Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 6.djvu/816

 GRATZ

732

GRAVIER

dinal) Perraud, Heinrich, de Margcrie, Nourrisson, H. Perey ve, and Leon Olle-Laprune. ( 'oncerning Gratry's philosophical conceptions we may say that the pregnant truth which underlies his philosophy is to be foiuid in two of his fundamental principles: (1) that we must seek the truth with our whole soul, that is, with all the faculties and helps given to us by God — our sensibility, imagination, reason, love, and the light of revelation — and with the necessary moral condition. (2) That a thing is truly known only through its relation to God, its author and ruler, as man is truly developed only through his ascent toward God, his creator and his end. But when he comes to determine the respective values and relation of these faculties, Gratry, with a soul naturally sensitive, seems to yield too much to feeling and love, and the relations between reason and faith are not always clearly respected. God, for him, is felt or experienced rather than thought or known through reasoning; He is felt by the "divine sense" through the dialectical process which is analogous to the inductive process in physics and the infinitesimal process in mathematics ; in presence of a certain degree of beauty and perfection perceived in nature, the soul develops in itself a capacity for exaltation, which raises it from the finite to the infinite. These indeed are high and inspiring thoughts, but the clear statement of truth requires a stricter analysis and a more vigorous treatment. These characteristics, however, explain the feeling of attraction mixed with anxiety one feels on perusing Gratry's works; they help one to under- stand the ideal grandeur of the moral inspirations and the vague Utopian dreaminess one meets in such close juxtaposition on many of his pages.

Souvenirs de ma Jeunesse; Perraud, Le P. Gratry, Les der- niers jours, son testament spirituel (Paris, 1872); Idem, Le Fere Gratry, sa vie el ses aeuvres (Paris, 1900); Chauvin, Le Pire Gratry (Paris, 1901 ) ; Olle-Laprune. ISloge du P. Gratry (Paris, 1896).

George M. Sauvage.

Gratz, Peter Aloys, schoolmaster and exegete, b. 17 Aug., 1769, at Mittelberg, Allgau, Bavaria; d. at Darmstadt, 1 Nov., 1849; received his elementary training in the monastic school at Fiissen, studied classics in Augsburg, and in 1788 entered the clerical seminary at Dillingen, to take up the study of philoso- phy and theology. His student years were character- ized by deep piety and an intense love of study. After his ordination to the priesthood, in 1792, he held the office of private tutor, and in 1796 was placed in charge of the parish church of Unterthalheim, near Horb, on the Rhine. In spite of his manifold parochial duties he found time to prepare several textbooks and other small works on Christian instruction, for use in ele- mentary schools. Besides, being of a literary turn of mind and urged, no doubt, by the spirit of the age, he at the same time turned his attention to other occupa- tions, choosing for his special field of labour New Tes- tament exegesis. In 1812 he published "Neuer Ver- such, die Entstehung der drei ersten Evangelien zu erklaren" (Stuttgart, 1812), in which he adopted the hypothesis of a Hebrew original as the basis of one of the synoptic Gospels. The learning and critical skill exhibited in this work attracted the attention of scholars, and won for him on 28 September of the same year the chairs of Greek language and Biblical hermeneutics in the University of Ellwangen. Recog- nizing his abilities and future usefulness, the Uni- versity of Freiburg, in 1813, conferred on him the doctorate in theology.

During his professoriate in Ellwangen he published : (1) "Kritische Untersuchungen iiber Justins apos- tolische Denkwiirdigkeiten;' (Stuttgart, 1814); (2) " Ueber die Interpolationen in dem Briefe des Apostels Paulusan die Roiner" (Ellwangen, 1814); (3) "Ueber die Grenzen flcr Freiheit, die einem Katholiken in der Erklarung der Schrift zusteht" (Ellwangen, 1817); (4) " Dissertatio in Pastorem Hermse", in "Constanzer

Archiv", 1817, II, 224 sqq. On the amalgamation of the University of Ellwangen with that of Tubingen, in 1817, he accompanied the theological faculty thither, and continued his lectures on hermeneutics. Here he published his " Kritische Untersuchungen liber Mar- cions Evangelium" (Tubingen, 1818), and with the co- operation of his friends Drey, Herbst, and Hirscher, founded in 1819 the Tubingen " Theologische Quartal- schriff, a publication which from its inception has enjoyed an uninterrupted existence.

The same year he received an invitation to the chair of Sacred Scripture in the newly erected faculty of theology in the University of Bonn. His reputation attended him here, and he lectured with great success. This, however, was of short duration. The university, though now free from the Rationalism and Febronian- ism which characterized the first period of its exists ence, was gradually undergoing the influence of a new movement known as Hermesianism, the originator of which was Georg Hermes, professor of theology and an intimate friend of Gratz. The high reputation of Hermes, the popular character of his lectures, as well as the fact that they were devoted to the examination of the philosophical systems of Kant and Fichte, in- duced Gratz to sympathize with his distinguished friend and associate himself with the new movement. The step was a fatal one. He regretted it deeply and desired to abandon his position in the university. All efforts to this effect failed, however, and at the in- stance of his more trustworthy friends he continued to lecture at Bonn till 1823. He remained a member of its theological faculty till 1826, and in 1828 was called to Trier, there to become a member of the municipal council and also of the school board. His success in this new field of activity was remarkable. He devoted all his time and energy to the reorganization of the studies, and to placing the schools generally on a higher scale of efficiency than they had hitherto attained. While in Bonn he published; (1) " Apologet des Kath- olicismus, Zeitschrift fiir Freunde der Wahrheit und der Bruderliebe" (Mainz, 1820-24, 9 fasc); (2) " No- vum Testamentum graico-latinum " (Tubingen, 1820; Mainz, 1827); and (3) "Kritischer Commentar iiber das Evangelium des Matthiius" (Tubingen, 1821-23). This commentary, owing to the extensive use the au- thor made of Protestant works, was severely attacked by Binterim and Gorres. Gratz replietl in the sixth fascicle of his " Apologeten", w-hile his friends pub- lished in his defence " Drei offentliche Stimmen gegen die Angriffe des Pastors Binterim auf den Commentar des Professors Gratz, nebst drei Beilagen" (Bonn, 1825). He also undertook the continuation of the "Thesaurus juris ecclesiastici " of Aug. Schmidt, S.J., which, however, remained unfinished.

ScHULTE in AUpem. deut. Biogr., IX, 602; Hurter, Nomen- dator; Werner, Gesch. d. kath. Theologie, 206. 401, 4S-1, 528; Theologische Quartalschr. (Tubingen, 1824), 293, 316, 464-505; Katholik, XIV (1824), 16-26.

Joseph Schroeder.

Gravier, Jacqdes, a Jesuit missionary; b. 1651 at Moulins, where he studied classics and philosophy under the Jesuits; d. in Louisiana in 1708. He joined the Jesuit order in 1670, studied theology at the college of Louis-le-Grand, Paris, and was sent to Canada in 1685. In 1686 he went to Michilimackinac. In 1689 he succeeded Allouez in the Illinois mission begun by Marquette. He is the true founder of that mission, where he spent ten years of incredible hard- ship and suffering. He was the first to master the Illinois idiom, and reduced it to grammatical form. He grouped Kaskaskia and Peoria Indians at the Rocher, near Fort St. Louis, and despite the machina- tions of the medicine-men he moulded his flock into a model Christian Church. In his task he was seconded by a saintly woman, daughter of a Kaskaskia chief. In 1696 he was superior at Michilimackinac, with the title of vicar-general of Bishop St. Vallier. In