BIBLIOS

Document type
Journal articles

Document subtype
Full paper

Title
Physiognomy, Complexion, and Ingenuity: The Management of Talent in the Society of Jesus, 1540–1773

Participants in the publication
Francisco Malta Romeiras (Author)
Dep. História e Filosofia das Ciências
CIUHCT
Luís Campos Ribeiro (Author)
Dep. História e Filosofia das Ciências
CIUHCT
Elisa Frei (Author)

Summary
The Jesuits’ commitment to paperwork and bureaucracy was a distinctive quality of the Society of Jesus since its foundation in 1540. By examining the catalogues produced in Portugal between 1555 and 1754, we argue that this evaluation of the bodily and spiritual qualities of individual Jesuits, especially of their temperament and ingenuity, left a profound mark in the Jesuits’ way of proceeding and that the compilation of these lists was a means to discern the skills most urgently needed for particular contexts and to make the best possible appointments across the globe. Finally, we show that Jesuit mathematicians in Lisbon taught their students how to calculate the natural complexion with astrological techniques.


Where published
Early Science and Medicine

Publication Identifiers



Rankings
SCIMAGO Q2 (2023) - 0,161 - History
SCIMAGO Q3 (2023) - 0,161 - History and Philosophy of Science

Keywords
early modern history; Human Resources; humoral theory; Jesuit catalogues; personal skills; celestial influence