PORTSMOUTH
296
PORTSMOUTH
The Jansenist dispute was then being vigorously
waged. In 1639 St-Cyran had been arrested by Riche-
lieu's order and cast into prison, from which he was
not set free till 1643, dying a little later. In 1640 the
"Augustinus" of Jansenius had appeared, and in 1643
Arnauld's work, "La frSquente communion", which
gave rise to violent discussions. Port-Royal was then
the heart and soul of the opposition. The women
there were as stubborn as the men, and all the parti-
sans of the new teaching in Paris and in France turned
towards the monastery for hght and support. Solita-
ries and nuns flocked thither. The convent in Paris,
in its turn, became too small to contain their numbers,
and a multitude settled once more in the country.
Unfortunately, in 1653 and 16.56, five propositions ex-
tracted from the "Augustinus", which, though not
found in it verbatim, were, according to Bossuet, "the
soul of the book", were condemned by the Sorbonne,
the bishops, and two papal Bulls. From that time
began the persecution of Port-Royal which the plead-
ing of Arnauld, the famous distinction of fact and law,
and the " Pro vinciales ' ' of Pascal only increased . Port-
Royal, having refused to subscribe to the formulary
drawn up by the Assembly of the Clergy in 1657, all
the petites ecoles were successively closed, the novices
were driven out from the abbey, and the confessors
expelled. But in vain; the doctors, even the Arch-
bishop of Paris, Hardouin de P^refixe, endeavoured by
their learning and their patience to bring the recalci-
trants to reason. "They are as pure as angels", said
the latter, "but proud as demons." Only a few con-
sented to sign ; the more obstinate were finally sent to
the country or dispersed in different communities. In
1666 the director, Lemaitre de Lacy, was imprisoned
in the Bastille.
At length, after interminable negotiations, in 1669, what was called "The Peace of the Church" was signed; Port-Royal became again for some years an intellectual and religious centre, shining on all that was most intelligent and noble in the city and at the Court. But the fire was smouldering beneath the ashes. In 1670 Arnauld was obliged to fly to the Low Countries, and Louis XIV, who had begun to suspect and hate the stubborn Port-Royal community, resolved to sub- due them. In 1702 the quarrel broke out anew on the condemnation by the Sorbonne of a celebrated " case of conscience". In 1704 Port-Royal des Champs (Port Royal of the Fields) was suppressed by a Bull of Clement IX. In 1709 the last twenty-five nuns were expelled by the public authorities. Finally, in 1710, to blot out all traces of the centre of revolt, the build- ings of Port-Royal were razed, the site of the chapel turned into a mar.sh, and even the ashes of the dead were dispersed. Port-Royal was destroyed, but its spirit lived on, especially in the Parliament and the University, and during almost all the eighteenth cen- tury France was distracted by the ever-recurring struggle between its heirs and its adversaries. (See Jansenius and .Iansenis.m.)
By the rigour of its moral code, which carried the Christian ideal to extremes, by the intense effort which it demanded of the human will, by the example with which it illustrated its teaching, by the writings which it issued or inspired — St-Cyran's and Mere Ang61ique's "Lettres spirituelles", Arnauld's "Fr(5- quente communion", Le Nain de Tillemont's "His- toire cccl^siastique", Pascal's "Provincialcs" and "Pensees"; the "Logique" — Port-Royal produced a great impression on the seventeenth century. Almost all the great writers felt its influence. Two were its direct product: Racine, its pupil, and Pascal, its most distinguished champion. The others were more or less indebted to it . Boilcau remained till the end united in heart and soul with it (cf. "Epitre sur I'amour de Dieu"). Mme de S<!vign6 was passionately fond of Nicole's "Essais". La Rochefoucauld's pessimism is closely related to theirs, as is that of the gentler La
Bruyere; St-Simon is devoted to them, and Bossuet
himself is not altogether a stranger to their influence.
What contributed most to the power of these
"Messieurs" was the petites ecoles and their pedagogy.
Their educational principle was: that human knowl-
edge, science itself, is not an end, but a means; it
should serve only to open and develop the mind, and
raise it above the matter of teaching. In teaching
they adopted an openly Cartesian and rationalistic
method; they strove to cultivate the intellect and the
reasoning faculty much more than the memory, and
they appealed constantly to personal reflection.
Breaking with the traditions of the Jesuits and the
University, who taught in Latin, they taught in
French. The child learned the alphabet in French,
and was instructed in the mother tongue before study-
ing the dead languages. He wrote in French before
writing in Latin. He had to compose short dialogues,
stories, letters, the subject of which he chose from
among the things he had read. Translation, and
especially verbal translation, took precedence over
written themes. Finally, Greek, of which they were
unrivalled teachers, received more attention and a
more important place. Even in matters of discipline
they introduced reforms: they endeavoured to com-
bine severity with gentleness. Punishment was re-
duced to a minimum, and the school was likened to
the home as far as possible. They suppressed in the
pupil the desire to surpass a fellow-pupil, and devel-
oped in him only that natural attraction of the interest
presented by the subjects. These admirable teachers
and educationists have left us several school books of
the highest merit, some of which have remained classics
for nearly two centuries — the "Grammaire", edited
by Lancelot, but in reality the work of ,\rnauld; the
"Logique" of Arnauld and Nicole, the "Jardin des
racines grecques" of Lancelot; the "M6thodes" for
learning Greek, Latin, Italian, Spanish, etc. Not
everything in their books or in their system of educa-
tion is worthy of admiration, but it is incontestable
that they contributed to the progress of pedagogy
against the older Scholastic methods.
Cl^mencet, Histoire generate de Port-Rolal (Amsterdam, 1755); Racine, Abregt de Vhistoire de Port-Royal (Paris. 1747); Mi- moires pour servir a Vhistoire de Port-Royal (Utrecht, 1742); Gebberon, Histoire du Jansinisme (Amsterdam, 1700); Ste- Beitve, Port-Royal (Paris, 184C>-46) (the most important work on the subject) ; Fuzet, Les Janshiistes et leur dernier historien (Paris, 1876); Hallats, Pelerinage a Port-Royal (Paris, 1908); Romanes, Story of Port Royal (London, 1907); Cadet, Port Royal Education, tr. (New York, 189S).
J. Lataste.
Portsmouth, Diocese op (Pobtus Magnus, or PoRTEMUTHENSls). This diocesc was created by a Brief of Leo XIII, dated 19 May, 1SS2, and was formed out of the western portion of the Diocese of Southwark as constituted at the re-establishment of the English Hierarchy in 1850. It comprises the Counties of Hampshire and Berkshire, on the main- land, the Isle of Wight, and the Channel Islands, and is thus almost coterminous with the limits of the old Catholic See of Winchester. However, according to its consistent policy in England, the Holy See avoided the old centre of government and fixed upon Portsmouth — the great naval port — as the cathedral city for the new diocese. John Virtue (1S26-1900) was named its first bishop, and upon him devolved the task of organizing the new diocese. He had about seventy priests and forty missions. In Portsmouth there was a portion of a large church, newly built, which would serve as a cathedral. With this he made a start, and the eighteen years of his episcopate was a slow and steady growth in every department of diocesan life — the founding of new missions, the establishment of religious communities, and the gradual increase in the ranks of the clergy. He enlarged the cathedral and completed its interior decorations. He built an
