Theatine Spirituality: Selected Writings trans and ed. by William V. Hudon (review)

328BOOK REVIEWS Culture: Books and Social Change in Strasbourg, 1480-1599 [New Haven, 1982]). Many of the styUstic and thematic dtfferences in the pamphlets, which Chrisman interprets by reference to social stratification, can also be explained by the contingent function of Reformation pamphlets: they represented propaganda , aimed to sway, inflame, and mobUize the reading public into action, whether it be the justification of Sickingen's revolt or the barely concealed caU to anticlerical riots. By privUeging a formalistic analysis over a more nuanced contextual analysis (which would necessitate the use of different kinds of sources), Conflicting Visions ofReform misses the exciting anarchy and possibilities that marked the early Reformation years. R. Po-chia Hsia New York University Theatine Spirituality: Selected Writings. Translated, edited and with an introduction and notes by WiUiam V Hudon. [The Classics ofWestern Spkituality ] (New York and Mahwah, New Jersey: PauUst Press. 1996. Pp. xx, 287. $22.95 paperback.) Students of sixteenth-century spirituaUty wiU be grateful for this volume because it provides a fine introduction and EngUsh translation of the major writings of three members of the Theatine order in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries.The actual texts consist of the "Rule of Carafa" by Gian Pietro Carafa (1476-1559), who was later elected Pope Paul IV; the Letters of Gaetano daThiene (ca. 1480- 1547), known as St. Cajetan after his canonization; and Lorenzo ScupoU's (1530-1610) augmented edition ofSpiritual Combat (Il combattimento spirituale),which appeared shortly before his death.The translations are readable and the end notes are helpful. The editor of these Theatine writings is WiUiam V Hudon, who is professor and chairman of the Department of History at Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania . In 1992 he pubUshed a book on Marcello Cervini and Ecclesiastical Government in Tridentine Italy (DeKaIb: Northern Illinois University Press), which received mixed reviews Ui The Sixteenth Century fournal. In addition to editing the above works by Carafa, Gaetano, and ScupoU, Hudon translated the ItaUan letters by Gaetano and the Italian text of Spiritual Combat by Scupoli into English. Professor Bernard McGinn, the editor-in-chief of the "Classics of Western SpirituaUty" series, translated into English the Latin rule of Carafa. Moreover, Hudon wrote both the introduction and the end notes that accompany these texts. In contrast to these contributions, I found the preface by GigUola Fragnito, professor of history in the University of Parma, which was translated by Hudon, to be seU-serving and misleading at times. Her comments on the influence of Sister Paola Antonia Negri (1508-1555) on the Barnabite order, which was founded by St. Antonio Maria Zacearía in 1534, are exaggerated when she observes:"she [Negri] wound up governing both the Barnabites and the Angeliche [i.e., Angelic Sisters of St. Paul] with indisputable authority for about fifteen years . . ." (p. xvi).The co-founder of the AngeUcs and principal BOOK REVIEWS329 benefactor of the Barnabites was Ludovica ToreUi, the countess of GuastaUa, who is ignored by Fragnito. Moreover, her reference to "regular clerics" should be translated as "clerics regular" (cf. pp. xiii-xvii). As I indicated in my opening remarks, I found the introduction by Hudon to be a fine contribution, though I feel that the section titled "General Background " (pp. 1-7) could have been reduced by haU of its length without sacrificing anything. In addition, Hudon spends several pages trying to make a case for the use of the term "Tridentine Reformation" in place of the older expression "Counter-Reformation" (pp. 7-17), but without persuading me. I prefer the use of the term "Catholic Reformation," since reform in the sixteenth century began with such Renaissance humanists as Sir Thomas More and Erasmus of Rotterdam before the beginning of the Protestant Reformation or as a result of the Council ofTrent (1545-1563). Clearly the best parts of the introduction are on "The Theatine Order" f?. 16-29), "Gaetano's SpirituaUty" (pp. 33-42), and "ScupoU's SpirituaUty"(pp.48-62). I especiaUy liked Hudon's comparison ofTheatine spirituality with Jesuit praxis (pp. 264-271, notes 12, 37, 50, 58, and 74). I would also like to point out a few defects: (1)Hudon chides Ludwig von Pastor for referring to theTheatine...