Leonardus Lessius

Leonardus Lessius (1554–1623) was a Jesuit theologian, jurist and economist of the School of Salamanca, born in Brabant. He entered the Jesuits in 1572, studied at the Roman College, and from 1585 taught theology at Leuven.

There he defended Luis de Molina's doctrine of grace despite censorship. Illness ended his teaching in 1600, and he then wrote De iustitia et iure, applying moral theology to banking and allowing interest when a lender bore risk or lost gain. Known as the oracle of the Low Countries, he died at Leuven in 1623.