Edmé-François Mallet, also abbé Mallet, (29 January 1713,

Melun Melun () is a Communes of France, commune in the Seine-et-Marne Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region, north-central France. It is located on the southeastern outskirts of Paris, about from the kilome ...

– 25 February 1755,

Châteaurenard Châteaurenard (; Provençal oc, Castèurainard; ) is a commune in the Arles arrondissement, in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in southern France. Population Twin towns Châteaurenard is twinne ...

) was an 18th-century French theologian and encyclopédiste.

Biography

Edmé-François Mallet first received his education by the country priest of his birthplace and later studied at the college of the

Barnabites , image = Barnabites.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = One version of the Barnabite logo. "P.A." refers to Paul the Apostle and the three hills symbolize the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. , a ...

Montargis Montargis () is a communes of France, commune in the Loiret Departments of France, department, Centre-Val de Loire, France. Montargis is the seventh most populous commune in the Loiret, after Orléans and its suburbs. It is near a large forest, ...

, before he went to Paris. There, he was tutor of

Ange Laurent Lalive de Jully Ange-Laurent de La Live de Jully (2 October 1725 – 18 March 1779) was an 18th-century French financier and patron of arts. On 30 June 1741, he married Louise-Elisabeth Chambon, reputed to be more than promiscuous. Madame d'Épinay tells us she ...

(1725-1779), a future as well as honorary member of the

Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture The Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture (; en, "Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture") was founded in 1648 in Paris, France. It was the premier art institution of France during the latter part of the Ancien Régime until it was abol ...

.Holzhey, Helmut; Mudroch, Vilem; Ueberweg, Friedrich; Rohbeck, Johannes: ''Grundriss der Geschichte der Philosophie: Die Philosophie des 18. Jahrhunderts.'' 2 Halbbde. Schwabe-Verlag, Basel (2008) , (p. 289–290) He entered into license in 1742 at the Faculty of Theology of Paris and was an Associate in the House and Royal Society of Navarre. It was customary at the end of licenses, that the two first places went to the priors of Sorbonne, the following two to the most talented graduates and the fifth to the best student without diplomas. Mallet won fifth place unanimously. During his studies in Paris, he was also temporarily private teacher of the Fermier Général Louis Denis Lalive de Bellegarde (1680-1751). In 1744 he returned by his family in Melun and remained seven years. In 1747, he published an ''Essai sur l’étude des belles-lettres''. After his mother's death in 1751, he moved back to Paris, and took a chair of theology at the

Collège de Navarre The College of Navarre (french: Collège de Navarre) was one of the colleges of the historic University of Paris, rivaling the Sorbonne and renowned for its library. History It was founded by Queen Joan I of Navarre in 1305, who provided for thr ...

. In 1753, he published an ''Essai sur les bienséances oratoires'' and ''Principes pour la lecture des Orateurs'' in three volumes. In 1754, appeared his ''Principes pour la lecture des Poëtes''. He also translated an ''Histoire de Davila'' which was published only after his death. He began to gather sources to address two major projects: ''Histoire générale de toutes les guerres de France de l’établissement de la monarchie jusqu’à Louis XIV'' and a ''History of the

Council of Trent The Council of Trent ( la, Concilium Tridentinum), held between 1545 and 1563 in Trento, Trent (or Trento), now in northern Italian Peninsula, Italy, was the 19th ecumenical council of the Catholic Church. Prompted by the Protestant Reformation ...

''. For the

Encyclopédie ''Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers'' (English: ''Encyclopedia, or a Systematic Dictionary of the Sciences, Arts, and Crafts''), better known as ''Encyclopédie'', was a general encyclopedia publis ...

Denis Diderot Denis Diderot (; ; 5 October 171331 July 1784) was a French philosopher, art critic, and writer, best known for serving as co-founder, chief editor, and contributor to the ''Encyclopédie'' along with Jean le Rond d'Alembert. He was a promine ...

and Jean le Rond d’Alembert, he wrote more than a thousand articles with a focus on trading (over 500 articles), theology, history (about 600 ones) and literature (200) but died of angina well before the completion of the project. These articles reported information often from already given texts and reference works. Several of his articles with historical content were revised by

Nicolas Lenglet Du Fresnoy Nicolas Lenglet Du Fresnoy (5 October 1674 – 16 January 1755) was a French scholar, historian, geographer, philosopher and bibliographer of alchemy. Biography Lenglet Du Fresnoy first studied theology but quickly left it for diplomacy and pol ...

and edited by

Jean-François Marmontel Jean-François Marmontel (11 July 1723 – 31 December 1799) was a French historian, writer and a member of the Encyclopédistes movement. Biography He was born of poor parents at Bort, Limousin (today in Corrèze). After studying with th ...

for their literary aspect.

Controversies

If Abbé Mallet demonstrated a great erudition, his stance in theological articles and categorical tone can lead the reader to wonder why he was chosen as editor for this kind of texts, which were intended to relativize and even ridiculize religion. Indeed, Father Mallet seemed to show an orthodox mind for everything related to religion. He particularly manifested a fierce hatred for all heretical beliefs. It appears that Father Mallet was actually recommended by

Jean-François Boyer Jean-François Boyer (12 March 1675 in Paris – 20 August 1755 in Versailles), was a French bishop, best known for having been a vehement opponent of Jansenism and the Philosophe school. Life Boyer was a preacher, and the bishop of Mirepo ...

, the Bishop of Mirepoix, a bitter enemy of the

Jansenist 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 th ...

and the

Philosophes The ''philosophes'' () were the intellectuals of the 18th-century Enlightenment.Kishlansky, Mark, ''et al.'' ''A Brief History of Western Civilization: The Unfinished Legacy, volume II: Since 1555.'' (5th ed. 2007). Few were primarily philosophe ...

, and it is possible that Mallet was a

Trojan Horse The Trojan Horse was a wooden horse said to have been used by the Greeks during the Trojan War to enter the city of Troy and win the war. The Trojan Horse is not mentioned in Homer's ''Iliad'', with the poem ending before the war is concluded, ...

in his service. But it is also possible that he acted as a safeguard: If the ''Encyclopédie'' in its infancy had exceeded the limits of decency of the time in religion, perhaps the project would have had later many more problems that it actually had.

References

Main works

*1747: ''Essai sur l’étude des belles-lettres'' *1753: ''Principes pour la lecture des orateurs.'' *1753: ''Essai sur les bienséances oratoires''

Bibliography

* John Rogister: ''Louis XV and the Parlement of Paris, 1737-55.'' Cambridge University Press (2010) S. 241 * Dorothy Caiger Senghas: ''The Abbé Mallet: contributor to the Encyclopédie.'' Davis, University of California (1968), Dissertation

External links

Edme Mallet
on data.bnf.fr
Edme-François Mallet
on Wikisource
Some articles on poetry by Mallet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mallet, EdmeFrancois 18th-century French Catholic theologians Contributors to the Encyclopédie (1751–1772) 18th-century French writers 18th-century French male writers People from Melun 1713 births 1755 deaths