, an eminent French surgeon, was born at Vitre, a small town in Brittany, on the 13th of July,
, an eminent French surgeon, was born at Vitre, a small town in
Brittany, on the 13th of July, 1683, where his father practised surgery. In order to improve himself, he spent five
years in the hospital of Angers, and in the great naval hospitals of Brittany; and afterwards made two voyages in the
navy. In 1711 he went to Paris, and studied under Winslow, Thibaut, Meri, &c. and afterwards gave a course of
lectures on anatomy in the medical schools; and henceforth his reputation extended even to foreign countries;
for he was elected a member of the royal society of London. He was also appointed demonstrator royal in the
schools of medicine. On the establishment of the society
of academicians, under the patronage of the king, in 1731,
Garengeot was chosen “Commissaire pour les extraits,
”'
which office he retained until
, son of the preceding, was born at Vitré. He retired 1681, to London, on the revocation
, son of the preceding, was
born at Vitré. He retired 1681, to London, on the revocation of the edict of Nantes, and afterwards to Copenhagen, where his father’s friends promised him a settlement, but finding them unsuccessful, he went into Holland,
where he remained till 1690, and then going into France,
abjured the protestant religion, and turned Roman catholic.
He usually resided at Paris, but having written the preface
to a satirical piece, in which great liberties were taken with
Louis XIV. on account of the famine in 1693, he was arresied and sent to the Chatelet, and then removed to the
castle of Saumnr, where he remained rive years. At the
end of that time, however, he regained his liberty by the
abbess of Fontevraud’s solicitations, and got a place in M.
de Torcy’s office, minister and secretary of state. When
the regency commenced, Larroque was appointed secretary to the interior council, and on the suppression of that
council, had a pension of 4000 livres till his death, September 5, 1731, when he was about seventy. He left several works, but much inferior to his father’s: the principal are, “La Vie de I'lmposteur Mahomet,
” 12mo, transLt'-d from the English of Dr. Prideaux “Les ve>4tables
Motifs de la Conversion de M. (le Bouthilier de Ranc6)
l'Abbe de la Trappe,
” with some reflections on his life and
writings, Nouvelles Accusations con t re Van lias, ou Kemarqnes critiques contre
une Partie de son Histoire de PHe>esie,
” 8vo; ' La Vie
de Frai>9ois Kiuies de Mexerai,“12mo, a satirical romance;
a translation of Kc hard’s Roman History, revised and published by the abbe Desfontaines. Larroque also assisted,
during some months, in the
” Nouveiles de la Repubiique
des Lettres,“while Bayle was ill. The
” Advice to the
Refugees" is also attributed to him, which was believed to
have been written by Bayle, besause the latter would never
betray Larroque, who, it is supposed, was the real author
of it, chusing rather to suffer the persecution which this
publication raised against him, than prove false to his friend,
who had enjoined him secrecy.
, a French traveller, was born at Vitre in Brittany, and pursued his studies at Rennes
, a French traveller, was born at
Vitre in Brittany, and pursued his studies at Rennes with
considerable distinction. In 1776, he visited Egypt, at
which place he remained for the space of three years.
Whilst here he paid particular attention to the manners of
the inhabitants, a knowledge of the Arabic tongue, and an
investigation of antiquities. From Egypt he went to the
islands of the Archipelago, over most of which he travelled,
and examined them with careful attention. On his return
to France, in 1780, he published, “A translation of the
Koran, with a sketch of the life of Mahomet.
” He also
published an extract from the above work, which he called
“La Morale de Mahomet.
” His principal work was
“Letters on Egypt,
” which have been well received, and
translated into different European languages. Yet it is
objected to this work, and with great appearance of reason,
that the author has yielded too much to the powers of a
lively imagination, and that he has given rather a fascinating than a correct picture. Volney’s Travels may serve
to restore the likeness, and correct Savary’s exuberances.
Encouraged, however, by the success of this work, Savary
published his “Letters on Greece,
” which is likewise an
agreeable and entertaining performance. Soon after this
period he died, at Paris, in 1788. He was a man of considerable talents, an excellent taste, and a lively fancy; and,
although many of his positions have been controverted, as
well by Volney, as by other writers on the same subjects,
his works are written in a style and manner which render
them highly interesting to a large class of readers.