De Francisci Henno vita, opere ac doctrina morali by Bernardus Alaimo (review)

BOOK REVIEWS De Francisci Henno vita, opere ac doctrina morali. By Bernardus Alaimo, O.F.M. Palermo: Typografia Greco, 1950. Pp. xvii-171. Lire 450. The first chapter of this thesis from St. Anthony's, Rome, is a biography of the Franciscan Scholar Henno (p. 1-43). Fr. Alaimo first describes the sources he uses; then he tells us that Henno was born in 1662, in what is now the very Northern part of France or the adjacent provinces of Belgium. Upon reaching the age of eighteen Henno became a member of the St. Andrew province of the Recollects. Ordained between 1886-88 he became lector of Philosophy, and later of Theology. Most likelyhe started teaching immediately after ordination and certainly before 1693· In 1701, considered by the Jansenist bishop of Arras as a laxist, he had to leave his convent of Douai and the diocese of Arras; he then continued his teaching of theology in the Franciscan convent of Ypres-Belgium and, around 1706, he went to Tournai, Belgium; here he taught theology in both the Franciscan convent and the Benedictine monastery, and published his theological works dealing mostly with morals. Once again he was accused of laxism. Between 1712-13 he acted as Guardian ad interim in Mons-Belgium. In the chapter of September 24, 1713 he became Custos of the province; later he went to Lille, France, but after a few months he died there in 1714, April 30. The second chapter (p. 44-64) describes, in general, the works of Henno, and their successive publications. First, Fr. Alaimo enumerates a few characteristics of the theology of these years: the use of a more positive method, the fight against Jansenism and Gallicanism; a tendency to particularism , i.e., to writing for a limited public, and a tendency to what the author calls conformism, viz., reconciliation of the traditionally conflicting schools of St. Thomas and Scotus. Henno was influenced by the spirit of the times. He started publishing for the students ofhis Franciscan province and wished to accomodate the principles of Duns Scotus to the teachings of St. Thomas (not of the Thomists, who according to him did not strictly follow their Master). Henno did not intend first to write a complete theology . He published single tracts In Decalogi praecepta (1706), De Restitutione , Jure et Justitia, ac de Statu religioso (1707), De Vitiis et Virtutibus (1708), De Actibus humants (1710), De Verbi divini Incarnations (1711), Tbeologia Sacramentalis (1711), and finally De Deo uno et trino edited in 1713 when most of the other tracts had already a second or even a third edition. In the last tract he manifests his intention to order and to complete what is published so as to form a kind of complete theology. He died the next year, but the tracts, ordered in accordance with Henno's plan were published under the common title Tbeologia dogmática, mordlis et sebolastica (ten editions before the end of the century). The internal structure of Henno's work resembles that of the older Summae, but the Franciscan scholar likes to take arguments from the Bible, the Fathers, and documents of the Councils and the Popes. He usually indicates the "theological note" of his conclusions. 459 460Book Reviews The remaining part of the book, Chapters IH-V, considers the doctrine of Henno on Morals. In chapter III (p. 65-104), under the title "The Conformist Tendency of the Author in Fundamental Moral," Fr. Alaimo again speaks about the general conciliatory attitude of Henno. It appears that the author, even if he calls St. Thomas the "sun" and Duns Scotus the "moon," stands closer to the teachings of Scotus; the influence of the Scotistic system even grows in the later works. By the Thomists of those days, Henno was accused of a misinterpretation of St. Thomas through reading some texts without their context. In fundamental moral, too, Henno actually is a Scotist, admitting the primacy of the will with all the consequences deduced from that principle by Duns Scotus. The conciliatory attitude of Henno consists here exclusively in softening some Scotistic conclusions and in accusing the Thomists of misinterpreting St. Thomas. During his life Henno was accused of...