Jacques Lefèvre d'Étaples

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Lefevre d'Etaples

Jacques Lefèvre d'Étaples (c.1450-1536), also known by his Latinized name Jacobus Faber Stapulensis, was a French theologian and humanist.

Although he anticipated some ideas that were important to the Protestant Reformation, Lefèvre remained a Roman Catholic throughout his life, and sought to reform the church without separating from it. Still, several of his books were condemned as heretical, and he spent some time in exile fleeing prosecution. However, he was a favorite of the king of France, Francis I, and enjoyed his favor and protection. He was a prolific translator of the Bible. He completed a translation of the Old Testament in 1528, and was famous for his French translation of Psalms and the Pauline epistles, which he finished early in his career. His completed translation of the entire Christian Bible, published in 1530, was the first in the French language.

Among his Aristotelian works are included:

Paraphrases of the Whole of Aristotle's Natural Philosophy (1492)
Introduction to the Metaphysics (1494)
Introduction to the Nicomanchean Ethics (1494)
Logical Introductions (1496)

Lefèvre taught at the University of Paris. Guillaume Farel is perhaps his most famous pupil. Farel joined Lefèvre at Meaux to help in the training of preachers, before Farel left for Switzerland where he was one of the founders of the Reformed churches.