[Jacques Nouet & François Annat] - Réponses aux Lettres provinciales publiées par le secrétaire du Port-Royal, contre les PP. de la - 1657

[Jacques Nouet & François Annat] – Replies to the Provincial Letters published by the Port-Royal secretary, against the Fathers of the Society of Jesus. On the subject of the morality of the said Fathers. Liège, Jean Mathias Hovius, 1657. Small duodecimo, LXXXVI, 451 pp., (2) f., some small marginal lacunae without loss of text, ivory vellum of the period, some stains on the front board.

This work gathers the Jesuits’ responses to Pascal’s Lettres Provinciales, which attacked their moral doctrine and casuistry. Nouet and Annat seek to refute Pascal’s accusations and to defend the Society of Jesus, notably contesting his criticisms of casuistry. The collection thus constitutes an important testimony to the Janséniste and anti-Jesuit controversy of the mid-17th century.

First collective edition of the Jesuits’ responses, originally published by the Jesuits in quarto format.