Philippe du Contant de la Molette

Philippe du Contant de La Molette (29 August 1737 – 1793) was a French theologian and biblical scholar.

Biography

He was born at La Côte-Saint-André, in Dauphiné, France, 29 August 1737. He studied at the Sorbonne, and, in 1765, defended a thesis on Job, in six languages. Louis XV was so well pleased that he allowed him to pass the examinations for the licentiate without the required delays, a privilege, however, which de la Molette did not use. Later on, he became Vicar-General of the diocese of Vienne, France.

He died on the scaffold during the Reign of Terror in 1793.

Works

As a biblical author, he shows great erudition and is well versed in the Semitic languages, but he lacked originality, and his criticism is often misleading. His works, all published in Paris, are the following: (1775) (1777) , etc. (1777), 3 vols., a work intended especially as a refutation of Voltaire , 3 vols. (1780); the thesis that he had defended in 1765 is printed in the beginning of this work , etc., 3 vols. (1781) (1781), a continuation of the preceding , 2 vols. (1785). He had also done considerable work as a preparation for a , but it is doubtful whether he ever published it.