Jacques, one of the first and most zealous propagators of the Cartesian philosophy in France, was born at Amiens in 1620. He was early conveyed to Paris, where he showed a decided predilection for philosophical pursuits. So high did he rank in the esteem of his masters that Clercier gave him his daughter in marriage. He continued to teach in Paris with great reputation for ten or twelve years. In 1771 he published a Traité du Physique, which enjoyed an immense reputation both in and out of France. It was translated into Latin by Dr Samuel Clarke, who corrected the Cartesian preoccupations of the author by the more sound investigations of Newton. Rohault was likewise the author of a small book, Entretiens de Philosophie, in which he endeavoured to meet the objections of all parties to the writings of his master Descartes. He died in 1672, and was buried at Sainte-Geneviève, beside him in whose interest he had spent his life. (See Clercier's preface to the second volume of his Lettres de Descartes; and the Œuvres Posthumes of Rohault, 4to, Paris, 1682. The reader may likewise consult Damiron's Histoire de la Philosophie du 17 Siecle; and the Dictionnaire des Sciences Philosophiques.)