Nicolas Cornet (
Amiens
Amiens (English: or ; ; , or ) is a city and Communes of France, commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in the region ...
, 1572 –
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
, 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
The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...
, 1626, and soon became president of the
Collège de Navarre
The College of Navarre (, ) was one of the colleges of the historic University of Paris. It rivaled the University of Paris, Sorbonne and was renowned for its library.
History
The college was founded by Queen Joan I of Navarre in 1305, who provi ...
and
syndic
''Syndic'' (; Greek: ) is a term applied in certain countries to an officer of government with varying powers, and secondly to a representative or delegate of a university, institution or other corporation, entrusted with special functions or p ...
of the
Sorbonne (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, priest, philosopher and mathematician. He was one of the leading intellectuals of the Jansenist group of Port-Royal and had a very thorough knowledge of patr ...
's ''Fréquente Communion'' and five from the ''
Augustinus
Augustine of Hippo ( , ; ; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430) was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Africa. His writings deeply influenced the development of Western philosophy ...
'' of
Jansenius.
In spite of strong opposition created by members of the faculty who, with , appealed to Parliament and by
Jansenists 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 (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 January 1655.
Born in Rome of a family fro ...
, 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.
[''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:
**
René Rapin, (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 se ...
, Port-Royal (Paris, 1871);
**
René François Rohrbacher, (Paris, 1885), XI, 9, 150.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cornet, Nicolas
1572 births
1663 deaths
University of Paris alumni
Academic staff of the University of Paris
17th-century French Catholic theologians