Jesuit Astrology: Prognostication and Science in Early Modern Culture (Time, Astronomy, and Calendars: Texts and Studies, 13)

The first time I came across the astrological manuscripts of the Jesuit College of Santo Antão was around 2002. By then Helena Avelar, my late partner, and I were surveying Portuguese astrological materials. Of the documents we came across, one was the tables and collection of horoscopes that later for the basis of Helena's PhD. The others were two astrological treatises authored by Jesuits: the lessons on Judiciary Astrology by Simon Fallon, and the Treatise on Astrology by Luís Gonzaga, which we found very informative on the state of early modern Portuguese astrology. Although at the time we studied them briefly, other projects took precedence and for more than a decade they remained in our shelf. In 2016, after I finished my MA studies, Professor Henrique Leitão suggested a detailed study of these documents, I accepted the challenge, and the outcome was the doctoral thesis, on which this book is based.During this research, I had the assistance of many people, without whom this work would have been less complete. To all I would like to extend my gratitude.I want to thank first of all my two supervisors for they guidance. Professor Henrique Leitão, who gave the impulse, and to whom I'm grateful for his continuous encouragement to complete this research and publish this book. Professor Charles Burnett, who kindly shared his expertise and to whom I thank the support and valuable advice throughout this research.I would like to also acknowledge the help of the guardians of the studied sources, Lígia Martins and the staff at the Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal, as well as the head of the Ajuda Library, Cristina Pinto Basto and librarian Fátima Gomes.I must also thank my colleagues at the University of Lisbon. Samuel Guesser and Juan Acevedo whose assistance with some source texts was most valuable; as well as Francisco Malta Romeiras, Luís Tirapicos, Thomas Horst, Ana Duarte Rodrigues, and my colleagues of the ERC Rutter project. My gratitude to Professor Haohao Zhu for providing some of the Chinese materials, to Patricia Konings for a copy of her unpublished research, to Jeffery Kotyk for his valuable assistance in decoding the Chinese materials, to José Maria Madrid for sharing his data on the Oropesa manuscript, and to Judith Acevedo for her help with the index. Also, I am thankful for the enlightening discussions with Dorian Greenbaum, Martin Gansten, David Juste, H Darrel Rutkin, and Günther Oestmann. A very special appreciation to Sue Ward whose friendship and assistance during the making of this book, were invaluable, and to my dear Luís Campos Ribeiro -978-90-04-54897-8 xii Acknowledgements friends Eunice Mateus and Manuela Xavier for all their support. To my father and brother. Contents Acknowledgements Figures Tables Abbreviations Transcription and Citation Notes Astrological Symbols Introduction Part 1 Astrology in the Early Modern Era Introduction to Part 1 Chapter 1 Early Modern Astrology: An Overview 1 The Practice of Astrology 2 A Changing Knowledge 3 Astrology in Print 4 Pico’s Critique Chapter 2 The Church and Astrology 1 A Clash of Doctrines 2 An Art Divided 3 The Regulation of Astrology Chapter 3 The Mathematization of Astrology Chapter 4 The Marginalization of Astrology 1 Astrology as Science 2 A Changed Knowledge Part 2 Jesuits and Astrology Introduction to Part 2 Chapter 5 Jesuits against Astrology 1 Benito Pereira (1590) 2 Martín Del Rio (1599–1600) 3 Alessandro De Angelis (1615) 4 The Bibliotheca Selecta (1593) 5 Later Examples 6 The Anti-astrological Discourse Chapter 6 Jesuits Accepting Astrology 1 Francisco Suárez on Astrology 2 Further Examples 3 Standing in Ambiguity Chapter 7 Astrology in Jesuit Science 1 The Ratio Studiorum, Mathematics and Astrology 2 Clavius and Astrology 3 Astrology in Jesuit Printed