Firmin Abauzit

Firmin Abauzit
Born	(1679-11-11)11 November 1679 Uzès,Kingdom of France
Died	20 March 1767(1767-03-20)(aged 87) Geneva,Republic of Geneva
Nationality	French
Citizenship	Republic of Geneva
Known for	Proofreading or correcting the writings ofIsaac Newton
Scientific career
Fields	Physics Theology Philosophy

Firmin Abauzit(11 November 1679 – 20 March 1767) was a French scholar who worked onphysics,theologyandphilosophy,and served as librarian inGeneva(Republic of Geneva) during his final 40 years. Abauzit is also notable for proofreading or correcting the writings ofIsaac Newtonand other scholars.

Biography

Firmin Abauzit was born ofHuguenotparents on 11 November 1679 atUzès,inLanguedoc.His paternal family traces its origin to an Arab physician who settled inToulouseduring the 9th century.Accordingly, the name “Abauzit” is liked derived from the Arabic “Abu Zaid” (father of Zaid).

His father died when he was only two years of age; and when, on the revocation of theEdict of Nantesin 1685, the authorities took steps to have him educated in theRoman Catholicfaith, his mother contrived his escape.

For two years his brother and he lived as fugitives in the mountains of theCévennes,but they at last reachedGeneva,where their mother afterwards joined them on escaping from the imprisonment in which she was held from the time of their flight. Abauzit at an early age acquired great proficiency in languages, physics, and theology.

In 1698, he traveled toGermany,then toHolland,where he became acquainted withPierre Bayle,Pierre JurieuandJacques Basnage.Proceeding toEngland,he was introduced to SirIsaac Newton,who found in him one of the earliest defenders of his discoveries againstCastel.Newton corrected in the second edition of hisPrincipiaan error pointed out by Abauzit,and, when sending him theCommercium Epistolicum,said, "You are well worthy to judge betweenLeibnitzand me. "

The reputation of Abauzit inducedWilliam IIIto request him to settle inEngland,but he did not accept the king's offer, preferring to return toGeneva. There from 1715 he rendered valuable assistance to a society that had been formed for translating theNew TestamentintoFrench.He declined the offer of the chair of philosophy at theUniversity of Genevain 1723.He assisted in the French languageNew Testamentin 1726.In 1727, he was granted citizenship in Geneva, and he accepted the office of honorary librarian to Geneva, the city of his adoption.It was while he was in Geneva in his later years that he authored many of his works. He died in Geneva at the age of 87, on 20 March 1767.

Legacy

Abauzit was a man of great learning and of wonderful versatility. Whatever chanced to be discussed, it used to be said of Abauzit that he seemed to have made it a subject of particular study.Rousseau,who was jealously sparing of his praises, addressed to him, in hisJulie, ou la nouvelle Héloïse,a finepanegyric;and when a stranger flatteringly toldVoltairehe had come to see a great man, the philosopher asked him if he had seen Abauzit.Among his acquaintances, Abauzit claimed Rousseau, Voltaire, Newton, and Bayle.

Little remains of the labours of this intellectual giant, his heirs having, it is said, destroyed the papers that came into their possession, because their own religious opinions were different. A few theological, archaeological, and astronomical articles from his pen appeared in theJournal helvétiqueand elsewhere, and he contributed several papers to Rousseau'sDictionnaire de musique(1767). He wrote a work throwing doubt on thecanonicalauthority of theApocalypse,which called forth a reply from DrLeonard Twells,and was published inDenis Diderot'sEncyclopédie.He also edited and made valuable additions toJacob Spon'sHistoire de la république de Genève.A collection of his writings was published at Geneva in 1770 (Œuvres de feu M. Abauzit), and another atLondonin 1773 (Œuvres diverses de M. Abauzit).

Works

Works of Abauzit

year	Title	Notes
	Articles	Multiple articles forJournal helvétique
1726	French language New Testament	Collaboration
	apocalypse	Article forDenis Diderot'sEncyclopédie
1767	Articles	Multiple articles forDictionnaire de musique
	Edited and contributions	Histoire de la république de Genèveby Jacob Spon
1770	Œuvres de feu M. Abauzit	Posthumously published collection
1773	Œuvres diverses de M. Abauzit	Posthumously published collection

References

• Debus, Allen G.; Calinger, Ronald S.; Collins, Edward J.; Kennedy, Stephen J., eds. (1968)."Abauzit, Firmin".World Who's Who in Science: A Biographical Dictionary of Notable Scientists From Antiquity to the Present.Chicago, Illinois: The A. N. Marquis Company.ISBN0-8379-1001-3.LCCN68056149.
• Hoiberg, Dale H., ed. (2010)."Abauzit, Firmin".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. I: A-Ak - Bayes (15th ed.). Chicago, Illinois: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.ISBN978-1-59339-837-8.LCCN2002113989.
• Magnusson, Magnus; Goring, Rosemary, eds. (1990).Cambridge Biographical Dictionary.Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.ISBN0-521-39518-6.

Attribution

• This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911). "Abauzit, Firmin".Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 8.
• Senebier, Jean(1786).Histoire Littéraire de Geneve.Geneve [Geneva, Switzerland]: Chez Barde, Manget & Compagnie, Imprimeurs-Libraires.LCCN04021025.
• Abauzit, Firmin (1774).Miscellanies of the Late Ingenious and Celebrated M. Abauzit on Historical, Theological, and Critical Subjects.Translated byEdward Harwood.London, England: T. Becket.LCCN82067547.
• Orme, William(1824).Bibliotheca biblica; a select list of books on sacred literature; with notices biographical, critical, and bibliographical.Edinburgh, Scotland: A. Black.LCCN07020498.

External links

• Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge,Abauzit, Firmin.