Dominique Bouhours
Birthdate: May 15, 1628
Birthplace: Paris, France
Date of Death: May 27, 1702
Occupation: Author and Jesuit Priest
Profile: French grammarian whose standards are still regarded as the accepted norm today.
Website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominique_Bouhours
Number of Quotes: 13
A false thought is not a thought at all.
Une pensée fausse n'est pas une pensée.
Ah, sir,
replied Father
Bouhours,
what a pity you were not there, you would have written a beautiful page!
Ah! Monsieur, lui répondit le Père Bouhours,
quel dommage que vous n'ayez pas été là, vous auriez fait une belle page!
Clarity is the courtesy of those who write.
La clarté est la politesse de ceux qui écrivent.
Note: This formulation is traditionally attributed to Bouhours and reflects his doctrine of style, though the exact phrasing varies slightly across sources.
Clarity is the true character of eloquence.
Le vrai caractère de l'éloquence est la clarté.
I am about to - or I am going to - die: either expression is correct.
Language is the painting of our ideas.
Le langage est la peinture de nos idées.
One should never leave any obscurity in one's discourse.
On ne doit jamais laisser d'obscurité dans ses discours.
Style is the physiognomy of the mind.
Le style est la physionomie de l'esprit.
Attributed sentiment.
The proper word.
Le mot propre.
A central tenet of his style.
The wit is the enemy of good sense.
Le bel esprit est ennemi du bon sens.
The I know not what... an invisible pleasing quality, a secret charm.
Un je ne sais quoi qu'on entend beaucoup mieux qu'on ne l'exprime... un agrément invisible, un charme secret.
Truth is the only solid foundation of beauty.
Le vrai est le seul fondement solide du beau.
What is not clear is not French.
Ce qui n'est pas clair n'est pas français.
This is Bouhours's most famous and securely attributed saying.
Last on Earth
