Costa, Uriel da

Costa, Uriel da
(1585–1640)
   Heretical scholar. Da Costa was of Marrano stock, and was born in Oporto, Portugal. He was devoutly Catholic and began his career as an official of the Church. Through his studies he became convinced of the truth of Judaism and, in order to escape the attention of the Inquisition, took refuge in Amsterdam. Soon, however, he found that his self-discovered Judaism was not acceptable to the Jewish community. After publishing an attack on the ‘Pharisees of Amsterdam’ in 1624, he was arrested and fined, his book was burned and he was excommunicated from the synagogue. He seems then to have lived in Hamburg for a time but in 1633 he was once more in Amsterdam. Unable to come to terms with Jewish practice, he adopted a kind of deism and was once more excommunicated. When he sought to return to the community in 1640 he submitted to public humiliation and flogging. Shortly after that he shot himself.
   All that is known of Da Costa’s life is recounted in his brief work, Examplar Humanae Vitae (‘The Ideal of Human Life’, 1687) - the story of a Jew who failed to find a place among his own people. Little is known of his doctrines but he is believed to have influenced SPINOZA. In the 19 and early 20 century his life was the theme of several works in which he was depicted as the victim of Orthodox bigotry and intolerance.

Who’s Who in Jewish History after the period of the Old Testament. . 2012.

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  • COSTA, URIEL DA — (Acosta, alias Adam Romes; 1583/4–1640), philosopher and free thinker. He was born as Gabriel da Costa in Oporto, Portugal, into a New Christian or Converso family, his father being a devout Catholic. After studying Canon Law at Coimbra, he… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • COSTA, Uriel da — (1585–1640)    A Jewish scholar from Hamburg, Germany, where he was excommunicated because of his heterodox ideas. Da Costa settled in Amsterdam and there got into trouble again with the rabbis and the Portuguese community, who upheld the ban… …   Historical Dictionary of the Netherlands

  • Costa, Uriel da — (1585 1640)    Portuguese rationalist. He was born in Oporto into a marrano family. After moving to Amsterdam in c. 1615 he returned to Judaism, but he was later excommuni cated because of his heretical views about rabbinic doctrine and practice …   Dictionary of Jewish Biography

  • Uriel Acosta — Uriel da Costa (latinisiert Uriel Acosta; * Ende 1583 oder Anfang 1584 in Porto; † April 1640 in Amsterdam) war ein Philosoph, Theologiekritiker und Freidenker portugiesisch jüdischer Herkunft. Seine Autobiographie enthält eine der frühesten… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Uriel da Costa — (Oporto …   Wikipedia Español

  • Uriel da Costa — und der junge Spinoza. Darstellung von Samuel Hirszenberg 1901. Uriel da Costa (latinisiert: Uriel Acosta, geboren als und bis 1614 Gabriel da Costa, zeitweise: Adam Romes; * 1585 in Porto; † April 1640 in Amsterdam) war ein Religionsphilosoph,… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Uriel da costa — Sommaire 1 Biographie 2 Oeuvres 3 Notes et références 4 Sources 5 Bibliographie …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Uriel Acosta — Uriel da Costa Sommaire 1 Biographie 2 Oeuvres 3 Notes et références 4 Sources 5 Bibliographie …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Uriel Dacosta — Uriel da Costa Sommaire 1 Biographie 2 Oeuvres 3 Notes et références 4 Sources 5 Bibliographie …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Uriel da Costa — (c. 1585 ndash; April 1640) or Uriel Acosta (from the Latin form of his Portuguese surname, Costa , or da Costa ) was a philosopher and skeptic from Portugal.LifeDa Costa was born in Porto with the name Gabriel da Costa. He hailed from a converso …   Wikipedia

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