798 PET 
out France. In the following year he was made profef- 
fpr of anatomy and forgery at the Royal Garden, in 
which office he was attended by an extraordinary con- 
courfe of auditors. He finally retired from bufinefs, and 
died at Olivet near Orleans, in 1794, at the age of 92. 
This phyfician publiftied the following w r orks. 1. 
Lettre d’un Medecin de Montpellier, au Sujet de l’exa- 
men public que le Sieur Louis a fubi a Saint Come, en 
1749, pour fervir d’Eclaircifl'ement a ce qu’en dit M. 
Freron, 4to. 1749. 2. Difcours fur la Chirurgie, an in¬ 
troductory lefture delivered at the fchools of medicine, 
1757. 3. Confultation en faveur des Naifiances tar- 
dives, 1764, 8vo. 4. Premier et fecond Rapport en fa- 
veurdel’Inoculation, 1766, 8vo. 5. Deux Conlultations 
Medico-legales; relative to a cafe of fuppofed felf-murder, 
and to a fuppofed infanticide, 1767. He alfo edited, 
“ Anatomie Chirurgicale, publiee ci-devant par Jean Pal- 
fin,” 2 tom 8vo. 1753. and fome early experiments of his 
on fubmerfion are related in Hift. de l’Acad. des Sciences, 
1740. Gen. Biog. 
PETIT CA'PE. See Cape, vol. iii. p. 747. 
PETIT CO'DIAK, a river of America, which falls 
into an arm of the bay of Fundy, called ChegneCto-chan- 
nel. The Indians have a communication from the head 
of it with St. John’s river, by a portage acrofs to the head 
of Kennebeefius. 
PETIT-DIDIE'R (Matthew), alearned French monk, 
and a titular prelate, was born in the town of St. Nicholas 
in Lorraine, in the year 1659. He received the firft part 
of his education in the College of the Jefuits at Nancy ; 
and, when he was fixteen years of age, took the monadic 
habit in the abbey of Sr. Michael, belonging to the Be¬ 
nedictines of the Congregation of St. Vannes and St. 
Hydulphus. He didinguilhed himfelf fo highly by his 
aillduity and improvement, that in the year 1682, when 
he was only fub-deacon, the chapter-general of his con¬ 
gregation devolved on him the office of lecturing in phi- 
lofophy and divinity to the young members of the com¬ 
munity. Some time afterwards he was placed at the head 
of a kind of academy, confiding of feveral of the monks, 
with whom he undertook to read all the early fathers of 
the church. At the fame time they read M. Dupin’s 
Account of Ecclefiadical Writers, making notes and 
remarks on his work as they proceeded. As father Petit- 
Didier thought them of fufficient importance to be laid 
before the public, he corrected and enlarged them, and 
fent them into the world under the title of “ Remarks on 
the firft Volumes of M. Dupin’s Bibliotheque Ecclefiafti- 
que,” in 3 vols. Svo. the firlt of which appeared in 1691, 
and the third in 1696. Thefe remarks difcover extendve 
reading, are fometimes very judicious, and difplay no 
little portion of critical acumen. M. Dupin himfelf has 
done ample juftice to the author’s learning and abilities, 
while he has vindicated his work againft fome of the re¬ 
marks which he confidered to be cavils rather than rea- 
fonable or fair objections. In the mean time father 
Petit-Didier was occupied in drawing up an Ar.fwer to 
the Dialogues between Oleander and Eudoxus, written 
againft the celebrated Provincial Letters of M. Pafcal, 
and attributed to Father Daniel the Jefuit. This anfw'er 
is under the form of feventeen letters, with the title of 
“ An Apology for the Provincial Letters of Louis Mon- 
talte, againlt the lad Reply of the Jefuits, &c.” 12010. 
