Cesare Cremonini (; 22 December 1550 – 19 July 1631), sometimes Cesare Cremonino, was an Italian professor of

natural philosophy Natural philosophy or philosophy of nature (from Latin ''philosophia naturalis'') is the philosophical study of physics, that is, nature and the physical universe. It was dominant before the development of modern science. From the ancien ...

, working

rationalism In philosophy, rationalism is the epistemological view that "regards reason as the chief source and test of knowledge" or "any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification".Lacey, A.R. (1996), ''A Dictionary of Philosophy' ...

(against

revelation In religion and theology, revelation is the revealing or disclosing of some form of truth or knowledge through communication with a deity or other supernatural entity or entities. Background Inspiration – such as that bestowed by God on the ...

) and Aristotelian

materialism Materialism is a form of philosophical monism which holds matter to be the fundamental substance in nature, and all things, including mental states and consciousness, are results of material interactions. According to philosophical materialis ...

(against the dualist immortality of the soul) inside

scholasticism Scholasticism was a medieval school of philosophy that employed a critical organic method of philosophical analysis predicated upon the Aristotelian 10 Categories. Christian scholasticism emerged within the monastic schools that translat ...

. His Latinized name was Cæsar Cremoninus. or Cæsar Cremonius. Considered one of the greatest philosophers in his time, patronized by

Alfonso II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara Alfonso II d'Este (24 November 1533 – 27 October 1597) was Duke of Ferrara from 1559 to 1597. He was a member of the House of Este. Biography He was the elder son of Ercole II d'Este and Renée de France, the daughter of Louis XII of France ...

, corresponding with kings and princes who had his portrait, paid twice the salary of

Galileo Galilei Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642) was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a polymath. Commonly referred to as Galileo, his name was pronounced (, ). He ...

, he is now more remembered as an infamous side actor of the Galileo affair, being one of the two scholars who refused to look through Galileo's

telescope A telescope is a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, absorption, or reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally meaning only an optical instrument using lenses, curved mirrors, or a combination of both to obse ...

. What is often not remembered is that "Cremonini’s reason for not trusting the telescope was that he had looked through one. The image confused and dizzied him. He inferred that only people with quirky eyesight and unrestrained imagination could see what Galileo had claimed to see."

Biography

Cesare Cremonini was born in Cento in the then

Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...

. He was a professor of

for about 60 years: * From 1573 to 1590, at the

University of Ferrara The University of Ferrara ( it, Università degli Studi di Ferrara) is the main university of the city of Ferrara in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. In the years prior to the First World War the University of Ferrara, with more than 5 ...

. Starting at a very young age and considered a great talent, he obtained the patronage of

(to whom he would dedicate his first major book in 1596). The jealousies caused by this protection helped him to eventually accept a position outside his native province. * From 1591 until his death, at the

University of Padua The University of Padua ( it, Università degli Studi di Padova, UNIPD) is an Italian university located in the city of Padua, region of Veneto, northern Italy. The University of Padua was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from ...

Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...

, then under

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia ...

rule (succeeding to Jacopo Zabarella), in a chair of natural philosophy and a chair of medicine. He taught the doctrines of

Aristotle Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of ...

, especially as interpreted by Alexander of Aphrodisias and Averroes. He was so popular in his time that most kings and princes had his portrait and corresponded with him, sometimes consulting him about private and public affairs. At Padua, his salary was twice that of Galileo. He was especially popular among the French intellectuals who called him "le Cremonin" (the Cremonin); even a remote writer such as Jean-Louis Guez de Balzac mentioned him as "le grand Cremonin" (the great Cremonin) in his ''Lettres''.

Metaphysical views

Following up on the controversy opened in 1516 by

Pietro Pomponazzi Pietro Pomponazzi (16 September 1462 – 18 May 1525) was an Italian philosopher. He is sometimes known by his Latin name, ''Petrus Pomponatius''. Biography Pietro Pomponazzi was born in Mantua and began his education there. He completed h ...

and continued by Jacopo Zabarella (his predecessors in the chair), Cremonini too taught that reason alone cannot demonstrate the immortality of the soul – his absolute adherence to Aristotle implying that he believed in the mortality of the soul. After a paper he wrote about the Jesuits, and public statements he made in favor of laic teachers, the

Jesuits , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...

