1675 Jeremias Drexel's Commentary on Job, Salomon, and King David THEOLOGY

Drexelii e Societate Iesu Operum, Tomus Quartus, 1675, (3) 601-1005 (21). COMPLETE. 14 1/8 by 9 1/4 inches. Binding worn with loss of leather and cracked hinges. Slight worming mostly to beginning and end of the work including the binding. Mostly moderate browning and minor water staining to the margin. 1 volume of a four volume set only

Contents of Tomus Quartus
The fourth volume contains a series of Drexel’s major devotional and moral treatises. According to the detailed table of contents preserved in the 1675 folio: 

Principal Works Included
Tobias – a moral and spiritual commentary on the Book of Tobit

Palaestra Christiana – a “Christian training ground” for virtue

Aureifodina artium omnium & scientiarum – a spiritual “gold mine” of arts and sciences

David – meditations on the life and virtues of King David

Salomon – reflections on wisdom, kingship, and moral governance

Antigrapheus – a treatise on conscience, newly added in this edition

Iob – a devotional commentary on the Book of Job

These works combine scriptural exegesis, moral theology, rhetorical instruction, and meditative spirituality.Drexel’s writings were central to Jesuit devotional culture. The fourth volume reflects several recurring themes:

1. Moral Discipline and Virtue Formation
Treatises like Palaestra Christiana and Aureifodina guide readers toward disciplined Christian living, emphasizing humility, obedience, and purity of intention.

2. Scriptural Meditation
The commentaries on Tobias, David, Solomon, and Job blend biblical narrative with moral application, a hallmark of Jesuit pedagogy.

3. Conscience and Interior Life
The treatise Antigrapheus focuses on the formation of conscience, examining how believers discern right action in complex moral situations.

4. Exemplary Lives
Figures such as David and Solomon are presented as moral exemplars—sometimes positive, sometimes cautionary—illustrating the consequences of virtue and vice.

5. Rhetorical and Didactic Style
Drexel’s works were prized for their elegant Latin, vivid imagery, and structured moral arguments, making them popular among preachers and teachers.
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