The Prince, the Citizen and the Man. The Virtues in Muratori’s Thought

This chapter aims to focus on the concept and functions of the virtues proposed in the treatise Della pubblica felicità (1749). The first part will be devoted to the mosaic of virtues (clemency, constancy, fortitude, temperance, justice, charity, faith, hope, humility) and their relationship to public utility and public happiness, pivotal in Muratori's discourse. The second part will focus on the forms of expression of virtue, and namely the most useful means of sharing morals and virtues and to achieve public happiness. In particular, it will focus on the alliance between literati and princes and the support of the arts and poetry, especially theatre, to the teaching of virtues within the common horizon of politics. These are topics with distant roots in Muratori's work: therefore, keeping in mind the important turning point represented by the 1749 treatise, the chapter will also refer to Muratori's early reflections (Della perfetta poesia italiana 1706) and the equally fundamental work La filosofia morale (1735). This will give us the opportunity to better understand Muratori's dialogue with traditional and modern sources of virtue ethics and to compare his thought with other critical proposals of the European Enlightenment