Pierre Coustant
Encyclopedia
Pierre Coustant was a French Benedictine
scholar, of the Congregation of Saint-Maur.
as novice at the age of seventeen, and took vows on 12 August, 1672. He made his philosophical and theological studies partly at Saint-Rémi, partly at the monastery of Saint-Médard in Soissons
, where he was sent to study philosophy under François Lamy
.
. Coustant's chief contribution to this publication consisted in the separating of the spurious from the genuine writings. He also aided his fellow Benedictines Edmond Martène
and Robert Morel in making the indexes for the fourth volume containing the commentaries on the Psalms
. In an appendix to the fifth volume he collected all the spurious homilies and traced them to their true sources.
, it was Coustant whom the abbot general selected; there was before this time practically only one edition, namely the defective and uncritical one published by Erasmus (Basle, 1523). The subsequent editions of Miraeus (Paris 1544), Lipsius
(Basle, 1550), Simon Grynaeus
(Basle, 1570), Gillotius (Paris 1572), and the one issued by the Paris Typographical Society in 1605 were little more than reprints of the Erasmian text. After making himself conversant with St. Hilary's terminology and train of thought, Coustant compared manuscripts with a view to restoring the original text. In a general preface he proved the Catholicity of Hilary's doctrine concerning the birth of Christ from the Virgin Mary, the Holy Eucharist, Grace, the Last Judgment, the Holy Trinity, and other Catholic dogmas. The preface is followed by two biographical sketches of the saint, the former of which was composed by Coustant himself from the writings of Hilary, while the latter is a reproduction of the life written by Fortunatus of Poitiers. Each treatise is preceded by a special preface stating its occasion and purpose, and the time when it was written. Difficult and obscure passages are explained in foot-notes.
This edition of St. Hilary is a model work of its kind, one of the most esteemed literary productions of the Maurist Congregation. It was published in one folio volume at Paris in 1693 and bears the title: Sancti Hilarii Pictavorum episcopi opera ad manuscriptos codices gallicanos, romanos, belgicos, nec non ad veteres editiones castigata, aliquot aueta opusculis, etc. The work was published with a few additions by Scipio Maffei (Verona, 1730) and by Migne
, Patrologia Latina
, IX and X.
For some time he worked on the new edition of the Maurist Breviary; then he assisted his confrère Claude Guesnié in making the elaborate general index in the works of St. Augustine.
to Innocent III
(c. 88-1216). Very little had been done in this direction before.
There were, indeed, the papal decretal
s from Clement I to Gregory VII
, collected by Cardinal Antonio Caraffa and published by Antonio d'Aquino in 1591, but they were incomplete and their chronological order was frequently incorrect. There were also the Annales of Baronius and the Concilia antiqua Galliae of the Jacques Sirmond
and other works containing scattered letters of the popes; but no one had attempted to make a complete collection of papal letters, much less to sift the spurious from the authentic, to restore the original texts and to order the letters chronologically.
After devoting more than twenty years to this undertaking, Coustant was able to publish the first volume in 1721. It contains the letters from the year 67 to the year 440, and is entitled Epistolae Romanorum Pontificum et quae ad eos scriptae sunt a S. Clemente I usque ad Innocentium III, quotquot reperiri potuerunt..."(Paris 1721). In the extensive preface perhaps of 150 pages Coustant explains the origin, meaning and extent of the papal primacy and critically examines the existing collections of canons and papal letters.
The letters of each pope are preceded by a historical introduction and furnished with copious notes, while the spurious letters are collected in the appendix. Coustant had gathered a large amount of material for succeeding volumes, but he died the same year in which the first volume was published.
Simon Mopinot, who had assisted Coustant in the preparation of the first volume, was entrusted with the continuation of the work, but he also died (11 October, 1724) before another volume was ready for publication. About twelve years later, Ursin Durand
undertook to continue the work; in his case the Jansenist controversy in which he became involved prevented the publication of the material he had prepared.
Finally the French Revolution
and the dissolution of the Maurist Congregation gave the death-blow to the great undertaking. A new edition of Coustant's volume was brought out by Schönemann
(Göttingen, 1796); a continuation, based chiefly on Coustant's manuscripts and containing the papal letters from 461-521, was published by Thiel
(Braunsberg, 1867). There are extant in the Bibliothèque Nationale at Paris fourteen large folio volumes containing the material gathered by Coustant and his Benedictine continuators.
Coustant also took part in the controversy occasioned by Mabillon's De Re Diplomatica between the Jesuit Barthélemy Germon (1663-1718) and the Maurist Benedictines. In two treatises he defends himself and his confrères against Germon who disputed the genuineness of some sources used in the Benedictine edition of the works of St. Hilary and St. Augustine.
