Giambattista Toderini (Venice, 1728 – Venice, 4 July 1799) was a Venetian philosopher, writer, and former

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

Biography

Son of Domenico Maria and Anna Maria Cestari, he was the descendant of the Gagliardis dalla Volta

counts palatine A count palatine (Latin ''comes palatinus''), also count of the palace or palsgrave (from German language, German ''Pfalzgraf''), was originally an official attached to a royal or imperial palace or household and later a nobleman of a rank abo ...

. Toderini studied philosophy and archaeology, but tended toward contemplative and religious life since his youth and joined the

Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...

. He was employed in teaching, dedicating himself to philosophy in

Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...

and

Forlì Forlì ( ; ; ; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) and city in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, and is, together with Cesena, the capital of the Province of Forlì-Cesena.The city is situated along the Via Emilia, to the east of the Montone river, ...

. After the

suppression of the Jesuits Suppression may refer to: Laws * Suppression of Communism Act *Suppression order a type of censorship where a court rules that certain information cannot be published * Tohunga Suppression Act 1907, an Act of the Parliament of New Zealand aimed ...

, Toderini lost his position, and in October 1781 he joined the entourage of the Venetian ambassador to

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

, Agostino Garzoni. Toderini remained there, living in the ambassador's house, until May 1786, studying Ottoman

Turkish literature Turkish literature () comprises oral compositions and written texts in the Turkish language. The Ottoman form of Turkish, which forms the basis of much of the written corpus, was highly influenced by Persian and Arabic literature,Bertold Sp ...

and collecting books and manuscripts in Arabic and other languages. There, he wrote his three volume ''Letteratura Turchesa'' ("Turkish Literature"), the first European survey of Turkish literature, published in Venice the year after his return by Giacomo Storti. This work was soon translated into French and German. Toderini criticized slavery and colonialism, writing "You should ask the Negroes, bought like pitiful cattle to the dishonour of humanity, labouring at the caves of the ilver mines ofPotosi, and in Peru, losing their strength and life, what advantage they drew from the luxuries of Europe." His work sought to impress upon Europeans the degree to which Muslims had pursued science and knowledge, contrary to European perceptions at the time. Beyond his pioneering work on Turkish literature, Toderini's other works included religious tracts, a dissertation on marine lightning conductors, and other topics.

Works

*''Sull'induramento di molti bachi da seta''. *''Sull'Aurora Boreale'', Modena, 1770. *
Filosofia Frankliniana delle punte persevatrici del fulmine
', Modena, 1771. *''La Constatiniana apparizione della Croce, contra al protestante G. Alberto Fabrzio'', Venice, 1773. *''Della letteratura turchesca'', Venice, 1787, 3 vols. (re-issued in 2008, Frankfurt, Institute for the History of Arabic-Islamic Science). *''L'onesto uomo ovvero saggi di morale filosofia dai principii della ragione'', Venice, 1780. *''Nuove osservazione sopra il camaleone di

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; , or ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, Turkey. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna ...

''. *''Sull'andamento de' quadrupeli''. *''Supra due antichissimi Alcorane ed alcune monete cufique'', Padua, 1810.

Bibliography

Sources *AA.VV. ''Biographie universelle'', Brussels, H. Ode, 1847. *Basilio Sebastián Castellanos de Losada. ''Biografía eclesiástica completa'', Madrid: Alejandro Gómez Fuentenebro, 1867. *Gorton, J. ''A general biographical dictionary'', London, 1851. *''Diario de Madrid'', Vol. 5, Hilario Santos, includes July, August, and September 1787. *Ubicini, J.H.A. ''El Tansimat: organización de la Turquía actual'', Madrid: Impr. José Trujillo, 1854. Additional bibliography *Berkes, N. ''The development of secularism in Turkey'', London: Hurst, 1998. *Faroqhi, S.N. ''The Cambridge history of Turkey'', Cambridge, 2006. *Fetis, F.J. ''Complete treatise on the theory and practice of harmony'', Pendragon Press, 2008. *Gunny, A. ''Perceptions of Islam in European writings'', Islamic Foundation, 2004. *De Angelis, published the biography of Toderini in Vol. XLVI of the "Universal Biography" by Michaud. *Petro, P. ''Venezia i turchi'', G.C. Sansoni, 1975. * Cavallini, Ivano. La musica turca nelle testimonianze dei viaggiatori e nella trattatistica del Sei-Settecento, ''Rivista italiana di musicologia'' 21/1 (1986), 144-169. *

Notes

External links

*
Giambattista Toderini
' on

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*
TODERINI, Gian Battista
' (Turkish) on

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1728 births 1799 deaths 18th-century Italian writers 18th-century Italian male writers Italian orientalists {{Commons