Jean-Baptiste de Boyer, Marquis d'Argens

Jean-Baptiste de Boyer, Marquis d'Argens (June 24, 1704, Aix-en-Provence - January 11, 1771, Toulon) was a French philosopher and writer.

Related Topics:
June 24 - 1704 - Aix-en-Provence - January 11 - 1771 - Toulon - French

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He entered the army at the age of fifteen, and after a dissipated and adventurous youth settled for a time at Amsterdam, where he wrote some historical compilations and began his more famous Lettres juives (The Hague, 6 vols, 1738-1742), Lettres chinoises (The Hague, 6 vols, 1739-1472), and Lettres cabalistiques (2nd ed., 7 vols, 1769); also the Mémoires secrets de la république des lettres (7 vols, 1743-1478), afterwards revised and augmented as Histoire de l'esprit humain (Berlin, 14 vols, 1765-1768).

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He was invited by Prince Frederick (afterwards Frederick the Great) to Potsdam, and received high honours at court; but Frederick was bitterly offended by his marrying a Berlin actress, Mlle Cochois. Argens returned to France in 1769, and died near Toulon on the 11th of January 1771.

Related Topics:
Frederick the Great - Potsdam

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