Enciclopedia Cattolica

DIDIOT, JULES

Didot, Jules

Volume IV · p. 908 · 1950

English translation · Testo originale italiano

Image from page 908
Image from page 908

Machine translation of the 1948–1954 Italian original. The original text is authoritative.

DIDIOT, JULES. — Priest, theologian, born at Cheppy (Musée) on 14 Aug. 1840, died at Montbras (near Maxey-sur-Vaysse [Musée]) on 20 Dec. 1903. He earned a degree in theology at the Collegio Romano (1864), then taught philosophy and later dogmatic theology at the seminary of Verdun (1864–70) and served as librarian for the same city (1871–77). After founding the Catholic faculties in the north at Lille, he was called to teach theology there, of which he became dean (1877–86; 1893–96), as well as sociology. From 1885 to 1892 he directed the *Revue des sciences ecclésiastiques*. Alongside his significant influence as a professor, Didiot also produced an abundant literary output, especially in the form of articles for various journals.

Among his major works are: *L'état religieux* (Verdun 1871); *Le docteur angélique et Thomas d'Aquin* (Lille 1874); *Logique surnaturelle subjectives* (1892); *Morale surnaturelle fondamentale* (1896); *Morale surnaturelle spéciale: les vertus théologales* (1897); *La vertu de religion* (1899); *Contribution philosophique à l'étude des sciences* (Lille 1902). He left a manuscript *Traité de la justice*.

BIBL.: C. Lemaire, *M. le chanoine J. D.*, Lille 1904; *Revue des sciences ecclésiastiques*, 89 (1904, 1), pp. 74–88, 432–49, 526–38; *Bulletin des facultés catholiques de Lille*, 1904, recueil; A. Michel, s. V. in *Dict. pratique des connaissances religieuses*, II, cols. 814–15. Edmondo Lamalle

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DIDEROT, DENIS — Bust of D. D. Work by J. B. Pigalle. Paris, Louvre.

Initially D. adhered to a vague deism, but soon moved to pure materialism, denying the existence of God without, however, overcoming all doubt («O Dieu, je ne sais si tu es»). D. admitted that in his system, without obligation and without freedom, there could be no place for morality. D. nevertheless seemed to have moved beyond pure mechanistic determinism toward a conscious vitalistic determinism (Venturi).

BIBL.: *Oeuvres complètes*, ed. J. Assézat and M. Tourneux, 20 vols., Paris 1875–79; J. A. Naigeon, *Mémoires historiques et philosophiques sur la vie et les ouvrages de D.*, ibid. 1821; J. Morley, *D. and the Encyclopaedists*, 2 vols., London 1891; J. Renach, *D.*, Paris 1894; L. Ducros, *D.*, ibid. 1894; L. Brunel, *D. et les encyclopédistes*, in *Histoire de la langue et de la littérature française des origines à 1900*, VI, Paris 1898, ch. 7, pp. 32–71; P. Hermand, *Les idées morales de D.*, Paris 1923; M. D. Busselli, *D. et l'Italie*, ibid. 1925; J. Le Gras, *D. et l'Encyclopédie*, Amiens 1928; F. Venturi, *Jeunesse de D.*, Paris 1939; D. Morret, *D., L'homme et l'oeuvre*, ibid. 1941; D. H. Gordon–N. L. Torrey, *The censoring of Diderot's Encyclopédie and the reestablishment of the New York* 1947; H. Lefebvre, *D.*, Paris 1949. Carlo Boyer