NICOLAS CLAUDE FABRI, born in 1580, was descended from an ancient and noble family, seated originally at Pisa in Italy. At ten years of age, he was sent to Avignon, where he spent five years in the Jesuits college, in the study of what in Scotland and on the Continent is called humanity. From Avignon he was, in 1595, removed to Aix, and entered upon the study of philosophy. In the interim, he attended the proper masters for dancing, riding, and handling arms; in all which, though he performed the lessons regularly, it was with reluctance; for this being done only to please an uncle, whose heir he was to be, he never practised by himself, esteeming all the time lost that was not spent in the pursuits of literature. During this period, his father being presented with a medal of the emperor Arcadius, which was found at Belgenfer, Peirefe begged the favour of it; and, charmed with deciphering the characters in the exergue, and reading the emperor's name, he carried the medal with a transport of joy to his uncle; who for his encouragement gave him two more, together with some books upon the subject. This is the epoch of his application to antiquities, for which he became afterwards so famous. In 1596, he was sent to finish his course of philosophy under the Jesuits at Tournon, where he turned his attention particularly to cartography, as being necessary to the understanding of history, abating, however, nothing of his application to antiquity, in which he was assisted by Petrus Rogerus, one of the professors, and a skilful medallist: nor did he omit the study of humanity in general, wherein he was the master and instructor of a brother who was with him. But to do all this he was obliged to fit up late at nights; and so much labour and attention, as he was naturally of a tender constitution, increased the weakness of his stomach formerly contracted, and for which he had used a kind of digestive powder. Being recalled by his uncle in 1597, he returned to Aix, and entered thereupon the study of the law; which he prosecuted, however, so as to find leisure to visit and converse frequent- ly with Peter A. R. Bagarr, a most skilful antiquary, who was afterwards made master of the jewels to Henry IV.

The following year he went again to Avignon, to carry on his course of law under one Peter David; who, being well skilled likewise in antiquities, was pleased to see Peirefe join this study to that of the law. But Ghibertus of Naples, auditor to Cardinal Aquaviva, fed his curiosity the most, in showing him some rarities, such as he had never seen before. Ghibertus also lent him Goltzius's Treatise upon Coins, and advised him to go into Italy, especially to Rome, where he would meet with curiosities to satisfy his most ardent wishes. Accordingly, his uncle having procured a proper governor, he and his brother set out upon that tour September 1599; and passing through Florence, Bologna, and Ferrara, when he had staid a few days at Venice, he fixed his residence at Padua, in order to complete his course of law. But once a quarter, going to Venice to get cash for bills of exchange, he took these opportunities of introducing himself to the most distinguished literati there; and was particularly cared for by F. Contarin, procurator of St Mark, who was possessed of a curious cabinet of medals, and other antiquities, without knowing the value of them. This was fully shown to him by Peirefe, who likewise explained the Greek inscriptions upon his medals, and the monumental stones. After a year's stay at Padua, he set out for Rome, and arrived there October 1600, in order to be in time for seeing the jubilee; to celebrate which, the Porta Sancta would be opened in the beginning of the next year. He passed six months in this city, viewing the numberless curiosities there, and in cultivating the friendship of Galileo, by whom he was much beloved. This friendship led him to carry his researches into astronomy and natural philosophy; and he was present when Fabricius ab Aquapendente, out of a parcel of eggs upon which a hen was sitting, took one every day, to observe the gradual formation of the chick from first to last. From this time it was generally acknowledged, that he had taken the helm of learning into his hand, and began to guide the commonwealth of letters.

Having now spent almost three years in Italy, he began to prepare for his departure: and in the end of 1602, having packed up all the rarities, gems, &c., which he had procured, and put them into the road to Marseilles, he left Padua, and crossing the Alps of Geneva, went to Lyons; where receiving money he made a handsome present to his governor, who took the route of Paris. From Lyons he went to Montpellier, to improve himself in the law under Julius Parius. From Montpellier he dispatched more rarities to his uncle, who sending for him home, he arrived at Aix in November; but, bringing Parius along with him, he obtained leave to return to Montpellier in a few days. He waited upon Parius back again, under whom he continued pursuing his law studies till the end of 1623, when he returned to Aix, at the earnest request of his uncle, who, having resigned to him his senatorial dignity, had ever since the beginning of the year laboured to get the king's patent. The degree of doctor of law was a necessary qualification for that dignity. Peirefe, therefore, having kept the usual exercise, took that degree Jan. 18, 1624, when the aforesaid patent was given in to the senate, and ordered to be recorded; yet Peirefe procured leave not to be presently entered into the list of senators. The bent of his inclination was not so much to business as to advance arts and sciences, and to assist all the promoters of learning. For this purpose, he resolved to lead a single life; so that when his father had concluded a match for him with a respectable lady, he begged to be excused.

