Mr. D'Ossat to Rome, to negotiate Henry's reconcilia- tion to the holy see ; which at lengtli he effected, to the satisfaction of the king, but not of his subjects — that part of them at least w ho were zealous for Galli- can liberties, and thought the dignity of their king compromised upon this occasion (see Jervis, i, 203 sq.). Du Perron stayed a whole year at Rome, was there consecrated to his holy office by cardinal De Joyeuse, archbishop of Rouen, Dec. 27, 1595, and then returned to France ; where, by such kind of services as have already been mentioned, he advanced himself to tlie highest dignities. He wrote and preached and dis- puted against the Reformed ; particularly against Du Plessis-Mornay, with whom he iiad a public conference in 1600, in the presence of the king, at Fontainebleau. (See for an account, Jervis, i, 218 sq.) The king re- solved to make him grand almoner of France, to give him the archliishopric of Sens, and wrote to Clement VIII to obtain for him the dignity of a cardinal, which that pope conferred on him, in 1604, with singu- lar marks of esteem. The indisposition of Clement made the king resolve to send the French cardinals to Rome; where Du Perron was no sooner arrived than he was employed by the pope in the congregations. He had a great share in the elections of Leo X and Paul V. He became a most devoted advocate of the ultramontane doctrine and a powerful champion of papal interests. In the many anxious questions which arose Du Perron's decisions always carried great weight. Thus he assisted in the congregations upon the subject of Grace, and the disputes which were agi- tated between the Jesuits and the Molinists; and it was principally upon his advice that the pope resolved to determine nothing with respect to these questions. He was sent a tliird time to Rome, to accommodate the differences between Paul V and the republic of Venice ; but his health not permitting him to stay long, he was recalled to France. After the murder of Henry IV, which happened in 1610, Du Perron de- voted himself entirely to the court and see of Rome, and prevented any action in France which might dis- please it or hurt its interests. He rendered useless the arret of the Parliament of Paris against the book of cardinal Bellarmine ; and favored the infallibility of the pope, and his superiority over a council, in a thesis maintained in 1611 before the nuncio. He afterwards held a provincial assembly, in which he condemned Richer's book "concerning ecclesiastical and civil authority:" and, being at the assembly of Blois, he made a harangue to prove that they ought not to decide qr.estions of faith. He was one of the presidents of the assembly of the clergy which was held at Roan in 1615; and made harangues to the king at the opening and closing of that assembly, which were much applauded. This was the last shin- ing action of his life ; for after tliis he retired to his house at Bagnolet, and employed himself wholly in revising and putting the last hand to his works. He set up a printing-house there, that he might have them published correctly ; in order to do which he revised every sheet himself. He died at Paris Sept. 5, 1618. Cardinal Du Perron was a man of great abilities ; had a lively and penetrating wit, and a special talent for making his views appear reasonable. He delivered himself upon all occasions with great clearness, digni- ty, and eloquence. He had a prodigious memory, and had studied much. He was very well versed in an- tiquity, both ecclesiastical and profane; and had read much in the fathers, councils, and ecclesiastical histo- rians, of which he knew how to make the best use against his adversaries. He was very powerful in dispute, so that the ablest ministers were afraid of him ; and he always confounded those who had tlie courage to engage with liim. He was warmly at- tached to the see of Rome, and strenuous in defendii g its rights and prerogatives ; and therefore it cannot be wondered at that his name has never been held in
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high honor among those of his countrj'men who have been accut^tonied to stand up for Gallican liberties.
The works of Du Perron, the greatest part of which had been printed separately in his lifetime, were col- lected after his death, and printed at Paris (1G20 and 1G22) in 3 vols, folio. The first volume contains his great Tredtise upon the Eucharist, against that of Du Plessis-Mornay. Tiie second, his Reply to the Anstier of the King of Great Britain, which originated as fol- lows : James I of England sent to Henry IV of France a book, which he had written himself, concerning dif- ferences in religion. Ilenr}' put it into tlie hands of Du Perron's brother, who informed his majesty, from what the cardinal had observed to him, that there were many passages in that book in which the king of England seemed to come near the Catholics ; and that it might be proper to send some able person, with a view of bringing him entirely over. Henry, taking the advice of his prelates in this affair, caused it to be proposed to the king of England whether or not he would take it in good part to have the cardinal Du Perron sent to hnn.' who returned for answer that he should be well pleased to confer with him, but for reasons of state could not do it. Isaac Casaubon, however, a moderate person among the Reformed, who had had several conferences with Du Perron about re- ligion, and who seemed mrich inclined to a reunion, was prevailed on to take a voj'age into England ; where he spoke advantageously of Du Perron to the king, and presented some pieces of poetrj' to him, which the cardinal had put into his hands. The king received them kindh', and expressed much esteem for the author; which Casaubon noticing to Du Perron, he returned a letter of civilitj' and thanks to his Bri- tannic majesty; in which he told him that, "except the sole title of Catholic, he could find nothing want- ing in his majest}' that was necessary to make a most perfect and accomplished prince." The king replied that, "believing all things which the ancients had unanimously thought necessary to salvation, the title of Catholic could not be denied him." Casaubon hav- ing sent this answer to Du PeiTon, he made a reply to it in a letter, dated July 15, IGll, in which he sets forth the reasons that obliged him to refuse the name of Catholic to his Britannic majesty. Casaubon answered in the name of the king to all the articles of his letter ; to which the cardinal made a reply, which constitutes the bulk of the second volume of his works. The third contains his miscellaneous pieces ; among which are, Acts of the Conference held at Fontainehleau against Du Plessis-Mornay ; moral and religious pieces in prose and verse, orations, dissertations, translations, and let- ters. A fourth volume of his embassies and negotia- tions was collected by CiEsar de Ligni, his secretary, and printed at Paris in 1623, folio ; but these have not done him much honor, as they do not show that pro- found reach and insight into things with which he is usuall}' credited. There were also published after- wards, under his name, Perroniana, which, like most of the ana, is a collection of puerilities and in.perti- nences. See Jervis, CT. J/ist. of France, i, 203, 21() sq., 219 sq., 27!); Ranke, History of the Papacy in the \%th and 11th Centuries, vol. i (see Index in vol. ii) ; Gen. Biogr. Did. s. v. ; Dupin, Bib/iotheque des Auteurs eccles. 17th Steele, s. v. (J. H. W.)