Hubert, born at Viteaux in Burgundy in 1518, gained great reputation by his learning and virtue in the 16th century. Having read one of Melanchthon's books at Bologna, he conceived so high an esteem for the author, that he went to Wittenberg purposely to visit him; he arrived there in 1549, when he contracted a strict friendship with Melanchthon, and embraced the Protestant religion. In 1565, he was one of the first counsellors of Augustus elector.

John-Baptist-Joseph, the celebrated vicar of St Sulpice at Paris, and a doctor of the Sorbonne, was born at Dijon in 1675. He was received into the Sorbonne in 1698; and attached himself to the community of St Sulpice, to which parish he was of great service. M. de la Chetardie the vicar, conscious of his talents, chose him for his curate, in which capacity he officiated near ten years; and in 1714 succeeded to the vicarage. His parish church being small and out of repair, he conceived the design of building a church suitable to the size of his parish, which he began with the sum of 100 crowns, but soon obtained considerable donations; and the duke of Orleans, regent of the kingdom, granted him a lottery, and laid the first stone of the porch in 1718. It was consecrated in 1745, after M. Languet had spared neither labour nor expense to render it one of the finest churches in the world both for architecture and ornament. Another work which did him no less honour was the Maison de l'enfant Jésus. This establishment consists of two parts; the first composed of about 35 poor ladies of good families, and the second of more than 400 poor women and children of town and country. The order and economy in this house, for the education and employment of so many persons, gave Cardinal Fleury so high an idea of the vicar of St Sulpice, that he proposed to make him superintendent general of all the hospitals in the kingdom; which, however, was declined. Never man took more pains than he did to procure charitable donations and legacies, which he distributed with admirable discretion: he is said from good authority to have disbursed near a million of livres to the poor annually. When there was a general dearth in 1725, he sold, in order to relieve the poor, his household goods, pictures, and some curious pieces of furniture that he had procured with difficulty; and when the plague raged at Marseilles, he sent large sums into Provence for the relief of the distressed. M. Languet was not only singular in this warm, disinterested, benevolent conduct, but also in other circumstances equally rare; and this was in the refusal of several bishoprics that were offered him: he even resigned his vicarage in 1748; but continued to preach every Sunday at his own parish church, and to support the Maison de l'enfant Jésus, to his death, which happened in 1750. It is observed, that his piety and charity did not proceed from poverty of talents; for he was sensible and lively in conversation, and his genius often discovered itself in his agreeable repartees.