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Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition/Claude Pierre Goujet

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1700374Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, Volume XI — Claude Pierre Goujet

GOUJET, Claude Pierre (1697-1767), a French abbe" and litterateur, was born at Paris, 19th October 1697. He studied at the college of the Jesuits, and at the College Mazarin, but he nevertheless became a strong Jansenist. In 1705 he assumed the ecclesiastical habit, in 1719 entered the order of Oratorians, and soon afterwards was named canon of St Jacques 1 Hopital. On account of his ex treme Jansenist opinions he suffered considerable persecu tion from the Jesuits, and several of his works were sup pressed at their instigation. In his latter years his health began to fail, and he lost his eyesight. As he received little remuneration for his writings, he came also to be in circumstances of great poverty, and was compelled to sell his library, a sacrifice which hastened his death, which took place at Paris, 1st February 1767.

He is the author of a large number of works, of which the prin cipal are: Supplement au Dictionnaire de Mor6ri, Paris, 1735, and a Nouveau Supplement to a subsequent edition of the work; Biblio- theque franc,aise, ou Histoire litter air e de la France, 18 vols. , Paris, 1740-1759; Vies des Saints, 7 vols. , 1730; Memoircs historiques ct litteraires sur le College royal de France, 3 vols., Paris, 1758 ; His toire des Inquisitions, Paris, 1752 ; and an edition of the Diction naire, of which he has also given an abridgment. See Memoires hist, et lift, de VAbbe Goujet, 1767.