Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 11.djvu/134

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JANSENISM. 118 JANSENIUS. impossible to just persons even desiring an<l endcHvoring to keep_ them, according to the Blrcnglh which tlipy then possess; and such grace as would render them possible is lucking to them. (2) In the state of fallen nature in- ternal grace is never resisted. (3) In order to merit and demerit in the state of fallen nature, freedom from necessity is not required of man, but it sullices that there be frceiUim from con- straint. (4) The Semi-Pelagians admilled the necessity of inlcrnal prcvenient grace for eaoli separate act, and even for the beginning of faitli; their heresy consisted in this, that they con- sidered that grace to be such as the will of man might either resist or obey. (5) It is a Semi- Pelagian error to say that Christ died or shed His blood for all men absolutely. The Jansenists attempted to evade the force of this bull by contending that the live proposi- tions were not found in the Au<iii.<iliiuis, or at least not in the sense in which they were con- demned, and pointed out that Papa! infallibility (q.v. ) did not extend to questions of fact; there- fore, they maintained, the book was not really condemned. The propositions may not have been there — Louis XIV. commissioned the Comte de Grammont to read the book and see if they were, and the witty courtier reported that if they were, they were there incognito — but it was indispu- table that they represented the very pith and marrow of the .Tansenist position. Alexander VII. renewed their condenuiation, declaring ex- ])ressly that they were found in the book, and condemned in the sense there given to them. Later, he drew lip a formulary to be signed by all the bishops and religious of France, in these terms: "I submit myself sincerely to the con- stitution of our holy Father Innocent X.. and T cor*Ienm with heart and mouth the doctrine of the five propositions of Cornelius .Tansenius, which the Pope and bishops have condemned — a doctrine which is not that of Saint Augustine, whom .Tansenius has ill explained, and is con- trary to the true meaning of that great doctor." The community of Port-Royal refused to sign, in spite of Bossuet's persuasions and severe pres- sure from the Government ; and four bishops were willing to sign only with a reservation that they believed themselves to owe nothing more than 'respectful silence' to a decision of the Church in matters of fact. They were about to be deposed, when Clement IX. came to the pon- tifical throne in 1607. After complicated nego- tiations, the new Pope managed to arrange a compromise (KiOS) ; and the cessation of hostili- ties, which lasted for thirty-four years, was known as the "Clementine Peace.' During this period the .Jansenists strengthened themselves in a number of dioceses and in some religions Orders, insisting especially upon strict- ness in the administration of the sacraments. Their whole attitude, in fact, moral, dogmatic, and political, had many points of resemblance to that of the English Puritans of a generation earlier. On Amanld's death in 1004. the former Oratorian Qnesncl (q.v.) succeeded to the leader- ship. The controversy once more revived in an acute form, with the celebrated 'Case of Con- science,' by which the .Jansenists subtly endeav- ored to make their doctrines appear approved. Clement XI.. however, reiterated the disapproval of his predecessors in 170.3. and by the bull" Vineam Domini of 1705. The French Parlements, among the legal minds of which Jansenism found many sui)i)orters, refu.sed to accept the brief Univcrsi Doiiiinici by which, in 1708, the Pope condemned t^uesnel's RvfUxions morahs ; and the weak character of Cardinal do Noailles, Arch- bishop of Paris, gave them courage. Louis, who persi-stently disliked tbcm as ]iicvenling the real- ization of his ideal of perfect unity in Churcli and State, asked the Pope definitely to ]nit an end to these confusions. After two j-ears' further investigation, Clement XI. issued the constitu- tion I'nifiiiiitiis, which condemned 101 proposi- tions taken from Quesnel's works. Cardinal de Noailles and fifteen other bishops made ditrt- culties about its reception; the universities of Paris, Rheims, anil Xantes declared against it; the Parlements protected the .Jansenists ; and after the death of Louis XIV. the regent, the Duke ot Orleans, took a dubious position. In 1717 Car- dinal de Xoailles appealed from the bull "to a better-advised Pope and a general council," and several bishops joined him, constituting the party of the .ppellants. When he died, after making his submission, in 1729, they gradually lost strength, and not even the miracles sup- posed to have been wrought by the deacon Paris (.see CoxviLSlONARiES) could restore them to their former position. Their spirit, however, re- mained active up to the Revolution, and showed itself especially in the war against the .Jesuits. It spread to some extent in Germany and Italy, and had its influence on the ecclesiastical inno- vations proposed by the Emperor .Joseph II. As an organization, it was able to prolong its existence only in Holland, where, at the begin- ning of the eighteenth century, a formal schism arose. In 1723 the chapter of I'trecht undertook to restore the extinct archbishopric of that city, and they have maintained a succession ever since, claiming this to be the Church of Holland, and creating also bishops of Haarlem and Deventer. After the Vatican Council of 1S70, they entered into relations with the Old Catholics (q.v.), and consecrated the first bishop of the new .sect. Consult: Jervis. Historij of the Church of France (2 vols., London, 1872) ; Rapin. His- toirc du Janscnisme, ed. Domenech (Paris, 1SG5) ; Mcmoirrs (III pi re h'liiihi siir Vcfilise, lG'i'i-09. ed. Aubineau (lb., 180,5) ; Saintc-Beuve, Port-llotial (7 vols., ib., 1840-42; 3d ed. 1807-71) ; id., FJuihs d'histoire prirce, confcnant drs di'Inilft inconnux sitr le premier }.ans6nisme (ib., 180.5) ; Bouvier, Etude critique sur le jintsfnisme (Strassburg. 18G4) ; Fuzet, Les jansfnisteii du XV I lime Slide (Paris. 1877) ; Rocquain. L'csprit rh-oUition)inire araiit la Revolution, ni'i-SO (ib., 1878) : Seche. Les derniers jaiiscnistes (ib., 1801- 92) ; Xcale, Uistorii of the So-Called Jansenisl f'liurrh of Holland (London, 1858) ; and seo .Jan.sexivs; Pascal: Arnauld, Axtoixe; Du- VEKGIEI! DE Hauranxe: ^Iolina ; Ba.tis; Gal- I.ICAN ClIIROH ; PoRT-R0YAL-DES-CnAlIl>.S. JANSE'NIUS (Latinized form of Jax.sen, Dutdi prun. yan'scn). CoRXELlus (1585-1GS8). A Dutch theologian, who gave his n!>me to the Jansenist school. He was born near Leerdam, in the N'ctherlands, and made his studies at Utrecht and Louvain. partly under the guidance of the Jesuits, whose society he thought of entering, but was discouraged by them. During his theological studies in the college founded at I^ouvain by Adrian VI.. he came tinder the influence of .Jaco- bus .Jansonius, an ardent supporter of Bajus