Jacques-Paul Migne

Priest, and publisher of theological works, born at Saint-Flour,
25 October, 1800; died at Paris, 24 October, 1875.

After completing his college courses, he devoted himself to the
study of theology in Orleans, and while a student there filled,
for a time, the position of professor in the fourth class of the
college of Ch�teaudun. He was ordained priest in 1824, and in the
following year was made pastor of Puiseaux, in the Diocese of
Orleans. He published a pamphlet: De la liberte, which brought him
into conflict with his bishop, Brunault de Beauregard, in
consequence of which he resigned his parish, and went to Paris,
where, in the same year, he founded L'Univers Religieux, later
L'Univers -- a journal intended by him to be free from any
political tendency, and concerned with Catholic interests alone.
He edited this paper until 1836, and contributed to it a very
great number of articles. Meanwhile, he had conceived the plan of
publishing for the use of the clergy a series of important, older
and newer, theological works, at so moderate a price that they
might meet with a wide circulation, and thus further an earnest
and scientific study in ecclesiastical circles. For this purpose
he founded in the suburb Petit-Montrouge a large printing house,
with all the necessary departments, the Imprimerie Catholique,
where he employed more than three hundred workmen. From 1836 he
devoted his energies exclusively to this great and important
undertaking, which made him universally known. Within a relatively
short time he succeeded in publishing many volumes of the older
theological literature, and partly because of the moderate cost,
he obtained for them a wide circulation. We may mention here:

�  Scripturae Sacrae Cursus Completus (28 vols., 1840-45), with
excellent commentaries of older and newer writers on each of the
Books of Scripture;

�  Theologiae Cursus Completus (28 vols., 1840-45), with treatises
of many earlier writers supplementing the main articles;

�  Demonstrations Evangeliques (20 vols., 1842-52), in which are
gathered together the apologetic writings of over one hundred
authors from every epoch of church history;

�  Collection Integrale et Universelle des Orateurs Sacres in two
series (102 vols., 1844-66), containing the works of the best
pulpit orators of the preceding centuries;

�  Summa Aurea de Laudibus Beatae Mariae Virginis, coll. J.J.
Bourasse (13 vols., 1866-68); Encyclopedie Theologique, an
extensive collection of works of reference, alphabetically
arranged, and not confined to theological matters alone, but
including a number of auxiliary sciences, such as philosophy,
geography, history, natural history, bibliography, three series,
containing altogether 171 vols. 1844-66. Several of the
dictionaries of the collection are of unequal value, and may be
considered as out of date.

�  The most important and meritorious of his publications is the
Patrologia, in two collections:

�  Patrologiae Latinae Cursus Completus, in two series (217 vols.
in all, 1844-55), with four volumes of indexes (vols. 218-221,
1862-64), and

�  Patrologiae Graecae Cursus Completus, of which one series
contains only Latin translations of the originals (81 vols., 1856-
61). The second series contains the Greek text with a Latin
translation (166 vols., 1857-66). To the Greek Patrology there was
no index, but a Greek, D. Scholarios, added a list of the authors
and subjects, (Athens, 1879) and began a complete table of
contents (Athens, 1883).

The Patrologia Latina contains all the attainable published
writings of Latin ecclesiastical authors from the earliest known
to Pope Innocent III (d. 1216). The Patrologia Graeca includes the
printed works of Greek Christian writers down to the Council of
Florence (1438-39). The intention was to choose for the new issues
the best editions of each author, with suitable introductions and
critical additions, which plan, unfortunately, was not always
realized. The printing, too, was frequently unsatisfactory, and in
most of the Migne reprints we find a number of misprints and
errata. The great value of the collection lies in the fact that at
a moderate cost and in a handy form a great work of reference was
produced, and a whole series of rare and scattered writings were
gathered together, and made easily accessible to the learned
world. The collections had a large circulation, and are widely
used as works of reference.

�  Besides these great collections, Migne printed a large number
of the writings of single important theological authors, in
complete editions, e.g. Saint Thomas Aquinas, Saint Teresa,
Cardinal Berulle; the great pulpit orators Bourdaloue, Bossuet,
Massillon, Flechier; the writers Lefranc de Pompignan, de Pressy,
Regnier, Thiebault, du Voisin, de Maistre, and others.

�  Up to 1856, Migne was also proprietor of a journal La Verite,
which gathered articles from papers of every tendency, and
republished them as aids to a comprehensive induction on current
ideas and facts.

In connection with his Imprimerie Catholique were established
workshops for the production of religious objects, such as
pictures, statues, and organs. In 1868 a great conflagration broke
out in the printing house, which extended to the entire Montrouge
establishment, destroying almost entirely the work of years, and
the valuable stereotype plates of the Patrologia. The loss was
over six million francs, but Migne did not lose courage, and began
at once to rebuild. But difficulties accumulated. The Archbishop
of Paris was averse to the commercial elements in the work,
forbade the continuance of the business, and, finally, suspended
the publisher from his priestly functions. The Franco-German war
of 1870 inflicted great losses; then from Rome came a decree
condemning the misuse of Mass stipends for the purchase of books,
and Migne was especially named in connection with this abuse. He
died without ever having regained his former prosperity, and his
business passed into the hands of Garnier Fr�res.

J. P. KIRSCH
Transcribed by Michael C. Tinkler

From the Catholic Encyclopedia, copyright � 1913 by the
Encyclopedia Press, Inc. Electronic version copyright � 1996 by
New Advent, Inc.

Taken from the New Advent Web Page (www.knight.org/advent).

This article is part of the Catholic Encyclopedia Project, an
effort aimed at placing the  entire Catholic Encyclopedia 1913
edition on the World Wide Web. The coordinator is Kevin Knight,
editor of the New Advent Catholic Website. If you would like to
contribute to this  worthwhile project, you can contact him by e-
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