MARCO MASTROFINI. — Polymath, born at Monte Compatri (Rome) on 25 April 1768, died in Rome on 3 March 1845. He taught literature, philosophy, and mathematics at the Frascati College and the Roman College. His literary output was chiefly in the field of philology, but he also wrote on theology, astronomy, and law.
Among his works are to be noted: *Metaphysica sublimior de Deo Trino et Uno* (Rome 1816), in which he attempts a rational demonstration of the Trinitarian Mystery, with a promise in the introduction of another volume to demonstrate a priori the “existence of God and to explain the Eucharistic mystery” (the volume, however, does not appear, perhaps because of the lively controversies aroused by the first); *L’anima umana e i suoi stati* (2 vols., ibid. 1842). More widely known are his *Sulle usure libri tre* (ibid. 1831), reprinted several times: Mastrofini maintains the lawfulness of lending at interest, even in the absence of any ultimate title legitimizing II.