Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 15.djvu/370

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VEGIO


Scriptures and on the Vulgate, which were treated in the Decree promulgated in the fourth session of the council, 8 April, 1546. He also took a prominent part in the preliminary discussions on the dogma of justification, and drew attention to himself at the same time by his debates with Dominicus de Soto, the Dominican who defended the dogmas of rigid Tho- mism. The Decree was promulgated in the sixth session on 13 January, 1547. Previous to the council Vega had written to defend the Catholic doctrine of justification against the Protestants, "De justifica- tione, gratia fide, operibus et meritis quaestiones quindecim" (Venice, 1546). The dedication to Cardinal Pacheco is dated Trent, 1 January, 1546. After the promulgation of the Decree he WTote in its defence at Trent and Venice, "Tridentini decreti de justificatione expositio et defensio lib. XV distincta" (Venice, 1548). In the last two books he confutes Calvin's "Acta synodi tridentinse cum antidoto" (Geneva, 1547). This was Vega's most important work and it was so highly esteemed by Peter Canisius that he had it reprinted at Cologne (1572) in one volume with Vega's previous work, "De justifica- tione". Reprints were issued at Cologne (1585) and at Aschaff enburg ( 1 62 1 ) . A posthumous work by Vega was also pubhshed, his "Commentaria in Psalmos" (Alcam de Henares, 1599).

Wadding. Scriptores ordinis minorum (Rome, 1650), 14 aq.; (ibid., 1S06), 1829; (ibid., 1906), 17 sq.; Sbakalea, Supple- mentum ad scriptores ord. min. (Rome, 1806), 37 3q.: (2nd ed. ibid., 1908), I. 40; Waddinq-Lucas de Venetia, Annahs mi- norum, XVIII (Rome, 1740), 17-18, 122-23, 143, 147; XIX (ibid.. 1754), 208; Hdbtee, Nomenclatar, IV (Innsbruck. 1899), 1179 sqq.; II (3d ed. ibid., 1906), 1390-92; Concilium Tridenti- num issued by the GoRRF.8 Society, I-V (Freiburg. 1901-1911); Hefner, Die Enistehungsgeschichie des Trienter Rechtfertigungs- dekretes (Paderborn, 1909), 58-59; 102 sqq.

Michael Bihl. Vega, G.\RCiLASso de la. See Garcilasso de la

VE(iA.

Vega Carpio, Lope Felix de. See Lope de Vega Carpio, Felix de.

Veghe, Johannes, German preacher and religious writer, b. at Miinster in Westphalia about 1435; d. there, 21 September, 1504. His father seems to have been a physician. In 1450 he matriculated at the University of Cologne; in the register of stu- dents he is called "Johannes ten Loe ahas Veghe clericus Monasteriensis". In 1451 he entered the house of the Brethren of the Common Life of Miinster, in 1469 became first rector of the house of the Brethren at Rostock, returned to Miinster in 1471, and was made rector there in 1475. On account of ill health he resigned in 1481 and became confessor to the Sisters of Niesink at Miinster; this position which he retained until his death, gave him time to gratify his literary tastes. He lived to see the victory of Human- ism (q. V.) in Miinster and Westphalia; the Human- ists Murmellius and Hermann von dem Busche in their poems praise his pious life and his study of religious books. His earliest work is his "Geist- liche Jagd", dedicated to Duke Magnus II of Meck- lenburg. This is a descrijition of a spiritual chase, whose object is God; all the details of an actual hunt are applied to the s])here of spiritual things. This work was followed by the: "Marientrost ", in which Veglu! wishes to show how and why we should appeal to the Blessed Virgin; "Geistliches Blumen- bett" (Lectulus floridus), <ledicated to the Sisters of Niesink; and "Weingarten dor Seele", which treats in three books of the jjrogress of man from the beginning of Christian life to perfection. Veghe's main work consists of sermons delivered in Low German before the Sisters of Niesink 1492. They are splendid examples of puljjit oratory, notable for the keen observation of nature and knowledge of the human heart; the mode of exjjression is vigor- ous and racy. His ab.sohite mastery of the language.


and the simple, natural style, will, in the opinion of Trilofif, perpetuate the fame of Veghe in the history of Low German hterature. His sermons were edited by Profes.sor Franz Jostes in 1883. In dogma Veghe held rigidly to the teachings of the Church, but he would not accept the gaining of indulgences for the dead, who he beUeved were entirely under the hand and judgment of God. He was genuinely rehgious, not hypocritical, and at the same time cheerful and kindly.

