Antonio Persio

Antonio Persio (17 May 1542 – 11 February 1612) was an Italian philosopher of the Platonic school who opposed the Aristotelianism which predominated in the universities of his time.

His maternal uncle the humanist Leonardo Goffredo was in charge of the boys' education in Matera, and with the exception of the second son Giovanni Battista, all were later prominent in their chosen field - Antonio in philosophy, Giulio as a sculptor, Domizio in holy orders and in painting, and Ascanio in the humanities and philology.

At the end of 1570, after a short stay in Rome, he moved to Perugia, as the tutor of the Orsini brothers, who wanted to study civil and canon law.

[1] In 1576 became a parish priest in Padua, where he published Trattato dell'ingegno dell'huomo,[note 1] in which he developed Telesio's theories about the spiritus, inspiration, movement, life and intelligence.

Here he published a medical tract, Del bever caldo,[note 2] in which he pursued a number of ideas discussed in his previous work about the spirit, with advice on how to preserve it.