- Paolo Riccio
Paolo Riccio [Paul Ritz, Paulus Ricius, Paulus Riccius, Rici, Ricci, Paulus Israelita] was a German Jewish convert to Christianity in the first half of the sixteenth century. He became professor of philosophy in the
University of Pavia ; subsequently he was physician toEmperor Maximilian I .Riccio was inclined to
astrology and theCabala , and had a controversy withJohann Eck about the existence of life on the stellar bodies.Erasmus thought very highly of Riccio, who defended him and his followers against the attacks ofStephen the Presbyter . Like most converts from Judaism, Riccio attempted to convince the Jews of the truth of the Gospels. He, moreover, advised the Christian nations to unite against the Turks, who were at that time the terror of Europe.Riccio was a prolific writer and, as Grätz says, "turned to good account the small amount of Jewish knowledge which he brought with him to Christianity." His best-known work is his "De Porta Lucis R. Josephi Gecatilia" (Augsburg, 1516), which is a free translation of a part of the cabalistic work "Sha'are Orah" by
Joseph Gikatilla .Jerome Riccio (Hieronymus Ricius), Paulo's son, sent a copy of this work toReuchlin , who utilized it in the composition of his "De Arte Cabbalistica."Riccio relates that he was ordered by Emperor Maximilian to prepare a Latin translation of the "
Talmud ". All that has come down of it are the translations of the tractates "Berakot ", "Sanhedrin ", and "Makkot " (Augsburg, 1519), which are the earliest Latin renderings of the "Mishnah " known to bibliographers.The most important of his other works is "De Cælesti Agricultura," a large religio-philosophical work in four parts, dedicated to
Emperor Charles V and to his brother Ferdinand (Augsburg, 1541; 2d ed., Basel, 1597). His "Opuscula Varia," which contains a treatise on the 613 commandments, a religio-philosophical and controversial work aiming to demonstrate to the Jews the truths of Christianity, and an introduction to the Cabala followed by a compilation of its rules and dogmas, went through four editions (Pavia, 1510; Augsburg, 1515; ib. 1541; and Basel, 1597).Riccio wrote besides these works about ten others, all in Latin, on various religious, philosophical, and cabalistic subjects, which appeared in Augsburg in 1546 and were reprinted in Basel in 1597.
References
* Adams, History of the Jews, p. 286, London, 1840;
* Bischoff, Kritische Geschichte der Thalmud-Uebersetzungen, pp. 34, 43, 44, Frankfort-on-the-Main, 1899;
* Fürst, Bibl. Jud. ii. 41, iii. 155;
* Ginsburg, Massoret ha-Massoret, p. 9, London, 1867;
* Grätz, Gesch. ix. 172 et seq.;
* Michelsen, Israel und die Kirche, pp. 87 et seq., Hamburg, 1869Notes
External links
* [http://www.bautz.de/bbkl/r/ricius_p.shtml BBK page]
* [http://www.uni-mannheim.de/mateo/camenaref/adam/adam2/s041.html Old page from "Vitae Germanorum medicorum"] , [http://www.uni-mannheim.de/mateo/camenaref/adam/adam2/books/adamvitae2_6.html Transcription]
* Online images of original works [http://www.philological.bham.ac.uk/bibliography/r.html] :
** [http://luther.hki.uni-koeln.de/luther-cgi/kleioc/0010KlLuther/exec/druckseite/%22Kn+A+45{296{}TDI00014.jpg%22 "Apologetica ad Exckiana responsa narratio"]
** [http://www.literature.at/webinterface/library/ALO-BOOK_V01?objid=13449 "De anima coeli compendium"]
** [http://www.literature.at/webinterface/library/ALO-BOOK_V01?objid=13458 "Ad principes, magistratus, populosque Germaniae, in Spirensi conventu oratio"]
** [http://www.literature.at/webinterface/library/ALO-BOOK_V01?objid=13460 "De novem doctrinarum ordinibus et totius perypatetici dogmatis nexu compendium, conclusiones atque oratio"]
** [http://www.literature.at/webinterface/library/ALO-BOOK_V01?objid=13461 "De sexcentem et tredecim Mosaice sanctionis edictis"]
** [http://www.literature.at/webinterface/library/ALO-BOOK_V01?objid=13456 " In apostolorum symbolum dialogus"]
** [http://www.literature.at/webinterface/library/ALO-BOOK_V01?objid=13462 "In cabalistarum seu allegorizantium eruditionem isagogae"]
** [http://gallica.bnf.fr/scripts/ConsultationTout.exe?O=n072542 "Pauli Ricii Philosophica, prophetica ac talmudistica, pro christiana veritate tuenda"]
** [http://www.literature.at/webinterface/library/ALO-BOOK_V01?objid=13463 "Portae lucis: haec est porta Tetragrammaton, iusti intrabunt per eam"]
** [http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:12-bsb00006127-8 "Statera prudentum"]
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