:mercier
110
MERCY
Saint-Genevieve sont ou tie sont pas Chanoities Reguliers (new ed. Paris, 1772, 4to) : — Opinion sur cle pre/endues pi-opheties qu'on applique aux erenements presents (Paris, 1791): — Dissertations stir rauteur tie Vlmitation tie Je- sus-Christ, par Tabbe Ghcsquiere (1775, r2mo). Sec Notice sur la vie et les ecrits tie Mercier de Saint-Leger, by Chardon de la Kochette.— Hoefer, Nouv. Biog. Gene- rale, s. V.
Mercier, Christopher, a French ascetic author, was born at \)i<\v near I lie opening of the 17th century, lie entered tlie ( )ril( r of (lie (.'armeUtes, and changed liis worldly name to Alb<rt tie Saini-Jacques. lie died in 1G80. His most celebrated works are. Vie tie la Mere Therese de Jesus, J'onilalrice des Carmelites de hi Franche Course (Lyons, 1G73, 4to); and La Lumi'ere aux vicants par Verpeiiences des marts (Lyons, 1G75, 8vo).
Mercier (or Le Mercier), Jean, in Latin Mer- ceriis, a distiiiiiui>li<'(l Iltigiieiiot, was born in Uzi's, France, near tlie b(i;inninu; of the IGlh century. Des- tined for the bar, he studied law in Avignon, and also in Toulouse. But the dead languages having a powerful attraction for him, he devoted much of his time to the study of { Jreek, and ere long confined him- self entirely to the pursuit of Hebrew and other Siie- mitic tongues. After having been the most noted pu- pil of Vatable, lie became his successor, in 154G, to the chair of professor of Hebrew in the Royal College of France. Casaubon believed that Mercier was the most learned Hebraist of his day. When the second religious war broke out, Mercier was constrained to quit Paris. After the treaty of peace at Saint-Germain, he returned to France, but while passing through his native city he was carried away by the pestilence. He died a Protes- tant in loG2. Mercier j)ublished almost the whole of Jonathan's Targum on the Prophecies. He also wrote in Latin valuable commentaries on all the books of the Old Testament, and on the (iospcl according to Mat- thew. His commentaries furnished matter to the Sy- Tiopsis Criticorum of Utrecht (1GI54). He is also the author of Tructatidns de ticcentibus Johi, Proverhioruin, ft Psalmorum, aiirtorc li.Jiid(i,fdi<) Jietham I/ispano, a translation from Hebrew (Paris, IfjoG, 4to) : — Liber de accentibus Scripturte, auctore R. Judo, Jdio Btdaani (Paris, 15G5, 4to) : — In Decalogum commenturius Rab- bini Abraham, cognomtnto Ben-F.zra, interpr.J. Mercero (Lyons, 15G8, 4t<)) : — .\■"^' /// 'rhit^ditrum Llngute Sanc- tcB Ptignini (Lyons. I."i7.'i '.),"i. lol. ) : — Olmrvationes ad Uorcrpollinis hieroghjphirn (^Slra>biirg, lo!).'), 4to). He also jniblished a Comnicntary on the Canticles and Lect- ures on Genesis. See llaag. La France Protestanie. — Hoefer, Xouv. Biog. Generate, s. v.
Mercurianus, Father, a. noted Romanist of the Order of the Jesuits, was a Belgian by birth. We know but little of his personal history, except that he stood very high in the estimation of pope (iregorj- XIH, who caused his advancement to the generalship of the order. He died Aug. 1, 1580. Nicolini, I/isl. of the Jesuits (p. 150), tells us that "he was a simple and weak old man. Mercurianus," he continues, "exercised very little influ- ence on tiie destinies of the order, and was the first gen- eral whose authority was held in little account."
Mercu'rius (the Roman name of the god Mei- cury, the Hermes of the Greeks, "Ep/ni/c, Acts xiv, 12; comp. liom. xvi, 14 ; the name is of uncertain etymol- ogy), ])roporly a Greek deity, whom the Romans iden- tified with their god of commerce and bargains. In the (ireek mythology Hermes was the son of Zeus and Maia, the daughter of Atlas, and is constantly rejire- sented as the c<imi(anion of his father in his wanderings upon cartii. On one of these occasions they were trav- elling in Phrygia, and were refused hosjiitality by all save Baucis and Philemon, the two aged peasants of whom Ovid tells the charming episode in his Metam. viii, 020-724, which appears to have formed part of the folk-lore of Asia Minor. See Lvcaonia. Mercury was the herald of the gods (Homer, Od. v, 28; IJym, in
Herm. 3), and of Zeus (Od. i, 38, 84 ; //. xxiv, 333, 4G1), the eloquent orator (Od. i, 8G; Horace, Od. i, 10, 1), inventor of letters, music, and the arts. He was equally characterized by adroitness of action and readi- ness of speech, being the representative of intelligence and craft among men (see Pauly's Retil-Encyklop. iv, 1842). He was usually represented as a slender, beardless youth, but in an older Pelasgic figure he was bearded. The fact that he was the customary attendant of Jupi- ter when he appeared on earth (Ovid, Fast, v, 495; comp. Metam. ii, 731 sq.), explains why the inhabitants of Lystra (Acts xiv, 12), as soon as they were disposed to believe that the gods had visited them in the like- ness of men, discovered Hermes in Paul, as the chief speaker, and as the attendant of Jupiter (see Kuincil, Comment, ad loc). It seems unnecessary to be curious whether the representations of Mercurj- in ancient stat- ues accord with the supposed personal appearance of Paul (see Walch, Diss, ad Acta Ap. iii, 183 sq.), and especially in the matter of the beai-d of the latter, for all known representations of the god differ in much more important particulars from the probable costume of Paul (e. g. in the absence of any garment at all, or in the use of the short chlamys merely : in tlie cadu- ceus, the petasus, etc. (see Miiller, Ancient Art, § 379- 381). It is more reasonable to suppose that those who expected to see the gods mixing in the affairs of this lower world, in human form, woukl not look for much more than the outward semblance of ordinary men. See Smith's Diet, of Class. Biog. and Mythol. s. v. Hermes.