Pezron, Paul

Pezron, Paul a Roman Catholic monastic of much celebrity, was born at Heminebon, in Bretagne, in 1639. He embraced the monastic life in the Cistercian abbey de Prieres in 1661; was appointed master of the novices and sub-prior in 1672; sub-prior of the college of the Bernardins at Paris in 1677; vicar- general of his order in 1690, and obtained the abbey of Charmoye in 1697. He resigned it finally to give himself entirely to his studies, and became a doctor of the Sorbonne. He died in 1706. His most important publication is L'antiquite des temps retablie et defendue, contre les Juifs et les nouveaux chronologistes (Amst. 1687, 12mo). In this work the author maintains the authority of the Septuagint chronology against that of the Hebrew Bible. Pezron's book was extremely admired for the ingenuity and learning of it; yet created, as was natural, no small alarm among the religious. Martianay, a Benedictine, and Le Quien, a Dominican, wrote against this new system, and undertook the defence of the Hebrew text; Martianay with great zeal and heat, Le Quien with more judgment and knowledge. Pezron published Defense de l'antiquite des temps in 1691 (4to), which, like the work itself, abounded with curious and learned researches. Le Quien replied, but Martianay brought the affair into another court; and, in 1693, laid the books and principles of Pezron before M. de Harlai, archbishop of Paris. Harlai communicated the representation of this adversary to Pezron, who, finding no difficulty in supporting an opinion common to all the fathers before Jerome, rendered the accusation of no effect. Other works of his are, Essai d'un Commentaire Litteral et Historique sur les Prophetes (1693,12mo): — L'Histoire Evangelique Confirmee par la Judaique et la Romaine (1696, 2 volumes, 12mo): — Antiquite de la Nation et de la Langue des Celtes (1703, 12mo, etc.). See Niceron, Memoires, volume 1; Dict. Hist. des Auteurs Eccles. s.v.; Darling, Cyclop. Bibliogr. s.v.; Hoefer, Nouv. Biog. Generale, s.v.