John Matthew Rispoli (17 August 1582 – 6 April 1639) was a major Maltese philosopher of great erudition. He was held in high esteem by the Grand Masters of the

Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there ...

Order, the Bishops of Malta, the

Viceroys of Sicily The Viceroys of Sicily () were the regents of the government of the Kingdom of Sicily in place of the Spanish Kings who acquired the title of King of Sicily from 1412 to 1759. In 1806 Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies, having established himself on ...

, cardinals, bishops, inquisitors, and the common people. Perhaps the most eminent Maltese philosopher of the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

, the various extant writings of his are witness to his philosophical aptitude and dexterity as to his high calibre as a philosopher. These qualities were highly appreciated during his lifetime, in Malta as in France and Italy. He lived a busy life, both as an intellectual and as an administrator. He was professor of philosopher at various institutions of high education, an able preacher, and an official at various posts within the

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers (, abbreviated OP), commonly known as the Dominican Order, is a Catholic Church, Catholic mendicant order of pontifical right that was founded in France by a Castilians, Castilian priest named Saint Dominic, Dominic de Gu ...

, of which his was a member. He was an avid aficionado of music, and was talented with playing musical instruments. Though the fame of holiness accompanied him in his life, this did not deter the

Inquisition The Inquisition was a Catholic Inquisitorial system#History, judicial procedure where the Ecclesiastical court, ecclesiastical judges could initiate, investigate and try cases in their jurisdiction. Popularly it became the name for various med ...

from suspecting him of heresy, and keeping him in its dungeons for fourteen months. When he died, he was given an almost state funeral.

Life

Birth and education

Rispoli was born in

Senglea Senglea ( ), also known by its title Città Invicta (or Civitas Invicta), is a fortified city in the Port Region of Malta. It is one of the Three Cities in the Grand Harbour area, the other two being Cospicua and Vittoriosa, and has a popu ...

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

, on 17 August 1582, to John Vincent and Catherine. He was christened John Mary. His father was a pilot on one of the galleys of the

. This suggests that the family enjoyed a decent financial income. In fact, Rispoli was given a good education from an early age.

A Dominican friar

At sixteen years of age, in 1598, Rispoli joined the

at the Annunciation Priory of

Vittoriosa Birgu ( , ), also known by its title Città Vittoriosa ('Victorious City'), is an old Fortifications of Birgu, fortified city on the south side of the Grand Harbour in the Port Region, Malta, Port Region of Malta. The city occupies a promontory ...

. He was formally admitted a year later, and given the name John Matthew as a sign of his new religious status. Thereafter, he was sent to

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

, to begin and complete his institutional education at the Dominican ''

Studium Generale is the old customary name for a medieval university in medieval Europe. Overview There is no official definition for the term . The term ' first appeared at the beginning of the 13th century out of customary usage, and meant a place where stud ...

'' there in philosophy and theology.

At Paris

Rispoli's initial studies ended seven years later, in 1606. Though he returned to Malta to commence his academic and pastoral work, he came under the eye of

Alof de Wignacourt Fra Alof de Wignacourt (1547 – 14 September 1622) was a French people, French nobleman who was the 54th Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller, Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller, Order of St. John of Jerusalem from 10 February 1601 to ...

, Grand Master to the

, who conceded him protection. Most probably, this was due to Rispoli's intellectual capabilities as much as the high esteem in which the Grand Master held his father, whom, as recompense for his thirty-seven years in the service of the Knights Hospitaller, had been elected Donat and Brother in the Order. Whatever the case, the Grand Master personally recommended Rispoli to King

Henry IV of France Henry IV (; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry (''le Bon Roi Henri'') or Henry the Great (''Henri le Grand''), was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 16 ...

