Section 3: The Modern Period

1. The general development of the sacred sciences following upon the Council of Trent naturally included Moral Theology. a) For a while St. Thomas was universally followed, and the moralists continued to treat their problems in connection with Dogmatic Theology. Some of them, notably Gabriel Vasquez, S.J. (+ 1604), ¹ Francis Suarez, S.J. (+ 1617), ² and Dom. Bañez, O.P. (+ 1604), composed commentaries on the Summa. Others, e. g., Peter Soto (+ 1563), Adam Tanner (+ 1632), Martin Becanus (+ 1624), Natalis Alexander (+ 1724), Charles Billuart (+ 1757), and Eusebius Amort (+ 1775), adopted a less formal treatment, which enabled them to combine a systematic exposition of Catholic teaching with its defense against the "Reformers."

¹ See Goyena in the Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. XV, p. 275.

² Cfr. K. Werner, Franz Suarez, Vol. I, Ratisbon 1861, pp. 262 sqq., 354 sqq.; Vol. II, pp. 152 sqq.; Goyena in the Cath. Encyclopedia, Vol. XIV, pp. 319 sq.; Lehmkuhl, ibid., Vol. XIV, p. 607.

From the close of the sixteenth century Moral Theology began to be treated as a separate discipline. The method commonly employed was scholastic or casuistic. Most writers divided the subject into treatises and made many excursions into the realm of canonical and civil law.

The best-known moralists of this period are: the Jesuits Henry Henriquez (+ 1608), Gregory of Valentia (+ 1603), John Azor (+ 1603), Vincent Filliucci (+ 1622), F. de Castropalao (+ 1633), Louis Torres (Turrianus, + 1635), Paul Laymann (+ 1635),³ Antony Escobar (+ 1669);⁴ Herman Busembaum (+ 1668),⁵ Claude Lacroix (+ 1714),⁶ Paul Gabriel Antoine (+ 1743),⁷ John Reuter (+ 1762),⁸ Nicholas Mazotta (+ 1737),⁹ Edmund Voit (+ 1780);¹⁰ the Salmanticenses;¹¹ the Franciscans Patrick Sporer (+ 1683),¹² Benjamin Elbel (+ 1756),¹³ Anaclete Reiffenstuel (+ 1703); ¹⁴ Louis Abelly (+ 1691);¹⁵ St. Alphonsus Maria de' Liguori (+ 1787); ¹⁶ the Dominicans Didacus Alvarez (+ 1635),¹⁷ Daniel Concina (+ 1756), ¹⁸ and J. V. Patuzzi (+ 1769).¹⁹ The great work of the Wirceburgenses, which first appeared at Würzburg, Bavaria, in 1766-71 and was reprinted in Paris nearly a century later, is deserving of special mention.²⁰

³ Laymann was the ablest moralist among the German Jesuits. He taught Moral Theology in Munich from 1609—25. His Theologia Moralis (6 vols., Munich 1625) went through numerous editions.

⁴ K. Weiss, P. Antonio de Escobar y Mendoza, Klagenfurt 1908; E. Graham in the Cath. Encyclopedia, Vol. V, p. 534.

⁵ On Busembaum see T. Barrett, S.J., in the Cath. Encyclopedia, Vol. III, pp. 86 sq. —Busembaum's Medulla Theologiae Moralis Facili Perspicua Methodo Resolvens Casus Conscientiae ex Variis Probatisque Auctoribus Concinnata was originally published in one volume at Münster, 1650. Altogether there have been more than 200 editions of this work. The latest ("iuxta editionem ultimam S. Congr. de Prop. Fide") appeared at Tournay, 1876, in two volumes. This much misrepresented treatise formed the basis for the moral theologies of Lacroix, Zaccaria, St. Alphonsus, Ballerini-Palmieri, and others.—Cfr. B. Duhr, S.J., Jesuitenfabeln, 4th ed., Freiburg 1904.

⁶ Lacroix taught at Münster and Cologne. His Theologia Moralis (9 vols., Cologne 1707-14) is based on Busembaum and was attacked in Germany, France, and Italy. J. A. P. Zaccaria, S.J., defended Lacroix's teaching in his Apologie de la Theologie Morale, 1758.

⁷ Cfr. G. F. Johnson in the Cath. Encyclopedia. Vol. I, p. 583. —Antoine was an opponent of Probabilism. St. Alphonsus says of him: "Inter rigidos auctores non infimum tenet locum." In spite of its rigorism, however, Antoine's Theologia Moralis Universa ad Usum Parochorum et Confessariorum (Nancy 1726) went through nine editions during the author's life and ten after his death. The last of these, published in Rome, 1747, was prescribed by Benedict XIV as the official textbook of Moral Theology for the College of the Propaganda.

⁸ Reuter taught theology at Treves. His Neo-Confessarius (re-edited by A. Lehmkuhl, S.J., in 1905) is still in use. His Theologia Moralis Quadripartita appeared at Cologne in 1750; his Casus Conscientiae, ibid., 1753.

⁹ His Theologia Moralis (4 vols., Naples 1748; Augsburg 1756) was burnt by order of Parliament at Paris (1763) because of its "laxism."

¹⁰ Voit's Theologia Moralis appeared at Würzburg, Bavaria, where he was a university professor, in 1750, and passed through at least ten editions (Wiirzburg, Bassano, Rome, Paris). Gury calls him "a moderate probabilist, commended for his learning and especially for his practical solutions." Hurter subscribes to this praise, but adds: "Nevertheless, a clearer exposition of the matters and a more orderly method are wanting in the work." (Nomenclator Lit. Theol. Cath., 3rd ed., Vol. V, Part I, col. 234 sq.)

