Juan de Mariana

Life

Juan de Mariana was born in Talavera, Kingdom of Toledo. He studied at the Complutense University of Alcalá de Henares and was admitted at the age of 17 into the Society of Jesus.

In 1561, he began teaching theology in Rome. Among his pupils were Robert Bellarmine, who became a cardinal. He traveled to Sicily. In 1569 he was sent to Paris, where his expositions of the writings of Thomas Aquinas attracted large audiences. In 1574, owing to ill health, he obtained permission to return to Spain; the rest of his life passed at the Jesuits' house in Toledo in vigorous literary activity. He died in Madrid.