Franciscus Patricius (Croatian: Franjo Petriš or Frane Petrić; Italian: Francesco Patrizi; 25 April 1529 – 6 February 1597) was a philosopher and scientist from the Republic of Venice. A native of Cres, he was a defender of Platonism and an opponent of Aristotelianism.
His national origin differs in sources, and he is described both as Croatian and as Italian.Paul Oskar Kristeller, Eight philosophers of the Italian Renaissance, Stanford 1964, pp. 110-126.Toth, Lucio. "Per una storia della Dalmazia tra medioevo ed età contemporanea." Clio 38 (2002): 361. In Croatia he is mostly referred to as Franjo Petriš or Frane Petrić (sometimes Petris, Petrišević and Petričević). His family name in Cres was known as Petris.
Patricius initially dedicated his studies to Aristotelian Philosophy at the University of Padua, but turned to Platonism while still a student. He became a sharp, high-profile opponent of Aristotelianism, with whom he grappled extensively in several writings. After many years of unsuccessful efforts to secure material livelihood, he finally received an invitation in 1577 to the Ducal Court of House of Este in the Duchy of Ferrara. At the University of Ferrara, a chair for Platonic philosophy was set up especially for him. In the years that followed, he gained a reputation as a professor, but was also involved in scientific and literary controversy; he tended to polemic and was in turn violently attacked by opponents. In 1592 he accepted an invitation to Rome, where thanks to papal favor a new chair was created for him. The last years of his life were embroiled in a serious conflict with the Roman Inquisition, which banned his main work, the Nova de universis philosophia.
As one of the last Renaissance humanists, Patricius was characterized by extensive education, varied scientific activity, a strong will to innovate, and exceptional literary fertility. He critically examined established, universally recognized teachings and suggested alternatives. In particular, he wanted to replace the prevailing Aristotelian natural philosophy with his own model. He opposed the traditional view of the meaning of historical studies, which was usually restricted to moral instruction, with his concept of a broad, neutral, scientific historical research. In poetry he emphasized the importance of inspiration and fought against conventional rules, which he considered to be arbitrary, unrealistic restrictions on creative freedom.
In the Early Modern Period, Patricius's controversial philosophy of nature found sympathetic readers despite the church's condemnation, but remained an outsider position. Modern research recognizes his contributions to the constitution of modern concept of space and to historical theory.
Origin and name Francesco Patricius came from the town Cres on the homonymous island in front of Istria (Italian Cherso ).Emil Jacobs: Francesco Patricio and his collection of Greek manuscripts in the library of the Escorial. In: Zentralblatt für Bibliothekswesen 25, 1908, p. 19–47, here: p. 20 Note 2 assumed to be the place of birth Osor on Cres, but this hypothesis has not been taken up in more recent literature. At that time the island belonged to Republic of Venice. Francesco was an illegitimate son of the priest Stefano di Niccolò di Antonio Patricius (Stjepan Nikola Antun Petriš or Petrić), who belonged to the lower nobility. His mother was Maria Radocca (also "Borofcich"), a local woman who later married another man, and possibly "shared the bed with two priests of the same [Patrizi] family." In older literature, Francesco's father was mistakenly identified with the judge of the same name, Stefano di Niccolò di Matteo Patricius, and his mother Maria was identified with Maria Lupetino, the judge's alleged wife. Another incorrect claim connects Patricius to the famous theologian Matthias Flacius.Cesare Vasoli: Immagini umanistiche, Naples 1983, pp. 531–541, 547 f., 553.
According to Francesco, his family was originally based in Bosnia and, according to their coat of arms, was of royal descent. Allegedly, in the fifteenth century, an ancestor of Patricius named Stefanello came to Cres as a result of the Turkish conquest of her homeland. Cesare Vasoli: Immagini umanistiche, Naples 1983, pp. 528-530. In his book, Paralleli militari, he said he descended from the Patrizi family from Siena.
Following a humanistic custom, the philosopher Latinized his name and called himself Patricius or Patritius . Since he lived in Italy and published his works there, Francesco Patricius has become the international standard, although variants of the Croatian form are preferred in Croatia. The addition "da Cherso" (from Cres) serves to distinguish it from the Siena humanist Francesco Patricius (Franciscus Patricius Senensis), who lived in the 15th century.For the name see Zvonko Pandžić (ed.) : Franciscus Patricius: Discussiones Peripateticae, Cologne 1999, S. XI; Emil Jacobs: Francesco Patricio and his collection of Greek manuscripts in the library of the Escorial. In: Zentralblatt für Bibliothekswesen 25, 1908, pp. 19–47, here: pp. 20 f. Note 2.
Life Youth and Education Francesco Patricius was born on 25 April 1529 in Cres. He initially spent his childhood in his hometown. His uncle Giovanni Giorgio Patricius (Ivan Juraj Petriš), who commanded a Venetian warship, took the only nine-year-old boy on a war campaign against the Turks in February 1538. Francesco participated in the Battle of Preveza, in which the Christian fleet was struck and Patricius almost fell into Turkish captivity. He spent several years at sea. In September 1543 he went to Venice to acquire a professional qualification. Initially he went to a commercial school according to Giovanni Giorgio's will, but his inclination was for humanism. His father encouraged Patricius's wish and had his son receive Latin lessons.Cesare Vasoli: "La lettera autobiografica di Francesco Patricius." In: "Quaderni di Retorica e Poetica" 1986/1, pp. 59–66, here: 61; Cesare Vasoli: Immagini umanistiche, Naples 1983, pp. 555 f. His father later sent him to study at Ingolstadt, where there was the seat of the Bavarian University. There he acquired knowledge of Greek. In 1546, however, he had to leave Bavaria because of the turmoil of the Schmalkaldic War.See Cesare Vasoli: Immagini umanistiche, Naples 1983, pp. 529, 539, 552 f.
