A.J. Toynbee:
The last great Western exponent of this Jewish-Christian-Muslim pattern of history had been Bishop Bossuet.Who?
Bishop Jack-Benign Bossuet:
- fervent defender of absolute monarchy:
Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet (1627-1704) was a theologian at the court of the French "Sun King" Louis XIV; Bossuet was one of history's most fervent defenders of absolute monarchy. For him, only God stands above the person of the king, and the king's authority cannot be challenged by any other human being.
- influential spokesman for the rights of the French church:
Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet, (born Sept. 25, 1627, Dijon, Fr.—died April 12, 1704, Paris), bishop who was the most eloquent and influential spokesman for the rights of the French church against papal authority. He is now chiefly remembered for his literary works...
- royal authority comes directly from God:
When Bossuet was chosen to be the tutor of the Dauphin, oldest child of Louis XIV, he wrote several works for the edification of his pupil, one of which was Politics Derived from the Words of Holy Scripture, a discourse on the principles of royal absolutism. The work was published posthumously in 1709.
The work consists of several books which are divided into articles and propositions which lay out the nature, characteristics, duties, and resources of royalty. To justify his propositions, Bossuet quotes liberally from the Bible and various psalms.
Throughout his essay, Bossuet emphasizes the fact that royal authority comes directly from God and that the person of the king is sacred. In the third book, Bossuet asserts that "God establishes kings as his ministers, and reigns through them over the people."
What sort of man was Jack-Benign Bossuet? Not so benign.
- Bossuet vs. Jouarre's Women
- The Gallican controversy:
In the Gallican controversy, Louis XIV maintained that the French monarch could limit papal authority in collecting the revenues of vacant sees and in certain other matters, while the Ultramontanists held that the pope was supreme. An extraordinary general assembly of the French clergy was held to consider this question in 1681–82. Bossuet delivered the inaugural sermon to this body and also drew up its final statement... The articles asserted the king’s independence from Rome in secular matters and proclaimed that, in matters of faith, the pope’s judgment is not to be regarded as infallible without the assent of the total church.
They were accepted by all parties of the assembly, and his role in this controversy remained perhaps the most significant of Bossuet’s life.
The abbey's privileges were not authentic, he claimed. Even if authentic, he argued (incorrectly), the councils of Trent and Vienna had revoked such privileges. Jouarre defended itself vigorously, showing that as late as 1631 Parliament had confirmed its rights. But Jouarre argued in vain...
"The last great Western exponent of this Jewish-Christian-Muslim pattern of history."
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For context: Bishop Bossuet was a contemporary of Oliver Cromwell. Give or take.
Making the case for civilizations, rather than nations, to be the subject of history, A.J. Toynbee quoted Lord Acton:
"With reference to the parliamentary system Lord Acton says: 'General history naturally depends on the action of forces which are not national but proceed from wider causes. The rise of modern kingship in France is part of a similar movement in England. Bourbons and Stuarts obeyed the same law though with different results.' In other words the Parliamentary System, which was the local result in England, was the product of a force which was not peculiar to England but was operating simultaneously in England and France."
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