Haller became familiar with his correspondent Johann Philipp Murray, a native of Sweden, while both were at the University of Göttingen, where Murray arrived as a student in 1747. All but two of the fifty-eight letters presented here date from the period 1762–74. By then Haller had returned to Switzerland and Murray had become professor of philosophy at the university, as well as secretary of the Gesellschaft (Sozietät) der Wissenschaften (GdW), of which Haller was permanent president. The primary focus of their correspondence is the business of the GdW: prize questions, changing membership, interrupted publication of its acta, and internal strains and proposals for reform. Its allied journal the Göttingische Anzeigen von gelehrten Sachen (GGA) is also a frequent subject. Murray’s letters to Haller complement, and sometimes contradict, those of the GdW’s and the GGA’s director, Johann David Michaelis. Among the various other topics are Haller’s plans to return to Göttingen, the exchanges with the learned world of Sweden, the payments owed Haller for his contributions to the GdW and the GGA, and Murray’s own scholarly projects and inadequate compensation at the university.

This is a guest edition prepared by Otto Sonntag, which philologically follows the editor's specific edition model. In contrast, the marking of the entities (persons, publications, institutions, places, and letters) adheres to the general guidelines of hallerNet (Konventionen Metadaten Version 2.1).