Bonfrère, and Lorin on the Acts; Vasquez, Justinianus, Serarius and Estius on the Epistles of St. Paul; Toletus on the Romans, and Justinianus, Serarius, and Lorin on the Catholic Epistles.
2. During this period, in contrast to the preceding, controversy was carried on systematically and in an elevated style, so that, as in the case of Exegesis, there remained little to be done in after ages except labours of detail. Its chief representatives, who also distinguished themselves by their great speculative learning, were Robert Bellarmine, Gregory of Valentia, Thomas Stapleton, Du Perron, Tanner, Gretser, Serarius, and the brothers Walemburch.
Cardinal Bellarmine, S.J. (d. 1621), collected together, in his great work, Disputationes de Rebus Fidei hoc tempore controversis, the principal questions of the day under three groups: (a) on the Word of God (Scripture and Tradition), on Christ (the Personal and Incarnate Word of God), and on the Church (the temple and organ of the Word of God); (b) on Grace and Free Will, Sin and Justification; (c) on the channels of grace (the Sacraments). He treats of almost the whole of theology in an order suitable to his purpose. The extensive learning, clearness, solidity, and sterling value of his work are acknowledged even by his adversaries. It continued for a long time to be the hinge of the controversy between Catholics and Protestants.
Gregory of Valentia, S.J. (a Spaniard who taught in Dillingen and Ingolstadt, d. 1603), wrote against the Reformers a series of classical treatises, which were afterwards collected together in a large folio volume. The most important of these are Analysis Fidei and De Trinitate. He condensed the substance of these writings in his Commentary on the Summa.
Thomas Stapleton was born at Henfield, in Sussex, in the year 1535, and was educated at Winchester and New College, Oxford, of which he became fellow. When Elizabeth came to the throne he was a prebendary of Chichester. He soon retired to Louvain, and was afterwards for some time catechist at Douai, but was recalled to Louvain, where he was appointed regius professor of theology. He died in 1598. Stapleton is unquestionably the most important of
