ADAM, JEAN. - French Jesuit theologian, born at Limoges on 28 Sept. 1608, entered the Society in 1622, died at Bordeaux on 12 May 1684. His activity as preacher and controversialist unfolded chiefly at Paris (1649-58), at Sedan (1659-71), where he worked with Marshal Fabert for the conversion of Calvinists, and finally at Bordeaux. He waged a vigorous campaign against Calvinists, especially the ministers of Charenton, and against the Jansenists.
Among his polemical writings, now very rare, the following may be noted: Calvin deffaict par soy-mesme et par les armes de s. Augustin (Paris 1650), in which he is seen as a precursor of Bossuet’s Histoire des variations; Le tombeau du Jansenisme (Paris 1654); Réponse à la lettre de Monsieur Daille, ministre de Charenton (Poitiers 1660); Projet présenté à MM. de la religion prétendue réformée de la ville et souveraineté de Sedan (Poitiers 1663, Paris 1673); Le triomphe de la très sainte Eucharistie (Sedan 1671; 2nd ed., Bordeaux 1672). Even his other works bear a polemical intent: Les psaumes de David en latin et en français (Paris 1651), for example, was directed against the Heures de Port-Royal.