Robert Bellarmine
Robert Bellarmine,
Bellarmine was a professor of theology and later rector of the Roman College, and in 1602 became Archbishop of Capua. He supported the reform decrees of the Council of Trent. He is also widely remembered for his role in the Giordano Bruno affair,[2][3] the Galileo affair, and the trial of Friar Fulgenzio Manfredi.[4]
Early life
Bellarmine was born in Montepulciano, the son of noble, albeit impoverished, parents, Vincenzo Bellarmino and his wife Cinzia Cervini, who was the sister of Pope Marcellus II.[5] As a boy he knew Virgil by heart and composed a number of poems in Italian and Latin. One of his hymns, on Mary Magdalene, is included in the Roman Breviary.
He entered the Roman
Career
Bellarmine's systematic studies of
New duties after 1589
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Until 1589, Bellarmine was occupied as professor of theology. After the murder in that year of
Upon the death of Pope Sixtus V in 1590, the Count of Olivares wrote to King Philip III of Spain, "Bellarmine ... would not do for a Pope, for he is mindful only of the interests of the Church and is unresponsive to the reasons of princes."[11]
Pope
In 1602 he was made
Thomas Hobbes saw Bellarmine in Rome at a service on All Saints Day (1 November) 1614 and, exempting him alone from a general castigation of cardinals, described him as "a little lean old man" who lived "more retired".[13]
The Galileo case
In 1616, on the orders of Paul V, Bellarmine summoned
When Galileo later complained of rumours to the effect that he had been forced to abjure and do penance, Bellarmine wrote out a certificate denying the rumours, stating that Galileo had merely been notified of the decree and informed that, as a consequence of it, the Copernican doctrine could not be "defended or held". Unlike the previously mentioned formal injunction (see earlier footnote), this certificate would have allowed Galileo to continue using and teaching the mathematical content of Copernicus's theory as a purely theoretical device for predicting the apparent motions of the planets.[16][17]
According to some of his letters, Cardinal Bellarmine believed that a demonstration for heliocentrism could not be found because it would contradict the unanimous consent of the
Bellarmine wrote to heliocentrist Paolo Antonio Foscarini in 1615:[19]
The Council [of Trent] prohibits interpreting Scripture against the common consensus of the Holy Fathers; and if Your Paternity wants to read not only the Holy Fathers, but also the modern commentaries on
save the appearances, and to demonstrate that in truth the sun is at the center and the earth in heaven; for I believe the first demonstration may be available, but I have very great doubts about the second, and in case of doubt one must not abandon the Holy Scripture as interpreted by the Holy Fathers.
In 1633, nearly twelve years after Bellarmine's death, Galileo was again called before the Inquisition in this matter. Galileo produced Bellarmine's certificate for his defense at the trial.[20]
According to Pierre Duhem and Karl Popper “in one respect, at least, Bellarmine had shown himself a better scientist than Galileo by disallowing the possibility of a “strict proof” of the earth’s motion, on the grounds that an astronomical theory merely “saves the appearances” without necessarily revealing what “really happens.”[21] Philosopher of science Thomas Kuhn, in his book, The Copernican Revolution, after commenting on Cesare Cremonini, who refused to look through Galileo’s telescope, wrote:
Most of Galileo’s opponents behaved more rationally. Like Bellarmine, they agreed that the phenomena were in the sky but denied that they proved Galileo’s contentions. In this, of course, they were quite right. Though the telescope argued much, it proved nothing.[22]
Death
Bellarmine retired to Sant'Andrea degli Scozzesi, the Jesuit college of Saint Andrew in Rome. He died on 17 September 1621, aged 78.[23] He was buried in the Church of St. Ignatius in Rome.[24]
Works
Bellarmine's books bear the stamp of their period; the effort for literary elegance (so-called "maraviglia") had given place to a desire to pile up as much material as possible, to embrace the whole field of human knowledge, and incorporate it into theology. His controversial works provoked many replies, and were studied for some decades after his death.