Works 4 Between Print and Manuscript 5 Astrology among Jesuit Scholars Chapter 8 Astrology as Cultural Currency: Jesuits in the East 1 China: New Astrology for an Old Empire 2 Notes on Japan and India 3 European Astrology in the East Chapter 9 Brave New World: Jesuits and Astrology in the Americas 1 Different Skies, Different Influences 2 Jesuits and Astrology under Southern Skies 3 Catholic Constellations: Astrology in Religious Discourse 4 Under New Skies Part 3 Jesuits Teaching Astrology Introduction to Part 3 Chapter 10 The Aula da Esfera of Santo Antão 1 The Astrological Manuscripts and Their Authors 2 Other Astrological Texts 3 The Students of the Aula da Esfera 4 Astrology at the Aula da Esfera: A Timeline 5 The Example of the Aula da Esfera Chapter 11 Teaching Astrology 1 A Jesuit Astrological Programme? 2 Defending Astrology 3 The Astrological Syllabus 4 Gonzaga’s Baroque Astrology 5 A Jesuit Astrology? Part 4 Jesuit Astrologers Introduction to Part 4 Chapter 12 Practicing Astrology 1 Judgements on Comets 2 An Astrological Report to the Court 3 The Calendar of Trnava 4 Nativities 5 Other Applications 6 The Practice in Perspective Final Thoughts Appendix 1 Bull Coeli et Terrae Appendix 2 Teachers of the Aula da Esfera Appendix 3 Jesuit Astrological Manuscripts Appendix 4 Documents Bibliography General Index Index of Manuscripts frontcover.pdf Acknowledgements Figures Tables Abbreviations Transcription and Citation Notes Astrological Symbols Introduction Part 1 Astrology in the Early Modern Era Introduction to Part 1 Early Modern Astrology: An Overview 1 The Practice of Astrology 2 A Changing Knowledge 3 Astrology in Print 4 Pico’s Critique The Church and Astrology 1 A Clash of Doctrines 2 An Art Divided 3 The Regulation of Astrology The Mathematization of Astrology The Marginalization of Astrology 1 Astrology as Science 2 A Changed Knowledge Part 2 Jesuits and Astrology Introduction to Part 2 Jesuits against Astrology 1 Benito Pereira (1590) 2 Martín Del Rio (1599–1600) 3 Alessandro De Angelis (1615) 4 The Bibliotheca Selecta (1593) 5 Later Examples 6 The Anti-astrological Discourse Jesuits Accepting Astrology 1 Francisco Suárez on Astrology 2 Further Examples 3 Standing in Ambiguity Astrology in Jesuit Science 1 The Ratio Studiorum, Mathematics and Astrology 2 Clavius and Astrology 3 Astrology in Jesuit Printed Works 4 Between Print and Manuscript 5 Astrology among Jesuit Scholars Astrology as Cultural Currency: Jesuits in the East 1 China: New Astrology for an Old Empire 2 Notes on Japan and India 3 European Astrology in the East Brave New World: Jesuits and Astrology in the Americas 1 Different Skies, Different Influences 2 Jesuits and Astrology under Southern Skies 3 Catholic Constellations: Astrology in Religious Discourse 4 Under New Skies Part 3 Jesuits Teaching Astrology Introduction to Part 3 The Aula da Esfera of Santo Antão 1 The Astrological Manuscripts and Their Authors 2 Other Astrological Texts 3 The Students of the Aula da Esfera 4 Astrology at the Aula da Esfera: A Timeline 5 The Example of the Aula da Esfera Teaching Astrology 1 A Jesuit Astrological Programme? 2 Defending Astrology 3 The Astrological Syllabus 4 Gonzaga’s Baroque Astrology 5 A Jesuit Astrology? Part 4 Jesuit Astrologers Introduction to Part 4 Practicing Astrology 1 Judgements on Comets 2 An Astrological Report to the Court 3 The Calendar of Trnava 4 Nativities 5 Other Applications 6 The Practice in Perspective Final Thoughts Bull Coeli et Terrae Acknowledgement Teachers of the Aula da Esfera 1 Teachers of the Aula da Esfera 2 Teachers with Astrological Writings or Connections to Astrology Jesuit Astrological Manuscripts 1 Tables of Contents of the Aula da Esfera Astrological Manuscripts and Other Manuscripts of Interest 2 Notes on the Authorship of the Astrological Texts on Egerton MS 2063 Documents 1 João Delgado’s Defence of Astrology 2 Introduction to Astrologia iudiçiaria by João