Michel, The Cosmology of
Giordano
Bruno, trans.
Bruno-Cause-Principle-and-Unity
?
Imprisoned following three denunciations by Mocenigo to the Holy Office.
The Venetian phase of his trial, which is well documented, was thus initiated; Bruno defended him- self, claiming that his teaching was purely philosophical, that he was penitent and was prepared to renounce his errors
? ? ? ? Confined in the Roman jail of the Holy Office; the Roman Inquisition had obtained, with some difficulty, a transfer of the trial from the Venetian Senate
? ? ? ? Following a new denunciation and new depositions, Bruno's position became acute. He re-affirmed the line of defence adopted in Venice and presented a lengthy submission of eighty pages (since lost) which was a turning-point in the trial towards an unfavourable outcome
? ? ? ? A commission of theologians examined his published works which had not previously been used, to censure heretical propositions which they allegedly included and to report them to the trial. Included were propositions concerning the first principles of reality, the necessary connection between an infinite cause and an infinite effect, the conception of the individual soul and its relationship with the world-soul, the motion and soul of the earth, the identification of angels with the stars and of the Holy Spirit with the world-soul, and belief in pre-adamites
? ? ? ? Summary of the trial ready
? ? ? ? After a long interruption, trial re-activated; on the suggestion
of Cardinal Bellarmine, eight heretical propositions were submitted to him for his unconditional repudiation. In a series of petitions and depositions, he claimed that he was agreeable to the renunciation; however, he also became entan- gled in the merits of the incriminating propositions by mak- ing various distinctions. Thus, his position deteriorated until the tribunal required him to acknowledge his errors. On
xxxii
Chronology
? ? ? December, he said he would not agree to retract and that
he did not know what should be retracted
? ? ? ? On ? ? January, Clement ? ? ? ordered that he be condemned
as an 'impenitent, stubborn and obstinate' heretic. The sentence was read to him on ? February; it listed among his errors the denial of transubstantiation, the thesis of the transmigration of souls, the infinity of the world, the eternity of the universe, the allegation that Moses and Christ were magicians and impostors, and belief in pre-adamites. On ? ? February, he was burned alive in Rome at the Campo de' Fiori
xxxiii
Further reading
The Latin works of Bruno are found in Opera latine conscripta, ? vols in ? parts, ed. by F. Fiorentino et al. (Naples: Morano, ? ? ? ? -? ? ), reprinted by Frommann, Stuttgart-bad Cannstatt, ? ? ? ? . The Italian works are collected in Dialoghi italiani. Dialoghi metafisici e dialoghi morali nuovamente ristam- pati con note da G. Gentile, ? rd ed. edited by G. Aquilecchia (Rome and Florence: Sansoni, ? ? ? ? ). Other works by Bruno are Candelaio, ed. by V. Spampanato (Bari: Laterza, ? ? ? ? ); Due dialoghi sconosciuti e due dialoghi noti, ed. by G. Aquilecchia (Rome: Ediz. di Storia e Letteratura, ? ? ? ? ); Praelectiones geometricae e Ars deformationum, (Rome: Ediz. di Storia e Letteratura, ? ? ? ? ). G. Aquilecchia has also provided a critical edition of La Cena de le Ceneri (Turin: Einaudi, ? ? ? ? ), and of De la Causa, principio e uno (Turin: Einaudi, ? ? ? ? ). There is an Italian translation of the Latin poems by C. Monti, Opere latine (Turin: UTET, ? ? ? ? ).
There are bibliographies by V. Salvestrini, Bibliografia di G. Bruno, ? ? ? ? -? ? ? ? , edited by L. Firpo (Florence: Sansoni, ? ? ? ? ), and R. Sturlese, Bibliografia censimento e storia delle antiche stampe di G. Bruno (Florence: Leo S. Olschki, ? ? ? ? ).
Among the works of Bruno in English translation are The Expulsion of the Triumphant Beast, trans. A. Imerti (New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, ? ? ? ? ; rprt. Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, ? ? ? ? ); The Ash Wednesday Supper, trans. S. Jaki (The Hague: Mouton, ? ? ? ? ); there is another edition of the same work, trans. E. Gosselin and L. Lerner (Hamden, Conn. : Archon Books, ? ? ? ? ; rprt. Toronto: Toronto University Press, ? ? ? ? ); Cause, Principle, and Unity, trans. J. Lindsay (Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, ? ? ? ? ); On the Composition of Images, Signs and Ideas, trans. D. Higgins (New York: Willis Locker and Owens, ? ? ? ? ); The
xxxiv
Further reading
? Heroic Frenzies, trans. P. Memmo (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, ? ? ? ? ; rprt. ? ? ? ? ).
