Jacques Lelong

Biography

He was accepted very young person with the number of the clerks of the Ordre of Malta, et' was old only eleven years when he passed in this island. Little time after its arrival, the Plague there being declared, it had imprudence to follow the convoy of a dead man of the contagion. Hardly it had returned in its house, that one walled the doors of them, for fear it did not communicate to the outside the disease which one supposed it attacked. This species of prison saved the life to him by sequestering it of the company of the pestiferous ones. Such an accident, joint with the hardness of the Master of the clerks, disgusted it stay of the island.

It pretexted the interest of its health to obtain the permission to re-embark itself, and came to Paris to resume its studies with the Oratory. Its superiors sent it to the Collège of Juilly, to teach mathematics, and, a few years after, with the seminar of Notre-Dame of the Virtues, close Paris, so that it could be devoted more particularly to this kind of study, for which it had great provisions. Become librarian of this house, his taste for the Bibliographie appeared in a way if decided, that it was destined for Paris to fill there same employment in the house of Saint-Honore. With the knowledge of the Eastern languages, of Hebrew and his various dialects, he united that several modern languages, such as Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and English. He also had the literary and topographic history.

Finally few scientists could be to him compared in this part. During twenty-two years that it was charged with this library, one of richest of Paris, especially in Eastern manuscripts, it increased it at least third with very moderate funds, and it made three different catalogs of them. Its passion for the study was inconceivable: it was distracted any only for the achievement from the duties from its state, for its correspondence followed with the majority of the scientists of the Europe; and it looked at its long and fre' quentes insomnia as an advantage which left him more time to be devoted to it. A so hard life had to deteriorate the health of a man whose complexing was already very weak. II tested violent one evils of stomach accompanied by a slow fever which consumed it little by little, and made useless all the art of the doctors. He died at Ogier, his nephew, receiver general of the clergy, the August 13rd 1721, 56 years old.

This scientist had a sincere piety and without ostentation, a soft and modest character, polished manners and engageantes. Filled of charity for the poor, he was pleased to have found in a rich person heritage of the means of satisfying his leaning for this virtue. The P. Malebranche, its friendly close friend, scoffing it one day on all the sorrows which it was given to discover a date or a literary anecdote: the truth is so pleasant, answered him it, that one should nothing neglect to discover it, even in the smallest things. Its works indicate immense research. One would wish only that it had endeavoured to make of it the style more correct.

Publications

Here is the list:

Supplement with the History of the Hebrew dictionaries of Volfius , in the Newspaper of the scientists of January 1707;
New Method of the languages Hebraic and chaldaïque, with a dictionary of these two languages , Paris, 1708, in-8°. This Method, followed by a Hebraic dictionary in French worms made on the model of the Greek Roots of Port-Royal, is P. Renou, Oratory; the P. Leloug was only the editor.
Bibliotheca crowned, seu Syllabus omnium closes sacrœ Scripturœ editionum acversionum , Paris, 1709, 2 vol. in-8°; reprinted the same year with Leipzig by the care of Boerner, with historical increases and notes and criticisms drawn from the manuscripts and books printed in Germany, which had not been known P. Lelong. This one had been occupied, in the last years of its life, to correct this work, and to increase it by one second part containing the catalog of all the authors who worked on the books of the Bible. This second edition was ready to be put under press when the author died. He entrusted the responsibility of it to the P. Desmolets, his friend, who published it, in 1723, in-fol., preceded by a note on the life and the works of the P. Lelong. This work, of an immense work, is fullest, most methodical and most exact which had appeared in this kind: a new edition had been started with the care of has. - G. Marsch; it appeared of it only two parts in 5 volumes in-4°, Halle, 1778 - 1790.
historical Speech on the principal editions of the polyglot Bibles , Paris, 1713, in-12. It is the fruit of research which the P. Lelong had been obliged to make for its crowned Bibliothèque . It contains curious details on the Polyglotte S, and particularly on that of Paris (see: Guy Michel Lejay);
History of the contentions of the pope Boniface VII with Philippe Beautiful the , Paris, 1718, in-12. It is a posthumous work of Adrien Baillet: P.Lelong, by giving it to the public, increased it by twenty-two supporting documents which are not in the Actes of Dupuy. It had two editions in less than three months.
historical Library of France, containing the catalog of the printed works and manuscripts which treat history of this kingdom, or which have report/ratio there; with critical and historical notes , Paris, 1719, in-fol. The object of this work is to indicate in a methodical order the use which one must make of the large collections of the parts concerning the French history, and to facilitate the work of those which undertake to write it. This large volume was composed in the three years space, and the author copied it three times of his own hand. He proposed to increase it considerably in a second edition. The materials which it had gathered and a specimen in charge of its notes passed between the hands of Charles-Marie Fevret de Fontette, which was useful about it in its edition in 5 volumes in-fol., Paris, 1768;
Letters with Mr. Martin, minister of Utrecht , Paris, in the Newspaper of the scientists of June of the same year. This minister, in his essay on the famous passage of holy Jean (Ep. 1, course. S, Very xunt which testimonium , etc), had said that Robert Estienne inserted it in its edition of the Bible, according to several manuscripts of the library of the king. The P. Lelong supports that this passage is not in any the manuscripts of this library. This untiring man had undertaken a collection of the historians of France much fuller than that of Duchesne; he proposed to make some print two or three volumes each year: it was this work which shortened its days. All the materials were gathered for the first deliveries; it any more but did not remain to him to collate them with the manuscripts and the printed papers form, to publish them with critical, chronological and geographical notes. This project was carried out by the Bénédictin S of Saint-Maur, and the continuation was entrusted by it since to L Académie of the inscriptions.

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