Ouvrard, Rene'

, a learned French ecclesiastic, of the seventeenth century, was a native of Chinon in Tourraine, and a canon of Tours, He enjoyed the reputation of an universal scholar; was a poet, mathematician, divine, a controversial writer, and even a musician, although in the latter character he appears to have escaped the very minute researches of Dr. Burney in his valuable history of that art. He had been music- master of the holy chapel at Paris for ten years, before he became a canon of Tours. He wrote a great many works, among which some of his controversial pieces against the protestants, his “History of Music from its origin to the present time,” and his dissertation on Vossius’s treatise “De poematum cantu et viribus rythmi,” remain in manuscript. Those which were published, are, 1. “Secret pour composer en musique par un art nouveau,” Paris, 1660. 2. “Studiosis sanctarum scripturarum Biblia Sacra in lectiones ad singulos dies, per legem, prophetas, et evangelium distributa, et 529 carminibus mnemonicis comprehensa,” ibid. 1668; of this a French edition was published in 1669. 3. “Motifs de reunion a l‘eglise catholique, presentes a ceux de la religion pretendue-reforme*e de France, avec un avertissement sur la reponse d’un ministre a Poffice du saint Sacrement,” ibid. 1668. 4. “Le motifs de la conversion du comte de Lorges Montgommery,” dedicated to Louis XIV. ibid. 1670. 5. “Defense de Tancienne tradition des eglises de France, sur la mission des premiers predicateurs evangeliques dans les Gaules, du temps des apotres ou de leurs disciples immediats, et de Pusage des ecrits des S. S. | Severe-Sulpice, et Gregoire de Tours, et de Tabus qu‘on en faiten cette rnatiere et en d’autres pareilles,” ibid. 178. This was addressed to the clergy and people of To’irs by the author, who held the same sentiments as M.de Ma re a, respecting St. Denis. 6. “L‘Art de la science des Nombres, en Francois et en Latin, avec un preface de i’excellence de Farithmetique,” ibid. 1677. 7. “Architecture harmonique, ou application de la doctrine des proportions, de la musique a ^architecture, avec un addition a cet ecrit,” ibid. 1679, 4to. 8. “Calendarium novum, perpetuum, et irrevocable,” 1682; but this work he was induced to suppress by the advice of his friend M. Arnauld, who thought that his ideas in it were too crude to do credit to his character. His last publication was, 9. “Breviarium Turonense, renovatum, et in melius restitutum,” 1685. He died at Tours, July 19, 1694, and the following lines,

"Dum vixi, divina mihi laus unica cura:

Post obitum sit laus divina mihi unica merces,"

were engraved on his tomb at his own desire. ¹