Background
Francesco Patrizzi was born on April 25, 1529 in Cres, today in Croatia, then the territory of the Republic of Venice.
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Francesco Patrizzi was born on April 25, 1529 in Cres, today in Croatia, then the territory of the Republic of Venice.
He studied economy in Venice, then he moved to study in Ingolstadt under the patronage of his cousin Matthias Flacius (Matija Vlačić). Then he went to study medicine and philosophy at the University of Padova. He also studied contemporary science and ancient theories of music.
He gained the patronage of the bishop of Cyprus, who brought him to Venice, where his abilities were immediately recognized by his appointment to the chair of philosophy at Ferrara. He was subsequently invited to Rome by Clement VIII.
After graduation he lived in different cities in Italy: Ancona, Rome, Bologna, Ferrara, Venice. He later moved to Cyprus where he spent seven years. Here he attended upon the Bishop of Cyprus who send him back to Italy, where he traveled to Venice, Padova, Genoa, and even to Barcelona.
He finally went to live in Ferrara, a center of Platonism in Italy, where he was appointed to the chair of philosophy at the University of Ferrara by Duke Alfonso II. He was subsequently invited in Rome by Pope Clement VIII in 1592, where he spent five years as the chair of Platonic philosophy. Here he became a member of the Council of St. Jerome, at the Illyrian College of St. Jerome.
He published in 15 books a treatise on the New Geometry (1587), and works on history, rhetoric and the art of war. His two great works are Discussionum peripateticorum libri XV (Basel, 1571), and Nova de universis philosophia (Basel, 1591).
Patrizzi is said to have invented the thirteen-syllable verse known subsequently as versi martelliani.
(This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of th...)
In his philosophy he was mainly concerned to defend Plato against the followers of Aristotle. He developed the view that, whereas Aristotle's teaching was in direct opposition to Christianity, Plato, on the contrary, foreshadowed the Christian revelation and prepared the way for its acceptance. He attacks the life and character of Aristotle, impugns the authenticity of almost all his works, and attempts to refute his doctrines from a theological standpoint.
His theory of the universe is that, from God there emanated Light which extends throughout space and is the explanation of all development. This Light is not corporeal and yet is the fundamental reality of things. From Light came Heat and Fluidity; these three together with Space make up the elements out of which all things are constructed. This cosmic theory is a curious combination of materialistic and abstract ideas; the influence of his master Telesio, generally predominant, is not strong enough to overcome his inherent disbelief in the adequacy of purely scientific explanation.