in order to ensue his theological studies at the

University of Sorbonne The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

, in Paris. Thus Rispoli left almost immediately for France. This gave the twenty-four-year-old Rispoli an opportunity to upgrade his studies at one of the then most illustrious centres of learning in the world, and show his true colours. In fact, as it happened, this opening gave him great prestige throughout his whole life. Rispoli remained in Paris for the next six years. Throughout his stay there he was known as ''le Jacobin Maltois'', the Maltese Dominican (since in France the Dominicans were known as ''Jacobins'' because their first convent in Paris was built near the church of ''Saint Jacques''). His outstanding intelligence and erudition can be gauged from the fact that, just over two years into his studies at the Sorbonne, in 1609, the twenty-seven-year-old Rispoli was earmarked to be appointed professor to the seat theology teaching on Lombard's ''

Sentences The ''Sentences'' (. ) is a compendium of Christian theology written by Peter Lombard around 1150. It was the most important religious textbook of the Middle Ages. Background The sentence genre emerged from works like Prosper of Aquitaine's ...

''. Unfortunately, the professorship was eventually awarded to one of the two French candidates who were presented together with Rispoli, this being solely due to their nationality, since Rispoli was clearly ''tanto dotto e più di quelli due'' (by far much brighter than the other two).

In the limelight

Despite this setback which could have changed his life forever, during that same year (1609) Rispoli published a book which impressed his peers and contemporaries. It was entitled ''Status Controversiæ Prædefinitionum et Prædeterminationum cum Libero Arbitrio'' (''The State of the Question dealing with the Predefinition and the Predestination of Free Will''). Basically, Rispoli concludes that divine grace fully respects human freedom, and does not tarnish it in any way. This conclusion clearly sides with the position of the Dominican Domingo Bañez against the Jesuit Luis Molina in the famous and very often acrimonious controversy on the intervention of divine grace in relation to free will. The work surely did not go unnoticed for, some two years later, in 1611, it threw him in the limelight. It so happened that, in 1611, the

General Chapter A chapter ( or ') is one of several bodies of clergy in Catholic, Old Catholic, Anglican, and Nordic Lutheran churches or their gatherings. Name The name derives from the habit of convening monks or canons for the reading of a chapter o ...

of the

, gathering some 450 Dominicans from across the world, met at Paris. As was the custom, four of the best scholars were chosen to carry out a public

disputation Disputation is a genre of literature involving two contenders who seek to establish a resolution to a problem or establish the superiority of something. An example of the latter is in Sumerian disputation poems. In the scholastic system of e ...

, and Rispoli was the first to be given this great honour. According to one contemporary, Rispoli's disputation, held on May 15, 1611, was attended by the whole academic world of Paris, the Apostolic Nuntio to the King of France ( Roberto Ubaldini), the bishops of

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

and

Orléans Orléans (,"Orleans"
(US) and Grand Master

appointed him his personal theologian and consultor, and made him a familiar of the Order of

. Upon terminating his studies in Paris in 1612, Rispoli was also on great demand at the many Studia Generali of the

. That same year, the General Chapter of Paris appointed him Regent of Studies at the newly established

Messina Messina ( , ; ; ; ) is a harbour city and the capital city, capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of 216,918 inhabitants ...

. Then, in 1613, not having yet completed his one-year assignment at Messina, the Provincial Chapter of

, celebrated at

, appointed him Regent at the

. He stayed at the Sicilian capital city up till 1617.

Accused of heresy

During his Regency at

, between 1615 and 1616, he was accused before the Sicilian

of teaching heretical doctrines. The precise imputations against Rispoli are not known. It appears that the records of the Inquisition at

have not survived the ravishes of time. However, it seems that Rispoli's accusers were numerous and powerful, and that the accusations were quite serious.Azzopardo, ''Descrittione delli tre Conventi che l'Ordine dei Predicatori tiene nell'Isola di Malta'', f. 191, cited by . Expenses for a defence lawyer were shared between Rispoli's religious communities at

and at

. The most heart-rending upshot of the incident was that, between May 1615 and July 1616, pending the charges, Rispoli was incarcerated at one of the

's dungeons for fourteen months. Eventually, his accusations were proved to be unfounded. He was thus declared not guilty, released, and, on July 15, 1616, reinstated to his former offices.

