Moral Theology: Its Method and Masters
Charles-René Billuart
Drawn from the authors' own words; every quotation links to its place.
O.P. · Thomist (Dominican) · 1685–1757
On this site: Summa Summae S. Thomae (Billuart)
In the Index: Billuart
His Moral System
Moderate probabiliorism
- “it is licit to follow the opinion manifestly and solidly more probable though less safe” — Billuart, Whether it is lawful to follow the more probable but less safe opinion, in concurrence…, n. 1
As others report it
- “In his moral science Billuart favors a moderate probabiliorism” — Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), Charles-René Billuart
- “according to Gury, he is a moderate Probabiliorist” — Prümmer, Catalogue of authors
- “and the more recent school of the Friars Preachers defend probabiliorism” — Vermeersch, n. 357
- “the Preachers from this moment rather generally taught probabiliorism, as Mercorus, Gonet, Natalis Alexander, Contenson, Billuart, Cuniliati, Concina, Patuzzi” — Merkelbach, II, n. 1068
- “Dominican theologians have almost without exception been probabiliorists” — Slater, Short History, Section III: The Modern Period
The Edition
The 1884 Paris edition (Vivès) used for our text is "corrected and enriched with necessary additions" by P.-F. Ecalle (title page), who marks his additions with square brackets; Dissertation VII of Tomus II, On Moderate Probabilism, is his (read in the print 2026-11-10) and is marked on the site as his. Ecalle also annotated Billuart from a probabilist standpoint in footnotes.
What Our Authors Say of Him
- “perhaps the chief man of his age in universal theology” — Prümmer, Catalogue of authors
- “He is one of the foremost writers who have shed lustre on the school of the Angelic Doctor.” — Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), Charles-René Billuart
His Moral System, as Our Authors Report It
Every report quoted in the author's own words and linked to its place; point at a name to see his words. Haringer's signs give St. Alphonsus's judgment as Haringer found it in St. Alphonsus's works (his notice, Gury-Ballerini, 1884, p. XI); a sign on a writer the 1884 editor added to the list is the editor's own, and is said to be his.
| Probabiliorist | |
|---|---|
| Counted among them by 7 of our authors | Vermeersch, Theologia moralis I, n. 357; Koch-Preuss, Handbook I, the moral systems; Noldin, Summa I, n. 231; Marc, Institutiones I, n. 86; Tanquerey, Fundamental Moral Theology, n. 401; Slater, Short History, ¶ 88; Merkelbach, Summa II, excursus on the moral systems |
| “after most of the Friars Preachers, with Billuart, adhered to the doctrines of probabiliorism”Vermeersch names him with the Friars Preachers who took up probabiliorism | Vermeersch, Theologia moralis I, n. 19 |
| “Billuart himself the probabiliorist”Noldin: though a probabiliorist, he extends probabilism to doubt about the cessation of a law | Noldin, Summa I, n. 246 |
| “Hence today perhaps there is no confessor who applies all the logical consequences of Probabiliorism in the practice of the penitential tribunal, or who follows the opinion of Billuart saying: "If the opinion of the penitent is certainly less probable and the penitent recognizes it as such and wishes to follow it, the confessor ought to deny him absolution as indisposed, even if he says that he is a probabilist."”Prümmer quotes his rule that the confessor must deny absolution to a penitent who follows an opinion he knows to be less probable, a rule, he says, perhaps no confessor now applies | Prümmer, Manuale I, n. 346 |
| “Hence the Probabiliorists, such as Billuart, proceed more logically”Prümmer: probabiliorists like him proceed more logically than the equiprobabilists in refusing absolution to one following a less probable opinion | Prümmer, Manuale I, n. 348 |
| “some probabiliorists, among whom is Billuart, reject it”Sabetti-Barrett: though a probabiliorist, he rejects the rule that in doubt about the cessation of a law one must always stand for the law | Sabetti-Barrett, Compendium, n. 68 |
| “But Billuart sets forth the doctrine of probabiliorism clearly and moderately thus”Tanquerey sets out his probabiliorism and his arguments, and the probabilists’ replies | Tanquerey, Fundamental Moral Theology, n. 402 |
| “Many testimonies of the Fathers are brought forward which seem to favor probabiliorism, in Collet, Concina, Billuart”Gury-Ballerini: he brings forward testimonies of the Fathers that seem to favor probabiliorism | Gury-Ballerini, Compendium I, n. 66 (objection 3) |
| “Hence even Billuart (On the Sacrament of Penance, dissertation 7, article 2, § 4) and others, although they held probabiliorism, nevertheless judged it sufficient if you more probably satisfy the law”Gury-Ballerini: though he held probabiliorism, he judged it enough to satisfy the law more probably | Gury-Ballerini, Compendium I, on the use of probability |
| “according to Gury, he is a moderate Probabiliorist”Prümmer, after Gury: a moderate probabiliorist | Prümmer, Catalogue of authors |
Where Our Authors Discuss Him
Each read in its full passage; the words quoted are the author's own. Where several authors say the same thing, one is quoted and the others follow “in nearly the same words”; point at a name to see his words.
