Claude Maltret (October 3, 1621 – January 3, 1674) was a French

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

. Maltret was born at Puy in

Savoy Savoy (; frp, Savouè ; french: Savoie ) is a cultural-historical region in the Western Alps. Situated on the cultural boundary between Occitania and Piedmont, the area extends from Lake Geneva in the north to the Dauphiné in the south. Savo ...

Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France ( fro, Reaume de France; frm, Royaulme de France; french: link=yes, Royaume de France) is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the medieval and early modern period. ...

. He entered the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

on October 12, 1637. Upon the completion of his studies, he was engaged for eleven years in teaching belles-lettres and

rhetoric Rhetoric () is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic (or dialectic), is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate parti ...

and became widely known as a classical

scholar A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researche ...

. He was then appointed to a professorship in

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, a position which he held for the next nine years. In 1662, he was made rector of the College of

Montauban Montauban (, ; oc, Montalban ) is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department, region of Occitania, Southern France. It is the capital of the department and lies north of Toulouse. Montauban is the most populated town in Tarn-et-Garonne, an ...

. In the following year, he brought out his greatest and best-known work, an edition of the histories of

Procopius Procopius of Caesarea ( grc-gre, Προκόπιος ὁ Καισαρεύς ''Prokópios ho Kaisareús''; la, Procopius Caesariensis; – after 565) was a prominent late antique Greek scholar from Caesarea Maritima. Accompanying the Roman gener ...

, with a critical commentary. This work went through many editions, being edited and augmented with notes by other scholars, and was included in the ''Synopsis Historiae Byzantinae'', published at

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

. From 1672 to 1674 Father Maltret was rector of the novitiate of

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

, where he died.

Principal works

His principal works are the following: * ''Procopii Caesariensis Historiarum Libri VIII''. * ''Procopii Caesariensis Arcana Historia. Qui est. fiber nonus Historiarum''. This is an edition, with critical notes, of the

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translation of Procopius, made by Nicolaus Alemannus. In the preface of this work Father Maltret promised a translation, with comments, of a

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poem by Paulus Silentiarus entitled: "Descriptio Ecclesiae Santae Sophiae". This translation, however, was never published, and it is not known whether it was ever completed. * ''Procopii Caesariensis Historiarum sui temporis de bello Gothico libri quatuor''.

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maltret, Claude 1621 births 1674 deaths 17th-century French Jesuits