Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 4.djvu/165

 OOLONNA

127

COLONNA

died in 1608, making the Lateran hLs heir. Succeed- ing cardinals of the house of Colonna were Oiro- lamo, created by Urban VIII in 1628, d. 1666; Carlo, freated by Clement XI in 1706, d. 1739; Prospero, created by Clement XII in 1739, d. 1743; Giro- lamo, created by Benedict XIV 1743, d. 1763; Prospero, of the Sciarra branch, created simultaneously with his kinsman in 1743, d. Prefect of the Propa- ganda in 1765; finally, Marcantonio, created l)y Cle- ment XIII in 1759. d. in 1803. Thovigh all were con- spicuous for learning and piety and for tilling high offices at the Roman court or in the most important dioceses of Italy, they need only a passing notice. The most illustrious lay prince of the Colonna was Marcantonio, who at the great sea-fight of Lepanto, 7 Oct., 1571, commanded the papal galleys and on his return to Rome was awarded a memorable triumph. To cement the friendship between the houses of Co- lonna and Orsini, Sixtus V married their chiefs to his nieces and ordained that they and their descendants should enjoy the dignity of Assistant Princes at the Pontifical Throne.

LiTTA, Famiglie celebri italiane, s. v.; Coppi, Memorie Col- onneKi (Rome. 1857), with genealogical table.s; von Reu- MONT. Beilriige zur ilal. Oesch. (1857), V, 3-117, an excel- lent accuunt; the histories of the city of Rome by von Hkumont, Ghecokovius, Grisar, etc.

Ja.mes F. Loughlin.

Colonna, Egidio (iEoiDius a Columna), a Scho- lastic philosopher and theologian, b. about the mid- dle of the thirteenth century, probably 1247, in Rome; hence the name ^Egidius Romaxus, or Giles OF Rome, by which he is generally known; d. at Avignon, 22 Dec, 1316. Having entered the Order of the Hermits of St. Augustine at Rome, he was sent to Paris for his philosophical and theological .studies, and became there the disciple of Thomas .\i|uinas. Egidio Colonna was the first Augustinian appointed to teacli in the University of Paris, and his deep learning earned for him the title of Doctor fun- dati.iximus. In 1281, ,at the Thirty-sixth Council of Paris, in which several differences between bishops and mendicant orders were arranged, he sided with the bishops against the regulars. Referring to this, a contemporarj' philosopher, Godfrey of Fontaines, mentioned him as the most renowned theologian of the whole city (qui modo melior de tota villa in omnibus reputatur). King Philip III entrusted to him the education of his son, who later, in 1285, ascended the throne as Philip IV. When the new king, after his coronation at Reims, entered Paris, F.gidio gave the address of welcome in the name of the university, insisting on justice as the mo.st im- portant virtue of a king. (For the text, see Ossinger, in work cited below.) Some time before this several of liis opinions had been found reprehensible by Archbishop Etienne Tempier of Paris, and in 12.S5 Pope Honorius IV asked him for a public retracta- tion. This, however, was far from lessening his reputation, for in 1287 a decree of the general cliaptcr of the Augu.stinians held in Florence, after remarking that Egidio's doctrine "shines throughout the whole world" (venerabilis magistri nostri ^Egidii doctrina mundum universum illustrat), commanded all meiii- ber.j of the order to accept and defend all his opin- ions, written or to be written. After filling several important positions in his order he was elected super- ior general in 1292. Three years later Pope Boniface VIII appointed him .\rchbishop of Bourges, France, although Jean de Savigny had already been desig- nated for this .see by Pope Celestine V. The Frencli nobility protested on the ground that Colonna was an Italian, but his appointment was maintained and ap- proved by the king. He was present at the Cotmcil of Vienne (1311-1312) in which the Order ol Knights Templars was suppressed.

The writings of Egidio Colonna cover the fields of

philosophy and theology. There is no complete edi- tion of his works, but several treatises have been pub- lished separately. In Holy Scripture and theology he wrote commentaries on the "Hexameron", the "Canticle of Canticles", and the "Epistle to the Romans"; several "Opuscula" and "Quodlibeta", various treatises, and especially commentaries on Peter the Lombard's "Four Books of Sentences". In philosophy, besides commentaries on almost all the works of Aristotle, he wrote several special trea- tises. But his main work is the treatise " De regimine principimi", written for, and dedicated to, his pupil, Philip IV. It passed through many editions (the first, .\ugsburg. 1473) and was translated into several languages. The Roman edition of 1607 contains a life of Egidio. The work is divided into three books: the first treats of the individual conduct of the king, the nature of his true happiness, the choice and ac- quisition of virtues, and the ruling of passions; the second deals with family life and the relations with wife, children, and servants; the third considers the State, its origin, and the proper mode of governing in times of peace and war. Egidio's pedagogical writ- ings have been published in German by Kaufmann (Freiburg, 1904).

The attitude of Egidio Colonna in the difliculties between Pope Boniface VIII and King Philip IV was long believed to have been favourable to the king. But the contrarj- is now certain, since it has been proved that lie is the author of the treatise " De potestate ecclesiastica", in which the rights of the pope are vindicated. The similarity between this treatise and the Bull " Unam Sanctam" seems to support the view taken by some writers that Egidio was the author of the Btlll. He had already taken an active part in ending the discussions and contro- versies concerning the validity of Boniface's election to the papacy. In his treatise "De renunciatione Papie sive Apologia pro Bonifacio VIII" he shows the legitimacy of Celestine's resignation and conse- quently of Boniface's election. In philosophy and tlieology he generally follows the opinions of his master, St. Thomas, whose works he quotes as scripta communia. The "Defensorium seu Correc- torium corruptorii librorum Sancti Thoniie Aquina- tis" against the Franciscan William de la Mare of Oxford is by some attributed to Egidio; but this remains uncertain. Nevertheless, on many points he holds independent views and abandons the Thomistic doctrine to follow the opinions of St. Augustine and of the Franciscan School. He even errs in asserting that, before the fall, grace had not been given to Adam, an opinion which he wrongly attributes to St. Augustine. After the decree of the general chapter of 1287, mentioned above, the opin- ions of Egidio Colonna were generally accepted in the Augustinian Order. He thus became the founder of the ^Egidian School. Among the most prominent representatives of this scliool must be mentioned Giacorao Capoccio of Viterbo (d. 1307) and Augus- tinus Triumphus (d. 1.328), both contemporaries of Egidio, and also students and professors in the I'ni- versity of Paris; Prosper of Reggio, Albert of Padua, Gerard of Siena, Henry of Frimar, Thomas of Strasburg — all in the first half of the fourteenth cen- tur\'. For some time after this other opinions pre- vailed in the Augustinian Order. But as late as the seventeenth century should be mentioned Raffaello Bonhcrba (d. 1681) who wrote "Disputationes totius pliilosophiie ... in quibus omnes philosophicie in- ter I). Thomam et Scotum controversiae principaliter ctnn doctrina nostri vEgidii ColumniE ilhistrantur" (Palenno, 1645, 1671); and Augiistino Arpe (d. 1704) who wrote "Summa totius theologi.T .Egidii Co- hniin:c" (Bologna, 1701, and Genoa, 1704). Fedcrico Nicol6 Gavardi (d. 1715), the most important inter- preter of Colonna, composed "Theologia exanticjuata