JANSENIUS
285
JANSENIUS
with learned and public men. From tlie days of his
childliood he conceived the desire of serving God in the
priesthood. The delicate state of his health prevented
the execution of this cherished plan for some time;
but finally he was ordained priest at Limburg, 2(j
March, 1860. In 1S66 he was appointed spiritual
counsellor ))y Archbishop Hermann von Vicari of
Freiburg, and in 1880 Pope Leo XIII made him a
prelate and a prothonotary Apostolic ad instar partici-
pantium.
Janssen is the author of manj' valuable works on his- torical subjects. It was while he was at the I'niversity of Louvain that he resolvecl to make the stutly of history his principal work for the remainder of his life. His first work was a Latin biography of Abbot Wibald, which appeared in a revLsed form in German (1854). In 1850 lie published a volume of historical docu- ments relating to the Diocese of Miinster (Die CJeschiehtsquellen des Bisthums Miinster, 3 vols.). In 1861 appeared the essay " Frankreichs Rheinge- luste und deutschfeindliche Politik in friiheren Jalir- hunderten", in which he laid bare the traditional diplomacy of France, hostile to Germany and intent upon extending the boundary line as far as the Rhine. In 1863 he published an essay upon Schiller as an historian (Schiller als Historiker), in which he made it plain that the great German poet, in his historical writings, indulged too much in his imagination. F'or many years he was engaged in sifting part of the manuscript material found in the archives of Frank- fort; and the result of these labours was the publica- tion of "Frankfurts Reichscorrespondenz, 1376- 1519" (2 vols., 1863-73). In the essay "Zur Genesis der ersten Theilung Polens" (1865) he explained the circumstances under which the former Kingdom of Poland was robbed of part of its dominions by neigh- bouring countries. A biography of the man whom he considered as his teacher and guide appeared in three volumes in 1868 under the title " Johann Fried- rich Boehmers Leben, Briefe und kleinere Schriften". In 1876-77 appeared in two volumes another biog- raphy of a renowned scholar and convert to the Catholic Faith, Count Friodrich Leopold zu Stolberg. In the work " Zeit- und Lebensbilder" (1875) he pub- lished in book form a number of essays on the men and events of his time.
The most important work is his "History of the German people ' ' (Geschichte des deutschen V'olkes seit dem Ausgang des Mittelalters). The first suggestion of such an undertaking was made by his master and friend, Johann Friedrich Boelimer, in 1853. At first he planned to write a complete history of Germany from the remotest times to his own day; but soon this plan had to be abandoned, and he confined himself to the period beginning with the end of the Middle Ages. Eight volumes have appeared; six were given to the public by Janssen himself (1876-88), and two by his pupil and friend Ludwig Pastor (1893-94) from materials collected by Janssen; and they reach as far as the time of the Thirty Years War, which com- menced in 1618. The great merit of this work is that Janssen treated not only of the political but also of the religious, social, and economic conditions of Germany, that he was very faithful to the sources of information and very impartial, that he made the authorities speak for themselves, and that he destroyed the com- mon conception, according to which the Middle Ages presented nothing but corruption and moral decay. Valuable additions to this work are found in two small volumes written in reply to adverse criticism ("An meine Kritiker", 1882; "Ein zweites Wort an meine Kritiker", 1884). Most of the works of Janssen had a large sale, and appeared in several editions; this is particularly the case of the " History of the German People", which has been translated, partly, at least, into French and English. Janssen was a very prolific writer; to the works which have just been mentioned
he added a number of articles written for reviews and
other publications.
Owing to the literary and critical merits of hia works Janssen must be placed among the foremost Catholic historians of the last century. In his great work he deals much with the origin and the great leaders of the Protestant Reformation, yet he is always most moilerate in tone, and never uses ex- pressions which might give offence. The same atti- tude of deference and respect was shown in his per- sonal relations towards those who differed from him in faith; and in this manner he won the esteem and confidence of Protestants, among whom he found many friends.
Despite Janssen 's great learning he remained humble; worldly honours and ecclesiastical dignities had no at- traction for him.
In 1864 efforts were made to win liim for the diplo- matic service of the Vatican; some time later he was mentioned for a vacant bishopric; in 1SS3 Pope Leo XIII contemplated sununoning him to Rome for the di- rection of the Vatican Archives; in 1890 the cardinalate was to be conferred on him; but Janssen succeeded in escaping all these honours. He gave often and abundantly to the poor, to the sick, to churches, and to institutions of mercy. An asylum for the poor and abandoned children of Frankfort, erected in 1894 in the town of Oberursel, owes its existence largely to his efforts. Janssen was a great scholar and an exemplary priest, though he never exercised the ecclesiastical ministry.
Fastor, Johannes Janssen (Freiburg, 1894),
Fk.\XCIS J. SCHAEPER.
Jansenius and Jansenism. — Cornelis Jansbn, Bishop of Ypres (Cornelius Jansexius Yprensis), from whom Jansenism derives its origin and name, must not be confounded with another writer and bishop of the same name, Cornelius Jansenius Gandavensis (1510-1576), of whom we possess several books on Scripture and a valuable "Concordia Evangelica".
I. Life and Writings. — The subject of this article lived three-quarters of a century later than his name- sake. He was born 28 Oct., 1585, of a Catholic family, in the village of Accoi, near Leerdam, Holland ; died at Ypres, 6 May, 1638. His parents, although in mod- erate circumstances, secured for him an excellent edu- cation. They sent him first to LTtrecht. In 1602 we find him at the LTniversity of Louvain, where he en- tered the College du Faucon to take up the study of philosophy. Here he passed two years, and at the solemn promotion of 1604 was proclaimed first of 118 competitors. To begin his theological studies he entered the College du Pape Adrien VI, whose presi- dent, Jacques Janson, imbued with the errors of Baius and eager to spread them, was to exert an influence on the subsequent course of his ideas and works. Having hitherto been on amicable terms with the Jesuits, he had even sought admission into their order. The refusal he experienced, the motives of which are unknown to us, seems not to be altogether unrelated to the aversion he subsequently manifested for the celebrated society, and for the theories and practices it championed. He was also associated with a young andwealthy Frenchman, Jean du Verger de Hauranne, who was completing his course of theology with the Jesuits, and who possessed a mind subtile and cultured, but restless and prone to innovations, and an ardent and intriguing character. Shortly after his return to Paris towards the end of 1604, du Verger was joined there by Jansenius, for whom he had secured a position as tutor. About two years later he attracted him to Bayonne, his native town, where he succeeded in hav- ing him appointed director of an episcopal college. There, during eleven or twelve years of studies ardently pursued in common, on the Fathers and principally on St. Augustine, the two friends had time to exchange thoughts and to conceive daring projects. In 1617,
