André Martin (1621–26 September 1695) was a French ecclesiastic and

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

. Born at

Bressuire Bressuire (; ; Poitevin: ''Beurseure'') is a commune in the French department of Deux-Sèvres, region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. The town is situated on an eminence overlooking the Dolo, a tributary of the Argenton. Notable buildings Bressuire ha ...

in 1621 to Gabriel Martin and Marie Pouget, he was admitted to the

Oratory of Jesus The Congregation of the Oratory of Jesus and Mary Immaculate (, ), best known as the French Oratory or Oratory of Jesus, is a society of apostolic life of Catholic priests founded in 1611 in Paris, France, by Pierre de Bérulle (1575–1629), w ...

on 22 August 1641, and ordained a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

in 1646. The first member of the Oratory to publicly teach

Cartesianism Cartesianism is the philosophical and scientific system of René Descartes and its subsequent development by other seventeenth century thinkers, most notably François Poullain de la Barre, Nicolas Malebranche and Baruch Spinoza. Descartes i ...

, Martin was ordered by François Bourgoing in 1652 to cease teaching his course in philosophy at

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

and retire to

Arles Arles ( , , ; ; Classical ) is a coastal city and Communes of France, commune in the South of France, a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône Departments of France, department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Reg ...

on account of continual disobedience to superiors' orders which was felt to expose the Oratory to danger from the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

and the civil authorities alike. In 1653, he published his most notable work, ''Philosophia moralis christiana,'' under the pseudonym John Camerarius. This book, treating the principal subjects in philosophy according to the thought, and often following the words, of St

Augustine of Hippo Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced the development of Western philosop ...

, was placed on the

Index Librorum Prohibitorum The (English: ''Index of Forbidden Books'') was a changing list of publications deemed heretical or contrary to morality by the Sacred Congregation of the Index (a former dicastery of the Roman Curia); Catholics were forbidden to print or re ...

Pope Innocent X Pope Innocent X (6 May 1574 – 7 January 1655), born Giovanni Battista Pamphilj (or Pamphili), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 September 1644 to his death, in January 1655. Born in Rome of a family fro ...

, and soon republished by its author under a new title and pseudonym as ''Sanctus Augustinus'' by Ambrose Victor.

Nicolas Malebranche Nicolas Malebranche ( ; ; 6 August 1638 – 13 October 1715) was a French Oratorian Catholic priest and rationalist philosopher. In his works, he sought to synthesise the thought of St. Augustine and Descartes, in order to demonstrate the ...

thought highly of this book. On account of his treatment of the existence of God in this work, Martin was branded an "atheist" by

Jean Hardouin Jean Hardouin (; ; ; 23 December 1646 – 3 September 1729), was a French priest and classical scholar who was well known during his lifetime for his editions of ancient authors, and for writing a history of the ecumenical councils. However, he ...

, who also regarded the works of St Augustine which it was based on as forgeries created by atheists. Martin is said to have also composed a work treating theology according to the thought of Augustine in the same manner, which was never printed. In 1679, Martin was appointed professor of theology at

Saumur Saumur () is a Communes of France, commune in the Maine-et-Loire Departments of France, department in western France. The town is located between the Loire and Thouet rivers, and is surrounded by the vineyards of Saumur itself, Chinon, Bourgu ...

, where it is said that some

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

professors, alarmed that Martin had induced several of their pupils to enter the Catholic Church, forbade the others to attend his lectures. The theses which Martin published while there were much sought after in their time, but were accused of favouring

Jansenism Jansenism was a 17th- and 18th-century Christian theology, theological movement within Roman Catholicism, primarily active in Kingdom of France, France, which arose as an attempt to reconcile the theological concepts of Free will in theology, f ...

, leading to his dismissal. Though the Bishop of Angers,

Henri Arnauld Henri Arnauld (1597–1692) was a French Catholic bishop. Arnauld was born in Paris, and was first destined for the Bar, but was taken to Rome by Cardinal Bentivoglio and during this absence, which lasted five years, the court granted him ( ...

, and the Archbishop of Paris,

François de Harlay de Champvallon François de Harlay de Champvallon (; François III de Harlay; 14 August 1625 – 6 August 1695) was the fifth Archbishop of Paris. Life and church Early years Harlay de Champvallon was born in Paris, the nephew of François de Harlay, ar ...

, found Martin innocent of heresy, King

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

refused to restore him to his post. Martin died at

Poitiers Poitiers is a city on the river Clain in west-central France. It is a commune in France, commune, the capital of the Vienne (department), Vienne department and the historical center of Poitou, Poitou Province. In 2021, it had a population of 9 ...

26 September 1695.

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Andre 1621 births 1695 deaths 17th-century French philosophers 17th-century French clergy