Those Jesuits

Pascal, not Amico!

"'An ecclesiastic or a monk may warrantably kill a defamer who threatens to publish the scandalous crimes of his community, or his own crimes [(gravia crimina de se, vel de sua religione)], when there is no other way of stopping him; if, for instance, he is prepared to circulate his defamations unless promptly despatched.  For, in these circumstances, as the monk would be allowed to kill one who threatened to take his life, he is also warranted to kill him who would deprive him of his reputation or his property, in the same way as the men of the world.'"

     Francesco Amico, S.J. (1578-1651), Cursus theologici, tom. 5 (Duaci:  1642), disp. 36, no. 118, on p. 544, as reproduced in the M’Crie translation of Pascal, Provincial letter no. 7 (GBWW, 1st ed. (1952), vol. 33, p. 52), underscoring mine.  For Pascal’s French, see p. 105 of tom. 5 of the critical edition of the Œuvres edited by Brunschvicg.  Note that this passage, reproduced below from pp. 73-74 of tom. 5 of the latter, appears to be missing from at least the equivalently enumerated paragraph of this printing of 1650.

Unde licebit Clerico, vel religioso calumniatorem gravia crimina de se, vel de sua religione spargere minantem occidere; quando alius defendendi modus non suppetat:  uti suppetere non videtur, si calumniator sit paratus, ea vel ipsi religioso, vel ejus religioni publicè ,ac coram gravissimis viris impingere nisi occidatur.  Nam si in tali casu licitum est religioso, ne ipse occidatur, invasorem prius occidere, si fuga non possit, quia nimirum ante se hostem habet, mortem evadere:  licitum quoque eidem erit, ad vitandam gravissimam sui, suaeque religionis infamiam, si alius modus non suppetat, calumniatorem occidere.  Nam quo jure licitum est saeculari, [etc.] . . .

Note also that I have neither translated this myself nor (obviously) read it in context.