Pellisson, Paul, a man of letters and a wit of the age of Louis XIV.; spent some five years in the Bastille, but after his release was appointed historiographer-royal; in his captivity he made a companion of a spider, who was accustomed to eat out of his hand (1624‒1693).
Definition taken from The Nuttall Encyclopædia, edited by the Reverend James Wood (1907)
Pellico, Silvio * Pelopidas