Dogmatics
From his research grew
In 1597-98 he published a Catechism in two versions (short and full ) which has been translated to 60 languages and was the official teaching of the Catholic Church for centuries.[27]
Venetian Interdict
Under
Allegiance oath controversy and papal authority
Bellarmine also became involved in controversy with King
Devotional works
During his retirement, he wrote several short books intended to help ordinary people in their spiritual life: De ascensione mentis in Deum per scalas rerum creatorum opusculum (The Mind's Ascent to God by the Ladder of Created Things; 1614) which was translated into English as Jacob's Ladder (1638) without acknowledgement by Henry Isaacson [d],[32] The Art of Dying Well (1619) (in Latin, English translation under this title by Edward Coffin),[33] and The Seven Words on the Cross.
Canonization and final resting place
Bellarmine was
Notes
- ^ On Laymen or Secular People; On the Temporal Power of the Pope. Against William Barclay; and On the Primary Duty of the Supreme Pontiff, are included in Bellarmine, On Temporal and Spiritual Authority, Stefania Tutino (ed.) trans., Indianapolis, IN: Liberty Fund, 2012
References
- ISBN 978-1-57607-355-1. Archivedfrom the original on 20 February 2023. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
- ^ Gibbings, Richard (1852). Were "heretics" Ever Burned Alive at Rome?: A Report of the Proceedings in the Roman Inquisition Against Fulgentio Manfredi. Taken from the Original Manuscript Brought from Italy by a French Officer, and Edited, with a Parallel English Version and Illustrative Additions. John Petheram. pp. 44–45. Archived from the original on 20 February 2023. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
- S2CID 25425481.
- ^ Perkins, William (1600). A Golden Chain or the description of Theology (PDF). University of Cambridge. p. 155. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2022.
- ^ a b c d e Smith, Sydney Fenn (1907). "St. Robert Francis Romulus Bellarmine". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
- ^ Rule, William Harris (1853). "A Jesuit cardinal: Robert Bellarmine". Celebrated Jesuits. Vol. 2. London: John Mason. p. 20.
- ^ Farmer 2011.
- ^ "St. Robert Bellarmine The Great Defender of the Faith". ChristianApostles.com. Archived from the original on 31 December 2022. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
- ^ Miranda, Salvador. "The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church – Biographical Dictionary – CAETANI, Enrico (1550-1599)". www2.fiu.edu. Archived from the original on 23 March 2020. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
- ^ Miranda, Salvador. "The Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church – Biographical Dictionary – BELLARMINO, S.J., Roberto (1542-1621)". www2.fiu.edu. Archived from the original on 23 March 2020. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
- ^ a b "The Galileo Project | Christianity | Robert Cardinal Bellarmine". galileo.rice.edu. Archived from the original on 7 January 2018. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
- ^ Blackwell (1991, pp. 47–48).
- ^ Martinich, A. P. (1999). Thomas Hobbes: a Biography. Cambridge: Cambridge U.P. p. 34.
- ^ Blackwell (1991, p. 126).The Vatican archives contain an unsigned copy of a more strongly worded formal injunction purporting to have been served on Galileo shortly after Bellarmine's admonition, ordering him "not to hold, teach, or defend" the condemned doctrine "in any way whatever, either orally or in writing", and threatening him with imprisonment if he refused to obey.However, whether this injunction was ever properly served on Galileo is a subject of much scholarly disagreement.(Blackwell, 1991, p. 127–128)
- ^ Fantoli (2005, p.119). Some scholars have suggested that Galileo's agreement was only obtained after some initial resistance. Otherwise, the formal injunction purporting to have been served on him during his meeting with Bellarmine (see earlier footnote) would have been contrary to the Pope's instructions (Fantoli. 2005, pp.121, 124).
- ^ Blackwell (1991, p.127). Maurice Finocchiaro's English translations of the purported formal injunction, the decree of the Congregation of the Index and Cardinal Bellarmine's certificate are available on-line.
