Francesco Silvestri, O.P. (''ca''. 1474 – 19 September 1528) was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

Dominican theologian.) and Franciscus Sylvester de Sylvestris., group=note He wrote a notable commentary on

Thomas of Aquinas Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known ...

's ''

Summa contra gentiles The ''Summa contra Gentiles'' (also known as ', "Book on the truth of the Catholic faith against the errors of the unbelievers") is one of the best-known treatises by St Thomas Aquinas, written as four books between 1259 and 1265. Whereas the '' ...

'', and served as Master General of his order from 1525 until his death.

Life

Francesco Silvestri was born at

Ferrara Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream ...

in about 1474. At the age of fourteen he joined the Dominican Order. In 1516 he was made a master in theology. He was prior first in his native city and then at

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nat ...

, and in the provincial chapter held at Milan in 1519 he was chosen vicar-general of the Lombard congregation of his order. Having discharged this office for the allotted term of two years, he became regent of the college at Bologna where he remained for a considerable time. He was also inquisitor of Bologna from 1519 until 1525. Later he was appointed by

Pope Clement VII Pope Clement VII ( la, Clemens VII; it, Clemente VII; born Giulio de' Medici; 26 May 1478 – 25 September 1534) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 November 1523 to his death on 25 September 1534. Deemed "the ...

vicar-general of his entire order, and on 3 June 1525, in the General Chapter held at Rome, he was elected Master General. As general of his order he visited nearly all the convents of Italy, France, and Belgium, making efforts there to restore discipline. He was planning to begin a visitation of the Spanish convents when he died of an illness on 19 September 1528 at

Rennes Rennes (; br, Roazhon ; Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department ...

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...

Leandro Alberti Leandro Alberti (1479–1552) was an Italian Dominican historian. Life Alberti was born and died at Bologna. In his early youth he attracted the attention of the Bolognese rhetorician, Giovanni Garzoni, who volunteered to act as his tutor. He e ...

, his traveling companion, remarked that Silvestri was a man of "remarkable mental endowments," and that "nature seemed to have enriched him with all her gifts."

Works

Silvestri wrote many works on philosophy, most notably on

Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas, OP (; it, Tommaso d'Aquino, lit=Thomas of Aquino; 1225 – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest who was an influential philosopher, theologian and jurist in the tradition of scholasticism; he is known wi ...

and

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 phil ...

. *''Commentaria in libros quatuor Contra gentiles sancti Thomae de Aquino'' (''ca.'' 1516): a monumental commentary on Thomas's ''

'', and the one for which Silvestri is principally remembered. *''Annotationes in libros Posteriorum Aristotelis et sancti Thomae'': a commentary on Aristotle's ''

Posterior Analytics The ''Posterior Analytics'' ( grc-gre, Ἀναλυτικὰ Ὕστερα; la, Analytica Posteriora) is a text from Aristotle's ''Organon'' that deals with demonstration, definition, and scientific knowledge. The demonstration is distinguished ...

''. *''Quaestiones in libros Physicorum'': an explication of the eight books of Aristotle's ''

Physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

''. *''Quaestiones luculentissimae in octo libros physicorum Aristotelis'' *''Quaestionum libri De anima quam subtilissime simul et preclarissime decisiones'': an explication of the three books of Aristotle's ''

De anima ''On the Soul'' (Greek: , ''Peri Psychēs''; Latin: ''De Anima'') is a major treatise written by Aristotle c. 350 BC. His discussion centres on the kinds of souls possessed by different kinds of living things, distinguished by their different op ...

''. *''Apologia de convenientia institutorum Romanae Ecclesiae cum evangelica libertate'' (Rome, 1525): defended the primacy and the organization of the Catholic Church against

Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Reformation, Protestant Refo ...

; some have erroneously attributed this work to

Silvester Prierias Sylvester Mazzolini, in Italian Silvestro Mazzolini da Prierio, in Latin Sylvester Prierias. (1456/1457 – 1527) was a theologian born at Priero, Piedmont; he died at Rome. Prierias perished when the imperial troops forced their way into the ...

. *''Beatae Osannae Mantuanae de tertio habitu ordinis fratrum praedicatorum vita'': an account of the life of the Dominican teriary mystic

Osanna of Mantua Osanna of Mantua (also Hosanna) (17 January 1449 – 18 June 1505) was an Italian Dominican tertiary who gained notice as a stigmatic and mystic. Life Osanna was the daughter of the nobles Niccolò Andreasi, whose family had originated in ...

References

;Notes ;References

External links

* *
Franciscus Sylvester von Ferrara
at ''Biographisch–Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Silvestri, Francesco 1470s births 1528 deaths Italian Dominicans 16th-century Italian Roman Catholic theologians Inquisitors Masters of the Order of Preachers