Nicolas DE Lyra. See Lyra.
Nicolas DE Narbonne, superior-general of the Car-
melite Order, was born in Narbonne, or, as some suppose, in Toulouse. He was elected vicar-general of the order in the Eastern countries in the year 1250, and superior or prior-general of all the congregation, after the death of Simon Stock, in 1265. Almost all the other circum- stances of his life are unknown, or related in terms which render them doubtful. Thus several writers of the or- der, in collecting obscure traditions, have even attributed to him miracles. His principal and most authentic title to celebrity is a work still impublished, which the bib- liographers call Sagitta ignea (the fiery arrow). As he recounts in it, in terms full of bitterness, the faults, the disorders of the Oriental Carmelites, and the misfortunes which have been their just punishment, this work has been several times quoted by the enemies of monastic institutions. See Catal. Bibl. Cotton, p. 90 ; Hist, litter, de la France, xix, 129.
Nicolas, Henri, a Dutch Anabaptist, was born in Leyden towards the close of the 15th century. We have few details of his life. We encounter him as the Anabaptist leader after Joris had retired from that position. Nicolas believed himself called to found a new religion, which he named the House of Love. He declared himself superior to Moses, who had taught only hope, also to Christ, who had preached only faith, while he, Nicolas, brought to men the doctrine of charity. That did not prevent him, however, from excluding from eternal happiness all those who would not believe in him. His principles, expressed by himself in some writings, such as the Evangelium regni, Sententiie docu- mentales, Prophetia spiritus amoiis, Pads super ten-am puhlicatio, etc., found some adherents among the lower people of Holland. In 1540 he engaged in a discussion with T. H. Yolkard Kornheert, who also wished to es- tablish a new faith. In the last quarter of the 16th cen- tury, the sect of Familists [see Anabaptists], which had become his followers, after David Joris abandoned them, but was not numerous, endeavored to make prose- lytes in England. They joined themselves to the Dutch congregation in London ; but the severe edicts pronounced against them by queen Elizabeth rendered their attempts at proselytism futile, and they soon died out. See Hoornbeck, Sianma controversiai'um ; Alt- ing, Theologia Historica; Camden, Annates (annee 1580); Fuller, Ch. Hist, ix, 3, § 38; Wright, Queen Elizabeth and her Times, ii, 153. (J. H. W.)
Nicolas, Michel, a Protestant French Rational- ist, was born May 22, 1810, in Nimes. After having studied at Geneva and Strasburg, he completed his edu- cation by visiting, from 1833 to 1834, the German uni- versities of Halle, Berlin, and Heidelberg. He was nom- inated suffragan pastor at Bordeaux in June, 1834, and pastor in title at Metz in 1835; he afterwards went to Montauban, where from 1838 he occupied the chair of philosophy in the faculty of Protestant theology. Deep- ly versed in the Oriental languages and ecclesiastical matters, he is justly regarded as one of the most instruc- tive and laborious writers of the Reformed Church of France. He died in 1874. We have of his works. In- struction Chretienne a Vusage des catechum'enes (Metz, 1838, 18mo) : — lieponse a la Lettre de Vabbe Lacordaire sur le saint siege (ibid. 1838, 8vo) : — De la Destination du saratit et de Vhomme de lettres (Paris, 1838, 8vo), translated from the German of Fichte : — De V Eclectisme (Paris, 1840, 8vo), a refutation of the attacks of Pierre Leroux : — Quelqiies considerations sitr le jiantheisme (ibid. 1842, 8vo), translated into English : — Jean-Bon Saint A ndi-e, sa vie et ses ecrits (ibid. 1848, r2mo), this notice contains two articles of that conventionalist, and among other things the recital of his captivity upon the shores of the Black Sea : — Introduction a I'etude de Vhistoire de philosophie (ibid. 1849-50, 2 vols. 8vo) : — Considerations generates sur Videe et le developpeinent hislorique de la philosoj)hie Chretienne (ibid. 1851, 8vo), translated from the German of H. Ritter: — Notice sur la vie et les eci-its de Laui'cnt Angliviel de La Beaumelle
NICOLAUS
NICOLL
(ibid. 1852, 8vo), which was sharply criticised by M. i^izard in the At/iencfum of Oct. 8, 1853 : — Jlistoire Idte- raire de Ximes (Nimes, 1854:, 3 vols. Timo) : — ffistoire des artistes ties da/is le departemeKt du Gard (ibid. 1859, l"2mo) : — Des doctrines religieuses des Juifs pendant les deux siedes anterieurs a I'ere Chretienne (Paris, 18G0, 8vo) : — Eludes critiques sur la Bible (1862), a work of great merit for its scholarly treatment of the subject, and containing perliaps the clearest account of the con- troversj' regarding the authorsliip of the Pentateuch as carried on between the school of De Wette and Ewald and the extreme KationaUsts about 1835 in Gerraanj^ Prof. Nicolas may be classed among the moderate Ra- tionalists, together with Colani and Coquerel, yet he had much that was akin to the conservative spirit of Pres- sense. I\l. ^Michel Nicolas founded, in connection with Messrs. ^liohelant and Emile Begin, L'.l ustrasie, revue de la Afoselle, in which he inserted several articles; and he contributed to different periodical publications, such as L'Eranf/eliste, Le libre Examen, La Revue theolo- gique, of Montauban; La Revue de theologie, of Stras- burg; Le Courrier du Gard, Le Bulletin de la Societe du Protestantisme Fran^ais, La Liberie de penser, La Revue Gernianique, etc. He was also one of the collaborators of the Xouvelle Biographic Generale. See Hoefer, Nouv. Bioq. Generale, xxxvii, 1015 ; Farrar, Crit. Hist, of Free Though t, p. 304, 448. (J. H. W.)