MAYR
91
MAYRON
summits are not all of the same altitude; the high-
est point of Maj'otte is not over 1800 feet, whereas
the highest peak of Anjuan is about 5000 feet,
while the central cone of Great Comoro, whose
volcanic activity is not yet exhausted, rises to
over 7000 feet. Two monsoons, consequently two
seasons, alternately affect the climate of the archipel-
ago, which is sometimes visited by cyclones. The soil
of these islands is very fertile, and produces in abun-
dance vanilla, cloves, sugar-cane, coffee, etc. The total
population is about 80,000, mostly African negroes,
often erroneously called Makoas (a Mozambique tribe).
There are also some Sakalavas from Madagascar,
mostly former slaves freed when the islands were oc-
cupied by the French. This Comoro ArchiiJelago was
for many centuries an Arabian colony and was once
very prosperous. As they navigated along the Afri-
can coast, the merchants of Idumea and Yemen cre-
ated a special and interesting type, the Comorinos.
Commingled with these Arabian half-breeds, once the
sole owners of the country, there are now Banians
from Cutch and Hindus from Bombay, who carry on
almost the entire commerce. There are also a few Eu-
ropean or Creole planters and officials from Reunion
or Mauritius. In 1843 the French Government,
called in by the sultan, took possession of Mayotte,
which became, with Nossi-Be, a post of surveillance
over Madagascar. All these islands now form a
French colony. In 1844, Mayotte, Nossi-Be, and the
Comoros were made an Apostolic prefecture and con-
fided to the Fathers of the Holy Ghost. In 1898,
when the same missionaries were given the ecclesiasti-
cal administration of Northern Madagascar, these
smaller islands and Santa Maria were attached to the
Apostolic Vicariate at Diego Suarez. Santa Maria
and Nossi-Be have resident missionaries; the other
islands are regularly visited.
The population of these islands is largely Moham- medan and therefore strongly anti-Christian; for this reason little religious progress is made. In all of the islands there arc hardly three or four thousand Catho- lics. There are no Protestants.
Missiones Catholicas (Rome, 1907).
Alexander Le Roy.
Mayr, Beda, a Bavarian Benedictine philosopher, apologist, and poet, b. 15 January, 1742, at Daiting near Aug.sburg; d. 2S April, 1794, in the monastery of Heiligenkreuz in Donauworth. After studying at Scheyern, Augsburg, Munich and Freiburg im Breis- gau, he took vows in the Benedictine monastery of Heiligenkreuz on 29 September, 1762, studied theol- ogy at the common study-house of the Bavarian Benedictines in Benediktbeuem, was ordained priest on 6 January, 1766, taught mathematics, philosophy, rhetoric, theology and canon law at his monastery, where he was also librarian and, for some time, prior. The last 28 years of his life he spent in his monastery, with the exception of four years during which he was pastor of Milndling. He was an exemplary religious and a popular preacher, but, as a philosopher, he was imbued with the subjectivistic criticism of Kant and, as a theologian, he was irenic beyond measure. In a letter to Henry Braun, superintendent of the Bavarian schools, he sets forth the opinion that a unification of the Catholic and the Protestant religion is possible. Braun published this letter without the consent of the author under the title " Der erste Schritt zur kiinftigen Vereinigung der katholischen und evangelischen Kirche" (Munich, 1778). In consequence Mayr was censured by the Bishop of Augsburg and temporarily forbidden to teach theology. His chief work, " Ver- theidigung cler natiirlichen, christlichen und katho- lischen Religion nach den Bedvirfnissen un.sererZeiten" in three parts (.Vugsburg, 1787-90), is equally irenic and permeated with the philosophy of Kant. It was placed on the Index in 1792 and ably refuted by the
ex-.Iesuit Hochbichler (.\ugsburg, 1790). Lindner
(infra) enumerates 58 literary productions of Mayr.
They include 21 dramas, four volumes of sermons
(Augsburg, 1777), numerous occasional poems, and
various treatises on philosophical, theological, and
mathematical subjects.
Baader, Lexikon verslorbener baierischer Schriftsteller des IS u.l9Jahrh., I, ii (Augfiburg u. Leipzig, 1825), 12-16; Lindner, Die Schriftsteller des Benediktiner Ordens im heutigem Konig- reich Bayem seit 17B0, II (Ratisbon, 18S0), 137^1.
