, a French Protestant and martyr, was born at Nismes, in 1647, He
, a French Protestant and
martyr, was born at Nismes, in 1647, He was an advocate, and distinguished by his 'pleadings at Castres and
Toulouse; and it was at his house that the deputies of the
Protestant churches assembled in 1683: where they took
a resolution to continue to assemble, although their churches
were demolished. The execution of this project occasioned violent conflicts, seditions, executions, and massacres, which ended at length in an amnesty on the part of
Lewis XIV. Brousson retired then to Nismes; but, fearing
to be apprehended with the principal authors of this project, who do not seem to have been comprised within the
amnesty, he became a refugee at Geneva first, and thence
at Lausanne. He shifted afterwards from town to town,
and kingdom to kingdom, to solicit the compassion of
Protestant princes towards his suffering brethren in France.
Returning to his own country, he travelled through several provinces, exercised some time the ministry in the
Cevennes, appeared at Orange, and passed to Berne, in
order to escape his pursuers. He was at length taken at
Oleron, in 1698, and removed to Montpellier; where,
being convicted of having formerly held secret correspondence with the enemies of the state, and of having
preached in defiance of the edicts, he was broke upon the
wheel the same year. He was a man of great eloquence
as well as zeal, greatly esteemed among strangers, and
regarded as a martyr by those of his own persuasion. The
states of Holland added six hundred florins, as a pension
for his widow, to four hundred which had been allowed to
her husband. His writings being principally those which,
arose out of the circumstances in which the reformed
church were then placed, we shall refer to Moreri for the
exact titles and dates, and give only the subjects, namely:
1. “The state of the reformed in France.
” 2. “Letters
to the French clergy in favour of the reformed religion.
”
3. “Letters from the Protestants in France to all other
Protestants,
” printed and circulated at the expence of the
elector of Brandenburg. 4. “Letters to the Roman Catholics.
” 5. “A summary relation of the wonders, wrought
by God in the Cevennes and Lower Languedoc, for the
consolation of his church.
” 6. A volume of Sermons.
7. “Remarks on Amelotte’s translation of the New Testament;
” and some religious tracts, which he published
for circulation in France.