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Millenarian Themes in the Writings of Antonio VieiraAuthor(s): Thomas CohenReviewed work(s):Source: Luso-Brazilian Review, Vol. 28, No. 1, Messianism and Millenarianism in the Luso-Brazilian World (Summer, 1991), pp. 23-46Published by: University of Wisconsin Press

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MillenarianThemes n

the Writings f

AntonioVieira

ThomasCohen

The PortugueseRestoration f 1640 nspired n outpouring f messianic nd mille-

narian iteraturehat sought o legitimate he accession

f D. Joao

IV

to the throne.' t

wasduring he decade ollowing he Restorationhat

heJesuitAntonioVieira irstrose

to prominencen Lisbon,servingD. Joao as bothcourtpreacher nd rovingdiplomat.2

ThesepublicrolesgaveVieiraampleopportunity

o argue he causeof D. Joao and to

develop he distinctive Luso-centricmillenarianism"hat becamea central eatureof

both his theologyand his missionarywork.3This essay analyzes he development f

Vieira'smillenarianhoughtbetween1659,when

he circulated is firstprophetic rea-

tise, and 1689,whenhe wrotehis last public ermon.

Underlying he shifting hemesof

Vieira'spropheticwritingsduring his periodwas

a continued ocus on the natureof

prophecy nd on the linksbetweenPortuguese estinyand universal onversion.

Within woyearsof the expulsion f the Spanish

romPortugal,Vieirahad become

a key figure n the courtof D. Joao. Among he mostnotableassignments iven o him

by the kingwasa diplomaticmission o Amsterdamn 1648 hatbroughthim into con-

tact with the city'sJewish community.Vieira's ongdiscussionswith the Portuguese-

born rabbi Menassehben Israel challengedhim to develophis understanding f

Judaismand its relationshipo Christianity.Menasseh

would oonpublisha prophetic

treatise ntitledTheHope f Israel.4n 1659,threeyearsafter he deathof D. Joao

IV,

Vieiracirculated rivately is treatiseTheHopesfPortugalEsperanfasePortugal).This

treatise nd the millenarian opes hat t expressed

et in motion he events hatwere o

lead to Vieira's rrest nd imprisonment y the Inquisition.

Betweenhis arrest n 1663

and his release n 1667Vieirawouldproduce he

threetextsthat formthe core of his

propheticwritings: he LivroAnteprimeiroa Historia o Futuro,he Historia o Futuro

proper,and the two Representationshat comprise

his defense.6

Why did Vieira's deasprovoke uch sustained

hostilityon the partof the Inquisi-

tion?This questionhas been inadequately ddressed

n the literature.7believe hat at

the root of Vieira's onflictwith the Inquisition

was the interpretationf politicaland

ecclesial uthorityhathe firstput forwardn the

Esperanfasndthenrefined n the His-

toria oFuturond particularlyn the Representations.

ieira'sunderstandingf the pur-

pose of the churchand its hierarchywas shaped

aboveall by his experience n the

Brazilianmissions.8 he New Worldrepresented

or Vieiranot an appendage o the

Old but a locusof prophecieshat he Portuguese

adbeen providentiallyhosen o re-

veal. The process f revelation, owever,workedwoways: n revealinghe New World

to Europe, he Portuguese ere o be engaged na process f self-revelationhatwas n

dangerof beingcut shortprematurely y a failurenot only of the imperial magination

but alsoof the ecclesial ne. It washis uncompromisingdentificationf this atter ail-

Luso-Brazilianeview

XVIII, 1 0024-7413/91/000 $1.50

@>

1991by the Boardof Regentsof the University f WisconsinSystem



24

Luso-Brazilian fview28:1

ure that madeVieira's iewsso dangerous o the Inquisition.Everygroup hat partici-

pated in the imperialproject the crownand settlers, he missionaries nd Indians,

and the Inquisitorshemselves had a roleto play n the schemaof progressiveevela-

tion thatVieiradrew romscripture nd thenread nto Portuguese istoryand into the

historyof the missionary hurch.This schemahad the effectof displacingauthority

within he churchbecause t assignedno special tatus o the ecclesialhierarchyn the

interpretationf scripture ndbecause t statedunequivocallyhat ivedexperiences a

morevaluableguide than scholarshipor understandinghe accidents nd contingen-

cies that mark he pilgrimage f the missionary hurch.

