Dominic Borg
Dominic Borg was a minor Maltese philosopher who specialised in logic and rhetoric.
Life
He probably lectured at the Collegium Melitense in Valletta. The extant works of Borg reveal practically nothing in terms of biographical data. What they do attest to is his philosophical prowess and his clarity of thought.Known works
Only three works of Dominic Borg are known to exist. Two on rhetoric and one on logic. Others might have been lost or are currently displaced.Rhetoric
Borg’s De Arte Rethorica: Brevis Notitia, a work in Latin completed in 1668, is held in manuscript form at the National Library of Malta as MS. 718#10. It is his most relevant extant work to date. The manuscript is made up of forty folios, and is compiled as part of a miscellaneous volume of works. Basically, Borg’s manuscript is a study of rhetoric, and is composed as a series of epistles. The first epistle is an investigation into the teachings of Aristotle. Throughout all of the epistles, Borg makes liberal use of Cicero.Another extant work on rhetoric from Borg’s hand is Compendio Brevissimo delli piu inutili precetti per comporre epistola. It contains only twelve folios, and is organised in chapters. The work investigates the nature of epistles, and the proper manner with which epistles should be composed. The work is not particularly speculative. It is more of a short and technical exercise in rhetoric. Again, Cicero is quoted profusely.