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
scholar, of the Congregation of Saint-Maur.
Early life
After receiving his classical education in the Jesuit College at Compiègne, he entered the Benedictine monastery of Saint-Rémi at ReimsReims
Reims , a city in the Champagne-Ardenne region of France, lies east-northeast of Paris. Founded by the Gauls, it became a major city during the period of the Roman Empire....
as novice at the age of seventeen, and took vows on 12 August, 1672. He made his philosophical and theological studies partly at Saint-Rémi, partly at the monastery of Saint-Médard in Soissons
Soissons
Soissons is a commune in the Aisne department in Picardy in northern France, located on the Aisne River, about northeast of Paris. It is one of the most ancient towns of France, and is probably the ancient capital of the Suessiones...
, where he was sent to study philosophy under François Lamy
François Lamy
François Lamy was a French Benedictine ascetical and apologetic writer, of the Congregation of St-Maur.-Life:Lamy was born at Montireau in the Department of Eure-et-Loir. While fighting a duel, he was saved from a fatal sword-thrust by a book of the Rule of St. Benedict which he carried in his...
.
Augustine edition
In 1681 his superiors sent him to the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés to assist his confrère Thomas Blampin in editing the works of Augustine of HippoAugustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo , also known as Augustine, St. Augustine, St. Austin, St. Augoustinos, Blessed Augustine, or St. Augustine the Blessed, was Bishop of Hippo Regius . He was a Latin-speaking philosopher and theologian who lived in the Roman Africa Province...
. Coustant's chief contribution to this publication consisted in the separating of the spurious from the genuine writings. He also aided his fellow Benedictines Edmond Martène
Edmond Martène
Edmond Martène was a French Benedictine historian and liturgist....
and Robert Morel in making the indexes for the fourth volume containing the commentaries on the Psalms
Psalms
The Book of Psalms , commonly referred to simply as Psalms, is a book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible...
. In an appendix to the fifth volume he collected all the spurious homilies and traced them to their true sources.
Hilary of Poitiers
His work did not remain unnoticed by the Abbot General of the Maurist congregation. When Mabillon suggested a new edition of the works of Hilary of PoitiersHilary of Poitiers
Hilary of Poitiers was Bishop of Poitiers and is a Doctor of the Church. He was sometimes referred to as the "Hammer of the Arians" and the "Athanasius of the West." His name comes from the Latin word for happy or cheerful. His optional memorial in the Roman Catholic calendar of saints is 13...
, it was Coustant whom the abbot general selected; there was before this time practically only one edition, namely the defective and uncritical one published by Erasmus (Basle, 1523). The subsequent editions of Miraeus (Paris 1544), Lipsius
Lipsius
Lipsius is the surname of the following persons:* Constantin Lipsius , German architect* Ida Marie Lipsius , German writer and music historian* Justus Lipsius , Flemish humanist...
(Basle, 1550), Simon Grynaeus
Simon Grynaeus
Simon Grynaeus , German scholar and theologian of the Reformation, son of Jacob Gryner, a Swabian peasant, was born at Veringendorf, in Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen.He adopted the name Grynaeus from the epithet of Apollo in Virgil...
(Basle, 1570), Gillotius (Paris 1572), and the one issued by the Paris Typographical Society in 1605 were little more than reprints of the Erasmian text. After making himself conversant with St. Hilary's terminology and train of thought, Coustant compared manuscripts with a view to restoring the original text. In a general preface he proved the Catholicity of Hilary's doctrine concerning the birth of Christ from the Virgin Mary, the Holy Eucharist, Grace, the Last Judgment, the Holy Trinity, and other Catholic dogmas. The preface is followed by two biographical sketches of the saint, the former of which was composed by Coustant himself from the writings of Hilary, while the latter is a reproduction of the life written by Fortunatus of Poitiers. Each treatise is preceded by a special preface stating its occasion and purpose, and the time when it was written. Difficult and obscure passages are explained in foot-notes.
This edition of St. Hilary is a model work of its kind, one of the most esteemed literary productions of the Maurist Congregation. It was published in one folio volume at Paris in 1693 and bears the title: Sancti Hilarii Pictavorum episcopi opera ad manuscriptos codices gallicanos, romanos, belgicos, nec non ad veteres editiones castigata, aliquot aueta opusculis, etc. The work was published with a few additions by Scipio Maffei (Verona, 1730) and by Migne
Migné
Migné is a commune in the Indre department in central France.-References:*...
, Patrologia Latina
Patrologia Latina
The Patrologia Latina is an enormous collection of the writings of the Church Fathers and other ecclesiastical writers published by Jacques-Paul Migne between 1844 and 1855, with indices published between 1862 and 1865....