Reinstated

Having overcome this harrowing ordeal, Rispoli continued to hold the Regency at the

for another year. In 1617, after an absence of eighteen years, he was back to

as superior (of Vicar-General) of the Maltese Dominicans, and as official Visitor for the three Dominican Priories in

on behalf of the Sicilian Prior Provincial. During his stay in Malta, for one academic year (1617–18) Rispoli lectured at the ''Studium'' of the Portus Salutis Priory at

Valletta Valletta ( ; , ) is the capital city of Malta and one of its 68 Local councils of Malta, council areas. Located between the Grand Harbour to the east and Marsamxett Harbour to the west, its population as of 2021 was 5,157. As Malta’s capital ...

, and, during the following academic year (1618–19), at the Dominican ''Studium'' of the Annunciation Priory at

. Here, at

, he was also chosen at Master of Studies, and elected Prior, offices he held up till 1623. Grand Master

attests to Rispoli's excellent conduct at the time. Already in 1617, when Rispoli returned to Malta, he immediately appointed him as his personal theologian and consultor. Now, two years later, he sent various letters to the Master of the Dominican Order and to the Prior Provincial of Sicily most probably to scotch current rumours about some alleged shortcomings on the part of Rispoli. The Grand Master referred to Rispoli's work and personal demeanour in glowing terms, praising his erudition and exemplary life, his prudence and charity shown in his administrative role, his good sense in the works and benefices with which he endowed the priory, and his high standards of strict observance within his religious community. While at

during the years 1618–20, Rispoli was also appointed Moderator and Consultor to the

. How ironical for a man who, barely two years before, has been held captive for more than a year at the dungeons of the Sicilian Inquisition!

High activity

The latter years of Rispoli's life were rather hectic. He frequently had to travel by sea and land between and over Italy, France, Sicily and Malta, occupying a series of temporary abodes. Rispoli left Malta for Italy in 1623 to take up the office of Regent of Studies at the college of

San Sisto Vecchio The Basilica of San Sisto Vecchio (in Via Appia) is a Catholic minor basilica and Dominican conventual church in Rome, Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western ...

in Rome, Italy. He stayed here for two years, until 1626. During this period, precisely in 1624, he was appointed by the Master of the Order, Seraphim Secchi, as Censor for a particular case dealing with a book, entitled ''Vox Turturis'' (''A Dove's Voice''), by the Dominican Dominic Gravina. In 1626, Rispoli was back to Malta for a few months once more as Vicar-General of the Maltese Dominicans, and as official Visitor for the three Dominican Priories in

. In November of this year he was back in Rome, probably as Socius (or Assistant) to the Master of the Order. At the end of 1626 the Archbishop of

Osimo Osimo is a town and ''comune'' of the Marche region of Italy, in the province of Ancona. The municipality covers a hilly area located approximately south of the port city of Ancona and the Adriatic Sea. History The oldest archaeological evide ...

, Italy, Augustine Galamini (who, one might recall, had presided as Master of the Dominican Order over Rispoli's disputation at Paris in May 1611; he had been created Cardinal in August 1611, and Archbishop of

in April 1920), requested that Rispoli serves as his Vicar-General. This appointment probably lasted until 1629. During this period, it appears that Rispoli was not residing continually at

. In 1628 he attended the

of the

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

, France, as Definitor. The following year he preached at

Macerata Macerata () is a city and ''comune'' in central Italy, the county seat of the province of Macerata in the Marche region. It has a population of about 41,564. History The historical city centre is on a hill between the Chienti and Potenza (ri ...

