 thumb|auguste joseph alphonse gratry. auguste joseph alphonse gratry (usually known as joseph gratry) (10 march 1805 â 6 february 1872) was a french author and theologian. gratry was born at lille and educated at the Ãcole polytechnique of paris. after a period of mental struggle which he has described in souvenirs de ma jeunesse, he was ordained priest in 1832. after a stay at strasbourg as professor of the petit sÃ©minaire, he was appointed director of the collÃ¨ge stanislas in paris in 1842 and, in 1847, chaplain of the Ãcole normale supÃ©rieure. he became vicar-general of orleans in 1861, professor of ethics at the sorbonne in 1862, and, on the death of barante, a member of the acadÃ©mie franÃ§aise in 1867, where he occupied the seat formerly held by voltaire. together with abbÃ© philippe pÃ©tÃ©tot, pastor of saint roch, and hyacinthe de valroger, joseph gratry reconstituted the french oratory, a society of priests mainly dedicated to education. gratry was one of the principal opponents of the definition of the dogma of papal infallibility, but in this matter he submitted to the declarations of the first vatican council. gratry developed throat cancer at the end of his life and went to montreux, switzerland, for treatment. it was there that he died. he was buried in montparnasse cemetery in paris by his sister. == works == * de la connaissance de dieu, opposing positivism (1855) * la logique (1856) * les sources, conseils pour la conduite de l'esprit (1861â1862) * la philosophie du credo (1861) * commentaire sur l'Ã©vangile de saint matthieu (1863) * jÃ©sus-christ: rÃ©ponse Ã  m. renan (1864) * les sophistes et la critique (in controversy with e. vacherot) (1864) * la morale et la loi de l'histoire, setting forth his social views (1868) * mgr. l'Ã©vÃªque d'orlÃ©ans et mgr. l'archevÃªque de malines (1869), containing a clear exposition of the historical arguments against the doctrine of papal infallibility. == references == *  * marias, julian. la filosofia del padre gratry; 2nd ed. buenos aires: editorial sudamericana, 1948 (in spanish) ==further reading== *chauvin, amÃ©dÃ©e (1911) le pÃ¨re gratry, 1805-1872: l'homme et l'oeuvre d'apres des documents inedits; nouv. Ã©d., rev. et augm. paris: bloud. (1st ed. 1901) == external links == * catholic encyclopedia article * el sentido de lo infinito en gratry by mÃ¡ximo lameiro.   {{persondata | name = gratry, auguste | alternative names = | short description = french priest and scholar | date of birth = 1805 | place of birth = lille, fr
1805_births 1872_deaths 19th-century_Roman_Catholic_priests 19th-century_Roman_Catholic_theologians Burials_at_Montparnasse_Cemetery Cancer_deaths_in_Switzerland Deaths_from_laryngeal_cancer French_Oratory French_Roman_Catholic_priests French_Roman_Catholic_theologians French_religious_writers Members_of_the_AcadA(c)mie_franASSaise People_from_Lille University_of_Paris_faculty