Adoration and Annihilation

“From Sainte-Beuve’s history of Port-Royal to more recent accounts of the events leading to the destruction of Port-Royal des Champs, examinations of the lives and fortunes of seventeenth-century Jansenist men and women are not new. Nor are detailed studies of the philosophical views of Jansenist men, such as that of Blaise Pascal. Adoration and Annihilation, however, presents us with something new and important. In this original and long-overdue contribution to intellectual history, we are given a painstaking analysis of documents that provides a portrait of the philosophically and theologically inspired thought of three of the women of Port Royal. Conley not only gives evidence of the women’s commitment to a negative theology and an Augustinian theory of grace and human free will, he uses gender as a lens through which to reconstruct the women’s emerging virtue ethics—an ethics whose central virtues are the mainstays of early modern female monastic life.” —Eileen O'Neill, University of Massachusetts

“John J. Conley, S.J., brings to life, in amazing technicolor, the complex personalities of the long-overlooked and complicated Port-Royal Arnaud women philosophers. Steeped in historical, religious, and philosophical significance, Conley’s lively account highlights the intricacies of the historical setting of the Port-Royal Convent—the political intrigues, the economic power plays, and the often desperate condition of the women who are the main characters. This is an exciting and useful contribution for those teaching philosophy, religion, women’s studies, French literary studies, and history.” —Mary Ellen Waithe, Cleveland State University

“John J. Conley provides a fascinating analysis of the neo-Augustinian theological and ethical thought of the nuns of Port-Royal that makes a convincing case for their inclusion in an expanded canon of philosophy. Conley's writing is erudite and his arguments are meticulously researched and supported, making Adoration and Annihilation accessible even for the reader with little background in Augustinian thought. The richness of historical detail and the insight with which he treats these women philosophers and their writings means that Conley does more than render their work visible, he also brings these philosophers themselves to life.” —Catherine Villanueva Gardner, University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth

“Conley’s treatment of this most complex philosophical/theological corpus is masterful, and his final estimation of her ethics of resistance appears apt . . . Conley argues convincingly for the relevance of the philosophy developed in the writings of the Arnauld nuns. He has made a valuable contribution to the recognition of the intellectual and spiritual treasures to be minded in convent literature.” —The Catholic Historical Review

“As the book’s subtitle suggests, much of the focus is on Port-Royal’s convent philosophy. This book is well worth the attention of a broad range of scholars and students. Conley shows clearly how the Arnauld abbesses were rather modern in their promotion of female autonomy and conscience, even as they defended a philosophy and a theology that saw but sin in human nature, and drew heavily on the most pessimistic theses of Augustine and various disciples of his.” —The Journal of Church History

“[A] fascinating exploration of the writings of three seventeenth-century abbesses of Port-Royal. . . . Not only does Conley introduce readers to a little studied corpus of early modern women’s writing, but he also builds a convincing case that this corpus makes important contributions to early modern philosophy. . . [The book] provides an excellent history of . . . a very important early modern religious controversy. It introduces readers to the extraordinarily rich, and radically understudied, field of early modern convent writing. Additionally, it makes a compelling case for the expansion of the philosophical canon through the inclusion of religious works by women, a move that medievalists interested in women’s religious texts ought to consider emulating.” —The Medieval Review

“In this stimulating volume, Conley gathers together a number of ongoing scholarly lines of investigation and deploys them at an intellectually sophisticated level of lived religious thought and experience in examining the writings of the three Arnauld abbesses of Port-Royal. . . . Conley, in a sense, restores a needed balance in grasping the Port-Royalist vision, not only taking seriously, but perceiving the challenging integrity of, a Christian understanding whose most creative moment may be yet to come.” —Modern Theology

“This book is an elegantly composed and carefully researched argument that the nuns of the Arnauld family were rigorous philosophers whose contributions have been overlooked because of their sex, because the Jansenist movement they supported was suppressed, and because church and secular authorities closed the convent at Port-Royal.” —Sixteenth Century Journal