Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 11.djvu/98

 NICOTERA

72

NIEREMBERG

Nicotera and Tropea, Diocese of (Nicotbren- 818 ET Tropeiensis), siilTniRiin of RpKSio f'i Calabria. Nicotera, thp ancient Mcdaina, isacity of the Province of Catanzaro, in Calal)ria, Italy; it was destroyed by tlie eartliquake of 1783. Its lirst known bishop was Proculus, to whom, with others, a letter of St. Gregory the Great was written in 599. With the exception of Sergius (787), none of its bi.shops is known earlier than 1392. Under Bishop Charles rinli. the city was pillaged by the Turks. In ISIS, it wasiinitcd on equal terms {irqiir i)nitcipiililrr) with tlic Diocese of Tropea. This city is situated on a reef, in the gulf of St. Euphe- mia connected with the mainland by a narrow strip. It is the birtlijilaceof the jiainter Span6, the anato- mists Pictro and Paolo Voiani, and (he philosopher Pasquale Galluppi. It has a beautiful cathedral, re- storeil after its destruction by the earthquake of 1783. Here the Greek Rite was formerly used. Only three bishops before the Norman conquest are known; the first, .Joann.'-s, is referred to the year 649; among its other prelates was Nicold Acciapori (1410), an emi- nent statesHjan. The diocese has 72 parishes, with 78,000 inhabitants, a Franciscan nouse, and a house of the Sisters of Charity.

Cappelletti, Le Chiese d' Italia, XXI.

U. Benigni.

Nictheroy, Diocese of. See Petropolis.

Nider, John, theologian, b. 1380 in Swabia; d. 13 August, 1438, at Colinar. He entered the Order of Preachers at Colmar and after profession was sent to Vienna for his philosophical studies, which he finished at Cologne where he was ordained. He gained a wide reputation in Germany as a preacher and was active at the Council of Constance. After making a study of the convents of his order of strict observance in Italy he returned to the University of Vienna where in 1425 he began teaching as Master of Theology. Elected prior of the Dominican convent at Nurern- berg in 1427, he successively served as socius to his master general and vicar of the reformed convents of the German province. In this capacity he main- tained his early reputation of reformer and in 1431 he was chosen prior of the convent of strict observance at Basle. He became identified with the Council of Basle as theologian and legate, making several em- bassies to the Huissites at the command of Cardinal Julian. Sent as legate of the Council to the Bohe- mians he succeeded in pacifying them. He journeyed to Ratisbon (1434) to effect a further reconciliation with the Bohemians and then proceeded to Vienna to continue his work of reforming the convents there. During the discussion that followed the dissolution of the Council of Basle by Eugene IV, he joined the party in favour of continuing the Council in Germany, aljandoning them, however, when the pope remained firm in his decision. He resumed his theological lec- tures at Vienna in 1436 and was twice elected dean of the university before his death. As reformer he was foremost in Germany and welcomed as such both by his own order and by the Fathers of the Council of Basle. As a theologian his adherence to the princi- ples of St. Thomas and his practical methods made him distinguished among his contemporaries. The most important among his many writings is the "For- micarius" (5 vols., Douai, 1602) atreatise on the phil- osophical, theological, and social questions of his day. Among his theological works are the following: "Com- mentarius in IV libros Scntentiarum" (no longer ex- tant); " Pra?ceptorum divina> legis" (Douai, 1612, seventeen other editions before 1500); "Tractatus de contractibus mercatorum" f Paris, 1514, eight edi- tions before 1.500); "Consolatorium timoratie consci- entiic" (Rome, 1604); "De Morali lepra" (Regia, 1830,1; ''Manualead instnic^tionem spiritualium Pas- torum" (Rome, 1513); "Alphabetum Divini Amoris" (Antwerp, 1705, in works of Gerson); "De modo bene

Vivendi " (commonly atttributed to St. Bernard) ; " De Reformatione Religiosorum Libri Tres" (Paris, 1512; Antwerp, 1611). Besides these there arc several letters written to the Boheiiiiaiis and to the Fathers of the Council of Basle, printed in "Monum. Concil. Gen- eral., siEC. XV, Concil. Basil. Scrip.", I (Vienna, 1857).

