Guy Patin

Who was Guy Patin?

Guy Patin was a French doctor and man of letters.

Guy Patin was doyen of the Faculty of Medicine in Paris and professor in the Collège de France starting in 1655. His scientific and medical works are not considered particularly enlightened by modern medical scholars. He is most well known today for his extensive correspondence: his style was light and playful and his letters are an important document for historians of medicine. Patin and his son Charles were also dealers in clandestine books, and Patin wrote occasional poetry.

Naudaeana et Patiniana, ou, Singularitez Remarquables, recording conversations between Patin and his great friend Gabriel Naudé, librarian of the Bibliothèque Mazarine, was edited by Jean-Aymar Piganiol de La Force and published in Paris, 1701; a revised edition with a Preface by Pierre Bayle appeared in Amsterdam, 1703.