This paper presents meditative emblem books as a segment of Catholic book production in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth of the seventeenth and eighteenth century. Like Protestant catechisms, these emblem books were intended to propagate a certain kind of spirituality. Approximately fifty such books have been identified during this research. They were written between c.1570 and 1780; that is, from when the Symbolica vitae Christi meditatio (Symbolic meditation on the life of Christ) was designed by Tomasz Treter (first draft between 1569â1575; printed in 1612) to the publication of the last known edition of Hebdomada sancta (Holy week) by the Jesuit ÅwiÄtosÅaw Zygmunt Niwicki (1775). The books in question were published in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, with exception of two works printed in Augsburg and Naples. The first of these was a translation into German of Hebdomada sancta (see Table 16.1, no. 40, 41) by Niwicki, while the second was written by a Polish Dominican, Wojciech MargoÅski, who was active in Italy. I based my selection on the fundamental bibliography by Paulina Buchwald-Pelcowa and complemented this with my own archival findings.1 I have included illustrated rosaries because they fulfil the requirements of both meditative and emblematic literature.2
In my research, I focused on texts written primarily in Polish and Latin (by authors who identified themselves as Poles or Lithuanians) and on the circulation of these texts in print. Therefore, I have excluded publications from Silesia and Pomerania. My research has yielded over twenty hand-crafted books with pasted or sewn-in engravings and handwritten prayers or meditations, all created in cloisters in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. This handiwork practice confirms the recognition of the relationship between meditation and emblems by contemporary audiences.
I excluded manuscripts from my analysis, with two notable exceptions (Table 16.1, no. 1 and 30) because they were drafts of future publications. The first, a sketch of Symbolica vitae Christi meditatio by Treter, marks the first known attempt towards meditative (and religious in general) emblems in Polish literature. The collection awaited publication until 1612, but it began to take shape in 1569, just six years after the publication of the first ever religious emblem book by Georgette de Montenay. Treterâs collection contains seventy-eight sketched emblems (both icons and subscriptions), from which fifty-one were published in 1612.3 The second manuscript is a collection of nude emblems (without icons) praising Mary by the Carmelite, Sebastianus a Matre Dei (StanisÅaw Rulcz). The manuscript was accepted for publication by the Prior General of the Carmelite Order, Domenico della Trinità , on 19 May 1662, but for unknown reasons it never reached the press.4
As many as seventy-two percent of the publications analysed were composed by Catholic clerics, of which almost forty percent were Jesuits. The Dominicans were the next most highly represented religious order, with four authors (Walerian Litwanides, Wojciech MargoÅski, Hiacynkt Sierakowski, anonymous author of Sposób mówienia psaÅterzyka) and nineteen editions of illustrated rosaries (36 percent of all listed editions). The following orders had one or two representatives each: Carmelites (Sebastianus a Matre Dei), Paulites (Ambroży Nieszporkowic, Augustyn Bentkowicz as translator), Benedictines (Bonifacio Pfaffenzeller as translator.) Only two editions of emblematic meditations by Jan Gerhard can be classified as Protestant works. Their author and Aaron Bliwernica (minister to the Polish-speaking community in ToruÅ), their translator, were both Lutherans. Thus, Lutheran writings constituted only four percent of all listed editions.5 Most of the handcrafted books of the meditative emblems mentioned above were authored by Catholics, which demonstrates their dominance over these kind of writings in Poland.6
Significantly, lay priests (Tomasz Treter, PaweÅ Mirowski, StanisÅaw Grochowski) and noblemen (MikoÅaj Krzysztof Chalecki, Aleksander Teodor Lacki, Adrian Wieszczycki, Jan KoÅciesza Å»aba) were among the authors and writers of this type of literature, indicating the popularity of the genre among the laity. This was certainly related to devotional practices, popularised mainly by Jesuits and Dominicans among the nobility, and the socio-political dimension of patronage, which engaged elites in religious life through foundations, the erection of court chapels, financial support for religious orders, participation in religious confraternities and pilgrimages.7
The involvement of the Dominicans in promoting religious emblems needs to be commented on. This study emphasises the role of the Jesuits and, more broadly, the popularisation of post-Tridentine piety among the laity. The St Dominic order, for example, was linked with a pre-Reformation devotion that centred around Mary. Monastic rosary confraternities were established in Poland in the fifteenth century, and from 1629 each convent was expected to conduct public rosary devotions (in the beginning three times a week, then on daily basis). These reforms increased the demand for publications that facilitated the recitation of the rosary. As such, meditative books became part of a broader trend of the Catholic Reformation that aimed to internalise Catholic orthodoxy.8
Descriptions of emblemata sacra as a genre or any recommendations on how to create such descriptions are absent from the compendia of rhetoric from the era. Only a brief remark can be found in Lâart des emblèmes (1662) by Claude-François Ménestrier, who distinguished the group of emblemata sacra within emblematics. He pointed to Pia desideria by Hermann Hugo, a Flemish Jesuit and poet, and to âseventeen emblems of the heartâ (i.e. Cor Iesu Amanti Sacrum by Hieronymus Wierix) as examples of this phenomenon. The French theoretician stated that âthe entire Mystical Life is agreeably represented in these emblemsâ.9 Therefore, it is impossible to apply to emblemata sacra the genetic theory usually implemented in literary studies, and any mechanisms or common features must be deduced form the works themselves or from their prefaces. It is clear, however, that not all religious emblem collections were arranged according to meditative structure, nor were they characterised by meditative content. For example, although there exists a large group of emblematic pseudo-biographies of saints, their purpose was commemorative and laudatory rather than devotional.10
In this chapter, I examine religious emblems that consist of a graphic component and a meditation in verse or prose in the subscription (prosaic subscriptions were more common). More precise criteria for the genre are impossible to establish because they would have to be disregarded too often. Even though many non-illustrated meditations were surely written as commentaries on existing emblems, they are not easy to identify; as such, they will serve only as context in this chapter.11 Some exceptions have been included in the list of meditative emblems (see Table 16.1), such as collections lacking a graphic element (emblemata nuda). These cases are: translations and adaptations of Herman Hugoâs Pia desideria by Aleksander Teodor Lacki, StanisÅaw Skibicki and Jan KoÅciesza Å»aba (no. 37, 49, 50) and of Jan Davidâs Paradisus sponsi et sponsae by StanisÅaw Grochowski (no. 2 and 6); works that were explicitly called emblems but were published without engravings for financial reasons; and works that had engravings in at least one edition (e.g. no. 37â39, 42, 50â51).
Apart from the presence of a graphic element, the key to selection was the meditative purpose and structure of the emblem books. In this study, I regard meditation as a devotional practice often supported by texts (also called meditations) that engaged the imagination, emotions, reason and will to enhance the spiritual development of the meditans. Such texts were formative, and artistic principles were not crucial in their production (e.g. redundancy in both content and stylistic elements helped readers to focus on the topic and memorise it). Therefore, early modern meditation itself cannot be defined and analysed as a literary genre, but rather as a method of prayer or thinking directed at moving epistemic powers to refashion the inner-self.12 The most influential in combining emblematic and meditative traditions was the Ignatian method of meditation.
The meditative purpose of the works analysed in this paper was frequently indicated by the authors themselves, who gave their subscriptions titles such as âreflexionsâ (refleksyje), âpious considerationsâ (piae cogitationes) or, more often, described the books as collections of âmeditationsâ (rozmyÅlania).13 In some instances, a textâs meditative purpose was only discovered during its analysis, thanks to the presence of fragments regarding compositio loci, which was typical for Ignatian meditation, or fragments devoted to the stimulation of the readerâs epistemic powers to examine their conscience or follow the virtuous role models depicted in the engravings.
The most popular theme of meditative emblem books in Europe was the love between the Soul and Amor Divinus (sometimes depicted as Christ himself) and cordial emblems.14 Polish-Lithuanian emblem production often exhibited the strong influence of Marian devotion. For example, the works of MikoÅaj Krzysztof Chalecki (analysed below) and Sebastianus a Matre Dei (Table 16.1, no. 27, 30, 41) are collections of meditative emblems dedicated to the Virgin Mary, which focus on the symbolic interpretations of Marian symbols. Rosary emblems propagated by the Dominicans form a separate but associated group. The Passion and other Christological themes are also present in a large number of emblem collections (HiÅcza, 19â20, 23; Mirowski, 30; Niwicki, 39â41, 44, 52â53). The works of HiÅcza, who based his ChwaÅa z Krzyża (Glory of the cross) on the Regia via crucis by Benedictus van Haeften, exhibits a special interest in the symbol of the cross (i.e. inspirations are evident in emblematic icons made by an anonymous Polish engraver). Finally, examples of parenetic literature that fit into the speculum genres were also present (Karol Sawicki recommended meditating on the life of Aloysius Gonzaga, table 16.1, no. 45â56).
During the Reformation, prayer books became a subject of controversy and a tool of confessional warfare.15 While humanistic emblematic literature was considered non-confessional, in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth meditative emblems sought to convey confessional content and teach confessional orthodoxy.16 This is not surprising given that the first religious emblem book, Emblèmes ou devises chrestiennes (1567) by Georgette de Montenay, marked the beginning of the exploitation of the genre for religious propaganda. Both de Montenay (as the author of the subscriptions) and Pierre Woieriot (the engraver) used emblems to allude to Lyonâs political and religious situation in the 1560s and 1570s, when the Reformation established itself in France after the Colloque de Poissy of 1561. Biblical quotations and supra-confessional symbols and motives gained a confessional dimension (e.g. a building depicted by Woeiriot in Emblem 43, Multi sunt vocati, has been identified as the old Paradise Temple of Lyon where Protestants gathered between 1564 and 1567).17
I focus on illustrated meditative books for two reasons: their persuasive potential and, in consequence, their role as a tool of religious formation. The end of the sixteenth century and the religious crisis associated with the Reformation greatly popularised meditation, reflecting processes of individualisation and internalisation.18 This context is indispensable for understanding meditative emblems as books for religious formation that propagated the monastic practice of meditation among laypeople.
