LENFANT, JACQUES, was born at Bazoche iu Beaure, a district of the ancient province of Orleannois in France, on the 13th of April 1661, and was the sou of Paul Lenfant, the Protestant minister of Chetillou-sur-Seine. Being destined to the same profession as his father, he was sent to prosecute his studies at Saumur ; and during his residence at that university he lived with the learned Jacques Cassel, the professor of Hebrew, with whom he formed a friendship which continued during their lives. He completed his theological education at Geneva and Heidelberg, in which latter town he was admitted into the ministry of the Protestant church during the month of August 1684. Soon after his ordination he obtained the appointment of minister of the French church at Heidelberg, and chaplain to the Dowager Electrees Palatine. The invasion of the Palatinate by the French troops, under Marshal Turenne [TURENNE], compelled Lenfaut to leave Heidelberg in 1688, and he settled at Berlin. The fear of meeting his countrymen arose from having rendered himself obnoxious to the Jesuits by two letters which he had written against that society, and which are appended to his work entitled ' A Preservative against a re-union with the Church of Rome.' Though the Protestant French church of that city had already a sufficient number of pastors attached to it, the reigning Elector of Brandenburg, Frederic, afterwards King of Prussia, who knew Lenfant by reputation, appointed him to that church, where for upwards of thirty-nine years he performed duty. In the year 1705 he married Mademoiselle Gourgaud de Veronea, a French lady from Poitou. In 1707 he visited England, and it is said that he was admitted to preach before Queen Anne; it is further stated that the queen wished him to enter the Church of England, and offered him, in case he resolved to do so, to appoint him her chaplain. In 1710 he obtained the situation of chaplain to the King of Prussia, and councilor of the high consietory. Lenfant was suddenly attacked with paralysis, while in the apparent enjoyment of perfect hoalth, on the 29th of July 1728, and he died on the 7th of August following.
His disposition is represented to have been extremely amiable, and his manner simple and modest. Of a reflective turn of mind, he spoke but little, and that little well. Though a most voluminous writer, he was feud of society, and opened himself without reserve to the confidence of his friends. As a preacher, his manuer was pleasing and persuasive; the matter of his discourse was chiefly of a practical nature, and his eloqueuce was rather chaste thau energetic. The style of his writing is elegant, though never florid; it has less force than that of Jurieu [Jewee], and less eloquence than that of Saurin [Selmer], but the French is more pure, and the diction more chaste. It is not certain whether he was the first to form the design of the 'Bibliotheque Ccrmanique,' which was commenced in 1721 but t.o tock a prominent part in its execution, end be is the acknou 'edged author of the preface.
Le nfant'a fret work, "Lich appeared in 1683, was a review of on of Erne) es who, though a celebrated French dramatist, has writtei revere] ti eologieal works in defence of the Roman Catholic faith. Ii
be published a translation of a selection from the letters of SI Cypriot', in 1690, a defence of the Heidelberg catechism, which i generally annexed to his 'Preservative,' &c., a work we have befor alluded to; and in 1691, a Latin translation of the celebrated wort of the Pere Idallebranche on 'Research after Truth.' His history o the female Pope Joan appeared in 1994; the arguments in it' ars drawn from the Latin dissertation on that subject of Spanheim. I is said however that, in after life, Leufant discovered and ackuow lodged the absurdity of this fiction. [Jeers, PorE.1 In 1708 appearec his remarks on the Creek edition of the 'New Testament,' by Mill which are in the • Bibliotireque Choisie' of Le Clere, vol. xvi. The following works afterwards appeared in succession : 1, '11611exions el Remarquea sur Is Dispute du Pero Martiany avec un Juif; ' 2 ' Mdmoire Historiquo touchant la Communion cur lee deux Eepeces; 3, ' Critique des Rcmarques du Pere Vavaseur; sur lea R6fiexious de Rapin touchant la PoUtique ; 4, '116ponee do Mons. Leufant h Mona Dania an sujet du Socinianisme.' The above short works are to be found in the 'Nouvelle de la 116publique des Lettres,' a review tc which Lenfant was a frequent contributor.
In 1714 was published his learned and interesting History of the Council of Constance,' 2 vols., Amsterdam. Two years after be wrote an apology for this work, which bad been severely attacked in the 'Journal de Trdvoux.' In 1718, iu conjunction with Beausobre, he published a translation of the New Testament, with explanatory notes, and a long and most learned introduction. It is by this work, perhaps, that he is most known in England. [13Ea1;soans..] We shall now briefly mention the most important of his other productions : 1, 'Poggiana; or the Life, Character, and Maxima of the celebrated Florentine writer Poggio,' Amsterdam, 1720 [Baaccrotarri]; 2, A Preventive against Reunion with the See of Rome, and Reasons for Separation from that See,' Amsterdam, 1723—a work which continues to enjoy great popularity among Protestants; 3. 'History of the Council of Nice, and of the most remarkable Evente during the Interval between it and the Council of Constance,' a learned and accurate work, written with sufficient impartiality, 1724; 4, ' A Volume containing sixteen Sermons, on different Texts of Scripture,' 1728; 5, ' A General Preface to the Old and New Testaments,' which is appended to the French Bible in octavo, published at Hanover and Leipzig in 1728 ; 6, ' A small volume of Remarks on Cisbert's Treatise on Pulpit Eloquence.' The last work of Lenfant is one which has greatly added to his already high reputation, The History of the Wars of the liussites, and of the Council of Basel,' 1728. He bad been many years collecting materials for this valuable history, and had access, through the influence of the King of Prussia, to the archives of the corporation of Basel. The principal details of the life of Lenient have been taken from a memoir annexed to the above work.