NICOLET
69
NICOMEDES
1689), being a reply to the "Defense de la Reforma-
tion" written by the minister, Claude, against the
"Pr^jug^s legitimes"; "Essais de morale" (Paris,
1671-78); "Les pr^tendus R^formes convaincus de
schisme" (Paris, 1084); "De I'unit^ de I'Eglise" or
"Refutation du nouveau systeme de M. Jurieu"
(Paris, 1687), a condensed and decisive criticism of the
theory of the "fundamental articles"; "Refutation
des principales erreurs des Qui^tistes" (Paris, 1695);
"Instructions theologiques et morales sur les sacre-
ments" (Paris, 1706), "surleSymbole" (Paris, 1706),
"sur I'Oraison dominicale, la Salutation ang^lique, la
Sainte Messe et les autres prieres de I'EgUse" (Paris,
1706), "sur le premier commandement du Decalogue"
(Paris, 1709); "Traitc de la grace generale" (Paris.
1715), containing all that Nicole had written at
different times on grace; "Traite de I'usure" (Paris,
1720).
GoujET, Hisloire de la vie et des ouvrages de Nicole (Paris, 1733) ; Besoigne. Vie de Nicole in the Histoire de Port-Royal, V; (Both of these authors are Jansenists and write as such.) an anonymous Biography of Nicole in the Continuation des essais de morale (Lux- emburg. 1732); Cerveau, V esprit de Nicole (Paris, 1765); Mer- BAN, Pensfes de Nicole (Paris, 1806); Floss in Kirchenlex., a. v.; HuRTER, Nomenclator, II.
J. Forget.
Nicolet, Diocese OF (Nicoletana), in the Province of Quebec, Canada, suffragan of Quebec. It com- prises the counties of Nicolet, Yamaska, Arthabaska, Drummond, and a small part of Shefford and Bagot. The see takes its name from the town of Nicolet (pop- ulation 3915), situated on the south bank of the St. Lawrence, opposite Trois-Rivieres.
It was erected into a bishopric on 11 July, 1885, by separation from the Diocese of Trois-Rivi^res, the first occupant of the see being Mgr Elphege Gravel. He was born on 12 October, 1838, at Saint-Antoine de Richelieu, (Juebec; consecrated at Rome on 2 August, 1885, and died, 28 January, 190-4. His successor, Mgr Joseph-Simon-Herman Brunault, the present occupant of the see, was born at St-David, Quebec, on 10 January, 1857; educated at the seminary of Nico- let and the Canadian College, Rome; ordained, 29 June, 1882. Having ministered two years in the cathe- dral of St. Hyacinth and taught for many years in the seminary of" Nicolet, first as professor of literature, and then of theology, he was named coadjutor to Mgr Gravel and consecrated titular Bishop of Tubuna, 27 December, 1899; and succeeded as Bishop of Nicolet, 28 January, 1904. The seminary of Nicolet was founded in October, 1803, and affiliated to the Laval University of Quebec, in 1863; it contains over 320 students; a grand seminaire, likewise affiliated to the University of Laval, was established at Nicolet, 22 February, 1908.
The religious in the diocese are as follows : Sceurs de I'Assomption de la Sainte- Vierge, teachers, founded at St-Gregoire (Nicolet) in 1853, have eighteen houses in the diocese; Sceurs Crises (de Nicolet), hospitallers, three houses; Congregation de Notre-Dame (of Mont- real), teachers, at Arthabaskaville, and Victoriaville; Sceurs de la Presentation de la Bienheureuse Vierge Ma- rie, teachers, at St-David and Drummond ville; Sirurs Crises de la Croix (of Ottawa), teachers and nurses, with academy and school of house-keeping at St-Fran- 9018 du Lac, and a school at Pierreville (Abenaki Indian village); Rrligicuscs hosiiitulirrcs di- St- Joseph (of Montreal), hospit;dlrrs, al .\ith:il):isk,-uillf; Sirurs du Precieux-Sang,:in(lSu'urs (Ida Saiiitc-Faniille at Nico- let; the Freres des Ecoles Chretiennes have schools at Nicolet, Arthabaskaville, La Bale, and St-Grcgoirc ; I he Frfires de la Charit6 are at Drummond ville; and the Frferes du SacriJ-Cceur teach at Art-habaska-ville, and Victoriaville. General Stalistics. — Secular priests, 140; brothers, 120; sisters, 400; churches with resident priests, 65; mis.sion, 1; theological seminary, 1; college seminary, 1; commercial colleges and academies for boys, 11; students, 1500; academies for young ladies
in charge of sisters, 28 ; students, 1800; normal school
for young ladies, 1 ; parochial schools, 500; children at-
tending parochial schools, 20,000; orphan asylums, 1;
orphans, 120; hospitals, 3; population: Catholic
French Canadians, 90,000; Irish Canadians, 600;
Protestants, 1800; total population, 92,400.