¹¹ The Salmanticenses were a group of theologians of the Order of Discalced Carmelites, teaching and writing at Salamanca in Spain at the end of the sixteenth and the beginning of the seventeenth century. They made strict adherence to Thomism their fundamental principle. Their Cursus Theologiae Moralis was begun in 1665 by Francisco de Jesus-Maria and completed by Alonso de los Angeles. Cfr. B. Zimmerman, O.D.C., in the Cath. Encyclopedia, Vol. XIII, pp. 401 sq.; H. Hurter, S.J., Nomenclator Literarius Theologiae Catholicae, Theologos Exhibens Aetate, Natione, Disciplinis Distinctos, Vol. IV, 3rd ed., Innsbruck 1910, pp. 275 sq., 1296 sq.

¹² Sporer taught theology for many years at Passau in Bavaria. He is the author of numerous works, chief among them Theologia Moralis Decalogalis et Sacramentalis, 3 vols. in folio, Würzburg 1681, re-edited at Salzburg, 1692, latest edition by J. Bierbaum, O.F.M., Paderborn 1901 sqq. —For a short biographical sketch of Sporer see the Cath. Encyclopedia, Vol. XIV, p. 236.

¹³ Elbel's Theologia Moralis per Modum Conferentiarum (Venice 1733) was highly esteemed and often quoted by St. Alphonsus. It has been re-edited in three volumes by J. Bierbaum, O.F.M., Paderborn, 3rd ed., 1904 sqq. This book is still a favorite with confessors. Cfr. Buchberger's Kirchliches Handlexikon, Vol. I, Munich 1907, col. 1265.

¹⁴ Reiffenstuel (see Cath. Encyclopedia, Vol. XII, pp. 724 sq.) is best known as a canonist. His Theologia Moralis, first published at Munich, in 1692, passed through thirty editions, most notable among them, those prepared by his fellow-Franciscan, M. Kresslinger (Modena 1740; Munich 1742). The edition issued by Flavianus Ricci a Cimbria (Augsburg 1777) makes Reiffenstuel a Probabiliorist. In reality he was a Probabilist.

¹⁵ Abelly was appointed bishop of Rodez in 1664, but resigned his see in 1666 and attached himself to St. Vincent de Paul, whose biographer he became. His famous Medulla Theologica (1651) went through many editions. One appeared at Ratisbon as late as 1839. According to St. Alphonsus, Abelly is "a classic in probabilism." (Cfr. T. Campbell, S.J., in the Cath. Encyclopedia, Vol. I, p. 39).

¹⁶ Liguori's famous Moral Theology first appeared at Naples, 1748, under the title, Medulla Theologiae Moralis R. P. Busembaum S.J. cum Adnotationibus per R. Alphonsum de Ligorio. The second edition was entitled, Theologia Moralis Concinnata a R. P. Alphonso de Ligorio... per Appendices Medullam R. P. H. Busembaum, Naples 1753. The third and following editions appeared in Venice (1756 sqq.). The ninth, published in 1785, received ecclesiastical approval in 1803. Recent editions by M. Heilig (Malines 1845, Paris 1857), M. Haringer (8 vols., Ratisbon 1846-47, 2nd ed., Paris 1879-81); Le Noir (4 vols., Paris 1875, 2nd ed., 1884); and L. Gaude (3 vols., Rome 1903 sqq.). Second in importance among the Saint's moral writings is his compendium entitled Istruzione e Pratica per li Confessori (1757), republished in Latin under the title, Homo Apostolicus Instructus in Sua Vocatione ad Audiendas Confessiones, in 1759. Besides, St. Alphonsus wrote a large number of dogmatic and ascetical works. His Letters (Lettere di Alfonso di Liguori, 3 vols., Rome 1887; German ed., Ratisbon 1892-94) are concerned almost entirely with the spiritual conflicts going on in his time. (Cfr. H. Castle, S.J., the Cath. Encyclopedia, Vol. I, p. 334 sqq.; Buchberger, Kirchliches Handlexikon, Vol. I, p. 138).

¹⁷ Archbishop of Trani, 1616-35, is chiefly known as a commentator of St. Thomas and defender of the Thomistic teaching against the Molinists. (Cfr. Hurter, Nomenclator Lit. Theol. Cath., 3rd ed., Vol. III, col. 659 sqq.)

¹⁸ Concina was a famous preacher. His literary activity was confined chiefly to moral topics. His Storia del Probabilismo e Rigorismo (Venice 1743), being directed against the Jesuits, naturally gave rise to controversy, which reached a climax when Concina, under the auspices of Benedict XIV, published his Theologia Christiana Dogmatico-Moralis, in 12 vols. in 4to, Rome and Venice 1749-51. For a brief account of this controversy and Concina's later career see Jos. Schroeder, O.P., in the Cath. Encyclopedia, Vol. IV, pp. 191 sq.

¹⁹ Patuzzi was a prolific writer. Some of his works appeared pseudonymously (Eusebio Eraniste, Adelfo Dositeo). He was a violent opponent of Probabilism and published two pamphlets against St. Alphonsus: La Causa del Probabilismo (Ferrara 1764) and Osservazioni Teologiche (ibid. 1765). His principal work is the Ethica Christiana sive Theologia Moralis, 3 vols., folio, Bassano 1760; new ed., 16 vols., 8vo, Venice 1770. (Cfr. Buchberger 's Kirchliches Handlexikon, Vol. II, col. 1369 sq.; Hurter, Nomenclator Lit. Theol. Cath., 3rd ed., Vol. V, Part I, col. 226 sqq.)

