About
Oraisons funèbres by Jacques Bénigne Bossuet is a collection of funeral orations written in the late 17th century. The work turns public eulogies for princes and great ladies into powerful sermons that fuse history, Scripture, and moral instruction, meditating on divine providence and the vanity of earthly power through the lives and deaths of figures such as Henrietta Maria of France and Henriette-Anne, Duchess of Orléans.
The opening of this collection presents a preface by René Doumic explaining how Bossuet remade the courtly funeral speech into truthful, edifying eloquence—anchored in personal witness, precise historical detail, fearless judgment, and theological depth centered on grace and Providence. It then launches into the oration for Henrietta Maria, invoking “Now, O kings, understand” to frame her life as an example to rulers: from royal splendor to exile, she is praised for charity, prudence, constancy in the Catholic faith, and for consoling English Catholics; Bossuet bro
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This work is public domain or openly licensed. The licence terms are published by the source.
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