Stjepan Gradić, also known as Stefano Gradi (Latin: Stephanus Gradius; 6 March 1613 – 2 May 1683) was a

polymath A polymath or polyhistor is an individual whose knowledge spans many different subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems. Polymaths often prefer a specific context in which to explain their knowledge, ...

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

scientist A scientist is a person who Scientific method, researches to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engag ...

and a patrician of the

Republic of Ragusa The Republic of Ragusa, or the Republic of Dubrovnik, was an maritime republics, aristocratic maritime republic centered on the city of Dubrovnik (''Ragusa'' in Italian and Latin; ''Raguxa'' in Venetian) in South Dalmatia (today in southernmost ...

Biography

Stijepo's parents were Miho Gradi (Gradić) and Marija Benessa (Beneša). He was born in Ragusa (Dubrovnik),

, where he was first schooled. He moved to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

by the order of his uncle, a vicar general of

Ragusa Ragusa may refer to: Places Croatia * Ragusa, Dalmatia, the historical name of the city of Dubrovnik * the Republic of Ragusa (or Republic of Dubrovnik), the maritime city-state of Ragusa * Ragusa Vecchia, historical Italian name of Cavtat, a t ...

, Petar Benessa. In

and in

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

he studied

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

and

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

. His mathematics professor in Rome was

Bonaventura Cavalieri Bonaventura Francesco Cavalieri (; 1598 – 30 November 1647) was an Italian mathematician and a Jesuati, Jesuate. He is known for his work on the problems of optics and motion (physics), motion, work on indivisibles, the precursors of infin ...

and in

his mathematics professor was

Benedetto Castelli Benedetto Castelli (1578 – 9 April 1643), born Antonio Castelli, was an Italians, Italian mathematician. Benedetto was his name in religion on entering the Benedictine Order in 1595. Life Born in Brescia, Castelli studied at the University of ...

. He became a priest in 1643, the year he returned home and soon became abbot of the Benedictine abbey of St. Cosmas and Damian on the island of

Pašman Pašman () is an Adriatic island off the coast of northern Dalmatia in Croatia with an area of 60.11 km2, located to the south of Zadar, surrounded by the islands of Ugljan to the northwest, Iž to the west, and Dugi Otok and Žut to th ...

, canon of cathedral choir in

and

n deputy Archbishop. After a private trip to

he remained there until his death as the official diplomatic representative of the Republic of Ragusa to the Holy See. Since 1682 he was the head of the

Vatican Library The Vatican Apostolic Library (, ), more commonly known as the Vatican Library or informally as the Vat, is the library of the Holy See, located in Vatican City, and is the city-state's national library. It was formally established in 1475, alth ...

. Gradić was a

. He cooperated with the historian Joannes Lucius in defending the honor and reputation of their native country of unjust attacks of some Italian and French writers, translated classical authors, wrote a biography of the

n writer

Junije Palmotić Junije (Džono) Palmotić, (also ''Giunio'' in Italian or ''Junius Palmotta'' in Latin) (1606 – 1657) was a Croatian literature#Baroque literature, Croatian baroque writer, poet and dramatist from the Republic of Ragusa. He was a member of the ...

and a poem about the

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

. In the literary and scientific circle of

pope Alexander VII Pope Alexander VII (; 13 February 159922 May 1667), born Fabio Chigi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 7 April 1655 to his death, in May 1667. He began his career as a vice- papal legate, and he held various d ...

and Queen

Christina of Sweden Christina (; 18 December ld Style and New Style dates, O.S. 8 December1626 – 19 April 1689), a member of the House of Vasa, was Monarchy of Sweden, Queen of Sweden from 1632 until her abdication in 1654. Her conversion to Catholicism and ...

Gradić discussed scientific and philosophical issues. His philosophical works are written in the spirit of

Aristotelianism Aristotelianism ( ) is a philosophical tradition inspired by the work of Aristotle, usually characterized by Prior Analytics, deductive logic and an Posterior Analytics, analytic inductive method in the study of natural philosophy and metaphysics ...

and

scholasticism Scholasticism was a medieval European philosophical movement or methodology that was the predominant education in Europe from about 1100 to 1700. It is known for employing logically precise analyses and reconciling classical philosophy and Ca ...

. Gradić was a member of the Royal Academy in

Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...

, having correspondence with many notable Europeans. He described the disastrous earthquake in Ragusa in 1667 in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

verses and organized help from all over

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

for the devastated city. Along with

, he engaged in

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge whi ...

astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

and

diplomacy Diplomacy is the communication by representatives of State (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, non-governmental institutions intended to influence events in the international syste ...

. In

, he dealt with

Galileo's paradox Galileo's paradox is a demonstration of one of the surprising properties of infinite sets. In his final scientific work, '' Two New Sciences'', Galileo Galilei made apparently contradictory statements about the positive integers. First, a square is ...

. This work went unnoticed and was even unknown to

Roger Joseph Boscovich Roger Joseph Boscovich (, ; ; ; 18 May 1711 – 13 February 1787) was a Croatian physicist, astronomer, mathematician, philosopher, diplomat, poet, theologian, Jesuit priest, and a polymath from the Republic of Ragusa.Ghetaldus such as the first problem from Ghetaldus' work ''Apollonius redivivus''. In scientific correspondence with

Giovanni Alfonso Borelli Giovanni Alfonso Borelli (; 28 January 1608 – 31 December 1679) was a Renaissance Italy, Italian physiologist, physicist, and mathematician who is often described as the father of biomechanics. He contributed to the modern principle of scientif ...

and Honoré Fabri he published works dealing with the natural causes of motion and the laws of acceleration and falling bodies. He wrote on the problem of true and apparent position of the polar star.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gradic, Stjepan 1613 births 1683 deaths Croatian philosophers Croatian scientists Croatian mathematicians Croatian translators People from the Republic of Ragusa Ragusan diplomats People from Dubrovnik Ragusan nobility 17th-century translators

Biography

See also

References

External links