²⁰ The Theologi Wirceburgenses were four eminent Jesuit professors of theology, —Henry Kilber († 1782), Theodore Holtzclau ( + 1783), Ignatius Neubauer (+ 1795), and Ulric Münier or Müller ( + 1759). Their magnum opus (14 volumes, Würzburg 1766-1771, new edition, 10 vols., Paris 1879-80) constitutes a complete course of dogmatic and moral theology and is characterized by clearness and solidity of thought. In the Paris edition of 1879-80, Vol. V contains De Beatitudine, De Actibus Humanis, and De Legibus (by Neubauer); Vol. VI, De Iure et Iustitia (by Holtzclau); Vol. VII, De Peccatis, De Gratia, De Iustificatione, and De Merito (by Kilber); Vol. VIII, De Virtutibus Theologicis (by Kilber). Vols. IX and X contain the treatises on the Sacraments. Cfr. K. Werner, Geschichte der kath. Theologie, pp. 242 sq.; Herder's Kirchenlexikon, Vol. XII, col. 1706-08; Hurter, Nomenclator Lit. Theol. Cath., 3rd ed., Vol. V, Part I, n. 133 (col. 262 sqq.); A. Ruland, Series et Vitae Professorum SS. Theol., qui Wirceburgi docuerunt, Würzburg 1835.

Notable monographs on various ethical topics were composed by Francis Suarez, S.J.,²¹ Cardinal John de Lugo, S.J. (+ 1660), ²² Thomas Sanchez, S.J. (+ 1610),²³ Martin Bonacina (+ 1631),²⁴ Peter Hurtado de Mendoza, S.J. (+ 1631),²⁵ Dominic Soto, O.P. (+ 1560),²⁶ Louis de Molina, SJ. (+ 1600), ²⁷ Leonard Lessius, SJ. (+ 1623 ),²⁸ and John de Dicastillo, S.J. (+ 1653).²⁹ b) The chief exponents of the casuistic method were Martin de Azpilcueta, known as "Doctor Navarrus" ( + 1586), whose Manuale Confessariorum was highly esteemed; Francisco de Toledo, S.J. (+ 1596), philosopher, theologian, and exegete, who besides many other valuable works wrote a comprehensive Summa Casuum; ³⁰ Louis Lopez, O.P. (+ 1596), author of a book entitled Instructorium Conscientiae; ³¹ Emanuel Sa, S.J. (+ 1596), whose Aphorismi Confessariorum ran through many editions; ³² Valerius Reginald, S.J. (+ 1623), whose Praxis Fori Poenitentialis³³ and other writings were praised by St. Francis de Sales and led St. Alphonsus to rank the author among the classics of Moral Theology;³⁴ and Stephen Bauny, S.J. (+ 1649), author of a Summa Casuum Conscientiae, who owes his fame mainly to Pascal.³⁵

²¹ De Legibus, De Triplici Virtute Theologica, De Virtute Religionis. —On the life and writings of this famous theologian, who founded a school of his own in Scholasticism, see Goyena's article in the Cath. Encyclopedia, Vol. XIV, pp. 319 sq.

²² Disp. de Virtute Fidei Divinae, De Poenitentia, De Iustitia et Iure, Responsorum Moralium Diversorum Libri Sex, etc. —"Endowed with uncommon speculative genius and clear, practical judgment, he [John de Lugo] in many instances pointed out entirely new paths towards the solution of moral questions. Speaking of his Moral Theology, St. Alphonsus styles him 'by all odds leader after St. Thomas.' " (Lehmkuhl in the Cath. Encyclopedia, Vol. XIV, p. 607).

²³ Sanchez' chief work, and the only one he himself edited, is the Disputationes de Sacramento Matrimonii (Genoa 1602), of which Fr. Wernz, late General of the Society of Jesus, says (Ius Decretalium, IV, n. 20) that it is even to-day reckoned by the Roman Curia among the classical works on marriage. Strangely enough, the third volume appears on the Index. Even in the earlier editions of the Index, as revised by Leo XIII, till his Constitution "Officiorum et munerum," may still be read: "Sanches, Thorn. Disputationum de Sacramento Matrimonii torn. III. ed. Venetiae, sive aliarum, a quibus /. 8 disp. 7 detractus est integer num. 4. Decr. 4 Feb. 1627." This number, as Fr. Lehmkuhl explains (Cath. Encycl., XIII, 428), which was omitted from the Venice edition of 1614, treats the power of the Pope to grant valid legitimation, through the so-called sanatio in radice, of the offspring of marriages invalid only through Canon Law.

²⁴ Bonacina was Bishop of Utica. He died on the way to Vienna, where he was to serve as Apostolic nuncio. He wrote a Theologia Moralis (2 vols., Lyons 1624), of which the treatise De Legibus has attained fame.

²⁵ He wrote Scholasticae et Morales Disputationes de Tribus Virtutibus Theologicis, 2 vols., folio, Salamanca 1631. —Hurter says of him: "He possessed a most acute intellect and outstanding learning, and the most learned Ripalda always revered him as a master." (Nomenclator Lit. Theol. Cath., 3rd ed., Vol. III, col. 927).

²⁶ De Iustitia et Iure Libri Decem, Salamanca 1556. —On Soto see Ch. J. Callan, O.P., in the Cath. Encyclopedia, Vol. XIV, pp. 152 sq.

