MEDINA
144
MEDITATION
manca, first in the chair of Duramhis, afterwards-as
principal professor. lie was appniiiti'il to the " cathe-
dra priniaria " after a successful concursus, in public,
apainst the learned Aususiinian, John of Guevara.
Although he was -well versed in Greek and Hebrew, he
loved theology more, and all his writings preserved are
theological, being principally commentaries on the
Svnnma of St. Thomas. lie is usually called the
Father of Probabilism. Writers are divided as to his
tt-aehing on ( his important question of moral theology.
Some hold that he did not introiluce, but merely
formulated, Probabilism when he ■WTote: "It seems to
me that if an opinion is probable, it may be followed,
even though the opposite opinion be more probable"
(I-II, q. xix, a. 6). Others say he proposed that prin-
ciple in the abstract (speculative), restricting it in
practice so that there was no departure from rules of
conduct formerly followed. Others still, e. g. Echard,
followed by BiUuart, maintain that the systenr pro-
posed by Aledina differed greatly from Probabilism as
It has been explained liy its later defenders, and they
cite its definition: "that opinion is proliable which is
held by wise men and is supported by first-class argu-
ments". Hurter (Nomencl.) writes: "He seems to
have led the way to Probabilism". Echard admits,
■with Vincent Baron, O. P., that Medina opened the
■way for a flood of probaliilistic theories, and closes
with the declaration: St. Thomas is our Master, others
only in so far as they follow his teaching. Probabil-
iorists are unwilling to admit that Medina is against
them; probabilists are loath to admit that he pro-
posed a new doctrine, or do not wish to give to him all
the credit of introducing a new system for forming the
conscience in doubtful cases. The following is a list of
his most important works: " Commentaria in primam
secunda;" (Salamanca, 1577); "Commentaria in ter-
tiam partem, a Q. 1 ad 60" (Salamanca, 1584);
" Breve instruction de comme se ha administrar el
Sacramento de la penitencia" (Salamanca, 1580).
QnfeTlK-EcHAHD, SS. Ord. Praed., II, 256; Boisdron, Theories e£ syatemeadesprobabiiites en theolagie morale (Fribourg, 1894), 6.
D. J. Kennedy.
Medina, Juan de, theologian; b. 1490; d. 1547; he occupied the first rank among the theologians of the sixteenth century. He was bom at Medina de Pomar in the Province of Burgos, and not at Alcald as some writers state. Verj^ little has been written about his fife though he is repeatedly quoted and praised by several theologians of his time. He en- tered the College of St. Ildefonsus at Alcala, 20 May, 1516, took doctor's degrees in philosophy and theol- ogy, and soon after was made canon and master of theology at the university. He was selected as primary professor of theology in the College of St. Ildefonsus in succession to Michael Carasco, whom Cardinal Ximenes w'ished to be made perpetual Rec- tor of the College: "Ximenes perpetuum rectorem esse voluerit ". From about 1526 and for the space of twenty years, Medina filled his position ■with the great- est distinction. Alvarez Gomez says that Medina had a wonderful power of presenting the most intricate questions in a simple and clear style so that his pupils had no difficulty in understanding him — " nihil esset tain perplexum aut obscurum quod vel tardissimus non assequeretur". His love of study impaired his health and he died at the age of fifty-.seven years. Medina's works are principally on moral theology and ethics. Some of his opinions were not in accordance with the doctrine propounded at the Council of Trent. The " Diccionario Enciclop. Hispano-Americano" says that his treatise " de Pcenit ientia " was put on the Index published in 1707; the edition of the Index printed in 1711 dfK's not give Medina's work, nor does any of the gubser|uent editions. The Council of Trent declares that at the hour of death there is no "reservatio" and
Medina says "that absolution Riven by an excom-
municated priest is invalid " ; and again, " at a time of
necessity (articulo necessitatis) any jiriest, not sus-
pended or excommunicated, can absolve any person ".
