Juan Eusebio Nieremberg y Ottín (9 September de 1595 – 7 April 1658) was a Spanish

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 ...

polymath A polymath or polyhistor is an individual whose knowledge spans many different subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems. Polymaths often prefer a specific context in which to explain their knowledge, ...

and mystic.

Biography

Nieremberg was born in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

to German parents. His father was a Tyrolese, and his mother a Bavarian. He studied the classics at the Royal Court, science at Alcalá and

canon law Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...

at Salamanca. He joined the

Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...

(Jesuits) in 1614, much against the wishes of his father who finally obliged him to leave the

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

of Villagarcía. He remained firm in his resolution and was permitted to return to Madrid to finish his probation. He studied

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

and

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

at the Colegio de Huete, arts and theology at Alcalá, and was ordained in 1623, making his profession in 1633. At the Colegio Imperial de Madrid he taught

humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture, including Philosophy, certain fundamental questions asked by humans. During the Renaissance, the term "humanities" referred to the study of classical literature a ...

and

natural history Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

for sixteen years and

Sacred Scripture 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) biblical languages ...

for three. As a director of souls he was much sought, being appointed by royal command confessor to the Duchess of Mantua, granddaughter of Philip II. Remarkable for his exemplary life, he was an indefatigable worker, and one of the most prolific writers of his time. Seventy-three printed and eleven manuscript works are attributed to him, of these twenty-four at least are in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

. His works are distinguished for their erudition, those in Spanish being characterized according to Capmany, by nobility and purity of diction, terse, well-knit phrases, forcible metaphors, and vivid imagery. The Spanish Academy includes his name in the "Diccionario de Autoridades". He was highly esteemed in devout circles as the author of ''De la afición y amor de Jesus'' (1630), and ''De la afición y amor de María'' (1630), both of which were translated into

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

, Dutch, French,

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

and

. These works, together with the ''Prodigios del amor divino'' (1641), are now forgotten, but Nieremberg's version (1656) of the ''Imitation'' is still a favorite, and his eloquent

treatise A treatise is a Formality, formal and systematic written discourse on some subject concerned with investigating or exposing the main principles of the subject and its conclusions."mwod:treatise, Treatise." Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Acc ...

, ''De la hermosura de Dios y su amabilidad'' (1649), is the last classical manifestation of

mysticism Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute (philosophy), Absolute, but may refer to any kind of Religious ecstasy, ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or Spirituality, spiritual meani ...

Spanish literature Spanish literature is literature ( Spanish poetry, prose, and drama) written in the Spanish language within the territory that presently constitutes the Kingdom of Spain. Its development coincides and frequently intersects with that of other ...

. Nieremberg published several books on natural history in which traditional Aristotelian conceptions tended to be replaced by a

neoplatonic Neoplatonism is a version of Platonic philosophy that emerged in the 3rd century AD against the background of Hellenistic philosophy and religion. The term does not encapsulate a set of ideas as much as a series of thinkers. Among the common id ...

approach to nature. He was keenly interested in new animal and plant species from America and consulted many manuscript sources coming from across the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

, including Francisco Hernández’s unpublished works on Mexican

medicinal plants Medicinal plants, also called medicinal herbs, have been discovered and used in traditional medicine practices since prehistoric times. Plants synthesize hundreds of chemical compounds for various functions, including Plant defense against h ...

