Exercitia spiritvalia B[eati].P[atris].N[ostri]. Ignatii Loyolae

Dillingen: Formis Academicis apud Melchiorem Algeyer, 1620. An early and extremely rare 17th c. edition, printed two years before Ignatius’ canonization. Ignatius was beatified in 1609 and on the title he is styled “B[eatus]”. The first edition of the ‘Exercises’ was printed at Rome in 1548. Hardcover. Fine. Bound in 17th c. tanned sheep with marbled endpapers. Boards rubbed at the edges and hinges. Small stamp (Maltese cross) on the title page. 18th c. ownership inscription on rear pastedown. The text is in fine condition. Title page with woodcut Jesuit emblem. This edition was printed on the University of Dillingen press. In 1563, the Prince Bishop (truncated) of Augsburg had given charge of the university to the Jesuits, who were instructed to organize the administration of the institution and the academic program in accordance with Jesuit principles.

The text of this edition follows the “vulgate” edition established and adopted by the Jesuits in 1596. The vulgate text had been edited by a commission appointed by the Fifth General Council of the Society (Nov. 1593- Jan. 1594). The revision brought the Latin text, which was approved by Ignatius and presented to Pope Paul III in 1548, into closer agreement with the text of the Ignatian "autograph", a manuscript of the ‘Exercises’ in Spanish, with corrections in Ignatius' own hand.

The work of the committee had to be presented in the form of annotations, for Ignatius had stipulated that no changes be made to the Latin translations that he had approved. The annotations -revised language with brief comment and citations from the Autograph- are to be found in an appendix at the end of the volume, with the heading “The places that are annotated in this most recent edition, by careful comparison with the Spanish Autograph”. Each annotation is keyed to a page number and on the corresponding page, an asterisk is found next to the passage being considered.

The annotations have been printed at the end of this 1620 edition.

Prior to the appearance of the 1596 vulgate, the text used by the Jesuits was one that had been corrected (in 1576) using the two Latin manuscripts of the ‘Exercises’ approved by Ignatius. A note to that effect, reprinted from the 1576 edition, is printed before the annotations in this edition.

"The 'Spiritual Exercises' encapsulated the essence of Ignatius' own spiritual turn-around and presented it in a form meant to guide others to analogous changes of vision and motivation. Ignatius used the 'Exercises' as the primary means of motivating his first disciples and prescribed it as an experience for all who later entered the Society of Jesus. Although at no point intended exclusively for Jesuits, the 'Exercises' remain the document that told Jesuits on the most profound level what they were and what they were supposed to be. Furthermore, the 'Exercises' set the pattern and goals of all the ministries in which the Society engaged, even though it was not always explicitly recognized as doing so. There is no understanding the Jesuits without reference to that book." (John W. O'Malley, "The First Jesuits", p. 4)

I have located only 1 copy in North America (Boston College.). (Inventory #: 5107)