628 MOL 
Phyfics determined folely by the Laws of Mechanics, &c.” 
This was a very wliimfical performance, in which he en¬ 
deavoured to unite the fyftem of Defcartes with the prin¬ 
ciples of Newton, and he attempted to redify the ideas 
of the French by the experiments of the Englilh plxilofo- 
pher. In 1741 he pubiilhed the firll part of his “Ele¬ 
ments of Geometry,” intended as an introduction to his 
phyfical leftures. He was a very irritable man, which 
led him frequently into paff.ons, of which one was the 
caufe of his death in 1742. In other refpeCts he was reck¬ 
oned a very amiable character; but was apt to be fo ab- 
fent, or abl'orbed in his Itudies, as to appear almoft wholly 
infenfible to furrounding objeCts. His infirmity in this 
refpeCt became known, and he was accordingly made the 
jfubjeCt of depredations. A fiioe-black, once finding him 
profoundly abl'orbed in a reverie, contrived to Ileal the 
Jilver buckels from his tiroes, replacing them with iron 
ones. At another time, while at his Itudies, a robber 
broke into the room in which he was fitting, and demand¬ 
ed his money; Molieres, without rifing from his Itudies, 
or giving any alarm, coolly Ihow-ed him where it was, re- 
quelling him, as a great favour, that he would not de¬ 
range his papers. Gen. Bing;. 
MOLIET'TA, a town of Naples, in the province of 
Bari: eight miles eall-fouth-eall of Trani. 
MOLI'GT, a town of France, in the department of 
the Ealtern Pyrenees: three miles north-well of Prades. 
MOLIL'LA, a town of Hindooltan, in Bednore: ten 
miles eall of Bednore. 
MO'LIN, a town of Perfia, in Chorafan : fixteen miles 
north-welt of Zeuzan. 
MOLI'NA, a town of Spain, and capital of a lordlhip 
in New Callile, fituated on a river of the fame name: 
100 miles north-ealt of Madrid, and fixty north of Cuenga. 
Lat.41.8. N. Ion. 2.1. W. 
MOLI'NA, a river of Spain, which runs into the Ta¬ 
gus fifteen miles fouth-weit of Molina. 
MOLI'NA, a town of Spain, in the province of Mur¬ 
cia eight miles north of Murcia. 
MOL'INA (Louis de), a famous Spanilh Jefuit, after 
whom thofe Roman catholics who feem to incline to the 
doCtrines of grace and free-wfill, that are maintained in 
oppofition to thofe of Auguftine, are diltinguilhed by the 
denomination of Molinijls. He was delcended from a no¬ 
ble family, and born at Cuenca in New Caltile, about the 
year 1535. At the age of eighteen he entered into the 
fociety of Jefus, and was lent to purfiue his Itudies at Co¬ 
imbra in Portugal. Here he diltinguilhed himfelf by the 
diligence of his application ; and, as he poffeffed excellent 
natural abilities, and a happy memory, he fecured the ap- 
plaufe and elteem of his fuperiors by his proficiency in the 
different branches of academical learning. He particu¬ 
larly excelled in his knowledge of philofophy, civil law, 
and divinity. From Coimbra, Molina was lent to the 
univerfity of Evora in the lame kingdom, where he taught 
philofophy, and afterwards divinity, for twenty years, 
with very great reputation and fuccel's. He died at Ma¬ 
drid in 1600, when about fixty-five years of age, univer- 
Jally refpeCted for his virtues, as well as his learning. He 
was the author of, x. Commentarii in primam partem D. 
Thomas Summse, 2 vols. Cuenga, 1593. 2. De Juftitia et 
Jure, 6 vols. He alio left behind him two other treatifes 
relating to jurifprudence, which his death prevented him 
from completing. 
