AMYRAUT, a'me-ro, Molse, French Cal vinist theologian: b. -in Bourgueil, in the prov ince of Anjou, 1596; d. 1664. He was educated at Saumur, where he was himself afterward a professor of divinity. By his talents and mod eration he soon acquired reputation and influ ence. In 1631 he attended the Synod of Clar endon and was commissioned to present to the king the remonstrances of his brethren against the infraction of the edicts of pacification. In his mission he acted with such judgment and dignity that he succeeded in relieving the Protestant deputies from the disgraceful obli gation of addressing the king on their knees. Although he was a Protestant, his amiable temper and courteous manners commanded the regard of the Catholics and he was held in par ticular esteem by Cardinal Richelieu. He en deavored to bring about a complete union be tween the various Protestant Churches; this object he had in view in nearly all his writings, especially in a Latin tract, We secessione ab ecclesta Romano, deque pace inter Evangelicos in negotio religionist instituenda.) Moreover,
acting in concert with Richelieu, he aimed at a reconciliation between the Protestants and the Roman Catholic Church. The favor and respect with which he was treated by the heads of the French government Richelieu and Mazarin, are to be ascribed to his opinions concerning the power of the princes. He publicly maintained on several occasions the doctrine of implicit obedience to the sovereign authority, which, indeed, had also been held by the great found ers of the Reformation. Amyraut was a fin ished scholar and wrote Latin and French with equal ease. His numerous writings, which were received with marked favor in his time, are now nearly forgotten and not easy to be procured. Among the number we may men tion to Treatise on Religions, Against Those Who Esteem Them to Be Indifferent' ;
tian Morals' ;
Treatise on Dreams' ;