Nieremberg, Juan Eusebio

NIEREMBERG, JUAN EUSEBIO. - Jesuit, ascetical writer, b. in Madrid in 1595, d. there on 7 April 1658.

A 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 tireless writer. Of the 73 works published on various subjects, those that remain vital in the ascetical field are: Aprecio y estima de la divina gracia (Madrid 1638); Diferencia entre lo temporal y lo eterno (ibid. 1640); Hermosura de Dios (ibid. 1641), in which the well-developed practical doctrine is somewhat spoiled by the intrusion of revelations and outlandish reports, accepted out of a sense of pious but misplaced credulity. The same defect occurs in the Vida de S. Ignacio (ibid. 1631; new revised ed., ibid. 1882), whose 1st ed. was placed on the Index, donec corrigatur, on 12 Dec. 1646, precisely because of the pious exaggerations and incredible narratives admitted into it; this also holds true for the collection: Varones ilustres de la Compañía de Jesús (4 vols., ibid. 1643-47; ed. revised and continued up to the IX vol. by A. de Andrade and J. Cassani, ibid. 1736; reprinted in the first 6 vols. at Bilbao [1887-90]). The two works: Curiosa filosofia (Madrid 1630) and Historia natural (ibid. 1635) have no scientific value, and are full of pleasant curiosities, a sign of the credulity of the times.

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