But the moll celebrated of his performances was enti¬ 
tled, “ Liberii Arbitrii Concordia cum Gratite Donis, di- 
vina Prsefcientia, Providentia, Praedeltinatione, et Repro- 
bationewhich was firll pubiilhed at Lilbon in folio, in 
the year 1588 ; and afterwards, with additions, in 4to. at 
Antwerp, Lyons, Yenice, and other places. A third edi¬ 
tion, Hill further augmented, was pubiilhed at Antwerp 
in 1609. The author’s defign was to lhow, that the ope¬ 
rations of divine grace were entirely confident with the 
freedom of human will; and, by the introduction of a new 
kind of hypothefis, to- remove the difficulties attending 
M O L 
the doCtrines of predeft hint ion and liberty, and to recon¬ 
cile the jarring opinions of the Augudinians, Thomilts, 
Semi-Pelagians, and other contentious divines. He af¬ 
firmed, that the decree of predellination to eternal glory 
was founded upon a previous knowledge and confidera- 
tion of the merits of the eleCt; that the grace, from the 
operation of which thefe merits are derived, is not effica¬ 
cious by its own intrinfic power only, but alfo by the 
confent of our own will, and becaufe it is adminidered in 
thofe circumllances in which the Deity, by that branch of 
his knowledge which is called feientia media, forefees that 
it will be efficacious. The kind of prefcience, denomi¬ 
nated in the ichocAs feientia media, is that foreknowledge 
of future contingencies, that arifes from an acquaintance 
with the nature and faculties of rational beings, of the 
circumllances in which they lhall be placed, of the objeCts 
that lhall be prelented to them, and of the influence 
w'hicli thele circumllances and objects mull have on their 
adions. 
No looner had this work of Molina made its appearance, 
than the Dominicans, who followed Aquinas as their 
theological guide, founded the alarm of herefy throughout 
the whole kingdom of Spain ; attacked it moll violently 
in their thefes, and acculed it before the Inquilition of 
Valladolid, as well as that of the kingdom of Callille ; 
and charged the Jefuits with an attempt to renew the er¬ 
rors of Pelagius. The confequence was, that commotions 
were excited in every place, and all things feemed to prog- 
nofticate a general flame, when cardinal Quiroga, the 
grand-inquilitor of Spain, laid the bufinefs before the tri¬ 
bunal of pope Clement VIII. That pontiff, perfuaded 
that gentle remedies would foon remove the dileafe, and 
that, in time, the heat and animoiities between the con¬ 
tending parties would undoubtedly fubfide, impofied 
filence on them; promiiing, at the fame time, that he 
would himfelf examine every thing relating to the new' 
debate, in order to decide it in fuch a manner as might 
tend to promote the caufe of truth, and the peace of the 
church. The event, however, was far from anfwering 
that pontiff’s expedition. For the Dominicans, who 
had long foftered a deep-rooted hatred to the Jefuits, hav¬ 
ing now a favourable opportunity of venting their indig¬ 
nation, exhaufted their furious zeal againd the dodrine 
of Molina, notwithftanding the orders of the papal edid. 
They alfo inceffantly wearied king Philip II. and pope 
Clement with their importunate clamotirs, until at length 
the latter found himfelf under a neceflity of aflembling at 
Rome a fort of council for the decilion of this controverfy. 
Thus commenced, in the year 1598, thofe famous delibe¬ 
rations concerning the contells of the Jeluits and Domi¬ 
nicans, wdiich were held in the Congregation de auxiliis; 
fo denominated on account of the principal point in de¬ 
bate, which was the efficacy of “ the aids” of divine grace. 
The remaining part of this century, and fome years of the 
next, w'ere employed by thefe lpiritual j udges in hearing 
and weighing the arguments alleged in favour of their re • 
fpedive opinions, by the contending parties. The Do¬ 
minicans maintained, with the greatell pertinacity, the 
dodrine of their patron St. Thomas, as alone conformable 
to truth. On the other hand, the Jefuits, though they 
did not adopt the religious tenets of Molina, thought the 
honour of their order concerned in this controverfy, on 
account of the violent oppofition fo publicly made to one 
of its members, and coniequently ufed their utrnod en¬ 
deavours to have the Spanilh dodor acquitted of the 
charge of Pelagianifm, and declared free from any errors 
of moment. From a comparifon of the various jarring 
and contradidory hiitories of the tranfadions of this con¬ 
gregation, it appears to be doubtful which of the two 
parties defended their caufe with the mod dexterity and 
luccefs, and which the court of Rome favoured molt. At 
length, in the year 1607, pope Paul V. difmifled the con¬ 
gregation, and prohibited the contending parties front 
cenluring each other, permitting them to follow their re- 
lpedive opinions till he Ihould pronounce his determina- 