Vieirabegan writing he Esperanfasuringone of his last journeys nto the back-

landsprior o the expulsion f theJesuits romMaranhao.His immediate urposewas

to argue hatGonalo Bandarra'srophecies bouta hiddenking (the Encobertof Por-

tuguese egend)appliednot to D. Sebastiaobut to the recentlydeceasedD. Joao

IV.9

Like Augustine, or whom he repeatedly xpressedhis admiration,Vieira was

acutelyaware f the limitations f post-biblical rophecy. uthe abandoned ll caution

in his assessment f Bandarra'sTrovas. e assignedcanonical tatus to these verses

throughout is writings,particularlyn the Esperanfasnd Representations.° The text of

the Esperanfasontains he specificarguments or whichVieirawas arrested nd sug-

gestssome of the broader ssuesthat broughthim into conflictwith the Inquisition.l'

Perhaps o singlestrand f Vieira's houghthas receivedmoredismissivereatment

thanhis unshakeable elief n the prophecies f Bandarra, belief hatcausedAzevedo

to lament: "Singularaberration f an elevatedspirit "Azevedowrites with undis-

guiseddismayof Vieira's ascinationwith a simpletonwhom he biographerharacter-

izes as a "deceiver y inclination," "charlatan"nd a ''maniac.''l2 etBandarra'sack

of educationwas an asset in Vieira'sview, and Azevedo's hargesof dishonesty nd

madness eflect n assessment f the prophet hatwasrejected y Vieiraandby the ma-

jority of his contemporaries.'3

Vieiraopened he Esperanfaswhichwerewritten n the formof a letter o his fellow

JesuitD. AndreFernandes) itha rhetoricallourish hatmayhavebeen an attempt o

guardagainst he controversyhat the text, once circulated,wouldbe sureto inspire.

He states hat he is respondingo the requestof D. Andre or a moredetailed xposi-

tion of the ideas aboutD. Joao

IV

that Vieirahad previously ommunicatedo him,

presumablyn conversation.l4

The main argumentsof the Esperanfasre constructed rounda syllogism hat

states:

Bandarras a trueprophet;Bandarra rophesiedhatEl-reiDomJoao

IV

shalldo many hings hathe has not yet doneand cannotdo without

beingresurrected;herefore,El-reiDomJoao

IV

shallbe resurrected.l5

The syllogism s rooted n Vieira'sassumption hat the statusof Bandarra s a true

prophethad been provenby the unfoldingof Portuguese istoryexactlyas the Trovas

had prophesied. hoseprophesieshatremained o be fulfilled eflected he limitations

of Bandarra'snterpretersather han a flaw n the prophesieshemselves.Vieirahere

introduces n interpretivetrategy hat he will employ requentlyn the Historia oFu-

turo nd the defense.He argues hat the fact that the prophecies avenot yet been ful-

filledconfirms heirveracity. rophecy,ike humanhopes, s rarely ulfilled n the way

that peopleexpect.



Cohen

25

Bandarra

was

able

to

prophesy

he

unfolding

f

Portuguese

istory

with

unerring

specificity. ieira, n turn,seeks o defendnottheaccuxacy f his owninterpretations

of

Bandarra

ut

rather

he

unassailable

ruths

of

the

Trovas

hemselves.

n doing

so

he

assigns

o

Bandarra's

isions

a reality

hat

supercedes

he

reality

of

the

events

hat

Ban-

darra

rophesied.

he

cobbler's

ision

acquires

or

rhetorical

urposes

n

urgency

hat

history

tself

acks,

so

that

Vieira

s

able

to

write

of

Bandarra:

certainly

t

seems

hat

hesaw

the

events

he

foretold

with

a clearer

ight

than

that

of

the

very

eyes

that

after-

wards

witnessed

hem."

This

ight

lluminated

ortuguese

istory

and

placed

a singular

blessing

n

that

history

by

permitting

t

to

be

prophesied

y an

ignorant

man:

It

was

hus

a supernatural

ight,

prophetic

nd

divine,

hat

lluminated

the understandingf thissimpleandhumbleman, in orderthatthe

wonders

f God

that

the

world

was

to

see

in Portugal

n recent

imes

might

also

have

that

preeminent

uality

of

all

great

divine

mysteries,

which

s

to

be

prophesied

ong

before.'6

This

passage,

which

represents

he

most

unequivocal

laim

n

the

Esperanfas

or

the

divine

nspiration

f

the

Trovas,

uggests

he

main

points

of conflict

between

Vieira

and

the

Inquisition.

