The Evil Eye, Thanatology, and Other EssaysPark, Roswell
Religion
The Evil Eye, Thanatology, and Other Essays
Park, Roswell
Bruno, Giordano, 1548-1600; Evil eye; Knights of Malta; Medicine; Mythology; Religion; Students
Early in 1592 Bruno went to live in Mocenigo's house. Trouble soon
began. Entirely apart in temperament and characteristics, they soon
disagreed. The pupil was deeply disappointed at not acquiring that
mastery over the secrets of nature for which he had hoped, and found
that there was no quick way to acquire a retentive and replete memory.
And so Mocenigo announced to his friend Ciotto, the bookseller, his
intent to gain from Bruno all he could and then denounce him to the
Holy Office. While others were thus conspiring against him Bruno
was writing a work on "The Seven Liberal Arts" and on "Seven Other
Inventive Arts," intending to present it to the Pope, hoping thus to
obtain absolution and be released from the ban of excommunication.
When Bruno at last appreciated the dangers by which he was surrounded
he announced his intent to go again to Frankfort to have some of his
books printed, and so took his leave of Mocenigo. On the following day,
in May, 1592, Bruno was seized by six men, using force, who locked him
in an upper story of Mocenigo's house. The next day he was transferred
to an underground cellar, and the following night to the prison of the
Inquisition. May 23rd his former host denounced him, with a cunning and
lying statement concerning some of his views and teachings. Thus he was
reported as stating that Christ's miracles were only apparent, that He
and the apostles were magicians, that the Catholic faith was full of
blasphemies against God, that the Friars befouled the world and should
not be allowed to preach, that they were asses, and the doctrines of
the Church were asses' beliefs, etc. (McIntyre). This was followed
two days later by a second denunciation in which Mocenigo went to a
diabolical extreme of deceit and hypocrisy; stating that all the time
he was entertaining Bruno he was promising himself to bring him before
the Holy Office. Within forty-eight hours the Holy Tribunal met to
consider the matter; before them appeared the book-sellers who had
known Bruno in Zürich and Frankfort, and before them came Bruno in his
own behalf, professing his entire willingness to tell the whole truth.
Within a few days Mocenigo made yet another deposition, denouncing
Bruno's statements about the infallible Church. On the following day
Bruno was again heard in his own defense, and appealed to the famous
and fallacious doctrine of two-fold truth, acknowledging that he had
taught too much as a philosopher rather than as an honest man and
Christian, and that he had based his teachings too much on sense and
reason and not enough on faith;--so specious had become his argument
with the terrors of the Inquisition before him. He further claimed that
his intent had been not to impugn the faith but to exalt philosophy. He
then beautifully epitomized his own views, claiming that he believed
in an infinite universe, in an infinite divine potency, holding it
unworthy of an infinite power to create a finite world, when he could
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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