A Cyclopaedia of Female Biography/Arnoult Sophie
ARNOULT SOPHIE,
A Parisian actress, born at Paris, February 17th., 1740. Her father kept a hôtel garni, and gave her a good education. Nature endowed her with wit, sensibility, a charming voice, and great personal attractions. Chance brought her upon the stage, where she delighted the public from 1767 to 1778. The princess of Modena happened to be in retirement at the Vol de Grace, and was struck with a very fine voice that sang at evening mass. Sophie Arnoult was the songstress; and on the princess speaking of her discovery, she was obliged, against her mother's wish, to join the royal choir. This paved the way for Sophie to the Parisian opera, where she soon became queen. All persons of rank, and all the literati, sought her society; among the latter, were D'Alembert, Diderot, Helvétius, Duclos, and Rousseau. She was compared to Aspasia and Ninon de d'Enclos. Her wit was so successful, that her bons mots were collected. It was sometimes severe, yet it made her no enemies. She died in 1802. In the beginning of the revolution, she bought the parsonage at Luzarche, and transformed it into a country-house, with this inscription over the door, Ite missa est. Her third son Constant Dioville de Brancas, colonel of cuirassiers, was killed at the battle of Wagram.