Pierre des Maizeaux, also spelled Desmaizeaux (c. 1666 or 1673June 1745), was a French

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Bez ...

writer exiled in London, best known as the translator and biographer of

Pierre Bayle Pierre Bayle (; 18 November 1647 – 28 December 1706) was a French philosopher, author, and lexicographer. A Huguenot, Bayle fled to the Dutch Republic in 1681 because of religious persecution in France. He is best known for his '' Historica ...

. He was born in Pailhat,

Auvergne Auvergne (; ; oc, label= Occitan, Auvèrnhe or ) is a former administrative region in central France, comprising the four departments of Allier, Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal and Haute-Loire. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Auve ...

, France. His father, a minister of the reformed church, had to leave France on the revocation of the

Edict of Nantes The Edict of Nantes () was signed in April 1598 by King Henry IV and granted the Calvinist Protestants of France, also known as Huguenots, substantial rights in the nation, which was in essence completely Catholic. In the edict, Henry aim ...

, and took refuge in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situ ...

, where Pierre was educated.

gave him an introduction to

Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury Anthony Ashley Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury (26 February 1671 – 16 February 1713) was an English politician, philosopher, and writer. Early life He was born at Exeter House in London, the son of the future Anthony Ashley Cooper, 2nd ...

, with whom, in 1689, he went to England, where he engaged in literary work. He remained in close touch with the religious refugees in England and

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...

, and through his involvement with the Huguenot information centre based at the

masonic Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

Rainbow Coffee House he was constantly in correspondence with the leading continental savants and writers, who were in the habit of employing him to conduct such business as they might have in England. In 1720 he was elected a fellow of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, r ...

. He was a colleague of Anthony Collins and edited the writings of John Locke (1720). He was the translator and biographer of

. One of the key figures in the eighteenth century

Republic of Letters The Republic of Letters (''Respublica literaria'') is the long-distance intellectual community in the late 17th and 18th centuries in Europe and the Americas. It fostered communication among the intellectuals of the Age of Enlightenment, or '' phi ...

and London's

diaspora. Des Maizeaux also translated the works of

Charles de Saint-Évremond Charles de Marguetel de Saint-Denis, seigneur de Saint-Évremond (1 April 16139 September 1703) was a French soldier, hedonist, essayist and literary critic. After 1661, he lived in exile, mainly in England, as a consequence of his attack on Fr ...

in English from the French published in 1714 during his exile in England. The book also described the author's life. The work was dedicated to the Right Honourable Charles Lord Halifax. In 1700 des Maizeaux wrote a remark concerning

Leibniz Gottfried Wilhelm (von) Leibniz . ( – 14 November 1716) was a German polymath active as a mathematician, philosopher, scientist and diplomat. He is one of the most prominent figures in both the history of philosophy and the history of mat ...

' 'New System' and in 1720 he edited and prefaced a French translation of the

Leibniz–Clarke correspondence The Leibniz–Clarke correspondence was a scientific, theological and philosophical debate conducted in an exchange of letters between the German thinker Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz and Samuel Clarke, an English supporter of Isaac Newton during the ...

.''Recueil de pieces diverses'', Amsterdam, 1720; Newton, whose views had been debated, offered advice which served his own interests, see Baillon J., "Early eighteenth-century Newtonianism: the Huguenot contribution", ''Stud. Hist. Phil. of Sci. part A'' 35(2004)539 Among his works are also ''Vie de St Evremond'' (1711), ''Vie de Boileau-Despreaux'' (1712), ''Vie de Bayle'' (1730). He also took an active part in preparing the ''Bibliothèque raisonnée des ouvrages de l'Europe (1728–1753)'', and the ''Bibliothèque britannique (1733–1747)'', and edited a selection of St. Evremond's writings (1706). Part of Des Maiseaux's correspondence is preserved in the British Museum, and other letters are in the Royal Library in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

. Des Maizeaux died in London.

References

*Almagor, J., ''Pierre Des Maizeaux (1673–1745), journalist and English correspondent for Franco-Dutch periodicals, 1700–1720 ; with the inventory of his correspondence and papers at the British Library (Add.Mss.4281–4289)'', Amsterdam : APA-Holland University Press, 1989. *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Des Maizeaux, Pierre 1666 births 1745 deaths French male writers Fellows of the Royal Society