Angelo Pirotta


Angelo Pirotta, O.P. was a Maltese philosopher, Dominican priest and educator. In philosophy, his areas of specialization were epistemology and metaphysics.

Life

Early life

Pirotta was born in Naxxar, Malta. His parents were John Mary Pirotta and Antonia Née Camilleri. He was the oldest of thirteen children, three of whom died in infancy.
Pirotta was first privately schooled by Canon Fortunato De Bono. He then attended the Lyceum, a government-owned high school for boys in Valletta until the age of 16. Following that, he joined the Dominican Order on 30 April 1911.

Initial Formation

In Rabat, Malta, Pirotta began his novitiate, and then, a year later, made his three-year profession on 12 May 1912. Thereafter, he began his institutional studies: three years of philosophy, and four of theology, all according to the Thomist tradition.
After completing his second year of theology, Pirotta was chosen to continue his theological studies at Pontifical University of St. Thomas [Aquinas (Angelicum)|Pontifical International Angelicum College] in Rome, the future Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Angelicum. In the meantime, he was ordained as a priest on 22 September 1917 at the St. John's Co-Cathedral, Valletta, Malta.
In Rome, Pirotta resided at the Angelicum College. After his two years of theology, he successfully sat for his Lectorate exams on 1 July 1919 with a dissertation titled De Reali Distinctione inter Essentiam et Esse in Creatis. Thereafter, he proceeded with his post-graduate studies in philosophy. Meanwhile, he also prepared his doctorate thesis, entitled De Supposto et Persona, which he successfully defended on 1 July 1921.

The Italy years

In Viterbo

Pirotta's first academic assignment was at Viterbo, where he spent five academic years teaching the history of philosophy, natural science, and theodicy. He was invited on different occasions to address the Circulus Philosophicus and was also asked to contribute to Thomistic periodicals, read sermons, and give speeches. At Viterbo, Pirotta also prepared his first major publication: an exposition of Aquinas’ commentary on Aristotle's De Anima.

In Rome

After Viterbo, Pirotta returned to Rome to assume a teaching post at the Angelicum College where he remained for two years, teaching philosophy, theodicy, logic, and ontology. In terms of literary production, Pirotta's Roman years may be considered as his most prolific and industrious period, during which he wrote reviews, scientific articles, and prepared and published his second major work: another exposition on Aquinas’ commentaries on Aristotle's De Sensu et Sensato and De Memoria et Reminiscientia.

Interlude in Malta

In 1928, Pirotta returned temporarily to his homeland when one of his brothers became seriously ill, and his mother was ill and died on 5 July 1929. While in Malta, Pirotta spent two academic years, residing and lecturing at Rabat, Malta. Pirotta taught philosophy, the history of philosophy, and apologetics. He also continued to publish scientific reviews and articles.

In Fiesole

Back in Italy, Pirotta was sent to the College of Fiesole, near Florence, Italy. The private college prepared Dominican students for the priesthood. Pirotta stayed there for one academic year, where he taught the history of philosophy and the treatise on divine revelation.
Here he also worked upon the first of his six-volume Summa Philosophiæ, which he published in 1931. He also prepared for the completion of his Master's degree. The final exam was successfully held on 7 May 1931, in Rome at the Angelicum College, which by that time had been upgraded to the status of an international university. As it was the usual practice, the title was conferred four years later: the official investiture was held at the Dominican Priory at Rabat, Malta on 24 November 1935.

In Naples

After Tuscany, Pirotta went to Naples. He joined the faculty at the Aquinas College of the Dominicans as a Rector. He stayed there for three consecutive academic years. In Naples, Pirotta may have been at the peak of his academic career as there he published the first of his planned six-volume Summa Philosophæ: a study about Aristotelico-Thomistic logic, called the Philosophia Rationalis. Later, he proceeded to publish his third exposition: this time of Aquinas’ commentary on Aristotle's Ethicorum ad Nichomachum.

