Suarez, Francisco de

(1548–1617)

   Theologian.

   Suarez was a native of Granada, Spain, and was educated at Salamanca. Subsequently, as a member of the Jesuit Order, he taught in several Spanish universities. His theology was mainly influenced by Thomas Aquinas and Duns Scotus, and he wrote several important books, including De Legibus. This was an exposition of the principles behind national and international law and it was to be highly influential in America as well as Europe. He also produced his Defensio Fidei which was directed against the Church of England and repudiated the theory of King James I on the divine right of kings. He also attempted to arbitrate in the bitter dispute between the Jesuits and the Dominicans on the activity and efficacy of grace.

   T. Cronin, Objective Being in Descartes and Suarez (1987);

   J.H. Fichter, Man of Spain (1940);

   B. Hamilton, Political Thought in Sixteenth-Century Spain (1963);

   J.J. O’Brian, Reparation for Sin: A Study of the Doctrine of Francis Suarez (1960).