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 MABHION 480 MABUXOH

D'Achiry (q. v.), he was removed to the Abbey of prelate the king, ia 1685, required Mabilloa to make

St-Germain-des-Prts, where he remained for the a tour through the libraries of Italy for the purpoao

rest of his life. erf acquiring books and manuscripts for the Royal

When Mabillon Erst entered its precincts, the Libraiy. More than 3000 rare and valuable volumes

commendatory abbot was Jolm Casimir, King of were procured. During his travels Mabillon waa

Poland, an eccentric person whose irregular life had everywhere received with the utmost honour. Soob

but little effect on his aliliey; the claustral prior was after his return he began his famous controversy with

Dom Ignatius Philibert, and D'Achi?ry was custodian De Ranc^, Abbot of La Trappe, who had denied that

of i\a wonderful library. The society to which the it was lawful for monks to devote themselves to study

young monk was introduced at St-Germain was, rather than to manual labour. Mabillon's" Traits dea

perhaps, the most learned of its time in Europe, ^tudos monaatiqvies" (1691) was a noble defence t£

Every week, on Sundays after Vespers, there met in monastic learning and laid down the lines that it

D'AcWry'sroomagroupof savants that included men idioukl follow. De Itanc^ replied, and Mabillon wsa

likeDuCange, Baluze,d'nerbe!ot,Cotelier,Henaudot, forced to publish further "RiiflexionB sur la Rfiponse

Fleury, Lamy, Pagi, Tillemont. Mabillon soon be- de M, TAbbf de la Trappe" (1692). De Rancti would

came a brilliant member of this group o( noted work- have carried the dispute further, but Cardinal ie

ers. D'Ach£ry had asked for him to help him in his Camus interfered, and tlie general opinion seems to

projected "Lives of thfe Benedictine Saints", but the have been that both parties to the dispute were really

first work entrusted to his care was that of editing the in substantial agreement; Mabillon beinfj an instanoe

works of St. Bernard. This was published within '^ -" — ' — ■I'.—.t:^-, - — i.: — .■> — ;ti. 1 — : — i

, three years (1667), and was at once recognized as a masterly edition. Meanwhile Mabillon had been ar- ranging the materials already brought together by

D'Ach^ry, and the first volume of the " Acta Sancto- In 1698 a storm n

rum, O.S.B." was published in 1668. A second vol- cation by Mabillon, under the name of "Euaebius

ume appeared the following year, a third in 1S72. Romanus", of a protest against the superstitious ven-

The scnolarly conscientiousness and critical methods eration of the relics of "unknown saints" from the

(rf Mabillon were a source of scandal to some of his less catacombs. This work was denounced to the Holy

instructed fellow-monks, and in 1677 a petition, vio- Office, and Mabillon was compelled to explain and

lently attacking the "Acta Sanctorum O.S.B. ", was modify certain passages. InlTOOaroseanotnerstorm.

presented to the general chapter of the congregation, The Maurists, mspite of the difficulties arising from

demanding the suppression of the work (as harmful to the current controversies on Jansenism, bad deter-

ibe interests of Benedictinism) and an apology from mined to publish a critical edition of St. Augustine,

its author. Mabillon defended himself with such To the last volume of this edition Itfabillon was re-

bumility combined with firmness and learning that quired to furnish a preface, defending the methods

all oppDsitionwas overcome, and he was encouraged to and critical conclusions of it« editors. His first draft

oontinue. Meanwhile, in 1672, he had already made was submitted to various critics, and, after receiving

the first of those "literary journeys" (this time into their annotations, was rewritten and sent to Bossuet

FlanderB),in search of documents and materials for his for his opinion. It was largely amended by Bossuet

work, that were so marked a feature of the latter half and returned to Mabillon to be rewritten. The result

of his life, and which had such fruitful results for his- is the " Preface " of the eleventh volume as we now

tory and liturgy. In 1075 was published the first of have it. Mabillon now relireJ to Normandy to avoid

four volumes til "Vetera Analecta" in which he col- the clamour that, as he expected, was aroused by its

lected the fruito of his travels and some shorter works publication. But the Holy See supported the Maur-

of historical importance. ists, and though the extremists eudeavouretl to tax

But 1675 saw also the occasion of his greatest work, the more moderate with heresy they were silenced by

To the second volume of the "Acta SS." for April the supreme authority. Mabillon did not lack ene-

Daniel Papebroch had prefixed a "Propylteum an- ' ' '' ' ..i...i_j

tiquarium, which was really a first attempt to for- mulate rules for the discernment of spunous from - „, „

genuine documents. Therein he had instanced as his hfe drew to a close, ail men came to recognize his

spurious some famous charters in the Abbey of St- genius and integrity. In 1701 the king appointed him

Denis. Mabillon was appointed to draw up a defence one of the first members of the new Academic Royale

of these documents, ana he made his defence the occa- des Inscriptions. Two years later appeared the first

■ion of a statement of the true principles of doeumen- volume of the" Annales O.S.B.", on which he had

tary criticism. This is the volume, "De re diplo- been engaged since 1693. He lived to see but four

matica" (1681), a treatise so masterly that it remains volumes published. In 1707, as he was on his way to

to-day the foundation of the science of diplomatics. Chelles. he fell sick. He was carried back to Paris and

Papebroch himself readily admitted that he had after three weeks' illness, on 27 Decemlior, having

been confuted by this treatise, though an attempt was beard Mass at midnight and received Holy Com-

made some time later by Germon to disprove Mabil- munion, he died. He was buried in the Lady chapel

Ion's theory, thereby provoking a reply from Mabillon at St-Germain, At the Revolution in 1768, when the

in his "Supplementum" of 1704. Tiie admiration ex- iWy chapel of St-Germain was destroyed, the simple

ei(«d amongst tlie learned by Mabillon's great book tomb of the great historian was removed tothegaraen

was widespread. Colbert offered its author a pension of the Mus^ des Petits-.\ugustins, At the Restora-

of 2000 livres, which Mabillon declined, while request- tion, however, it was carried back to St-Gemiain,

ing Colbert's continued protection for his monasteiv. where it still remains behind the high altar. In 16S3 Mabillon was sent by Colbert into Burgundy An alomt complete liit oF Mahillon's norks wiil be fouod in

to examine certain ancient documents relative to the DbLah., B>6l»(fc(i.«.;™n'o^ JuS-crnirnaiVidf ^7mnrilin fi™™. (Bopwnibrr, iS40i; lii kukbk,

accomplish, Colbert died and was succeeded as min- MabiJion n laBiUiweia /imj* MaiiUon.n' (Pari*. iW) <-

to by Le Mi.;. Archblahop ol Heim., who .l.o 'i' SSt~^uSsi^\?X'nmr^"TJ£Xlt

gnatiy admired Mabillon. At the instance of this t><i\Bniidt Km ""' "' ' ■"- ~ " "