1 Meditative Emblems as Tools of Formation
The Society of Jesus famously used emblems both as artistic and persuasive means of communication. This started with the success of Jerónimo Nadalâs Adnotationes et meditationes in Evangelia (1595). While initially meant for the youngest students of Jesuit colleges, it quickly became a bestseller and began to be used during extracontinental missions to help overcome language barriers.19 Missionaries explained each fragment of the engraving according to Nadalâs recommendations, using his short inscriptions marked with corresponding letters. Further, the bookâs visual attractiveness encouraged readers to purchase and peruse it. The Jesuits cared greatly about the execution of illustrations in their books, employing superior artists and printers.20 The most popular meditative emblems had their engravings executed by professional engravers, such as those who collaborated with the famous Plantin-Moretus printing house, which merited the highest acclaim for its illustrations among European printing centres of the time.21 The missionary Matteo Ricci wrote in a letter from the Chinese province of Fujian that Nadalâs book âis of even greater use than the Bible, in the sense that while we are in the middle of talking we can also place right in front of their eyes things that with words alone we would not have been able to make clearâ.22
As early as the mid-sixteenth century, when the effectiveness of preaching and catechesis in rural Catholic countries or areas invaded by âhereticsâ was noticed, these regions began to be referred to as ânostra Indiaâ (our Indies) or âlas otras Indiasâ (other Indies). In his Rhetorica cristiana (1579), Diego de Valades advised that recommendations arising from the Indian experience should be used by all preachers. In the late sixteenth century, it was decided that several missions should be established in all Jesuit provinces. Moreover, in 1647, it was established that each province must have its own prefect, not only the non-European ones. The goal of the mission set by the Jesuit General Claudio Acquaviva was to fight ignorance in theological matters, which was also spreading in Europe.23 This way, engravings and engraved books, which had proven so successful in teaching on transcontinental assignments, became an important persuasive missionary tool also in European and Christian states.
Because Jesuits ran most schools in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, their students were trained to create emblems and were well-acquainted with their purposes.24 This educational type of emblem was celebratory: the students were expected to laud their patrons and sponsors and commemorate a bishopâs ordination. The Jesuit MikoÅaj Mieleszko, the first translator of Herman Hugoâs emblematic collection Pia desideria into Polish, attributed the success of the publication to the addition of emblems. He believed that thinking in images was highly effective: âWhat satisfies the eye enters the mind more swiftlyâ.25 A similar belief was expressed by Fabian Birkowski (1566â1636), a preacher on the court of King WÅadysÅaw IV of Poland, in his famous sermon O ÅwiÄtych obrazach, jako majÄ byÄ szanowane (On holy images and how they should be respected):
When a simpleton sees the story of Christâs birth or an image of another mystery of salvation, it acts as both his teacher and his book; and the lively representation will teach and move him more than the preacherâs words.26
Now popular in Catholic circles, emblematic works broke down confessional barriers and also reached Protestant artists and readers across Europe. The emblems by Francis Quarles, for example, who drew from Herman Hugoâs works (Pia desideria and Typus mundi), followed the tradition of Protestant meditation formulated by Joseph Hall (Arte of divine meditation, 1606).27 According to Calvinist philosopher Théodore de Bèze, emblems are desirable when they illustrate pious things worth meditation.28
The publishing boom for meditative emblems may also have influenced the rising popularity of meditation among laypeople. In the case of Jesuit meditation, faith in the power of images transcended the didacticism of Biblia pauperum and the like, entering the domain of psychology and epistemology. Philosophical treatises employed the metaphor of fine arts to explain human epistemological mechanism. When writing about cognition and the mental images generated during meditation, Spanish Jesuit philosopher and reviver of scholastics Francisco Suárez used a metaphor of painting: the soul learns of things in imaginations, and then through spiritual power, taking the imagination as an exemplar, reproduces or literally âdepictsâ (depingit) the thing in the intellect.29 Thus, meditans, like the painter, should paint the meditated scene in their soul with all possible details. Vivid, sensory literary imagery was intended to move the intellect, the memory and, ultimately, the affects and the will.
According to European devotion, enargeia was an instrument for evoking the inner reality (accessible only to the interior sight) and the epistemic principle of internal, religious practices. A telling example of connecting the imagination with the process of painting can be found in eighteenth-century handwritten meditations dedicated to a âfemale meditansâ (Dla rekoletki), who was advised to âsee through imagination the Lucifer much scarier and uglier than the one [she] saw in paintingsâ.30 What is distinctive about Ignatius Loyolaâs method is that compositio loci and applicatio sensuum were designed to move all five traditionally recognised senses simultaneously. The first principle, which preceded every meditation, focused on sight. Using memory and imagination, the meditans was to create in his or her mind the scenery of the meditated situation or concept. The second principle referred to all human cognitive powers (quinque imaginarios sensus) to create the illusion of physical participation in the contemplated events.31
From its beginnings, meditation was intended as an individual practice that could be conducted outside the church, thus it became an ideal tool for purposeful spiritual direction.32 In the second half of the sixteenth century, it became an inter-denominational personal piety practice, with both Catholics and Protestants pursuing it.33 Still, the Jesuits popularised it among laypeople as a reaction to a religious crisis.
As argued by Louis L. Martz, seventeenth-century meditation was very close to mystical contemplation, in which the contemplative would feel that he or she knew God and could receive messages from the transcendental world. At the same time, it was more practical and accessible than the mystical experience because it was a method (that is, it could be trained) of a deliberate, âdiligent and forcible application of the understanding, to seeke, and knoweâ with the aim to exercise virtue and avoid sin in daily life.34 However, the mystical potential of meditative images worried some Protestants because they were not subject to supervision.35 âImaginative meditationâ also turned out to be problematic for the Jesuits; they began to face accusations of being alumbrados who were popularising mystical illumination with the spread of the meditative formula.36 For example, Piotr Skarga (1536â1612), a member of the first generation of Jesuits and a leading representative of Catholic Reformation in Poland, believed that the faithful only needed oral prayer, and that in terms of ascetic practices, only the purgative way (via purgativa) was available to them. His writings for laypeople did not include recommendations on meditation or any mentions of direct contact or unity with God (via illuminativa or via unitiva, respectively). Rather, Skarga focused on preaching about the communal prayer.37
The situation changed in the second half of the sixteenth century.38 This shift is reflected by authors who specifically defined their intended readers in their forewords or in the titles of their meditations and piety handbooks. Examples include Åatwy sposób rozmyÅlania dla panów (An easy way of meditating for noblemen) by Jesuit MikoÅaj ÅÄczycki, and Akademia pobożnoÅci z przydatkiem nie tylko zakonnym osobom do doskonaÅoÅci potrzebna (The academy of piety which is needed for perfection not only by monastic persons) by influential Polish Dominican reformer, MikoÅaj MoÅcicki (1559â1632).39 Nevertheless, concerns about the possibility of the faithful going beyond dogma were valid. This factor likely contributed to the fact that the Jesuits increasingly included in their books a theoretical framework to guide the meditation process, as well as engravings that provided the reader with ready-made imagery to keep his or her imagination in check.40
Illustrated meditations attempted to explain dogmatics and teach meditative life and the specificity of Jesuit piety to a broader audience.41 Such inclusive references to the public can be found in the book subtitles and forewords to meditative emblems:
It is not only the duty of monastic people, but also all Christians to spread the glory of dear God; (Anonymous, 1636)42
not only spiritual people, but all the estates of Christâs tireless realm may find broad, holy and salvific lessons here. Anyone can safely ⦠open it even thrice daily. (PaweÅ Mirowski, 1656)43
While collections in Latin were more often addressed to men (due to womenâs limited opportunities to learn Latin), collections written in Polish were often intended for female readers. For example, Niwickiâs 1692 Latin edition of Hebdomada sancta was dedicated to Wojciech Konstantyn Breza, but the Polish version from the same year was devoted to his wife, Teresa Konstancja of Bnin neé OpaliÅska (1645â1703). Another vernacular version (1758) was also dedicated to a noblewoman, Helena OgiÅska (1700â1790). Womenâs ownership of such literature is indicated by inventories, manuscript provenances and dedications.44 Interestingly, vernacularisation impacted both the language used and the topics explored in these texts directed at female readers. The authors referred to their female readersâ maternal love for their children, reminding them that they could empathise with Mary and to imagine what a mother watching her own child die would have felt. They even included feminine gender forms. In Prawdziwe zwierciadÅo niewinnoÅci (The true mirror of innocence), for example, the Jesuit theologian Karol Sawicki criticised people who looked in the mirror instead of looking to and imitating the actions of virtuous people (by reading parenetic literature such as specula). According to Sawicki, they looked in the mirror to feed their own vanity:
Scrutiny falls on those male [spektatorów] and female spectators [spektatorki] and their eyes and pupils who sit all day in front of a mirror to such an extent that it is doubtful where one would find them: in the room or in the mirror?45
Some authors mentioned the gender of the audience even in the prefaces, encouraging women to read the book. For example, the preface of the Polish version of Allegoriae by Chalecki reads: âintended for pious men and female circles ⦠insatiable with the love of Godâ.46 Out of the forty-nine books examined in the present study, as many as eight contain a dedication to a woman protector, which constitutes over a half of all writings dedicated to laypeople (manuscripts not included).47 Furthermore, educational literature was also ordered by women. For example, the greatest protector of Polish Baroque religious emblems was King Jan III Sobieskiâs sister, Katarzyna RadziwiÅÅ (née Sobieska), who ordered the creation of as many as five meditative emblem collections.48
2 Confessional Disputes
The first Polish-Lithuanian meditative emblem book was Symbolica vitae Christi meditatio by Tomasz Treter (Treterus, 1547â1610), who studied with the Jesuits and was a secretary to a key Catholic reformer, Cardinal Stanislas Hosius (1504â1579). Treterâs role, as well as the time and place of the bookâs creation (immediately after the Council of Trent and several years after Hosius introduced the Jesuits to Poland), likely shaped the controversial and confessional nature of the collection. Direct statements against Protestants and ecclesiological assertions on the necessity of belonging to the Catholic Church can be found within it: âTo be at peace with God means to refrain from sin and agree in all that pertains to faith and religion with the Catholic Church, which is the mystical body of Jesus Christ himselfâ.49 The church is described according to distinctive adjectives in line with the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed as the âone, holy, catholic churchâ. The word âhereticâ in turn appears twenty-nine times in total (including one instance of âheresiarchâ), and the word âheresyâ appears five times. Luther is mentioned four times as âthe antichrist of Eislebenâ and âmonster, not manâ; Calvin is described two times as âthe antichrist of Genevaâ; and Zwingli is once called âthe antichrist of Zurichâ.