J.-S.-Herman Brunault.
Nicolo de' Tudeschi ("abbas modernus" or "re- centior", "abbas Panormitanus " or "Siculus"), a Benedictine canonist, b. at Catania, Sicily, in 1386; d. at Palermo, 24 February, 1445. In 1400 he entered the Order of St. Benedict; he was sent (1405-06) to the University of Bologna to study under Zabar- ella; in 1411 he became a doctor of canon law, and taught successively at Parma (1412-18), Siena (1419-30), and Bologna (1431-32). Meanwhile in 1425, he was made abbot of the monastery of Man- iacio, near Messina, whence his name "Abbas", to which has been added "modernus" or "recentior" (in order to distinguish him from "Abbas antiquus", a thirteenth century canonist who died about 12SS); he is also known as "Abbas Siculus" on account of his Sicilian origin. In 1433 he went to Rome where he exercised the functions of auditor of the Rota and Apostolic referendary. The following year he relin- quished these offices and placed himself at the service of Alfonso of Castile, King of Sicily, obtaining the See of Palermo in 1435, whence his name "Panor- mitanus ". During the troubles that marred the pon- tificate of Eugene IV, Nicolo at first followed the party of this pontiff but subsequently allied himself with the antipope Felix V who, in 1440, naitied him cardinal. In his "Tractatus de conciHo Basileensi" he upheld the doctrine of the superiority of a general council to the pope. It was his canonical works, especially his "Lectura in Decretales" "In Sextum", and "In Clementinas", that won him the title of "lucerna juris" (lamp of the law) and insured him great authority; he also wrote "Consilia", "Qua;s- tiones", "Repetitiones", " Disputationes, discepta- tiones et allegationes", and "Flores utrius(iue juris". A fine edition of his works appeared at \ciiii-ciii 1477; amonglater, frequent editions, that piiMislicdi II 1617- 18 (Venice) in 10 fnli.. \o1iiiim- 1- ( -p^riillv notable.
ScHULTE, Die C. . I ',' ' ' rlien Rechtes,
II (Stuttgart, 18771 ;l : i : " documentata
della Reale Univerxil., ,,(■'-;,.: i ,t n,i i, I ^'i^ ' , I" hi]. Brandi- LEONE, Notizie su GraHnno e sa .\„-rold dr Twlrsrlns Iralte dn una cronaca inedita. Studi e memorie per la storia dclV Universita di Bologna, I (Bologna, 1909), i, 18-21.
A. Van Hove.
Nicomedes, Saint, martyr of unknown era, whose feast is observed 15 September. The Roman Mar- tyrologium and the historical Martyrologies of Bede and his imitators place the feast on this date. The Gregorian Sacramentary contains under the same date the orations for his Mass. The n;ime does not appear in the three oldest and most inip<irt:iiit MSS. of the " Martyrologium Hieronymianum ", hut \v:is in.serted in later recensions ("Martyrol. Ilicronymianuin", ed. De Rossi-Duchesne, in Acta SS., Nov., II, 121). The saint is without doubt a martyr of the Roman Church. He was bviried in a catacomb on the Via Nomentana near the gate of that name. Three seventh century Itineraries make exi)licit reference to his grave, and Popi^ Adrian I restored the church built over it (De Rossi, "Roiii.a Sotterranea", I, 178-79). A titular church of Home, iiiciitioned in the fifth century, was dedic:ited to him (liltdusi S. Nicomi-dis). Nothing is known of the circuiiist:mces of his de:ith. Tlie legend of the martyrdom of Sts. N<-reus ;uid .\cliilliMis intro- ducers him as a presbyter and places his death ;it the end of the first century. Other recensions of the martyrdom of St. Nicomedes ascribe the sentence of death to the Emperor Maximianus (beginning of the fourth century). ^,, „_,„ „„
Acta .S'.S., Sept.. V, 5 sqq.; Analceta Bnllandmna, XI, 2»8-H9; MoMBBiTins, Sanctuarium, II, 160-61 ; Bibliotheca hagtograpkica
