Saviour Cumbo was a Maltese theologian and minor philosopher. His philosophical writings deal mainly with the relationship between reason and faith. Though his engagement with philosophical reflection was peripheral, his contribution in this field was at least interesting and at most insightful. No portrait of him has been identified up till now.
Life
Cumbo was born at Valletta, Malta, in 1810. After entering the diocesan seminary and becoming a priest, he was entrusted with various administrative offices within the diocese of Malta. For many years he was the Vicar-General of the bishop. Concurrently, he taught theology at the University of Malta. In 1839, he began a periodical called Il Filologo, which was of a literary nature. He issued the periodical for three years. Furthermore, he published various booklets of general public interest. Cumbo died in 1877.
Works
Though Cumbo published profusely, mainly booklets of a few pages, a few of his publications have some philosophical interest, namely:
1839 - Piano di Pubblica Instruzione. Published in Malta, this 48-page book in Italian proposes a plan for public education of every level. The work begins with a preface and an introduction, and then is divided into three main chapters. This 19-page booklet in Italian published in Malta, reproduces a speech which Cumbo gave in 1838 to civil servants. The central part of the address deals with the problem encountered by Catholic workers who solemnly pledged their loyalty to a Protestant government. Though the local authorities of the Catholic Church had declared immoral such a pledge, Cumbo ventures to state in clear terms that it is not so. This irked the local bishop, who accused Cumbo of heresy before the Holy See in Rome. In response, Cumbo wrote Il Trenta Gennajo.
1839 - Il Trenta Gennajo. A 19-page essay in Italian written by Cumbo and published in Malta in response to the accusations of heresy leveled against him after publishing the tract Sul Giuramento. Cumbo had appeared before the Holy See in Rome on 30 January 1839, hence the title of the booklet. The meeting left Cumbo disappointed. So much so that he then decided to publish this short pamphlet, which eventually he had to issue various editions of it. The writing is a lengthy address to the Bishop of Malta, Francis Saverio Caruana, in which he explains the nature of the issue at hand and describes, point by point, why he had declared it morally acceptable.
1839 - Necessità delle Rivelazione per Guida dei Costumi. A 20-page pamphlet in Italian reproduces an address given in 1839 by Cumbo at the Gioventù Maltese delle Sacre Scienze. Cumbo examines the relationship between reason and faith. He does this with the issue of civil servants' pledge at the back of his mind.
1839 - Breve Cenno Sulle Lezioni Scritturali. Published in Malta, this 16-page pamphlet in Italian is a discussion on some aspects of the lectures given at the University of Malta on the Bible. With his typical passion and analysis, Cumbo makes a philosophical discussion on the relationship of reason to faith.
1844 - Influenze del Cristianesimo sul Progresso delle Scienze. A 36-page book in Italian published in Malta and dedicated to CardinalCharles Januarius Acton. It reproduces an address given by Cumbo on 1 October 1844, in Valletta at the official opening of the academic year 1844-45 of the University of Malta. The work is divided into an introduction and another eleven main parts. Cumbo concentrates on the literary wealth of humanity, and philosophically discusses our relation to it and our appraisal of it.
1874 - De Laudibus Sancti Thomæ. This 6-page leaflet in Italian published in Malta reproduces an address given by Cumbo at the Dominican priory at Valletta. The initiative to publish the address was taken by Cumbo's students. The work is a rhetorical speech on Thomas Aquinas. Though containing some philosophical interest, the address is mainly oratorical.
1872 - Elogio Funebre al Dr. Giorgio Caruana. The oration contained in this 21-page pamphlet in Italian, was delivered in May 1872 at the funeral of George Caruana. It is the work of a philosopher paying homage to another philosopher. Considering the occasion, no substantial philosophical material is to be found in this oration. Nevertheless, Cumbo does not deal superficially with the themes of life and death which he addresses.
