B. The “Quite Learned” Man from Italy
B. The “Quite Learned” Man from Italy
On October 28, 1542, Martin Bucer wrote a letter to John Calvin announcing, “A man has arrived from Italy who is quite learned in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew and well skilled in the Scriptures . . . his name is Peter Martyr.”34 From the perspective of those who were north of the Alps, it may have appeared that Peter Martyr emerged ex nihilo. And before McNair’s groundbreaking research, Peter Martyr in Italy, modern interpreters may have thought the same. The following sketch explores from whence Vermigli came, starting with his years in Italy (1499–1542). This background will illumine contributing factors to his doctrine of justification.
In 1514, at age fifteen, Peter Martyr entered the Augustinian order in the town of Fiesole, nearly eight kilometers from his native Florence.35 After three years at the monastery, during which Martyr distinguished himself as a diligent student, he was judged worthy to begin studies under the order’s most outstanding teachers. For this he was sent north to the monastery of San Giovanni di Verdara in Padua.36
Founded in 1222, the University of Padua reached the apex of its excellence and prestige in the first decade of the sixteenth century. It was at Padua where Peter Martyr encountered a serious-minded pursuit of doctrinal reform37 and a rich tradition of Aristotle.38 Without getting buried in hairsplitting partisanship, which occasionally erupted between Aristotelian schools,39 Vermigli imbibed the Philosopher’s logic and method from his professors, most of whom were Dominicans and Thomists.
Exceptionally focused, Vermigli supplemented his formal training in philosophy with a rigorous course of private study—a routine that was aided by his monastery’s exquisite library.40 After finding numerous errors in the Latin translations of Aristotle, he proceeded to study Greek by night in order to read the sources. The acquisition of this language opened the door for Martyr to engage Renaissance humanism with greater depth and immediacy. Under the tutelage of Professor Pietro Bembo, arguably the most distinguished humanist scholar to be associated with San Giovanni di Verdara, Vermigli acquired an insatiable appetite for the study of classical texts.41 After eight years in Padua, Martyr underwent priestly ordination and simultaneously received a doctorate in theology (1526).42 If, in this period, he had been asked whether he was an Aristotelian or a humanist, Peter Martyr would likely have answered “yes.”43
The seven years following Vermigli’s departure from Padua opened new vocational horizons. He was elected to the office of public preacher, an illustrious position in his day. Martyr traveled through northern Italy lecturing on Scripture and philosophy (and Homer), and, whenever possible, he studied these subjects with careful attention.44 In just a few years, while serving in Bologna, Vermigli also taught himself the Hebrew language—no small feat in those days—with the assistance of a certain Jewish doctor named Isaac.45 So distinguished did Vermigli’s ministry become, that his Augustinian order described him as Predicatorem eximium (an exceptional preacher).46 But in the spring of 1530, Peter Martyr served as vicar to the prior at Bologna. And it was here, McNair suggests, that the activity of preaching and teaching started him on a trajectory that would eventually estrange Vermigli’s mind from his scholastic training.
From the Schoolmen he turned to the Fathers, from the Fathers to the Vulgate, and from the Vulgate to the Source itself—the lively Oracles of God in their original expression. At Padua he had learned Greek to read Aristotle: at Bologna he learned Hebrew to read Scripture.47
As his name grew famous in the largest Italian cities, Vermigli was promoted to an even higher position. By unanimous consent, he was made abbot of his order’s monastery in Spoleto.48 Effectively navigating the landmines of Spoleto’s volatile politics, he managed to bring moral order out of chaos. It seemed that the vision and skill required to guide religious reform was part of his spiritual character. Probably because of this distinction, Martyr was assigned a new post as abbot of San Pietro ad Aram in Naples.
Simler identifies Naples as the place where Vermigli’s theological journey demonstrably turned a corner. During the three years of Peter Martyr’s sojourn at San Pietro (1537–40), according to Simler, “the greater light of God’s truth” began to shine upon him.49 In McNair’s analysis, this “greater light of God’s truth” was basically “the doctrine of Justification by Faith alone in a crucified yet living Christ. The acceptance of this vital doctrine entailed so drastic a reorientation of heart and mind that it amounted to conversion”50 Why was this the key doctrinal pivot for Vermigli? Understanding this requires some familiarity with the religious sociology of Italy during this period, particularly the nascent movement of Evangélisme.51