²⁷ For a good sketch of Molina's life see J. Pohle in the Cath. Encyclopedia, Vol. X, pp. 436 sq. There is no modern critical biography of this learned and renowned theologian. His treatise De Iustitia et Iure (Cuenca 1593), a classic, is frequently quoted at the present time (7 vols., Venice 1614; 5 vols., Cologne 1733)-

²⁸ Lessius was a Flemish Jesuit and a theologian of high repute. His chief moral works are: De Iustitia et Iure, published in 1605 and subsequently in many editions; De Summo Bono (Antwerp 1616), and De Perfectionibus Moribusque Divinis Libri XIV (Antwerp 1620).—Cfr. Cath. Encyc., Vol. IX, pp. 192 sq.; The Month, London, No. 717, pp. 193 sqq.

²⁹ Dicastillo was of Spanish descent. He taught at Naples and Ingolstadt, wrote Tractatus Duo de Iuramento, Periurio et Adiuratione, necnon de Censuris et Poenis Ecclesiasticis (Antwerp 1662) and De Iustitia et Iure Ceterisque Virtutibus Cardinalibus Libri Duo (Antwerp 1641).

³⁰ This author is more commonly known as Toletus. His Summa appeared at Lyons in 1599 and passed through forty-six editions and many translations (Spanish by Juan de Salas; Italian by Andreo Verna; French by Goffar); also summaries in Latin, Spanish, French, and Italian. (Cfr. Goyena, in the Cath. Encyclopedia, Vol. XIV, pp. 760 sq.)

³¹ Salamanca 1585; repeatedly reprinted. Lopez also wrote De Contractibus et Negotiationibus, ibid. 1592.

³² Venice 1596. The book was put on the Index in 1603, because of its defense of the validity of confession by letter; released, 1608. (H. Reusch, Der Index der verbotenen Bücher, Vol. II, 1, pp. 312 sq.; Hurter, Nomenclator Lit. Theol. Cath., 3rd ed., Vol. III, col. 223 sq.)

³³ 2 vols., Lyons 1616.

³⁴ Cfr. Buchberger, Kirchliches Handlexikon, Vol. II, col. 1707.

³⁵ Bauny was highly esteemed for his learning and holiness. His "knowledge of Moral Theology was singularly profound, but he was in many points too lenient," says Fr. T. Barrett, S.J. (Cath. Encyclopedia, Vol. II, p. 352). Bauny's principal works were: Pratique du Droit Canonique au Gouvernement de l'Église (Paris 1634) and Somme des Péchez qui se commettent en tous États (Paris 1630). These two books, as well as the first part of Bauny's Moral Theology, were put on the Index. (Cfr. Hurter, Nomenclator Lit. Thcol. Cath., 3rd ed., Vol. III, col. 1186 sq.). It was mainly Bauny's teaching that the enemies of the Jesuits exploited in order to convict the Society of laxism.

The abuses incident to the one-sidedly casuistical treatment of Moral Theology were combatted by Prosper Lambertini, later Pope Benedict XIV (De Synodo Dioecesana, Institutiones Ecclesiasticae, Quaestiones Canonicae), and especially by St. Alphonsus de' Liguori, who subjected the views of the casuists to a thorough criticism and separated the wheat from the chaff. c) Speculative mysticism having fallen into disrepute in the course of the previous period, the exponents of mystic theology now turned their attention to ascetics. The following writers deserve mention as safe guides on the way of Christian perfection:

Francis Louis de Blois, a Flemish Benedictine abbot, more widely known by the Latinized form of his name, Blosius (+ 1566);³⁶ Louis of Granada, O.P. (+ 1588), called by St. Francis de Sales "the prince of spiritual writers";³⁷

St. Teresa of Jesus († 1582), whose autobiographical writings have been compared to the Confessions of St. Augustine;³⁸ St. John of the Cross († 1591), co-founder, with St. Teresa, of the Discalced Carmelites, whose system has been described as "empirical mysticism";³⁹ Lorenzo Scupoli, Theatine († 1610), whose Spiritual Combat is still widely used for purposes of devotion; ⁴⁰ Alonzo Rodriguez, S.J. († 1616), whose Practice of Christian and Religious Perfection has been a source of untold consolation to religious and laymen throughout the world; ⁴¹ Cardinal Robert Bellarmine (+ 1621), the distinguished Jesuit theologian, whose devotional writings were the fruit of his annual retreats; ⁴² Ven. Louis de Lapuente, or De Ponte, S.J. (+ 1624), known to English readers mainly by his Christian Life and Meditations on the Mysteries of Our Holy Faith; ⁴³ Cardinal John Bona, a Cistercian (+ 1674), whose best known ascetical works are his Manuductio ad Caelum and his treatise on the Sacrifice of the Mass;⁴⁴

St. Francis de Sales (+ 1622), Bishop of Geneva and Doctor of the Universal Church, whose Traité de l'Amour de Dieu, also known as Introduction à la Vie Dévote, was translated into nearly all civilized languages and went through innumerable editions.⁴⁵

³⁶ De Blois' writings are numerous. They were first published in a complete edition at Louvain, in 1568, and many of them have been frequently reprinted and translated. In the English-speaking world he is known principally by his Mirror for Monks (Speculum Monachorum), translated into English by Sir John Coleridge, 1872, the Book of Spiritual Instruction (London 1900), and Comfort for the Fainthearted (London 1902), the latter two works translated by Father Bertrand Wilberforce, O.P. (Cfr. G. Cyprian Alston, O.S.B., in the Cath. Encyclopedia, Vol. II, p. 604).

