Adrien Baillet (13 June 164921 January 1706) was a French scholar and critic. He is now best known as a biographer of

René Descartes René Descartes ( or ; ; Latinized: Renatus Cartesius; 31 March 1596 – 11 February 1650) was a French philosopher, scientist, and mathematician, widely considered a seminal figure in the emergence of modern philosophy and science. Mathem ...

Life

He was born in the village of Neuville near

Beauvais Beauvais ( , ; pcd, Bieuvais) is a city and commune in northern France, and prefecture of the Oise département, in the Hauts-de-France region, north of Paris. The commune of Beauvais had a population of 56,020 , making it the most populous ...

, in

Picardy Picardy (; Picard and french: Picardie, , ) is a historical territory and a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region of Hauts-de-France. It is located in the northern part of France. Hi ...

. His parents could only afford to send him to a small school in the village, but he picked up some Latin from the friars of a neighbouring convent, who brought him under the notice of the

bishop of Beauvais The Diocese of Beauvais, Noyon, and Senlis ( la, Dioecesis Bellovacensis, Noviomensis et Silvanectensis; french: Diocèse de Beauvais, Noyon et Senlis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in France. The di ...

. By his kindness Baillet received a thorough education at the theological seminary, and was afterwards appointed to a post as teacher in the college of Beauvais. In 1676 he was ordained priest and was presented to a small vicarage. The article contains this footnote: See the edition by M. de la Monnoye of the ''Jugemens des savans'' (Amsterdam, 4 vols. 1722), which contains the ''Anti-Baillet'' of

Gilles Ménage Gilles Ménage (; 15 August 1613 – 23 July 1692) was a French scholar. Biography He was born at Angers, the son of Guillaume Ménage, king's advocate at Angers. A good memory and enthusiasm for learning carried him quickly through his lite ...

, and an ''Abrégé de la vie de Mr Baillet''. He accepted in 1680 the appointment of librarian to François-Chrétien de Lamoignon, advocate-general to the

parlement of Paris The Parliament of Paris (french: Parlement de Paris) was the oldest ''parlement'' in the Kingdom of France, formed in the 14th century. It was fixed in Paris by Philip IV of France in 1302. The Parliament of Paris would hold sessions inside the ...

. He made a ''

catalogue raisonné A ''catalogue raisonné'' (or critical catalogue) is a comprehensive, annotated listing of all the known artworks by an artist either in a particular medium or all media. The works are described in such a way that they may be reliably identified ...

'' (in 35 vols.) of its library, all written with his own hand. The remainder of his life was spent in incessant, unremitting labour; so keen was his devotion to study that he allowed himself only five hours a day for rest. With regard to René Descartes, he is popularly said to have recorded in his biography the three dreams ''La vie de monsieur Descartes'', vol. I, pp. 81-86. leading up to the

Cartesian Cogito The Latin , usually translated into English as "I think, therefore I am", is the "first principle" of René Descartes's philosophy. He originally published it in French language, French as , in his 1637 ''Discourse on the Method'', so as to reac ...

Works

Of his numerous works the following are the most conspicuous: #''Histoire de Hollande depuis la trève de ióop Jusqu’d 1690'' (4 vols. 1693), a continuation of

Grotius Hugo Grotius (; 10 April 1583 – 28 August 1645), also known as Huig de Groot () and Hugo de Groot (), was a Dutch humanist, diplomat, lawyer, theologian, jurist, poet and playwright. A teenage intellectual prodigy, he was born in Delft ...

, and published under the name of La Neuville #''Les Vies des saints'' (4 vols. 1701) #''Des Satires personnelles'', ''traité historique et critique de celles qui portent le litre d’Anti'' (2 vols. 1689) #''La vie de monsieur Descartes'' (2 vols. 1691; modern edition in one volume: ''La vie de monsieur Descartes'', Paris: Éditions des Malassis, 2012) #''La vie de mr. Des-Cartes. Réduite en abregé'' (1692; modern edition: ''Vie de Monsieur Descartes'', Paris, La Table Ronde, 1992) #''Auteurs déguisés sous des noms étrangers, empruntes, &c.'' (1690) #''Jugemens des savans sur les principaux ouvrages des auteurs'' (9 vols. 1685—1686). The last is the most celebrated and useful of all his works. At the time of his death he was engaged on a ''Dictionnaire universelle ecclésiastique''. The praise bestowed on the

Jansenists Jansenism was an early modern theological movement within Catholicism, primarily active in the Kingdom of France, that emphasized original sin, human depravity, the necessity of divine grace, and predestination. It was declared a heresy by ...

in the ''Jugemens des savans'' brought down on Baillet the hatred of the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

, and his ''Vie des saints'', in which he brought his critical mind to bear on the question of miracles, caused some scandal. His ''Vie de Descartes'' is a mine of information on the philosopher and his work, derived from numerous unimpeachable authorities.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Baillet, Adrien 1649 births 1706 deaths 17th-century French writers 17th-century French male writers French classical scholars French literary critics French male non-fiction writers