FLECHIER, ESPRIT (1632-171o), bishop of Nimes, was born at Pernes on June 1 o, 163 2. He entered the Congregation des Doctrinaires, and afterwards left it, owing to the strictness of its rules, and went to Paris. His French poems met with little success, but a description in Latin verse of a tournament given by Louis XIV. in 1662, brought him a great reputation. He sub sequently became tutor to Louis Urbain Lef evre de Caumartin (afterwards intendant of finances and counsellor of state), lecteur to the dauphin in 1668, abbot of St. Severin, in the diocese of Poitiers, almoner to the dauphiness, bishop of Lavaur, in 1685, and in 1687 bishop of Nimes. The edict of Nantes had been repealed two years before ; but the Calvinists were still numerous at Nimes. Flechier, by his leniency and tact, succeeded in bringing over some of them to his views. During the troubles in the Cevennes (see HUGUENOTS) he softened to the utmost of his power the rigour of the edicts. He died at Montpellier on Feb. 16, 1710. As a preacher he cannot be compared with Bossuet or Bourdaloue, but he is always ingenious, often witty; his indisputable eloquence is sometimes marred by an affectation of symmetry and an ex cessive use of antithesis.
The last complete edition of Flechier's works appeared at Paris, 1828; the Memoires sur les Grands Jours was published in 1844 by B. Gonod (2nd ed., 1862). His other works are: Histoire de Theodose le Grand (Eng. trans. 1693) , Oraisons f unebres, Histoire du Cardinal Ximenes, Sermons de morale, Panegyriques des saints. See A. Fabre, Flechier, orateur (1886) ; A. Delacroix, Vie de Flechier (1865) .