François-Vincent All Saints' day (1715   -   1772) is an author, translator and encyclopedist French. It is mainly known for its work Manners , which was struck of prohibition as of its publication in 1748, like for its collaboration with the first volumes of the Encyclopédie or reasoned Dictionary of sciences, arts and the trades .

Its life and its work

It also translated The Adventures off Peregrine Pickle of Tobias Smollett and created the contents of the edition of 1749 of Of the spirit of the laws of Montesquieu.

François-Vincent All Saints' day also had a training of lawyer. When it publishes its book Manners , this one made scandal: one of the characters of the book in particular seemed to depict the queen Marie Leszczynska. However it was also a success: the year even of its publication, it was republished thirteen times. All Saints' day draws finally from this business without damage thanks to its relations with the count de Maurepas.

However, in 1757, the political wind turns in its discredit: Robert François Damiens tries to assassinate Louis XV and, in 1758, Claude-Adrien Helvétius completes to publish spirit. The adversaries of the Lights benefitted from these incidents to support their authority and to try to muzzle the encyclopedists. Manners is then presented as a book which can lead to the regicide. All Saints' day must then sell its books and those of Helvétius under the coat.

It is exiled with Brussels before going to Berlin in 1764. It is made full member of the royal Academy of sciences of Prussia (of which he was associated foreigner since 1751). It also publishes in 1763 a Éclaircissement with its work Manners in which it makes its defense. It is made professor of the military academy which had just been founded by Frederic II of Prussia.

He dies in 1772, poor, leaving his widow and his seven children. Although Manners was its greater success, he regretted all its life to have written it. Certain parts of its book were re-used in articles of the Encyclopédie .