Esercizio sopra la passione di Gesû Cristo.   [Italy, seventeenth century].

£1,250 · Offered by Maggs Bros Ltd

An attractive little volume of personal devotion, modelled on the popular works of private, spiritual instruction by Thomas à Kempis, Jean Gerson and others. With a title reminiscent of Ignatius of Loyola’s Spiritual Exercises , and also drawing on the work of Jesuit writers, this manuscript is composed of seven sections which provide instruction in prayers, meditations and contemplation that should take place daily at different times. The work is written in Italian, with Bible verses given in Latin; predominantly in brown ink, instructions are provided in red. There appear to be at least three different hands across consecutive sections of the text, moving from a more deliberate, larger script to a slightly smaller, later hand and finally, a more florid, petite cursive. In each section, each writer adds their own ornaments - leafy branches, flowers, and detailed, winged cherubs - as well as thorough instructions for the devotional texts to follow when conducting daily devotions, down to the chapter and portion of the appropriate text - generally Thomas à Kempis, Jean Gerson, and Alfonso Rodriguez SJ. On the verso of the final leaf is given what is essentially a reading list, including Jesuit Giovanni Pietro Pinamonti’s La Religiosa in Solitudine (1696), Settimana in Solitudine by Lodovico Maria Vedova OFM (Venice, 1706) and Jesuit Simone Bagnati’s Arte di ben pensare (Naples, 1712); these latter two allow the dating of the final portion of the manuscript to the early eightee

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