PELLICAN, CONRAD, in German Kiirschner, born at Ruffach, in Alsace, in 1478, began his studies, which were interrupted by an attack of the plague, at six years of age ; at thirteen en tered the university of Heidelberg, of which his maternal uncle was rector, but left it for want of means. At fifteen he entered a convent of Fran ciscan monks, and studied theology, philosophy, and mathematics, at Bale and Tiibingen. Having obtained a volume of the Hebrew Bible from a brother Franciscan, who had been a Jew, he devoted himself with ardour to its study, and soon constructed a dictionary and grammar of the language. At twenty-three he was ordained priest, and exhibited such talents as a teacher of theology, philosophy, and astronomy, in the convent of Bile, that Cardinal Raymond would have given him the degree of Doctor in theology, had it not been for the jealousy of his superior. He afterwards took a leading position in the order, and was himself superior of the convent at B6le in 199, about which time he secretly became a convert to the opinions of Martin Luther, but maintained his post in the convent till 1526, when, at the pressing re quest of Zwinglius, he became professor of Hebrew at Zurich. He refused a similar office at Stuttgard in 1534 on conscientious grounds, was twice married, and died at Zurich in 1556. His works are nume rous. Those which bear most on Biblical literature are—x. Psalterium Davidis ad Hebraicam veritatcm interpretatum cum scholiis brevessimis, Strasburg 1527, in Svo. The Zurich edition of 1532, in Svo,
' is more carefully prepared and more complete.
2. Commentarii Bib/kr:en; cum vulgatti edi gone, sed ad Hebraicam lectionem accurate enzendatd, Zurich, from 1531 to 1536, five volumes folio. Richard Simon says of this work He keeps to the literal sense, and does not lose sight of the words of his text. Though well read in rabbinical authors, he seeks more to be useful to his readers than to display his rabbinical lore. He considers it safest to borrow from the Jews but grammatical observations, and that the sense must be found by a comparison of one passage of Scrip: ture with another, and the help of the ancient Greek and Latin commentators. He says much in few words, and is not one of those who super stitiously believe that the providence of God has secured the sacred text against the smallest change.' 3. Commentarii in Novum Testamental's, Zurich 1537, folio, 2 vols. Pellican is less happy in these commentaries than in those on the O. T. 4. Grammatica Hebraica, necuon et margarita Philo. sophka, Strasburg 154o, 8vo. Father Courayer is of opinion that Reuchlin was much assisted in his works by Pellican. Pellican certainly reviewed the Bible of Leo of Juda, and furnished it with a preface (Vita Theologorum Gernzanorum. Notices biographiques et literaires sur les hebraisants de Tubingsse).—M. H.