Though this work was well known to come from his pen, 
and was often acknowledged by him to his friends, his 
wifh to feeure the good opinion of the papal court led 
him fome years afterwards to difavow it. This difavowal 
is contained in a letter to cardinal Corradini, and printed 
at Rome in 1726, in a collection of pieces entitled, “ Do. 
cumenta fanse et orthodox® DoCtrinte P. Matthaei Petit- 
Didier,” in folio. In 1699, he was elected abbot of 
Bcnzonville; but was obliged to refign, owing to the 
interference of the duke of Lorraine, who nominated his 
brother prince Francis to that dignity. About the year 
J700, our author publidied, in Latin, “ Critical, Hiltori- 
I T. 
cal, and Chronological, Difiertations on the Sacred 
Scriptures of the Old Teftament,” 4to. In 1715, he was 
chofen abbot of Sennones, and, after a conteft for fome 
years with the bifhop of the diocefe, was finally confirmed 
in the pofieffion of that benefice. His next publication, 
which appeared in 1724, was “ A Theological Treatife 
in Defence of the Authority and Infallibility of the 
Pope,” i2ino. This piece was attacked by different 
writers, Catholic and Proteftant, and defended by him in 
feveral traCts ; the titles of which, as well ns fome of his 
other polemical publications, the reader may meet with 
in Moreri. In the year 1725 he paid a vifit to Rome, 
W’here he was very favourably received by Benedict XIII. 
on account of his writings, in which he had maintained 
the infallibility and higheft pretenfions of the papal fee, 
and declared hodility againft the liberties of the Gallican 
church. As a reward for fuch obfequioufnefs, in 1726, 
the pope nominated him bifhop of Macra, in partibus in- 
ficlelium, and performed in perfon the ceremonies of his 
confecration. He alfo granted him an indulgence to re¬ 
tain the pofieffion of his abbey. Our prelate’s epifcopal 
honours, however, were but of fhort duration ; fince he 
died fuddenly at Sennones in 1728, in the 69th year of 
his age. He is fuppofed to have been the author of an 
anonymous “ Hiftorical and Dogmatical Treatife on the 
Subjefl: of Ecclefiadical Privileges and Exemptions,” 
which was printed at Metz in 1699, in 4to. Dupin. 
Moreri. 
PETIT GOA'VE. See Goave, vol. viii. 
PETIT JU'RY. See Jury, vol. xi. 
PETIT LAR'CENY. See Larceny, vol. xii. 
PETIT-PIE'D (Nicholas), a French clergyman and 
magiftrate, was defeended from an honourable family, 
and born at Paris about the year 1630. Having been 
educated for the church, he took orders, and obtained 
the living of St. Martial, in his native city. In 1658, he 
was admitted to the degree of doCtor by the faculty of 
the Sorbonne; and, in 1662, was appointed a clerical 
counfellor of the Chatelet. Afterwards he was made fub- 
chanter and canon of the church of Paris; and he died 
in 1705, when he was about the age of 75. He had for 
feveral years held the pod of clerical counfellor at the 
Chatelet, and officiated, during the fame time, as incum¬ 
bent of the parifh of St. Martial, till one day in the year 
1678, when the lieutenants were abfent, he, being the 
fenior counfellor prefent, was proceeding to take the 
chair. In this defign he was oppofed by the lay-coun- 
lellors, who maintained that, being a clergyman, he had 
no right to prefide in a fecular court. After entering 
his protefts, M. Petit-Pied commenced a legal procefs 
againft them, wthich laded about four years, and was termi¬ 
nated by adefinitive arret in favour of clerical counfellors. 
This conteft induced him to compofe and publifh “A 
Treatife on the Right and Prerogatives of Ecclefiaftics 
in the Adminiftration of fecular Juftice,” in a large 4to. 
volume; which is faid to be an excellent work of the 
kind, to difplay much curious refearch, and to reflect 
great honour on the learning and abilities of the author. 
Moreri. 
PETIT-PIE'D (Nicholas), nephew of the preceding, 
and a very voluminous writer in the Janfenift controverfy, 
was born at Paris in the year 1665. He was early de- 
ftined to the ecclefiadical profefiion, and profecuted his 
ftudies in the univerfity of Paris with great diligence and 
reputation, particularly diftinguilhing himfelf when en¬ 
tering upon his licentiate. In 1692, he was admitted 
doftor of the lioufe and fociety of the Sorbonne; and, in 
1701, he was appointed profelfor of the facred feriptures 
in the fchools of that faculty. In the year laft mentioned, 
together with thirty-nine other doftors, he gave his fig- 
nature to the famous Cafe of Confcience, the Hiftory of 
which has been publifhed in 8 vols. nmo. The part 
which he took on this occafion, involved him in the 
profeription which was iflued out againft the oppofers of 
the bull Unigenitus; and, in 1703, he received an order 
. from 