In Malta

In 1934, Pirotta was recalled to Rabat. During the first academic year, he was a lecturer of philosophy. In 1935 he was chosen to be the Rector of the college and retained this office for nine years, which included the World War II years in Malta.
At the beginning of the 1935-1936 academic year, Pirotta was officially conferred his Master's degree. A few months later, he issued his second volume of the Summa Philosophiæ, the one dealing with natural philosophy, called Philosophia Naturalis.
In 1938, Pirotta applied for the Deanship of philosophy at the Royal University of Malta, but he was unsuccessful. From 1939 until his death in 1956, he lived most of his time in Naxxar, Malta, and stayed at his convent in Rabat, Malta as little as possible.
In Rabat, continuing as Rector, from 1939 onwards, he acted as supplementary examiner at the Royal University of Malta, and further continued to deliver sermons here and there, and even to hear confessions on a regular basis.

Retirement and death

Before the war was over, at the end of the academic year of 1943-1944, Pirotta was relieved of the post of Rector at Rabat, Malta. During these years, he worked on his next publication, which turned out to be his last. This was his fourth exposition, on Aquinas’ eight books of commentaries on Aristotle's De Physico Auditu, which was published in 1953.
In 1955, Pirotta became victim of acute cerebral vascular insufficiency due to diabetes and chronic smoking. As a result, his memory had become seriously impaired, and so was his reasoning powers. He died at his parents’ home at Naxxar on 16 November 1956, a month short of his 62nd birthday. He was buried in the Dominican church of Our Lady of the Grotto at Rabat.

Works

Opus magnum

  • The Summa Philosophiæ Aristotelico-Thomisticæ – Pirotta planned to publish six volumes to complete this work. He succeeded in publishing only the first two. The other four volumes remained manuscripts in different phases of preparation.
  • * VOL. I – Philosophia Rationalis – Published in Latin, containing 267 pages, the book was published by Marietti of Turin, Italy. It is the first volume of Pirotta's incomplete Summa Philosophiæ project. It opens with a preface and a general introduction to philosophy; and closes with a chart that shows the classification of the philosophical sciences according to the Aristotelico-Thomistic school of thought.
  • *VOL. II – Philosophia Naturalis – The second volume of the incomplete Summa project took five years to finalize. This book, also in Latin as most of Pirotta's writings, contains 820 pages, excluding the eight preliminary pages. Like the first volume, it was published with Marietti of Turin, Italy.
  • *VOL. III – Metaphysica Ostensiva Generalis seu Ontologia – This volume in the series presented Pirotta's work on metaphysics. It was never published, though its manuscript shows that it was in an advanced state of composition.
  • *VOL. IV – Metaphysica Ostensiva Specialis: Metaphysica Entis Creati – This writing, intended to be the fourth volume in a series of six forming the Summa Philosophiæ Aristotelico-Thomisticæ, was never completed. The manuscript is made up of 580 large folios.
  • *VOL. V – Metaphysica Ostensiva Specialis: Metaphysica Entis Increati sive Theologia Naturalis seu Theodicea – out of the four incomplete manuscripts of Pirotta's Summa Philosophiæ Aristotelico-Thomisticæ, this is the most complete. It is a matter of speculation whether Pirotta actually intended to publish this fifth volume before the third and fourth. The manuscript is made up of 569 folios.
  • *VOL. VI – Metaphysica Defensiva seu Critica – The entirety of the extant manuscript comprises 1260 large folios, however this is the most incomplete of Pirotta's series of manuscripts related to his Summa Philosophiæ Aristotelico-Thomisticæ. Some segments of it are finalized.

