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 THEOLOGY

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THEOLOGY

logical works of subsequent ages professed to be noth- ing else than commentaries upon them; henceforth, however, the "Summa theologica" of St. Thomas was followed as guide in theology and a large number of the best theological works, written after the Council of Trent, were entitled "Commentarii in Summam Sti. Thoma;". The natural result was a more exten- sive treatment of moral questions, since these con- stituted by far the largest portion of St. Thomas's "Summa". Among the earliest classical works of this kind is the " Comment ariorum theologicorum tomi quattuor" of Gregory of Valentia (q. v.). It is well thought out and shows great accurac}-; vols. Ill and IV contain the explanation of the "Prima Secundae" and the "Secunda Secunda" of St. Thomas. This work was succeeded, at the end of the sixteenth and the beginning of the seventeenth cen- turj', by a number of similar commentaries; among them stand out most prominently those of Gabriel Vdsquez, Lessius, Suarez, Becanus, and the works of Thomas Sanchez "In decalogum" as well as "Con- siha moralia", which are more casuistical in their method; the commentaries of Dominic Banez, which had appeared some time before; and those of Aledina (see Medin.\, B.^rtholomew; Probabilis.m).

Prominent among all those mentioned is Francis Sudrez, S.J., in whose voluminous works the principal questions of the "Secunda" of St. Thomas are developed with great accuracy and a wealth of positive knowledge. Almost every question is searchingly examined, and brought nearer its final solution; the most varied opinions of former theo- logians are extensively discussed, subjected to a close scrutiny, and the final decision is given with great circumspection, moderation, and modesty. A large folio treats the fundamental questions of moral theology in general: (1) De fine et beatitudine; (2) De voluntario et involuntario, et de actibus humanis; (3) De bonitate et mahtia humanorum actuum; (4) De passionibus et vitiis. Another volume treats of "Laws"; several folio volumes are devoted to treatises which do indeed belong to morals,. but which are insejiarably connected with other strictly dogmatic questions about God and His attributes, viz., "De gratia divina"; they are to-day assigned everywhere to dogma proper; a third series gives the entire doctrine of the sacraments (with the exception of matrimony) from their dogmatic and moral side. Not all of the various virtues were examined by Sudrez; besides the treatise on the theological virtues, we possess only that on the virtue of religion. But if any of Sudrez's works may be called cla.ssieal it is the last-named, which discusses in four volumes the whole subject "De religione". Within the whole range of "reUgio", including its notion and relative position, its various acts and practices, as prayers, vows, oaths, etc., the sins against it, there can hardly be found a dogmatic or casuistic question that has not been either solved or whose solution has not at least been attempted. Of the last two volumes one treats of religious orders in general, the other of the "Institute" of the Society of Jesus.

In the course of the seventeenth and eighteenth century, there appeared a number of similar, though conci.ser, works which treat moral-theological ([ues- tions as a })art of universal theology with the genuine spirit of Scholastic science. There are those of Tanner, Coninck, Platel, Gotti, Billuart, and many others, the mere enumeration of whom would lead us too far afield. We must, however, mention one to whom nobody can deny the honour of having advanced both .speculative and practical theology, and e.s])ecially practical morals, .lohn de Lugo. PCndowed with uncommon, speculative genius and clear, practical judgment, he 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". The works that have come down to us are: "De fide", "De mcarnatione", "Dejustitia et jure", "De sacramentis", viz., "De sacramentis in genere", "De baptismo et eucharistia", and "De pa-nitentia". It is above all the volume "De pccnitentia" which, through its sixteenth disputation, has become the classical handbook for casuistical moral theology and particularly for the specific distinction of sins; to the same subject belong the posthumous "Responsa moralia", a collection of answers given by de Lugo in complicated cases of conscience. This is not the jilace to point out his eminence as a dogmatist; suffice it to say that many far-reaching questions receive original solutions, which, though not universally accepted, have yet shed considerable light on these subjects.

The method which Lugo applies to moral theologi- cal questions, may well be called mixed, that is, it is both speculative and casuistical. Such works of a mixed character now grow common, they treat the whole subject-matter of moral theology, in as far as it is serviceable for the confessor and the pastor, in this mixed manner, though they insist more on casuistry than did Lugo. A tj^pe of this kind is the "Theologia moralis" of Paul Laymann (d. 1635); in this category may also be numbered the "Theologia decalogalis" and "Theologia sacra- mentalis" of Sporer (d. 1683), the "Conferentiae" of Elbel (d. 1756), and the "Theologia moralis" of Renter (d. 1762). Almost numberless are the manuals for confessors, written in a simple casuistical form, though even these justify their conclusions by internal reasons after legitimatizing them by an appeal to external authority. They are not unfre- quently the fruit of thorough, speculative knowledge and extensive reading. One of the most .solid is probably the "Manuale confessariorum et poeniten- tium" of Azpilcueta (1494-1580), the great canonist, commonly known as "Doctor Navarrus"; further- more, the "Instructio .sacerdotum" or "Summa ca.suum conscientiee" of Cardinal Tolet (d. 1596), which was highly recommended by St. Francis of Sales. One other work must also be mentioned, viz., the so-called "Medulla theologia; moralis" of Hermann Busenbaum (d. 1688), which has become famous on account of its very extensive use (fortj' editions in less than twenty years during the lifetime of the author) and the number of its commentators. Among these are included Claude Lacroix, whose moral theology is considered as one of the most valuable of the eighteenth century, and St. Alphonsus Liguori, with whom, however, an entirely new epoch of moral theology commences.

Before entering upon this new phase, let us glance at the development of the so-called systems of morals and the controversies which sprang up among Catholic scholars, as well as at the casuistical method of treating moral theology in general. For it is precisely the casuistry of moral theology around which these controversies centre, and which has exiiericnced severe attacks in our own day. These attacks were for the most part confined to Germany. The champions of the adversaries are J. B. Hirscher (d. 1865), DoUinger, Reusch, and a group of Catholic scholars who, in the years 1901 and 1902, demanded a "reform of Catholic moral theology", though all were not moved by the same spirit. In Hirscher it was the zeal for a sujiiioscdly good cause, though he was implicated in llieological errors; Dcillinger and Reusch att(-mpted tn cover their defection from the Church and their refusal to acknowledge the papal infallibility by holding up to the ridicule of the world ecclesiastical conditions and affairs which they thought militated against that infallibility; the latest phase of this opposition is mainly the result of mis-