³⁷ A famous preacher and theologian, provincial of the Portuguese Dominicans, confessor and counsellor to the queen regent. He declined the honors of the cardinalate offered him by Sixtus V. "Among the hundreds of eminent ascetical writers of Spain, Louis of Granada remains unsurpassed in the beauty and purity of his style, the solidity of his doctrine, and the popularity and influence of his writings." (J. B. O'Connor, S.J., in the Cath. Encyclopedia, Vol. IX, p. 385). Nearly all of his works were translated into the various European languages, and several into Turkish and Japanese. The best known of his books is La Guia de Pecadores (Badajoz 1555), which has been favorably compared to the Imitation of Thomas a Kempis. A new and revised English ed., New York 1889. The first part of The Sinner's Guide, entitled Counsels on Holiness of Life, was edited by Shipley in The Ascetic Library, Vol. VIII, London 1869. It contains a brief sketch of the author's life. (V. O'Connor, l.c.)

³⁸ For a life and list of her writings see B. Zimmerman, O.D.C., in the Cath. Encyclopedia, Vol. XIV, pp. 515 sqq. —The most recent English translations are by Lewis, Life and Relations, ed. Zimmerman, 4th ed., London 1911; The Interior Castle, Exclamations, and The Way of Perfection, tr. by the Benedictines of Stanbrook, ed. Zimmerman; the two former, London 1906, the latter, London 1911. Cfr. Burke, St. Teresa, New York 1911.

³⁹ For a sketch of his life and writings see B. Zimmerman, O.D.C., in the Cath. Encyclopedia, Vol. VIII, pp. 480 sq. English tr. of John's works by D. Lewis, London 1864, with an introduction by Wiseman; revised by the translator and reprinted, London 1889, in 4 vols., with introductions by Fr. Zimmerman. Of his life by Lewis, Fr. Zimmerman says (ibid., p. 481): "The Life of St. John of the Cross (London 1889), compiled from all his Spanish biographers and from other sources, by D. Lewis, is excellent; but what is most wanted now is a biography founded upon the depositions of witnesses in the process of beatification. Not until that work is done shall we have a true picture of the saint."

⁴⁰ On Scupoli see Kaulen in Herder's Kirchenlexikon, Vol. XI, col. 18; Hurter, Nomenclator Lit. Theol. Cath., 3rd ed., Vol. III, col. 616. He entered the Theatine Order at the age of forty and became a much sought confessor, until forced to retire by calumnies ("calumniis, quibus non liquet," says Hurter, I.e.), was reduced to the lay state by a general chapter of his Order, and spent the remaining twenty-five years of his life in humble retirement. The Combattimento Spirituale first appeared anonymously at Venice, in 1589. It has seen innumerable editions and been translated into nearly all European languages.

⁴¹ A short life of this popular spiritual writer is prefixed to the English translation of The Practice of Christian and Religious Perfection, London 1861. John Gilmary Shea left a translation which has never been published. Fr. Th. Slater has contributed a biographical sketch of Rodriguez to the Cath. Encyclopedia, Vol. XIII, p. 109. He says of the Practice: "It is a book of practical instructions on all the virtues which go to make up the perfect Christian life, whether lived in the cloister or in the world. It became popular at once, and it is as much used to-day as it was when it first became known. More than twenty-five editions of the original Spanish have been issued, besides extracts and abridgments. More than sixty editions have appeared in French in seven different translations, twenty in Italian, at least ten in German, and eight in Latin. An English translation from the French by Fr. Antony Hoskins, S.J., was printed at St. Omer in 1612. The best known English translation, often reprinted, is that which first appeared in London, 1697, from the French of Abbé Regnier des Marais."

⁴² Bellarmine's spiritual writings are mainly five, viz.: De Ascensione Mentis ad Deum (1615), De Aeterna Felicitate Sanctorum (1616), De Gemitu Columbae (1617), De Septem Verbis Christi (1618), and De Arte Bene Moriendi (1620). —On Bellarmine see S. F. Smith, S.J., in the Cath. Encyclopedia, Vol. II, pp. 411 sqq.

⁴³ On Lapuente see H. J. Swift's article s. v. in the Cath. Encyclopedia, Vol. IX, p. 3.

⁴⁴ The Manuductio has been compared to the Imitation of Thomas a Kempis on account of its simplicity. It appeared in 1658 and in four decades passed through fourteen Latin editions. It has been translated into Italian, French, German, Spanish, and Armenian. An English translation, by Sir Robert L'Estrange, appeared in London, 1900, under the title, A Guide to Eternity. Other well known ascetical works by the same author are: Via Compendii ad Deum (1657), Principia et Documenta Vitae Christianae (1673), and Horologium Asceticum (1676). —See the Cath. Encyclopedia, Vol. II, pp. 645 sq.

⁴⁵ A complete critical edition of the writings of St. Francis de Sales appeared at Annecy, 1892 sqq. The Traité de l'Amour de Dieu originally appeared at Lyons in 1608.

An excellent introduction to ascetic theology is the Direttorio Ascetico of J. B. Scaramelli, S.J. († 1752), translated into English by Eyre.⁴⁶

⁴⁶ Best edition, Ratisbon 1883, 3 vols.; English translation, The Directorium Asceticum, with Preface by Cardinal Manning, Dublin and London, 1870-71; new, revised ed., London 1879-81; Latin translation, Brixen 1770; Louvain 1848; German translation, Augsburg 1778; Spanish, Madrid 1806; French, Paris 1854.—For a brief sketch of Scaramelli's life see H. Ollion, in the Cath. Encyclopedia, Vol. XIII, p. 514.