in Venice accused him of

, then relayed their grievances to Rome. He was prosecuted in 1604 by the

Inquisition The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy, conducting trials of suspected heretics. Studies of the records have found that the overwhelming majority of sentences consisted of penances, ...

for

atheism Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no d ...

and the Averroist heresy of " double truth", and ordered to refute his claims: as was his manner, Cremonini gently refused to retract himself, sheltering himself behind Aristotle's authority. Because Padua was then under tolerant Venetian rule, he was kept out of reach of a full trial. As for the accusations, and beyond Cremonini's teachings: indeed his personal motto was "Intus ut libet, foris ut moris est" (Latin for "In private think what you wish, in public behave as is the custom"), which was taken by

humanists Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "human ...

as meaning that a scientific thinker could hold one set of opinions as a philosopher, and another set as a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

; it was also adopted by European

Libertine A libertine is a person devoid of most moral principles, a sense of responsibility, or sexual restraints, which they see as unnecessary or undesirable, and is especially someone who ignores or even spurns accepted morals and forms of behaviour o ...

s (brought back to France by his student and confidant

Gabriel Naudé Gabriel Naudé (2 February 1600 – 10 July 1653) was a French librarian and scholar. He was a prolific writer who produced works on many subjects including politics, religion, history and the supernatural. An influential work on library science ...

). After his death, Cremonini had his tombstone engraved with "Cæsar Cremoninus hic totus jacet" (Latin for "Here lies all of Cremonini"), implying that no soul survived. His student Naudé (who had been his confidant for three months) qualified most of his Italian teachers as "Atheists" and especially Cremonini as a "déniaisé" ("one who has been wised up, unfoolish, devirginized", the Libertines' word for unbelievers); he added to his friends, translated, "The Cremonin, Professor of Philosophy in Padua, confessed to a few choice Friends of his that he believed neither in God, nor in

Devil A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of ...

, nor in the immortality of the

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest att ...

: yet he was careful that his manservant was a good

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, for fear he said, should he believe in nothing, that he may one morning cut my throat in my bed". Later,

Pierre Bayle Pierre Bayle (; 18 November 1647 – 28 December 1706) was a French philosopher, author, and lexicographer. A Huguenot, Bayle fled to the Dutch Republic in 1681 because of religious persecution in France. He is best known for his '' Histori ...

pointed out that Cremonini did not believe in the immortality of the soul (in the "Crémonin" article of his '' Historical and Critical Dictionary''). Gottfried Leibniz, in his 1710 ''Theodicy'', dealing with the Averroists, who "declared that man's soul is, according to philosophy, mortal, while they protested their acquiescence in Christian theology, which declares the soul's immortality", says "that very sect of the Averroists survived as a school. It is thought that Caesar Cremoninus, a philosopher famous in his time, was one of its mainstays". Pierre Larousse, in his opinionated '' Grand dictionnaire universel du XIXe siècle'', stated Cremonini was not a Christian.

Cremonini and Galileo

At Padua Cremonini was both a rival and a friend of his colleague Galileo. When Galileo announced that he had discovered mountains on the Moon in 1610, he offered Cremonini the chance to observe the evidence through a telescope. Cremonini refused even to look through the telescope and insisted that Aristotle had definitely proved the Moon could only be a perfect sphere. When Galileo decided to move to Tuscany that year, Cremonini warned him that it would bring him under the Inquisition's jurisdiction. Indeed, the next year the Inquisition reviewed Cremonini's case for evidence against Galileo. Years later, in his book '' Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems'', Galileo would include the character Simplicio - the name was not casually chosen - a dogmatic Aristotelian philosopher who was partly based on Cremonini.

Death and legacy

When Cremonini died in 1631 during the Paduan outbreak of the Italian Plague of 1629-1631, more than 400 students were working with him. His previous students included, alphabetically: *

Theophilos Corydalleus Theophilos Corydalleus (; el, Θεόφιλος Κορυδαλλεύς, Theofilos Korydallefs; 1563–1646) was a Greek Neo-Aristotelian philosopher who initiated the philosophical movement known as Korydalism or Corydalism. He was also an ...

, graduated 1613, a Greek philosopher, had some influence in the Greek-speaking world during the 17th and 18th centuries, founded Corydalism *

William Harvey William Harvey (1 April 1578 – 3 June 1657) was an English physician who made influential contributions in anatomy and physiology. He was the first known physician to describe completely, and in detail, the systemic circulation and propert ...

