Muratori, Ludovico Antonio - Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. VIII, p. 906

Machine translation of the 1948–1954 Italian original. The original text is authoritative.

MURATORI, LUDOVICO ANTONIO — Autograph reply to the letter of the anonymous Florentine concerning the edition of the Cronache del Villani, published by Argelati on 3 October 1730 — Modena, Biblioteca Estense.

that revolutions and moral upheavals be avoided. Egoism is the principal cause of social corruption; it is necessary to encourage people toward social charity, that is, solidarity; one of the reasons for discontent and disorder lies in the unjust distribution of the products of labor. These prevailing thoughts of kindness and social understanding correspond to his plain, gracious, modest style, usually lacking genuine energy. As he was compassionate toward the humble, so he was generous with advice and information to all who turned to him. He was in correspondence with the greater part of the scholars throughout Europe: his correspondence comprises 6,000 letters; the letters of his correspondents, still unpublished, number as many as 14,000. M. is one of the most representative figures of what may be defined as Italian «Catholic Enlightenment».

BIBL.: A biography of M. that critically and adequately examines his life and work, placing the latter in its proper light within the context of the life and culture of the eighteenth century, is still lacking. Certainly, although thanks to M. Campori we already have L'epistolario del M. (14 vols., Modena 1901–22), we still do not have the immense correspondence of his correspondents, for whom Vischi provided the list in Archivio muratoriano, Modena 1872. M.’s various works were collected in the Arezzo edition (Opere del M., 14 vols., Arezzo 1768–71), to which must be added Scritti inediti di L. A. M., Modena 1872, and those other writings that appeared at various times. Regarding M.’s life, the work of his nephew remains invaluable: Vita del Proposto L. A. M. scritta dal nipote Gian Francesco Sali Muratori, there 1758; this biography was written on the basis of an autobiography that is still unpublished. Adequate, though laudatory, is the profile by G. Bertoni, M., Rome 1926, which contains an extensive bibliography. The Deputazione di storia patria published a commemorative volume: Per il 250° anniversario della nascita di L. A. M., Modena 1922. That Society published further studies in 1950 on the 200th anniversary of his death. Tommaso Sorbelli published a Bibliografia muratoriana, 3 vols., there 1943–44. Cf. also L. Salvatorelli, Il pensiero politico italiano dal 1790 al 1870, 4th ed., Turin 1943, pp. 4–21; M. Fubini, Dal M. al Baretti, Bari 1946; the entire issue of Rivista di storia della Chiesa in Italia, Jan.–Apr. 1950 (year IV, no. 1), and the entire issue of Convicium, raccolta nuova, 1950 (4–5); Atti e memorie del Convegno di studi in onore di L. A. M. nel bicentenario della morte, Modena 1921. Francesco Cognasso