Jean-Baptiste Du Hamel - Move To Paris

Move To Paris

His return to Paris coincided with the end of the Fronde rebellion in 1652. This timing proved fortuitous for Du Hamel, as his absence from the capital meant he was not tainted by political leanings or participation in the rebellion. He also became reacquainted with his brother George, who, as a prominent attorney and member of the Grand Conseil, introduced him to some powerful patrons, including Hardouin de Péréfixe, a former tutor of Louis XIV and Archbishop of Paris, as well as the prominent Barberini family. Du Hamel leaves the Oratorians in 1653, but is then put in charge of the parish of Neuilly-sur-Marne. Resigning this position in 1663, he became chancellor of the church of Bayeux. At the same time, he is also busy in his study of natural philosophy and science, writing one of his most famous works, De Consensu Veteris er Novae Philosophiae, in 1663. By now, Du Hamel is a well-known and well-respected scholar with books on theological and philosophical issue that gained attention in the learned community, and with the help of his brother, and possibly his patron Péréfixe, Du Hamel comes to the attention of Jean-Baptiste Colbert as a potential secretary for the new Académie des Sciences. Du Hamel possesses many qualities that Colbert was looking for in a secretary for the group: he could read and write well in Latin, which would allow for communication with other scholars in Europe, he had recently published well-received works, he did not have any residual political alliance from the Fronte rebellions, and he had not participated in the handful of private academies that preceded the founding of the Academie des Sciences. When Colbert founds the Académie of Sciences in 1666, he appointed Du Hamel its first secretary.