Jacopo Stellini

Jacopo Stellini was an Italian abbot, polymath writer and philosopher.

Biography

Born in Cividale del Friuli to a family of modest means; his father was a tailor. Stellini was first educated by the Somaschi order, and he joined the order in 1718. He moved to Venice where he studied in the seminary in Murano, and was made a priest in 1722. In Venice, he served as a tutor to the prominent Emo family, and the patronage in 1739 helped him land a professor position teaching "moral philosophy" at the University of Padua.
His main work is the essay in Latin, titled, De ortu et progressu morum, o De ortu et progressu morum atque opinionum ad more pertinentium and translated into Italian as Saggio dell'origine e del progresso de' costumi e delle opinioni a' medesimi pertinenti and opinions pertinent to them. Other works include the posthumous Ethicae seu moralium disputationum libri VII and Lucubrationes ethicae''. His works are infused with a scholastic understanding of Aristotelian ethics.
In Udine there is a high school dedicated to him.