Scaliger, Julius Caesar

Scaliger, Julius Caesar

▪ French scholar
Scaliger also spelled  Scaligeri  
born April 23, 1484, Riva, Republic of Venice [Italy]
died Oct. 21, 1558, Agen, Fr.

      French classical scholar of Italian descent who worked in botany, zoology, grammar, and literary criticism. He claimed to be a descendant of the Della Scala family, whose Latinized name was Scaligerus and who had ruled the Italian city of Verona during the two preceding centuries.

      Scaliger became known as a scholar through two virulent orations in 1531 and 1536 against the Ciceronianus of Erasmus, written in vigorous and trenchant Latin. The views on Ciceronianism with which Scaliger countered Erasmus, however, are considered narrow and shortsighted; Scaliger largely misunderstood the purpose of Erasmus' ridicule of the stylistic excesses of contemporary Ciceronians.

      Little is known of Scaliger's early life. In 1525 he left Italy to become physician to the bishop of Agen at Quienne, where he spent the rest of his life, becoming a French citizen. Except for a tract on Hippocrates' De insomniis (1539; “Concerning Bad Dreams”), his scholarly work was published late in his life and consisted largely of discussions of standard authors.

      His dialogue De plantis (1556) is a commentary on the book on plants wrongly ascribed to Aristotle, and his Exercitationes exotericae de subtilitate (1557; “Esoteric Exercises in Subtlety”) discusses scientific and metaphysical problems raised in De subtilitate rerum (“On the Subtlety of Things”) by the eminent naturalist Geronimo Cardano. An unfinished commentary on Aristotle was published in 1619 and one on Theophrastus in 1644.

      His De causis linguae latinae (1540; “On the Subject of the Latin Language”) was an interesting early attempt to discuss the principles of Latin grammar. His Poetice (1561; “Poetics”) became his most widely read book. In it Greco-Roman rhetoric and poetics are used as a foundation for literary criticism, and his exposition of Aristotelian criteria for tragedy did much to turn his contemporaries toward Classicism. Thoroughly conversant with Latin and Greek writers, a competent textual critic, and a prolific composer of Latin verse, Scaliger was chiefly interested in developing an understanding and critical evaluation of the ancients. His teaching impressed a whole generation of savants in the great age of French classical scholarship.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужен реферат?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Scaliger, Julius Caesar — • Article by Paul Lejay on this scholar s life and writings Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006 …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • SCALIGER Julius Caesar — Criticus, Poeta, Medicus et Philosophus insignis, magnum sibi in orbe nomen peperit, saeculô praeteritô. Hunc Italia genuit, educavit Germania, Gallia ad mortem usque tenuit. Natus A. C. 1484. in castro Ripa, territorii Veronensis, ex Principibus …   Hofmann J. Lexicon universale

  • SCALIGER, Julius Caesar — (1484 1558) Julius Caesar Scaliger, a French classicist of Italian birth, wrote on such varied topics as botany, zoology, grammar, and literary criticism. He composed a con­siderable volume of Latin verse, introduced a generation of French… …   Renaissance and Reformation 1500-1620: A Biographical Dictionary

  • Scaliger,Julius Caesar — Scal·i·ger (skălʹə jər), Julius Caesar. 1484 1558. Italian physician and scholar noted for his scientific and philosophical writings. His son Joseph Justus Scaliger (1540 1609), a French scholar, pioneered the modern study of classical texts. * * …   Universalium

  • Scaliger, Julius Caesar — (1484 1558)    Italian humanist, fa ther of Josephus Justus Scaliger. Born Giulio Bordone, the son of a painter of miniatures who settled in Venice, he claimed to be de scended from the della Scala family that had formerly ruled Verona. For a… …   Historical Dictionary of Renaissance

  • Scaliger, Julius Caesar, and Scaliger, Joseph Justus — born April 23, 1484, Riva, Republic of Venice died Oct. 21, 1558, Agen, France born Aug. 5, 1540, Agen, France died Jan. 21, 1609, Leiden, Holland Classical scholars. Julius worked in botany, zoology, and grammar but was chiefly interested in… …   Universalium

  • Julius Caesar Scaliger — (* 23. April 1484 in Riva del Garda; † 21. Oktober 1558 in Agen, Lot et Garonne) war ein italienischer Humanist, Dichter und Naturforscher …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Julius Caesar Scaliger — or Giulio Cesare della Scala (April 23, 1484 ndash; October 21, 1558), was an Italian scholar and physician spending a large part of his career in France. He employed the techniques and discoveries of Renaissance humanism to defend… …   Wikipedia

  • Julius Caesar Scaliger —     Julius Caesar Scaliger     † Catholic Encyclopedia ► Julius Caesar Scaliger     (It., DELLA SCALA).     Humanist, b. at Riva on Lake Garda in 1484; d. at Agen, France, 21 Oct., 1558. He was brought to France as physician to Antonio de la… …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Caesar — /see zeuhr/, n. 1. Gaius /gay euhs/ (or Caius) /kay euhs/ Julius, c100 44 B.C., Roman general, statesman, and historian. 2. a title of the Roman emperors from Augustus to Hadrian, and later of the heirs presumptive. 3. any emperor. 4. a tyrant or …   Universalium

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”