Rene,
"Where you have:
Quote:... The Portuguese father living near Brusselles for who I gave you a letter of introduction is no more provincial, but I am sure he is still in a position to make useful suggestions.
Perhaps better: "no longer the Provincial.. but still in a position.. etc."
Thanks again for transcribing thee material.
PS Rene,'
Thanks for the links to your site.
I have read before your interpretation of the events and documents and the less than honourable motives that you ascribe to various individuals, but it does no harm to refresh one's memory of other researchers' ideas, as I now have of yours.
I cannot see that there is any evidence of more than the usual circumspection with which dealers proceed, and the only thing not completely open about the Jesuits' behaviour is that of an individual or a community's attempting to avoid being reduced to beggary by a government intent on the acquisition and re-allocation of private property. As history teaches us, such processes destroy the integrity of libraries, their value, and results chiefly in the loss of the intellectual and artistic heritage which informs the collection.
In the circumstances, it seems more intelligent and prudent than deceitful for the Jesuits to have attempted, at lest, to sell to a dealer they trusted to deal with them fairly. Right or wrong.
But of course I'm not trying to persuade you.
Diane,
as far as I remember, only you are using terms like 'less than honourable motives' and 'improper dealings'.
For me it is a simple case of cause and effect.
Is a confiscation of property by the government of a country improper? It all depends on the reasons
and motivation behind it.
Did the Society of Jesus commit any wrongdoings that would justify confiscation of their materials?
The answer clearly depends on which camp one is in, as I wrote above. I think there is a natural tendency
to sympathise with the objects of such confiscation, right or wrong.
On the other point, when it comes to keeping a collection of old books intact, just about the worst thing to
do is to sell it to a private antiquarian. This has of course been clearly demonstrated by the fate of this part
of the collection, which is now spread out over a good dozen libraries, and parts are in unknown private hands.
I can only conclude that the motivation (both for the seller and the buyer) was a financial one.
I think ascribing ethical attributes to the decisions of the Society of Jesuits over a hundred years ago is somewhat out of scope for this forum.
David: Amen
