Antonio Escobar y Mendoza (15894 July 1669) was a Jesuit priest and prominent

ethicist Ethics is the philosophical study of moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches include normative ethics, applied ethics ...

of his time.

Biography

Born at

Valladolid Valladolid ( ; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and ''de facto'' capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the pr ...

in Castile, he was educated by

Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

before entering this order, aged fifteen. He soon became a famous preacher, and his facility was so great that for fifty years he preached daily, and sometimes twice a day. Above all he was a prodigious writer: his collected works comprise eighty-three volumes. Escobar's first literary efforts were

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

verses in praise of

Ignatius Loyola Ignatius of Loyola ( ; ; ; ; born Íñigo López de Oñaz y Loyola; – 31 July 1556), venerated as Saint Ignatius of Loyola, was a Basque Spaniard Catholic priest and theologian, who, with six companions, founded the religious order of the So ...

(1613) and

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

(1618), but his principal works focus on

exegesis Exegesis ( ; from the Ancient Greek, Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation (philosophy), interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Bible, Biblical works. In modern us ...

and

moral theology Ethics involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior.''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy''"Ethics" A central aspect of ethics is "the good life", the life worth living or life that is simply satisfyin ...

. Of the latter the best-known are ''Summula casuum conscientiae'' (1627), ''Liber theologiae moralis'' (1644) and ''Universae theologiae moralis problemata'' (1652–1666). He used to employ the most popular ethical method called

casuistry Casuistry ( ) is a process of reasoning that seeks to resolve moral problems by extracting or extending abstract rules from a particular case, and reapplying those rules to new instances. This method occurs in applied ethics and jurisprudence. ...

, analyzing real situations rather than strict rules. Escobar's '' Summula'' received criticism, especially in the

Jansenist Jansenism was a 17th- and 18th-century theological movement within Roman Catholicism, primarily active in France, which arose as an attempt to reconcile the theological concepts of free will and divine grace in response to certain development ...

Blaise Pascal Blaise Pascal (19June 162319August 1662) was a French mathematician, physicist, inventor, philosopher, and Catholic Church, Catholic writer. Pascal was a child prodigy who was educated by his father, a tax collector in Rouen. His earliest ...

's ''

Provincial Letters The (''Provincial Letters'') are a series of eighteen letters written by French philosopher and theologian Blaise Pascal under the pseudonym Louis de Montalte. Written in the midst of the formulary controversy between the Jansenists and the ...

''. Pascal coined the famous maxim that purity of intention may be a justification of actions which are in themselves contrary to the moral code and to human laws, and its general tendency is to find excuses for human weakness. Escobar's doctrines were also disapproved by some

Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, however he was very appreciated by the mainstream.

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, ; ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the great writers in the French language and world liter ...

subjected Escobar to ridicule in his customary witty style, and Escobar was also the target of criticism by Boileau and

La Fontaine Jean de La Fontaine (, ; ; 8 July 162113 April 1695) was a French fabulist and one of the most widely read French poets of the 17th century. He is known above all for his ''Fables'', which provided a model for subsequent fabulists across Euro ...

. By the 18th and in the 19th century, in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

the name ''Escobar'' had become synonymous with "adroitness in making the rules of morality harmonize with self-interest". Although Escobar is commented as having followed simple habits in his personal life, being a strict adherent to the rules of the

Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...

, it was for his zealous efforts to reform the lives of others he was rebuked. It was said that Escobar "purchased Heaven expensively for himself, but gave it away cheaply to others". Escobar died at Valladolid in 1669, following which, ten years later,

Pope Innocent XI Pope Innocent XI (; ; 16 May 1611 – 12 August 1689), born Benedetto Odescalchi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 21 September 1676 until his death on 12 August 1689. Political and religious tensions with ...

publicly condemned his sixty-five sentences, as well as teachings of other ethical authorities, for being ''propositiones laxorum moralistarum''; nonetheless, it was a criticism towards few judgements and not the scholar in general.Kelly, J.N.D. 1986. ''The Oxford history of the popes''. Oxford: University Press.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Escobar Y Mendoza, Antonio 1589 births 1669 deaths People from Valladolid Cantabrian nobility Catholic casuists 17th-century Spanish Jesuits 17th-century Spanish Roman Catholic theologians Spanish Roman Catholic missionaries

Biography

See also

References