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Honoratus a Sancta Maria
A Discalced Carmelite; born at
Limoges, 4 July, 1651 ; died at Lille, 1729. Blaise Vauxelles
took his vows under the above name at Toulouse, 8 March, 1671. On
completing his course of studies he determined to devote himself
to the missionary life, and was accordingly sent to Malta to
prepare for the East. But the superiors detained him there in the
quality of sub-prior, and at the expiration of his term of office
he returned to France without having been to the missions. He
successively filled the posts of professor of philosophy and
theology, prior, provincial, and visitor general. The interest of
his life centres in his polemical writings. In his position as
professor and superior he had to deal with the burning questions
of his time, Quietism, Jansenism, Gallicanism, with Cartesianism
in philosophy, and Rationalism in Scripture and history. Endowed
with uncommon acumen and a faculty for painstaking research, he
contributed much to the elucidation of abstruse questions on every
one of these subjects, while the modesty of his diction and the
moderation of his attack won him the esteem of his adversaries. It
must, however, be acknowledged that the range of subject-matter
was too wide for one man, with the result that, already during his
life, he was accused of not always applying the rules of criticism
he himself had established. His works may be divided into various
classes.
(b) Theological: "Propositiones
theologicæ" (Perpignan, 1689), being an exposition of
the Apostles' Creed from the dogmatic, scholastic, and historical
point of view; "Dissertations On Grace and Predestination",
unpublished; "A Treatise on Indulgences and the Jubilee"
(Bordeaux, 1701), reprinted at Clermont and in Belgium in
preparation for the Jubilee of 1725; - "Dissertation
apologétique" (Bordeaux, 1701), in defence of the
"Examen de la théologie mystique" of Jean
Chéron, Calced Carmelite (1596-1673), which had been
sharply attacked by a Franciscan; "On Contemplation"
(Paris, 1708) from the dogmatic and practical point of view,
giving a complete chain of utterances of the Fathers and
ecclesiastical writers, in two volumes. This work was translated
into Italian and Spanish; a continuation of it appeared in 1713
under the title "The Motives and Practice of Divine Love";
in "A Problem addressed to the Learned" (Paris, 1708)
Honoratus examines the claims of Denis the Areopagite to the
authorship of the works commonly attributed to him, pronouncing
himself in the negative sense.
(c) Polemical: His contributions
to the Jansenistic controversy show him an uncompromising
adversary of the sect; four volumes in defence of the
Constitution "Unigenitus" (anonymous); the first two
appeared in 1710, the others in 1722; Notes on the writings of
Jansenius, Saint-Cyran, Arnauld, Quesnel, Petitpied and others
(Ypres, 1724); "Reply to the 'Examen théologique' by
a Jansenist" (anonymous, 1723); "Defence of the
Encyclical of Benedict XIII of 1 Oct., 1724, on the teaching of
Saints Augustine and Thomas (Brussels, 1725); two letters, one to
show that a certain miracle said to have happened at the Corpus
Christi procession in Paris (31 May, 1725) had not been wrought
in favour of those who refused to sign the Bull "Unigenitus";
the other addressed to a certain abbé on the necessity of
subscribing to the said Bull; a collection of dissertations on
the same Constitution (Brussels, 1727).
(d) Historical and critical. - "
Theologiæ positiones" (Toulouse, 1706), containing the
solution of chronological and other difficulties to be met with
in Holy Scripture, a prelude to the author's great work on
criticism (below); "Historical and critical dissertations on
the orders of knighthood" (Paris, 1718, also in Italian,
Brescia, 1761); the "Life of St. John of the Cross"
(Tournai, 1727), written on the occasion of the canonization of
the saint; a critical edition of a manuscript of Flodoardus, with
notes and dissertations, which, however, the author did not live
to carry through the press; "Réflexions sur les
règles et l'usage de la critique", three volumes
(Paris, 1712, 1717, and Lyons, 1720). This work has been several
times reprinted, appeared also in Latin, Italian, and Spanish,
and is the one by which Honoratus will ever be known. It is
unsurpassed in the theoretical part, but, as might be expected,
the study of the sources of Church history, patristic literature,
hagiography, etc., has made such strides within the last two
centuries that the practical portion is antiquated; "Denuntiatio
historiæ ecclesiasticæ" (anonymous, 1726). While
the "Réflexions" were chiefly directed against
Tillemont, this work takes Fleury to task for his Gallicanism. -
"A treatise on the so-called Mass of Flacius Illyricus",
of which Honoratus had already spoken in the "Réflexions",
remains unedited.
Bibliotheca
Carmelit., I, 661-65; HURTER, Nomenclator; JUNGMANN in
Kirchenlex., s. v.
B. Zimmerman.
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