François Lamy (1636 – 11 April 1711) was a French
Benedictine ascetical and
apologetic writer, of the
Congregation of St-Maur.
Life
Lamy was born at
Montireau
Montireau () is a commune in the Eure-et-Loir department
Department may refer to:
* Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility
Government and military
*Department (administrative division) ...
in the Department of
Eure-et-Loir. While fighting a
duel
A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon Code duello, rules.
During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the r ...
, he was saved from a fatal sword-thrust by a book of the
Rule of St. Benedict which he carried in his pocket. Seeing the finger of God in this, he took the Benedictine habit at the
monastery of St-Remi at
Reims
Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne.
Founded by ...
in 1658. Shortly after his elevation to the priesthood he was appointed
subprior of St-Faron at
Meaux, but a year later resigned this position.
During 1672-5 he taught philosophy at the monasteries of Mont St-Quentin and St-Médard in
Soissons. He was the first of the Maurists to teach the
Cartesian Cartesian means of or relating to the French philosopher René Descartes—from his Latinized name ''Cartesius''. It may refer to:
Mathematics
*Cartesian closed category, a closed category in category theory
*Cartesian coordinate system, modern ...
system of philosophy.
In 1676 he came to
St-Germain-des-Prés near Paris where he taught theology until 1679. The general chapter of 1687 appointed him prior of
Rebais in the
Diocese of Meaux, but he was ordered by the king to resign his office in 1689. The remainder of his life he spent in literary pursuits at the
Abbey of St-Denis
The Basilica of Saint-Denis (french: Basilique royale de Saint-Denis, links=no, now formally known as the ) is a large former medieval abbey church and present cathedral in the commune of Saint-Denis, a northern suburb of Paris. The building ...
near Paris, where he died.
Works
He was one of the most famous writers of his times and was an intimate friend of
Bossuet Bossuet is a French surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet (1627–1704), French bishop and theologian, uncle of Louis
* Louis Bossuet (1663–1742), French parliamentarian, nephew of Jacques-Bénigne
See als ...
. Of his twenty printed works the following are the most important:
* "Vérité évidente de la Religion chrétienne" (Paris, 1694)
* "Le Nouvel Athéisme Renversé, ou réfutation du système de Spinoza" (Paris, 1696; 2nd ed., Brussels, 1711)
* "Sentiments de piété sur la profession religieuse" (Paris, 1697)
* "De la Connaissance de soi-même" (5 vols., Paris, 1694-8; 2nd ed., 1700), which raised a controversy between the author and
Malebranche concerning the disinterested love of God
* "Lettre d'un théologien à un de ses amis" (Paris, 1699)
* "Plainte de l'apologiste des Bénédictins à MM. les prélats de France" (Paris, 1699)
* "L'incrédule amené à la Religion par la Raison" (Paris, 1710)
* "De la Connaissance et de l'Amour de Dieu" (Paris, 1712)
In the last two treatises the author defends the Maurist edition of the works of
Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Af ...
against the
Jansenists and the
Jesuits.
References
*
Tassin, ''Histoire litteraire de la Congregation de St-Maur'' (Brussels, 1770), 351-67
*
Le Cerf, ''Bibliothèque historique et critique des auteurs de la Congregation de St-Maur'' (La Haye, 1726), 185-95.
;Specific
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lamy, Francois
1636 births
1711 deaths
People from Eure-et-Loir
French Benedictines
17th-century French Catholic theologians