Derodon David

Derodon David, a Protestant French theologian and philosopher, was born at Die, in the Dauphine, about 1600. He opposed the Cartesian philosophy, and was one of the ablest dialecticians of his time. He wrote a considerable number of works in favor of the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church, which had a wide circulation, and were translated into several foreign languages. Among them were Quatre Raisons pour lesquelles on doit quitter la R. P. R. (Paris, 1631); Quatre Raisons qui traitent de l'eucharistie, du purgatoire, du peche originel et de la predestination (1662), and Le Tomnbeau de la Messe (Geneva, 1654; English translation, London, 1673). The latter book was on March 6, 1663, burned by the public executioner, the author exiled, and the bookseller sentenced to a fine of 1000 livres, the loss of his license, and ten years exile. Derodon went to Geneva, where he died in 1664. He is also the author of several works on philosophical subjects, and against the atheists. His complete works: were collected into two volumes, and published soon after his death (Derodonis Opera Omnia, Geneva, 1664 and 1669, 2 vols.; the first volume contains the philosophical, and the second the theological writings). Hoefer, Biogr. Gener. 13:716.