The collection comprises 103 emblems arranged into pairs (at the end, there is an additional emblem: a call to the reader to imitate the virtues of Jesus shown in the collection). The emblematic icons of the first emblem in each pair depict a scene from Jesusâ life, while the icons of the second emblem in the pair transfer the biblical episode into symbolic language and, following the mechanism of imitatio Christi, draw moral lessons out of Christâs actions. This creates a list of 51 virtues and behaviours which âevery Christian should fulfilâ. The emblem Conscientae securitas (Security of conscience) is a call to fighting for good conscience, persisting in belief and shunning âcastaways from faithâ, which echoes the First Letter of Paul to Timothy (Tim 1:18â19):
we see and lament that it happened to many heretics in our century who ⦠through their greed are paving a wide road for their conscience from faith to infidelity; they have been transported from Christ born in Bethlehem to [an antichrist] from Eisleben or Geneva, or Zurich, or finally any other antichrist whose word they worship instead of Godâs and the holy Gospel.50
Tomasz Treter, Symbolica vitae Christi meditatio (Braniewo: Georg Schönfels, 1612), p. 139. Krakow, Biblioteka JagielloÅska, 35699 I
The list alludes to Luther, Calvin and Zwingli. After condemning the covetousness of âantichristsâ who strayed into infidelity, Treter encourages his readers to hide âin that confined chamberâ depicted in the emblematic icon, âfull of the fear of God and love for Himâ, to self-examine in the internal âtabernacle of the mindâ (to which the subject of meditation wants to be transformed: âlet me become the jar in which Aaron placed the Mannaâ) and atone with tears and repentance if necessary.51
Another emblem, Oboedientia (Obedience), was again addressed to the collective of the faithful and promoted obedience to two superior authorities: priests and lay rulers. Treter thought this to be a guarantee of social order. When people rebelled against any of these powers, âchaos worse than in Babylonâ ensues and Protestants are to be blamed for it:
On these lands where we hear that [the order] was changed and reversed, where political authority has impudently appropriated what belongs to priests, there is greater disarray than in Babylon; there is no one who would see it and not lament it. This fruit of foolishness seems to be born by those who preferred to follow the impure teachings of Luther or Calvin instead of the Word of God and Christâs gospel.52
In the 1600s, the rhetoric of open religious battle was employed less frequently, and emblem collections were addressed to the general Christian community. The authors of such seemingly non-confessional collections referred to Christian meditative traditions from pre-Reformation times, accentuating the personal dimension of this spiritual experience of meditation. In their forewords, they distanced themselves from âscholarly theological debatesâ.53 Texts from the movement of devotio moderna proved especially helpful in that task. A telling example of such a manoeuvre is PaweÅ Mirowskiâs 1656 MÅotek duchowny (The spiritual hammer), which is in fact a loose translation of Thomas à Kempisâ Imitatio Christi, with complex emblematic icons added.54 As far back as the fifteenth century, Thomas à Kempisâ work served as a devotional text intended for laypeople and during the Reformation it continued to be valued and recommended by all denominations. Later, Mirowski simplified the terminology in the work, supplemented it with quotations from the Church Fathers and, most importantly, made the collection more attractive by embellishing it with emblematic engravings. In his foreword to the reader, Mirowski purports to be a pious simpleton who prefers docta ignorantia over scientific disputes: âRather than showing off with your reason, pretend to be ignorantâ.55 According to him, avoiding âphilosophal [sic] disputesâ is an expression of humility and stands in line with Jesusâ premise from Matthew 11:25 (âthou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them to the little onesâ). Mirowski glorifies the God-fearing âhumble peasantâ over âa puffed-up bladder of a philosopher who, forgetting himself, idles in the heavenly spheresâ.56 These recommendations appear as broader notions in much emblematic literature, such as Altum sapere periculosum (It is dangerous to be high-minded) by Anton van Schoonhoven, Flemish jurist and philologist. Van Schoonhoven openly attacked theological debates in his emblem, which represented hybris and inappropriate curiosity with the figures of Phaethon and Icarus, respectively. Predestination, free will and primal sin are discussed as the effects of interlocutors having too much time; van Schoonhoven suggests that the interlocutors should develop their faith rather than gain dubious knowledge.57
Tomasz Treter, Symbolica vitae Christi meditatio (Braniewo: Georg Schönfels, 1612), p. 69. Krakow, Biblioteka JagielloÅska, 35699 I
To avoid the confessional dimension (and its associated disputes), Mirowski wrote that Thomas à Kempisâ book was a message from God himself to all Christians. In truth, Mirowski himself was highly qualified for theological disputes as a Doctor of Theology at the University of Krakow and a one-time student of the University of Padua.58
It should be emphasised that the book Imitatio Christi itself became the subject of confessional battles, which was reflected in the emergence of varying editorial traditions. Depending on the editorâs denomination, the arrangement of the content would change: the fourth book, on the sacrament of Communion, would be included or omitted according to the denomination in question.59 The fourth book contained the most of Mirowskiâs additions, starting with the text and ending with the illustration. He also added a statement to Thomas à Kempisâ text (included both in the motto and the subscription to the emblem) that a mass is a heavenly feast attended by the angels and God himself. Mirowski completed the chapter with an engraving of the Paschal candle as the symbol of Christ: a light that burns out and dies while showing people the way (1 Cor. 6:17). He also added an image of the Arch of the Covenant as a predecessor of the altar alongside a high priestâs hat, an incense boat and a thurible. To the left, the Archangel Gabriel holds a trial over a dog and a pig; according to the Gospel of Matthew (7:6), these symbolise those who cannot recognise holiness. Thus, besides establishing the holiness of the Catholic Eucharist, Mirowski implies that the dog and pig symbolise heretics.60
PaweÅ Mirowski, MÅotek duchowny w sercach ludzkich tor Chrystusów drelujÄ cy (GdaÅsk: Friedrich David Rhete, 1656), f. T1r. Warsaw, Biblioteka Uniwersytecka, Sd.712.788
Another example of the legacy of confessional disputes came from the pen of a Lithuanian nobleman, MikoÅaj Krzysztof Chalecki (1589â1653). Interestingly, he was only a second-generation Catholic, as his father Dymitr Chalecki (1550â1598) converted from Orthodox Christianity to Catholicism. In his Binarius Chalecianus sive duo manipuli liliorum (Chaleckiâs binarius or two bundles of lilies, 1641), Chalecki aimed to pay homage to the Virgin Mary and present an auspicious eschatological perspective to the reader.61 He organised twenty-four emblems around a floral theme of the lily and divided the book into two parts (twelve emblems each): âLily in the abyss of Godâ (Lilium in abysso Dei) and âLily in the sunlightâ (Lilium in aprico). The guide explaining the meaning of the symbols was Amor Divinus. Chaleckiâs praises of the Virgin Mary resembled the order of the Litany of Loreto. It is worth mentioning that to imitate the Italian Loreto, which he visited during his studies abroad, Chalecki built a Chapel of the Holiest Virgin Mary and a chapel of the Holy Cross in Valkininkai (Lithuania). What is more, research has demonstrated a structural and lexical relationship between Binarius and the Orthodox Christian hymn Akathist to Holy Mary, sung at the icon of Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn in Vilnius in the mid-1600s (and used by Unitarians, Orthodox Christians and Roman Catholics).62 The hymn inextricably links Christology and Mariology. The Lithuanian noblemanâs work can be counted as the legacy of a series of responses by Catholics to Protestantsâ denials of Maryâs holiness from the most tense periods of confessional disputes. Among the most important treatises in this domain are Peter Canisiusâs De Maria, Virgine incomparabili et Dei Genitrice sacrosancta (1577), in which he established the main themes of post-Tridentine Mariology and codified ways of expressing veneration for Mary, as well as Francisco Suárezâs twenty-three disputations on the mysteries of the life of Christ, De mysteriis vitae Christi (1592).63 As proven by Ona DaukÅ¡ienÄ even here, in a mystical work of emblematic meditations, one can identify the echoes of the confessional conflict. Binarius discussed the mysteries of God and assumed that they exceeded the human capabilities of understanding. The Lithuanian noble explained this at the start, referring to Thomas Aquinasâ hymn Pange lingua, which expresses reverent wonder over the Eucharist and contains the phrase sola fides. Chalecki talked about a paralysing astonishment towards the mystery of incarnation: âUnder the weight of the mystery, the senses are weakened, the mind is darkened, understanding dies, the school of angels falls silent; faith alone [sola fides] sufficesâ.64 This demonstrates that the argument of sola fide, a key component of the Reformed doctrine, was ironically twisted by Chalecki to the benefit of the Catholic cause by referencing the authority of Thomas Aquinas and applicating it in a contemplative mental prayer.