Works about Bruno in English include F. Yates, Giordano Bruno and the Hermetic Tradition (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, ? ? ? ? ); F. Yates, The Art of Memory (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, ? ? ? ? ); D. Singer, Giordano Bruno: His Life and Thought: With Annotated Translation of his Work, On Infinite Universe and Worlds (New York: Greenwood Press, ? ? ? ? ); P.
Michel, The Cosmology of Giordano Bruno, trans. R. Maddison (London: Methuen, ? ? ? ? ); William Boulting, Giordano Bruno: His Life, Thought and Martyrdom (New Hampshire: Ayer Company Publishers, ? ? ? ? ); J. Bossy, Giordano Bruno and the Embassy Affair (New Haven, Conn. : Yale University Press, ? ? ? ? ); N. Ordine, Giordano Bruno and the Philosophy of the Ass (New Haven, Conn. : Yale University Press, ? ? ? ? ); A. Koyre? , From the Closed World to the Infinite Universe (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, ? ? ? ? ); B. Copenhaver and C. Schmitt, A History of Western Philosophy ? . Renaissance Philosophy (Oxford: Oxford University Press, ? ? ? ? ); C. Schmitt, Q. Skinner, E. Kessler, and J. Kraye, The Cambridge History of Renaissance Philosophy (Cambridge University Press, ? ? ? ? ).
Other useful works about Bruno include F. Tocco, Le opere latine di G. Bruno esposte e confrontate con le italiane (Florence, ? ? ? ? ); G. Gentile, G. Bruno e il pensiero italiano del Rinascimento (Florence: Sansoni, ? ? ? ? ); V. Spampanato, Documenti della vita di G. Bruno (Florence, ? ? ? ? ); A Mercati, Il Sommario del processo di G. Bruno (Vatican City, ? ? ? ? ); A. Corsano, Il pensiero di G. Bruno nel suo svolgimento storico (Florence: Sansoni, ? ? ? ? ); L. Firpo, Il processo di G. Bruno (Naples: Ed. Scientifiche Italiane, ? ? ? ? ); N. Badaloni, La filosofia di G. Bruno (Florence: Parenti, ? ? ? ? ); H. Ve? drine, La conception de la nature chez G. Bruno (Paris: Vrin, ? ? ? ? ); F. Papi, Antropologia e civilta` nel pensiero di G. Bruno (Florence: La Nuova Italia, ? ? ? ? ); E. Garin, `Le <<elezioni>> e il problema dell'astrologia' in Garin, L'eta` nuova. Ricerche di storia della cultura dal ? ? ? al ? ? ? secolo (Naples: Morano, ? ? ? ? ); R. Klein, La forme et l'intelligible. Ecrits sur la Renaissance et l'art moderne (Paris: Gallimard, ? ? ? ? ); G. Aquilecchia, G. Bruno (Rome: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, ? ? ? ? ); P. R. Blum, Aristoteles bei G. Bruno (Berlin: W. Fink, ? ? ? ? ); P. Rossi, Clavis universalis: Arti mnemoniche e log- ica combinatoria da Lullo a Leibniz (Bologna: Il Mulino, ? ? ? ? ); G. Aquilecchia, Le opere italiane di G. Bruno (Naples: Bibliopolis, ? ? ? ? ).
xxxv
Note on the texts
Cause, Principle and Unity (De la causa, principio e uno) was first published in ? ? ? ? in London, during Bruno's sojourn there (? ? ? ? -? ). Few copies of the original printing survived and no other editions of the work are listed until the nineteenth century, when two important editions of Bruno's works were published by Adolfo Wagner, Lipsia, in ? ? ? ? , and by Paolo Lagarde, Gottinga, in ? ? ? ? . Thereafter, the book was frequently reprinted, either in whole or in part, both in Italian and in various translations, most notably as part of the critical edition of Bruno's works edited by G. Aquilecchia, Dialoghi italiani (Rome and Florence: Sansoni, ? ? ? ? ). The present translation is based on the text published in Opere di Giordano Bruno e Tommaso Campanella, edited by A. Guzzo and R. Amerio (Milan and Naples: Ricciard, ? ? ? ? ).
The translations of the De magia and of the De vinculis in genere are based on the texts published in Jordani Bruni Nolani opera latine conscripta pub- licis sumptibus edita, edited by F. Tocco and E. Vitelli (Naples and Florence: Morano, ? ? ? ? -? ? ), Vol. ? ? ? , pp. ? ? ? -? ? ? and ? ? ? -? ? ?
