Antoine Touron

Dominican biographer and historian, born at Graulhet, Tarn, France, on 5 September, 1686; died at Paris, 2 September, 1775. Of this author but little has been written, though the number and merit of his works have caused his name to become illustrious, particularly in his order. He was the son of a merchant, and seems to have joined the Dominicans at an early age. After the completion of his studies he taught philosophy and theology to the students of his province (Toulouse); but the later years of his life were devoted to biography, history, and apologetics. From his pen we have twenty-nine volumes, dealing largely with the history of the Dominican order and the biographical sketches of its notable men. His writings are valuable contributions to Dominican literature, and essential to students of Dominican history. Père Mortier, in his "Histoire des maîtres généraux de l'ordre des frères prêcheurs", now in course of publication, has made generous use of his "Histoire des hommes illustres...". Touron's writings include his "Vie de saint Thomas d'Aquin" (considered his best work); "Vie de saint Dominique avec une hist. abrégée des ses premiers disciples"; "Hist. des hommes illustres de l'ordre de saint Dominique"; "De la providence, traité hist., dogmat. et mor."; "La main de Dieu sur les incrédules, ou hist. abrégée des Israélites", a work in which he shows that as often as the Chosen People proved false to their Divine vocation, they were punished by God; "Parallèle de l'incrédule et du vrai fidèle"; "La vie et l'esprit de saint Charles Borromée"; "La verité vengée en faveur de saint Thomas"; and "Hist. génerale de l'Amérique depuis sa découverte", which is really an ecclesiastical history of the New World.

Mortier, Hist. des maîtres gén. de l'ordre des frères prêcheurs (5 vols., Paris, 1903-11), passim; Hurter, Nomenclator literarius, III (Innsbruck, 1895),164-5.

Victor F. O'Daniel.