PONCET
392
POXD
l vm of the First Psalm, in four sermons, which
Bhow thai his pulpit eloquence, exempt from the com- mon extremes was neither degraded by vulgarity n»r rendered disgusting by affectation and effort at display ; and the Confession of a Sinner, in which the doctrines ol the Gospel, poured from a contrite and humbled spirit, assume the form ol the mosl edifying and devo- tional pietv. See Antonius, Bibl. Hisp. Nov. i. 256; M'Crie, Hist, of th Ref in Spain, p. 154 156, 207 sq., 262 sq. i.l.l I. W.i
Poncet, Maurice, a French prelate of the 16th century, flourished as curate of St. Pierre des Arcis. He was a divine of great eloquence and considerable learning, though nol remarkable for refinement of taste or diction. He was a Gallican, and when Henry III pursued that imbecile policy which finally cost France the Loss of her besl citizens for conscience' sake. Poncet ridiculed the Leaguers [see Li va\ t |, and especially visited with the full power of his sarcasm the grotesque processions of the Confreries des /'■ nitents. lie made the walls of his church rime with denunciations of these hypocritical devotees, who, after parading the streets liarcfo.it. arrayed in sackcloth, and displaying ostenta- tiously the outward signs of .austere asceticism, were
accustomed to pass the night in riotous feasting and gross debauchery. Henry, resenting this exposure, banished the offender to bis abbey of St. Pere al Me-
lun : hut he was released after a brief confinement, and returned to Paris by the king's permission, his majesty remarking that "he had always believed I he good doctor to have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge; and that there was much excuse for him, since he was not quick enough of apprehension to see through the artifices of those by whom he was instigated. He had plenty of scholarship, but was grievously deficient in judgment." Poncet, unsubdued by the king's leniency, resumed his usual incisive style of pulpit oratory, and persevered in it till his death, which happened in 1586. See Jervls, Hist. Church of France,!, 181 sq. (J. II.YV.) Poacher, Etienne, a French prelate, noted also as a diplomatist, was horn at Tours in 1446. He was tin son of a magistrate, studied law. and while yet a youth was provided with several canontcates. In 1485 lie ob- tained the charge of counsellor-clerk at the Parliament of Paris, and in 1 198 he became President avx Enquetes. He was elected bishop of Paris Feb. 25, 1503, in compli- ance with the request of king Louis XII, whom be was at that time accompanying to Milan. The same prince intrusted him in 1506 with several diplomatic mi— ions
to Germany; .and Poncher, in the following year, being again in Italy with the king, was alone bold enough to speak in contradiction to the angry feedings of the king .against the Venetians, and to oppose the confederation of Cambrai. Louis XII. who had already appointed Poncher chancellor of the duchy of Milan, bestowed on him in 1509 the abbey of Fleuri, and in 1512 made him tin' guardian ofthe seal of France, which office he
kepi till th.' death of the king. .Ian. I. 1 .'■ 1 5. I rami- I
appointed him, with Arthur Gouffier, one of the pleni- potentiaries w ho signed, on Aug. Id. I"d7. the treaty of Noyon between Francis and Charles V. In the same year Poncher went to Spain as ambassador of France. and in 1518 he was sent to Henry VIII of England, with whom he signed a new treaty ol' alliance. In virtue ofthe concordat he was transferred, March II. L519, to tin archiepiscopal see of Sens. He died at Lyons. Feb. 24, 1524. Poncher published Constitutions syno- dales, which are still held in greal esteem, especially in regard to the sacraments. Hoefer, Nouv. /••
Kill . -. V.
Poncher, Francois, a French prelate, nephew of the preceding, was bom at Tours about 1 180. His fa- ther. Louis I 'ouch it. secretary ofthe king and rect iver- general of the finances, was hung for embezzlement Made counsellor at the Parliament of Paris (1510), Francois Poncher obtained .soon afterwards the curacy
of Issy. a canonicate at Notre Dame of Paris, the ab- bey of St. Maiir-les-F..v-es. and March II. 1519, became bishop of Paris. So tar from treading in the steps of his uncle, he was a simoniac and scandalous prelate, lie forged documents to get posst ssion of the abbey of Fleury-sur-Loire, but was balked in his design. While the king was a prisoner at Madrid. Poncher fell out with the queen-regent, the duchess of Angouleme, l moth.r. plotted to deprive her ..f th.- regency, and by treacherous negotiations with the Spanish court tried to prolong the captivity of his sovereign. As soon as Francis was free again Poncher was arrested and ac- cused of high-treason. While Ids process was in abey- ance he died in the dun-con of Viueeinies. Sept. 1. 1532. lie wrote some commentaries on civil law. dedicated to hi- mule. Etienne Poncher.— Hoefer, Nouv. Bi rale, s. v.
Pond is the rendering in the A. V. of z;x. agam (literally a collection of water), in Exod. vii, 19; viii, 1">. where it probably denotes the putrescent reservoirs or swampy pools left by the inundation ofthe Nile (Sept. Sidjpvy eg, Yulg. paludes'). Again, in Isa. xix, 10, ""?X wE3, which the A.V. translates "ponds for fish," fol- lowing the Vulg. -lacunas ad capiendos pisces," Dio- dati and Luther, is rendered by the Sept. rue ^v\uq TTOi'toovoi. This rendering is supported by the au- thority of Gesenius, Vatablus, and Ewald, alle Lohnar- beiter ("^w ",w" = 'i they that earn wages"), sind see- lenhetrubt; ~."o\ being taken as equivalent to z'.V (Job xxx. 25), "to he sad." Many interpreters, however, think that it designates tish-ponds. We have abun- dant evidence from the paintings in the tombs that the Egyptians were celebrated tor their fish-ponds, and it