Chapter XIV

DECREES AND INDEXES, FRENCH, BELGIAN, BOHEMIAN,
ROMAN, AND SPANISH, 1685–1815

1685. Paris. Decrees of Louis XIV 1685–1735
Belgian Indexes 1726–1767
Bohemian Indexes 1670–1800
Editions of Roman Indexes 1815
Madrid. Inquisitor-General.

_1._ _1685._ _Paris._ _Decrees of Louis XIV._--In 1685, shortly before the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, Louis XIV ordered the suppression and destruction of the writings of the Protestants. Harlay, Archbishop of Paris, thereupon published, at the request of the Parliament of Paris, a catalogue of these books which has, as compared with the Roman indexes, a distinctive character of its own. In this list of books condemned and ordered to be destroyed, no reference is made to the Indexes of the Roman series, and, on their part, these Indexes give no consideration to the Paris catalogue.

A convention of the clergy held in 1682, published a pastoral letter (_Un Avertissement pastoral_) addressed to those who followed the so-called reformed faith. The purpose of this _Avertissement_ was stated to be a reconciliation with the Church of these backsliders; and it included a _mémoire_ setting forth the different methods that could to advantage be followed in order to bring about the conversion of these heretics. Included in this _mémoire_ is a statement of orthodox doctrine entitled “Doctrine of the Church as contained in its profession of faith and in the Decrees of the Council of Trent as opposed to the calumnies and the false charges spread to the world in the works of the so-called reformers.”

In 1685, the convention addressed a brief to the King in which it is stated that the clergy did not demand a revocation of the Edict by means of which earlier kings, under unhappy conditions and on grounds that no longer existed, had for a time permitted the practice of the so-called reformed religion. The request was, however, submitted to the King that during the time in which the Edict should yet remain in force, the reformers were to be forbidden in their sermons or writings to abuse or to libel the Catholic Church. In August, 1685, Louis XIV published an edict in which reformers were forbidden to preach or to write against the faith and the doctrine of the Roman Catholic religion. They were further to be permitted to print only such books as contained the statement of their own creed, the text of their prayers, and their rules of discipline. All controversial books having to do with the Catholic faith were condemned, prohibited, and ordered to be destroyed. Any disobedience to this edict is to be punished with banishment and confiscation of property. The printing or the selling of the prohibited books is to be punished with a fine of 1600 livres, and with the cancellation of the license to print. The list of the books so condemned was published in September, 1685, under the authority of Archbishop Harlay and with an _arrêt_ of Parliament. The title is, _Catalogue des livres condamnéz et deffendus par le Mandement de M. l’Archevésque de Paris_.

The catalogue is arranged alphabetically, but at the close is a supplement containing forty-five titles without alphabetical order. The titles are restricted to books printed either in Latin or in French but include a number which have been issued outside of France. This Index condemns as “scandalous” all versions of the Scriptures prepared by the Protestant ministers. In October was published the edict revoking the Edict of Nantes.

_2._ _Belgian Indexes 1695–1735._--In the beginning of the 18th century, were printed in Namur two lists made up from the Roman Index. The first carries no editorial name and is printed in Latin under the title _Elenchus propositionum et librorum prohibitorum_. It bears the date 1709. The second carries the name, as compiler, of Jean Baptiste Hannot. The text is in French. The title reads _Index ou Catalogue des principaux livres condamnés et défendus par l’Église_. This bears date 1714. It comprises a selection of works in support of Jansenism. The compiler is a zealous member of the society of Jesus. Both these lists are private undertakings, issued under no ecclesiastical or political authority.

In January, 1695, Precipiano, Archbishop of Mechlin, published a decree which orders the condemnation of seventy-three works, chiefly the writings of the Jansenists. Among the titles given in the _Elenchus_ of 1709 are the works of “de Chartes” (Descartes) and of Copernicus. The Index contains the following remark:

“A number of the books which were prohibited in the Tridentine
Index, such as the works of Erasmus and Molinäus, have been
corrected in the Antwerp _Index expurgatorius_. It may
therefore be assumed that the later editions of these works
have been printed with the approved text.”

The Index of Hannot, while unofficial, secured later the approval of the Bishop of Namur. The Index of Precipiano undertook to prohibit only books which had not already been prohibited in Rome. The Congregation of the Index paid no attention to the lists prepared by Precipiano. Of the long list of Calvinistic books condemned by Precipiano, only one, a treatise by Basnage, was prohibited in Rome (not until 1728), and of the sixty Jansenist writings only two, the _Difficultés_ of Arnauld and an essay of Quesnel, found place in the Roman lists. Brussels, 1735.--_Catalogus Preliminaris donec amplior sequatur, Quorundam Librorum tum prohibitorum tum noxiorum aut Periculosorum et Proscriptorum e Belgio Austriaco_, etc. The first division is devoted to an _Instructio Summaria_ comprising the general rules; then follows the body of the Index under the title: _Instructio specifica sine Catalogus_, etc. This Index is distinctive in giving in a separate schedule, connected with the titles by numbers, the grounds on which the books are condemned. The schedule is entitled: _Qualificationes et Censurae Librorum_. The lists are largely devoted to the works of Jansen, Quesnel, and van Espen. The Index is said by Mendham to have been the work of the Jesuit Father Wouters Hoynck van Papendrecht, Archpriest of Malines. The regulations provide for minute and vexatious visits of printeries and bookshops, and for interference with sales of books. The Index appears never to have got beyond the status of a scheme. It secured the cordial approval of the Governess, the Duchess Marie Elizabeth, but the Council of Brabant objected to the publication, and appears to have been strong enough to maintain its objection. The regulations of the Index failed, therefore, to secure the sanction of law, and were not put into force. The result indicates that the authority of Philip IV in Brabant was not as final as had been that of Philip II. The scheme comes into print in a supplemental volume of the works of van Espen.[205]

