Lenfant, Alexandre-Charles-Anne, a French priest of note, was born at Lyons Sept. 6, 172G, and was educated bj^ the Jesuits of his native place. In 1741 he entered the order, and became professor of rhetoric at jMarseilles. Endowed with great talent as a speaker, he became one of the most popular pulpit orators of his order. After its suppression Lenfant combated the doc- trines of the ]ihilosophical antagonists of Christianity, particidarly Diderot. In 1792 he was arrested by the Itevolutionists, and subjected to capital punishment at Paris Sept. 3, 1793. His works are an Oraison funehre on Belzunce, archbishop of jMarseilles (1756, 8vo), and another on the father of Louis XVI (Nancy, 17GG) :— Svrmons pour V A vent vt pour le Careme (Paris, 1818, 8 vols. 12mo). See Hoefer, Nouv. Biog. Gen. xxx, G58.
Lenfant, Jacques, a very noted French preacher and tlicnln-ian, the son of Paul Lenfant, the Protestant miniMir ot t'hatillon-sur-Scine, was born at Pazoche, in lieaiirc. a district of llic ancient jirovince of Orleannois, in France, April 13, IGlU. Intended for the same pro- fession as his father, he was sent to prosecute his studies at Saumur; and dtiring his residence at that imiversity lie lived with the learned Jacipies Cassel, the professor of Hebrew, with whom he formed a friendsliip which continued during their lives. He completed his theo- logical cilucation at (ieneva aiui IIeidelherg_, in which latter town he was admitted lo the ministry of the Protestant Church in U)S4. Soon after his ordination he obtained the appointment of minister of the French
Church at Heidelberg, and chaplain to the dowager electress Palatine. The invasion of the Palatinate by the French troops, under marslial Turenne, compelled Lenfant to leave Heidelberg in 1G88, and he settled at Berlin. The fear of meeting his countrymen arose from his 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 Pre- servatice against a Reunion 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, Frederick, afterwards king of Prussia, who knew Lenfant by reputation, ap- pointed him to that church, where for upwards of thir- ty-nine years he performed duty. In 1707, on a visit to England, he preached before queen Anne, and it is said that he so pleased the queen that she desired him to enter the Church of England, and fiffered him the appointment as her chaplain. In 1710 he obtained the situation of chaplain to the kmg of Prussia, and coun- cillor of the High Consistorj-, Lenfant was suddenly attacked with paralysis, while in the apparent enjoy- ment of perfect health, Jidy 29, 1728, and died on the 7th of August following. His disposition is represented as having been extremely amiable, and his maiuier simple and modest. Of a reflective turn of mind, he spoke but little, and that little well. Though a most voluminous writer, he Avas fond of society, and opened himself with- out reserve to the confidence of his friends. As a preach- er, his manner was pleasing and persuasive; tlie matter of his discourse was chiefly of a practical nature, and his eloquence was rather chaste than energetic. The style of his writing is elegant, though never florid ; it has less force than that of Jurieu, and less eloquence than that of Saurin, but the French is purer, and the diction more refined. It is not certain whether he was the first to form the design of the Bibliotheque Germanique, which was commenced in 1720, but he took a prominent part in its execution, and is the acknowledged author of the preface. Lenfant's first work, which appeared in 1G83, was a review of one of Brueys, who, though a cel- ebrated French dramatist, has written several theologi- cal works in defence of the Koman Catholic faith. In 1688 he published a translation of a selection from the letters of St. Cyprian ; in 1G90, a defence of the Heidel- berg Catechism, which is generally annexed to his I're- sereatice, etc., a work we have before alluded to; and in 1691, a Latin translation of the celebrated work of the pere Malebranche, La Recherche de la Verite. His history of the female pope Joan appeared in 1G94: the arguments in it are drawn from the Latin dissertation on that subject of Spanheim. It is said, however, that in after life Lenfant discovered and acknowledged the absurdity of this fiction. See Joan, Pope. In 1708 appeared his remarks on the Greek edition of the New Testament by IMill, which are in the Bibliotheque Choi- sie of Le Clerc, vol. xvi. The following works after- wards appeared in succession : 1. Reflexions et Re- marques sur la Dispute du Ph-e Martiawj avec un Juif : — 2. Memoire IliMoi-ique touchant la Communion sur les deux especes : — 3. Critique des Remarques du Pere Va- vaseur ; sur les Reflexions de Rapin touchant la Po'e- tique: — 4. Reponse de Mons. Lenfant a Mons. Dartis au sujet du Socinianisme. The above short works are to be found in the Nouvelle de la Republique des Leitres, a review to which Lenfant was a frequent contributor. In 1714 was published his learned and interesting I/is- toire du Concile de CouKtance (Amstcrd. 1714, 2 vols. 4to ; 1727, and an Engl, transl. Loud. 1730, 2 vols. 4to). Two years after he wrote an apology for this work, which had been severely attacked in the Journal de Trevoux. In 1718, in conjiuiction with Beausobre, he published a translation of the New Testament, with explanatory notes, and a long and most learned introduction. It is by this Avork (Ae Xouc. Test, traduit en Fran^ais sur I'original Grec, Amsterdam, 1718, 2 vols. 4to), )ierba]is, that he is best known to English-speakuig students.