Expelled from the Jesuit Order by his superiors, Mascardi pursued a successful career as a secretary for various important figures, and became a renowned writer and professor of rhetoric at the Sapienza University of Rome.

He was a member of several learned societies and wrote a seminal treatise, "Dell'arte historica" (1636) advocating history as a powerful instrument of ethical and religious persuasion and largely focusing on the interplay between truth and believability.

[2] His fruitful career continued, however, with a degree in jurisprudence and several posts as secretary to important political and religious personalities including Cardinals Alessandro d'Este and Maurice of Savoy.

[1] Mascardi's writing attracted the attention of Pope Urban VIII who appointed him chamberlain and in 1628 gave him the position of Professor of Rhetoric at the University of Rome in the College of the Sapienza.

[4][5] In 1640, four years after the publication of his masterpiece Dell'arte historica, Mascardi decided to leave Rome and move back to his native Liguria.

The volume closes with Book IV, De Rebus Sacris (On sacred matters), which presents a variety of poems dealing with religious themes.