2. In the second half of the eighteenth century Moral Theology was detached from its supernatural basis and almost completely identified with moral philosophy. Catholic as well as Protestant theologians, especially in Germany, succumbed to the influence of Rationalism, as embodied in the philosophical systems of Leibnitz,⁴⁷ Wolff, Kant, and Fichte,⁴⁸ and based their moral teaching exclusively on "practical reason." Thus Moral Theology lost its Christian and ecclesiastical character. The teachings of Revelation were respected only in so far as they were considered useful in advancing morality and correcting the disproportion existing between virtue and happiness in this life.

⁴⁷ Cfr. Wm. Turner, History of Philosophy, Boston 1903, pp. 506 sqq.

⁴⁸ Turner, op. cit., pp. 525, 528 sqq., 550 sqq.

Moral Theology was restored to its pristine character and dignity by Benedict Stattler, S.J. († 1797),⁴⁹ A. N. Oberrauch, O.F.M. († 1808),⁵⁰ M. von Schenkl, O.S.B. († 1816),⁵¹ J. A. Stapf († 1844),⁵² and especially J. M. Sailer, Bishop of Ratisbon († 1832)⁵³ and J. B. Hirscher († 1865).⁵⁴ a) Of recent writers the following have treated Moral Theology positively and systematically, without however neglecting casuistry and the practical application of moral principles: Fr. Probst (+ 1899),⁵⁵ B. Fuchs,⁵⁶ Conrad Martin, Bishop of Paderborn (Germany) (+ 1879),⁵⁷ Karl Werner (+ 1888),⁵⁸ M. Jocham (+ 1893),⁵⁹ F. Friedhoff,⁶⁰ A. Rietter (+ 1866),⁶¹ Archbishop Th. H. Simar of Cologne (+ 1902),⁶² J. E. Pruner (+ 1907),⁶³ Thomas J. Bouquillon (+ 1902),⁶⁴ F. X. Linsenmann, Bishop-elect of Rottenburg (+ 1898),⁶⁵ J. Schwane (+ 1892),⁶⁶ J. Scheicher,⁶⁷ J. Rappenhöner,⁶⁸ P. Michel,⁶⁹ and F. M. Schindler.⁷⁰ b) The following authors employ the Scholastic method and aim to satisfy mainly the practical needs of the confessor: J. P. Gury, S.J. (+ 1866), ⁷¹ P. Scavini (+ 1869), ⁷² E. M. Müller (+ 1888),⁷³ J. d'Annibale (+ 1892),⁷⁴ C. Marc (+ 1887 ),⁷⁵ Aug. Lehmkuhl, SJ.,⁷⁶ J. Aertnys, C.SS.R.,⁷⁷ J. Bucceroni, SJ.,⁷⁸ A. Ballerini, SJ., and Dom. Palmieri, SJ.,⁷⁹ G. B. Tepe, SJ. (+ 1894),⁸⁰ F. A. Göpfert (+ 1916), ⁸¹ H. Noldin, S.J.,⁸² H. Gatterer (a Sexten), SJ. (+ 1899), ⁸³ D. Delama,⁸⁴ J. C. Vives,⁸⁵ E. Berardi,⁸⁶ A. Bulot,⁸⁷ A. Tanquery,⁸⁸ J. Busquet,⁸⁹ and A. Vermeersch, S.J.,^89a to whom we must add an eminent American theologian, Archbishop F. P. Kenrick, of Baltimore (+ 1863), whose Theologia Moralis did such splendid service to the American clergy during the latter half of the nineteenth century.⁹⁰ particular casuistics are the Casus Conscientiae of J. P. Gury,⁹¹ P. Villada,⁹² J. Bucceroni,⁹³ E. Genicot,⁹⁴ A. Lehmkuhl, S.J.;⁹⁵ the Consultazioni of C. Cennari,⁹⁶ and the Theologiae Moralis Institutiones by Genicot and J. Salsmans, S.J.⁹⁷ In this connection we may also mention the collection of cases in Moral and Pastoral Theology, published under the title, The Casuist, by J. F. Wagner, New York (1906-1917), ed. by J. A. McHugh, O.P., and others).

⁴⁹ Ethica Christiana Universalis, Ingolstadt 1772; Ethica Christiana Communis, 3 vols. in 6 parts, Augsburg 1782; Vollständige christliche Sittenlehre, 2 vols., Augsburg 1791. —On Stattler see A. C. Cotter, S.J., in the Cath. Encyclopedia, Vol. XIV, p. 282.

⁵⁰ Oberrauch is also known by his name in the Franciscan Order, "Herculanus." His principal work is Institutiones Iustitiae Christianae sive Theologia Moralis, in 4 vols., Innsbruck 1794. It was placed on the Index in 1796, but the censure was not enforced against a new revised edition published at Bamberg and Nuremberg in 1797-98. (V. Herder's Kirchenlexikon, Vol. IX, col. 592).

⁵¹ Ethica Christiana Universalis, 3 vols., 1800; 5th ed., Gran 1830. (Cfr. Buchberger, Kirchliches Handlexikon, Vol. II, col. 1959).

⁵² Theologia Moralis, 1827-31; 7th ed., 4 vols., 1855. The same in German, Die christliche Moral, 4 vols., 1841-42. (Buchberger, op. cit., II, 2194).

⁵³ Sailer was a much misjudged man, but he has been rehabilitated of late years. (F. R. Stölzle in the Cath. Encyclopedia, Vol. XIII, p. 328; Buchberger's Kirchliches Handlexikon, Vol. II, col. 1883 sq.). Sailer's Handbuch der christlichen Moral appeared in 3 vols. at Munich, 1817-18, and was reprinted at Sulzbach in 1834. —See Ph. Klotz, Sailer als Moralphilosoph, Paderborn 1909.