- ISBN 9780268158934. Archivedfrom the original on 20 February 2023. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
- ^ "Fourth Session of the Council of Trent". 8 April 1546. Archived from the original on 21 October 2013. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
- ^ ISBN 0520066626.
- ISBN 9781624661358.
- ^ McMullin, Ernan (2008). "Robert Bellarmine". In Gillispie, Charles (ed.). Dictionary of Scientific Biography. Scribner & American Council of Learned Societies.
- ^ Kuhn, Thomas (1957). The Copernican Revolution. New York: Random House / Vintage Books. p. 226.
- ^ Chisholm (1911)
- ^ Díaz Vizzi, Daniel (10 January 2021). "Church of St. Ignatius in Rome: the jewel of baroque architecture". Rome Reports. Translated by Christian Campos. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
- ^ "A COMMENTARY ON THE BOOK OF PSALMS". www.ecatholic2000.com. Archived from the original on 8 January 2020. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
- ISBN 978-0-268-15893-4. Archivedfrom the original on 20 February 2023. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
Bellarmine himself was not a stranger to theological condemnation. In August 1590 Pope Sixtus V decided to place the first volume of the Controversies on the Index because Bellarmine had argued that the pope is not the temporal ruler of the whole world and that temporal rulers do not derive their authority to rule from God through the pope but through the consent of the people governed. However Sixtus died before the revised Index was published, and the next pope, Urban VII, who reigned for only twelve days before his own death, removed Bellarmine's book from the list during that brief period. The times were precarious.
- ^ Introduction by Bishop Athanasius Schneider to Bellarmine, St. Robert (2016). Doctrina Christiana: The Timeless Catechism of St. Robert Bellarmine. Translated by Grant, Ryan. Mediatrix Press. pp. xiv–xv.
- ^ The Cambridge Modern History, Volume 4: Fra Paolo Sarpi (Cambridge University Press 1906), p. 671
- ^ Robertson, Alexander (1893) Fra Paolo Sarpi: the Greatest of the Venetians, London: Sampson, Low, Marston & Co. pp. 114–117
- ^ W. B. Patterson, James VI and I and the Reunion of Christendom (1997), pp. 76–77.
- ^ "Bellarmine, Jefferson and the Declaration of Independence". National Catholic Register. Archived from the original on 16 November 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
- ^ "Iacob's ladder consisting of fifteene degrees or ascents to the knowledge of God by the consideration of his creatures and attributes". quod.lib.umich.edu. Archived from the original on 18 April 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
- ^ Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. .
- ISBN 978-0-19-978058-7. Archivedfrom the original on 20 February 2023. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
Sources
- Blackwell, Richard J. (1991). Galileo, Bellarmine, and the Bible. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press. ISBN 0-268-01024-2.
- Fantoli, Annibale (2005). The Disputed Injunction and its Role in Galileo's Trial. In McMullin (2005, pp.117–149).
Further reading
- Motta, Franco (2016). "ROBERTO BELLARMINO, santo". ISBN 978-8-81200032-6.
- Bellarmine, Robert (2016). On the Roman Pontiff: In Five Books. Translated by Ryan Grant. Post Falls, ID: Mediatrix Press. ISBN 9780692705704.
- Bellarmine, Robert (1989). ISBN 0-8091-0389-3.
- McMullin, Ernan, ed. (2005). The Church and Galileo. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press. ISBN 0-268-03483-4.
- McMullin, Ernan (2008). "Robert Bellarmine". In Gillispie, Charles (ed.). Dictionary of Scientific Biography. Scribner & American Council of Learned Societies. Archived from the original on 22 June 2016. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
- Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 3 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
- Butler, Alban (1866). May XIII. St. Robert Bellarmine, Archbishop of Capua and Cardinal, Doctor of the Church, A.D. 1621. In The Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and Other Principal Saints. Dublin: James Duffy. PDF File. Archived from the original on 2011-06-05.
