George Sagnani
Encyclopedia
George Sagnani was a minor Maltese mediaeval philosopher who specialised mainly in ethics and morals.
at the Collegium Melitense, the old University of Malta
. Since he was a Jesuit priest, and the college was attached to a Jesuit convent, Sagnani lived and lectured there all his life, and even died there. He had joined the Jesuit congregation in 1686 at nineteen years of age. At the Collegium, Sagnani taught philosophy and, during the latter part of his academic career, moral theology.
in Valletta
, marked as MS. 4, and is part of a miscellaneous volume of documents compiled by Ignatius Xavier Caruana under the title Stromatum Melitensium. The extant document is made up of 30 back to back folios. It is the following:
Life
Unfortunately, little is known as yet about the private life of Sagnani. He literally spend his entire adult life in VallettaValletta
Valletta is the capital of Malta, colloquially known as Il-Belt in Maltese. It is located in the central-eastern portion of the island of Malta, and the historical city has a population of 6,098. The name "Valletta" is traditionally reserved for the historic walled citadel that serves as Malta's...
at the Collegium Melitense, the old University of Malta
University of Malta
The University of Malta is the highest educational institution in Malta Europe and is one of the most respected universities in Europe. The University offers undergraduate Bachelor's Degrees, postgraduate Master's Degrees and postgraduate Doctorates .-History:The University of Malta was founded in...
. Since he was a Jesuit priest, and the college was attached to a Jesuit convent, Sagnani lived and lectured there all his life, and even died there. He had joined the Jesuit congregation in 1686 at nineteen years of age. At the Collegium, Sagnani taught philosophy and, during the latter part of his academic career, moral theology.
Extant work
Only one work of Sagnani seems to have survived. It is a manuscript in Latin, and held at the National Library of MaltaNational Library of Malta
The National Library of Malta began in 1555. It is currently the legal deposit and copyright for Malta. Its collection spans the personal libraries of the Knights of Malta , including archives from the medieval Università dei Giurati of Mdina and Valletta.-Early history:The idea of a public Library...
in Valletta
Valletta
Valletta is the capital of Malta, colloquially known as Il-Belt in Maltese. It is located in the central-eastern portion of the island of Malta, and the historical city has a population of 6,098. The name "Valletta" is traditionally reserved for the historic walled citadel that serves as Malta's...
, marked as MS. 4, and is part of a miscellaneous volume of documents compiled by Ignatius Xavier Caruana under the title Stromatum Melitensium. The extant document is made up of 30 back to back folios. It is the following:
- 1700 – Trutina Teologico-Moralis (A Theological-Moral Reflection). The sub-title reads: Super Dubio Teologico-Moralis (On a Theological-Moral Uncertainty). Unfortunately, this work does not sufficiently attest to Sagnani’s philosophical prowess, in the sense that in it he concentrates more on theological and moral arguments rather that philosophical ones.
Responses
What’s interesting is that the compiler who included Sagnani’s work in his collection also so it fit to include two responses to it. These are given immediately after Sagnani’s manuscript within the same bound volume. One response is by Carl Borg, and another by some anonymous writer. The nature of these responses are certainly not philosophical. These might have been students of Sagnani himself. Their short works respond to some of Sagnani’s arguments along theological and moral lines.Sources
- Mark Montebello, Il-Ktieb tal-Filosofija f’Malta (A Source Book of Philosophy in Malta), PIN Publications, Malta, 2001.