⁵⁴ On Hirscher see Goyau in the Cath. Encyclopedia, Vol. VII, pp. 363 sqq. His chief moral work is, Die christliche Moral als Lehre von der Verwirklichung des göttlichen Reiches in der Menschheit, Tübingen 1835; 5th ed., 3 vols., 1851,

⁵⁵ Kath. Moraltheologie, 2 vols., Tübingen 1848-50, 2nd ed., 1853.

⁵⁶ System der christlichen Sittenlehre, Augsburg 1851.

⁵⁷ Lehrbuch der kath. Moral, Mayence 1849; 5th ed., 1865.

⁵⁸ System der christlichen Ethik, 3 vols., Ratisbon 1850-52; Vol. I, 2nd ed., 1888; Enchiridion Theologiae Moralis, Vienna 1863.

⁵⁹ Moraltheologie, 3 vols., Sulzbach 1852-54.

⁶⁰ Allgemeine Moraltheologie, Ratisbon 1860; Spesielle Moraltheologie, 1865.

⁶¹ Breviarium der christl. Ethik, Ratisbon 1866.

⁶² Lehrbuch der Moraltheologie, Freiburg 1867; 3rd ed., 1893.

⁶³ Kath. Moraltheologie, Freiburg 1875; 3rd ed., 1902-03, 3 vols.

⁶⁴ Dr. Bouquillon is remembered in this country, where he taught Moral Theology in the Catholic University of America. His magnum opus is: Institutiones Theologiae Moralis, Vol. I: Theologia Moralis Fundamentalis, Bruges 1873, 3rd ed., 1903; Vol. II: De Virtutibus Theologicis, 1878, 2nd ed., 1890; Vol. III: De Virtute Religionis, 1880, 2nd ed., 1890.

⁶⁵ Dr. Linsenmann's Lehrbuch der Moraltheologie (Freiburg 1878) exercised great influence upon contemporary theology. It is followed in this Handbook and in the more recent one-volume Moraltheologie of O. Schilling, Freiburg 1922.

⁶⁶ Allgemeine Moraltheologie, Freiburg 1885; Spezielle Moraltheologie, 1878; 2nd ed., 1885.

⁶⁷ Allgemeine Moraltheologie, Ratisbon 1885.

⁶⁸ Allgemeine Moraltheologie, Münster 1891-93.

⁶⁹ Theologiae Moralis Principia, 2 vols., Paris 1900-02.

⁷⁰ Lehrbuch der Moraltheologie, 3 vols., Vienna 1907 sqq.

⁷¹ Compendium Theologiae Moralis, 2 vols., Lyons and Paris 1850; Ratisbon 1857; 5th ed., 1874; new ed., enlarged by H. Dumas, 5th ed., Freiburg i. B. 1891; revised by A. Ballerini, SJ. (+ 1881), Rome 1874; 6th ed., 1882; revised by Dom. Palmieri, S.J., 14th ed., 1902; adapted to American conditions by A. Konings, C.SS.R. (Theologia Moralis, Boston 1874, 2nd ed., 2 vols., New York 1876; two later editions by H. Kuper, C.SS.R.; for a biographical sketch of Konings see the Cath. Encyclopedia, Vol. VIII, pp. 690 sq.); again adapted to American conditions and condensed by Aloysius Sabetti, S.J., New York 1884; frequently revised and re-edited since by T. Barrett, SJ.; 27th ed., New York 1919.— Spanish edition of Gury's Compendium, with many additions, has been published by J. B. Ferreres, SJ., 9th ed., Barcelona 1918 sq. — For a brief sketch of Gury's life see J. Salsmans, S.J., in the Cath. Encyclopedia, Vol. VII, p. 89. For a refutation of certain calumnies circulated against his work, cfr. B. Duhr, SJ., Jesuitenfabeln, 4th ed., Freiburg 1904, pp. 474 sqq.

⁷² Theologia Moralis Universa ad Mentem S. Alphonsi, 4 vols., 3rd ed., Novara 1847, 11th ed., Milan 1901; Theologia Moralis in Compendium Redacta by I. A. Del Vecchio, 2 vols., 5th ed., Milan 1902.

⁷³ Theologia Moralis, 3 vols., Augsburg 1868-70; Vols. I and II, 9th ed., 1905; Vol. III, 7th ed., 1902; Vol. I, 10th ed., Ratisbon 1923.

⁷⁴ Summula Theologiae Moralis, 3 vols., Milan 1881-83; 5th ed., Rome 1908; Supplementum by D. Mannajoli, Rome 1909.

⁷⁵ Institut. Morales Alphonsianae, 2 vols., Rome 1885; 15th ed., 1917, (see Irish Th. Quarterly, XIII, 50, 167 sqq.)

⁷⁶ Theologia Moralis, 2 vols., Freiburg i. B., 1883-84; 11th ed. ("de integro revisa, refecta, adaucta"), ibid., 1910; Compendium Theol. Mor., ibid., 1886, 5th ed., 1907. A. Lehmkuhl is probably the most frequently quoted and the most highly esteemed of present-day moralists.

⁷⁷ Theologia Moralis iuxta Doctrinam S. Alphonsi, Tournay 1887, 10th ed. by C. A. Damen, C.SS.R., 1919.

⁷⁸ Institutiones Theologiae Moralis, 4 vols., Rome 1887, 6th ed., 1914-15. (V. La Civiltà Cattolica, 1917, quad. 1601, pp. 604 sqq.)

⁷⁹ Opus Theologicum Morale in Busembaum Medullam, 7 vols., Prati 1889-91, 3rd ed., 1902-03.

