Ut Theologia Rhetorica: AntÃ´nio Vieira and the Rhetorical-Theological Quandaries of the 1600s

Ana LÃºcia de Oliveira

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Chapter 12 Ut Theologia Rhetorica: AntÃ´nio Vieira and the Rhetorical-Theological Quandaries of the 1600s

In: Jesuit Rhetoric across Space and Time

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Ana LÃºcia de Oliveira

Ana LÃºcia de Oliveira
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Type:: Chapter

Pages:: 272â292

DOI:: https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004744516_014

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Abstract

This work examines the appropriation of the rhetorical technique in the sermons of AntÃ´nio Vieira, S.J. (1608â97), in the face of his relation with the theological-rhetorical-political quandaries of the seventeenth century. The paper examines questions related to the Jesuitâs position in the rhetorical checkerboard of those times, including the issue of the status of ornament and its compatibility with preaching practices. The principal text for analysis is the Sexagesima Sermon, a famous sermon of Vieiraâs in which the role of rhetoric in literate Jesuit practices is specifically addressed. The proposed study revisits a heated debate in the field of ecclesiastic oratory: the problem of the degree of de-coupling of artistic procedures in relation to the divine fundament of the Word. Opposing popular cultish preachers of the time, who privileged the seduction of the listeners by emphasizing the purely ornamental effects of the discourse, Vieira advocated for more selective uses of ornament, and greater control of the imagination, to keep the rhetoric of the sermon subordinated to theological truth, thus avoiding the usage of verbal signs merely for pleasure. In short, the analysis will emphasize the theological-political tones that Christianity imprinted on the codification of classical rhetorical-poetics in the Baroque period.

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Jesuit Rhetoric across Space and Time

Local and Global Perspectives

Series:Â Jesuit Studies, Volume: 49

Cover Jesuit Rhetoric across Space and Time

E-Book ISBN:: 9789004744516

Publisher:: Brill

Print Publication Date:: 06 Jan 2026

Subjects
- History
  - Early Modern History

Front Matter

Part 1 Rhetorical Theory and Education

Part 2 Jesuit Rhetoric in Practice: Esthetics, Politics and Theology

Part 3 Influences, Dialogues, and Missions

Back Matter

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Chapter 12 Ut Theologia Rhetorica: AntÃ´nio Vieira and the Rhetorical-Theological Quandaries of the 1600s

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Jesuit Rhetoric across Space and Time

Local and Global Perspectives

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