NIEREMBERG, JUAN EUSEBIO. - Jesuit, ascetical writer, b. in Madrid in 1595, d. there 7 Apr. 1658.
Ordained priest in 1623, he taught humanities, natural history, and exegesis for several years; but he distinguished himself above all as a sought-after spiritual director and indefatigable writer. Of the 73 works published on various subjects, the following still retain value in the ascetical field: Aprecio y estima de la divina gracia (Madrid 1638); Diferencia entre lo temporal y lo eterno (there 1640); Hermosura de Dios (there 1641), in which the well-developed practical doctrine is somewhat marred by the introduction of revelations and unusual reports, accepted out of a pious but misplaced credulity. The same defect is found in the Vida de S. Ignacio (there 1631; new revised ed., there 1882), whose 1st ed. was placed on the Index, donec corrigatur, on 12 Dec. 1646, precisely because of the pious exaggerations and incredible narratives included in it; the same is true of the collection Varones ilustres de la Compañía de Jesús (4 vols., there 1643-47; revised ed. continued to vol. IX by A. de Andrade and J. Cassani, there 1736; reprinted in its first 6 vols. at Bilbao [1887-90]). The two works Curiosa filosofia (Madrid 1630) and Historia natural (there 1635) have no scientific value and are full of pleasing curiosities, indicative of the credulity of the times.