⁸⁰ Institutiones Theologiae Moralis Generalis, 2 vols., Paris 1899.

⁸¹ Moraltheologie, 3 vols., Paderborn 1897-98; Vols. I and II in 6th ed., 1909; Vol. III in 5th ed., 1906.

⁸² Summa Theologiae Moralis, 3 vols., Innsbruck 1901-2; Vol. I, 17th ed., 1924; Vol. II, 13th ed., 1921; Vol. III, 12th ed., 1920.

⁸³ Compendium Theologiae Moralis, Messina 1899, 2nd ed., Stuttgart 1900, 3rd ed., 1902.

⁸⁴ Institutiones Theologiae Moralis, 2 vols., Trent 1902.

⁸⁵ Compendium Theologiae Moralis, 8th ed., Rome 1904. Vives has also written an excellent Compendium Theologiae Ascetico-Mysticae, 3rd ed., Rome 1908.

⁸⁶ Theologia Moralis Fundamentalis, Faenza 1905; Praxis Confessariorum, 4 vols., ibid., 1905.

⁸⁷ Compendium Theologiae Moralis, 2 vols., Paris 1905.

⁸⁸ Synopsis Theologiae Moralis et Pastoralis ad Mentem S. Thomae et S. Alphonsi, 3 vols., 7th ed., Tournay 1921.

⁸⁹ Thesaurus Confessarii, 4th ed., Paris 1909.

^89a Theologia Moralis, Vol. I, Bruges 1921; II and III, 1924.

⁹⁰ Kenrick's Theologia Moralis first appeared at Philadelphia in 1841-43, in 3 vols. We have before us the second, revised edition, 3 vols., Malines 1860-61. Hurter (Nom. Theol. Cath., Vol. V, 3rd ed., Innsbruck 1911, col. 1152) says that the second edition was published at Mayence (?). He calls the work "valde practica." John J. O'Shea, in his article on Kenrick in Vol. VIII, pp. 618 sq. of the Cath. Encyclopedia is indefinite and inaccurate. Kenrick follows St. Alphonsus, whose very words he frequently adopts. He says in the "Prooemium" (2d ed., Vol. I, p. XIV): "Among recent cultivators of ethics Saint Alphonsus de Liguori stands out; he flourished in the century just past and in our age has been raised to the sacred honors of the Church. He seems to have examined nearly all the books treating this discipline, joining practical experience to knowledge; for through very many years he was engaged in the care of souls, so that he left to us in the Moral Theology which he wrote the fruit of study and practice. We always had this before our hands while preparing this work of ours, such as it is, and very often copied his words, willingly following the authority which is known to be great from the responses of the Sacred Penitentiary (on 5 July 1851), and also from the documents of Pius IX. Nevertheless, we used our own judgment, though slight and weak, to which we ask that nothing be trusted except insofar as authority and the weight of reasons support it."

⁹¹ Ratisbon 1862; 8th ed., Freiburg i. B. 1891.

⁹² Bruxelles 1885.

⁹³ 2 vols., Rome 1894-95; 6th ed., 1913.

⁹⁴ 2 vols., Louvain 1901.

⁹⁵ 2 vols., Freiburg i. B. 1902-03; 3rd ed., 1907.

⁹⁶ 2 vols., 2nd ed., Rome 1902-04.

⁹⁷ 2 vols., 6th ed., Bruxelles 1909.

Of these casuistic writings it has been said: "A man is not a competent moralist unless he has consulted collections of this kind." ⁹⁸ Note, however, that casuistry, though it has been at times cultivated to excess and in a one-sided manner, has never supplanted scientific Moral Theology. The value of casuistry lies entirely within the domain of the penitential discipline. Casuistry has its place in theology as well as in jurisprudence and medicine. Everything depends on the spirit in which it is applied and the dogmatic principles upon which it is based.⁹⁹

⁹⁸ "On n'est jamais un moraliste complet, quand on n'a pas consulté des recueils de cette sorte." (L'Université Catholique, XLI [1902], p. 310).

⁹⁹ Casuistry, says Abbé Hogan (Clerical Studies, 2nd ed., p. 224 sq.), "is not confined to moral science; it is the outgrowth of all legislation. Wherever there is a code, casuistry of a kindred kind grows up around it. The numberless decisions, for instance, of the Congregation of Rites, are the casuistry of liturgy. The very laws of good breeding give birth to a casuistry of etiquette. Indeed, most of what is called law is scarce anything but casuistry. Until the period of its codification under the Emperor Justinian, the Roman law was little more than a collection of 'cases,' or individual decisions, subsequently made into rules. Canon Law was built exactly in the same fashion; that is, on pontifical rulings given on single cases. So also the common law of England, which, different from the statute law made by legislative enactments, rests entirely on the rulings of law courts and the opinions of eminent lawyers regarding single cases submitted to them. Statute law itself soon gathers around it a vast amount of similar cases which practically determine its interpretation, as may be seen in French, Belgian, or Italian jurisprudence, or in the statutory jurisprudence of the United States."

READINGS.—Thos. Slater, S.J., A Short History of Moral Theology, New York 1909, pp. 44-50. —A. Sweens, Theologia Moralis Fundamentalis, 2nd ed., Haaren 1910, pp. 8 sqq. —J. D'Annibale, Summula Theol. Mor., Vol. I, 5th ed., pp. 1-16. —E. Müller, Theol. Mor., Vol. I, 5th ed., pp. 45-63. —A. Vermeersch, S.J., Theologia Moralis, Vol. I, Bruges 1922, pp. 18-36.