Giordano Bruno 1548-1600 Italian philosopher and theologian

A native of Naples, Bruno entered the Dominican order when he was fifteen. In 1576, he was accused of heresy. He fled Italy, where heretics were none too safe, to become a wandering scholar and teacher. He lectured in Calvinist Geneva, in Lutheran Wittenberg, in Protestant England, and in Catholic France.

In his metaphysical works, Bruno taught that the universe is infinite and that its center is everywhere and nowhere. He believed that the universe and God are one. Thus, he was a pantheist. Further, he doubted the divinity of Christ. Bruno's philosophy was based on his belief in magic. He believed in the possibility of good witchcraft and held that the symbol of the cross was borrowed from a magical Egyptian sign. He supported Copernicus' view that the earth rotates around the sun, not for scientific reasons but, rather, because it was consistent with his magical beliefs.

In 1592, Bruno returned to Venice to teach, believing that attitudes about religious beliefs had be come more liberal since his flight. He was arrested by the Holy Office of the Inquisition, tried, and imprisoned for eight years. He was burned at the stake as an impenitant heretic in 1600.

It is sometimes said that Bruno was executed because of his support for Copernicus and the advancement of scientific views. However, it now appears that the inquisition was much more offended by Bruno's theological and magical beliefs that his scientific ones.

Bruno's philosophic work had strong influences on Spinoza and Leibniz.