, Italy. In May 1930, Rispoli was appointed by the Master of the Dominican Order to act as Commissioner to restore regular life at the priory at

. On April 21, 1630, he was than appointed for the third time Vicar-General of the Maltese Dominicans, and as official Visitor for the three Dominican Priories in

. He stayed in Malta until 1632. In that year, precisely on May 22, 1632, Rispoli was once more appointed Regent of Studies at

. However, he did not take up office until September, apparently because the Sicilian Prior Provincial had found some objection in the appointment He stayed in office until 1936, when he returned to Malta, once more as Vicar-General of the Maltese Dominicans, and as official Visitor for the three Dominican Priories in

on behalf of the Sicilian Prior Provincial. During this period, Rispoli also lectured in Holy Scripture and morals at the Cathedral of

Mdina Mdina ( ; ), also known by its Italian epithets ("Old City") and ("Notable City"), is a fortifications of Mdina, fortified city in the Western Region, Malta, Western Region of Malta which served as the island's former capital, from antiquity ...

. In 1638, Rispoli was elected Prior of the community at

. This was his last assignment in Malta.

Death

In March 1639, Rispoli was in

Catania Catania (, , , Sicilian and ) is the second-largest municipality on Sicily, after Palermo, both by area and by population. Despite being the second city of the island, Catania is the center of the most densely populated Sicilian conurbation, wh ...

, where he went to preach Lenten sermons at the cathedral. It seems that, during the rough 93 km crossing between

and

, he caught an ugly chill.Azzopardo, ''Descrittione delli tre Conventi che l'Ordine dei Predicatori tiene nell'Isola di Malta'', f. 192v, cited in . Unwilling to rest or take time to convalescent, Rispoli plod through the sermons of the first couple of days. On April 1, after the appointed sermon, he feverishly took to bed unable to rise again. His condition worsened during the night, and died the day after, on April 2, 1639. His funeral in

was held four days later (April 6). Though technically just a simple friar, Rispoli was given a state funeral in everything but name. Chroniclers were impressed by the multitude of people, both common and dignitaries, who attended his service and interment. He was buried at the Dominican church of St. Catherine,

, in a grave reserved for all friars. Unfortunately, in the subsequent years, through war and natural disasters, the church was destroyed, and the burial place lost. Today, only the original plaque which covered the grave still exists.

Posthumous recognition

Considering the outstanding intellectual and personal qualities of Rispoli, relatively little academic attention has been given to him, and much less to his philosophy. The only genuine biographical research carried out on original sources was done by Daniel Callus in the 1920s. Subsequent scholars heavily relied on his work, adding here and there some further unsubstantial information. Unfortunately, in general the academia ignored Rispoli, perhaps considering him just another withered mediaeval scholastic who, apart from some historical value, had no particular consequence or philosophical relevance to contemporary discussions. Rispoli's works have ''never'' been meticulously or systematically studied. None of them have ever been translated, in part or in whole, into a modern language, let alone freshly read and studied. Indeed, the translation of his works, or even the transliteration of his manuscripts, is riddled with logistical problems. Most of the manuscripts (perhaps excluding the ''Commentaria'' of 1633) are written in a minuscule, mostly indecipherable, handwriting. Furthermore, they are peppered with inscrutable abbreviations. Of course, all of this does not apply to his ''Status Controversiæ'' of 1609, which is his only extant printed text, and which might possibly contain the best of his philosophy and originality. As Rispoli's personality continues to attract attention, the eventual study of his philosophy is not a forlorn prospect.

Works

All of Rispoli's works attest to his Aristotelian-Thomist type of philosophy. Basically,

Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...

and

Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas ( ; ; – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican Order, Dominican friar and Catholic priest, priest, the foremost Scholasticism, Scholastic thinker, as well as one of the most influential philosophers and theologians in the W ...

are his main sources, and his writing style is heavily influenced by the method of composition proper to

Scholasticism Scholasticism was a medieval European philosophical movement or methodology that was the predominant education in Europe from about 1100 to 1700. It is known for employing logically precise analyses and reconciling classical philosophy and Ca ...

