Nicolas Cornet (

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...

, 1572 –

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

, 1663) was a French Catholic theologian.

Life

He studied at the Jesuit college of Amiens, took the doctorate of theology at the

University of Paris , image_name = Coat of arms of the University of Paris.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of Arms , latin_name = Universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisiensis , motto = ''Hic et ubique terrarum'' (Latin) , mottoeng = Here and a ...

, 1626, and soon became president of the

Collège de Navarre The College of Navarre (french: Collège de Navarre) was one of the colleges of the historic University of Paris, rivaling the Sorbonne and renowned for its library. History It was founded by Queen Joan I of Navarre in 1305, who provided for th ...

and

syndic Syndic (Late Latin: '; Greek: ' – one who helps in a court of justice, an advocate, representative) is a term applied in certain countries to an officer of government with varying powers, and secondly to a representative or delegate of a univers ...

of the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

(faculty of theology). In this latter capacity he reported to the assembly of the Sorbonne, 1649, seven propositions, two taken from

Antoine Arnauld Antoine Arnauld (6 February 16128 August 1694) was a French Catholic theologian, philosopher and mathematician. He was one of the leading intellectuals of the Jansenist group of Port-Royal and had a very thorough knowledge of patristics. C ...

's ''Fréquente Communion'' and five from the ''

Augustinus Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Afric ...

'' of

Jansenius Cornelius Jansen (, ; Latinized name Cornelius Jansenius; also Corneille Jansen; 28 October 1585 – 6 May 1638) was the Dutch Catholic bishop of Ypres_in_Flanders.html" ;"title="atholic-Hierarchy]/ref> Its seat was Saint Martin's Cathedra ...

. In spite of strong opposition created by members of the faculty who, with , appealed to Parliament and by

Jansenists Jansenism was an Early modern period, early modern Christian theology, theological movement within Catholicism, primarily active in the Kingdom of France, that emphasized original sin, human Total depravity, depravity, the necessity of divine g ...

like De Bourseis in "Propositiones de gratiâ in Sorbonnæ facultate prope diem examinandæ, propositæ Cal. Junii 1649", and Arnauld in "Considérations sur l'entreprise faite par M. Cornet, syndic de la faculté, en l'assemblée de Juillet 1649", he succeeded in having the Assembly of the Clergy of 1650 denounce the five propositions of the ''Augustinus'' to

Pope Innocent X Pope Innocent X ( la, Innocentius X; it, Innocenzo X; 6 May 1574 – 7 January 1655), born Giovanni Battista Pamphilj (or Pamphili), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 September 1644 to his death in Januar ...

, who condemned them, 31 May 1653. Maligned by Jansenist writers like Hermant, Cornet was held in high esteem by Richelieu and Mazarin. His eulogy was pronounced by

Bossuet Bossuet is a French surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet Jacques-Bénigne Lignel Bossuet (; 27 September 1627 – 12 April 1704) was a French bishop and theologian, renowned for his sermons and other addr ...

.''Oraison funèbre de Messire Nicolas Cornet'' He left no writings, but is said to have collaborated with Richelieu on the ''Méthodes de controverse''.

Notes

References

;Attribution * cites: **Rapin, Mémoires (Paris, 1865); **

Sainte-Beuve Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve (; 23 December 1804 – 13 October 1869) was a French literary critic. Early life He was born in Boulogne, educated there, and studied medicine at the Collège Charlemagne in Paris (1824–27). In 1828, he s ...

, Port-Royal (Paris, 1871); **Rohrbacher, Histoire universelle (Paris, 1885), XI, 9, 150. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cornet, Nicolas 1572 births 1663 deaths University of Paris alumni University of Paris faculty 17th-century French Catholic theologians