? ? ? ? Confined in the Roman jail of the Holy Office; the Roman Inquisition had obtained, with some difficulty, a transfer of the trial from the Venetian Senate
? ? ? ? Following a new denunciation and new depositions, Bruno's position became acute. He re-affirmed the line of defence adopted in Venice and presented a lengthy submission of eighty pages (since lost) which was a turning-point in the trial towards an unfavourable outcome
? ? ? ? A commission of theologians examined his published works which had not previously been used, to censure heretical propositions which they allegedly included and to report them to the trial. Included were propositions concerning the first principles of reality, the necessary connection between an infinite cause and an infinite effect, the conception of the individual soul and its relationship with the world-soul, the motion and soul of the earth, the identification of angels with the stars and of the Holy Spirit with the world-soul, and belief in pre-adamites
? ? ? ? Summary of the trial ready
? ? ? ? After a long interruption, trial re-activated; on the suggestion
of Cardinal Bellarmine, eight heretical propositions were submitted to him for his unconditional repudiation. In a series of petitions and depositions, he claimed that he was agreeable to the renunciation; however, he also became entan- gled in the merits of the incriminating propositions by mak- ing various distinctions. Thus, his position deteriorated until the tribunal required him to acknowledge his errors. On
xxxii
Chronology
? ? ? December, he said he would not agree to retract and that
he did not know what should be retracted
? ? ? ? On ? ? January, Clement ? ? ? ordered that he be condemned
as an 'impenitent, stubborn and obstinate' heretic. The sentence was read to him on ? February; it listed among his errors the denial of transubstantiation, the thesis of the transmigration of souls, the infinity of the world, the eternity of the universe, the allegation that Moses and Christ were magicians and impostors, and belief in pre-adamites. On ? ? February, he was burned alive in Rome at the Campo de' Fiori
xxxiii
Further reading
The Latin works of Bruno are found in Opera latine conscripta, ? vols in ? parts, ed. by F. Fiorentino et al. (Naples: Morano, ? ? ? ? -? ? ), reprinted by Frommann, Stuttgart-bad Cannstatt, ? ? ? ? . The Italian works are collected in Dialoghi italiani. Dialoghi metafisici e dialoghi morali nuovamente ristam- pati con note da G. Gentile, ? rd ed. edited by G. Aquilecchia (Rome and Florence: Sansoni, ? ? ? ? ). Other works by Bruno are Candelaio, ed. by V. Spampanato (Bari: Laterza, ? ? ? ? ); Due dialoghi sconosciuti e due dialoghi noti, ed. by G. Aquilecchia (Rome: Ediz. di Storia e Letteratura, ? ? ? ? ); Praelectiones geometricae e Ars deformationum, (Rome: Ediz. di Storia e Letteratura, ? ? ? ? ). G. Aquilecchia has also provided a critical edition of La Cena de le Ceneri (Turin: Einaudi, ? ? ? ? ), and of De la Causa, principio e uno (Turin: Einaudi, ? ? ? ? ). There is an Italian translation of the Latin poems by C. Monti, Opere latine (Turin: UTET, ? ? ? ? ).
There are bibliographies by V. Salvestrini, Bibliografia di G. Bruno, ? ? ? ? -? ? ? ? , edited by L. Firpo (Florence: Sansoni, ? ? ? ? ), and R. Sturlese, Bibliografia censimento e storia delle antiche stampe di G. Bruno (Florence: Leo S. Olschki, ? ? ? ? ).
Among the works of Bruno in English translation are The Expulsion of the Triumphant Beast, trans. A. Imerti (New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, ? ? ? ? ; rprt. Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, ? ? ? ? ); The Ash Wednesday Supper, trans. S. Jaki (The Hague: Mouton, ? ? ? ? ); there is another edition of the same work, trans. E. Gosselin and L. Lerner (Hamden, Conn. : Archon Books, ? ? ? ? ; rprt. Toronto: Toronto University Press, ? ? ? ? ); Cause, Principle, and Unity, trans. J. Lindsay (Westport, Conn. : Greenwood Press, ? ? ? ? ); On the Composition of Images, Signs and Ideas, trans. D. Higgins (New York: Willis Locker and Owens, ? ? ? ? ); The
xxxiv
Further reading
? Heroic Frenzies, trans. P. Memmo (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, ? ? ? ? ; rprt. ? ? ? ? ).
