''The Lives of the Saints from the Old and New Testaments'' () is a

hagiography A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a preacher, priest, founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian ...

by Polish

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

Piotr Skarga Piotr Skarga (less often Piotr Powęski, incorrectly: Pawęski; 2 February 1536 – 27 September 1612) was a Polish Jesuit, preacher, hagiographer, polemicist, and leading figure of the Counter-Reformation in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealt ...

(written in 1577, first published in 1579). It became one of the most popular Polish books ever and a classic of

Polish literature Polish literature is the literary tradition of Poland. Most Polish literature has been written in the Polish language, though other languages used in Poland over the centuries have also contributed to Polish literary traditions, including Latin, ...

. It is one of two most famous works by Skarga, the other being '' Sejm Sermons''.

Origin

The book was published in two volumes with over a thousand pages total. Skarga, inspired by some other historiographical works (ex. it is estimated he based at least four-fifths of his work on the translation of Laurentius Surius '' De probatis Sanctorum historiis''), wrote this book in 1577, in order to combat the popularity of

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

writings and advance the cause of the

Counter-Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also sometimes called the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to, and as an alternative to or from similar insights as, the Protestant Reformations at the time. It w ...

. In particular, Skarga recommended that this book should be read instead of the

Holy Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

, reading of which at that time the Catholic Church did not encourage (unlike the Protestants).

Enduring popularity and significance

This book, being a work of hagiography, focuses on the lives of

Catholic Saints This is an incomplete list of humans and angels whom the Catholic Church has canonized as saints. According to Catholic theology, all saints enjoy the beatific vision. Many of the saints listed here are found in the General Roman Calendar, whi ...

. In addition to its moral values, attractive to the Catholic church for its inspirational value "in edifying the faithful and refuting heretics", it was also attractive to the readers due to its depiction of exotic times and locales, royal and intentional politics, as well as graphic and detailed description of tortures and suffering. The book proved to be enormously successful. The first edition was exhausted by 1583, and soon a second one was published; nine were published up to Skarga's death (1612), and altogether twelve editions were published until 1644. The interest in the book waned afterward, with no new editions until the 18th century due to market saturation, changing tastes and more competition. The book, nonetheless, remained highly popular. In addition to being a required reading in Polish Jesuit colleges and some lesser schools, it became praised by writers and scholars of the Polish language of the

Enlightenment in Poland The ideas of the Age of Enlightenment in Poland were developed later than in Western Europe, as the Polish bourgeoisie was weaker, and szlachta (nobility) culture ( Sarmatism) together with the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth political system (Go ...

era, who commended it for its contribution to the development of the

Polish language Polish (, , or simply , ) is a West Slavic languages, West Slavic language of the Lechitic languages, Lechitic subgroup, within the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family, and is written in the Latin script. It is primarily spo ...

. Polish foremost poet,

Adam Mickiewicz Adam Bernard Mickiewicz (24 December 179826 November 1855) was a Polish poet, dramatist, essayist, publicist, translator and political activist. He is regarded as national poet in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. He also largely influenced Ukra ...

, praised it as "the most poetic Polish work ever". With the growing literacy the book popularity spread among poorer and less educated people; it was one of the first books read by many people, "an entryway into reading", and was likely one of the most popular, if not the most popular, Polish language books ever (read by the highest percentage of the Polish-reading populace up to the 20th century). Its popularity makes it a factor in preserving a Polish language literacy on the lands of

partitioned Poland Partition may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Partition'' (1987 film), directed by Ken McMullen * ''Partition'' (2007 film), directed by Vic Sarin * '' Partition: 1947'', or ''Viceroy's House'', a 2017 film Music * Par ...

. Czesław Miłosz calls the book "a specimen of the purest sixteenth-century Polish anguage.

Norman Davies Ivor Norman Richard Davies (born 8 June 1939) is a British and Polish historian, known for his publications on the history of Europe, Poland and the United Kingdom. He has a special interest in Central and Eastern Europe and is UNESCO Profes ...

writes that the book "competed with Kochanowski's '' Polish Psalter'' published in the same year for the accolade of the best-known and best-loved Polish works of the succeeding centuries". It has also been called "a classic of Polish literature". Irving M. Zeitlin writes that this book "for centuries served as bedside reading for the Polish people." It is one of two most famous works by Skarga, the other being '' Kazania sejmowe'' (''Sejm Sermons'').

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lives Of The Saints, The 1577 books Christian hagiography Religious books 1577 in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth History of Catholicism in Poland Polish-language works

Origin

Enduring popularity and significance

See also

References