Antoine Massoulié was a French Dominican

Dominican Order

The Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic and approved by Pope Honorius III on 22 December 1216 in France...

 theologian. He was uncompromising against Quietism, and Molinism

Molinism

Molinism, named after 16th Century Jesuit theologian Luis de Molina, is a religious doctrine which attempts to reconcile the providence of God with human free will. William Lane Craig is probably its best known advocate today, though other important Molinists include Alfred Freddoso, Alvin...

.

Life

At an early age he entered the order of St. Dominic, in which he held many important offices; but above all these, he prized study, teaching, and writing. He refused a bishopric and asked to be relieved of distracting duties. It was said that he knew by heart the Summa of Thomas Aquinas

Thomas Aquinas

Thomas Aquinas, O.P. , also Thomas of Aquin or Aquino, was an Italian Dominican priest of the Catholic Church, and an immensely influential philosopher and theologian in the tradition of scholasticism, known as Doctor Angelicus, Doctor Communis, or Doctor Universalis...

.

He devoted himself with such earnestness to the study of Greek and Hebrew that he could converse fluently in both of these languages. His knowledge of Hebrew enabled him to overcome in public debate two rabbis, one at Avignon

Avignon

Avignon is a French commune in southeastern France in the départment of the Vaucluse bordered by the left bank of the Rhône river. Of the 94,787 inhabitants of the city on 1 January 2010, 12 000 live in the ancient town centre surrounded by its medieval ramparts.Often referred to as the...

 in 1659, the other at Florence

Florence

Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....

 in 1695. The latter became a Christian, his conversion being ascribed by Massoulié to prayer more than to successful disputation.

Works

His published works and some unpublished manuscripts (preserved in the Casanatense Library at Rome) may be divided into two classes: those written in defence of the Thomistic doctrine of physical promotion, relating to God's action on free agents; and those written against the Quietists, whom he strenuously opposed, both by attacking their teaching and also by explaining doctrine according to the principles of Thomas Aquinas.

His principal works are:

• "Divus Thomas sui interpres de divina motione et libertate creata" (Rome, 1692);
• "Oratio ad explicandam Summan theologicam D. Thomae" (Rome, 1701);
• "Méditationes de S.Thomas sur les trois vies, purgative, illuminative et unitive" (Toulouse, 1678);
• "Traité de la véritable oraison, où les erreurs des Quiétistes sont réfutées" (Paris, 1699);
• "Traité de l'amour de Dieu" (Paris, 1703).