Bossuet (bo-swa), Jacques Benigne. Born in Dijon, France, September 27, 1627. A distinguished orator and prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, bishop successively of Condom and of Meaux, and tutor to the Dauphin, the son of Louis XIV. Bossuet was the author of several controversial works, all in defense of the Roman Catholic doctrines; but his fame rests chiefly on his "Sermons" which, of their kind, are of unrivaled eloquence, though they are too dramatic for the majority of English readers. Several of his compositions, written in the first instance for the use of the Dauphin, and especially his "Discourse on Universal History," printed in 1681, long retained a high reputation. Died 1704.

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