Nicholas Tacitus Zegers

Famous exegete, born either at Diest or Brussels during the latter half of the fifteenth century; died at Louvain, 25 August, 1559. After receiving a scientific education at Louvain, he entered the Franciscan Order, joining the Province of Cologne. At the division for that province; he was assigned to the Low German Province. There, coming under the influence of Francis Titelmann, professor of exegesis in the convent of Louvain, he devoted himself to the study of Scriptures and succeeded Titelmann in the chair of exegesis in 1536. In 1548 he gave up his chair to devote himself to writing. His solid foundation in Greek and Hebrew enabled him to exercise sound critical judgment on the explanation of the different passages of Holy Writ, a quality at that time very rare. Memeranus writes of him:

Vir pietatis amans, semper studiosus honesti,

Et bona qui semper publica ubique juvat.

The fruits of his literary labours were very numerous. Besides many translations of ascetical works from the Flemish and French into Latin, he also wrote: "Proverbia Teutonica Latinitate Donata" (Antwerp, 1550 and 1571); "Scholion in omnes Novi Testamenti libros" (Cologne, 1553); "Epanorthotes, sive Castigationes Novi Testamenti" (Cologne, 1555); "Dye Collegie der Wysheit ghefundeert in dye universiteit der deughden" (Antwerp, 1556); "Inventorium in Testamentum Novum", a kind of concordance (Antwerp, 1558 and 1566); "Novum Jesu Christi Testamentum juxta vetorem ecclesiae editionem" (Louvain, 1559); and finally a catechism in Flemish. HURTER, Nomenclator Literarius, IV, 1280; DIRKS, Hist. litéraire et bibliographique des Frères Mineurs (Antwerp, 1885), 81 sqq.; PAQUOT, Mémoires pour servir a' l'histoire litteraire des Pays-Bas, I, 2.

Leo T. Butler.