The introduction contains the following noteworthy observation:

“_Il seroit inutile de répéter que dans tout le dit Catalogue
on ne trouve pas condamné un seul livre de ceux qui ont voulu
attribuer aux Papes ce pouvoir illimité, à l’égard des Princes
seculiers, ce qui prouve encore le nécessité qu’il y a de
maintenir les auteurs qui à cet égard ont soutenu les droits des
Princes._”

This complaint occurs not infrequently on the part of the critics of the Indexes. It was made among others by Fra Paolo in his _Discorso_ on the Inquisition already referred to.

It is noteworthy that the members of the council speak of the author of the Index as being unknown to them. It is evident that they do not accept as real the authors whose names are given. It is a suggestion of Mendham that the chief purpose of the production of this particular Index was the proscription by the Jesuits of the works of van Espen. It is evident in any case from the character of the books selected for condemnation, as well as from the wording of the documents connected with the lists, that this Index was a part of the long fight of the Jesuits against the followers of Jansenius.

Among the authors condemned in this Index was, curiously enough, the well-known bishop and eloquent preacher, Bossuet, called by some of his contemporaries the Eagle of Meaux, and also the _Mallens Haereticorum_. The full title of the work condemned is as follows: _Defensio declarationis celeberrimae quam de Potestate ecclesiastica sanxit Clerus Gallicanus, 19 Martii, 1682, ab Illus. ac Rev. Jacobo Benigno Bossuet Meldensi Episcopo, ex speciali jussu Ludovici Magni Scripta_, 2 vol. 4to, Luxemburgi, 1730.

_3._ _Bohemian Indexes, 1726–1767._--In 1726, was printed in Prague a reprint of the Roman Index of 1704 together with the appendix of 1716. In 1729, was printed at Königgrätz, as a supplement to the Roman Index, an _Index prohibitorius_ and _expurgatorius_ in which special consideration is given to works in Latin, in German, and in Czech which had found circulation in Bohemia. The main title reads: _Clavis haeresim claudens et aperiens_. This is followed by a Bohemian title the substance of which is: “A key which has for its purpose the making clear to the understanding the pernicious character of heretical writings, and which, in so doing, shall provide for their extermination; or a catalogue of pernicious works which are likely to cause mischief and which on this ground have been prohibited, together with instructions for the identification of such dangerous writings for extermination of same.”

In 1749, was printed at Prague a second and enlarged edition of this _Clavis_. In 1767, the Archbishop of Prague, Przichovsky, printed, in obedience to an encyclical of Clement XIII, an Index presenting Bohemian books only. The title is: _Index Bohemicorum librorum prohibitorum et corrigendorum et ordine alphabetico digestus_, etc. In the _Clavis_ of 1729, the _Index prohibitorius_ is arranged in three alphabeted divisions, the first including the works in Czech, the second those in German, and the third the Latin titles, with which are certain in French. Following each division, are given certain blank pages left for the description of further books. In the second edition is given a special division entitled _Index librorum Veneria vel obscoena tractantium_, presenting a list of works the obscene character of which can fairly be inferred from their titles. It is noteworthy that this very legitimate division of censorship, which received very little attention either in Rome or in Spain, should have been cared for in Bohemia. Beneath the titles of the books in the list for expurgation, are given as a rule brief analyses constituting what might be called a _catalogue raisonnée_, for instance, _perstringuntur religiosi Societatis Jesu_, etc. Against such a name as that of Huss is added the term “heretic” or “arch-heretic.” The compiler of the _Clavis_ was a Jesuit, Anton Koniasch. Koniasch left at his death (in 1760) materials for a further Index which were utilised as the basis of the Index printed in 1767 by Przichovsky. The title proposed by Koniasch was: _Index librorum perniciosorum abolendorum vel repurgandorum_, etc. In the Index as published by the Archbishop, is the order that his pastoral brief, together with the encyclical of the pope, shall, within three weeks’ time, be read on the Sunday in all German and Bohemian churches, and that, on the same day, a sermon shall be given devoted to the danger of heretical books. He orders further that whoever shall be convicted of reading heretical or prohibited books shall _ipse jure_ come under excommunication. This is followed by an edict, issued by Charles VI and confirmed in 1749 by Maria Theresa, in regard to the distribution of heretical books. This Index is both prohibitory and expurgatory, but the two sets of titles are arranged in one alphabet. It contains also an enlarged edition of the Bohemian division of the _Clavis_.