, graduated 1602, an English doctor who was the first to correctly describe the circulation of the blood * Joachim Jung, graduated 1619, a German mathematician and naturalist popularized by

John Ray John Ray FRS (29 November 1627 – 17 January 1705) was a Christian English naturalist widely regarded as one of the earliest of the English parson-naturalists. Until 1670, he wrote his name as John Wray. From then on, he used 'Ray', after ...

* Ioannis Kottounios, an eminent Greek scholar and his successor to the chair of philosophy at Padua * Justus Lipsius, a philosopher of the

Spanish Netherlands Spanish Netherlands ( Spanish: Países Bajos Españoles; Dutch: Spaanse Nederlanden; French: Pays-Bas espagnols; German: Spanische Niederlande.) (historically in Spanish: ''Flandes'', the name "Flanders" was used as a '' pars pro toto'') was the ...

, in 1625–27, a French scholar and Cardinal Mazarin's librarian * Guy Patin, a French doctor, headmaster of the School of Medicine in Paris * Antonio Rocco, an Italian philosophy teacher and libertine writer *

Corfitz Ulfeldt Count Corfits Ulfeldt (10 July 1606 – 20 February 1664) was a Danish statesman, and one of the most notorious traitors in Danish history. Early life Ulfeldt was the son of the chancellor Jacob Ulfeldt. He was educated abroad, concluding wi ...

, in 1628–29, a famous Danish statesman and traitor * Flemming Ulfeldt, also in 1628–29, a Danish statesman and military leader, younger brother of Corfitz He was buried in the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monastery of St.

Justina of Padua Justina of Padua ( it, Santa Giustina di Padova) is a Christian saint and a patroness of Padua. Her feast day is October 7. She is often confused with Justina of Antioch. She was devoted to religion from her earliest years and took the vow of per ...

(to which he also willed his possessions). His name has been given to several streets ("via Cesare Cremonini" in Cento, "via Cesare Cremonino" in Padua) and an institute ("Istituto Magistrale Cesare Cremonini" in Cento).

Bibliography

Concise bibliography

Cremonini, Cesare – Explanatio prooemii librorum Aristotelis De physico auditu, 1596 – BEIC 176376

Below are his main books (many of them including separate treatises), listing only their most usual abridged titles: * 1596: ''Explanatio proœmii librorum Aristotelis De physico auditu'' * 1605: ''De formis elementorum'' * 1611: ''De Anima'' (student transcript of a Cremonini lecture) * 1613: ''Disputatio de cœlo'' * 1616: ''De quinta cœli substantia'' (second series of ''De cœlo'') * 1626: ''De calido innato'' (reprinted in 1634) * 1627: ''De origine et principatu membrorum'' * 163?: ''De semine'' (printed or reprinted in 1634) *: --- ''Posthumous:'' * 1634: ''De calido innato et semine'' (expanding 1626 with 163?) * 1644: ''De sensibus et facultate appetitiva'' * 1663: ''Dialectica'' (Not included are poems and other personal texts.)

Extended bibliography

Below are his main books (with usual short titles, original full titles, and indication of some variants or misspellings commonly found in literature). As was the practice of the time, many of them are made of opuscules, separate treatises grouped in a single binding. (Please note that Latin title spelling can vary depending on their grammatical position in a sentence, such as a "tractatus" becoming a "tractatum" in the

accusative case The accusative case ( abbreviated ) of a noun is the grammatical case used to mark the direct object of a transitive verb. In the English language, the only words that occur in the accusative case are pronouns: 'me,' 'him,' 'her,' 'us,' and ‘t ...