Qu^TiF-EcHABD, ScHptortst 0. p., I, 792 sqq.; II, 822; TnuRON, llhlnlrr tirs ftommcs illuslres de iordre de iit. Dominique, III, 218-

7(',, Si ITTlTTn in Kirrhridd. ^.\. Nider: CoLVENEIlIUS, J. Nider

/■' ii),,ii,; I'lOLM; Steill, Qrd. Prad, Ephemerides

Ji II hillinK, 1692). 2:i0; SrniELEH, Magieter

,l.,i.: \;'. , < ', urn Orden der Prcdiger-Brader (Mainz,

l,SS.,l; Aini.r Jtumunr.nne. Vll (1895). 7.-J1-40; HaiN. Rep. Bibl.,

Ill (isai); Bkumer. Prediiierorden in Wien (1887); Chevalier, Repertoire des Sources historiques du Moyen A(ic, II, 3;J60.

Ignatius Smith.

Nieremberg y Otin, Juan Eusebio, noted theolo- gian and polygra])liist, b. of German parents at Mad- rid, 1595; d. there, 1658. Having studied the classics at the Court, he went to Alcald for the sciences and from there to Salamanca for canon law, where lie en- tered the Society of Jesus in 1614, much against the wishes of his father who linally obliged him to leave the novitiate of Villagarcia. He remained firm in his resolution and was permitted to return to Madrid to finish his probation. He studied Greek and Hebrew at the Colegio de Huete, arts and theology at Alcald, and was ordained in 1623, making his profession in 1633. At the Colegio Imperial of Madrid he taught humanities and natural history for sixteen years and Sacred Scripture for three. As a director of souls he was much sought, being appointed by royal command confessor to the Duchess of Mantua, granddaughter of Philip II. Remarkable for his exemplary life, and the heights of prayer to which he attained, he was an indefatigable worker, and one of the most prolific writers of his time. Seventy-three printed and eleven manuscript works are attributed to him; of these, twenty-four at least are in Latin. Though his works are distinguished for their erudition, those in Spanish being characterized according to Capmani, by nobil- ity and purity of diction, terse, well-knit phrases, for- cible metaphors, and vivid imagery, certain defects mar his style, at times inelegant and marked by a cer- tain disregard for the rules of grammar and a too pro- nounced use of antithesis, paronomasia, and other plays upon words. Lack of a true critical faculty often detracts from the learning. The Spanish Acad- emy includes his name in the " Diccionario de Autoridades". His principal works are: (1) "Del Aprecio y Estima de la Divina Gracia" (Madrid, 1638), editions of which have been issued at Sara- gossa, Barcelona, Seville, Majorca, also a second edi- tion of the Madrid edition; it has been translated into Italian, French, Latin, German, Panayano, and condensed into English (New York, 1866, 1891)- (2) "De la Diferencia entre lo Temporal y Eterno' (Ma- drid, 1640), of which there are fifty-four Spanish edi- tions, and translations into Latin, Arabic, Italian, French, German, Flemish, and English (1672, 1684, 1884), Portuguese, Mexican, Guaranian, Chiquito, Panayano; (3) "Opera Parthenica" (Lyons, 1659), in which he defends the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin, basing it upon new, although not al- ways absolutely reliable, documents; (4) "Historiana- tura; maxime peregrina^ Libris XVI, distincta" (Ant- werp 1635); (5) "De la afici6n y amor de Jesds. . . Idem de Maria" (Madrid, 1630), of which there are five Spanish editions and translations into Latin, Arabic, German, Flemi.sh, French, Italian, Portu- guese and an English translation of the first edition (1849 1880); one edition of (6) "Obras Christianas espirituales y filos6ficas" (Madrid, 1651, fol. 3 vols.), and one of (7) "Obras Christianas" (Madrid, 1665, fol. 2 vols.), are still extant. It was customary in many of the Spanish churches to read selections from these books every Sunday., , , . „„t ,o.

Andrade Varones ilustres de la CompaMa de Jesus, VIII (2nd ed., Bilbao (1891), 699-766; Capmani y de Montpalah, Tealro