, IX and X.
Prior
He was appointed prior of the monastery of Nogent-sous-Coucy. After three years he was, upon his own urgent request, relieved from the priorate and returned to Saint-Germain-des-Prés.For some time he worked on the new edition of the Maurist Breviary; then he assisted his confrère Claude Guesnié in making the elaborate general index in the works of St. Augustine.
Papal letters
Immediately upon the publication of Augustine's works in 1700, Coustant was entrusted by his superiors with the editing of a complete collection of the letters of the popes from Clement IPope Clement I
Starting in the 3rd and 4th century, tradition has identified him as the Clement that Paul mentioned in Philippians as a fellow laborer in Christ.While in the mid-19th century it was customary to identify him as a freedman of Titus Flavius Clemens, who was consul with his cousin, the Emperor...
to Innocent III
Pope Innocent III
Pope Innocent III was Pope from 8 January 1198 until his death. His birth name was Lotario dei Conti di Segni, sometimes anglicised to Lothar of Segni....
(c. 88-1216). Very little had been done in this direction before.
There were, indeed, the papal decretal
Decretal
Decretals is the name that is given in Canon law to those letters of the pope which formulate decisions in ecclesiastical law.They are generally given in answer to consultations, but are sometimes due to the initiative of the popes...
s from Clement I to Gregory VII
Pope Gregory VII
Pope St. Gregory VII , born Hildebrand of Sovana , was Pope from April 22, 1073, until his death. One of the great reforming popes, he is perhaps best known for the part he played in the Investiture Controversy, his dispute with Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor affirming the primacy of the papal...
, collected by Cardinal Antonio Caraffa and published by Antonio d'Aquino in 1591, but they were incomplete and their chronological order was frequently incorrect. There were also the Annales of Baronius and the Concilia antiqua Galliae of the Jacques Sirmond
Jacques Sirmond
Jacques Sirmond was a French scholar and Jesuit.Simond was born at Riom, Auvergne. He was educated at the Jesuit College of Billom; having been a novice at Verdun and then at Pont-Mousson, he entered into the order on the 26 July 1576...
and other works containing scattered letters of the popes; but no one had attempted to make a complete collection of papal letters, much less to sift the spurious from the authentic, to restore the original texts and to order the letters chronologically.
After devoting more than twenty years to this undertaking, Coustant was able to publish the first volume in 1721. It contains the letters from the year 67 to the year 440, and is entitled Epistolae Romanorum Pontificum et quae ad eos scriptae sunt a S. Clemente I usque ad Innocentium III, quotquot reperiri potuerunt..."(Paris 1721). In the extensive preface perhaps of 150 pages Coustant explains the origin, meaning and extent of the papal primacy and critically examines the existing collections of canons and papal letters.
The letters of each pope are preceded by a historical introduction and furnished with copious notes, while the spurious letters are collected in the appendix. Coustant had gathered a large amount of material for succeeding volumes, but he died the same year in which the first volume was published.
Simon Mopinot, who had assisted Coustant in the preparation of the first volume, was entrusted with the continuation of the work, but he also died (11 October, 1724) before another volume was ready for publication. About twelve years later, Ursin Durand
Ursin Durand
Ursin Durand was a French Benedictine of the Maurist Congregation, and historian.He took vows in the monastery of Marmoutier at the age of nineteen and devoted himself especially to the study of diplomatics...
undertook to continue the work; in his case the Jansenist controversy in which he became involved prevented the publication of the material he had prepared.
Finally the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
and the dissolution of the Maurist Congregation gave the death-blow to the great undertaking. A new edition of Coustant's volume was brought out by Schönemann
Schönemann
Schönemann, also spelled Schoenemann, is a German surname. See:* Peter Schönemann, German psychometrician and statistician* Theodor Schönemann, German mathematician...
(Göttingen, 1796); a continuation, based chiefly on Coustant's manuscripts and containing the papal letters from 461-521, was published by Thiel
Thiel
Thiel may refer to:* Thiel Audio, a loudspeaker manufacturer* Thiel Detective Service Company* Thiel Mountains of Antarctica* Thiel College in Pennsylvania* Thiel , lunar crater named for Walter Thiel- Family name :...
(Braunsberg, 1867). There are extant in the Bibliothèque Nationale at Paris fourteen large folio volumes containing the material gathered by Coustant and his Benedictine continuators.
Coustant also took part in the controversy occasioned by Mabillon's De Re Diplomatica between the Jesuit Barthélemy Germon (1663-1718) and the Maurist Benedictines. In two treatises he defends himself and his confrères against Germon who disputed the genuineness of some sources used in the Benedictine edition of the works of St. Hilary and St. Augustine.