Beschreibung:

IGNATIUS OF LOYOLA, Saint (1491-1556). Exercitia Spiritualia . Rome: Antonio Blado, 11 September 1548. ‘ The most famous modern textbook on ascetic discipline, the nature of sin and Christian perfection by grace ’ (PMM) Prior to this copy coming to the market, the last first edition sold at auction was the Harmsworth copy (Sotheby's, December 16 1947, lot 946) described as stained throughout and repaired (ABPC). Exceedingly rare first edition: only nine other copies held in institutions , of which three are located in US libraries: Library of Congress; Glenson Library (San Francisco); and Loyola University Chicago, and six copies in Europe: the Vatican, the Biblioteca Nazionale and the Biblioteca Corsiniana in Roma, The British Library, The French Bibliotheque Nationale and the Biblioteca Publica in Toledo. De Backer & Sommervogel 61; PMM 74. The importance and influence of St Ignatius's Spiritual Exercises cannot be overstated: as the foundational document of the Society of Jesus, it combined spiritual power with a militant character that worked to spread the Christian faith around the globe. Born Inigo Lopez de Recalde to a noble Basque family in the province of Guipuzcoa in Spain, St Ignatius led a normal youth but received his religious transformation as a young man. In 1521, while convalescing from wounds earned while fighting the French at Pamplona, he decided to do penance for his sins. He visited Montserrat in 1522, and then Manresa from March 1522 to February 1523. It was here he first sketched his Exercises . He made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem in 1523, but was sent back to Europe by the Franciscans. Between 1524 and 1537, Ignatius studied theology and Latin in the University of Alcalá. In 1534, he was in Paris during the period of anti-Protestant turmoil which forced John Calvin to flee France. The organization that would grow up around him formed then, when a few followers bound themselves by vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. In 1539, they formed the Society of Jesus and moved to Rome. Pope Paul III approved of their new community that year, and the Society of Jesus formally established Ignatius as its first General. The Pope approved his Spiritual Exercises in 1548, the year of this first edition. Loyola composed the Constitutions of the Society in his last year. He died in July 1556, was beatified by Pope Paul V in 1609, canonized by Pope Gregory XV in 1622, and declared patron of all spiritual retreats by Pope Pius XI in 1922. 'The Exercises , though undoubtedly influenced by the ascetic teachings of Garcia de Cisneros of Montserrat and the Brothers of the Common Life, form a unique book, inspired by a remarkable fixity of purpose and designed for a clearly defined and practical end: the moulding of character by the precepts of the Gospel. Its asceticism is not one of resignation and withdrawal, but full of a positive recognition of active life. It is this characteristic in particular which made the book such a powerful influence when it became (with the Constitutiones , on which Ignatius was still at work when he died) the handbook of the Society of Jesus, which is devoted to educational, missionary and other active works. St Ignatius introduced many innovations when founding the Society of the Jesuit Order; the abandonment of such traditional forms of worship as chanting the divine office, a monarchical rather than collegiate constitution, and much simpler vows. These elements, together with the spiritual power of the Exercises , gave the Order its militant character and enabled it to exercise its great influence on the world. As a work of religious inspiration the impact of the Exercises has been almost as great outside the Society of Jesus as within' (PMM). Octavo (155 x 107mm). Without final blank P4 (title supplied from another copy and with a few repairs, C6-8, I7-8 and O5 with some pale staining and associated repairs in outer margins, pale marginal stain in quire L, first and last leaves lig