PRISCO, GIUSEPPE. – Cardinal, born at Boscotre-case (Naples) on 8 September 1833, died in Naples on 4 February 1923. He studied at the Seminary of Naples under the guidance of G. SAN SEVERO (v.). Ordained a priest (1856), he was appointed to the University of Naples, but because of the events of 1860 he left the chair, having refused to take the oath. He then opened a private school of philosophy, while also teaching at the archiepiscopal Seminary.
Because of the substantial part he played in furthering the directives of Leo XIII in the revival of Thomism, he was created a cardinal by that same Pontiff in the Consistory of 30 November 1896 and summoned to Rome. Two years later he was appointed archbishop of Naples. In his new see he promoted various apostolic and cultural works, including the foundation of the Academy of Sacred Eloquence. Numerous publications remain by him, notable for their intellectual vigor and breadth of culture, representing a valuable contribution to the field of neo-Thomist philosophy. The following should be mentioned: Saggio di filosofia dato nel Liceo arcivescovile di Napoli (Naples 1855); S. Anselmo e l'ontologismo (ibid. 1857); S. Anselmo e il panteismo (ibid. 1860); Della decadenza delle scienze morali nei tempi presenti (ibid. 1864); La geometria e la morale (ibid. 1865); Metafisica della morale (ibid. 1865); Considerazioni storico-critiche sulla filosofia scolastica (ibid. 1866); Lo hegelianismo considerato nel suo svolgimento storico e nel suo rapporto con la scienza (ibid. 1868); Considerazioni generali sull'essere dello Stato (ibid. 1870); Principi di filosofia del diritto sulle basi dell'etica (ibid. 1872); Elementi di filosofia speculativa, 2 vols. (ibid. 1879); La metafisica di s. Tommaso d'Aquino considerata in sé e nella sua opposizione alla speculazione monistica (Rome 1887).