when inside a longer title.) * 1596: ''Explanatio proœmii librorum Aristotelis De physico auditu'' +20+22+43+1 folios(Explanatio proœmii librorum Aristotelis De physico auditu cum introductione ad naturalem Aristotelis philosophiam, continente tractatum de pædia, descriptionemque universæ naturalis Aristoteliæ philosophiæ, quibus adjuncta est præfatio in libros De physico auditu. Ad serenissimum principem Alphonsum II Estensem Ferrariæ ducem augustissimum) also ("Explanatio proœmii librorum Aristotelis De physico auditu, et in eosdem Præfatio, una cum Tractatu de Pædia, seu, Introductione ad philosophiam naturalem Aristotelis.") (ed. Melchiorre Novello as "Melchiorem Novellum") – Padua: Novellum ** "Tractatus de pædia" alias "De pædia Aristotelis" or sometimes "De pœdia Aristotelis" (also as "Descriptio universæ naturalis Aristoteliæ philosophiæ", or erroneously "Diatyposis universæ naturalis aristotelicæ philosophiæ") ** "Introductio ad naturalem Aristotelis philosophiam" (sometimes "Introductio ad naturalem Aristotelis philosophiam") ** "Explanatio proœmii librorum Aristotelis De physico auditu" (sometimes "Explanatio proœmii librorum De physico auditu") * 1605: ''De formis elementorum'' (Disputatio De formis quatuor corporum simplicium quæ vocantur elementa) – Venice * 1611: ''De Anima'' (De Anima lectiones 31, opiniones antiquorum de anima lect. 17) – student transcript of a Cremonini lecture * 1613: ''Disputatio de cœlo'' (Disputatio de cœlo : in tres partes divisa, de natura cœli, de motu cœli, de motoribus cœli abstractis. Adjecta est Apologia dictorum Aristotelis, de via lactea, et de facie in orbe lunæ) – Venice: Thomam Balionum ** "De cœlo" *** "De natura cœli" *** "De motu cœli" *** "De motoribus cœli abstractis" ** "De via lactea" ** "De facie in orbe lunæ" * 1616: ''De quinta cœli substantia'' (Apologia dictorum Aristotelis, de quinta cœli substantia adversus Xenarcum, Joannem Grammaticum, et alios) – Venice: Meiettum (second series of ''De cœlo'') * 1626: ''De calido innato'' (Apologia dictorum Aristotelis De calido innato adversus Galenum) – Venice: Deuchiniana (reprinted in 1634) * 1627: ''De origine et principatu membrorum'' (Apologia dictorum Aristotelis De origine et Principatu membrorum adversus Galenum) – Venice: Hieronymum Piutum ** "De origine" ** "De principatu membrorum" * 163?: ''De semine'' (Expositio in digressionem Averrhois de semine contra Galenum pro Aristotele)According to Léopold Mabilleau, page 70 and note page 76 (reused identically in J.-Roger Charbonnel) who conflates the ''Digressionem'' paper and the text added to the 1634 reprint. Mabilleau says "1624" but it looks like a typo for the 1634 edition. – (printed or reprinted in 1634) *: --- ''Posthumous:'' * 1634: ''De calido innato et semine'' (Tractatus de calido innato, et semine, pro Aristotele adversus Galenum) – Leiden: Elzevir (Lugduni-Batavorum) (expanding 1626 with 163?) ** "De calido innato" ** "De semine" (Apologia dictorum Aristotelis De Semine) * 1644: ''De sensibus et facultate appetitiva'' (Tractatus tres : primus est de sensibus externis, secundus de sensibus internis, tertius de facultate appetitiva. Opuscula haec revidit Troylus Lancetta auctoris discipulus, et adnotatiotes confecit in margine) also (Tractatus III : de sensibus externis, de sensibus internis, de facultate appetitiva) (ed. Troilo Lancetta, as "Troilus Lancetta" or "Troilo de Lancettis"), Venice: Guerilios ** "De sensibus externis" ** "De sensibus internis" ** "De facultate appetitiva" * 1663: ''Dialectica'' (Dialectica, Logica sive dialectica) (ed. Troilo Lancetta, as "Troilus Lancetta" or "Troilo de Lancettis") (sometimes "Dialecticum opus posthumum") – Venice: Guerilios (Poems and other personal texts not included here.)

References

Sources

; Dictionaries and encyclopedias *

"Crémonin, César"
In: '' Dictionnaire historique et critique'', vol. 5, 1820, pp. 320–323 *

John Gorton Sir John Grey Gorton (9 September 1911 – 19 May 2002) was an Australian politician who served as the nineteenth Prime Minister of Australia, in office from 1968 to 1971. He led the Liberal Party during that time, having previously been a l ...