Jostes, Johannes Veghe, ein deutscher Prediger des XV Jahr- hunderls (Halle. 1883); Triloff. Die Traktate u. Predigten Veghea untersucht (Halle, 1904): Bomer, Daa literari&che Leben \n Miinster (Miinster, 1906), 55-63.

Klemens Loffler.

Vegio, Maffeo (Mapheus Vegius), churchman, humanist, poet, and educator, b. at Lodi, Italy, 1406; d. at Rome, 1458. The details of his life are gathered chiefly from his WTitings. Born of distinguished par- ents, his mother being of the house of Lauteria, Vegio passed his early youth at Lodi and Milan, where he completed his elementary studies under capable teachers. One of them, a great admirer of St. Ber- nardine of Siena, often took his pupils to hear the sermons of the saint of whom Vegio was later to be the biographer. At his father's direction Vegio under- took the study of philosophy in the University of Pa via, changing later to jurisprudence, and, finally, to letters, to which his tastes had always inclined him. He was passionately devoted to the ancient Latin poets and especially to Virgil. He produced his first volume of poems when sixteen years of age. For about ten years Vegio taught poetry and jurispru- dence at the LTniversity of Pavia. He became an enthusiastic promoter of the revival of letters. Pope Eugenius IV appointed him Secretary of Papal Briefs, and later Apostolic Datary and a canon of St. Peter's. Vespasiano speaks of him at this time as a secular jjriest, but the date of his ordination is not known. In the service of the Church, Vegio's studies turned more to the Fathers and sacred sciences than to the classics, to St. Augustine instead of Virgil. Chiefly through his devotion to Augustine, Vegio was attracted to the August inians, and joined the order. He was buried in the Chapel of St. Monica, which he had caused to be erected in the Church of St. Augustine, Rome.

Vegio's poetical works are as follows: "Poemata et epigrammata", written about 1422; "DemorteAstya- nactis", on the death of Hector's son and the grief of Andromache (Cagli, 1475); "Velleris aurei", six books on the quest of the Golden Fleece (Cologne, 1589); "In supplementuni ^Eneidos", which Vegio added to Virgil's "vEneid" to describe the destiny of .FIneas, and which became the basis of his fame among later humanists (Paris, 1.507); "Antoniados, sive de vita et laudibus S. Antonii" (Deventer, 1490). His prose works are: "De perseverantia rehgionis" (Paris, 1511); "De quattuor hominis novissimis, morte, ju- dicio, inferno et paradiso meditationes" (Paris, 1511); "Vita Sancti Bernardi Senensis" in "Acta SS.", May, V, 117; "Sanctie Monica^ translationis ordo. Item de S. Monica? vita et ejus officium proprium", unedited; "Declamatio seu disputatio inter soleni, terram,et aurum.audienteDeo et homine assistente", allegorical dialogue (Milan, 1497); "I'hilalethes, seu Veritas invi.s;i exulaus", allegi^rical di:ilogue ad- dres.sed to his brother I'.ustachiiis (Bresci;!, 1496) ; "De felicitate et miseria" (Milan, 1497); "Liber de signifi- catione verborum in jure civili" (Vicenza, 1477), not extant ; " De rebus antiquis memorabilibus BasihciP S. Petri Roma'", valuable archa-ological study, in four books, of St. Peter's Rome, in "Acta SS. ", June, VII, .52; " De educatione liberorum et eorum daris mori- bus", a treatise, in six books, on the education of children and their moral formation. The first three treat of the duties of parents and teachers in educa- tion; the last three of the duties of the young to God,