Commentaries

Apart from Pirotta's two published volumes that were part of his Summa Philosophiæ Aristotelico-Thomisticæ, published in 1931 and 1936 respectively, these commentaries are considered by some to be his best works.Commentarium De Anima – Written in Latin, its 307 pages, was published with Marietti of Turin, Italy. Its full title is: Sancti Thomæ Aquinatis Doctoris Angelici Ord. Præd. In Aristotelis Librum De Anima Commentarium. The volume is dedicated to Mons. Angelo Portelli O.P., Malta's then Auxiliary Bishop. The Dominican archive at Rabat, Malta, possesses the galley proofs for a new edition of the work, which was never published. Essentially, Pirotta's work is a commentary on Aquinas’ exposition of Aristotle's On the Soul.De Sensu et Sensato – De Memoria et Reminiscientia – A book in Latin published with Marietti of Turin, Italy, that comprises nine preliminary, and a further 158 pages. Its full title is: Sancti Thomæ Aquinatis Doctoris Angelici Ord. Præd. In Aristotelis Libros De Sensu et Sensato De Memoria et Reminiscentia Commentarium. The book is dedicated to Fortunato De Bono, a Maltese early teacher of Pirotta. The writing is an interpretation of Aquinas’ exposition of Aristotle's two works.Ethicorum Aristotelis ad Nichomachum – This publication follows on Pirotta's two commentaries on Aquinas's exposition of Aristotle's On the Soul, and On Sense and On Memory.
  • In the intervening years, Pirotta had also published his first volume of his Sum of Philosophy. This volume of 696 pages, excluding the twenty-four preliminary pages, was also published with Marietti of Turin, Italy. Its full title is: Sancti Thomæ Aquinatis Doctoris Angelici Ord. Præd. In Decem Libros Ethicorum Aristotelis ad Nicomachum Expositio.In Octo Libri De Physico Auditu sive Physicorum Aristotelis Commentaria – This is the last of Pirotta's major contributions to scholastic philosophy, published barely three years before his death. The study, in Latin, is made up of 658 pages, and was published by M. D’Auria Pontificius Editor of Naples, Italy. The book is divided into eight books, and then into lectures.

Articles

Unlike the commentaries, these articles take up some point or aspect of a particular theme on which Pirotta expands upon. After publication, most of these articles have been distributed as separate extracts.‘L’Arma taghna’ ‘Is-seba’ viaggi dulurusi ta Sidna Gesù Cristu’ – Edited and republished in 2012 by Joseph Vassallo‘Dialogu fuk it-tghallim nisrani’ ‘Zamboni, Kant et S. Thomas’ ‘De unione immediata animæ rationalis ut talis cum corpore’ ‘De dualismo transcendentali in philosophia S. Thomæ’ ‘Ulterior explanatio doctrinæ de anima humana ut forma substatiali corporis’ ‘De metaphysicæ defensivæ natura secundum doctrinam aristotelico-thomisticam’ ‘De Trascendentalitate Summæ Theologicæ S. Thomæ’ ‘De methodologia theologiæ scholasticæ’ ‘Disputatio de potentia obedientiali iuxta thomisticam doctrinam’ ‘De vitæ genesi’ ‘De philogenesi’ ‘Escatelogiæ seu Eudæmonologiæ creaturæ intellectualis lineamenta iuxta Cajetani doctrinam’
  • ''‘De sacerdotii dignitate’''

Scientific reviews

  • The 1923 editions of Filosofia Neo-Scolastica – Milan
  • Mons. F. Olgiati, L’Anima di S. Tommaso
  • The 1924 editions of Scientia – Bologna
  • The 1924 edition of Scientia – Bologna
  • The 1924-25 editions of Divus Thomas - Piacenza
  • The 1925 editions of Filosofia Neo-Scolastica – Milan
  • Two volumes of La Scuola Cattolica – Milan
  • The 1926 editions of Divus Thomas – Piacenza
  • The 1926 editions of Logos – Naples
  • M. Cordovani O.P., Il Rivelatore
  • Mons. J. Bittremieux, De Mediatione Universali B.M. Virginis quoad gratias
  • E. Chiochetti, 2nd ed. of La Filosofia di Giovanni Gentile
  • G. B. Phelan, Feeling Experience and its Modalities
  • C. Petroccia, Lux et Pax in Synthesi Dogmatica
  • Mons. J. Van der Meersch, Tractatus de Deo Uno et Trino
  • J. Maréchal S.J., 2nd ed. of Le Point de Départ de la Métaphysique
  • R. Jolivet, La Notion de Substance
  • Mons. J. Bittremieux, ''Doctrina Mariana Leonis XIII''