: ''A General Biographical Dictionary'', London: Henry G. Bohn, 1828, new edition 1851, page 146
article "Cremonini, Cæsar" online
* Adolphe Franck: ''Dictionnaire des sciences philosophiques'', volume 1, Paris: Hachette, 1844, pp. 598–599
article "Crémonini, César" (in French) online
* Ferdinand Hoefer : ''Nouvelle biographie générale'', volume XII, Paris: Firmin-Didot, 1855, second edition 1857, pp. 416–419
article "Cremonini, César" (in French) online
* Pierre Larousse: '' Grand dictionnaire universel du XIXe siècle'', volume 5, Paris: 1869, page 489
article "Crémonini, César" (in French) online
(PDF or TIFF plugin required) * Marie-Nicolas Bouillet, Alexis Chassang (ed.): ''Dictionnaire universel d'histoire et de géographie'', 26th edition, Paris: Hachette, 1878, page 474
article "Cremonini, César" (in French) online
(PDF or TIFF plugin required) * Werner Ziegenfuss: ''Philosophen-lexikon: Handwörterbuch der Philosophie nach Personen'', Walter de Gruyter, 1950, , page 208, article "Cremoninus, Caesar (Cesare Cremonini)" * Various: ''Encyclopædia Universalis'', CD-ROM edition: 1996, article "Cremonini, C." (in French) * Herbert Jaumann: ''Handbuch Gelehrtenkultur der Frühen Neuzeit'', Walter de Gruyter, 2004, , page 203, article "Cremonini, Cesare" * Filosofico.net: ''Indice alfabetico dei filosofi''

: picture and profile * Philosophy Institute at the University of Düsseldorf: ''Philosophengalerie''
article "Caesar Cremoninus (Cesare Cremonini)" (in German) online
: another picture, bibliography, literature ; Philosophy * Léopold Mabilleau: ''Étude historique sur la philosophie de la Renaissance en Italie'', Paris:

Hachette Hachette may refer to: * Hachette (surname) * Hachette (publisher), a French publisher, the imprint of Lagardère Publishing ** Hachette Book Group, the American subsidiary ** Hachette Distribution Services, the distribution arm See also * Hachett ...

, 1881 * J.-Roger Charbonnel: ''La pensée italienne au XVIe siècle et le courant libertin'', Paris: Champion, 1919 * David Wootton: "Unbelief in Early Modern Europe", ''

History Workshop Journal The ''History Workshop Journal'' is a British academic history journal published by Oxford University Press. ''History Workshop'' was founded in 1976 by Raphael Samuel and others involved in the History Workshop movement. Originally sub-titled " ...

'', No. 20, 1985, pages 83–101 : Averroes, Pomponazzi, Cremonini ; Cremonini and Galileo * Evan R. Soulé, Jr.: "The Energy Machine of Joseph Newman", '' Discover Magazine'', May 1987
online version
: telescope incident account * Thomas Lessl: "The Galileo Legend", ''New Oxford Review'', June 2000, pp. 27–33

: telescope incident note * Paul Newall: "The Galileo Affair", 2005

: telescope incident note (with typo "Cremoni") * W.R. Laird: "Venetischer Aristotelismus im Ende der aristotelischen Welt: Aspekte der Welt und des Denkens des Cesare Cremonini (1550–1631)(Review)" in Renaissance Quarterly, 1999, onlin
excerpt at Amazon.com
o
excerpt at FindArticles.com
* Stephen Mason: "Galileo's Scientific Discoveries, Cosmological Confrontations, and the Aftermath", in ''

History of Science The history of science covers the development of science from ancient times to the present. It encompasses all three major branches of science: natural, social, and formal. Science's earliest roots can be traced to Ancient Egypt and Meso ...

'', volume 40, December 2002, pp. 382–383 (article pp. 6–7)
PDF version online
: salary, advices to Galileo * Galileo Galilei, Andrea Frova, Mariapiera Marenzana: ''Thus Spoke Galileo'',

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print book ...

, 2006 (translated from a 1998 book), , page 9 : Inquisition

External links

Cesare Cremonino site
(in Italian) including detailed biography, bibliography, literature.

(in Italian) 1999 conference about "the masks of Cremonini: Blind Man, Libertine Atheist, Rational Rigorist, and more" ; Texts of Cremonini * *
Cæsar Cremoninus – ''Disputatio de cœlo'' (1613)
online scans (Javascript required)
Free books by Cremonini
(

Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical ...

) {{DEFAULTSORT:Cremonini, Cesare 1550 births 1631 deaths Galileo affair Natural philosophers Scholastic philosophers Aristotelian philosophers Latin commentators on Aristotle People from Cento 17th-century deaths from plague (disease) 16th-century Italian philosophers 17th-century Italian philosophers