1001Philosophers

Tommaso Campanella 1568 – 1639

Tommaso Campanella was an Italian Dominican philosopher, theologian, and astrologer who spent twenty-seven years in Spanish prisons after participating in a millenarian conspiracy in Calabria. During his captivity he composed an extraordinary body of philosophical and political writings, including The City of the Sun, a utopian dialogue describing a society organized by reason and natural religion. His Atheismus Triumphatus and Metaphysics defended a Telesian natural philosophy against scholastic Aristotelianism. Late in life he lived in Rome and Paris and supported Galileo against ecclesiastical condemnation.

Key facts

Nationality
Italian
Era
Modern
Movements
Renaissance

Selected quotes

  • Attributed to Tommaso Campanella:

    “The whole universe is animated by sense and love.”

  • Attributed to Tommaso Campanella:

    “The City of the Sun is governed by the wise.”

  • Attributed to Tommaso Campanella:

    “Common life is the source of true happiness.”

  • Attributed to Tommaso Campanella:

    “Religion is the natural foundation of all society.”

  • Attributed to Tommaso Campanella:

    “He who learns to suffer ceases to suffer.”