Works about Bruno in English include F. Yates, Giordano Bruno and the Hermetic Tradition (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, ? ? ? ? ); F. Yates, The Art of Memory (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, ? ? ? ? ); D. Singer, Giordano Bruno: His Life and Thought: With Annotated Translation of his Work, On Infinite Universe and Worlds (New York: Greenwood Press, ? ? ? ? ); P.
Michel, The Cosmology of Giordano Bruno, trans. R. Maddison (London: Methuen, ? ? ? ? ); William Boulting, Giordano Bruno: His Life, Thought and Martyrdom (New Hampshire: Ayer Company Publishers, ? ? ? ? ); J. Bossy, Giordano Bruno and the Embassy Affair (New Haven, Conn. : Yale University Press, ? ? ? ? ); N. Ordine, Giordano Bruno and the Philosophy of the Ass (New Haven, Conn. : Yale University Press, ? ? ? ? ); A. Koyre? , From the Closed World to the Infinite Universe (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, ? ? ? ? ); B. Copenhaver and C. Schmitt, A History of Western Philosophy ? . Renaissance Philosophy (Oxford: Oxford University Press, ? ? ? ? ); C. Schmitt, Q. Skinner, E. Kessler, and J. Kraye, The Cambridge History of Renaissance Philosophy (Cambridge University Press, ? ? ? ? ).
Other useful works about Bruno include F. Tocco, Le opere latine di G. Bruno esposte e confrontate con le italiane (Florence, ? ? ? ? ); G. Gentile, G. Bruno e il pensiero italiano del Rinascimento (Florence: Sansoni, ? ? ? ? ); V. Spampanato, Documenti della vita di G. Bruno (Florence, ? ? ? ? ); A Mercati, Il Sommario del processo di G. Bruno (Vatican City, ? ? ? ? ); A. Corsano, Il pensiero di G. Bruno nel suo svolgimento storico (Florence: Sansoni, ? ? ? ? ); L. Firpo, Il processo di G. Bruno (Naples: Ed. Scientifiche Italiane, ? ? ? ? ); N. Badaloni, La filosofia di G. Bruno (Florence: Parenti, ? ? ? ? ); H. Ve? drine, La conception de la nature chez G. Bruno (Paris: Vrin, ? ? ? ? ); F. Papi, Antropologia e civilta` nel pensiero di G. Bruno (Florence: La Nuova Italia, ? ? ? ? ); E. Garin, `Le <<elezioni>> e il problema dell'astrologia' in Garin, L'eta` nuova. Ricerche di storia della cultura dal ? ? ? al ? ? ? secolo (Naples: Morano, ? ? ? ? ); R. Klein, La forme et l'intelligible. Ecrits sur la Renaissance et l'art moderne (Paris: Gallimard, ? ? ? ? ); G. Aquilecchia, G. Bruno (Rome: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana, ? ? ? ? ); P. R. Blum, Aristoteles bei G. Bruno (Berlin: W. Fink, ? ? ? ? ); P. Rossi, Clavis universalis: Arti mnemoniche e log- ica combinatoria da Lullo a Leibniz (Bologna: Il Mulino, ? ? ? ? ); G. Aquilecchia, Le opere italiane di G. Bruno (Naples: Bibliopolis, ? ? ? ? ).
xxxv
Note on the texts
Cause, Principle and Unity (De la causa, principio e uno) was first published in ? ? ? ? in London, during Bruno's sojourn there (? ? ? ? -? ). Few copies of the original printing survived and no other editions of the work are listed until the nineteenth century, when two important editions of Bruno's works were published by Adolfo Wagner, Lipsia, in ? ? ? ? , and by Paolo Lagarde, Gottinga, in ? ? ? ? . Thereafter, the book was frequently reprinted, either in whole or in part, both in Italian and in various translations, most notably as part of the critical edition of Bruno's works edited by G. Aquilecchia, Dialoghi italiani (Rome and Florence: Sansoni, ? ? ? ? ). The present translation is based on the text published in Opere di Giordano Bruno e Tommaso Campanella, edited by A. Guzzo and R. Amerio (Milan and Naples: Ricciard, ? ? ? ? ).
The translations of the De magia and of the De vinculis in genere are based on the texts published in Jordani Bruni Nolani opera latine conscripta pub- licis sumptibus edita, edited by F. Tocco and E. Vitelli (Naples and Florence: Morano, ? ? ? ? -? ? ), Vol. ? ? ? , pp. ? ? ? -? ? ? and ? ? ? -? ? ?
