His education was at the University of Poitiers, where he took practice of law in his hometown. Soon he rose to prominence by the astute legal services to prominent people (Parshall 1).

             Henry III called him back in 1589 to serve as a counselor to parliament. Henry has been forced to relocate on his tours. Later during France's war with Spain, Henry IV also called him, in as a capacity not as a government bureaucrat, but as a mathematician. He then was to decode any intercepted messages for the monarch. After the war, he returned to Paris from 1594 to 1597 and then again from 1599 to 1602. Finally in late 1602, Henry IV dismissed him for the last time (Parshall 1).

             While he did his work for King Henry III, he discovered a key to the Spanish cipher of 500 characters. He was able to read the secret correspondence of the enemies. Phillip II, of Spain, thought that the sure code was invulnerable, and that when he heard of it, he complained to the Pope that the French were using some sorcery against him. His tactics in dealing with the people were illustrated by the case of Francoise de Rohan, who was the cousin of Henry III. She had been engaged to Duke J de Nemours, and had a son with him. Then he married another person, Anne d'Este (O"Connor 2).

             He wanted to be declared Anne"s legal spouse. The children, by Anne, were declared bastards. He found a solution in that parliament declared her legal spouse of Nemours. He gave her property as her dukedom. They declared the marriage as dissolved. In 1564, he took the position the service of Antoinette d'Aubeterre. There he was employed to supervise the education of Antoinette's daughter Catherine, who then later became Catherine of Parthenay? That is about half-way between Fontenay-le-Comte and Poitiers. Catherine"s father died in 1566. Antoinette moved with her daughter to La Rochelle. Then Viete moved there with his employer and daughter. That was the period of great political and religious unrest in France.