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of Conde, however, he foon regained his liberty. Such 
an extravagant performance, as might be expected, was 
foon refuted by a crowd of writers, Proteftant and Catho¬ 
lic. Smarting under their fevere caftigation, he deter¬ 
mined to change his religion ; and with that defign went 
to Rome in 1656, where he abjured both his principles of 
Proteftantifm, and his treatife on the pre-adamites, and 
was favourably received by pope Alexander VII. His 
fincerity in this proceeding was very generally fufpected, 
and feebly attempted to be vindicated in a “ Letter to 
Philotimus,” publifhed by him in Latin at Rome in 1657, 
and in French at Paris in 1658, containing the reafons 
which had operated upon his mind fo as to produce a 
total alteration in his fentiments. After his return to 
Paris, he was again patronized by the prince of Conde, 
who had come from the Netherlands to that city, and 
made him his librarian ; which poll he retained till he 
entered the Seminary of our Lady of the Virtues, where 
he died in 1676, at the great age of 82. 
He was the author of another lingular treatife, “ Con¬ 
cerning the Recall of the Jews,” 1643, 8vo. in which he 
endeavoured to maintain, that, after their reftoration to 
the land of Canaan, they would be fubjedt not merely to 
the fpiritual authority of Jefus, but to the government of 
a temporal king, the grand inftrument in bringing about 
that event; and he adduced the following curious rea¬ 
fons for concluding that king to be no other than a king 
of France. 1. Eecaufe the two titles of MoJ't Chrijlian, 
and of Eldejl Son of the Church, are afcribed to him by 
way of excellence. 2. Eecaufe it is prefumable, if the 
kings of France poflefs the virtue of curing the evil or 
fcrofula, which can only afflidl the bodies of the Jew's; 
that they will likewife have the power of curing their ob- 
llinate incredulity, and the other inveterate difeafes of 
their fouls. 3. Becaufe the kings of France have for 
their arms a fleurdelys; and becaufe the beauty of the 
church is in fcripture compared to the beauty of lilies. 
4. Becaufe it is probable that France will be the country 
whither the Jews (hall firft be invited to come and em¬ 
brace the Chriftian faith, and whither they (hall retreat 
from the perfecution of the nations that have dominion 
over them ; for France is a land of freedom, it admits of 
no (lavery, and whoever touches it is free. Peyrere, after 
explaining his ftrange fyftem, propofes a method of con¬ 
verting the Jews to Chriftianity; a method, fays Niceron, 
which will not be-acceptable to many. He propofes to 
reduce the w hole of religion to a bare faith or belief in 
Jefus Chrift ; taking it for granted, that “it is as difficult 
to comprehend the articles of our faith, as to obferve the 
ceremonies of Mofes.” From this fcheme (fays he) there 
would refult a double advantage to the church ; the re¬ 
union of the Jews, and of all thofe Chriftians who are Se¬ 
parated from the body of the church. Peyrere alfo pub- 
iiffied twocurious and entertaining treatifes, from materi¬ 
als which he collected while in Denmark : one entitled, 
“ An Account of Greenland,” 1647, 8vo. and the other, 
“ An Account of Iceland,” 1663, 8vo. 
All thefe works, except the laft, as it will be evident 
from the dates, were publifhed while M. Peyrere remained 
a Calviniftic Proteftant ; but his Calvinifm too nearly re- 
fembled the Deifm of our age. He confefled. himfelf, 
that his reafon for quitting the Proteftants W'as on ac¬ 
count of their being the firlf and principal oppofers of his 
book concerning the pre-adamites; and, notwithftanding 
l,is‘abjuration at Rome, it was well knowm to thofe who 
were intimate wdth him, that he retained his notion con¬ 
cerning the pre-adamites as long as he lived ; and, when 
pie fled to renounce it in his laft moments, he replied, 
“Hi qusecutnque ignorant, blafphemant.” His having 
no fixed fentiments of religion is fuppofed to proceed 
more from a peculiar turn of mind than a corruption of 
the heart; for good nature, f.mplicity of manners, and 
humanity, feem to have formed his charadler. We find 
in Moreri the following epitaph on him, written by a 
poet of his own time : 
La Peyrere ici git, ce bon Ifraelite, 
Huguenot, Catholique, enfin Pre-adamite : 
Quatre religions lui plurent ala fois, 
Et fon indifference etoit ft peu commune, 
Qu’apres quatre-vingts ans qu’il eut a faire un choix, 
Le bon homme partit, et n’en choifit pas une. 