3 Teaching Meditation by Training Eyes
Apart from these manifest examples of consolidating post-Tridentine piety and echoes of the confessional disputes between Catholics and Protestants, one can observe certain techniques of creating meditational and mystical reader experiences. Forewords to meditative emblems reveal particular care for the audienceâs reading conditions. For example, the lack of leisure time among laypeople was taken into account. Writers responded by trying to encapsulate messages in fewer words. The author of Sposób mówienia psaÅterzyka Panny Maryjej justified the short descriptions of his emblematic rosary by saying that âhard-working peopleâ would have to skip parts of the book, saying that âsome hard-working people not only cannot read everything that others have written, but they even have to omit smaller things due to home occupationsâ.65 Therefore, it is better to condense the content accompanying the engravings âbecause the duty to spread the glory of good God belongs not only to monastic people, but also [all] Christiansâ.66 In the first half of the seventeenth century, Polish-language rosary prayers supplemented with emblems proved extremely popular, as they were connected to rosary brotherhoods active in Poland.67 At the same time, the Catholic clergy began accepting other forms of piety outside mass, including more individualist ones.68 Most publications came from the circle of the Krakow Dominican convent. One Dominican, Hieronim Sierakowski, recommended his emblematic book with rosary meditations to his readers by stressing that it is a key form of piety in the Catholic Church, second only to mass.69 Another author of rosaries and a commentator, Walerian Litwanides (1574â1635, Table 16.1, no. 15â16, 48), allowed for the presence of engravings during personal meditation and included a sample cycle in his handbook on rosaries.70
The educative aims of Jesuits to teach meditation to laypeople led to the publication of Polish-language meditation collections. The best examples are works by Marcin HiÅcza (1592â1663), a Jesuit and propagator of contemplative prayer who authored a number of ascetic books dedicated to his female noble protectors. The fact that the Jesuit order followed the rules of accomodatio (tailoring to the audience) and familiaritatis both in its writings and interactions with the faithful resulted in a wide selection of emblem books, which could be matched to oneâs social status, gender and skill.71 HiÅcza expressed such intentions explicitly in the foreword to his work: âalthough you do not know how to meditate, you can read carefully and apply it to yourself and your estate; however close or far from learning you are, you can learn by readingâ.72 The Jesuit was successful in adapting his emblems to diverse circumstances and audiences. He dedicated his PlÄsy anioÅów (Frolics with angels, 1638) to nobleman Jan DaniÅowicz and his bride Zofia of TÄczyn on the occasion of their marriage. The angelsâ joyful dance around the Christ child was inspired by wedding dances. At the same time, based on texts by the Church Fathers, it explained the cosmic order of the stars dancing around Jesus. The collection also associated the wedding with the mystery of incarnation, viewed as a marriage between humans and divine nature. This subject was especially promoted by Catholics in the face of the Protestant Reformation.
Hiacynt Sierakowski, Wieniec różany Królowej Niebieskiej NaÅwiÄtszej Bogarodzice Panny Maryjej ([PoznaÅ: Wojciech Regulus], 1644), between pp. 37â38. Warsaw, Biblioteka Narodowa, XVII.3.416
Marcin HiÅcza, PlÄsy AnioÅów Jezusowi narodzonemu, NaÅwietszÄgo Krzyża taÅce (Krakow: Franciszek Cezary, 1636[1638]), between pp. 142â143. Warsaw, Biblioteka Uniwerystecka, Sd 4g.2.2.31
Each emblem of PlÄsy is composed of an icon (a counterpart of the applicatio sensuum stage in Ignatian meditation), an ekphrasis of the image which serves as the motto, and an elaborate meditative subscription consisting of questions and answers. The reader starts by reading the soulâs soliloquy and is led by spiritual guides through the stages of atonement and reformatio. The questions performatise the process of looking for and identifying meaning in the emblematic icons. Questions are followed by numbered answers given by a spiritual guide, angels or, towards the end of the work, Jesus himself. Although the numbers are not present in the engraving, this resembles Jerónimo Nadalâs, Jan Davidâs and Antoine Sucquetâs method to mark parts of the engraving with letters and elaborate on them with corresponding meditation points. HiÅcza explains all of this in the instructions at the beginning of his work, which encourage the reader to move around the structure of the book freely to avoid the boredom caused by linear reading. Rather than learning in order, the reader can peruse the book as they please:
In order that you do not become discouraged by the length, and that you can more easily understand how things are tied to spiritual lessons, I have given you numbers which will show you how each question relates to an answer in every frolic.73
The functionality of HiÅczaâs incredibly reader-friendly and strongly didactic system resembles the arrangement of catechisms. However, it is characterised by a greater persuasive strength because the reader-viewer (lector-inspector) is immersed in an engraving each time, needing to guess its meaning. This engages both the senses and reasoning abilities. The parallel points of questions and answers mimic the structure of logical reasoning, specifically the enthymeme. The renaissance tradition of using the paradox referring to the Christ child was broadly discussed by the Jesuit theologian Jacob Masen in his Ars nova argutiarum (The new art of wit, 1649). The enthymematic logical structure consisted of omitting one premise (out of the two that form classical logic reasoning) and proceeding directly from the antecedent (protasis) to the consequent (epitasis) as the conclusion rather than the second premise.74 Dogmas are explained through inventive concepts adapted for the Polish noble reader, as required by the Jesuit principle of acculturation.75
At the same time, the book functions as an extraordinary epistemic machine: the paradox resulting from various interpretations of the emblematic icon surprises the reader with the conclusion, which improves understanding and memorisation. For example, in one engraving, angels hold arma Christi while dancing around the Christ child. HiÅcza draws parallels between the whipping cane and a cane sugar lollipop, as well as a toy horse for the child. Elsewhere, he addresses his female readers and highlights the role of the mother in detailed descriptions of childcare (such as swaddling or breastfeeding), only to later confront them with scenes of the crucifixion. These juxtapositions were intended to provoke strong emotions. Affect was also engaged by a first-person narrative, imperative exclamations directed at the reader (e.g. ânoticeâ, âlookâ, âsee in your heartâ), sensual descriptions according to the principles of enargeia or apostrophes to the characters depicted in the icons (as if they were present alongside the reader). The sensually and emotionally affected reader would find relief and a theological explanation once he or she turned several pages to search for an ekphrasis with a corresponding number to clarify the meaning of the image. Further, Marcin HiÅcza promoted a type of sensual-affective prayer suitable for those already in the stage of spiritual growth (via illuminativa).76 He also constructed comparisons and metaphors according to the method of acculturation, which was particular to the Jesuits and followed the recommendation of familiaritas given to extracontinental missionaries.77
Apart from such performative techniques, Polish emblem books also included direct epistemological commentary. Here, I will use the example of a lay author who both expressed himself through meditative and ascetic literary work and explained its philosophical and theological basis. MikoÅaj Krzysztof Chalecki, voivode of Nowogródek, studied with the Jesuits in Vilnus and completed his education on eloquentia sacra. He then wrote two collections of emblematic meditations: Allegoriae (published in Polish and Latin in 1618) and the mentioned Binarius (1641). According to one elegy, he died holding Binarius in his left hand and a rosary in his right.78
MikoÅaj Krzysztof Chalecki, Allegoriae albo Kwiecia módÅ gorÄ cych wynalezione dla unurzenia dusze w Bogu (Vilnius: Leon Mamonicz, 1618), f. B3v. Vilnius, Vilniaus universiteto biblioteka, III 15155
In his first oeuvre Allegoriae, Chalecki often prioritised the sense of sight, which was common for religious emblem books, and followed Gregory the Greatâs famous formula âper visibilia invisibilia demonstramusâ:
Allegoriae is the name given to these books. It signifies that in the similitudes of many things hidden from the senses, knowledge is clearly shown through an intelligible medium, and the uncovered mysteries of the meditations of God are exposed to every oneâs view.79
By using âsimilaritiesâ to things that could be perceived by the senses, Chalecki taught the reader about mysteries by stimulating their sense of sight, which was assumed to be the most powerful. In the Latin edition of Allegoriae, the Vilnius Academy professor and propagator of the Catholic Reformation Laurentius Boyer (1561â1619), hiding under an anagram pseudonym, rendered the main objective of the book in Greek as âa dialogue between God and Loveâ, with Chaleckiâs verses and âsoul-captivating imagesâ.80 In the Latin version, Chalecki explained in detail why he used engravings to first stimulate physical eyesight as the strongest of the senses and then to cleanse internal sight:
Therefore, the balm for the eyes (
