456. The Dominicans. -- To FRANCIS OF VITTORIA (1480-1566) belongs the honour of having initiated the new orientation of scholasticism at the University of Salamanca. He had studied at Paris, under a scholastic of some genius, Peter Crockaert of Brussels (452). Vittoria not only advocated a return to the teachings of pure Thomism, but endeavoured to rid scholasticism of the impure accretions that discredited the works of his contemporaries. He edited the commentaries of his master, Crockaert, on the IIa IIae of St. Thomas.

Vittoria gained a large following. MELCHIOR CANUS (1509-1560) and possibly DOMINICUS DE SOTO (1496-1560) count as his immediate disciples. Melchior Canus, professor at Alcala, was the most elegant writer of the whole group; his famous work, De Locis Theologicis, contains a complete scheme of reform for theology and philosophy. BARTHOLOMAEUS DE MEDINA (1527-1581) undertook a commentary on the Summa Theologica, which was to sum up those of his predecessors. His own work embraced only the Ia IIae and the IIIa Pars and was continued by DOMINICUS BANNEZ (1528-1604) who wrote on the Ia and the IIa IIae. Later on came the Italian, ZANARDI (fl. 1642), and the Portuguese Dominicans, ANTONIO DE SENA (fl. 1584, wrote on the Summa and the Quaest. Disp. of St. Thomas) and JOHN OF ST. THOMAS (1589-1644). This latter, a professor at Alcala and Salamanca, is well known from his excellent Cursus Philosophicus ad exactam, veram et genuinam Aristotelis et Doctoris angelici mentem, comprising logic, general and special physics and psychology.