Paolo Sarpi, (born Aug. 14, 1552, Venice—died Jan. 14, 1623, Venice), Italian patriot, scholar, and state theologian. At age 20 Sarpi became court theologian to the duke of Mantua, a post that gave him leisure to study Greek, Hebrew, mathematics, anatomy, and botany. Later, as consultor to the government, he incurred the wrath of Pope Paul V by supporting Venice’s right to restrict church construction in the city and to try priests accused of crimes unrelated to religion (e.g., murder) in the state’s courts. His History of the Council of Trent (1619), an important work decrying papal absolutism, was published under a pseudonym; though placed on the Index librorum prohibitorum, it went through several editions and five translations in 10 years.
Related Summaries
