DAILLE, JEAN (DALLAEUS). — Calvinist pastor, born at Châtellerault on 6 January 1594 and died in Paris on 15 April 1670. At the age of barely eighteen, he was entrusted with the education of the grandchildren of the well-known Calvinist F. Duplessis-Mornaye; together with them he travelled through Italy, Switzerland, Germany, and Holland. In Venice he met Fra Paolo Sarpi and soon became his intimate friend.
In 1626 he was appointed pastor of Charenton, and among his fellow believers he distinguished himself through rare oratorical gifts and profound erudition. He also deserves to be remembered for his study of the Fathers, though this was not always accurate or thorough. In his polemic against the Catholic Church he was tenacious, while nevertheless demonstrating in his numerous writings breadth of outlook and a conciliatory spirit.
Principal works: Traité de l'emploi des Sts Pères pour juger des différends qui sont aujourd'hui en la religion (Geneva 1632); Apologie des Eglises réformées (Charenton 1633); De la créance des Pères sur le fait des images (Geneva 1641); De sacramentali s. auriculari Latinorum Confessione (there 1661); De Confirmatione et Extrema Unctione (there 1669). All D.’s works are on the Index (decree of 22 March 1672).