Theological Theses · §2174 · Louis Le Blanc de Beaulieu

The Leiden Synopsis, disputation on free choice, theses 18-19

The Leiden theologians use the same distinction in their Synopsis of Purer Theology. 'In the state of corruption,' they say, 'that is, in man begotten only by nature and bound by original sin, he has not lost the act of understanding in the intellect, nor the natural freedom of choice in the will; he has kept, with the substance of the soul, its natural faculties, which are the sources of actions, and the remote and passive power of receiving the contrary.

Yet he has lost rectitude and goodness from the intellect and likewise from the will, and has even acquired the contrary, vicious habit. So free choice, by its proximate and active power, at the prompting of the devil, under whose power and dominion it lies, no longer moves toward the good that is truly good but only toward evil, though under the appearance of good.

It still keeps a choice among the kinds and degrees of evil, and it moves necessarily as regards its proximate principle, yet spontaneously, voluntarily and willingly. For it chooses evil and rejects good.' Disputation on free choice, theses 18 and 19.

Latin

XXVII. Et eandem etiam distinctionem adhibent Theologi Leydenses in sua purioris Theologiae Synopsi. In statu corruptionis, inquiunt, seu in homine naturaliter tantum genito, & originali peccato obstricto, quamvis is non amiserit, ut in intelligentia intellectionem, ita neque in voluntate naturalem libertatem electionis, sed retinuerit cum animae substantia naturales ejus facultates, quae actionum sunt principia, & potentiam remotam & passivam suscipiendi contrarii: attamen amisit, ut ab intelligentia, ita & a voluntate rectitudinem & bonitatem, imo contrarium habitum vitiosum accepit. Adeoque liberum arbitrium potentia proxima & activa, Diabolo instigante, sub cujus potestate & dominio est, non amplius in bonum quod vere bonum, sed tantum in malum quamvis specie bonum, attamen in generibus & gradibus mali electione remanente, necessario respectu principii proximi, sponte, voluntate, & libenter tamen fertur. Eligit enim malum, & bonum repudiat. Disputatione de Libero Arbitrio thesi 18. & 19.

Report a mistake in this passage

About this text

Louis Le Blanc, a Reformed professor at Sedan, sets out theology in theses argued against Rome: Scripture, faith, grace, free choice, good works and the saints.

This volume holds the Theses on Theology I–XLIII and On Faith I–XXII, in eighteen sections.

Louis Le Blanc de Beaulieu (1614–1675) was minister and professor of theology at the Academy of Sedan, the Reformed school on France's eastern border. His Theses were disputed by students over many years and collected in a London folio (1675).

The Theological Theses range across the whole Reformed system — Scripture, God, predestination, grace, and justifying faith — in the crisp thesis-and-proof form of the seventeenth-century schools.

Date1675 AD (Sedan theses; London collection)

No modern English.

Reference

ESTC R17887; Wing L802. IA bub_gb_eOkHAW4G0-wC (+ EEBO 1675 for gap leaves).

Printed text used

Translated from Latin (Pitt 1675) (Latin)
Also checked PDF of the 1675 (Latin)
Also checked pdftotext of De Theologia pages (Latin)
Also checked DjVu machine-read text of the 1675 (Latin)

We have not yet re-checked this work against its source. We made this study translation with AI help. No scholar has yet certified it as faithful and complete. Open Latin on any section, or the Latin source link, to see the source text. It is not a critical edition.

Report a mistake