| “among the moderns, we have often kept before our eyes Suarez, De Lugo, the Salmanticenses, and Billuart”Tanquerey names him among the moderns he often kept before his eyes | Tanquerey, Synopsis, Preface (1902) |
| “Charles R. Billuart (1757), a moderate probabiliorist” | Tanquerey, Fundamental Moral Theology, n. 52 |
| “Billuart, O. Pr. (+ 1757), already attempts to solve the arguments of the Equiprobabilists”Prümmer: he already tries to answer the arguments of the equiprobabilists | Prümmer, Manuale I, n. 341 |
| “Charles Billuart (+ 1757)”Koch-Preuss name him among those who, after Trent, joined a systematic exposition with its defense against the Reformers | Koch-Preuss, Handbook I, history of moral theology |
| “that doctrine which the objection attacks is the doctrine of St. Alphonsus, and also of Billuart”Konings, answering an objection that cited Billuart, claims for St. Alphonsus and Billuart the doctrine that a law doubtfully satisfied still binds | Konings, Compendium, n. 95 |
In the Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)
“Charles-René Billuart”, vol. 2, by John Raymund Volz. Public domain; transcription from Wikisource.
Billuart, Charles-René, Dominican preacher, controversialist, and theologian, b. at Revin, a small town of the Ardennes on the Meuse, Belgium, January 28, 1685; d. there January 20, 1757. He completed his classics at the Jesuit college of Charleville and soon after entered the Dominican convent in his native town. He was sent to the novitiate at Lille, whence he returned a year later for profession, November 7, 1702. He followed the regular courses, receiving ordination in 1708. The two following years he spent at Liège, pursuing higher studies, and in 1710 was appointed professor of philosophy at Douai. The next year he was transferred to Revin, but was speedily promoted to a chair of theology which he held until 1715, when he was appointed master of students at Douai. Here, in 1718, he became second regent of studies and was also designated to preach the Advent and Lenten courses at Liège. Invited to Maastricht by Count Tilly, the famous Catholic governor of the city and Commander-in-Chief of the armies in Holland, he preached on the Real Presence during the Corpus Christi celebration and later defended the doctrine at a public discussion in the town hall. All this had been arranged by the count, who had the satisfaction of seeing the ministers reduced to silence by Billuart's incisive logic and irresistible learning. After three years as Prior of Revin, Billuart was called to the regency of Douai and three years later, October 15, 1728, he was elected provincial. The honors of the doctorate were conferred upon him in 1729. In 1732 he again preached a course at Liège, adding to his fame as a preacher. He next held the office of Prior of Revin for three successive terms until, in 1741, he was reelected provincial. In 1746 he began and in five years completed his celebrated and monumental work, the "Summa S. Thomae hodiernis Academiarum moribus accommodata" (19 vols. Liège, 1746-51). This work had been entrusted to him by the master general of the order nearly fourteen years before. It was a fitting response to a petition of his former colleagues at Douai, and it answered a general demand, as is evidenced by its publication in thirteen standard editions. In 1754, while serving a third term as provincial, Billuart published a compendium, also well known to the scholastic world, in six editions, the "Summa Summae S. Thomae, sive compendium theologiæ" (Liège, 1754).
Billuart's work is characterized by a facile style, copious treatment, and fearless exposition; by well planned logical divisions and precise, clear-cut distinctions. It ranks among the leading commentaries on St. Thomas. It is esteemed for its annexed historical essays, the materials for which are drawn largely from the ecclesiastical history of Natalis Alexander, O.P. In his moral science Billuart favors a moderate probabiliorism, in which position, however, he no longer commands a very great following outside of his own school. Generally speaking, Billuart stands forth as a theologian of authority. He is one of the foremost writers who have shed lustre on the school of the Angelic Doctor. In his polemical writings, Billuart was a devoted member of his order and a keen disciple of St. Thomas, zealous for the integrity of the saint's accepted teachings. Dignified in bearing, he was gentle to those around him. He was unremitting in his labors and a man of prayer withal, much given to devotion to the Blessed Sacrament.
His principal works, besides those mentioned, are the following: "Supplementum cursus theologiae" (Liège, 1759); "De mente ecclesiæ catholicae circa accidentia eucharistiæ" (Liège, 1715); "Le thomisme vengé de sa prétendue condamnation par la constitution Unigenitus" (Brussels, 1720); "Lettre à MM. les docteurs de la faculté de théologie de l'université de Douai" (1723); "Examen critique des réflexions sur to bref de notre S. Père le pape Benoît XIII" (1725); "Le thomisme triomphant par le bref Demissas preces de Benoît XIII"; "Réponse . . . à M. Stiévenard, Chanoine de Cambrai, au sujet de son Apologie pour feu Msgr. de Fénelon"; "Avis à M. Stiévenard sur la seconde Apologie pour Msgr. Fénelon"; "Justification de l'avis"; "Apologie du thomisme triomphant" (Liège, 1731); "Réponse à l'auteur d'un libelle" (1734); "Apologie . contre l'Histoire du baianisme composée par le Père Duchesne" (Avignon, 1738); "Sermons du R. P. C. R. Billuart", edited by Abbé Lelièvre (2 vols., Paris, 1846).
J. R. Volz.