His opinions on the " materia " for sacramental absolu-
tion, and on the " Copia confessariorum " seem opposed
to the teaching of the council on these points. Alvarez
Gomez and Amirea Schott state that Medina was
buried in the church of St. Ildefonsus. The first lines
of the epitaph on his tomb are:
Complutense decus jacet hie, attende viator, Ter tumulum lustra, ter pia thura crema Hoc moriente silet vox, qua non clarior unquam Compluti fulsit, nee fuit ilia. Many editions of Medina's works were printed in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. His brother John de Medina brought out the theological books at .^Icald in 1544 and sqq.; Salamanca, 1555; Ingoldstadt, 15S1; Brescia, 1590-1606; Cologne, 1607 etc.
Opera Joannis de Medina; de Castra. De potest, leffis (Lvons, 1556); Gomez, Dc rebus gestis Card. Ximenes (AlcaliS. 1569); Schott, HispanicB Bihliotheea (Frankfort, 1608); Nicolah, .4n(. Bibliotheca Hisp. (Rome, 16V2).
Gregory Cle.\ry.
Medina, Miguel de, theologian, b. at Belalcilzar, Spain, 1489; d. at Toledo, 1 May, 1578. He entered the Franciscan order in the convent of S. Maria de Angelis at Hornachuelos, in the Sierra Morena. After his profession he went to the college of SS. Peter and Paul at Alcald. He received the doctor's degree from the city of Toledo; and in 1550 he was unanimously elected to the chair of Holy Scripture in the University of Alcala. In 1500 Philip II sent him to the Council of Trent; on his return he became superior of St. John's of the Kings at Toledo. In 1553 the " Commentaries " of John Ferus were published in Rome after a strict examination. Dominicus a Soto published at Sala- manca a work censuring Ferus's commentaries, select- ing sixty-seven passages as deserving censure, and dedicated them to Valdes, Archbishop of Seville. Medina took up the defence of Ferus, which was pub- lished at Alcala (1567, 1578), and Mainz (1572). This literary controvers}' — for no doubts were entertained of the orthodoxy of Medina — agitated the Spanish people. A process ■was instituted against Medina in the tribunal of the Inquisition at Toledo. He was cast into prison, where for more than five years he was subjected to great suffering and privations. His tem- poral afHictions and the rigour of his life brought on a severe illness, and the inquisitor-general gave orders that Medina was to be conve.yed to the Convent of St. John's of the Kings, where everything possible was to be done to preserve his hfe. Before the Blessed Sacra- ment, he made his profession of faith, calling God to witness that he never believed anything or taught- anything opposed to the doctrines of the Church ' ' the pillar and the ground of truth". His last words were: "In te Domine speravi, non confundar in Eeternum."
Soon after his death, the supreme tribunal of the Inquisition issued a decree declaring that the accusa- tions brought against Medina were without founda- tion. His principal works are: " Christiana; parKnesis sive de recta in Deum fide libri septem" (Venice, 1564) ; " Disputationes de indulgentiis ad versus nostri temporis haereticos ad PP. s. Concilii Trident." (Ven- ice, 1564); "De sacrorum hominum continentia libri V" (Venice, 1569), written against those who advo- cated the necessity of permitting the German priests to follow the example of the Greeks in this matter; "De igne purgatorio" (Venice, 1569); "De la verda- dera y cristiana humilidad" (Toledo, 1559).
Annates ord., Min., XIX, XXI; Wadding-.Sbaralea, ■Scrip- fores Ord. Min.; Juan Franc, de .S. Antonio, Bibliotheca Vniy, Franciscana (.Madrid, 1732); de Castro; ,Schott, Hispania Bibliotheca (Frankfort,, 1608); Nicolas Antonio, Bibliotheca. Hisp. (Rome, 1672); Dicciort. enciclop. Hispano-Amer. (Barce- lona, 1893). Gregory Cleakt.
that all priests can absolve "in articulo mortis". Meditation. See Prayer.
