Stefano Antonio Morcelli (17 January 1737 – 1 January 1822) was an Italian

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 ...

scholar, known as an epigraphist. His work ''De stilo Latinarum inscriptionum libri III'', published in three volumes in 1781, which shows a rigorous method, a novelty and originality of approach, as well as a solid preparation, gave him his European fame and is considered a milestone in the development of epigraphy.

Life

Morcelli was born at Chiari near

Brescia Brescia (, ; ; or ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the region of Lombardy, in Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Lake Garda, Garda and Lake Iseo, Iseo. With a population of 199,949, it is the se ...

. He studied at the Jesuit College of Brescia and was admitted into the Society of Jesus, 3 November 1753. He successively taught grammar at

Fermo Fermo (; ancient: Firmum Picenum) is a town and ''comune'' of the Marche, Italy, in the Province of Fermo. Fermo is on a hill, the Sabulo, elevation , on a branch from Porto San Giorgio on the Adriatic coast railway. History The oldest huma ...

, humanities at Ragusa, and oratory at the

Roman College The Roman College (, ) was a school established by St. Ignatius of Loyola in 1551, just 11 years after he founded the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). It quickly grew to include classes from elementary school through university level and moved to seve ...

where he established an academy of archaeology at the

Kircherian Museum The Kircherian Museum was a public collection of antiquities and artifacts, a cabinet of curiosities, founded in 1651 by the Jesuit father Athanasius Kircher in the Roman College. Considered the first museum in the world, its collections were gradu ...

. After the

suppression of the Society of Jesus The suppression of the Society of Jesus was the removal of all members of the Jesuits from most of Western Europe and their respective colonies beginning in 1759 along with the abolition of the order by the Holy See in 1773; the papacy acceded ...

(1773) he became

librarian A librarian is a person who professionally works managing information. Librarians' common activities include providing access to information, conducting research, creating and managing information systems, creating, leading, and evaluating educat ...

to Cardinal Albani and in 1791 was appointed to a provostship in his native town. He declined the offer of the Archbishopric of Ragusa and continued his literary labors in Rome. His first publication was ''De stilo inscriptionum latinarum'' (On the style of Latin inscriptions, 1780). In the town of Chiari, his birthplace, to which he afterwards withdrew, he founded an institution for the education of girls, reformed the entire school system, devoted his library to public use, and restored many buildings and churches. Meantime his reputation as an epigraphist, numismatist, and archaeologist increased. Besides his numerous works on this subjects, he published five volumes of

sermons A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present contexts. E ...

and

ascetic Asceticism is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from worldly pleasures through self-discipline, self-imposed poverty, and simple living, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their pra ...

treatises. When the Society of Jesus was re-established he again took his place in its ranks, and died in Chiari in January 1822, aged eighty-four.

Works

He owes his reputation not only to his extensive knowledge of ancient inscriptions, but also to his classical Latinity. Among his works are: * ''De stilo inscriptionum latinarum'' (Rome, 1781); * ''Inscriptiones commentariis subjectis'' (Rome, 1783) * To a second edition of these two works was added the ''Πάρεργον Inscriptionum novissimarum'' (Padua, 1818–22); * ''Μηνολόγιον τῶν Εὐαγγελίων Ἑορταστικὸν sive Kalendarium Ecclesiæ Constantinopolitanæ'' etc. (Rome, 1788); * ''Africa Christiana'' (Brescia, 1816-7); * ''Opuscoli Ascetici'' (Brescia, 1819 or 1820). Morcelli was also an important

numismatist A numismatist is a specialist, researcher, and/or well-informed collector of numismatics, numismatics/coins ("of coins"; from Late Latin , genitive of ). Numismatists can include collectors, specialist dealers, and scholar-researchers who use coi ...

, and was influential on such scholars as Celestino Cavedoni.Foraboschi D. 1990, ''Monetary Theory and the Antiquarian: Eighteenth-Century Numismatic Research from Galiani to S.A. Morcelli'', in M.H. Crawford, C.R. Ligota, J.B. Trapp (eds.), Medals and Coins from Budè to Mommsen, London, pp. 115-123.

Bibliography

* * Carlos Sommervogel, ''Bibliothèque de la Compagnie de Jésus'', V, 1290-1305 (Paris, 1894). * * * * * *

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Morcelli, Stefano Antonio 1737 births 1822 deaths 18th-century Italian Jesuits Epigraphy Latin epigraphers 19th-century Italian Jesuits Italian classical philologists Italian archaeologists People from Chiari, Lombardy