Of Missions and Models:
The Jesuit Enterprise (1540-1773) Reassessed in Recent Literature
Reviewed by
Simon Ditchfield
Titles in order of consideration:
The Society of Jesus, 1548-1773. A catalogue of books by Jesuit authors and works relating to the Society of Jesus published between 1548, with the firstprinting of Ignatius of Loyola's Spiritual Exercises, and the suppression of the Society in 1773. By Detlev Auvermann and Anthony Payne, with an introduction by Alastair Hamilton. (London: Bernard Quaritch Ltd. 2006. n.p. £50.00.)
The Jesuits and the Arts 1540-1773. Edited by John W. O'Malley, S.J., and Gauvin Alexander Bailey. (Philadelphia: Saint Joseph's University Press. 2005. Pp. xv, 496; 476 color illus. $50.00.)
The Jesuits II: Cultures, Sciences and the Arts, 1540-1773. Edited by John O'Malley, S.J, Gauvin Alexander Bailey, Steven J. Harris, and T. Frank Kennedy, S.J. (Toronto: University of Toronto Press. 2005. Pp. xxxvi, 905, 91 halftones, 8 tables, and one DVD. $95.00/£55.00.)
The Wily Jesuits and the Monita Secreta: The Forged "Secret instructions" of the Jesuits. A History and a Translation of the "Monita." By Sabina Pavone. Translated by John P. Murphy, S.J. [Studies on Jesuit Topics, No. 28 in Series IV.] (St. Louis: The Institute of Jesuit Sources. 2005. Pp. xxiii, 250. $24.95 paperback.)
The Spiritual Writings of Pierre Favre. Translated and edited by Edmond C. Murphy, S.J., and Martin E. Palmer, S.J. (St. Louis: The Institute of Jesuit Sources. 1996. Pp. xii, 437. $41.95 paperback.)
Year by Year with the Early Jesuits (1537-1556). Selections from the "Chronicon" of Juan de Polanco S J. Translated and edited by John Patrick Donnelly, S.J. (St. Louis: The Institute of Jesuit Sources. 2004. Pp. xix, 480. $37.45 paperback.) [End Page 325]
The Ratio Studiorum: The Official Plan for Jesuit Education. Translated and annotated by Claude Pavur, S.J. (St. Louis: The Institute of Jesuit Sources. 2005. Pp. xxiii, 294. $29.95 paperback.)
Preaching Wisdom to the Wise: Three Treatises by Roberto De Nobili, S. J., Missionary and Scholar in 17th Century India. Translated with an introduction by Anand Amaladass, S.J., and Francis X. Clooney, S.J. [Jesuit Primary Sources in English Translation.] (St. Louis: The Institute of Jesuit Sources. 2000. Pp. xxi, 345. $ 31.95 paperback.)
Evangelizzare il mondo: le missioni della Compagnia di Gesù tra Europa e America (secoli XVI-XVII). By Paolo Broggio. (Rome: Carocci editore. 2005. Pp. 364. €21.50.)
I gesuiti dalle origini alla soppressione, 1540-1773. By Sabina Pavone. (Rome, Bari: Editori Laterza. 2004. Pp. ix, 168. €10.)
Jesuitische Missionierung, priesterliche Liebe, sakramentale Magie: Volks-kulturen in Luzern, 1563-1614. By Dominik Sieber. [Luzerner Historische Veröffentlichungen, Band 40.] Pp. 298, 19 illus. Sw. fr. 48; €33.50.)
"The world is our house," wrote Jerónimo Nadal, one of Ignatius's companions. Such an all-encompassing vision lay at the heart of the Society's success and goes far in explaining the astonishingly consistent willingness of its members to adapt themselves creatively to local circumstances from Milan to Macau, Paris to Potosì, Vienna to Vietnam. It also represents a particular challenge, not only to this reviewer but also to the various authors and editors of the works under review as they seek to impose a purposeful pattern and attempt a balanced assessment of a contribution that was as various as the individuals involved. Alastair Hamilton goes as far as stating:
Of Missions and Models: The Jesuit Enterprise (1540-1773) Reassessed in Recent Literature