á¼Î³ÎºÎ¬Î¸Î±ÏÏÎ¹Ï ) is the purest internal cleansing towards elevation and the only medicine for the soul whose eyes can see well, meaning that they can identify any debris in the eye or any enemy of the spirit.81
Thanks to the âbalmâ, the soul was supposed to recognise âany enemyâ. This followed the Ignatian objective of meditation, namely the distinction between good and bad spirits. Chalecki stimulated his readerâs sense of sight to activate the internal sight: the eyes of the soul. Emblematic icons were therefore intended to correspond with mental images during meditation. This was compared to the process of painting in that the meditans should paint in their hearts. Jesuit writer Marcin Laterna, the author of the prayerbook Harfa duchowna (The spiritual harp), explained that âinsatiable gluttony will not grip you so easily if you piously paint an image of the naked Jesus in your heartâ.82
According to such mystics as St Bonaventure, the perfection of sight was strictly connected with spiritual development. One should start by contemplating the created world as a mirror of God. In Polish meditative emblems, one can see such exercises in deciphering the invisibilia through the visibilia. In HiÅczaâs ChwaÅa z krzyża (Glory of the cross), thirty-three meditations with emblematic icons compare such objects as a school board, a throne, weapons, a shield, a chest, a tree, keys and a lute to the holy cross. The Marian emblems in the Binarius, meanwhile, focus on the Marian symbols of lilies. To reach a union with God, exercises should be followed in pure contemplation. MikoÅaj MoÅcicki, a Dominican who encouraged laypeople to practise spiritual exercises, described contemplation as the final stage of spiritual perfection: the moment when a person does not search with his or her mind anymore, but immediately watches and sees that it is a âfree visionâ.83
Chaleckiâs collections concluded with the unification of the soul with God, which adhered to the ages-old mystical traditions of unio mystica or contemplative mental prayer, during which the meditans acquires the ability to gaze continuously at God and the intellect and reposes with complacency.84 Such a conclusion was also present in Polish translations of Pia desideria that fulfilled the model of triplicia via and in works by Marcin HiÅcza, StanisÅaw Skibicki and ÅwiÄtosÅaw Zygmunt Niwicki. The latter authorâs Hebdomada sancta (first edition: 1692) was written in the first-person singular and focused on an intimate and emotional relationship with Christ. Each meditation began with the repentance of the heart (contritio cordis), followed by a phase of union with Christ (unio cum Christo) and thanksgiving (gratiarum actio), gratitude (gratitudo), supplication (supplicatio) and, finally, an act of love and sorrow (actus amoris et doloris). Marcin HiÅczaâs PlÄsy describe a direct conversation with Christ to provide a spiritual model for the reader and encourage them to pursue imitatio Christi.
Clearly, in addition to imitatio Christi piety, Polish-Lithuanian collections of emblematic meditations promoted the idea of spousal love popularised in European literature by Herman Hugoâs Pia desideria. However, they also developed this theme in an original way. Seventeenth-century meditative emblem collections in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth accepted such meditative or even mystical forms of piety and encouraged their readers to pursue them. This was evidenced not only by borrowings from foreign literature (e.g. translations by Aleksander Teodor Lacki and Jan KoÅciesza Å»aba that maintained Herman Hugoâs three-stage journey towards God from atonement [via purgativa] through illumination [via illuminativa] to unity with God [via unitiva]) but also by the very layout of meditations by local authors, ending with the soulâs (the readerâs porte parole) direct contact with God.85
4 Conclusion
The relatively large number of illustrated meditative works printed in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth between the late sixteenth and the mid- seventeenth century, as well as the existence of multiple editions, testify to the popularity of the meditation and emblem amalgamate phenomenon. These books were not only intended for the clergy but also for laypeople. Despite their apparent non-confessional character, the collections sometimes contained controversial topics that were significant in a time of confessional divisions during the Reformation period. Tomasz Treter chastised âhereticsâ; PaweÅ Mirowski added an emblematic icon that symbolised Catholic mass to his adaptation of Thomas à Kempisâ Imitatio Christi; Krzysztof Chalecki intertextually alluded to the Protestant doctrine sola fide by using it for his mystical meditation. References to pre-Reformation Christian texts (by authors such as Aquinas or Thomas à Kempis, and to ascetic writings from the devotio moderna movement) were significant. They suggested that devotional works were to be treated as tools of religious propaganda, which was consistent with the expanded idea of mission work by the Jesuits, who were the main proponents of the genre.
Authors strove to make their emblem books as attractive as they could by providing illustrations and adapting the form and content of the meditations for lay readers. Furthermore, the booksâ prefaces often demonstrated acculturative methods and a tendency to popularise piety among noblemen and women. These principles manifested themselves in frequent decisions to publish in Polish, as well as changes in language (e.g. feminine grammatical forms for female readers) and imagery (e.g. spousal or parental love towards Christ or the baby Jesus). Most notably in the seventeenth century, writers used such literature to give laypeople access to meditative (e.g. rosary prayers, Marcin HiÅczaâs works) and even mystical experiences characteristic of contemplation (Niwicki, Chalecki). The literatureâs formative function was also visible in how it addressed readers, who were repeatedly encouraged to look at the accompanying engravings or examine oneâs conscience and think about how to improve. In addition, the prefaces and main bodies of the books contained numerous instructions and tips on how to perform meditative prayer correctly.
The topics addressed in these emblematic meditations published within the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth were not limited to the theme of love between the soul and Amor Divinus, which was made famous with the success of Herman Hugoâs Pia desideria. Rather, the most frequent themes were rosaries, Marian praises and meditations on the life of Jesus, as well as ordinary objects to be analysed as concealing the knowledge of God. Although the Jesuits surely initiated and popularised fusing emblems and meditations, Polish-Lithuanian book production shows that the Dominicans and laity were also active co-creators of this amalgamate literature.
To complete their view of the broader phenomenon of Polish meditative emblem books, researchers should now turn to documents intended for strictly personal use. These include meditative manuscripts with glued-in engravings, which are currently stored in monastery libraries and the archives of noble families.
Meditative emblem collections published in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (ca. 1569â1775)
Acknowledgements
Research is funded by National Science Centre (NCN), Poland, within the project Polish Meditative Emblems in the 16th Through 18th Century: Sources, Realizations, and Aims (Preludium, no. 2018/31/N/HS2/01187).
Paulina Buchwald-Pelcowa, Emblematy w drukach polskich i Polski dotyczÄ cych XVIâXVIII wieku. Bibliografia (WrocÅaw: Ossolineum, 1981).
On the emblematic nature of these rosaries see Anna Paulina PawÅowska, âEmblematycznoÅÄ w polskich drukach różaÅcowych w pierwszej poÅowie XVII wiekuâ, Terminus, 14 (2012), pp. 137â156. The several editions of anonymous work Ogród różany, abo opisanie porzÄ dne dwu szczepow wonney Różej Hierychuntskiey and Sposób mówienia psaÅterzyka Panny Maryjej abo różanki by Walerian Litwanides, OP (or Litwinkowic, wrongly: Adrianowicz, Andrzejowicz, 1574â1635) (absent in Buchwald-Pelcowaâs bibliography), see Table 16.1.
About the first draft of Symbolica vitae Christi meditatio held now in Biblioteca Civica Angelo Mai in Bergamo (Italy) see Alicja Bielak, âNowo odnaleziony autograf Tomasza Tretera. Notatnik z projektem ksiÄgi emblematówâ, Terminus, 3 (2021), pp. 259â307.
See Edward Ozorowski, âSebastian od Matki Bożej (Sebastianus a Matre Dei) (XVII w.) karmelita bosyâ, in Hieronim Wyczawski (ed.), SÅownik polskich teologów katolickich (vol. 1â4, Warsaw: Akademia Teologii Katolickiej, 1983); Valentino Macca, âLâimmacolata e la congregazione dâItalia dei Carmeliti Scalziâ, Ephemerides Carmeliticae, 7.1 (1956), pp. 46â50; W. Pawlak, âFirmamentum symbolicum Sebastiana od Matki Bożejâ, in idem, Respublica litteraria pisarzy nowoÅaciÅskich XVIâXVII wieku. Studia i szkice, Lublin 2022, p. 211â260.
Johannes Gerhard, RozmyÅlania nabożne, transl. Aaron Bliwernica (ToruÅ: Christian Bek, 1682), USTC 1793021. A year later, another edition came out, considered by Paulina Buchwald-Pelcowa to be the same as the previous one, but with a changed title page: See Buchwald-Pelcowa, Emblematy w drukach polskich, p. 90. On the use of emblems in Protestant books with meditations: See Peter C. Erb, âEmblems in Some German Protestant Books of Meditation. Implications for the Index Emblematicusâ, in Peter M. Daly (ed.), The European Emblem. Towards an Index Emblematicus (Waterloo, Ontario: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 1980); Karel Porteman, âCatâs concept of the emblem and the role of occasional meditationâ, in Emblematica, 6 (1992), pp. 70â82.
Some of them had been already edited. See RadosÅaw GrzeÅkowiak etc. (eds.), KarmelitaÅskie adaptacje Pia Desideria Hermana Hugona z XVII i XVIII w. (Warsaw: Neriton, 2021); RadosÅaw GrzeÅkowiak, Jakub Niedźwiedź (eds.), MikoÅaj Mieleszko, Emblemata (Warsaw: Neriton, 2010).
