Union with Christ was a key doctrine for second-generation Reformed theologian Girolamo Zanchi. As a Thomist, Zanchi shared similar elements with Thomas Aquinas in his understanding of salvation as participatio, but his understanding of union with Christ differed with regard to the difference between infused and imputed righteousness. Unlike Aquinas’s doctrine of infused righteousness, Zanchi argued for imputed righteousness, which was both the foundation for one’s justification in this life as well as appearing before the divine bar (...) at the final judgment. Zanchi’s doctrine of union with Christ has the utmost significance for personal eschatology and the judgment believers undergo at the great assize, insights that are worth retrieving for a clear understanding of the relationship between justification and the final judgement. (shrink)

Tijekom svoje kratke filozofske profesure na Bečkom sveučilištu i u plemićkom zavodu Collegium Theresianum , ali i potom dok je bio profesorom teologije u Beču, isusovac Josip Zanchi, riječki plemić, četiri je puta tiskao svoj udžbenik Physica particularis, koji je sadržavao raspravu iz meteorologije. U svim je tim izdanjima izlaganje o uzroku dúge započeo povijesnom bilješkom, u kojoj je sažeto prikazao de Dominisov, Descartesov i Newtonov doprinos objašnjenju dúge. Potraga za Zanchijevim izvorom u optičkim i prirodnofilozofskim djelima objavljenim nakon (...) Newtonova djela Opticks otkrila je tri newtonovca koji su također spomenuli de Dominisa: Henryja Pembertona, Voltairea i Antonija Genovesija. Njima treba pridodati i četvrtoga: Pietera van Musschenbroeka, koji je de Dominisovu ulogu u povijesti istraživanja dúge opisao pod Genovesijevim utjecajem, ali tek u posmrtno objavljenom djelu Introductio ad philosophiam naturalem .Pri sastavljaju svoje povijesne bilješke o istraživanju dúge Josip Zanchi slijedio je Newtona ili nekog newtonovca. Tvrdio je više od Newtona jer je za njega de Dominis »prvi od svih otkrio pravi uzrok dúge«, pri čem je oprezno dometnuo videtur, a objektivnije je od Newtona i nekih newtonovaca opisao Descartesov doprinos. Kad je pak studentima objašnjavao dúgu, slijedio je posljednju riječ znanosti – Newtona.Uporabom Zanchijeva udžbenika Physica particularis s de Dominisovim optičkim i meteorološkim prinosom mogli su se susresti profesori i studenti filozofije i u Hrvatskoj. Taj su udžbenik posjedovale knjižnice na dvama isusovačkim filozofskim učilištima: u Zagrebačkom kolegiju najkasnije od 1758., a u Požeškom kolegiju najkasnije od 1769. godine.While teaching philosophy at the University of Vienna and the elite school Collegium Theresianum , but also theology in the same city, Josip Zanchi, Jesuit of noble birth from Rijeka, had published four editions of his manual Physica particularis, containing also a most comprehensive meteorological treatise. In each of the four Vienna editions his elaboration on the cause of rainbow opens a historical paragraph comprising a short survey of de Dominis’, Descartes’ and Newton’s contributions to the explanation of rainbow. Search for Zanchi’s source in the works dealing with natural philosophy published after Newton’s Opticks has brought to light three Newtonians who also mentioned de Dominis: Henry Pemberton, Voltaire and Antonio Genovesi. The name of Pieter van Musschenbroek should be added to this list. He described de Dominis’ role in the history of the explanation of rainbow under the influence of Genovesi, published posthumously in his work Introductio ad philosophiam naturalem .While composing his historical paragraph on the explanation of rainbow, Josip Zanchi followed in the footsteps of Newton or a Newtonian. He exceeded Newton by stating that de Dominis was »the first to have discovered the true cause of rainbow,« carefully employing videtur in support of his argument, his description of Descartes’ contribution being more objective than that of Newton or some Newtonians. However, in his academic lectures on rainbow, he followed the latest scientific discoveries – Newton.Through Zanchi’s manual Physica particularis, Croatian professors and students of philosophy could also have become familiar with de Dominis’ optical and meteorological contribution. This manual was available in the libraries of two Jesuit philosophical schools: Zagreb College or Collegium Zagrabiense, not later than 1758, and in Požega College or Collegium Poseganum, from 1769 at the latest. (shrink)

This article assesses Jerome Zanchi’s theory of natural law in relation to that of Richard Hooker’s by arguing three theses. First, Zanchi’s view of natural law is generally Thomistic, but he expands upon it in a manner similar to his contemporaries, thereby providing further evidence against the increasingly discredited narrative of a Protestant voluntarism dominating early Reformed scholastic thought. Second, Zanchi’s commitment to the Reformed doctrine of total depravity does not represent as drastic a departure from Thomas (...) as might first appear. Third, Hooker’s disagreement with Zanchi on this last point does not, as often argued, result from his own diluted commitment to total depravity, but denotes a more coherent and elegant way of reaching the same Reformed Thomistic synthesis. The historical record suggests that Hooker’s approach proved more influential than Zanchi’s. (shrink)

This paper discusses the complex relationship of Reformed confessions and Reformed orthodox scholasticism. It is argued that Reformed confessions differ in genre and method from Reformed scholastic works, although such differences between confessional and scholastic language should not be mistaken for representing different doctrines that are no longer in harmony with each other. What is more, it is precisely the scholastic background and training of the authors of such confessions that enabled them to place their confessional writings in the broader (...) catholic tradition of the Christian church and to include patristic and medieval theological insights. Thus proper attention to their scholastic background helps to see that at least in some confessions the doctrine of predestination, for instance, is not as ‘rigid’ as one might think at first sight. In order to demonstrate that the doctrine of the Reformed confessions was much in line with the scholastic theology of Reformed orthodoxy, this paper discusses, after having explained the terms ‘Reformed orthodoxy’ and ‘scholasticism’, the early Reformed scholastic theologians Beza, Zanchi, and Ursinus, who also have written confessional texts. The paper also includes a more detailed discussion of the Belgic Confession and the scholastic background of the Canons of Dordt and the Westminster Confession, thereby focusing on the doctrines of God, providence, and predestination. (shrink)

Epitaphium Damonis, Milton's lament for his friend Charles Diodati, is usually described as most strongly indebted to Theocritus? idylls, to Virgil's eclogues, and to Ovid's lament for Tibullus. However, closer examination reveals that Milton was even more closely indebted to Neo-Latin poets such as Sannazaro, Buchanan, Castiglione, Mantuan, and Zanchi. Whereas there are lines in Epitaphium Damonis that resemble those in Virgil and Ovid, there are just as many that resemble those in Neo-Latin poets. Although a pastoral, the tone (...) and atmosphere of the epitaph resemble more its Renaissance contemporaries than its more distant Latin and Greek forebears. This is especially evident in the intimate tone Milton assumes in addressing Damon-Diodati and in the elaborate digression he incorporates into the poem when he confides to his dead friend his plans for a future epic on an Arthurian theme. Milton's attempt to wed a Christian sensibility to a classical form also signals his indebtedness to his Renaissance predecessors, who similarly used classical pastoral to express Christian consolation. (shrink)