Nic'olas (N(<co\aoc, conqueror nfthej)eople ; comp. Nicodemus), a native of Antioch, and a proselyte to the Jewish faith, who, when the Church was still confined to Jerusalem, became a convert; and being a man of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost and of wisdom, he •was chosen by the whole multitude of the discijjles to be one of the first seven deacons, and he was ordained by the apostles (Acts vi, 5), A.D. 29. The name Ba- laam is perhaps (but see Gesenius, Thesaur. p. 210) capa- ble of being interpreted as a Hebrew equivalent of the Greek Nicolas. Some commentators think that this is alluded to by John in Rev. ii, 14; and Yitringa {Ohs. Sacr. iv, 9) argues forcibly in sujjport of this opinion. See Balaam.
"A sect of Nicolaitans is mentioned in Rev. ii, 6, 15; and it has been questioned whether this Nicolas was connected with them, and, if so, how closely. The Nicolaitans themselves, at least as carlv as the time of Irenaius {Contr. Hen?: i, 20, § 3), seem to have claimed him as their founder. Epiphanius, an inaccurate writer, relates (A dr. H(er. i, 2, § 25, p. 70) some details of the life of Nicolas the deacon, and describes him as grad- uallj' sinking into the grossest impurity, and becoming the originator of the Nicolaitans and other immoral sects. Stephen Gobar (Photii Bihlioih. § 232, p. 291, ed. 1824) states — and the statement is corroborated by the recently discovered Pfiilosop/nnnena, bk. vii, § 30) — that Hippolyt'us agreed with Epiphanius in his un-
favorable view of Nicolas. The same account was be- lieved, at least to some extent, by Jerome (hj). 147, vol. i, p. 1082, ed. Vallars, etc.) and other writers in the 4th century-. But it is irreconcilable with the traditionary account of the character of Nicolas, given by Clement of Alexandria (Strom, iii, 4, p. 187, Sylb. and apud Euseb. //. 7i. iii, 29; see also Hammond, .4 ?i«o/. on Rev. ii, 4), an earlier and more discriminating writer than Epiplianius. He states that Nicolas led a chaste life, and brought up his children in purity; that on a cer- tain occasion, having been sharply reproved bv the apostles as a jealous husband, he repelled the charge by offering to allow his wife to become the wife of any- other person, and that he was in the habit of repeating a saying which is ascribed to the apostle Matthias also — that it is our duty to light against the flesh and to abuse {■Trapaxpi'ia^ni') it. His words were perversely interpreted by the Nicolaitans as an authority for their immoral practices. Theodoret {Ilceret. Fab. iii, 1), in his account of the sect, repeats the foregoing statement of Clement, and charges the Nicolaitans with false deal- ing in borrowing the name of the deacon. Ignatius, who was contemporary with Nicolas, is said by Stephen Gobar to have given the same accoiuit as Clement, Eusebius, and Theodoret, touching the personal charac- ter of Nicolas. Among modern critics Cotelerius, in a note on Constit. Aposf. vi, 8, after reciting the various authorities, seems to lean towards the favorable view of the character of Nicolas. Professor Burton {Lectures on Ecclesiastical History, lect. xii, p. 304, ed. 1833) is of opinion that the origin of the term Nicolaitans is un- certain, and that ' tliough Nicolas the deacon has been mentioned as their founder, the evidence is extremely slight which woidd convict that person himself of any immoralities.' Tillemont (77. E. ii, 47), possibly in- fluenced by the fact that no honor is paid to the mem- ory of Nicolas by any branch of the Cluirch, allows perhaps too much weight to the testimony against him ; rejects peremptorily Cassian's statement — to which Neander {Plantivrj of the Church, bk. v, p. 390, cd. Eohn) gives his adhesion — that some other Nicolas was the founder of the sect; and concludes that if not the actual founder, he was so unfortunate as to give occasion to the formation of the sect by his indiscreet speaking. Grotius's view, as given in a note on Rev. ii, 0, is sub- stantially the same as that of Tillemont" (Smith). For monographs, see Volbeding, Index Programmatum, p. 40, 74, 77. See Nicolaitans.
Nicolas, P'ere, a French preacher, was born in Dijon. His family name was Peltret. He belonged to the Order of Capuchins, and filled the offices of definitor and provincial. He died in 1049 at Lyons. We have of his works, UEsprit du Chretien ecclesiastique ct reli- fjieux (Lyons, 1038, 3 vols. 8vo) : — Panerjyriques stir les myst'eres de Notre-Sdgneur et de la Sainte Vierr/e (ibid. 1088, 2 vols. 8vo) : — Panegyriqites des saiitts (ibid. 1093, 2 vols, fol.) : — Sermons under different titles (ibid. 1085 to 1090, 14 vols. 8vo). His Careme has been translated into Italian (Venice, 1730, 2 vols. 4to). See Denis de Genes, Bihl. des Capucins ; Papillon, Bihl. des cmteurs de Bourgogne. — Hoefer. Noitv. Biog. Generate, xxxvii, 988.
Nicolas OF Ajiiexs, a scholastic philosopher, was born in tlie Tith century, probably in the French city after which he is surnamed. He is sometimes confound- ed with a cardinal Nicolas who flourished near the open- ing of the rith centurj'. It is a question, too, whether he be not the same person as a disciple of Gilbert de la Porree, discovered by Martene and Durand in their second Voyage litieraire, and designated by a manuscript note as having expounded more clearly the opinions of his master. It would seem, however, that there is little groimd for this supposition likewise, for a disciple of Gilbert de la Porree would not have failed to use in his books, as M. Petit-Radel has well pointed out, the so- phistical language of the school, from wliich tlie writ- ings of Nicolas appear free. It is possible, nevertheless,