Nourry, Nicholas Le

, a learned Benedictine of the congregation of St. Maur, was born at Dieppe in 1647$ and devoted his early years to the study of ecclesiastical antiquities, in which he was allowed to have attained very great knowledge. His first literary employment was on an edition of the works of Cassiodorus, which he prepared for the press in conjunction with father Garet, contributing the life, prefaces, and tables. He was next engaged on the works of St. Ambrose, published in 1686 1691. His most important work was his “Apparatus ad Bibliothecam max. veterum Patrum,” Paris, 1715, 2 vols. folio, intended as a supplement to Despont’s “Bibl. Patrum,” 27 vols. folio, but which is not always found with it. It contains a number of curious and learned dissertations on the lives, writings, and sentiments, of the fathers, with illustrations of many obscure passages. In 1710, Nourry published “Lucius Caecilius de mortibus persecutorum,” 8vo, which he contended was not the production of Lactantius (see Lactantius) but although he has supplied many useful notes and comments on this work, he failed in making converts to this last opinion. Nourry died at Paris, March 24, 1724, aged seventy-seven. ²