Morcelli, Stefano Antonio

Morcelli, Stefano Antonio a celebrated Italian archaeologist, of the Order of Jesus, was born at Chiari January 17, 1737: studied at Rome, then joined the Jesuits; was sent to Ragusa, and afterwards returned to Rome, and was made professor in the Roman College. After the suppression of the order in 1773, Morcelli became librarian to cardinal Alessandro Albani, and while thus employed wrote his De Stilo Inscriptionum Latinarum, libri in (Rome, 1780, 4to). In 1790 he was elected, provost of the chapter in his native town, and so interesting became this work to him that he refused the proffered see of Ragulsa. He died in 1821. Few men lived more unselfishly than Morcelli. He liberally bestowed of his own to the poor, and abounded in philanthropic labors. Among other provisions, he founded an institution for the gratuitous education of young girls. Besides the work mentioned above, he wrote Inscriptiones Commentariis subjectis (Rome,1783,4to): — Parergon Inscriptionum Novissimarum (Padua, 1818, 4to): — Kalendarlium Ecclesiae Constaninopolintanae cun Commentariis illustratum (Rome, 1785, 2 volumes, 4to), from an ancient MS.: anterior to the schism between the Eastern and Western churches. Morcelli translated the MS. from Greek into Latin, adding his own commentaries, and rendering it a valuable work on Church history: — Explanatio Ecclesiastica Sancti Gregorii. This Gregory was one of the earliest bishops of Agrigentum: — Africa Christiana (Brescia, 1816, 3 volumes, 4to). This is another ,important work on Church history, from A.D. 197 till A.D. 697. It may be styled the Fasti of the Christian churches in Northern Africa. Morcelli's works on inscriptions have been collected and published together: Opera Epigraphica (Padua, 1818-25, 5 volumes). Professor Schiassi has added to them a Lexicon Epigranphicum Morcellianum, in Latin and Italian. Morcelli wrote also a book of epigrams — Electorum Libri ii — and various dissertations on Roman antiquities. See Baraldi, Notizia di a Morcelli (Mod. 1825); Tipaldo, Biogrs. degli Ital. 10:102.