Alina Nowicka-Jeżowa, âPokolenia trydenckie miÄdzy tradycjÄ a wyzwaniami przyszÅoÅciâ, in Justyna DÄ bkowska-Kujko (ed.), Formowanie kultury katolickiej w dobie potrydenckiej. PowszechnoÅÄ i narodowoÅÄ katolicyzmu polskiego (Warsaw: Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego, 2016), pp. 21â102.
Piotr Stolarski, Friars on the Frontier. Catholic Renewal and the Dominican Order in Southeastern Poland, 1594â1648 (Farnham: Ashgate, 2010), pp. 137â169.
Claude-François Menestrier, Lâart des emblèmes (Leon: Benoist Coral, 1662), USTC 6156746, ff. C1vâC2r. Translation after: Ralph Dekoninck etc., âCatalogue of the Exhibitionâ, in Emblemata Sacra. Emblem Books from Maurits Sabbe Library Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Philadelphia: Saint Joseph Press, 2006), p. 41 (more on the sacred emblems see Ibid. 14â50). In the titles of emblematic collections and in the prefaces to them, the term emblema sacra began to appear, such as: Andrew Willetâs Sacrorum emblematum centuria una (Cambridge: John Legate, 1592), USTC 512287; Daniel Cramerâs Emblemata sacra (Frankfurt: Sumptibus Lucae Jennisi, 1622), USTC 2110481; and Guillelmus Hesiusâ, Emblemata sacra de fide, spe, charitate (Antwerp: Balthasar Moretus, 1636), USTC 1003217.
Eg. Jan Sebastian Piskorski, Flores vitae b[eatae] Salomeae (Krakow: Typis Universitatis, 1691), USTC 1793022; Paulo Zetel, Philosophia sacra, sive vita divi Stanislai Kostka, Soc. Jesu, positionibus moralibus et philosophicis illustrata (Dilingen: Joannes Mauritius Korner, 1715). In both cases mentioned, each illustration depicting an episode from a saintâs life also includes an hieroglyphical symbol that comments on the scene. Mario Praz pointed it out as an error that the illustrated lives of saints are labelled as emblematic collections in many catalogues when in fact they are not, e.g. Vita Beati Patris Ignatii Loiolae Societatis Jesu fundatoris (Rome: s.n., 1610), USTC 1506737. At the same time, he noted that in some cases this type of classification was motivated by the title of the work, e.g. S. Francisci Vitae et miraculorum epitome emblematis et carmine expressa (Antwerp: Ioannes Galleus, 1632); Emblêmes sacrés sur la vie, et miracles de Sainct François. Expliquez en vers françois (Paris: Jean Messager, 1637); or Idea vitae teresianae iconibus symbolicis expressa (Antwerp: s.n., s.a.), USTC 17930343, by Hubert a S. Joanne Babtista. See Mario Praz, Studies in Seventeenth-Century Imagery (Rome: Edizioni di Storia e Letteratura, 2007), p. 326.
In Table 16.1, I have included translations of emblem collections (no. 45, 46), works that are explicitly called emblems but which do not have engravings for financial reasons (no. 48) and works that had engravings in former editions (no. 35â37, 40, 48â49).
Louis L. Martz, The Poetry of Meditation (New HavenâLondon: Yale University Press, 1962), pp. 13â15; Marc Fumaroli, Lâécole du silence. Le sentiment des images au XVIIe siècle (Paris: Flammarion, 1988); Pierre Hadot, The Inner Citadel. The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2001).
See Karol Piotr Sawicki, Prawdziwe zwierciadÅo niewinnoÅci (Krakow: Jakub Matyaszkiewicz, 1725), pp. 3, 11, 19, 27, 35; Ambroży Nieszporkowic, Officina emblematum quae praecipuos Virgis [et] Matris dei Mariae titulos [et] elogia complectuntur (Krakow: Jerzy & MikoÅaj Schedel, 1680), USTC 1793023, f. )(2r.; for example the preface in Sposób mówienia psaÅterzyka Panny Maryjej abo różanki ostatni raz dostateczniej opisany i poprawiony (Krakow: Marcin Horteryn, 1617), USTC 258252, f. A1v: âUmyÅliÅem ⦠sposób uczynku zacnego, a iż tak rzekÄ, chrzeÅcijaÅskiego mówienia wianka różanego Matki Syna Bożego Panny Maryi z rozmyÅlaniem tajemnic i z niektórymi modlitwami króciuchno wydaÄâ (âI have decided to publish ⦠a method for a good deed, so to speak, the Christian performance of the Rose Wreath of the Mother of the Son of God, Our Lady Mary, with meditation on the mysteries and certain prayers in briefâ).
Dekoninck etc., Catalogue of the Exhibition, pp. 41â54.
Maximilian von Habsburg, Catholic and Protestant Translations of the Imitatio Christi, 1425â1650. From Late Medieval Classic to Early Modern Bestseller (Farnham: Ashgate, 2011), pp. 145â148; Scott H. Hendrix, Early Protestant Spirituality (New York: Paulist Press, 2009), p. 201; Kao Chaoluan, Reformation of Prayerbooks. The Humanist Transformation of Early Modern Piety in Germany and England (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2018), pp. 50â55.
Arnoud Visser, âEscaping the Reformation in the Republic of Letters. Confessional Silence in Latin Emblem Booksâ in Church History and Religious Culture, 88.2 (2008), pp. 139â167.
Alison Adams, Webs of Allusion. French Protestant Emblem Books of the Sixteenth Century (Geneva: Droz, 2003), pp. 9â118; Pascal Joudrier, Un âmiroirâ calviniste les emblèmes, ou devises chrestiennes de Georgette de Montenay et Pierre Woeiriot 1567/1571 (Geneva: Droz, 2021), pp. 54â80.
Klára Erdei, âMéditation et culpabilasation. Une spiritualité du péchéâ, in Méditation en prose à la Renaissance (Paris: Presses de lâÃcole normale supérieure, 1990), pp. 19â27.
See Nicolas Standaert, âIgnatian Visual Meditation in Seventeenth-Century Chinaâ, in Halvor Eifring (ed.), Meditation and Culture. The Interplay of Practice and Context (London: Bloomsbury, 2015), pp. 24â26.
Dirk Imhof, âAn Authorâs Wishes Versus a Publisherâs Possibilities. The Illustration of Thomas Saillyâs Prayer Books Printed by the Plantin Press in Antwerp c.1600â, in Feike Dietz etc. (eds.), Illustrated Religious Texts in the North of Europe, 1500â1800 (Aldershot: Routledge, 2014), pp. 205â220.
Among the engravers involved with the Plantiniana and collaborating with the Jesuits, one should mention: Boëtius à Bolswert, Théodore Galle, Marten de Vos, Jan and Hieronymus Wierix. See Karen L. Bowen, Dirk Imhof, âReputation and Wage. The Case of Engravers Who Worked for the Plantin-Moretus Pressâ, Simiolus, 30.3/4 (2003), pp. 161â195.
Standaert, Ignatian Visual Meditation, pp. 24â26 (fn. 8).
See Adriano Prosperi, ââOtras Indiasâ: Missionari della controriforma tra contadini e selvaggiâ, in Scienze, credenze occulte, livelli di cultura (Firenze: L.S. Olschki Editore), pp. 205â234; idem, âThe Missionaryâ, in Rosario Villari (ed.), Baroque Personae (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1995), pp. 178â181.
Barbara Milewska-WaźbiÅska, âThe Literary Heritage of Jesuits of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealthâ, Journal of Jesuit Studies, 5 (2018), pp. 421â440.
Mieleszko, Emblemata, p. 76: âPrÄdzej bowiem do rozumu wchodzi, czego siÄ i samo oko do woli napatrzyâ. The text remained in manuscript until the 2010s.
Fabian Birkowski, âO ÅwiÄtych obrazach, jako majÄ byÄ szanowane kazanieâ, in idem, GÅos krwie b. Jozafata Kunczewica ⦠kazania czworo (Krakow: Andrzej Piotrkowczyk, 1629), USTC 258416, p. 72: âBo gdy prostaczek obaczy historyjÄ Narodzenia PaÅskiego abo innej tajemnice odkupienia malowanie, to stoi mu za doktora i za ksiÄgÄ i ta reprezentacyja żywa wiÄcej go drugdy uczy i wzrusza aniż sÅowa kaznodziejskieâ. After: PawÅowska, âEmblematycznoÅÄ w polskich drukach różaÅcowychâ, p. 154.
Höltgen, Emblem and Meditation, p. 58.
Théodore Beze, Icones, id est verae imagines virorum doctrina simul et pietate illustrium (Geneva: Johannes Laon, 1580), USTC 450822, f. *3r. William E. Engel, âMnemonic Emblems and the Humanist Discourse of Knowledgeâ, in Peter Daly etc. (eds.), Aspects of Renaissance and Baroque Symbol Theory, 1500â1700 (New York: AMS Press, 1999), pp. 128â129. About Protestant emblem books, see Adams, Webs of Allusion; Julie Barr, âI Am the Light of the World. Light as a Motif in Protestant and French Emblemsâ, in Ralph Dekoninck etc. (eds.), Emblemata sacra. Rhétorique et herméneutique du discours sacré dans la littérature en images (Turnhout: Brepols, 2007), pp. 465â481; Huston Diehl, âGraven Images. Protestant Emblem Books in Englandâ, Renaissance Quarterly, 39 (1986), pp. 49â64; Sabine Mödersheim, âDomini doctrina coronatâ. Die geistliche Emblematik Daniel Cramers (1568â1637) (Bern: Peter Lang, 1994); Dietmar Peil, Zur »angewandten Emblematik« in protestantischen Erbauungsbüchern. Dilherr â Arndt â Francisci â Scriver (Heidelberg: Carl Winter Universitatsverlag, 1978).
