Melchior Inchofer
Encyclopedia
Melchior Inchofer or Imhofer (c.1584-1648) was a Hungarian Jesuit. He played an important part in the trial of Galileo, by his arguments that Galileo was an advocate of the Copernican system in Tractatus Syllepticus. His role in the Galileo affair is being reassessed in the light of fresh documentary evidence.
, Hungary in 1584 or 1585; and died at Milan
September 28, 1648. In 1607 he entered the Society of Jesus in Rome, and after the completion of his novitiate went to Messina, where he taught philosophy, mathematics, and theology.
In 1633 the Holy Office examined Galileo's Dialogue of the Two World Systems, and Inchofer was one of three theologians appointed to assess the work, the others being Agostino Oreggi and Zaccaria Pasqualigo. Inchofer's lengthy report concluded that the Dialogue taught Copernicanism, that Galileo was a Copernican, and that the book was designed as an attack on Christoph Scheiner
.
In 1634 he resumed his professorship in Sicily
, where he remained until 1636, when his order called him
to Rome that he might devote himself entirely to writing. He endorsed strongly the work of Athanasius Kircher
on the Coptic language
. His dispute with Joachim Pasqualigo on the immorality of making castrati, and his appointment as member of the Congregation of the Index and of the holy office dissatisfied him with Rome, and at his own request he was transferred in 1645 to the college at Macerata
where he intended to devote his leisure hours to the compilation of a history of martyrs. The last few years of his life were troubled, and he was brought to trial by his order in 1648. With the situation unresolved he undertook a journey to the Ambrosian library at Milan, but died there.
He wrote also Annales ecclesiastici regni Hungariae (Rome, 1644); and Historia sacrae Latinitatis (Messina, 1635), in which he elevated Latin to the rank of a heavenly court language and regarded it as the speech of the blessed, but also gave a history of its teaching, drawing heavily on the pioneer work in the history of education, the Academiae orbis Christiani of Jakob Middendorp
, first published in 1567. He was also the author of astronomical works, and in three polemical treatises (1638-41) he defended the order of the Jesuits and its mode of education, attacked by Caspar Scioppius. He attained his main contemporary fame, however, by the anonymous Lucii Cornelii Europaei monarchia Solipsorum, ad virum clarissimum Leonum Allatium (Venice, 1645); the long-accepted view is that of François Oudin writing in 1736 for the Mémoires of Jean-Pierre Nicéron
, namely it was incorrectly attributed to him and was really by Giulio Clemente Scotti, but recently scholars have re-opened the question.
Life
He was born at KőszegKoszeg
----Kőszeg is a town in Vas county, Hungary. The town is famous for its historical character.- History :The origins of the only free royal town in the historical garrison county of Vas go back to the third quarter of the 13th century...
, Hungary in 1584 or 1585; and died at Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
September 28, 1648. In 1607 he entered the Society of Jesus in Rome, and after the completion of his novitiate went to Messina, where he taught philosophy, mathematics, and theology.
In 1633 the Holy Office examined Galileo's Dialogue of the Two World Systems, and Inchofer was one of three theologians appointed to assess the work, the others being Agostino Oreggi and Zaccaria Pasqualigo. Inchofer's lengthy report concluded that the Dialogue taught Copernicanism, that Galileo was a Copernican, and that the book was designed as an attack on Christoph Scheiner
Christoph Scheiner
Christoph Scheiner SJ was a Jesuit priest, physicist and astronomer in Ingolstadt....
.
In 1634 he resumed his professorship in Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, where he remained until 1636, when his order called him
to Rome that he might devote himself entirely to writing. He endorsed strongly the work of Athanasius Kircher
Athanasius Kircher
Athanasius Kircher was a 17th century German Jesuit scholar who published around 40 works, most notably in the fields of oriental studies, geology, and medicine...
on the Coptic language
Coptic language
Coptic or Coptic Egyptian is the current stage of the Egyptian language, a northern Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Egypt until at least the 17th century. Egyptian began to be written using the Greek alphabet in the 1st century...
. His dispute with Joachim Pasqualigo on the immorality of making castrati, and his appointment as member of the Congregation of the Index and of the holy office dissatisfied him with Rome, and at his own request he was transferred in 1645 to the college at Macerata
Macerata
Macerata is a city and comune in central Italy, the capital of the province of Macerata in the Marche region.The historical city center is located on a hill between the Chienti and Potenza rivers. It consisted of the Picenes city named Ricina, then, after the romanization, Recina and Helvia Recina...
where he intended to devote his leisure hours to the compilation of a history of martyrs. The last few years of his life were troubled, and he was brought to trial by his order in 1648. With the situation unresolved he undertook a journey to the Ambrosian library at Milan, but died there.
Works
In his Epistolae Beatae Mariae Virginis ad Messanenses veritatis vindicata (Messina, 1629) he endeavored to prove the genuineness of the epistle and the apostolic activity of Saint Paul at Messina, but the Congregation of the Index summoned him to Rome and suppressed the first edition, although he was permitted to remove all objectionable features from his work and republish it.He wrote also Annales ecclesiastici regni Hungariae (Rome, 1644); and Historia sacrae Latinitatis (Messina, 1635), in which he elevated Latin to the rank of a heavenly court language and regarded it as the speech of the blessed, but also gave a history of its teaching, drawing heavily on the pioneer work in the history of education, the Academiae orbis Christiani of Jakob Middendorp
Jakob Middendorp
Jakob Middendorp was a Dutch Catholic theologian and churchman, academic and historian.-Life:He was born about 1537 at Oldenzaal, or, according to others, at Ootmarsum, Overyssel, Holland; he died at Cologne, 13 January 1611. He calls himself Otmersensis on the title page of his work De...
, first published in 1567. He was also the author of astronomical works, and in three polemical treatises (1638-41) he defended the order of the Jesuits and its mode of education, attacked by Caspar Scioppius. He attained his main contemporary fame, however, by the anonymous Lucii Cornelii Europaei monarchia Solipsorum, ad virum clarissimum Leonum Allatium (Venice, 1645); the long-accepted view is that of François Oudin writing in 1736 for the Mémoires of Jean-Pierre Nicéron
Jean-Pierre Nicéron
Jean-Pierre Nicéron was a French lexicographer.He was born in Paris. After his studies at the Collège Mazarin, he joined the Barnabites . He taught rhetoric in the college of Loches, and soon after at Montargis, where he remained ten years.While engaged in teaching, he made a thorough study of...
, namely it was incorrectly attributed to him and was really by Giulio Clemente Scotti, but recently scholars have re-opened the question.
External links
- Biography from 1812 Scholasticon page Dictionnaire biographique :s:de: ADB:Inchofer, Melchior
Further reading
- Richard J. Blackwell (2006), Behind the Scenes at Galileo's Trial: Including the First English Translation of Melchior Inchofer's Tractatus syllepticus