LAMY, FRANÇOIS. – Polemicist, born at Montireau in 1636, died at St-Denis on 11 April 1711. He was prior of the Benedictine abbey of St-Faron-de-Meaux, a position from which he was removed because of his strong attachment to the ideas of Descartes. He engaged in polemics with the finest minds of the time—Malebranche, Nicole, Duguet, etc.—with a liveliness that was at times excessive.
His copious output encompasses subjects in apologetics, dogmatics, moral theology, and asceticism. The following should be noted: Vérité évidente de la religion chrétienne (Paris 1694); Le nouvel athéisme renversé (ibid. 1696); Lettres théologiques et morales sur quelques sujets importants (ibid. 1708); L'incrédule amené à la religion par la raison (ibid. 1710). His most important work, however, remains De la connaissance de soi-même (ibid. 1694), which prompted a reply from Malebranche.