Adrien Baillet

Adrien Baillet (13 June 1649 – 21 January 1706) was a French scholar and critic. He is now best known as a biographer of René Descartes.

Life

He was born in the village of Neuville near Beauvais, in Picardy. His parents could only afford to send him to a small school in the village, but he picked up some Latin from the friars of a neighbouring convent, who brought him under the notice of the bishop of Beauvais. By his kindness Baillet received a thorough education at the theological seminary, and was afterwards appointed to a post as teacher in the college of Beauvais. In 1676 he was ordained priest and was presented to a small vicarage.

He accepted in 1680 the appointment of librarian to Chrétien-François I de Lamoignon, advocate-general to the parlement of Paris. He made a catalogue raisonné (in 35 vols.) of its library, all written with his own hand.

The remainder of his life was spent in incessant, unremitting labour; so keen was his devotion to study that he allowed himself only five hours a day for rest.

With regard to René Descartes, he is popularly said to have recorded in his biography the three dreams leading up to the Cartesian Cogito.