i THE CLOISTER AT NAPLES 9 



the same knife, their bodies quartered, and distributed 

 along the road to Calabria. 1 Plague, famine, earth- 

 quake, the Turks, and the Brigands, under "King" 

 Marconi, swelled the wave of disaster that had come 

 upon the kingdom of Naples. Little wonder then that 

 one whose aim was a life of learning should seek it 

 under the mantle of the strong Dominican order. 



The cloister stood above Naples, amidst beautiful The 

 gardens, and had been the home of St. Thomas 

 Aquinas, whose gentle spirit still breathed within its 

 walls. In its church, amid the masterpieces of Giovanni 

 Merliano of Nola, " the Buonarotti of Naples," stood 

 the image of Christ which had spoken with the Angelic 

 Doctor, and had approved his works. Long afterwards, 

 at his trial, Bruno spoke of having the works of St. 

 Thomas always by him, " continually reading, studying 

 and re-studying them, and holding them dear." On his 

 entry into the order, Bruno laid down, as was customary, 

 the name Filippo, and took that of Giordano, by which, 

 except for a short period, he was thenceforth known. 

 After his year's probation he took the vows before 

 Ambrosio Pasqua, the Prior, and in due course, pro- 

 bably about 1572, became priest, his first mass being 1572. 

 said in Campagna. 2 



It was the age of the counter-reformation which had Processes 

 been inaugurated by Loyola, its course set by the 

 decision of the Council of Trent "to erase with fire 

 and sword the least traces of heresy," and Bruno early 

 began to feel his fetters, and to suffer from their weight. 

 During his noviciate even, a writing had been drawn up 

 against him, because he had given away some images of 

 the saints, retaining for himself only a crucifix, and 

 again because he had advised a fellow-novice, who was 



1 Cf. Spacc'w de la Bestia, Lag. p. 552, i. 2 Venetian Documents, No. 8. 



