Ancient Jesuits - Their Books

This is the ninth volume of the series that the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana and Villegas Editores began in 2009 to publicize the rich artistic and bibliographic heritage of the Society of Jesus in Colombia.It is preceded by Old Engravings from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana;Book of Books I;Book of Books II;Books of emblems, image and word in the baroque;Santiago Páramo and the chapel of San José;Natural Sciences, images of flora and fauna;Thesaurus of Greek and Latin Antiquities;and Bibles.

It would be unnecessary to insist on the importance of the contents of this issue.The ancient Jesuits that we are dealing with here, represented at the time an important not only intellectual, humanistic, pedagogical and missionary aspect of the Catholic Church, but also scientific.Without abandoning the essential postulates of the faith, the Order managed to shape and expand its actions in accordance with the Renaissance spirit.These were open-minded and rigorous thinkers, writers, researchers and readers who enriched the world.

When in 1767 the Jesuits were expelled from the New Kingdom of Granada, the colonial authorities seized their assets.. Most of the books they owned became the original core of the later National Library of Colombia, the first public library in the Americas.In Meta and Casanare alone, the inventory of works from the 18th century reaches almost three hundred volumes, several of them included and reviewed here.

The Mario Valenzuela Library, SJ treasures countless examples of his books.To illustrate this volume, both its intellectual value and the richness of its aesthetic quality have been taken into account.