Works

* ''Obras y Días. Manual de Señores y Principes; en que se Propone con su Pureza y Rigor la Especulación y Ejecución Política, Económica y Particular de Todas las Virtudes'' (Madrid, 1628) * ''Centuria de dictámenes prudentes'' (Quiñones, Madrid, 1641). * ''Prolusión a la doctrina e historia natural'' (Madrid, 1629). * ''Sigalion sive de sapientia mythica'' (Madrid, 1629; Lyon, 1642) * ''Curiosa Filosofía y cuestiones naturales'' (Imprenta del Reino, Madrid, 1630) * ''Vida del glorioso Patriarca San Ignacio de Loyola'' (Madrid, 1631) * ''De adoratione in spiritu et veritate'' (Amberes, 1631) * ''De arte voluntatis'' (Lyon, 1631) * ''De la afición y amor de Jesús'', (1630?; Madrid, 1632) * ''De la afición y amor de María''... (1630?; Madrid, 1632) * ''Vida Divina y Camino Real de Grande Atajo para la Perfección'' (Madrid, 1633; 1633) * * ''Oculta Filosofía'', (Barcelona, 1645) * ''Curiosa y oculta filosofia: primera y segunda parte de las marauillas de la naturaleza, examinadas en varias questiones naturales... Tercera impression añadida por el mismo autor'' (Alcalá: Imprenta de María Fernández, a costa de Juan Antonio Bonet, 1649). * ''Libro de la vida de Jesús crucificado, impreso en Jerusalén con su sangre'' (Barcelona, 1634) * ''Trophaea mariana seu de victrice misericordia Deiparae, gefolgt von De virginitate S.S. Dei Matris apologetica dissertatio'' (Amberes, 1638) * ''Del aprecio y estima de la gracia divina, que nos mereció el Hijo de Dios, con su Preciosa Sangre, y Pasión'' (Juan Sánchez, Madrid, 1638; Hospital Real y General, Zaragoza, 1640) * ''Compendio de la vida del V.P. Martin Gutiérrez'' (Madrid, 1639) * ''De la diferencia entre lo temporal y lo eterno, y Crisol de Desengaños'' (Madrid, 1640, 1654; Imprenta Real, Madrid, 1675) * ''Práctica del Catecismo romano y doctrina cristiana'' (Diego Díaz de la Carrera, Madrid 1640, 1641; Imp. María de Quiñones, Madrid, 1646) * ''Vida del dichoso y venerable Padre Marcelo Francisco Mastrilli'' (Madrid, 1640) * ''Flores espirituales en que se proponen varios puntos muy provechosos para las almas'' (Madrid, 1640) * ''Prodigio del amor divino y finezas de Dios con los hombres'' (Juan Sánchez, Madrid, 1641). * ''De la hermosura de Dios y su amabilidad por las Infinitas Perfecciones del Ser Divino'' (Juan Sánchez, Madrid 1641) * ''Theopoliticus sive brevis illucidatio et rationale divinorum operum atque providentia humanorum'' (Amberes, 1641) * ''Causa y remedio de los males públicos'' (Francisco de Robles, Madrid, 1642) * ''Consuelo de las almas escrupulosas y su remedio'', (Madrid, 1642). * ''Dictámenes de espíritu'' (Puebla de Los Ángeles, 1642) * ''Tratado sobre el lugar de los Cantares'' Veni de Libano ''Explicado de la perfección religiosa'' (Madrid: Francisco Maroto a costa de Francisco de Robles, mercader de libros, 1642) * * ''Doctrinae asceticae sive spiritualium institutionum pandectae'' (Lyon, 1643) * ''Partida a la eternidad y preparación para la muerte'', (Madrid, 1643) * ''De la devoción y patrocinio de San Miguel'' (María de Quiñones, Madrid, 1643) * ''Corona virtuosa y virtud coronada'' (Francisco Maroto, Madrid, 1643) * ''Del nuevo misterio de la piedra imßn y nueva descripción del globo terrestre'' (Madrid, 1643) * * * * ''Partida a la eternidad y preparación a la muerte'' (Imprenta Real, Madrid, 1645) * * ''De la constancia en la virtud y medios de perseverencia'' (Madrid, 1647) * ''Epistolas del reverendo Padre Juan Eusebio Nieremberg, Religioso de la Compañía de Jesús. Publicadas pour Manuel de Faria y Sousa, Caballero de la Orden de Cristo, y de la Casa Real'' (por Alonso de Paredes, Madrid, 1649) * ''Devocionario del santísimo Sacramento'' (Madrid, 1649). * ''Cielo estrellado de María'' (Madrid, 1655) * ''Obras cristianas del Padre Juan Eusebio Nieremberg'', Tomo I de sus obras en romance (Imprenta Real, Madrid, 1665) * ''Obras filosóficas del Padre Juan Eusebio Nieremberg'', Tomo III (Imprenta Real, Madrid, 1664) * ''Obras cristianas'' (Lucas Martín de Hermosilla, Sevilla, 1686) * ''Vida de Santa Teresa de Jesús'' (Madrid, 1882)

Eponymy

The Spanish botanists Ruiz and Pavón (Hipólito Ruiz López and Jose Antonio Pavón y Jimenez) named an attractive plant in the tobacco family, '' Nierembergia'', after him in their ''Flora Peruvianae, et Chilensis Prodromus'' (1794).

References

Bibliography

* * *

External links

* Nieremberg, Juan Eusebio (1635
''Historia naturæ, maxime peregrinae, libris XVI. discincta...''
-digital facsimile from the

Linda Hall Library The Linda Hall Library is a privately endowed American library of science, engineering and technology located in Kansas City, Missouri, on the grounds of a urban arboretum. It claims to be the "largest independently funded public library of sc ...

Complete digital facsimiles of works by Juan Eusebio Nieremberg
at the

John Carter Brown Library The John Carter Brown Library is an independently funded research library of history and the humanities on the campus of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. The library's rare book, manuscript, and map collections encompass a variety of ...

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nieremberg, Juan Eusebio 1595 births 1658 deaths 17th-century Spanish philosophers 17th-century Christian mystics Roman Catholic mystics Spanish essayists 16th-century Spanish philosophers 17th-century Spanish Jesuits Spanish male essayists 17th-century Spanish male writers