Jacopo Stellini

Jacopo Stellini (27 April 1699 – 27 March 1770) was an Italian abbot, polymath writer, and philosopher. 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* (*Essay upon the origin and progress of customs (behaviors) and opinions pertinent to them* (1740). Other works include the posthumous *Ethicae seu moralium disputationum libri VII* and *Lucubrationes ethicae* (1778). His works are infused with a scholastic understanding of Aristotelian ethics. In Udine there is a high school dedicated to him.