OUIDA.
RAMiE, Pierre, pear ri-ma (Latinized, PETRUS RAMUS), French humanist and mathe matician : b. Cuth, near Soissons, 1515 ; d. Paris, 26 Aug. 1572. He went to Paris when he was but eight years old, and became lackey to a rich stu dent in the College of Navarre, but devoted to self-improvement all the time he could spare. After attending a course of philosophy he was admitted to the degree of M.A., on which oc casion he questioned the infallibility of Aristotle. His (Institutionum Dialecticarum Libri III' (1543), and in Dialecticam Aristotclis Libri XX' raised a storm against him in the university; their publication was pro hibited, and extant copies ordered to be burned before the Royal College of Cambria. Having obtained the patronage of the Cardinal De Lor raine, the prohibition of lecturing imposed in 1543 was withdrawn in 1547, and in 1551 he was appointed professor of rhetoric and philosophy in the College Royal at Paris. His spirit of
free inquiry ultimately led him to become a Protestant, and he was obliged to flee from Paris, but he unfortunately returned in 1571 and was killed in the massacre of Saint
omew. His works, relating to grammar, logic, mathematics, etc., are numerous. His doctrines were widely diffused. France, England and particularly Scotland, were full of Rarnists. His logic was introduced into the University of Glasgow and in the German universities. Con sult NVaddington, (Remus, sa Vie, see Ecrits et ses Opinions' (1855); Desmaze,