The year was 1548 and in a small municipality, located sixteen miles east of Naples, our
philosopher was born.
His given name upon his baptism was Filippo Bruno, the name Giordano would come only after
entering the Monastery of the Dominicans at the age of seventeen.
It was fortunate that he would find himself here where there were countless books which
could appease his wandering soul.
Somewhat Baconianlly, Bruno, lit his candle at every torch; his mind passed from book
to book searching, and wondering.
In the development of his philosophical ideals he took from so many that I fear if I were
to name them all here the list may read more like a telephone directory; but I will list
them for those curious.
He completed his ecclesiastic studies in 1572, but all was not well.
The theories which he propounded so enthusiastically drew concern from his superiors at the Monastery,
add to this his unrelenting desire for sexual romance, to which he said “not all the snows
of the Caucasus could quench,” and what we have is a recipe for impropriety.
Fast forward eleven years and Bruno, perhaps seeking freedom of thought and expression,
would flee the monastery, shedding his priestly garb in the process.
He would take shelter for a short time in Rome, teaching and enjoying the pleasures
that come with civilian life.
From Rome he traveled to Savona and then onto Geneva.
Each stop on his journey required Bruno, somewhat chameleon like, to assume whichever façade
would make for a peaceful life.
It seems there were few places in 16th century Italy which was genial to a philosopher who
dared to question the established dogmas.
At times he would reassume the cloak of a priest, but outside of this peacekeeping measure
he earned his living by correcting manuscripts and proofs.
He came under fire when, against recommendation, he pointed out twenty errors in a lecture
given by a Calvinist theologian.
He was promptly summoned to trial and while under duress, retracted, and was set free.
The man who took the liberty of publishing the review was not so fortunate.
Following this revealing encounter Bruno, fearing further persecution, eventually made
his was to Toulouse where he spent his time lecturing on Aristotle’s “De Anima”
(On the Soul).
Eighteen months would pass without incident, but the allure of Paris was too much to let
pass.
By the time Bruno had reached his Paris his name had become relatively well known as not
only a successful philosopher, but also a master of Mnemonics and Occult lore; so well
known, in fact, that the King of France, Henry III, would request his services.
Apparently he was pleased with the lessons since he was quick to appoint him to a professorship
in the College of France.
Two years would pass by with relative peace only ending after Bruno penned a fiery comedy.
Titled “The Torch Bearer,” Bruno went on to lambast and satirize member of the ruling
class, namely the monks, professors, and aristocrats.
At the end of its production he begrudgingly signed the play “Bruno the Noland, graduate
of the academy, called the nuisance.”
We can confidently speculate that it was this which caused his employer to, rather than
retain his services, recommend him to the French ambassador in London, Michel de Castelnav,
Sieur da la Mauvissiere.
He was more accepting than most of Bruno’s numerous ramblings and gave him refuge for
approximately two years.
While here he had the privilege of conversing with some of Elizabethan England’s most
developed minds including, but not limited to, Sir Philip Sidney and Edmund Spencer.
He even managed to meet the Queen herself a time or two; writing of her a eulogy which
would later be used against him by the inquisition.
In 1583 he was given permission to lecture at Oxford, wherein he promptly spoke on “The
Fivefold Sphere,” and the immortality of the soul.
This was predictably not received well and Bruno, a scathing critic of those who rejected
his views, called Oxford a “Constellation of Pedantic and most obstinate ignorance and
presumption, mixed with rustic incivility that would exhaust the patience of Job.”
Toward the latter half of 1585 he returned to Paris, teaching at the Sorbonne and giving
the local Aristotelians someone to loathe.
He was not in Paris for long as the war against Henry III pushed him away to Germany.
Applied but rejected from the University of Marburg, Bruno moved on to Wittenberg where
for two more years he lectured at Luther’s university.
The theology which surrounded him was what probably drove him to, once again, seek higher
ground, and so he found the university of Helmstedt in Brunswick.
At first this seemed like an honest and fair home, but once he caught the gaze of the head
of the local Lutheran church he was denounced and excommunicated, presumably for his unorthodox
views.
He continued this vacillating journey until 1591 when he would make the fatal decision
of accepting an invitation from Giovanni Mocenigo to return to Italy.
What made this a treacherous journey was the fact that Bruno had already been declared
an outlaw by the inquisition; he was to be arrested on first sight.
We can confidently say that his book “The Expulsion of the Triumphant Beast,” wherein
the beast was easily interpreted to be theological dogmas, was the primary reason for his bounty.
It is unclear as to what his primary motivation for returning was; perhaps he simply longed
to see his home again or maybe he thought himself capable of convincing the inquisitors
of his innocence on the off chance he were to be questioned.
His host, Mocenigo, belonged to one of the most wealthy and prominent families in Venice.
Strangely enough he, a pious catholic, requested the aid of Bruno because he believed him to
be well informed in regards to occult powers.
Regardless of the risk involved Bruno set out, arriving in 1592.
He promptly began teaching Mocenigo in mnemonics, but it was not long before he began suspecting
Bruno of withholding information presumably on account of his slow learning; this compounded
with the multiple heresies begin expelled caused more than a little concern.
When Mocenigo asked his confessor what he should do about the matter he was instructed
to continue with his lessons for a bit longer before turning him over to the authorities.
This plan was still in play when Bruno, perhaps suspecting some foul play, announced that
he would be returning to Frankfort.
Mocenigo promptly informed the inquisitors of his whereabouts and on May 23rd, 1592 Bruno
was arrested.
He was held in the prison of the Holy Office in Venice on multiple charges which included,
most severely, the denial of the trinity, incarnation, and transubstantiation.
Mocenigo also informed them of Bruno’s propensity to indulge in sensual pleasures, once Bruno
had even told him that “Ladies pleased him well, though he had not yet reached Solomon’s
number,” I will let you speculate on what he means to convey.
During his initial examination Bruno reported that he had only written as a philosopher
and had availed himself of Pomponazzi’s distinction between the “two truths” – that
one might question, as a philosopher, doctrines that he accepted as a Catholic.
He was not shy in admitting his doubts about the trinity and confessed to his extramarital
affairs.
Yes there was at first a time wherein Bruno sought repentance which, early on, seemed
to be going his way.
However when the head of the Roman inquisition requested that he be deported to Rome, the
request was granted and on February 27th, 1593 Bruno arrived to his final destination.
It was not uncommon for a prisoner to be held for years before receiving a sentence and
so from December 1593 to January of 99 he waited.
On January the 4th of the year 1599 he was summoned before Clement VIII and given a final
40 days to acknowledge his errors.
From that time on he was heard 4 more times, but at the end of this process he declared
that he would not retract.
On February 8th, 1600 his sentence was passed, it read that Bruno “should be delivered
to the secular court, . . . to the governor of Rome here present, that thou mayest be
punished with the punishment deserved, though we earnestly pray that he will mitigate the
rigor of the laws concerning the pains of thy person, that thou mayest not be in danger
of death or mutilation of thy members.”
To this Bruno sallied forth, a second Socrates, and exclaimed “Perchance you who pronounce
my sentence are in greater fear than I who receive it.”
And so bound to the iron stake, Bruno, nude with his tongue bound, burned in the Piazza
Comp de’Fiori, he was 52 years old.
Bruno was not without his faults, but even so he remains to this day a symbol of free
thought and tolerance of differences.
Many, including the gentle Spinoza, warmed themselves by the fire which he left behind.
In the very piazza within which he was burned there now stands a monument which was erected
in 1889 by patrons spanning the world over.
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And as always thank you for talking philosophy with me . . . until next time.