so R BONNE
886
SOREK
Church in matters of thooloprj'. Political interferences, which could not be wholly avoided in the condition of alTain*. linally undermined its influence. It released the suhji-cts of Henry III from their alle};iance, and its preachers counselled" nsistance. to the degree of regi- cide. It declared Henry IV. the legitimate heir to the crown, unworthy, and debarred because of obstinate |H'r>isteiice in heresy. Still more was done by its mis- takes in |>hilost)i)hy to hasten its ruin. In 1624 it se- cured from the Parliament a decree forbidtling any per- s«Mi to teach contrary to the doctrines of approved au- thors— tlie resjilution being aimed at Des Cartes, in de- fence of Ari.-toile. Neitlier the MidiUitions of Des Cartes nor the works of Malei>ranche, Penelon, Bossuet, and Leibnitz could arouse the slumbering intelligence of the learned faculty. But the issuing, by Boileau, of the burles<iue .1 rrel dome en la Grande Chamhre dn Par- mtsse exposed the positiou of the Sorbonne to ridicule, and rendered any further invoking of legal aid to the defence of Aristotle impossible. This was followed, in 1751, by Voltaire's Le Tombeau de la Sorbonne {CKuvres de Voltaire, par Chr. Beuchot, .xxxix, 534). In this work special emphasis was laid on the . fact that Des Cartes' Idees Innees were now defended by the Sorbonne as a bulwark of religion, though he had been at tirst de- nounced by the same authority as a most destructive heretic, etc. The position became more difficult with every day. until the decrees of 1789 and 1790 contiscated the property and tinancial resources of the Sorbonne for the benefit of the nation. Al)out two thousand manu- scripts were transferred to the Bibliotheque Nationale, while the |)rinted works were distriluited among differ- ent libraries in the metropolis. The buildings came into the possession of the imperial university in 1807, and have been used as residences for professors, deans, rectors, etc. The three faculties, Theohxjie, Lettres, and Sciences, delivered their lectures and held their exam- inations, and the minister of public instruction distrib- uted the annual prizes of the concours (/eneral in the halls of the Sorbonne. Tlie monument of Richelieu still adorns the chapel. lie was a former pupil, and had caused the ancient and narrow rooms to be replaced with the modern palace-like edifices which are yet re- membered. The modern Bibliotheciue de la Sorbonne, or de rUniversite, possesses nothing whatever of the former librarj'. Even the homilies of Hobert of Sorbon, writ- ten by his own hand, are in the National Library. The- ology, philosophy, and philology still meet within its walls, and [)erhaiis each retains some measure of the former spirit; but the sul)stance and form are of the rjth century. The course of many prominent profess- ors of the Sorlxinne, following the example of Laromi- guere and Itoyer-Collard, in connection with the polit- ical and s«>cial revolutions of the period from 1817 to 1830, is familiarly known. No other school in Europe has played such a role as the Sorbomie. In the domains of [Miliiiis and the Church its influence was perhaps too prominently exercised, and perha|)s no adequate results were produced in philoso])hy, theology, and science gen- erally, in comparison with the means and opportunity enjoyed.
.Sec BiilieuFi, Ilitl. I'nirersi/. Purin. C Paris, IfiOo, and often, fi voIh. fill.), censured by the Sorl)onne; Crevier, //<■.< ./^ rinirns. de I'liri.t (ibid. 17(il, 7 vols, 12mol, extracted from Bulieus, and extending only to A.D. ItVM); Inivernet, IlinLde la Sorlnmne. etc. (ibid. 1790, 2 vols. Xvo), declamatory ; I )ul»arle, ///.</. r/e I'i'nir.de J'arui (ibid. 1X44,2 vols.Hvo) ; Prat. Maldimal el I' Univ. di- I'uriH ait X\'Je Sierle (il)id. IKoC, Kvoj ; Kncijcl. des ■Sri, net n et dm A rig (Neuchatel, 1775^, torn, xv; Ber- gier, liin. di- Thfid. H. V. ; '■ Sorbonne" in the Encyrl. .)/,- Iliodiijiif, torn, iii (Paris, 17!M»); //Lii. de i Ki/lise Calli- catif, torn, xii, liv. 34, to A.D. 1 272. .See also I 'i,s des J'kres fl dr* Marhpt, vii, (;25 ; Saint-Savin, iKiirret de lioi- l'aij-/JeAj,rtniiT,Hc. (Par. IK21),iii, 111; Beuchot [Chr.], iF.iirret dt Voltaire, .\xxix, 534 llerzog, lieal-Ency-
klnp. H. v.
Sorcerer, Sokceuy ( usually some form of rjll'S, kds/idjih, to mutter incantations). See Divination.
Sorcery in Chuistian Countries. In early times those who gave themselves to magic and sorcery were usually termed venejici and malejici, because either bv |)oison or by means of fascination they wrought per- nicious effects upon others. The laws of the The- odusian Code (lib. ix, tit. 1(3, l)e Meficiis) frequentlv brand them with this name of midejici. Constantius {Cod. Tlieod. leg. 5) charges them with disturbing the elements or raising of tempests, and practicing abom- inable arts in the evocation of the infernal sjiirits to assist men in destroying their enemies. These he therefore orders to be executed, as unnatural monsters, and quite divested of the principles of humanity. Thev were also excepted at the granting of intlidgence to criminals at the Easter festivals, as guilty of too hei- nous a crime to be comprised within the general pardon granted to other offenders. The Council of Laodicea (can. 30) condemns them under the name of magicians and enchanters, and orders their expidsion from the Church. — Bingham, Christ. Antiq. bk. xvi, ch. v, § 5.
The early Christians were derided as sorcerers in accordance with the impious cliarge brought by Cel- siis and others against our Lord, that he jiracticed mag- ic, which they supposed him to have studied in Egypt. Augustine {JJe Consens. Evan;/, i, 9) says that it was generally believed among the heathens that our Sav- iour wrote some books upon magical arts, which he de- livered to Peter and Paul for the use of the disciples.