Egyptian origin for the Chinese civilisation and characters, and at the same time controverted the scheme of Sir Isaac Newton as too limited. He investigated the mythology not only of the Greeks, but of the Celts, the Germans, the Chinese and the Indians. He was a vigorous opponent of the theory (euhemerism) that the stories of mythology may be referred to historic originals. He also suggested that Greek mythology owed much to the Phoenicians and Egyptians. He was one of the first scholars of Europe to undertake the study of the Chinese language, under the guidance of Arcadio Huang, a Chinese man working as translator and librarian for king Louis XIV; and in this he was engaged at the time of his committal to the Bastille. He died in Paris on 8 March 1749. After his death several works of an atheistic character were falsely attributed to him, and were long believed to be his. The most famous of these are the Examen critique des apologistes de la religion chrétienne (1766), and the Lettre de Thrasybule à Leucippe, printed in London about 1768. An inaccurate edition of Fréret's works was published in 1796-1799. A new and complete edition was projected by Jacques Joseph Champollion-Figeac, but of this only the first volume appeared (1825). It contains a life of Fréret. His manuscripts, after passing through many hands, were deposited in the library of the Institute. The best account of his works is Examen critique des ouvrages composes par Fréret in C. A. Walckenaer's Recueil des notices, &c. (1841-1850). See also Quérard's France litteraire. Notes References Jorge Cañizares-Esguerra (2001) How to Write the History of the New World: Histories, Epistemologies, and ...' Stanford University Press Melchor Ocampo. Freret - José Herrera Peña - Tripod 1688 births 1749 deaths French scholars Linguists from France Members of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres People imprisoned by lettre de cachet Prisoners of the Bastille