- Dulles, Avery (1 December 1994). "Saint Robert Bellarmine: A Moderate in a Disputatious Age". Crisis Magazine. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
- Notes of the church, as laid down by Cardinal Bellarmin : examined and confuted. Princeton Theological Seminary Library. London: Rose and Crown. 1687.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: others (link) (1839 edition) - Rager, John C. (1930). Catholic Sources and the Declaration of Independence. The Catholic Mind, XXVIII, no. 13. Contains notable quotations by St. Robert Bellarmine and St. Thomas Aquinas in reference to the Declaration of Independence. Archived from the original on 2014-07-11
- Bourke, Vernon J. (1967). "Bellarmine, St. Robert (1542–1621)". In Edwards, Paul (ed.). The Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Vol. 1. pp. 277–278. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
- Springborg, Patricia (1995). "Thomas Hobbes and Cardinal Bellarmine: Leviathan and the 'Ghost of the Roman Empire.'". JSTOR 26215899.
- Friske, J. (2003). "Bellarmine, Robert (Roberto), St.". Thomson Gale. pp. 226–228.
- Campbell, G. (2003). "Bellarmino, Roberto". The Oxford Dictionary of the Renaissance. ISBN 978-0-19-860175-3. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
- ISBN 978-2-503-51814-5.
- Farmer, D. (2011). "Bellarmine, Robert". ISBN 978-0-19-959660-7. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
- Barbuto, Gennaro Maria (2014). "Bellarmino, Roberto". Enciclopedia machiavelliana. Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
External links
Works of Bellarmine
- Opera Omnia - Google Books links to the 1870-74 reprint of his collected works in Latin.
- Works by Robert Bellarmine at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
- Bellarmine, Robert (2012). Tutino, Stefania (ed.). "On Temporal and Spiritual Authority". Online Library of Liberty. Indianapolis: Liberty Fund. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
- Bellarmine, Robert (1614). A Shorte Catechisme of Card.all Bellarmine Illustrated with the Images. On Google Books.
- Bellarmine, Robert (n. d.). On the Roman Pontiff. An Extract from St. Robert Bellarmine, De Romano Pontifice, lib. II, cap. 30. Translated by Jim Larraby. With Introductory Remarks by John Lane. Archived from the original on 2018-12-06.
- Bellarmine, Robert (n.d.). De Romano Pontifice, On the Roman Pontiff, 2 vol., 2015–2016, Mediatrix Press. Extract of Book II, Chapter 30 (published online with permission); extract of Book IV, Chapters 6 & 7 (published online with permission).
- Bellarmine, Robert (1705). Steps of Ascension to God. Second Edition. London: W. Freeman. On Internet Archive.
- Bellarmine, Robert (1753). Vita ven. Roberti cardinalis Bellarmini quam ipsemet scripsit rogatu familiaris sui p. Eudæmon Johannis Cretensis eruta ex scriniis Societatis [autobiography] (in Latin). On Google Books. In English in Woodstock Letters, Volume LXXXIX, Number 1, 1 February 1960, on the Jesuit Online Library (in Italian here, in French here)
- Bellarmine, Robert (1847). . Translated by John Dalton. Richardson and Son.
- Bellarmine, Robert (1847). The Art of Dying Well. Translated by John Dalton. London: Richardson and Son. PDF File. Archived from the original on 2008-12-18.
- Bellarmine, Robert (2008). The Art of Dying Well. Read by Maureen O'Brien. Audiobook. On Internet Archive.
- Bellarmine, Robert (n.d.). The Eternal Happiness of the Saints. London: Richardson and Son. On Internet Archive
- Bellarmine, Robert (n.d.). The Eternal Happiness of the Saints. London: Richardson and Son. PDF File. Archived from the original on 2015-09-08.
- Bellarmine, Robert (n.d.). "The Seven Words on the Cross". Christ's Faithful People. Archived from the original on 2 March 2016. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
Works about Bellarmine
- CERL-Thesaurus on Robert Bellarmin (1542–1621)