MORIN
612
MORIN
Snmariiano (printed with Van Dale's De oriyine et pro- rjressu idolatna, Amst. 1696, 4to) -.—Lettre siir Voritjine de la langue Ilebruique, with an answer of Huetius; printed in vol. i of JHssertatkms sur diverses matiires de Relir/ion et de Philobxjie recueillis par Tilladet (Paris, 1712, 12mo). In this work he argues boldly that Adam was insinred with a knowledge of the Hebrew tongue by the Almighty. See Niceron, Memoires, vol. xii ; Haag, La France Protestante ; Hoefer, Nouo. Bioy. Generate, s. V. ; Gen. Biog. Did. s. v. (J. H. W.)
Morin, Frederic, a French philosopher, was born at Lyons June 18, 1823. After preliminary studies he entered the Normal .School in 1844 ; received a fellow- ship in philosophy in 1848, and lectured on this branch successively at the lyceums of ^lacon and Nancy, and at the Lycee Bonaparte. When, after the coup d'etat of 1852, he had refused the oath to the usurper, Louis Napoleon, he was considered as having resigned his pro- fessorship, lie devoted himself henceforth to private instruction, and published works on religious philosophy, seeking to harmonize democratic jirinciples with Chris- tian beliefs. We have of him, Saint Francois d'Assisses et les Frandscains (1853, 12mo) : — De la Genese et de^ Principes melaphysiques de la societe modcrne (1856, 8vo) : — Dictiminaire de Philosophie et de Theolor/ie sco- lastique (1857-58, 3 vols, large 8vo). Besides, he has furnished articles to the journal VA venir, to the Corre- spoiulant (first period), to the Revue de Paris, to the Revue de rjnstrnction publique, and to the Biographie Generale. He died in 1874.
Morin, Jean, a most learned French writer on the- ologii-al subjects, and a convert to the Eomanists, was born at Blois in 1591. His parents were members of the Reformed faith, but at Leyden, where he was study- ing philosophy and theology, the violent discussions between Calvinists and Arminians estranged him for a time from all religious connection, and he finally, falling under the influence of Komanists, accepted their creed, at Paris, under cardinal Perrone. Some time after his conversion to Romanism he entered into the Congrega- tion of the Oratory, then but recently established, and began to make himself known by his learning and his works. In 162(5 he published De Patriarcharum et Primatum Orir/ine (Paris, 4to), dedicating the work to pope Url)an VIII. In l(j28 he undertook an edition of the Si'ittiiiii/iiit Bible, with the version made by Nobil- ius, su])]ilying it with a preface, in which he treats of the authority of the Septuagint, He commends the edition of it that had been made at Home by order of Sixtus V in 1587, which he followed, and maintained that we ought to prefer this version to the present He- brew text, because that has been, he says, corrupted by the Jews. Having gone from the Protestant to the Rom- ish fold, Morin very naturally, like all apostates, became a most enthusiastic adherent of Romanism, and therefore now engaged upon a systematic defence of those ver- sions which the Church had approved by weakening the texts which passed for original (Simon, Finleitung, p. 522). Before tliis work was ready to appear, he published in 1629 Ilistoire de la deliverance de VEglise Clirelienne par UEmpircur Const atit In. ft de la grandeur et souverainete teinporcllc donnee a V Eglite Romnine par les rois de France (Paris, fol.) ; but tliis Imok was not well received at Rome, and Morin was forced to promise that he would retrench and correct it. Soon after he pub- lished Krercitalioyies ecc/exia^'ilicte in utrumqne Samari- tanniiun Pentnteuchum (Paris, 1631, 4to), for the sake of establishing which, he, as we have already seen above, also now stoutly attacked the integrity of the Hebrew text. As there was then preparing an edition of the Polyglot at Paris, !Morin took upon himself the care of the Samaritan Pentateuch. His endeavors to exalt this, together with the Greek and Latin versions of the Bible, at the expense of the Heljrew, made him very obnoxious to many savans, especially Hebraists; antl he was attacked by Ilottinger and Buxtorf in particu-
I lar. Simon and Kennicott, however, countenance Mo- rin's position. The opposition which Morin encountered I only enhanced his merit at the court of Rome, insomuch j that cardinal Barberini invited him thither bj' order of I the pope, \vho received him very graciously, and in- tended to employ him in the communications that were then passing between the Eastern and Western churches looking towards reunion. He was greiitly caressed at Rome, and intimate with Holstenius, AUatius, and all the learned there. After having remained jiine years at Rome, he was recalled by order of cardinal Richelieu to France, where he spent the remainder of his life in learned labors, and died at Paris in 1659. Morin's works are very numerous, and some of them mucli val- ued by Protestants as well as liomanists on account of the Oriental learning contained in them. The writer of a sketch of his life and labors in Kitto's Cyclopte- dia pronounces Morin " the restorer of the ancient Sa- maritan language," but takes exception, like most He- braists, to "his anti-Masoretic zeal as not according to knowledge, as later investigations in the same field have abundanth' proved." The most imjiortant works not yet mentioned are, Kxcrcitaliones Bibiica; de I/ebra- ici GrcBcique text us sinceritate (Paris, 1633, 4to, and greatly eidarged and improved in 1699, fob: prefaced with a life of the author by father Constanttne, of the Oratory). But also in positive theology jNIorin exerted himself as an author. Thus be wrote Commenturius historicus de disciplina in adminisfratione sacramenti pcenitentics xiii primis seeculis in Ecclesia occidentali et hue usque in orientali observata (Paris, 1651, foL; An- vers, 1682, fol. ; Bruxelles, 1687, fob), a work on which he is said to have spent thirty years of hard mental la- bor, but which, nevertheless, failed to gain much admi- ration. He attacks in it both the Port Royalists and the Jesuits: — Commentarius histoi-ico-dogmaticus de sa- ci'is Eccksice ordinationibus secundum antiquos I'ecentio- nes Latinos, Grcecos, Sgros, et Bubglonicos, in quo demon- st7-ntur orientalium ordinationes conciliis generalibus et siniiiiiic: jiiiii/ijicibus ab initio schismatis in hunc usque <//' .■:! j'lu.oi jirobatie (Paris, 1655, fob), which is gener- ally praistil. and pronounced among bis best efforts: — Opera piislliuma de catechu menorum expiatione,de Sacra- mento conjirmationis, de contritinnc et attritione (Paris, j 1703, 4to): — Antiquitates Ecclesiw Onentalis (Lond. 1682, 12mo), treating of ecclesiastical antiquities as j gleaned from his correspondence with the savans of j Europe. Several of his works remain unedited and un- [ jiublished. Among these we notice De iSacrament^>i Ma- trimonii, and De Basilicis Christianonim et de Paschale I et de vetustissimis Christianorum paschalibus rilibus. I See Niceron, Memoii-es, ix, 30-48; Du Pin, Bibl. des A uteurs Ecclesiastiques ; Schrockh, Kirchengesch. sett der Reformation, iv, 123 sq. ; Marsh, Lect. Divinity; Wolf, Bibliotheca Hebraica, pt. iv, p. 7 ; pt. ii, \). 25 and 270. Simon's biography is a mere satire, and unworthy j of credit. (J. H.'w.)