, a man of great learning and merit, was born about 1588, and applied
, a man of great learning
and merit, was born about 1588, and applied himself
chiefly to the study of ecclesiastical history, which gave
him a disgust to the Romish, and a desire to embrace the
Protestant religion. He had a considerable post, that of
king’s advocate, in the presidial of Auxerre; and as he
must either resolve to abandon it, or not change his religion, he was some time perplexed, but at last he conscientiously determined to leave Auxerre, his estate, his
post, his relations, and friends, and go to Charenton,
where he publicly joined himself to the reformed church,
and continued in it till his death, edifying his brethren,
both by his exemplary life, and his discourses. The expence which he was obliged to be at in Paris, being too
great for his circumstances, and his conversion rendering
him too obnoxious in that city, he accepted an invitation
to Castres from M. de Faur, a rich young counsellor of
the bipartite court of the edict, who gave him a lodging
in his house, and a proper pension, happy to have with
him a man of learning, by whose instructions and conversation he might profit. But as Balthasar had an inclination to labour for the public, he wished to have all his
time at his own disposal, and for that reason took his
leave of his host. His design was favoured by the national
synod of Loudun, in the year 1659 for that assembly
granted him a pension of 750 livres to be paid by all the
churches of France, according to the repartition that was
made of them. He had prepared, before that synod was
held, a considerable number of dissertations upon important subjects, against cardinal Baronius, which he entitled “Diatribse.
” He put four or five into the hands of a
minister of Castres, who was one of the deputies of the
province of Upper Languedoc and Upper Guienne.
They were presented to Mr. Daille, moderator of that
national synod, an excellent judge, who was extremely
pleased with them, and gave a very advantageous character of them to the whole assembly. He then carried
them to Paris, where it was hoped they would be printed,
but either proper measures were not taken, or could not
be taken, for that purpose. The author, who was very
old, and troubled with the stone, died in 1670. Pvlr.
Daille* died too and after that, the church of Castres sent
repeated letters to recover those dissertations, but could
never discover what became of them. Mr. Balthasar left
others, which were not finished, and a great many collections, the greatest part of which consisted of separate
pieces of paper, in which he had noted clown the authorities
and testimonies which he designed to make use of against
cardinal Baronius. He wrote also, 1. an eloge on M. Fouquet, in Latin, 1655, 4to. 2. “Traite des usurpations
des rois de' Espagne sur la couronne de France, depuis
Charles VIII. &c.
” Paris, 1626, 8vo, and reprinted in
1645, with an additional discourse on the pretensions of
the court of France. 3. “Justice des armes du roi treschretien contre le roi d'Espagne,
” Paris,