HUET, PETER DANIEL, Bishop of Avranches in France, an eminent scholar, was horn of a good family at Caen in Normandy, on the 8th of February, 1630. His pa rents died while he was but an infant, and left him to the care of guardians, who neglected him ; but his natural abilities and innate love of learning overcame all disadvan tages, and before he was thirteen years of age he had finished his studies in the belles lettres. Having entered into the study of philosophy, he found an excellent guide in father Maimbrun, a Jesuit, who directed him to begin by learning a little geometry. Huet, however, went farther than his tutor desired, and contracted such a relish for the mathematics as had almost induced him to abandon his other studies.
Having finished his elementary studies, it was his object to apply himself to the law, and to take his degrees in that faculty ; but from this pursuit he was diverted by two books which were then published. These were, " The Principles of Descartes," and " Bochart's Sacred Geogra phy." To the philosophy of Descartes, of which he was a great admirer, he adhered for many years ; but afterwards abandoned it, when he discovered the fallacy of its princi ples. The immense erudition displayed in Bochart's work made a great impression on him, and inspired him with a strong desire to become conversant with Greek and He brew learning. To assist his progress in these studies, he contracted a friendship with Bochart, who was minister of the Protestant church at Caen.
At the age of twenty, he was emancipated, by the cus tom of Normandy, from the tuition of his guardians ; and soon after made a journey to Paris, with the view of pur chasing books, and becoming acquainted with the learned men of the times. About two years afterwards, he accom panied Bochart to the court of Christina, queen of Sweden, and had thus an opportunity of introducing himself to the learned in other parts of Europe. The queen, it is said, wished to have engaged him in her service ; but owing to the jealousy and intrigues of Bourdcl, another physician, Bochart's reception had not been very gracious; and Huct, being aware or the fickle temper of Christina, declined all offers, and returned to France after an absence of three months. The principal advantage which he derived from
this journey, besides the acquaintance he formed with the learned men in Sweden and Holland, consisted in the ac quisition of a copy of a manuscript of Origen's Commen taries upon St Matthew, which he transcribed at Stock holm. While engaged in translating this work, he was led to consider the rules of translation, as well as the dif ferent manners of the most celebrated translators ; and in 1661, he published his thoughts upon this subject at Paris, under the title De interpretatione libri duo ; a work written with great vigour and elegance, in the form of a dialogue between Casaubon, Front() Ducmus, and Thuanus. In 1664, he published, at Utrecht, an elegant collection of Greek and Latin poems, which was afterwards enlarged in several successive editions. At length, in 1668, he pub lished at Rouen his Origenis Commentarii, Ste. cum Latina interpretatione,notis et observationibus, in 2 vols. folio ; to which was prefixed an ample preliminary discourse, con taining all that antiquity relates concerning Origen.
In 1659, Huet was invited to Rome by Christina, who had abdicated her crown and retired thither ; but he again declined the invitation. About ten years after, when Bus suet was appointed preceptor to the Dauphin, Huet was chosen for his colleague, with the title of sub-preceptor. Ile accordingly went to court in 1670, and remained there till 1680, when the dauphin was married. It is to this ap pointment, probably, that the learned world is indebted for the editions of the classics in usum Delphini ; for although the first idea of the commentaries for the use of the dau phin was started by the Duke de Montausier, it was Huet who digested the plan, and directed the execution of this useful undertaking. Although necessarily much occupied with the duties of his situation, he found leisure, at this pe riod, to compose his Demonstratio Evangelica, which was published at Paris in 1679, in folio, and has since been re printed in various forms. He was admitted a member of the French Academy in 1674.