Manuscripts

Most of the following texts are incomplete.De Persona seu Supposito Introductio in Totam Philosophiam seu Prælectiones Philosophicæ Aristotelico-Thomisticæ Historia Philosophiæ Logica Formalis Logica Materialis De Anima Vegetativa De Anima Sensitiva De Anima Intellectiva De Potentia Appetitiva Intellectus Philosophia Entis ut Ens seu Metaphysica Lezioni di Fisiologia Anatomica Philosophia Naturalis Apologetica Commentaria De Idealismo Schellinghii Hegelii Impugnatio De Solipsismo De Problemate Criteriologico Lectures on Bio-Physiological Science Notæ circa Libertatis Naturam De Natura Ideæ De Cognitione Singularis Materialis Ricetti Modern and Classical Latin Grammar
  • ''‘The Melita English Grammar Book’''

Philosophical notes

The following list of notes are working annotations prepared by Pirotta for various publications, academic talks, or lectures, over an extended period of time. They are undated. Some of them had been grouped by Pirotta under the title ‘Studia Philosophica’.Notulæ in Tractationem “De Fide” Notæ quæ “Naturam Divinam” respiciunt Quæstiones Diversæ circa naturam metaphysicam Gratiæ et aliarum entium Ordinis Supernaturalis De Dualismo Transcendentali in philosophia S. Thomæ De Interpretatione Opusculi S. Thomæ “De Ente et Essentia” De Intuitione De Abstractione De Cognitione Entis Quædam certa præsupponenda ad probl. criticum De Veritate Formali Introductio ad Art. II de statibus mentis circa Veritatem De Positione Problematis Criticæ Fundamentalis De Existentialismo Bellum Introductio Philosophiæ Moralis seu Ethicæ Explicationes Diversarum Notionum Metaphysicarum Quæstio “De Subiecto Metaphyicæ” Quæstiunculæ Philosophicæ De Obiecto seu Subiecto adæquato Metaphysicæ Circa ipsius Esse naturam: Quæstiones Selectæ De Æternitate Mundi secundum opera S. Thomæ Logica Formalis De Logica euisque divisione – De Semplice Apprehensione De Definitione Philosophiæ eiusque Causis De Divisione Philosophiæ Schemata Logicæ Logica materialis – Philosophia Naturalis Schemata Philosophia Naturalis De Genetismo et Viventium De Objecto Psychologiæ – De Existentia Animæ – De Essentia Vitæ De Cognitione Animæ Vita secundum Conceptum Philosophicum Storia di Filosofia dell’Epoca Pagana Schemata Kanti De Obiecto Intellectus De distinctione potentiarum ab essentia Animæ De Infinito De Moto et Locus et al. Difficultates contra Veracitatem Sensuum Externorum
  • '' Genesis Psychologica actus intellectus''

Academic talks

The following written texts are full transcripts of talks read by Pirotta at academic institutes, in Malta and elsewhere in Italy, that he was part of. None of them have been published.Circulus Philosophicus – Realismus Aristotelico-Thomisticus Circulus Philosophicus – Abiogenesis physice De Anima Vegetativa Oratio Inauguralis Anni Scholastici 1927-28 – “De Methodologia Scientifico-Theologica” Discorso pronunziato nella accademia celebrata in onore del Dottor Aug. S. Tommaso d’Aq. Parole d’Introduzione fatte nell’Accademia festeggiata per la prima volta nel Collegio di Barra in onore di S. Tommaso Introduzione inaugurale per l’anno scolastico 1936-1937 Discorsetto inaugurale per la Festa Accademica di S. Tommaso d’Aquino Parole di Saluto per l’Accademia di S. Tommaso
  • ''Parole Introduttive alla Festa Accadmica – “S. Tom. D’Aquino”''

Sermons

The following texts are the extant sermons that Pirotta read during his pastoral work. All were probably delivered in Malta, including the Italian ones. The Italian orations would have been read to diocesan priests or members of religious orders, and the Maltese ones to the general public.

