Pierre Nicole (1625 - November 16, 1695) was one of the most distinguished of the French Jansenists. Events 534 - A second and final revision of the Codex Justinianus is published This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Jansenism was a branch of Catholic Gallican thought which arose in the frame of the Counter-Reformation and the aftermath of the Council of Trent

Biography

Born in Chartres, he was the son of a provincial barrister. Chartres is a town and commune and capital of the Eure-et-Loir department in north-central France It is located 96 km southwest of Paris

Sent to Paris in 1642 to study theology, he soon entered into relations with the Jansenist community at Port-Royal through his aunt, Marie des Anges Suireau, who was for a short time abbess of the convent. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city Theology is the study of a god or the gods from a religious perspective The Convent of Port-Royal was built in Paris in 1626 as an off-shoot of Port-Royal-des-Champs, the stronghold of Jansenist thought in France Some scruple of conscience forbade him to proceed to the priesthood, and he remained throughout life a "clerk in minor orders," although a profound theological scholar. For some years he was a master in the "little school" for boys established at Port Royal, and had the honour of teaching Greek to young Jean Racine, the future poet. Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly Jean Racine ( ( December 22, 1639 &ndash April 21, 1699) was a French Dramatist, one of the "big three" of But his chief duty was to act, in collaboration with Antoine Arnauld, as general editor of the controversial literature put forth by the Jansenists. Antoine Arnauld, ( February 6, 1612 - August 6, 1694) &mdash le Grand as contemporaries called him to distinguish him from his

He had a large share in collecting the materials for Pascal's Provincial Letters (1656); in 1658 he translated the Letters into Latin, under the pseudonym of Nicholas Wendrock. Blaise Pascal (blɛz paskal (June 19 1623 &ndash August 19 1662 was a French Mathematician, Physicist, and religious Philosopher The Lettres provinciales ( Provincial letters) are a series of eighteen letters written by French Philosopher and Theologian Blaise Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. ^[1] In 1662 he coauthored the very successful Port-Royal Logic with Antoine Arnauld, based on a Cartesian reading of Aristotelian logic. Port-Royal Logic, or Logique de Port-Royal, is the common name of La logique ou l'art de penser, an important textbook on logic first published anonymously Antoine Arnauld, ( February 6, 1612 - August 6, 1694) &mdash le Grand as contemporaries called him to distinguish him from his The Organon is the name given by Aristotle 's followers the Peripatetics to the standard collection of his six works on Logic. In 1664 he himself began a series of letters, Les Imaginaires, intended to show that the heretical opinions commonly ascribed to the Jansenists really existed only in the imagination of the Jesuits. His letters being violently attacked by Desmaretz de Saint-Sorlin, an erratic minor poet who professed great devotion to the Jesuits, Nicole replied to him in another series of letters, Les Visionnaires (1666). The Society of Jesus ( Latin: Societas Iesu, SJ and SI or SJ, SI) is a Catholic religious order In the course of these he observed that poets and dramatists were no better than "public poisoners. " This remark stung Racine to the quick; he turned not only on his old master, but on all Port Royal, in a scathing reply, which--as Boileau told him--did more honour to his head than to his heart. Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux ( November 1 1636 - March 13, 1711) commonly called Boileau, was a French Poet and

About the same time Nicole became involved in a controversy about transubstantiation with the Huguenot Claude; out of this grew a massive work, La Perpétuité de la foi de l'église catholique touchant l'eucharistie (1669), the joint effort of Nicole and Antoine Arnauld. See also Eucharist (Catholic Church On the related belief that Christ is present in the Eucharist in body blood soul and divinity see Real Presence. The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France (or French Calvinists) from the sixteenth to the eighteenth Jean Claude (1619 &ndash January 13 1687) was a French Protestant divine But Nicole's most popular production was his Essais de morale, a series of short discussions on practical Christianity. Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings The first volume was published in 1671, and was followed at irregular intervals by others; altogether the series numbers fourteen volumes. In 1679, on the renewal of the persecution of the Jansenists, Nicole was forced to fly to Belgium in company with Arnauld. The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those But the two soon parted. Nicole was elderly and in poor health; the life of a fugitive was not to his taste, and he complained that he wanted rest. "Rest," answered Arnauld, "when you have eternity to rest in!" In 1683 Nicole made a rather ambiguous peace with the authorities, and was allowed to come back to Paris. There he continued his literary labours up to the last; he was writing a refutation of the new heresy of the Quietists, when death overtook him. Heresy is an introduced change to some system of belief especially a religion that conflicts with the previously established canon of that belief

Nicole was one of the most attractive figures of Port Royal. Many stories are told of his quaint absent-mindedness and unreadiness in conversation. His books are distinguished by exactly opposite qualities; they are neat and orderly to excess. Hence they were exceedingly popular with Mme de Sevigné and readers of her class. Marie de Rabutin-Chantal Marquise de Sévigné ( February 5, 1626 &ndash April 17, 1696) was a French aristocrat No other Jansenist writer, not even Pascal, was so successful in putting the position of Port Royal before the world. And although a modern appetite quails before fourteen volumes on morality, there is much solid sense and practical knowledge of human nature to be found in the Essais de morale. Several abridgments of the work exist, notably a Choix des essais de morale de Nicole, ed. Silvestre de Saci (Paris, 1857). Antoine Isaac Baron Silvestre de Sacy ( September 21, 1758 &ndash February 21, 1838) was a French linguist and orientalist Nicole's life is told at length in the 4th volume of Sainte-Beuve's Port-Royal. Saint Beuve redirects here For the eponymous saint see Beuve Abbess of Saint Pierre de Reims.

References

This entry draws upon the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica. The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911 is a 29-volume reference work that marked the beginning of the Encyclopædia Britannica

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