Marcantonius Majoragio (1514–1555
) was a writer and philosopher, active in Northern Italy during the
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
period.
Biography
Majoragio was born Antonio Maria Conti in a place in the proximity of Milan in Italy, known as Majoragio (
Mairago
Mairago ( Lodigiano: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Lodi in the Italian region Lombardy, located about southeast of Milan and about southeast of Lodi.
Mairago borders the following municipalities: Cavenago d'Adda, Turano Lo ...
).
Majoragio was professor for a time at Milan, and a scholar who was known to have studied after the ancient Roman philosopher and orator
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 estab ...
. During 1542 he attended lectures held within Ferrara, these lectures were performed by
Maggi
Maggi ( or ) is an international brand of seasonings, instant soups, and noodles that originated in Switzerland in the late 19th century. The Maggi company was acquired by Nestlé in 1947.
History
Early history
Julius Maggi (1846–1912) ...
on the subject of philosophy, and by
Alciati Alciati is an Italian surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Andrea Alciato, or Alciati (1492–1550) (Andreas Alciatus), Italian jurist
* Dr. Gian Paolo Alciati della Motta (1515–1573) Italian Calvinist
* Francesco Alciati (1522–1 ...
on jurisprudence. He occupied an intellectual position both in defence of Cicero, in respect to
Calcagnini's attack on the work ''
De Officiis
''De Officiis'' (''On Duties'' or ''On Obligations'') is a political and ethical treatise by the Roman orator, philosopher, and statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero written in 44 BC. The treatise is divided into three books, in which Cicero expounds h ...
'' and contrary and in some way hostile, in respect to the work ''
Paradoxa Stoicorum
The ''Paradoxa Stoicorum'' ( en, Stoic Paradoxes) is a work by the academic skeptic philosopher Cicero in which he attempts to explain six famous Stoic sayings that appear to go against common understanding: (1) virtue is the sole good; (2) virt ...
'', in this case in his own work ''Antiparadoxon''. In ''Antiparadoxon'' Majoragio expressed the thought that Cicero's work was composed of dialogues which were un-Socratic, and more over, that Cicero's work was in fact demonstrably untrue.
Majoragio believed in Platonic Christianity, and thought that those who expressed contrary thoughts, that there was no after-life and the present material world was the only world that exists should be righteously condemned to the fate of having themselves burnt alive, and additionally those punished thus, to be in full consciousness during such an act.
Works
Majoragio produced the following:
*A 1546 work of criticism against ''
Paradoxa Stoicorum
The ''Paradoxa Stoicorum'' ( en, Stoic Paradoxes) is a work by the academic skeptic philosopher Cicero in which he attempts to explain six famous Stoic sayings that appear to go against common understanding: (1) virtue is the sole good; (2) virt ...
''
*A 1547 commentary on Aristotle's -
Rhetoric
Rhetoric () is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic (or dialectic), is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate parti ...
.
*A 1552 commentary on
Orator
An orator, or oratist, is a public speaker, especially one who is eloquent or skilled.
Etymology
Recorded in English c. 1374, with a meaning of "one who pleads or argues for a cause", from Anglo-French ''oratour'', Old French ''orateur'' (14th ...
written by Cicero.
*A commentary on the first book of ''
De Oratore
''De Oratore'' (''On the Orator''; not to be confused with ''Orator'') is a dialogue written by Cicero in 55 BC. It is set in 91 BC, when Lucius Licinius Crassus dies, just before the Social War and the civil war between Marius and Sulla, du ...
'' written by Cicero, published 1587.
References
1514 births
1555 deaths
16th-century Italian philosophers
Italian philosophers
{{philosopher-stub