Delgado (1607) 3 Introductory Chapters of Astrologia by Sebastião Dias 4 Introduction to Astrologia judicial by Simon Fallon (1639) 5 Introduction to Tratado da Astrologia by Luís Gonzaga 6 Final Exam Question on Astrology 7 Judgement on a Comet by Luís Gonzaga Bibliography Manuscript Sources References General Index Index of Manuscripts backcover.pdf Acknowledgements Figures Tables Abbreviations Transcription and Citation Notes Astrological Symbols Introduction Part 1 Astrology in the Early Modern Era Introduction to Part 1 Early Modern Astrology: An Overview 1 The Practice of Astrology 2 A Changing Knowledge 3 Astrology in Print 4 Pico’s Critique The Church and Astrology 1 A Clash of Doctrines 2 An Art Divided 3 The Regulation of Astrology The Mathematization of Astrology The Marginalization of Astrology 1 Astrology as Science 2 A Changed Knowledge Part 2 Jesuits and Astrology Introduction to Part 2 Jesuits against Astrology 1 Benito Pereira (1590) 2 Martín Del Rio (1599–1600) 3 Alessandro De Angelis (1615) 4 The Bibliotheca Selecta (1593) 5 Later Examples 6 The Anti-astrological Discourse Jesuits Accepting Astrology 1 Francisco Suárez on Astrology 2 Further Examples 3 Standing in Ambiguity Astrology in Jesuit Science 1 The Ratio Studiorum, Mathematics and Astrology 2 Clavius and Astrology 3 Astrology in Jesuit Printed Works 4 Between Print and Manuscript 5 Astrology among Jesuit Scholars Astrology as Cultural Currency: Jesuits in the East 1 China: New Astrology for an Old Empire 2 Notes on Japan and India 3 European Astrology in the East Brave New World: Jesuits and Astrology in the Americas 1 Different Skies, Different Influences 2 Jesuits and Astrology under Southern Skies 3 Catholic Constellations: Astrology in Religious Discourse 4 Under New Skies Part 3 Jesuits Teaching Astrology Introduction to Part 3 The Aula da Esfera of Santo Antão 1 The Astrological Manuscripts and Their Authors 2 Other Astrological Texts 3 The Students of the Aula da Esfera 4 Astrology at the Aula da Esfera: A Timeline 5 The Example of the Aula da Esfera Teaching Astrology 1 A Jesuit Astrological Programme? 2 Defending Astrology 3 The Astrological Syllabus 4 Gonzaga’s Baroque Astrology 5 A Jesuit Astrology? Part 4 Jesuit Astrologers Introduction to Part 4 Practicing Astrology 1 Judgements on Comets 2 An Astrological Report to the Court 3 The Calendar of Trnava 4 Nativities 5 Other Applications 6 The Practice in Perspective Final Thoughts Bull Coeli et Terrae Acknowledgement Teachers of the Aula da Esfera 1 Teachers of the Aula da Esfera 2 Teachers with Astrological Writings or Connections to Astrology Jesuit Astrological Manuscripts 1 Tables of Contents of the Aula da Esfera Astrological Manuscripts and Other Manuscripts of Interest 2 Notes on the Authorship of the Astrological Texts on Egerton MS 2063 Documents 1 João Delgado’s Defence of Astrology 2 Introduction to Astrologia iudiçiaria by João Delgado (1607) 3 Introductory Chapters of Astrologia by Sebastião Dias 4 Introduction to Astrologia judicial by Simon Fallon (1639) 5 Introduction to Tratado da Astrologia by Luís Gonzaga 6 Final Exam Question on Astrology 7 Judgement on a Comet by Luís Gonzaga Bibliography Manuscript Sources References General Index Index of Manuscripts Connections between the Society of Jesus and astrology used to appear as unexpected at best. Astrology was never viewed favourably by the Church, especially in early modern times, and since Jesuits were strong defenders of Catholic orthodoxy, most historians assumed that their religious fervour would be matched by an equally strong rejection of astrology. This groundbreaking and compelling study brings to light new Jesuit scientific texts revealing a much more positive, practical, and nuanced attitude. What emerges forcefully is a totally new perspective into early modern Jesuit culture, science, and education, highlighting the element that has been long overlooked: astrology.