In May 1547 Patricius went to Padua, whose university was one of the most respected universities in Europe. His father initially intended Patricius to study medicine with Giambattista Montano, Bassiano Lando and Alberto Gabriele. When Stefano died in 1551, Patricius was able to drop out of medical training, sell his medical books, and resume his interests in humanistic education. During his studies, he attended philosophical lectures by professors Bernardino Tomitano, Marcantonio de 'Passeri (Marcantonio Genova), Lazzaro Buonamici and Francesco Robortello. Among his friends and fellow students was Niccolò Sfondrati, who later became pope as Gregory XIV. Philosophy classes were a disappointment for Patricius, because Padua was a stronghold of Aristotelian, whose representatives continued the tradition of medieval Scholastic. This was a direction that Patricius firmly rejected and later wrote against. Under the influence of a Franciscan scholar, he turned to Platonism. The Franciscan recommended the Neoplatonic teaching of the humanist Marsilio Ficino (1433–1499). Ficino's writings, especially his major philosophical-theological work, the Theologia Platonica, greatly affected Patricius's philosophical thought.For the influence of Ficinos see Maria Muccillo: Marsilio Ficino e Francesco Patricius da Cherso. In: Gian Carlo Garfagnini (ed.): Marsilio Ficino e il ritorno di Platone. Studi e documenti, Vol. 2, Florenz 1986, pp. 615-678. He later expressed his distance to Padua's scholastic-Aristotelian teaching practice by writing in an autobiographical letter in 1587 as self-taught represented. While still a student, Patricius began to write and publish philosophical and philological writings, printing a collection of his early works in Venice in 1533.Cesare Vasoli: "La lettera autobiografica di Francesco Patricius." In: "Quaderni di Retorica e Poetica" 1986/1, pp. 59–66, here: 62 f .; Francesco Bottin: Francesco Patricius e l'aristotelismo padovano. In: Quaderni per la storia dell'Università di Padova 32, 1999, pp. 163–176, here: 163 f .; Margherita Palumbo: Patricius, Francesco. In: Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, Vol. 81, Rome 2014, pp. 732–738, here: 732.
First attempts to secure livelihood (1554–1560) In 1554, Patricius had to return to Cres because of a lengthy dispute over the inheritance of his uncle Giovanni Giorgio. Patricius's time at Cres was characterized by illness, isolation, and family conflict. At that time he apparently belonged to the spiritual class - at least until 1560.Cesare Vasoli: Immagini umanistiche, Naples 1983, pp. 549–554. He was unsuccessful in finding a living through an ecclesiastical position. After this failure, he went to Rome in 1556, but his efforts for a benefice also failed. After moving to Venice, the young scholar unsuccessfully sought employment at the courtyard of the house Este in Ferrara. At last Patricius was able to gain a foothold in the Venetian humanist circles by joining the scholarly community, Accademia della Fama.Cesare Vasoli: Francesco Patricius da Cherso, Rome 1989, pp. 26-28.
Activities in Cyprus (1560-1568) In 1560, Patricius entered the service of the Venetian patrician Giorgio Contarini. While initially tutoring his employer in Aristotelian ethics, Patricius soon won Contarini's trust and was sent to Cyprus to inspect and report on the family property, which was administered by Contarini's brother. When he described the situation on his return in the summer of 1562, Contarini sent him again to Cyprus and gave him authorization to carry out measures for improvement. As the new administrator, Patricius ensured by melioration a significant increase in the value of the land, which could now be used for growing cotton. However, the measures required were costly and poor harvests also reduced income, so that the client could not be satisfied. Contarini's Cypriot relatives, who Patricius discredited with his report, took this opportunity to take revenge and to blame the administrator on the head of the family. When Patricius's justification was not accepted, he asked to be released in 1567.Maria Muccillo: La biblioteca greca di Francesco Patricius. In: Eugenio Canone (ed.): Bibliothecae selectae. Da Cusano a Leopardi, Florence 1993, pp. 73-118, here: 74 f .; Emil Jacobs: Francesco Patricio and his collection of Greek manuscripts in the library of the Escorial. In: Zentralblatt für Bibliothekswesen 25, 1908, pp. 19–47, here: 22 f .; Friedrich Walkhoff: Francesco Patriciuss Leben und Werk, Bonn 1920, pp. 16 f.
Patricius initially stayed in Cyprus. He now entered the service of the Catholic Archbishop of Nicosia, the Venetian Filippo Mocenigo, who entrusted him with the administration of the villages belonging to the Archdiocese. But in 1568, with the island under Turkish threat, he left the island with the archbishop and went to Venice. In retrospect, he saw the years in Cyprus as lost time. After all, he used the stay in the Greek-speaking world for an important humanistic concern: he searched for Greek manuscripts with considerable success, which he then bought or had written down, or perhaps even copied himself.Emil Jacobs: Francesco Patricio and his collection of Greek Manuscripts in the library of the Escorial. In: Zentralblatt für Bibliothekswesen 25, 1908, pp. 19–47, here: 23 f.
Varying endeavors for a material livelihood (1568–1577)