Michael Ott.
Mayron (de Ma-s-ronis), Francis, b. about 1280, probably at Mayronnes, Department of Basses-Alpes, he entered the Franciscan order at the neighbour- ing Digne (or Sist^ron). He had been teaching at the University of Paris for a long time as bachelor of theology, when, on 24 May, 1323, John XXII, at the request of King Robert of Naples, commanded the chancellor of the university to confer the degree of master of theology upon him. On 27 Sept., 1317, ^t. Elzear de Sabran died at Paris in Francis's arms. Francis was afterwards sent to Italy, and died at Pia- cenza, probably 26 July, 1327. It is generally ac- cepted that Mayron introduced the famous " Actus Sorbonicus" into the University of Paris. This oc- curred at a disputation lasting from 5 a. m. to 7 p. m., in which the advocate had to defend his theses against any and all opponents who might offer to attack them, without any assistance and without either food or drink. Denifle has, however, denied this ("Chartu- larium Universit. Paris", II, Paris, 1891, 273), though only for this reason, that no "document" mentions anything about any such introduction by Mayron. Mayron was a distinguished pupil of Duns Scotus, whose teaching he usually followed. He was sur- named Doctor acutus, or Doctor illuminatus, also Ma- gister abstractionum. His "Scripta super 4 libros Sententiarum " appeared at Venice, in 1507-8, 1519- 20, 1520, 1526, 1556, 1567.
The treatises added thereto, "De formalitatibus ", "De primo principio", "Explanatio divinorum ter- minorum", are not his, but have been collected from his teachings. The " De univocatione entis", edited with other writings at Ferrara before 1490, is Mayron's. His work "Confiatus", on the sentences, appeared at Treviso in 1476; Basle, 1489, 1579(7); Cologne, 1510. Distinct from the latter are the "Conflatile", Lyons, 1579; "Passus super LTiiiversalia", " Prajdica- menta", etc., Bologna, 1479, Lerida, 1485, Toulouse, 1490, Venice, 1489; "Sermones de tempore cum Qua- dragesimal!", two editions without place or date, probably Brussels, 1483, and Cologne, Venice, 1491; "Sermones de Sanctis", Venice, 1493, Basle, 1498 (with fourteen dissertations); "Tractatus de Concep- tione B.M.V. ", ed. Alva and Astorga in "Monumenta Seraphica pro Immaculata Conceptione", Louvain, 1665; "Theologicje Veritates in St. Augustinum de Civitate Dei", Cologne, 1473, Treviso, 1476, Toulouse, 1488, Venice, 1489( ?) ; " Veritates ex libris St. Augustini de Trinitate ", Lyons, 1520. There are many other un- edited writings on the works of St. Augustine, and philosophical and theological works, which testify to the extensive knowledge and the penetrating intellect of this eminent pupil of Duns Scotus. The treatise, " De celebratione Missa;", is also probably by him (cf. Ad. Franz, "Die Messe im deutschen Mittelalter", Freiburg, 1902, 493-5).
RiNONico A Pisis, Liber Conformitalum in Anahcta Francis- cana. IV (Quaracchi. 1906), 339, 623, 540, 544; Wadding, Scrip- tores Ordinis Minorum (Rome, 1650), 123-5; ibid. (1806), 84; ibid. (1906), 85-6: Sbahalea, Supplementum ad Scriptores O.M. (Rome, 1806). 267-712 (2[ul r-d.. ilii.l., 190S). 28:S-SS; .JoH. A S.Antonio,/;./.;...//,, ,, „„,-■.,,, ;-,,„,, ,,,„,,, I (Mnln,!, i7:iL'). 403 sq.; Fkhi i , / ./ ' ■. : ' ■ ; ■ /■ Ml ■ ; :fO
(Paris, 1884- i; Si... , , ., ; ■ ;- l/,//,/-
a((er, II (.Vtaijiz, ISCV, I Is..- IImim m // -,.;,,,/, , /■','..«- phiescolastigue. II, a (Pari.;, ISS(I), 29Ssq. ; Uvhtek, \:i'ii, iirlatar literarius, II (Innsbruck, 1906), 522-25; Chevaliek, Repertoire de sources hist., II (Paris. 1907), 3271.
Michael. Bihl,
