Poniatowa, Christine, a German female vision- ary, was born in 1610 at Lessen, Western Prussia. Her father, Julian Poniatowa, was a Polish gentleman, who, having escaped from a monastery and embraced the Protestant communion, was at first minister at Duch- nick, in Bohemia, then librarian of a nobleman. He probably brought lip his daughter in mystical ideas, for he is said to be himself the author of a Latin disserta- tion on the knowledge which the angels may have of God. Christine had been intrusted to the care of the baroness of Zelking, who had taken a liking to her, when, Nov. 12, 1627, after severe pains, she fell into a trance, attended with visions and prophetic utterances
relating to the future of the Reformed Church. This strange state returned at regular intervals for a whole year, always attended with the same phenomena, and a number of people testified to its genuineness. Jan. 27, 1629, the young visionary fell into so heavy a lethargy that she passed for dead, but when she finally recovered her senses she declared that her mission was fulfilled, and that she should thenceforth have no more visions. In 1632 she was married to a Moravian minister, Daniel Vetter, and died Dec. 6, 1644, at Leszno, near Posen. Her revelations, written by herself, were translated into Latin, and published by Amos Comenius, with those of Christopher Kotter and Nicolas Drabicki, under the title Lux in Tenebris (1657, 1659, 1665, 4to). They were retranslated into German by Benedict Balmsen (Am- sterdam, 1664, 8vo). See Feustking, Gynaec. fanat. kanst. p. 238 sq. ; Witsius, Miscell. Sacra, pt. iii, ch. xxii; Arnold, Kirchen- it. Ketzerhistorie ; Mosheim, Eccles. Hist, iii, 391, 392. (J. H. W.)
Poniatowa, Julian. See Poniatowa, Chris- tine.
Pons, Jean, a French Protestant writer, was born at Nismes May 15, 1747. He was brother-in-law to Ra- baut-Dupuis. Intimately connected with Eabaut St. Etienne, he had a narrow escape from sharing his sad fate : he owed his life to the 9th Thermidor. He was afterwards justice of the peace at Nismes, and then di- rector of the post department in the same city. He published Reflexions philosophiques et politiques sur la Tolerance religieuse (Paris, 1808, 8vo) ; besides Notices biograpkique* sur Paul Rabaut and Notices biographiqnes sur Rabaut-Dupuis. Pons died at Nismes Jan. 15, 1816. — Hoefer, Nouv. Biog. Generate, s. v.
Ponsard de Gisi of Pavexs, a Crusader of the Order of the Knight Templars, flourished near the open- ing of the 14th century. He was a most earnest advo- cate of the order, and when, in 1309, it was brought to trial, and the papacy was questioning the feasibility of suffering its existence, Ponsard boldly declared him- self ready to undertake its defence. All the enormous charges against the order were utterly, absolutely false; false were all the confessions, extorted by terror and pain, from himself and other brethren before the bishop of Paris. Those tortures had been applied by the sworn and deadly enemies and accusers of the order, by the prior of Mont falcon and William Roberts the monk. He put in a schedule : " These are the traitors who have falsely and disloyally accused the religion of the Tem- ple— William Roberts the monk, who had them put to the torture ; Esquin de Florian of Beziers, prior of Montfalcon ; Bernard Pelet, prior of Maso. Philip's en- voy to England ; and Gervais Boysol, knight of Gisors." Had Ponsard himself been tortured? He had been tortured before the bishop of Paris three months ere he made confession. He had stood thus in a pit for the space of an hour. He protested that in that state of agony he should confess or deny whatever they would. He was prepared to endure beheading, the stake, or the caldron for the honor of the order; but these slow, ex- cruciating torments he could not bear besides the hor- rors of his two years' imprisonment. He was asked if he had anything to allege wherefore the court should not proceed. He hoped that the cause would be de- cided l>y good men and true. The provost of Poitiers interposed : he produced a schedule of charges advanced by Ponsard himself against the order. "Truth," an- swered Ponsard, "requires no concealment. I own that in a fit of passion, on account of some contumelious words with the treasurer of the Temple, I did draw up the schedule." Those charges, however, dark as were some of them, were totally unlike those now brought against the brotherhood. Before he left the court, Ponsard expressed the hope that the severity of his imprisonment might not be aggravated because he had undertaken the defence of the order. The court gave instructions to the provost of Poitiers and De Jamville
PONTANO
394
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that he should not be more harshly treated; hut he was finally condemned to death, and was burned at the stake. See Milman, Hist, of Latin Christianity, vi. 429 sq.; Porter, Hist, of the Knights of Malta • i [n- dex). i.i. II. w..
Pontano, Giovansti-Giovano (Lat. Pontanus), a celebrated Italian statesman, noted as a writer on mor- als, was born December, 1426, in the environs of Cer- reto, Umbria. Hi- father having perished in a riot, his mother fled with him to Perugia, when- be received a careful education. Having in vain asserted his claim to the heritage of his parents, he entered the army of Alfonso, king of Naples, then at war with the Floren- tines (1447), and followed that king to Naples, where he became acquainted with the celebrated Panormita, who took him along in his embassy to Florence, and had him appointed royal secretary. Pontano's verses, highly esteemed by all competent judges, seemed to entitle him sufficiently to a seat in the academy which Panormita, under the king's auspices, established al Naples. Ferdinand [, successor of Alfonso (l 157), main- tained him in bis cilice of secretary, and appointed him tutor of bis son Alfonso, duke of ( lalabria. lie followed Ferdinand in his campaign against the duke of Anjou, and distinguished himself by his bravery. Taken pris-