=4. Editions of the Roman Indexes, 1670–1800.=

_1670._ _Rome._ _Clement X._ In 1670, under the instructions of Clement X, Fanus prints an Index which contains the lists of Alexander and of Clement, with an appendix bringing the record of prohibitions down to date. This volume is again printed in 1675, with an appendix covering the prohibitions of five years.

_1681._ _Rome._ _Clement XI._ In 1681, under the instructions of Clement XI, Jacobus Riccius again reprints the same lists and decrees with supplements. An edition of this Index of 1681 was printed in Munich in 1683. Riccius states in his preface that, in addition to the including of the titles of the later prohibitions, he has found occasion for a number of corrections, both in the titles and in the names of the authors. The editors of the Roman Indexes are now beginning to show some regard for bibliographical completeness and typographical accuracy.

A second impression of the Riccius Index was printed in Rome in 1682, and a third edition appeared in 1739, printed without change, and the later prohibitions are recorded in a series of appendices. Between the years 1704 and 1744, were also printed various editions of this Index, in which the titles of the works prohibited from 1704 to 1739 find place in the main alphabet. Reusch points out, however, that from 1682 to 1754 no official edition of an Index was printed in Rome. A number of Indexes bearing the imprint of the Apostolic printing-office were as a matter of fact manufactured elsewhere, chiefly in Venice.[206] Riccini, or Riccius, who served from 1749 to 1759 as secretary of the Index Congregation, states that for more than seventy years no official editions of the Index were printed in Rome; and that the editions issued from the presses of Venice, presenting the false imprints of the Roman office, contained many blunders and were not to be accepted as authoritative. The official and approved editions must in any case include an introductory word from the secretary of the Congregation.

The Index of Clement XI contains, as first printed, one alphabeted list. In later editions, this list is followed by appendices which, by the year 1734, had aggregated five. The first of these appendices has the epithet _Unica_. It is suggested that this term indicates that the appendix has been substituted for a previous faulty appendix. It is Hannot’s understanding that the fault in the cancelled appendix consisted in a condemnation which had been almost immediately revoked.

In this same Appendix _Unica_ appears for the first time in an Index the name of Fénelon, Archbishop of Cambray. The work condemned is _Explications des Maximes des Saints_. The particular offence in the volume is understood by Mendham to have been the acceptance by Fénelon of the views of the mystical Spanish nun, Sor d’Agreda. There were evidently, however, some other matters in Fénelon’s volume which were found to be dangerous, as the Pope, Innocent XII, found occasion to issue in regard to it a special _Constitution_ in which were condemned twenty-three propositions extracted from Fénelon’s _Explications_. The perusal of the work was forbidden, under pain of excommunication, to all the faithful without exception. The _Constitution_ bears date, March 12, 1699. In the same year, there was issued at Paris an _Arrêt de la Cour de Parlement_ enregistering the letters patent of the king for the execution of this _Constitution_. The Archbishop appears to have accepted without protest the condemnation of the Pope and the authority of the High Court of Parliament.

_1704._ _Rome._ _Index Prohibitorius._--_Index Librorum Prohibitorum Innoc. XII. P.M. jussu. editus. Usque ad Annum 1681. Eidem accedit in fine Appendix usque ad mensem Junii._

_1711._ _Rome Index: Prohibitorius._ This Index, issued under the authority of Clement XI, has no prefatory matter and simply extends up to the date of 1710 the lists of the next preceding Roman Index.

_1744._ _Rome. Index Prohibitorius._ This Index is characterised as distinctive in the absence of all the customary prefatory articles excepting the _Regulae_. Among the works prohibited is a treatise of the Jesuit Benzi, which had some importance in the controversies of the period.

_1750._ _Rome._ _Index Prohibitorius._--This is a reprint of the above with additions to 1750.

_1785–1798._ _Rome._ _Decrees of Prohibition._ During the period above specified, there was published at Rome a weekly journal under the title of the _Giornale Ecclesiastico_. The series for the thirteen years covers thirteen volumes. This journal was utilised for the publication of the decrees issued against specific books by the authorities of the Church. The first work receiving the compliment of such special condemnation was a treatise of Eybel entitled _Was ist der Pabst?_ The author is characterised as one of the ancient enemies of the Apostolic See. Excommunication is ordered against any readers, possessors, or printers of the work and the absolution or relaxation of the penalty is reserved to the pope excepting in the moment of death. A later volume contains a regular decree by the Congregation of the Index in which are condemned twenty-four different works. In the fourth volume appears among other titles the _Pensées_ of Pascal, with Voltaire’s Notes. The volume contains also a specification of the dogmatic constitution issued by the pope against the Council of Pistoria. Mendham refers to the Memoirs of De Ricci as containing an explanation of this condemnation.

_5._ _1815._ _Madrid._ _Index Prohibitorius._--The lists in this Index, which is issued as usual under the authority of the inquisitor-general (only recently restored to power) are devoted almost exclusively to Spanish publications.