The collection Veritas e Terra Orietur is a catalog rich in first translations, unpublished manuscripts, and reissues of neglected facsimiles, whose texts refer to one another. "A coherent and relatively little-known literary heritage" (ReJ, 2023, p. 481).

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Isaac Orobio

Moses Almosnino

Leibniz

David Nieto

Menasseh Ben Israel

Isaac Orobio de Castro

certamen philosophicum » read more

The correspondence between Orobio and Bredenburg brings to light the superiority of classical philosophy over the faulty reasoning of propositions influenced by Spinoza's philosophy. Through meticulous logical analysis and verification of Jan Bredenburg's propositions, Isaac Orobio exposes and reveals the inherent contradictions of modern philosophical materialism. For Isaac Orobio, Spinoza and his contemporaries conceal the heresy of a new pantheistic atheism that replaces God with “Nature,” relying on new sophisms, whose principles are self-necessary and independent of disciplines, ignoring all common foundations of logic, grammar, metaphysics, and ontology. Isaac Orobio rejects this fragmentation of the concept of truth between science and religion, and vigorously defends the foundations on which science and religious thought converge through simultaneous and logical truths that allow for a rational understanding of the existence of a necessary being, creation from infinite possibilities, and the limitations of existing finite agents. Through these propositions, his work becomes an essential reference for those seeking to grasp the challenging interaction between reason, faith, and existence, forming a crucial reading for philosophers, theologians, and anyone interested in the classical foundations of faith in relation to reason. With his sharp pen and keen reasoning, Orobio became the first critic to oppose the new philosophical wave of modern materialism that threatened to undermine the foundations of revealed religion. This translation aims not only to make this fundamental work of classical philosophy accessible to contemporary readers but also to illuminate, through notes, the connections between Orobio's classical context and the modern existential questions that persist to this day.

Isaac Orobio de Castro (1617-1687) is distinguished as the first anti-modern in 17th-century philosophy. He undertook medical studies in Osuna, Andalusia, where he received a classical education that included the “Trivium,” meaning the three arts of grammar, logic, and rhetoric. His teaching career in medicine took a turn when the Spanish Inquisition slandered and imprisoned him for at least two years in 1654. In 1657, after receiving a second life sentence in Seville, he took refuge with his family in Toulouse, where he practiced as a physician and counselor to the French royal family. He spent two years at the Maison de l'Infante in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, near Maria Teresa of Spain, daughter of the King of Spain, who later became Queen of France and Navarre. In 1659, he served as a counselor to King Louis XIV during the peace negotiations with Spain. At the royal house in the Pyrenees, Orobio started to write his work, thus gaining recognition not only in medicine but also in philosophy. Diverse contemporary figures such as Voltaire, Diderot, and Leibniz praised his erudition and character. In 1662, he settled in the Jewish community of Amsterdam, where he passed away in 1687. His rationalist philosophical legacy remains an essential reference in the reconciliation between reason and religion. His tombstone in the Portuguese Jewish cemetery in Ouderkerk, near Amsterdam, attests to his impact: “Isaac lives in the heavens; this stone marks the grave of a man of worth. A man still alive, who has illuminated the world.”

Orobio de Castro, Isaac. Certamen Philosophicum: Philosophical Combat for Divine and Natural Truth. 2nd Revised Edition. Foreword and notes by Jean-Pierre Rothschild. Introduction and notes by Seymour Feldman. Prologue and translation by Walter Hilliger. Le Cercle Hilliger, 2024. ISBN 978-2-494509-39-9. Collection Veritas è terra orietur. ISSN 3003-8898. 172 pages.

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Research: Beyond ‘Difference’: Translating Classical Philosophical Nuances

Moses Almosnino

conduct of life | vol. I » read more

The major work of Rabbi Moses Almosnino (1515-1580), Conduct of Life, remains to this day an essential reference in classical Judeo-Spanish literature, now finally available in English in its first translation. First published in Ladino in 1564 as "Sefer Hanhagat ha-chayim," and in 1729 as "Regimiento de la vida," this three-volume edition is part of the prestigious collection Veritas è terra orietur. The introduction by Jean-Pierre Rothschild, Director of Research at CNRS and Director of Studies at EPHE, specializing in mediaeval philosophy, enlightens the reader on the foundations and stakes of the work.

The first volume aims to provide practical advice for leading a good life from an early age. It emphasizes the distinction between spiritual, physical, and external goods (I, ch. 1-3), including suggestions on dietary habits, sleep and waking, going to bed and getting up, walking and sitting, speaking and silence (I, ch. 4-10), the four types of discourse (I, ch. 11), and why the righteous die young (I, ch. 11). Finally, it addresses questions on eschatology, classical philosophy, and theodicy (I, ch. 12-14).

Conduct of Life draws heavily from the Nicomachean Ethics but transcends this source by situating itself at the universal intersection of several traditions: Greco-Arabic philosophy, Judeo-Christian scholasticism, classical Sephardic Judaism, and mediaeval Jewish thought. Thus, this work contributes to peace and intercultural understanding among peoples.

R. Moses Ben Barukh Almosnino (c. 1515-1580) was a major figure in Classical Judaism. He settled in the Ottoman Empire, and possessed extensive knowledge of both Jewish and secular subjects and was known for his Responsa and exegeses. He also took an interest in various scientific fields, translating and commenting on works by Aristotle and other scholars. R. Moses Almosnino wrote on topics such as ethics, including commentaries on the Nicomachean Ethics and Pirkei Avot. He also authored “Extremos y grandezas de Constantinopla,” a historical work in Judeo-Spanish. His original work “Regimiento de la vida,” (Conduct of Life) a treatise on ethics, was published during his lifetime in 1564 and remains a reference in classical Judeo-Spanish literature.

Almosnino, R. Moïse. Conduct of Life - Volume 1. Introduction by J.-P. Rothschild. First translation and notes by Walter Hilliger. 1st Edition. Le Cercle Hilliger, 2024. ISBN 978-2-494509-08-5. Collection Veritas è terra orietur. ISSN 3003-8898. 174 pages.