HOUGHTON
500
HOURS
Houdry left two important homiletic works: his
collected sermons, under the title of "Sermons sur
tous les sujets de la morale chretienne", and a collec-
tion of materials for sermons, " La bibliotheque des
predicateurs". The first-named, which appeared in
Paris, 1695-1702, comprises five parts in twenty-two
volumes, and has run through several editions; it was
also printed in part in a German translation at Augs-
burg in 1739. With his wonted scrupulous care, he
supplemented it Ijy an index volume, together with a
treatise on the imitation of famous preachers. (A
selection from the large work can be found in Migne,
" Collection des orateurs sacr^s" , XXX VI , XXXVI I . )
Houdry's second great literary work consists of an
ambitiously planned collection of material for preach-
ers, which he called a "library", and which was
published, 1712-25, in twenty-three volumes at
Lyons. Two translations of this work in Latin and
one in Italian have been completed; and as recently
as 1862 a " Biblical Patristic Concordance for Preach-
ers and Catechists" was compiled from it. In the
introductions to both works, Houdry sets forth his
views on the functions of a preacher and criticizes the
style of preaching in vogue in his time. In 1702 the
famous preacher published a small ascetic treatise in
two volumes, on the exercises of St. Ignatius, addressed
to priests and accordingly written in Latin.
SoMMERVOGEL, BibUolhique de la c. dej. (Brussels, 1891).
N. SCHEID.
Houghton, William (variously called de Hotum,
DE IIciTlIlM, DE HOZUM, BoTHDM, DE HoNDEN, HeD-
DON, Heudonem, according as his name was pro- nounced by those of different nationalities — in the ancient manuscripts of his order it is invariably writ- ten DE Odone), Archbishop of Dulilin, date and place of birth unknown; d. at Dijon, 1298. His great learning united to solid piety made him illustrious among the savants of his time, while his rare prudence in the management of affairs gave him no small dis- tinction among the statesmen of the thirteenth century. It is not known in which convent in England he received the habit of St. Dominic — it is certain that he made his higher studies in the Convent of St. James in Paris — there he took his degrees and lectured with great success. In the general chapter of the order held in Vienna in 1282, he was chosen Provincial of England, and discharged the duties of this office with zeal and abiUty. His contemporaries all speak of a uniform sweetness and a singular charm and distinc- tion of manner which won for him at once love and respect. He govcrnctl the English province for five years, when he was recalled to Pans to resume his public lectures on theology. His ability was recog- nized by the court of France, especially by the king, Philip IV. But the English Dominicans wished him to return home, and they elected him provincial, which office he filled for a term of seven years. He became a favourite of King Edward I, and received many marks of royal affection and esteem.
Edward I sent Houghton to Rome as ambassador to
Eropose to the Holy Father his royal desire to assist is Holiness in affording help to the Christians in the Holy Land. The king proposed the conditions of the Holy Siege and he did this through his minister, William Houghton, who was favoural)ly received at Rome and obtained nearly all that he desired. He returned to England with a Brief from Nicholas IV, dated Rome, 10 Nov., 1289
The See of Dublin had liecome vacant by the death of Archbishop .John de Sandford. Thomas Chat- worth, the successor named by the chapter, was not accept aljle to the king, so the see remained vacant from Oct., 1294, to June, 1297. Edward I appealed to Pope Boniface VIII requesting the appointment of William Houghton. This wish was granteil and Houghton was consecrated at Ghent by Anthony Beck, Bishop of Durham, in 1297.
A bloody war was raging between France and
England and the two monarchs, Philiji IV of France
and Edward I of England, were brought by the pru-
dent mediatorship of Houghton to conclude a treaty
of peace for two years. In 1298, Edward I sent
Houghton to Boniface VIII as a legate to accjuaint
his Holiness with the conclusion of tlie treaty
of peace. Having been received l)y the sovereign
pontiff (20 June, 129S) Houghton set "out for Enghind
but on the way fell sick at Dijon (France) and died
there 28 August, 1298. By command of Edward I
the remains were brought to London and laid in the
Church of the Friars Preachers. Notwithstanding the
important public offices Houghton filled, he found
time to write the following works: "Commentarii in
Sententiarum Libros", " De immediata visione Dei
tractatus", "De unitate formarum Tractatus",
"Lecturae Scholastica>", and a speech in French on
the rights of the English king.
TouRON, IHntoire des Homines Hlustrcs de L' Ordre S-Domi~ nzgue (Paris, 1743): QukTlF-KcnxnTy, Scriplores Ordinis Prtedi- cntorum (Paris, 1719); de BuRcio, Hihrmia Doniinicana (Cologne, 1762): Denifle, Archiv fiir Lilteralur und Kirchenge- schichte (Berlin, 18S6).
Albert Reinhart.
Hours, Canonical. — I. Idea. — By canonical hour is understood all the fixed portion of the Divine Office which the Church appoints to be recited at the differ- ent hours. The term was borrowed from the custom of the Jews, and passed into the speech of the early Christians. In the Acts of the Apostles we see that prayer was designated by the hour at which it was said (Acts, iii, 1). The olxservance from being optional having become obligatory for certain classes of persons in virtue of canons or ordinances promulgated by the Church, each portion of the Divine Office was called a canonical hour, and the whole of the prayers fixed for a certain day took the name of canonical hours. This term was extended to apply to the book or collection which contained the.se prayers, hence the expression "book of hours". The Rule of St. Benedict is one of the most ancient documents in which the expression, canonical hours is found ; in chapter l.xvii we read " ad omnes canonicas horas". It passed into common speech about the next century as may be judged from St. Isidore of Seville ("De ecelcsiasticis officiis", I, xix, in P. L. LXXXIII, 757), etc. The article Breviary treats the various parts which compose the Divine Office, together with their origin and the his- tory of their formation; under cacli of the words designating them details will lie found concerning their compo.sition the modifications they have under- gone, and the questions raised with regard to their origin (see Compline); here we shall deal only with the oliligation of reciting them imposed by the Church on certain clas.ses of people, an oliligation which re- calls, as has been said, the very qualification of canon- ical.
II. Obligation op Reciting. — After having de- voted a few lines to the present discipline of the Church on this point, the origin and successive devel- opment of the obligation will be treated at length.
A. — Present Discipline of the Church. — This is set forth by all moral theologians and canonists. They treat more or less extensively of the character of this obhgation, the conditions required for complying with it, and practical instances of infraction or negligence. All modern authors derive their inspiration from St. Alphonsus Liguori (Theologia Moralis, VI, n. 140 sqq). The general thesis on the existence of this oliligation and the persons whom it concerns may be formulated thus: the following are bound each day to the recitation, at least private, of the canonical hours: (a) all clerics in Holy orders: (b) all beneficiaries; (c) religious men and women, who are bound Ijy their rule to the office of choir (Deshayes, " Memento juris ecclcsiastici ", n. 430) . According to the terms of this
