During this period he made his name known by editions of Justin and Persius after Casaubon. In he was invited by the brothers Didot to Paris, to co-operate in a new edition of H.
He also contributed largely to the Bibliotheca Graeca published by the same firm, a series of Greek classics with Latin translation, critical notes and valuable indexes. His editions are considered to be models of literary and philological criticism, and did much to raise the standard of classical scholarship in France. The old text-books have been discarded, and a great improvement in classical teaching has taken place in recent years.
See F. Godefroy, Notice sur J. After the customary sojourn in Rome, Dubois returned to Paris and devoted himself to teaching.
At the death of Ambroise Thomas in he became director of the Conservatoire. Dubois is an extremely prolific composer and has written in a variety of forms. His sacred works include four masses, a requiem, Les Sept Paroles du Christ , a large number of motets and pieces for organ. In addition, he composed much for the piano and voice. He was, according to his enemies, the son of an apothecary, his father being in fact a doctor of medicine of respectable family, who kept a small drug store as part of the necessary outfit of a country practitioner.
He was educated at the school of the Brothers of the Christian Doctrine at Brive, where he received the tonsure at the age of thirteen. In , having finished his philosophy course, he was given a scholarship at the college of St Michel at Paris by Jean, marquis de Pompadour, lieutenant-general of the Limousin.
