Sylvester Maurus (31 December 1619 – 13 January 1687) was an Italian

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theologian.

Life

Sylvester Maurus was born in Spoleto, Italy, on 31 December 1619 to a noble family. He entered the Society of Jesus, 21 April 1636. After his

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

, he spent three years (1639-1642) studying

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

at the

Roman College The Roman College ( la, Collegium Romanum, it, Collegio Romano) was a school established by St. Ignatius of Loyola in 1551, just 11 years after he founded the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). It quickly grew to include classes from elementary school t ...

, where his principal teacher was Sforza Pallavicino. Following a period in which he taught

grammar In linguistics, the grammar of a natural language is its set of structure, structural constraints on speakers' or writers' composition of clause (linguistics), clauses, phrases, and words. The term can also refer to the study of such constraint ...

, Maurus studied

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

from 1644 to 1648, again at the Roman College. Having completed his theological program, he taught philosophy at the Jesuit college in

Macerata Macerata () is a city and ''comune'' in central Italy, the county seat of the province of Macerata in the Marche region. It has a population of about 41,564. History The historical city centre is on a hill between the Chienti and Potenza ri ...

from 1649 to 1652. Recalled to Rome, he served a year as regent of studies for Jesuit seminarians. He took

final vows Religious vows are the public vows made by the members of religious communities pertaining to their conduct, practices, and views. In the Buddhism tradition, in particular within the Mahayana and Vajrayana tradition, many different kinds of rel ...

in the Order in 1654, and five years later was promoted to the Chair of Theology, which he retained until his appointment in 1684 as Rector of the Roman College. Maurus died on 13 January 1687 in

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Works

His works include: * ''Quæstionum philosophicarum Sylvestri Mauri, Soc. Jesu, in Collegio Romano Philosophiæ Professoris''. This work is divided into four books, and appeared at Rome in 1658. A second edition was issued in 1670. The latest edition, in three volumes, is prefaced by a letter of Father

Matteo Liberatore Matteo Liberatore (born at Salerno, Italy, 14 August 1810; died at Rome, 18 October 1892) was an Italian Jesuit philosopher, theologian, and writer. He helped popularize the Jesuit periodical '' Civiltà Cattolica'' in close collaboration with th ...

, and appeared in Le Mans, 1875-76. * ''Aristotelis opera quæ extant omnia, brevi paraphrasi, ac litteræ perpetuo inhærente explanatione illustrata''. The work appeared in six volumes, Rome, 1668. The second volume, containing Aristotle's moral philosophy, was edited anew in 1696-98. The whole work was published again in Paris, 1885–87, by Fathers Ehrle, Felchlin, and Beringer; this edition formed part of the collection entitled ''Bibliotheca Theologiæ et Philosophiæ scholasticæ''. * ''Quæstionum theologicarum, libri sex'', published at Rome, 1676–79; this work contains all the principal theological treatises. * ''Opus theologicum'', published in three folio volumes at Rome, 1687, treats of all the main questions of theology concisely. The first volume contains some information concerning the author, and also his picture engraved by Louis Lenfant.

References

* * Amann, Émile, ''Dictionnaire de théologie catholique'' 10.1:447–448. * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Maurus, Sylvester 1619 births 1687 deaths 17th-century Italian Jesuits 17th-century Italian Roman Catholic theologians People from Spoleto 17th-century Italian philosophers