SOCINTIS, the name of two celebrated heresiarchs, uncle and nephew, who have given name to is sect of Christians, the Soeining, better known, however, as Unitarians (q.v.). —TAZZ.LIUS SOCINUS, the elder of the two, was b. at Sienna, in Tuscany, in 1525, and belonged to a family that had long been distinguished for its-cultivation of literature and science. His father, Marianas Socinus, was an able lawyer, and designed his son for the same profession. But Imlius soon displayed a strong preference for theological inquiry, mid in order to better prosecute his biblical studies he made himself familiar with Greek, Hebrew, and Arabic. The only result of his legal training that one can discern is an obstinate aversion to believe anything •` tuirenFlaiable." The principles of the reformation had slowly found their way into Italy. and in 1546 a secret society was formed at Vicenza for the discussion of religious questions. It was compost d of 40 per sons. distinguished by their rank, their occupations, and their titles. Socinus was admitted a member. The conclusions at which they arrived were unfavorable to the dogma of the Trinity, which they held to have been borrowed by the early church from the speculations of 6reek philosophers. The purpose of their meetings together having been discovered. the society broke up. Settle of the members were arrested and put to death, others sought safety in flight. A i it.
Among the latter was Socinus, who traveled in France, England, 'Tolland, Germany, and Poland, making the acquaintance, and acquir ing the esteem, of many transalpine scholars, and finally settled in Zurich, where he died in 1562, when only 37years of age. Luskns Socinus, unlike most heretics, was a prudent and reticent until. 'His speech at least never bewraycd him; but in his corre spondence with his Italian relatives and friends lie showed himself an ardent and elo quent disputant, and made not a few proselytes. Once. in a moment of mistaken con- I fidence. he disclosed himself to Calvin, who grimly warned him to get rid of his "itch of inquiry," lest he should " draw on himself great torments." In the same year °emu r2d the murder of Servet 11S.—See Ingot's Vita Laiii Soda/ (Lei p. 1814), and Symboice ad Vitasn ' et Doctrinant brill Sorini (Leip. 1826).
Socrsi;s. 1''AUSTU9, nephew of the preceding., was the son of Alessandro Socinus, and. ' was also born at Siena, Dee. 5, 1539. By the mother's side he was very highly con nected, but having lost his parents while still young, his education was carelessly con ducted; and lie himself. at a later pei 'oil. lamented the imperfection of his scholastic cul ture. His want of learning, however. only induced him to speculate the more freely, and thus it happened, partly from native bias, and partly from his uncle's epistolary arguments, that Fanqus was a heretic and anti-Trinitarian before he was out of his teens. In 1559, when only 20 years of age, lie found it advisable to seek an asylum in France, and was living at Lyon when he got news of his uncle's death. He immediately pro ceeded to Zurich, and possessed himself of his relative's MSS., after which lie returned to Italy. He entered the service of the grand duke of Tuscany, and during twelve years seemed to forget, amid the cares of oMce and the dissipations of a court, the thorny questions of theology. But at the expiry of that period, he was seized with a stronger
desire than ever to investigate the truths of religion, and in spite of all remonstrances, proceeded to Germany—the center of theological activity. In 1574 he retired to Basel, to prosecute his studies more closely; but a disputation which he had with a certain Fr. Pucci (1578), obliged him to leave Switzerland. At the request of George Blandrata, he visited Transylvania, where anti-Trinitarians were numerous, especially among the nobles, and eagerly sought (not without success) to make converts to his opinions. In 1579 lie went to Poland. Anti-Trinitarianism was even stronger there than in Transyl vania, and Socinus soon obtained a great influence. Ile preached, and disputed, and wrote with a zeal that Socinianism has seldom displayed since. His position in rela tion to the reformers was, that Luther and Calvin had rendered great services to the cause of religion, but that they had not gone far enough, that the only solid basis on which Protestantism could lost was human " reason," that everything that contradicted it should be rejected as false and incredible, and that dogmas that were absurd should not be allowed to shelter themselves from criticism because their defenders chose to call them " mysteries." The Protestants were alarmed, and the ablest among them under took publicly to confute Socinus. A disputation was held in the college of Posna, which. ended in Socinus reducing all his opponents to silence; but they retaliated (after the unscrupulous fashion of the times) by trumping up against their vanquisher a charge of sedition, which, although ridiculously groundless, made it necessary for Socinus to with draw from Cracow. While living in retirement on the estate of a Polish noble, Chris topher Morsztyn, he married the daughter of his protector. She seems to have been a tender and affectionate wife; and when Sucinus lost her in 1587, he almost broke his heart through grief. About this period his property in Italy was confiscated; but he had powerful and wealthy friends in Poland, who proved generous to him in his needs. In 1588 he took part in the synod of Brest (on the borders of Lithuania), and combated all the principal dogmas of the church—the divinity of Christ, propitiatory sacrifice, original sin, human depravity, the servitude of the will, and justification by faith. In 1598, on the publication of his De Jesu Christ° Sererttore, his eaemies stirred up the populace of Cracow against him; and Socinus was pulled from a sick-bed, and nearly murdered. Soon after, lie left the city, and found a refuge with one of his friends in the village of Luelavie, where he died, 3. 1604. Soeinus's works are no longer read; but hit opin ions have never wanted advocates in any Protestant country. He and his uncle may b3 regarded as precursors of that spirit of rationalism which has rooted itself so deeply in the thought of the modern world. See Przipcow's Life of Socinus, prefixed to a collec tion of his works in the llib. Peat. Po'onortm,(Amvit. Bayle's article in the Diction naire; and Tou'min's Memoirs of the Life, Caaraeter, etc. of S. (Loud. 1777).