Academia operosorum (academy of hard-working fellows) - a forerunner
of the modern Slovenian Academy
of Sciences and Arts - was founded in 1693
in Ljubljana as an
association of 23 scientists, most of whom were of Slovenian
descent. From the beginning its purpose was to organise scientific work in the
fields of law, medicine,
philosophy and
theology. The members
of the Academia adopted the Latin name apes (bees) and the academic
tag Nobis atque aliis - operosi. Every year they would organise an
annual meeting, as well as four other academic meetings, where the results of
scientific research
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would be discussed. The newly-founded library became an important centre of
activity of the "Operosi". At the time of its greatest prosperity, around 1714,
it was an international association of 42 members from Carniola
and the counties of central Austria assembled under the patronage of the bishop
Franz Karl von Kaunitz. The Academia fell into decline in the summer of 1725.
It was revived in 1781, thanks
to the efforts of Slovenian members of the Enlightenment.
Unfortunately, it was only active for another 20 years or so and declined again
because of the different outlooks of its members.
