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François Lamy And The Rhetoric Of Attention Of Malebranche, Thomas M. Carr Jr.

French Language and Literature Papers

François Lamy is always mentioned in the lively polemic over rhetoric touched off in 1694 by the attack of Goibaud Dubois against pulpit eloquence. The Benedictine Lamy became the center of the controversy when a 1698 éclaircissement of his De la connaissance de soi-même (5 vols. Paris, 1694-1698) provided the most thorough critique of the ancient art the quarrel produced. Malebranche himself did not participate directly in this dispute, but since he had made similar criticisms in passing in the Recherche de la vérité (1674) his presence was constantly felt in the background. This resemblance is no coincidence. According to …