, canon regular of the congregation of St. Genevieve, and chancellor
, canon regular of the congregation of St. Genevieve, and chancellor of the university of
Paris, was born at Angers in 1614. His father was a notstry of that place. He was first educated under a private
ecclesiastic in the neighbourhood of Angers, and is said to
have made such rapid progress in these his early studies,
that in less than five years he could readily translate into
Latin and Greek. On his return to Angers he studied
three years in the college of the oratory there, and was
afterwards sent to that of La Fleche, where he completed
his classical course. In 1630 he took the habit of a canon
regular of the abbey of Toussaint, at Augers, and made
profession the year following. Having dedicated his philosophical thesis to father Favre, this led to an acquaintance with the latter, by whose orders he came to Paris in
1636, and in 1637 was chosen professor of philosophy in
the abbey of iSt. Genevieve. His first course of philosophical lectures being finished in 1639, he was employed
to lecture on divinity, which he did with equal reputation,
following the principles of St. Thomas, to which he was
much attached; but his lectures were not dry and scholastic, but enlivened by references to the fathers, and to
ecclesiastical history, a knowledge of which he thought
would render them more useful to young students: and
besides his regular lectures on theology, he held every
week a conference on some subject of morals, or some part
of the scriptures. Jansenius having published his “Augustinus,
” he read it with attention, and thought he discovered in it the true sentiments of St. Augustine. Some
time after, the Jesuits having invited him to be present at
the theological theses of the college of Clermont, and
having requested him to open the ceremony, he delivered
a very learned and eloquent discourse, which was at first
well received, but having attacked a proposition concerning predestination, he was suspected of inclining towards
innovation. In a conference, however, with two fathers
of the congregation, he explained his sentiments in such a
manner as to satisfy them. In 1648 he was made chancellor of the university of Paris, although with some opposition from the members of the university, not upon his
own account, but that of the fathers of the congregation
in general, who had rendered themselves obnoxious to the
university by the erection of a number of independent
seminaries.