p 
r 
time his generous disposition procured him 
still better success elsewhere. Among his 
scholars were two foreigners, who expres- 
sing their uneasiness to him at being disap- 
pointed of some bills of exchange for a 
journey to Paris, he asked them how much 
would do, and being told fifty pistoles, he 
lent them the money immediately, even 
without their note for it. Upon their arri- 
val at Paris, mentioning this generous ac- 
tion to M. Daguesseau, father of the Chan- 
cellor, this magistrate was touched with it, 
and engaged them to invite Ozanam to 
Paris, with a promise of his favour. The 
opportunity was eagerly embraced; and 
the business of teacliing tbe mathematics 
here soon brought him in a considerable 
income; but he wanted prudence for some 
time to make the best use of it. He was 
young, handsome, and sprightly ; and much 
addicted both to gaming and gallantry, 
which continually drained his purse. Among 
others, he had a love intrigue with a wo- 
man who lodged in the same house with 
himself, and gave herself out for a person of 
condition. Howevei', this expense, in time, 
led him to think of matrimony, and he 
soon after married a young woman with- 
out fortune. She made amends for this 
defect, by her modesty, virtue, and sweet 
temper; so that though the state of his 
purse was not amended, yet he had more 
home felt enjoyment than before, being in- 
deed completely happy in her as long as she 
lived. He had twelve children by her, who 
mostly all died young; and be was lastly 
rendered quite unhappy by the death of his 
wife also, which happened in 1701. Nei- 
ther did this misfortune come singly; for 
the war breaking out about the same time, 
on account of the Spanish succession, it 
swept away all his scholars, who being 
foreigners, were obliged to leave Paris. 
Tims he sunk into a very melancholy state ; 
under which, however, he received some 
relief and amusement from the honour of 
being admitted this same year an eleve of 
the Royal Academy of Sciences. 
He seems to have had a presentiment of 
his death from some lurking disorder within, 
of which no outward syniptom appeared. 
In that persuasion he refused to engage 
with some foreign noblemen, who oft'ered 
to become his scholars, alledging that he 
should not live long enough to carry them 
through their intended course. Accord- 
ingly he was seized soon after with an apo- 
plexy, which terminated his existence in 
less than two hours, on the third of -April, 
1717, at 77 years of age. 
Ozanam was of a mild and calm dispo- 
sition, a cheerful and pleasant temper, en- 
deared by a generosity almost unparalleled. 
His manners were irreproachable after mar- 
riage; and he was sincerely pious and 
zealously devout, though studiously avoid- 
ing to meddle in theological questions. He 
used to say, that it was the business of the 
Sorbonne to discuss, of the Pope to decide, 
and of a mathematician to go straight to 
heaven in a perpendicular line. He wrote 
a great number of useful books. 
P. 
P Or p, the fifteenth letter, and eleventh 
•*- ’ consonant of the alphabet ; the sound 
of which is formed by expressing the breath 
somewhat more suddenly than in forming 
the sound ofd : in other respects, these two 
sounds are very much alike, and are often 
confounded one with another. When p 
stands before t or s, its sound is lost, as in the 
words psalms, Ptolemaic, ptisan. See. when 
placed before h, they both together have 
the sound of f, as in philosophy, physic, &c. 
In the Italian music, P. stands for piano. 
or softly ; P P. for piu piano, i. e. more 
softly ; and P P P. for pianissimo, or very 
softly. 
Among astronomers, P. M. is used to 
denote post meridian, or afternoon ; and 
sometimes for post mane, i. e. after mid- 
night. 
As a numeral, P. signifies the same as 
G. viz. 400 ; and with a dash oyer it, thus 
P, 400,000. 
Among physicians, P. denotes pugil, or 
the eighth part of an handful ; P. JE. 