PEYRESC'. See Peiresc, vol. xix. p. 481. 
PEYRIN'S, a town of France, in the department of 
the Drome : four miles north of Romans. 
PEYROL'LES, a toum of France, in the department 
of the Mouths of the Rhone ; celebrated for its medicinal 
waters : nine miles north-eaft of Aix. 
PEYRONI'E (Francis de la), an eminent furgeon, 
memorable for the benefits he conferred upon his pro- 
feffion, was the fon of a furgeon at Montpellier, where he 
was born in 1678. After ftudying anatomy and furgery 
in his native place with fo much fuccefs that he was ad¬ 
mitted a mafter at the age of 19, he went to Paris to im¬ 
prove himfelf under Marefchal at the Hotel Dieu. He 
returned to Montpellier, where lie was chofen a public 
^profeffor in the medical fchools, and furgeon to the hof- 
pital; and, foon after, was nominated furgeon-major in 
the army of marfhal Villars, fent againft the rebels of the 
Cevennes. A cure which he performed on the duke de 
Chaulnes caufed him to fix at Paris, where he was eledled 
furgeon in chief to the Hofpital of La Charite, and de- 
monftrator of anatomy at St. Come and the Royal 
Garden. He continued to rife in his profeflion, and was 
introduced at court, prefented with letters of noblefle, 
and, in fine, made firft furgeon to the king in 1736, and 
gentleman in ordinary of the bed-chamber. He became 
an aflociate of the Academies of Sciences of Montpellier 
and Paris, and a member of the Inftitute of Bologna. 
During all this courfe of profperity he had nothing more 
at heart than the advancement of his profeflion in credit 
and utility. In concert with Marefchal, he obtained 
from the king, in 1724, the creation of five demonftrators 
in anatomy at St. Come ; and it was their influence which 
effedled the eftablifhment of the Academy of Surgery in 
1731. He entered with zeal into that difpute between 
the phyficiansand furgeons which produced a memorable 
lawfuit. On that occalion he requefted the chancellor 
d’Aguefleau to raife a wall of brals between the two pro- 
feffions. “Willingly, (replied the magiftrate;) but on 
which fide muft I place the patient?” Peyronie after¬ 
wards behaved with more moderation. Poflefled of ge¬ 
neral efteem on account of his agreeable manners, his 
benevolence and worth, as well 2s his profeffional abili¬ 
ties, he died at Verfailles, in 1747, in his 70th year. Al¬ 
though he did not live to fee the Academy of Surgery 
eftabliffied by letters patent, yet he was fo confident of its 
liability, that by his will he left to the company of fur¬ 
geons in Paris, two-thirds of his property, his library, 
and a landed eftate. He alfo left a large fum to the com¬ 
pany of furgeons at Montpellier for the purpofeof build¬ 
ing an anatomical theatre and fupporting it. La Pey¬ 
ronie wrote no feparate work; but fome papers of his on 
anatomical and chirurgical fubjefts are printed in the 
Memoirs of the Academies of Montpellier, of Sciences, 
and of Surgery. Halleri Bill. Anatom. 
PF.YROU'SE. See Perouse, vol. xix. p. 633. 
PEYROU'X, a town of France, in the department of 
the Vienne : nine miles fouth-weft of l’lfle Jourdain. 
PEYRUI'S, a town of France, in the department of the 
Higher Alps: fifteen miles fouth-weft of Digne, eight 
north-eaft of Forcalquier. 
PEYRU'SSE, a town of France, in the department of 
theAveiron: fix miles fouth-weft of Albin, nine fouth- 
eaft of Figeac. 
PEYSSONNEL' (Charles), a conful in the Levant, and 
man of letters, born at Marfeilles in 1700, was the fon of 
a phyfician in that city, the defcendant of an ancient fa¬ 
mily. He received his firft education under the fathers 
of the Oratory in Marfeilles, and was fent to Paris for its 
completion. 
