French man of letters.

Priest of Saint-Martin-du-Vivier and later of Saussay, in Vexin. Founding member of the Rouen Academy (1744); member of the academies of Caen and Lyon and secretary of the Royal Agricultural Society of Rouen. Prolific author. His anthology of English poetry in translation, Idée de la poésie anglaise (8 vols., Paris, 1749-56), helped popularize English poetry in France and won him the post of royal censor.