COEFFETEAU, NICOLAS. - Dominican archbishop and polemicist, b. at Château-du-Loir in 1574, d. at Paris on 21 April 1623. He took the habit at Le Mans (1588), was sent to Paris to the convent of St. James (1590), where he received his doctorate in theology; he was professor, prior, regent of studies for 9 years and vicar general of the Gallican Congregation. Henry IV chose him as ordinary preacher (1608). On the suggestion of Louis XIII he was appointed by Paul V titular bishop of Dardania (1617), and became coadjutor of the bishop of Metz, where he worked actively for the reform of the abbeys and for the defense of the faith against the Calvinists. In 1621 he was designated bishop of Marseille, but death forestalled the bull of investiture.
A prolific writer, C. polemicized keenly with James I of England, Pierre du Moulin, Philippe Duplessis-Mornay and Marcantonio De Dominis on the doctrines they attacked: the Eucharist, the ecclesiastical hierarchy, the authority of the Pope. He left many other works, original and translations: all composed with purity of language and style (only the Pro monarchia Ecclesiae cathi, against De Dominis, is in Latin), so much so that he is considered one of the creators of French prose. Noteworthy for ascetic doctrine is the Tableau des passions humaines, de leurs causes et de leurs effets (Paris 1620), which, in 40 years, had 16 editions.
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Timoteo Centi