''Coup d’œil rapide sur le ″Génie du christianisme″, ou Quelques pages sur les cinq volumes in-8° publiés sous ce titre par François-Auguste Chateaubriand'', 1802 * ''Lettres de P.-L. Ginguené, ... à un académicien de l’Académie impériale de Turin ’abbé Valperga de Calusosur un passage de la vie de

Vittorio Alfieri Count Vittorio Alfieri (, also , ; 16 January 17498 October 1803) was an Italian dramatist and poet, considered the "founder of Italian tragedy." He wrote nineteen tragedies, sonnets, satires, and a notable autobiography. Early life Alfieri was b ...

'', 1809 * ''Fables nouvelles'', 1810 * ''Histoire littéraire d’Italie'', 1811 * ''Notice sur la vie et les ouvrages de M.-J. de Chénier'', 1811 * ''Les Noces de Thétis et de Pélée, poème de Catulle, traduit en vers français'', 1812

Bibliography

* Paolo Grossi, ''Pierre-Louis Ginguené, historien de la littérature italienne'', Bern, Lang, 2006 () * Édouard Guitton, ''Ginguené : idéologue et médiateur'', Rennes, Presses universitaires de Rennes, 1995 () *

Paul Hazard Paul Gustave Marie Camille Hazard (; 30 August 1878, in Noordpeene, Nord – 13 April 1944, in Paris), was a French professor and historian of ideas. Biography Hazard was the son of a school teacher. Starting in 1900, he attended the École Normal ...

, ''Journal de Ginguené, 1807–1808, avec une étude'', Paris, Hachette, 1910 * Cristina Trinchero, ''Pierre-Louis Ginguené (1748–1816) e l’identità nazionale italiana nel contesto culturale europeo'', Roma, Bulzoni, 2004 () * Sergio Zoppi, ''P.-L. Ginguené journaliste et critique littéraire'', Torino, G. Giappichelli, 1968 *"Eloge de Ginguené" by Dacier, in the ''Mémoires de l'institut'', tom. vii.; *"Discours" by M. Daunou, prefixed to the second ed. of the ''Hist. litt. d'Italie''; *

Dominique Joseph Garat Dominique Joseph Garat (8 September 17499 December 1833) was a French Basque writer, lawyer, journalist, philosopher and politician. Biography Garat was born at Bayonne, in the French Basque Country. After a good education under the direction ...

, ''Notice sur la vie et les ouvrages de PL Guingené'', prefixed to a catalogue of his library (Paris, 18I7). *

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