52 GIORDANO BRUNO PART 



with the consent of the faculty of philosophy, for 

 weighty reasons, he blazed out, grossly insulting me 

 in my own house, protesting I was acting against the 

 law of nations, the custom of all the universities of 

 Germany, and all the schools of humanity. He refused 

 then to become a member of the university, his fee 

 was readily returned, and his name accordingly erased 

 from the album of the university by me." The name 

 could still be read through the thick line drawn across 

 it, and some later rector, when Bruno had become more 

 famous, re-wrote the name above, and cancelled the 

 words " with the consent of the faculty of philosophy " 

 in Nigidius' note. 1 The " weighty reasons " for which 

 Bruno was driven from Marburg may have been merely 

 his description of himself as a Doctor of " Roman 

 Theology " at a Protestant university ; or perhaps an 

 attack upon Ramus at a place where the Ramian Logic 

 had many adherents ; or the Copernican system taught 

 by him, which was as firmly opposed by Protestants 

 as by Catholics. In any case " the Knight-Errant of 

 Wittenberg. Philosophy " departed sorrowfully and came to Witten- 

 berg, where he found, for the third time, a respite 

 Aug. 20, from his journeyings. On the 2 oth August 1586 he 

 I586t matriculated at the university, 2 and there remained for 

 nearly two years. Then, as now, the Protestant Church 

 in Germany was divided into two parties, the Lutheran 

 and the Calvinist or Reformed Churches. Melanchthon's 

 attempt to unite the two he himself belonged to the 

 latter brought upon his head the " formula of con- 

 cord," better known as the " formula of discord/' 

 because of the disputes it caused. Among other things 



1 Eglin, a pupil of Bruno, was Professor of Theology at Marburg in 1607 

 (Brunnhofer, p. 60). 



2 Sigwart. The university has since been united with that of Halle, the seat 

 being at the latter place. 