In Italian

Pirotta's extant sermons in Italian are collected at the Dominican archives at Rabat, Malta. Most of the titles are Pirotta's own.Domenica Ia d’Avvento – Conoscere Gesù Christo Domenica 2a d’Avvento – Amare Gesù Christo Domenica 3a d’Avvento – Seguire ed imitare Gesù Christo Domenica 4a d’Avvento – Preparare a ricevere degnamente Gesù Christo Giorno Io, Predica Ia – Il valore dell’anima umana Giorno IIo, Predica IIa – Il peccato mortale Giorno IIIa, Predica IIIa – L’iniettatore micidiale del male: Il mondo Giorno IVo, Predica IVa – Il formaco del peccato: La confessione Giorno Vo, Predica Va – Pratica ed esercizio delle opere buone Giorno VIo, Predica VIa – I doveri professionali del proprio stato Giorno VIIo, Predia VIIa – L’apostolato laico Panegirico di San Tommaso Panegirico di San Publio Vescovo e Martire Panegirico della Conversione di San Paolo Appostolo Predica di Maria SS. Desolata Discorso per l’Ultimo Giorno dell’Anno Conferenze rinnovazione dell Profesione Religiosa Panegirico del S. Patriarca Domenico San Tommaso d’Aquino
  • ''Sermoni Suore Domenicane''

In Maltese

Pirotta's extant sermons in Maltese are collected in separate groups of manuscripts. They are kept at the Dominican archives at Rabat, Malta. The titles are generally Pirotta's own.Relazioni fuk iz-Zwieg “Mixtæ Religionis” – Presented at the Eucharistic Congress of the diocese of Malta at Floriana and SliemaPanegirico di Maria Assunta in Cielo Panegierku ta San Filep d’Agira Panegierku ta Maria Bambina Panegierku Madonna tad Duttrina Panegierku tal Kalb Imkaddsa ta’ Gesù Panegirico del SS.mo Nome di Gesù – L’eccellenza e le virtù del SS. Nome Discorsetto nel Io Mistero Doloroso Discorso nel IIIo e IVo Mistero Doloroso Fervorini f’Jum il Milied Fervorini maghmul fl’Ewwel Quddiesa tal Milied Diskorso Antiblasfemo Diskorsetto Antiblasfemo Vangelo – Domenica IV Post Oct. Paschæ Vangelo – VIII Domenica P. O. Pent. Vangelo – IX Domenica dopo Oct. Pent. Vangelo – Domenica XXI P. O. P. Fervorino Eucharistico in occasione della festa di San Luigi Gonzaga Siegha ta Adorazzjoni Panigierku tal Madonna tar Ruzarju Panigierku ta San Duminku Priedki fuq il Patrijarka San Duminku – San Domenico e il suo Ordine Diskors ghall Ewwel Quddiesa Solenni ta’ Sacerdot gdid Prietca ta tielet misteru Glorioso Prietca 4o – 5o Glorioso Ferrvorino Eucaristico Irtir Spirituali: Primo Giorno – Eccellenza e prezzo dell’anima Irtir Spirituali: Secondo Giorno – Dovere dell’anima verso Dio Irtir Spirituali: Terzo Giorno – L’amore del prossimo Irtir Spirituali: Quarto Giorno Irtir Spirituali: Quinto Giorno Irtir Spirituali: Sesto Giorno – Il sacrificio S. Messa Irtir Spirituali: Ottavo ed Ultimo – La perseveranza Cristiana Barka tas Salib fl ahhar tal Ezercizzi tal Irtir Spirituali Scheme di Conferenze Della Perfezione Religiosa o del Profitto Spirituale Skema ta Ezercizzi Spirituali Diskors fuq is Sagrament tal Krar
  • ''Elogiu Funebri al meut tal Papa Piu XI''