The Heroic Enthusiasts | Page 5

likely to find countenance or support,
either in the place he was in or in any other place, however far he might
travel, he changed his course and made for Geneva.
The name of Giordano Bruno was not unknown to the Italian colony
who had fled from papal persecution to this stronghold of religious

reform. He went to lodge at an inn, and soon received visits from the
Marchese di Vico Napoletano, Pietro Martire Vermigli, and other
refugees, who welcomed him with affection, inquiring whether he
intended to embrace the religion of Calvin, to which Bruno replied that
he did not intend to make profession of that religion, as he did not
know of what kind it was, and he only desired to live in Geneva in
freedom. He was then advised to doff the Dominican habit, which he
still wore; this he was quite willing to do, only he had no money to buy
other clothing, and was forced to have some made of the cloth of his
monkish robes, and his new friends presented him with a sword and a
hat; they also procured some work for him in correcting press errors.
The term of Bruno's sojourn in Geneva seems doubtful, and the precise
nature of his employment when there is also uncertain; but his
independent spirit brought him into dispute with the rigid Calvinists of
that city, who preached and exacted a blind faith, absolute and
compulsory. Bruno could not accept any of the existing positive
religions; he professed the cult of philosophy and science, nor was his
character of that mould that would have enabled him to hide his
principles. It was made known to him that he must either adopt
Calvinism or leave Geneva: he declined the former, and had no choice
as to the latter; poor he had entered Geneva, and poor he left it, and
now turned his steps towards France.
He reached Lyons, which was also at that time a city of refuge against
religious persecutions, and he addressed himself to his compatriots,
begging for work from the publishers, Aldo and Grifi; but not
succeeding in gaining enough to enable him to subsist, after a few days
he left, and went on his way to Toulouse, where there was a famous
university; and having made acquaintance with several men of intellect,
Bruno was invited to lecture on the Sphere, which he did, with various
other subjects, for six months, when the chair of Philosophy becoming
vacant, he took the degree of Doctor, and competed for it; and he
continued for two years in that place, teaching the philosophy of
Aristotle and of others. He took for the text of his lectures the treatise
of Aristotle, "De Anima," and this gave him the opportunity of
introducing and discussing the deepest questions--upon the Origin and

Destiny of Humanity; The Soul, is it Matter or Spirit? Potentiality or
Reality? Individual or Universal? Mortal or Eternal? Is Man alone
gifted with Soul, or are all beings equally so? Bruno's system was in his
mind complete and mature; he taught that everything in Nature has a
soul, one universal mind, penetrates and moves all things; the world
itself is a _sacrum animal_. Nothing is lost, but all transmutes and
becomes. This vast field afforded him scope for teaching his doctrines
upon the world, on the movement of the earth, and on the universal
soul. The novelty and boldness of his opinions roused the animosity of
the clergy against him, and after living two years and six months at
Toulouse, he felt it wise to retire, and leaving the capital of the
Languedoc, he set his face towards Paris.
The two books--the fruit of his lectures--which he published in
Toulouse, "De Anima" and "De Clavis Magis," were lost.
The title of Doctor, or as he said himself, "Maestro delle Arti," which
Bruno had obtained at Toulouse, gave him the faculty of teaching
publicly in Paris, and he says: "I went to Paris, where I set myself to
read a most unusual lecture, in order to make myself known and to
attract attention." He gave thirty lectures on the thirty Divine attributes,
dividing and distributing them according to the method of St. Thomas
Aquinas: these lectures excited much attention amongst the scholars of
the Sorbonne, who went in crowds to hear him; and he introduced, as
usual, his own ideas while apparently teaching the doctrines of St.
Thomas. His extraordinary memory and his eloquence caused great
astonishment; and the fame of Bruno reached the ears of King Henry
III., who sent for him to the Court, and being filled with admiration of
his learning, he offered him a substantial subsidy.
During his stay at Paris, although he was much at Court, he spent many
hours in his study, writing the works