Bochart

Bochart, Samuel, was born at Rouen in 1599, and showed early great aptitude for Greek and Latin scholarships. His studies were pursued at Paris, Sedan, Leyden, and Oxford. When he became Protestant pastor at Caen at the age of four-and-twenty he had acquired a considerable knowledge of Hebrew and other Oriental languages. It was not, however, until 1646-7 that he published Phaleg and Canaan, forming together a treatise on sacred geography that won him the fame of being among the most learned men of Europe. In 1652 Christina, Queen of Sweden, invited him to Stockholm, but no good came of the visit. Returning to Caen he brought out his Hierozoicon, which was printed in London, and in 1667 fell dead whilst arguing some archaeological point before the Academy of Caen.