Francisco Suárez, Commentaria una cum quaestionibus in libros Aristotelis âDe animaâ, 3, [d. 8âd. 14], ed. Salvador Castellote, transl. C. Baciero, L. Baciero (Madrid: 1991), p. 96.
Biblioteka Diecezjalna w Sandomierzu A 189, [Rekolekcje], [Sandomierz? 18th century], pp. 110â111 (punctum 1): âObacz przez imaginacyjÄ Lucypera, daleko bardziej, niżeÅ go kiedy malowanego widziaÅa, brzydszego i straszniejszego, ogniami w oczach, piorunami w uszach paÅajÄ cego â¦â.
Anna KapuÅciÅska, âTheatrum meditationis. Ignacjanizm i jezuityzm w duchowej i literackiej kulturze I Rzeczpospolitej â źródÅa, inspiracje, ideeâ, in Nowicka-Jeżowa (ed.), Drogi duchowe katolicyzmu, pp. 138â143. About Jesuit image theory in the context of epistemology, see especially Walter S. Melion, The Meditative Art. Studies in the Northern Devotional Print, 1550â1625 (Philadelphia: Saint Josephâs University Press, 2010); and Ralph Dekoninck, âAd imaginemâ. Statuts, fonctions et usages de lâimage dans la littérature spirituelle jésuite du XVIIe siècle (Geneva: Droz, 2005); Agnès Guiderdoni, âMeditative Images and the Psychology of Soulâ, in R. Falkenburg etc. (eds.), Image and Imagination of the Religious Self in Late Medieval and Early Modern Europe (Turnhout: Brepols Press, 2008), pp. 1â36.
Ronald K. Rittgers, The Reformation of Suffering. Pastoral Theology and Lay Piety in Late Medieval and Early Modern Germany (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012).
Klára Erdei, Auf dem Wege zu sich selbst: die Meditation im 16. Jahrhundert. Eine Funktionsanalytische Gattungsbeschreibung (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1990), pp. 1â64.
Vincenzo Bruno, An Abridgment of Meditations of the Life, Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, transl. Richard Gibbons (St. Omer: s.n., 1614), USTC 3006328, quote after: Martz, The Poetry of Meditation, p. 14; see also pp. 16â20.
David Freedberg, The Power of Images. Studies In The History And Theory Of Response (Chicago-London: The University of Chicago Press, 1989), p. 187â188; James Simpson, âThe Rule of Medieval Imaginationâ, in Jeremy Dimmick etc. (eds.), Images, Idolatry, and Iconoclasm. Textuality and the Visual Image (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002), p. 11.
Wietse de Boer, âThe Early Jesuits and the Catholic Debate about Sacred Imagesâ, in Wietse de Boer etc. (eds.), Jesuit Image Theory (Leiden: Brill, 2016), pp. 65â68.
Konrad Górski, Od religijnoÅci do mistyki. Zarys dziejów życia wewnÄtrznego w Polsce, vol. 1, 966â1795 (Lublin: Towarzystwo Naukowe KUL, 1962), p. 124.
Ewa Poprawa-KaczyÅska, âIgnacjaÅski âmodus meditandiâ w kulturze religijnej późnego barokuâ, in CzesÅaw Hernas etc. (eds.), ReligijnoÅÄ literatury polskiego baroku (Lublin: Towarzystwo Naukowe Katolickiego Uniwersytetu Lubelskiego, 1995), p. 68.
MikoÅaj ÅÄczycki, Åatwy sposób rozmyÅlania dla panów, zebrany z ksiÄ zek wielebnego ksiÄdza MikoÅaja Lancicego SJ (Lublin: Drukarnia Societatis Iesu, 1751); MikoÅaj MoÅcicki, Akademia pobożnoÅci z przydatkiem nie tylko zakonnym osobom do doskonaÅoÅci potrzebna (Krakow: Walerian PiÄ tkowski, 1628), USTC 258380.
Ralph Dekoninck, âJesuit Emblematics between Theory and Practiceâ, in Jesuit Historiography Online, http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2468-7723_jho_COM_192540 (first published online: 2016, access: 5 January 2022); Joseph de Guibert, The Jesuits, their Spiritual Doctrine and Practice. A Historical Study, transl. William J. Young (St Louis, Missouri: The Institute of Jesuit Studies, 1986), pp. 298â299, 304â305.
Jeffrey Chipps Smith, Sensuous Worship. Jesuits and the Art of the Early Catholic Reformation in Germany (Princeton-Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2002), pp. 23â7, 40â52.
Sposób mówienia psaÅterzyka, p. A1v: âGdyż nie tylko ludzi zakonnych, ale i chrzeÅcijaÅskich powinnoÅÄ ta jest, aby oni chwaÅÄ miÅego Boga krzewiliâ.
PaweÅ Mirowski, MÅotek duchowny w sercach ludzkich tor Chrystusów drelujÄ cy (GdaÅsk: Friedrich David Rhete, 1656), USTC 1793035, f. [ ]2râv: âMajÄ tu nie tylko duchowni, ale i wszytkie stany pracowitego toru Chrystusowego doÅÄ szerokÄ , ÅwiÄ tobliwÄ a zbawiennÄ naukÄ â¦ Może tej beÅpiecznie kożdy ⦠i po trzykroÄ na dzieÅ otwieraÄâ.
StanisÅaw Siess-Krzyszkowski etc. (eds.), Katalog ksiÄgozbioru Konstancji Sapieżyny (1697â1756), https://www.estreicher.uj.edu.pl/inne/sapiezyna.
Sawicki, Prawdziwe zwierciadÅo, f. A2r: â⦠cenzura pada na tych spektatorów i spektatorki, na oczy i źrzenice, co caÅe dni prawie w zwierciedle przesiedzÄ , tak że wÄ tpliwoÅÄ byÄ może, gdzie ich szukaÄ? Czy w pokoju, czy w zwierciedle?â.
MikoÅaj Krzysztof Chalecki, Allegoriae albo kwiecia modÅ gorÄ cych wynalezione dla unurzenia dusze w Bogu (Vilnius: Leon Mamonicz, 1618), USTC 250434, f. A2r: âpÅci nabożnej mÄzskiej i niewieÅciej gromadzieâ.
A lot of editions do not have any dedications, for example all anonymous editions (10) of rosaries entitled Sposób mówienia psaÅterzyka ⦠(Table 16.1, no. 2â6, 9â11, 14â15, 22).
RadosÅaw GrzeÅkowiak, Jakub Niedźwiedź, âIntroductionâ, in Mieleszko, Emblematy, pp. 62â64.
Tomasz Treter, Symbolica vitae Christi meditatio (Braniewo: Georg Schönfels, 1612), USTC 2055155, p. 185: âPacem cum Deo habere est a peccatis abstinere et in omnibus his quae ad fidem religionemque pertinent cum Ecclesia Catholica, quae corpus ipsius est mysticum, consentire et concordareâ.
Ibid., p. [71, wrongly: 67]: ânostro seculo multis haereticis evenisse videmus et ingemiscimus, qui dum a concupiscentia sua abstracti et illecti, largam, conscientiis suis viam sternunt a fide ad perfidiam, a Christo in Bethleem nato, ad Islebiensem, vel Genevensem, vel Tygurinum, vel quemcunque; tandem alium Antichristum, cuius verborum pro Dei verbo et Sancto Evangelio colunt â¦.â
Ibid., p. 47: âUtinam vas illud, in quo manna Aaron recondidit, ego efficiarâ. See also ibid., p. [71, wrongly: 67]â.
Treter, Symbolica vitae Christi meditatio, p. 140: âCaeterum in quibus eum terris commutatum et inversum audimus, dum politicus Magistratus ea quae sacerdotum propria sunt sibi ausu temerario vendicat, in iis plus quam Babylonicam rerum omnium esse confusionem, nullus est qui non videat et ingemiscat. Hunc fructum amentiae suae refere videntur illi, qui pro verbo Dei Christique Evangelio, impurum Lutherii vel Calvini dogma sequi maluerunt â¦.â
See Jakub Wujek, O naÅladowaniu Pana Chrystusa i o wzgardzie wszelakiej prożnoÅci Åwiata tego (Krakow: Jakub Siebeneicher, 1586), USTC 242595, f. +2r: âNo one quarrels or debates about faith here, but faithful Christians are guided to better their lives and consistently practice their Christian virtuesâ.
Agnieszka Pabian, Symbolika rycin ilustrujÄ cych. âMÅotek duchowny w sercach ludzkich tor Chrystusowi drelujÄ cyâ, wydany w GdaÅsku w 1656 r., Warsaw: Faculty of Historical and Social Sciences at Cardinal Stefan WyszyÅski University in Warsaw (unpublished M.A. thesis), 2016; Alicja Bielak, âThe âSpiritual Hammerâ (1656) as an emblematic translation of the âImitatio Christiâ by Thomas à Kempisâ, Central European Cultures, 1.2 (2021), pp. 29â58.
