COTELIER, JEAN-BAPTISTE. - Philologist, born at Nîmes in 1627, died in Paris on 12 Aug. 1686. From childhood he showed exceptional aptitude for study and poetry, and was often chosen to compose panegyrics for eminent personages.
At the age of thirteen he could expound at sight the Hebrew text of the Bible and the Greek text of the New Testament. In 1659 he began scholarly work, and in 1661 published: Homiliae IV in Psalmos et interpretatio Danielis graece et latine di s. Giovanni Crisostomo. Together with Du Cange, he compiled the catalogue of Greek manuscripts in the Royal Library of Paris. In 1672 he published: Sanctorum Patrum qui temporibus apostolicis (whence the designation Apostolic Fathers) flornerunt, Barnabae, Hermae, Clementis, Ignatii, Polycarpi opera, cum Clementis, Ignatii, Polycarpi actis atque martyris. In 1676 he was appointed professor of Greek at the Royal College. His principal work is: Ecclesiae graecae monumenta (3 vols., Paris 1677-78), a collection of Greek ecclesiastical authors, with Latin translation, also including unpublished writings drawn from manuscripts in the Royal Library. All the texts are accompanied by critical notes and learned commentaries of value. Many manuscripts by C. on Christian antiquity are held in the National Library of Paris.