FRANÇOIS VINCENT TOUSSAINT AUTHOR OF LES MŒURS (1748)
François Vincent Toussaint was a one book wonder. He published a smash hit philosophy book in 1748. He and his book gained fame after it was condemned to be burned on the stairs of the French court immediately after its release . The book had been reprinted more than twenty times by the end of the century. Toussaint never could live up to what he had written and pretty soon started to regret some major aspects of the book. As a contributor to the first two volumes of D'Alemberts and Diderots ENCYCLOPEDIE he was honored as an external member of Frederick the Great's Academy of Sciences of Prussia in 1751. Toussaint moved to Berlin in 1764, where Frederick held him in high regard even though he never again published anything of greater importance. I submitted a more extensive account of his life to Wikipedia. A description of his book is missing, however. At the present time I am writing my thesis on aspects of Toussaints Les Moeurs, together with a reading of an paragraph of Henri-Joseph du Laurens' book LE COMPERE MATHIEU (1766). I will add sources as I have time. Please feel free to > contact me for further information. Any kind of correction, addition -- or information exchange is always welcome! I couldn't have transcribed the letter without the help of Stéphan Pascau. Priscilla Pratt corrected some of my bad grammar. Thanks! > A BIBLIOGRAPHY OF EDITIONS OF LES MOEURS > AN UNPUBLISHED LETTER TO FORMEY AND THE ACADEMY (1751)