Mirowski, MÅotek duchowny, f. [ ]7r: âNie wyjeżdżaj przed swaty rozumem, ale raczej pisz siÄ nieukiemâ.
Ibid., f. [ ]6v: âWolÄ zaprawdÄ pokornego chÅopka przy bojaźni Bożej niż nadÄty pÄcherz filozofski, który samego siebie zapomniawszy, po niebieskich siÄ obrotach waÅkuniâ.
Visser, Escaping the Reformation, pp. 150â152.
Paulus Mirovius, Quaestio theologica, de processione Spiritus p. ex prima parte angelici Doctoris ad disputandum publice proposita (Krakow: Franciszek Cezary, 1634), USTC 256638. See Bielak, âThe âSpiritual Hammerââ, pp. 29â58.
von Habsburg, Catholic and Protestant Translations, pp. 178â183.
Pabian, Symbolika rycin ilustrujÄ cych. âMÅotek duchowny w sercach ludzkich tor Chrystusowi drelujÄ cyâ, pp. 15â17.
Jolita LiÅ¡keviÄienÄ, âReliginÄ vaizduotÄ didiko Mikalojaus Kristupo Chaleckio kÅ«rybojeâ, in Jolita LiÅ¡keviÄienÄ (ed.), Mikalojaus Kristupo Chaleckio Embleminių Meditacijų Knygos. Alegorijos (1618) ir Dvinaris (1642) (Vilnius: Vilniaus dailÄs akademijos leidykla, 2020), 27 (for more biographical information see ibidem: pp. 19â31).
Ona DilytÄ-ÄiurinskienÄ, âChaleckio Dvinario slÄpiniai. Suasmenintas potridentinÄs mariologijos manifestasâ, in Jolita LiÅ¡keviÄienÄ (ed.), Mikalojaus Kristupo Chaleckio Embleminių Meditacijų Knygos: Alegorijos (1618) ir Dvinaris (1642) (Vilnius: Vilniaus dailÄs akademijos leidykla, 2020), pp. 529â531.
Ona DaukÅ¡ienÄ, âSola fides sufficit. Poleminiai elementai Chaleckio Dvinaryje (Binarius Chalecianus, 1642)â, Senoji Lietuvos literatÅ«ra 4 (2018), p. 115; Ona DilytÄ-ÄiurinskienÄ, âChaleckio Dvinario slÄpiniai Suasmenintas potridentinÄs mariologijos manifestasâ, pp. 543â551.
MikoÅaj Krzysztof Chalecki, Binarius Chalecianus sive duo manipuli liliorum (Vilnius: Officina Typographica Patrum Basilianorum, 1642), USTC 250788, f. A1v: âA pondere mysterii sensus hebescit, ratio tenebrescit, intellectus emoritur, angelorum schola mutescit; sola fides sufficitâ (see DaukÅ¡ienÄ, âSola fides sufficitâ, pp. 121â123).
Sposób mówienia psaÅterzyka, f. A1v: âpracowite niektóre ludzie, którzy nie tylko żeby mieli tak wiele jako od drugich napisano jest czytaÄ, ale snadź i co mniejszego przez zabawy domowe opuszczaÄ muszÄ â.
Ibid.: âGdyż nie tylko ludzi zakonnych, ale i chrzeÅcijaÅskich powinnoÅÄ ta jest, aby oni chwaÅÄ miÅego Boga krzewiliâ.
On emblem rosaries cf. PawÅowska, âEmblematycznoÅÄ w polskich drukach różaÅcowychâ, pp. 137â156.
See JÄdrzej Kitowicz, Opis obyczajów za panowania Augusta III (Warsaw: PIW, 1985), pp. 33â35. Rosary meditations became most popular in seventeenth century in Polish- Lithuanian Commonwealth (see Table 16.1, no. 4â5, 7â9, 12â18, 21â22, 25â26, 48).
Sierakowski, Wieniec różany, f. B1râv. In many situations, prayer handbooks replaced the preacher as proven explicitly in the title of a work by a Jesuit, Tomasz MÅodzianowski (1622â1686): RozmyÅlania albo lekcyja duchowna miasto kazania na wszystkie ÅwiÄta uroczystsze [Meditations or Spiritual Lessons Instead of Sermons for All Greater Holidays] (PoznaÅ: Collegium Societatis Iesu, 1699), USTC 1777921.
Walerian Litwanides, Ogród różany abo Opisanie porzÄ dne dwu szczepów wonnej Różej Hierychuntskiey to jest o dwu ÅwiÄtych różaÅcach dwojga bractw Blogosla[wionej] Panny Maryjey i NaÅwiÄt[szego] Imienia P[ana] Iezusowego (Krakow: Franciszek Cezary, 1627), USTC 258374, pp. 30â45.
Schloesser, Accommodation, pp. 347â372.
Marcin HiÅcza, DzieciÄ Pan Jezus, to jest Nabożne rozmyÅlania o dzieciÅstwie Pana Jezusowym (Lublin: PaweÅ Konrad, 1631), USTC 258501, p. 7. For a broader description of HiÅczaâs emblem works see Alicja Bielak (ed.), PlÄsy AnioÅów Jezusowi narodzonemu, naÅwiÄtszego Krzyża taÅce by Marcin HiÅcza (Warsaw: IBL PAN, 2019).
HiÅcza, PlÄsy anioÅów, p. 68: âDÅugoÅÄ Å¼eby ciÄ w czytaniu nie odrażaÅa i żebyÅ Åacniej mógÅ zrozumieÄ, jako siÄ rzeczy i nauki duchowne powiÄ zaÅy, przydaÅem ci liczbÄ, któraÄ pokaże, jako siÄ pytanie z odpowiedziÄ wiÄ Å¼e w każdym PlÄsieâ.
This mechanism was described in detail in Alicja Bielak, ââTeach Me, Reveal the Secret to My Heartâ. The Role of a Spiritual Guide in the Meditative Works of Marcin HiÅczaâ, in Ralph Dekoninck etc. (eds.), Quid Est Secretum? Visual Representation of Secrets in Early Modern Europe, 1500â1700 (Leiden: Brill, 2020), pp. 191â228. See similar mechanism in Silvestro Pietrasantaâs emblems described by Walter S. Melion, âAnalogies known and unknown in Silvestro Pietrasanta, S.J.âs âDe symbolis heroïcisâ, Emblematica, 3 (2019), pp. 55â114.
About acculturation in the Polish translations of Pia desideria, see RadosÅaw GrzeÅkowiak, âZwyczajem kawalerów ziemskich postÄpuje z niÄ Oblubieniec. Pierwotna dedykacja Pobożnych pragnieÅ Aleksandra Teodora Lackiego jako autorski projekt lektury emblematów Hermana Hugonaâ, PamiÄtnik Literacki, 106.1 (2015), pp. 199â227.
Guibert, The Jesuits, pp. 605â606.
KapuÅciÅska, Theatrum meditationis, p. 206.
MikoÅaj Krzysztof Chalecki, Kompendium retoryczne, eds. JarosÅaw Nowaszczuk etc., transl. JarosÅaw Nowaszczuk (Szczecin: Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu SzczeciÅskiego, 2011), pp. 9â12.
Chalecki, Allegoriae, ff. A2vâA3r: âAllegoriae nazwisko tym ksiÄ Å¼k[om] dane. To jest w podobieÅstwach siÅu rzeczy od zmysÅów utajonych przez Årzodek pojÄty nauka podana wyraźna i na widok kożdego myÅli o Bogu z tajemnic wyrwanych zabawa wystawionaâ.
MikoÅaj Krzysztof Chalecki, Allegoriae, f. A5r; see Jolita LiÅ¡keviÄienÄ, âReliginÄ vaizduotÄ didiko Mikalojaus Kristupo Chaleckio kÅ«rybojeâ, 44.
Chalecki, Allegoriae, f. A2r: âQuare elevationis purissima
Marcin Laterna, Harfa duchowna, to jest dziesiÄÄ rozdziaÅów modlitw katolickich (Krakow: A. Piotrkowczyk, 1604), p. 333: âNie chwyci siÄ ciebie tak Åatwie i Åakomstwo nienasycone, kiedy nagiego Jezusa w sercu twym nabożnie sobie wymalujeszâ.
MikoÅaj z MoÅcisk, Elementarzyk Äwiczenia duchownego (CzÄstochowa: Paulini, 1722), p. 271; Jerzy Misiurek, Historia i teologia polskiej duchowoÅci katolickiej (Lublin: Redakcja Wydawnictw KUL, 1994) I. 70â71; Stolarski, Friars on the Frontier, pp. 50â51.
Guibert, The Jesuits, p. 606.
See titlepage of the Jan KoÅciesza Å»aba, Pobożne Å¼Ä dania (Vilnius: Drukarnia Akademicka Soc. Iesu, 1754): âJÄczenia duszy pokutujÄ cejâ (The moanings of a penitent soul) = Gemitus Animae poenitentis, âÅ»Ä dze duszy ÅwiÄtejâ (The desires of the holy soul) = Vota Animae sanctae, and âWzdychania duszy kochajÄ cejâ (The sighs of the loving soul) = Suspiria Animae amantis. See GrzeÅkowiak, âZwyczajem kawalerów ziemskich postÄpuje z niÄ Oblubieniecâ, pp. 203â204. On the popularity of the metaphorical three-stage path to God in emblematics, see Praz, Studies in Seventeenth-Century Imagery, pp. 82â168.