. For this reason, most of his works are organised into 'Books', 'Chapters', 'Questions', and 'Conclusions'. Rispoli's extant writings are sixteen in all. They are of three types: (1) one published book; (2) fourteen endorsed manuscripts; and (3) one authored manuscript.

Published book

Rispoli published just one book in his lifetime, and that was at the beginning of his academic and intellectual career. Copies of the publication are extremely rare. Two are known to exist, one is at the Dominican Archive at

Rabat, Malta Rabat ( ) is a town in the Western Region of Malta, with a population of 11,497 as of March 2014. It adjoins the ancient capital city of Mdina, and a north-western area formed part of the Roman city of Melite until its medieval retrenchment. ...

, and another at the

Bibliothèque Nationale de France The (; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites, ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository of all that is published in France. Some of its extensive collections, including bo ...

in Paris, France. * 1609 – ''Status Controversiæ Prædefinitionum et Prædeterminationum cum Libero Arbitrio'' (''The State of the Question dealing with the Predefinition and the Predestination of Free Will''). The book, in Latin, was published on June 15, 1609, by Reginald Chaudière, Paris. It contains twenty-two introductory pages (Roman numbering) and 424 body pages (Arabic numbering), and measures 17 cm x 10.5 cm. It was published ''cum privilegio Regis'' (by appointment of the King).

Endorsed manuscripts

These fourteen manuscripts are all held at the Dominican Archive at

. They were put in writing by a cleric, John Mary Camilleri, who attended Rispoli's lectures, and presumably sanctioned for their accuracy by Rispoli himself (for they were in his possession). Some of the lectures were read at the Dominican ''Studium'' of the Portus Salutis Priory at

, and others at the Dominican ''Studium'' of the Annunciation Priory at

. They are the following: * ''c.''1617 – ''Tractatus Summularum'' (''A Short Treatise on Logic''). * 1617 – ''Expositio Librorum Prædicabilium'' (''An Exposition on Aristotle's 'Categories). * 1617 – ''In Aristotelis Prædicamenta Expositio'' (''An Exposition on Aristotle's 'Categories). * 1617 – ''In Libros Posteriorum Aristotelis Expositio'' (''An Exposition on Aristotle's 'Posterior Analytics). * 1618/19 – ''Quæstiones in Libros De Anima'' (''Themes related to Aristotle's 'On the Soul). * 1618 – ''Subtilissima Expositio In Octo Libros Aristotelis Physicorum'' (''A Detailed Exposition on the Eight Books of Aristotle's 'Physics). * 1619 – ''Expositio In Libros Aristotelis De Generatione et Corruptione'' (''An Exposition on the Books of Aristotle's 'On Coming-To-Be and Passing Away). * 1619 – ''Expositio in Tractatum De Ente et Essentia Divi Thomæ'' (''An Exposition on Aquinas' Treatise 'On Being and Essence). * ''c.''1631 – ''Summa Totius Logicae'' (''An Anthology on Logic''). * ''c.''1631 – ''Comentarium in Libros De Anima'' (''A Commentary on the Books of Aristotle's 'On the Soul). * ''c.''1631 – ''Tractatus De Sensibus'' (''A Treatise on the Senses''). * ''c.''1631 – ''Tractatus De Potentia'' (''A Treatise on Potency''). * ''c.''1631 – ''Liber Primus De Generatione'' (''On the First Book of Aristotle's 'On Coming-To-Be and Passing Away). * ''c.''1631 – ''Summa Librorum Physicorum'' (''An Anthology on Physics'').

Authored work

This manuscript was discovered by Mark Montebello in 1992, and as yet remains the last of Rispoli's work to be located. It is held at the Commune Library of the Municipality of

. The special and precious feature of this document is that it is the only manuscript personally penned down by Rispoli himself. * 1633 – ''Commentaria in Primam Partem Divi Thomæ'' (''A Commentary on the First Part of Aquinas' 'Summa Theologiæ).

References

Bibliography

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