Giuseppe Tartini - Lettere e documenti / Pisma in dokumenti / Letters and Documents - Volume / Knjiga / Volume I

89 INTRODUCTION continuous, the nature of centres, and in a word the measure of one as one: something that seems contradictory but which is absolutely true, as we are dealing with demonstrations and physical proof. [...] From the same letter, we learn that Tartini had discussed these theories of his with many Paduan professors and scientists, yet nonetheless deemed Balbi’s examination to be fundamental: [...] But in this case I need a man who is much more learned even than the aforemen- tioned two, and who is entirely trustworthy. This man, for me, can be none other than Your Most Illustrious Lordship. I have worked for Polleni, 123 for Abate Conti, 124 for Riva, 125 for Riccati, 126 for Suzzi, 127 but none of them, albeit most excellent men, are suitable for me. [...] In the second letter to Balbi, a decade later, the reasons that drove the violinist to seek the judgment and backing he hoped for outside Padua become a little clearer: with the exception of Riccati, to whom he would then deliver the text of the Trattato in a more advanced version, he does not feel he can trust the Paduans, for mysterious reasons that 123 Poleni, Giovanni (1683-1761) was a mathematician, physicist and engineer from the Venetian lands. Along with other intellectuals (Andrea Memmo, Apostolo Zeno, Scipione Maffei, Antonio Conti among the many) he attended the circle that was formed around consul Joseph Smith, who assembled the most innovative spirits of the early Enlightenment. He held the chair of astronomy and meteorology in Padua from 1711, graduated at the Collegio Veneto more nobilium in philosophy and medicine, and was member of the Sacro Collegio dei Medici e Filosofi of Padua as well as of many Italian and European acad- emies. See Casellato-Sitran, 2002: pp. 203-226 124 Conti, Antonio (1677-1749) was a Paduan physicist, mathematician, historian, philosopher and playwright. Known as Abate Conti, he is famous for having been the arbitrator in the dispute between Leibniz and Newton about the invention of infinitesimal calculus. After lengthy stays in England and France he returned to the Veneto, where he remained until his death. See G. Gronda, “Conti, Antonio”, in Dbi. 125 Riva, Lodovico (1696-1746) was a philosopher, physicist and astronomer from the Venetian lands. He was teacher of astronomy and meteorology (1719-1720) and later frequented, together with Suzzi, a course of analysis held by Jacopo Riccati. See Casellato-Sitran, 2002: pp. 79-83. 126 By analogy with the other names entered in the list, this could refer to Jacopo Riccati. For many years Tartini later corresponded with his son Giordano, discussing questions of music theory. The father, Jacopo (1676-1754), was a famous mathematician from Treviso; his son Giordano then followed his father in the study of mathematics and, later, also physics, architecture and music. On the relationship between Giordano Riccati and Tartini, see Del Fra, 2007 and Barbieri, 1994: pp. 321-344. 127 Suzzi, Giuseppe (1701-1746). He was born in Ragogna (province of Udine) and after his early studies in Udine he went to the seminary of S. Cipriano on Murano, where he learned the rudiments of rhetoric, mathematics and physics from G. F. Crivelli. In 1722-23 he specialised in analysis with L. Riva and attended a course held by J. Riccati. He became a technical advisor of the government and then gave private courses of mathematics, and maybe also of law, in Venice. In 1744 he was assigned the prime posi- tion of philosophy at the University of Padua. He took an interest in cosmology, general and celestial me- chanics, and calculus. With him, the chair of natural philosophy completed the transition to the teaching of modern physics. See Casellato-Sitran, 2002: pp. 183-188.