Dominic Borg (17th century) was a minor Maltese philosopher who specialised in logic and rhetoric. Borg, Dominic - Brevis

Life

He probably lectured at the '' Collegium Melitense'' in

Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an administrative unit and capital of Malta. Located on the main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population within administrative limits in 2014 wa ...

. The extant works of Borg reveal practically nothing in terms of biographical data. What they ''do'' attest to is his philosophical prowess and his clarity of thought.

Known works

Only three works of Dominic Borg are known to exist. Two on rhetoric and one on

logic Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the science of deductively valid inferences or of logical truths. It is a formal science investigating how conclusions follow from premise ...

. Others might have been lost or are currently displaced.

Rhetoric

Borg’s ''De Arte Rethorica: Brevis Notitia'' (A Short Note on the Art of Rhetoric), a work in Latin completed in 1668, is held in manuscript form at the

National Library of Malta The National Library of Malta ( mt, Bibljoteka Nazzjonali ta' Malta), often known as the Bibliotheca ( mt, Bibljoteka), is a reference library in Republic Square, Valletta, Malta. It was founded by Grand Master Emmanuel de Rohan-Polduc in 1776 ...

as MS. 718#10. It is his most relevant extant work to date. The manuscript is made up of forty folios, and is compiled as part of a miscellaneous volume of works. Basically, Borg’s manuscript is a study of rhetoric, and is composed as a series of epistles. The first epistle is an investigation into the teachings 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 ph ...

. Throughout all of the epistles, Borg makes liberal use of

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...

. Another extant work on rhetoric from Borg’s hand is ''Compendio Brevissimo delli piu inutili precetti per comporre epistola'' (A Very Short Collection on the Minute Rules for Writing Epistles), composed in 1668. This manuscript is also in Latin, and is held at the

as MS. 718#11). It contains only twelve folios, and is organised in chapters (some of which are divided into smaller parts). The work investigates the nature of epistles, and the proper manner with which epistles should be composed. The work is not particularly speculative. It is more of a short and technical exercise in rhetoric. Again,

is quoted profusely.

Logic

Borg’s work on logic is called ''Brevis Introductio ad Logicam Artis'' (''A Brief Introduction to the Art of Logic''), composed in 1669. The manuscript is in Latin, and held at the

as MS. 718#2. This work is made up of just sixteen folios, and is actually a very simple piece of writing where Borg examines the various distinctions of logic. The composition is divided under various sub-titles.

Life

Known works

Rhetoric

Logic

References

Sources

See also