Joseph Antoine Toussaint Dinouart (November 1, 1716 – April 23, 1786) was a preacher, polemicist, compiler of sacred learning, and apologist for French feminism.

Biography

Born in Amiens

Amiens

Amiens is a city and commune in northern France, north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in Picardy...

, he was ordained as a priest in there in 1740. In his youth, he showed a talent for Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...

 poetry, but soon neglected this in favor of his religious studies. After writing a short essay on women's rights, he had a falling out with his bishop and moved to Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, where he joined the Saint-Eustache

Saint-Eustache

Saint-Eustache may refer to:* Eustace of Luxeuil, monk* Saint Eustace , a legendary Christian martyr who allegedly lived in the 2nd century AD* Saint-Eustache, Quebec, a city in western Quebec, Canada...

 parish. He soon left, however, to tutor the son of a police lieutenant. This position gave him a stable yearly income and allowed Dinouart to devote himself to the study of literature.

In 1760, he founded the Journal ecclésiastique, which he edited until his death. The collected work of this journal numbers more than 100 volumes. It contains extracts from sermons, treatises on morality and piety, and research on ecclesiastical law and councils.

Written works

1. Lettre à l'abbé Gouget, au sujet des hymnes de Santeuil, adoptées dans le nouveau Bréviaire
2. Le Triomphe du sexe
3. Éloquence du corps dans le ministère de la chaire
4. Manuel des pasteurs
5. Exercitium diurnum, seu Manuale precum in usum et gratiam sacerdotum ; nunc denuo editum a sacerdote gallicano exsule

Translations

Father Dinouart made numerous translations from Latin, including a translation of Cicero.

Works edited

Dinouart served as the editor or compiler of many books and journals. Among these was L'art de se taire, principalement en matière de religion, a nearly perfection transcription of an earlier anonymous work entitled Conduite pour se taire et pour parler, principalement en matière de religion. This was re-issued in Paris in 1987.