MALDONATUS
680
MALEBRANCHE
and with the Sept. version of the O. T., and with the original Hebrew." The critical Simon (/iist. crit, des priitciji. nniimenfafetirs du N. T. p. CIS sci.) says he suc- ceeded better than any one else in explaining the literal sense of the sacred writers. He also wrote Truite des Sacremeuts (Lyon. 1614, 4to) ; — Truite de la grace, etc. (Paris, 1(577, fol.) : — Traite des amjes et des demons (Paris, 1017): — Tractatus de ccBremoniis {Bibliotheca ritualis, Kome, 17<S1, 4to). Summula casiann conscientice has been, we believe, unjnstly accredited to Maldonatus. It is a work of doubtful morality, and very unlike the productions of Maldonatus. See Ilerzog, Real-Eiicij- klop. viii, s. V. ; Wetzer u. Welte, Kirchen-Lex. vi, s. v. ; Kitto, Cyclop. Bibl. Lit, s. v. ; Prat, 3faldonat et I' Uni- versite de Paris (1857) ; Theol. Quarterly, 18G0 (iv), p. 082.
Maldonatus, Joannes (2), a Spanish Jesuit, who, according to Aubertns JNlineus, was a priest of Burgos, and is stated by Zeller to have ordered the lessons of the Koman Breviary, flourished about the middle of the 16th century. In 1549 he published a treatise, De Se- nectute Christiana, and an elegant abridgment of the lives of the saints. — Kitto, Cyclop. Bibl. Lit. vol. iii, s. v.
Male (Heb. 12T, zakar', Gen. i, 27; vi, 19; xxxiv, 25), applied to the male of either man or beasts. The superior estimation in which male children were held among the Hebrews is testified by numerous passages of Scripture, and we find the same feeling, expressed al- most in the same words, still existing in Eastern coun- tries (see Job iii, 3 ; and comp. Roberts, Observ. ad loc). See Chili ).
Malebianche, Nicholas, a French Jesuit, dis- tinguislictl for his peculiar philosophical views, and for the brilliancy and fascination of the style in which they were expounded. He was one of the most illustrious of the Cartesians, aiming by his speculations to correct the dangerous tendencies of Des Cartes's philosophy [see Spinoza], and occupies an eminent, though not a controlling, position in the history of the higher philos- ophy. Some knowledge of his system is required for the just estimation of the doctrines both of Locke and of Leibnitz, and for the illustration of the views of Berkeley.
Life. — ^Malebranche was born of respectable parents in Paris, Aug. 6, 1638. Feeble and sickly from his birth, and deformed bj'a curvature of the spine, he was reared with the tenderest care, and was educated mainly at home. His ill health and his deformity confirmed the natural shyness of his disposition. He avoided the com- panionship of robust, sanguine, and active playmates, and spent most of his time in solitary meditation. He found his world within himself. P>ager for seclusion from the turmoil of life, he sought a refuge in the Soci- ety of Jesuits, and joined the Congregation of the Ora- tory in the twenty-second year of his age. His studies were at first ecclesiastical history and antiquities, but these he soon abandoned in consequence of the weakness of his inemor\\ He was next induced by the learned Richard Simon to prosecute sacred criticism and the Oriental languages. They had few attractions for him. In this wavering mood he picked up the then recently published treatise of Des Cartes On Man. To this new- ly-ac(|uired treasure he devoted himself assiduously, and sought the mastery of the Cartesian doctrines and of philosopliical problems. Thus he busied himself for the next ten j-ears of his life, and became one of the most earnest and eminent of the Cartesians. His persi)icacity discerned the weak point of the Cartesian system; and he was too honest and too independent to be ''addictus jurarc in verl)a magistri." He niedilaled inlcntly — closing the windows of his room that be might not be distracted by the light and iU)ise of the outer world; and he revolved in silence and solitude the arduous questions which presented themselves for solution. He read litlle, thinking the knowledge of man, of mind, and of God the all-sufficient realm of speculation; and con-
sidering that such knowledge was to be attained onlj' by diligence, introspection, and abstract reasoning. For- tified and enriched by such silent and solitarv labors, Malebranche proposed his modifications of CartesianLsm in a work entitled Hi'cherche de la Verite, the first vol- ume of which appeared at Paris in 1673 ; the second and third were published in the course of the ensuing year. An improved and enlarged edition was brought out, towards the close of his life, in 1712. This is his principal work ; it is that which determines his position in the history of philosophic opinion. Besides other in- teresting topics discussed, it, in a manner less open to objection, propounded his celebrated doctrine of Seeing all things in God. The treatise itself was an examina- tion of the nature and characteristics of knowledge, of the origin of ideas, of the mode of avoiding errcr and arriving at truth, of the precautions required to guard against delusions of various kinds, and especially the fallacies which arise from the senses and from prejudice. Malebranche has been accused of miacknowledged obli- gations to Bacon. In this he only imitated the exam- ple of his illustrious master Des Cartes. Nor did he deviate from his exemjilar in the attention bestowed upon the literary execution of the book. The style was so exquisite that it exercised an irresistible fascination over all its readers. Many who rejected his principles and deductions were charmed by their exposition ; and many were beguiled into the acceptance of his reveries b}' the plausiblity of their presentation, and by the beauty of their expression. His ornate style disguised his dogmas even to himself. His language wanted phil- osophical precision, and offered many salient points for attack. His system was assailed by Foucher, by An- toine Arnauld, and by Locke. The Jesuit Du Tertre, at the instigation of his order, reluctantly impugned it. Hardouin, in his A theists Unmasked, accused it of athe- istic characteristics. Leibnitz, in defending it against such charges, admitted that the looseness of the bril- liant presentation rendered it liable to misapprehension and misrepresentation, but maintained that the real opinions of the author were verj- different from those attributed to him by his opponents {Letti-e a M. Re?nond, Nov. 4, 1715). The whole system of Malebranche, so far as it is a departure from Cartesianism, is centred in the doctrine of his "Vision in God," and this doctrine led by a logical development to those views of free will and grace which resulted in the controversy with Ar- nauld (1680). His inquiries were, however, actuated throughout by an earnest religious desire for the puri- fication and elevation of his fellow-men, and were not confined to metaphysical speciUation, but were extended to practical topics. With this design he composed his Consolations Chretienncs (1676), and liis Traite de la Morale (1684). The latter is one of the landmarks in ethical philosophy, and has merited the high commen- dation of Sir James Mackintosh. Besides these noted treatises, Malebranche was the author of several essays, on various scientific topics, published in the Journal of the Academy of Sciences. Whatever opposition was ex- cited by the peculiaritj', or the extravagance, or the ap- parent peril of his metaphysical speculations, he was al- ways held in the highest esteem for his amiability, his in- telligence, his simple goodness, and his unaffected pietv.