In 1605, he accompanied G. Varius, first president of the senate at Aix, who was very fond of him, to Paris; whence, having visited every thing curious, he crossed the water, in company with the king's ambassador, 1606, to England. Here he was very graciously received by King James I.; and having been Oxford, and visited Camden, Sir Robert Cotton, Sir Henry Saville, and other learned men, he passed over to Holland; and after visiting the several towns and universities, with the literati in each, he went through Antwerp to Bruxelles, and thence back to Paris, to see the ceremony of the Dauphin's baptism; which being solemnized August 24, he returned home in September 1606, being expected for the ordering of the family affairs.

Presently after this, he purchased the barony of Rians; and at the solicitation of his uncle, having approved himself before that assembly, he was received a senator on the 1st of July 1607. January 1608 he lost his uncle; and the following year, falling himself into a dangerous fever, recovered by eating musk-melons before supper, for which he had conceived a longing. He was ordered by his physician to eat them before his meals without bread, and to drink a glass of pure wine upon them. He continued this method all his life afterwards; and grew so fond of them, that, though he could abstain from any other meat as he liked, yet towards them he professed he was unable to matter himself. He frequently experienced, that in the musk-melon season he was never troubled with the gravel. In 1618, having procured a faithful copy of "the Acts of the Monastery of Marein in Switzerland," he published a second edition of that work. As it was written in defense of the royal line of France against Theodoric Pielpordius, who had attempted to prove the title of the Austrian family to the French crown by right of succession, he was, upon this publication, nominated the same year, by Louis XIII. abbot of Sancta Maria Aquitriens. He stayed in France till 1623; when, upon a message from his father, now grown old and sickly, he left Paris, where he had spent seven years and some months. He arrived at Aix in October; and not long after presented to the court a patent from the king, permitting him to continue in the function of his ancient dignity, and to exercise the office of a secular or lay person, notwithstanding that, being an abbot, he had assumed the character of a churchman. To this the court of parliament not attending, decreed unanimously, that, being already admitted into the first rank, he should abide perpetually therein; not returning, as the custom of the court was, to the inferior auditory, wherein trials are usually had of criminal cases. In 1625, he buried his father, who had been long afflicted with the gout. In 1627, he prevailed with the archbishop of Aix to establish a post thence to Lyons, and so to Paris and all Europe; by which the correspondence constantly held with the literati everywhere was much facilitated. In 1629, he began to be much tormented with the strangury. strangery and haemorrhoides; and in 1631, having completed the marriage of his nephew Claudius with Margaret Alrefa, a noblewoman of the county of Avignon, he bestowed upon him the barony of Rianty, together with a grant of his senatorial dignity, only referring the function to himself for three years. But the parliament not waiting his surrender of it, he resented that affront so heinously, that he procured, in 1635, letters patent from the king to be restored, and to exercise the office for five years longer, which happened to be till his death: for being seized, June 1637, with a fever that brought on a stoppage of urine, this put an end to his life on the 24th of that month, in his 57th year.

The character of Peirefe may be summed up in a few words. His person was of a middle size, and of a thin habit: his forehead large, and his eyes gray; a little hawk-nosed; his cheeks tempered with red; the hair of his head yellow, as also his beard, which he used to wear long; his whole countenance bearing the marks of uncommon and rare courtesy and affability. In his diet he affected cleanliness, and in all things about him; but nothing superfluous or costly. His clothes were suitable to his dignity; yet he never wore silk. In like manner, the rest of his house was adorned according to his condition, and very well furnished; but he neglected his own chamber. Instead of tapestry, there hung the pictures of his chief friends and of famous men, besides innumerable bundles of commentaries, transcripts, notes, collections from books, epistles, and such like papers. His bed was exceedingly plain, and his table continually loaded and covered with papers, books, letters, and other things; as also all the seats round about, and the greatest part of the floor. There were so many evidences of the turn of his mind; in respect to which, the writer of his eulogy compares him to the Roman Atticus; and Bayle, conferring his universal correspondence and general affluence to all the literati in Europe, dished it out luckily enough, when he called him "the attorney general of the literary republic." The works which he published are, "Historia provinciae Galliae Narbonensis;" "Nobilium ejusdem provinciae familiarum Origines, et separatis Fabriciae;" "Commentarii rerum omnium memoria dignarum sua ætate gestarum;" "Liber de ludicris naturæ operibus;" "Mathematica et astronomica varia;" "Observationes mathematicæ;" "Epistola ad S. P. Urbanum VIII. cardinales Barberinos, &c.;" "Authores antiqui Graeci et Latini de ponderibus et mensuris;" "Elogia et epitaphia;" "Inscriptiones antiquæ et novæ;" "Genealogia domus Aufraciæ;" "Catalogus librorum biblioth. reg.;" "Poemata variæ;" "Nummi Gallici, Saxonicæ, Britannici, &c.;" "Linguae orientales, Hebraea, Samaritana, Arabica, Egyptianæ, et Indices librorum harum linguarum;" "Observationes in variis auctores." It is remarkable, that though Peirefe bought more books than any man of his time, yet his collection left was not large. The reason was, that as fast as he purchased, he kept continually making presents of them to such learned men as he knew they would be useful to.