Bartholomew Mastrius

Bartholomew Mastrius (; ; Meldola, near Forlì, 7 December 1602 – Meldola, 11 January 1673) was an Italian Conventual Franciscan philosopher and theologian.

Life

Born at Meldola, near Forlì, in 1602, he received his early education at Cesena and took degrees at the University of Bologna. He also frequented the 'studia' of his religious order in Padua and Rome before assuming the duties of a lecturer in Cesena, Perugia and Padua.

He acquired a profound knowledge of scholastic philosophy and theology, being deeply versed in the writings of Duns Scotus. Nevertheless, he was an open-minded and independent scholar. As a controversialist he was harsh and arrogant towards his opponents, mingling invective with his arguments. His opinions on some philosophical questions were fiercely combatted by many of his contemporaries and especially by Matthew Ferchi and the Irish Franciscan John Punch. Mastrius particularly objected to Punch's methodology, arguing that neither his conclusions nor his argumentation were faithful to Scotus.

When presenting the second volume of his work on the "Sentences" to Alexander VII, to whom he had dedicated it, the pope asked him where he had learned to treat his opponent Ferchi in such a rough manner: Mastrius answered, "From St. Augustine and St. Jerome, who in defence of their respective opinions on the interpretation of Holy Scripture fought hard and not without reason".