Bast, Martin Jean De

Bast, Martin Jean De, a French priest and antiquary, was born at Gand, Oct. 26, 1753. He entered holy orders in 1775, and became curate in his native village till 1789, when he took an active part in the Brabancon Revolution. Under the imperial government he became canon of the Cathedral of Gand. In 1817 his infirmities compelled him to renounce an ecclesiastical life, and he devoted himself to numismatic pursuits. He died April 11, 1825, leaving several works on Roman, French, and Belgian antiquities, for which see Hoefer, Nouv., Biog. Generale, s.v.