Had

Vieira

imited

himself

o calling

Bandarra

true

prophet

whose

Trovas

oretold

he

resurrection

f

D.

Joao

IV,

it

is unlikely

hat

hewould

have

been

im-

prisoned.

But

his

specific

nterpretations

f

the

prophecies

were

linked

to

a second

pointof conflict hatwasrooted n hisunderstandingf Bandarra'srophetic ift.Be-

ginning

n

the

Esperanfas

nd

continuing

hrough

oth

parts

of

the

defense,

Vieira

views

Bandarra's

ack

of

education

nd

low

social

status

not

as

a liability

but

rather

s

a sign

of

the

cobbler's

aving

been

chosen

by

God

to

prophesy

he

destiny

of the

Portuguese.

Vieira's

raise

of

this

"simple

and

humble

man"

constitutes

callto

the

Portuguese

o

recognize

he

knowledge

hat

comes

rom

God

alone

and

that

symbolizes

he

singular

blessing

hat

God

has

placed

on the

Portuguese

ation

by

revealing

ts

future

o

the

cobbler.

n

the

First

Representation

ieira

will

again

emphasize

this

ime

with

the

Inquis-

itors

directly

n

mind)

he

fact

hat

Bandarra

as

a

simple

man.

Bandarra's

implicity

s

held

up

as

amodel

or

the

Portuguese,

hom

Vieira

dentifies

hroughout

he

Esperanfas

andthedefenseas the successorso the Israelites.'7

Vieira's

portrayal

f

Bandarra

s

anexemplary

rophet

alls

nto

question

both

the

religious

and

the

political

authority

f

the

Inquisition.

The

Esperanfas

uggest

hat

we

are

able

to

gain

only

glimpses

f the

light

that

s

contained

n

scripture.

Knowledge

f

the

mysteries

f divine

providence

s

given

by

God

to

even

his

most

humble

servants,

and

this

is

true

not

only

of

the

Hebrew

prophets

but

also

of

the

post-biblical

nter-

preters

f

prophecy

nd

of

the

domestic

prophets

f

Portugal,

mong

whom

Bandarra

possesses

unique

authority.

The

implications

f

Bandarra's

umble

status

for

Vieira,

as

he

wrote

to

Lisbon

from

he

Amazon

backlands,

annot

be

overstated.

Maranhao

ad transformed

ieira's

understandingftheapostolic urpose ftheisolation ndaccompanyingardships f

the

missionary

ocation.

The

subtext

of the

Esperanfas

s that

the

church

hierarchy

s

useful

only

insofar

as

it

furthers

he

work

of

mission

and

allows

God's

chosen

prophets

to

make

themselves

heard.l8

Vieira

elaborates

pastoral

thos

that

the

Inquisition

rightly

ears.

He

makes

no

effort

o

reassure

his

future

accusers

nd

others

whom

he

knows

will

object

o

the

Esperanfas.

nstead

he

warns

epeatedly

hat

cautious

Christians

who

are

not

yet

strong

enough

o

bear

the

full

consequences

f

their

faith

are

under-



26

Luso-Brazilianeview 8:1

mining the missionary nterprise nd preventing ortugal

rom fulfillingher destiny.

The Esperanfasreparehe ground orVieira'sater heologybymakinga learnedargu-

ment against earning

tself.

The Brazilian

ontext s essential o this argument, nd

Vieira nvests he isolation

of the backlandsn

whichhe is writingwithan instructiveunction s important s that

of a university. he

complexity f Vieira's rgumenthere reflectshis ambivalent iew

of scholarshipn

relation o the largeraim of the Esperanfas,amely, he attempt o con-

vince his readers f the

imminent esurrection f D. Joao. Thusin a passage n which

Vieiranotes hathe is

unable o supporthis arguments ycitingAugustine, e under-

mineshis lamentandmakesa virtueout of the text's ackof

sources.This internalun-

derminingparallels is effort o demonstrateo the Portuguese

hat it is becausef D.

Joao's imitations ather han n spiteof themthatthe kingwillbe resurrectednd that

the enlistment f supporting cholarships at best unnecessary

nd at worst mpious.l9

The physical ircumstancesnd spiritual urposes f the

missionaryn the Amazonare

shown o be precisely uited o the interpretationf the

prophecies f Bandarra.

Thesepassages epresenthe mostcomplete tatement rior

o the Histo'riaoFuturo

of Vieira's

nterpretation f how prophecy s fulfilled.Criticshave suggested hat he

overreached imself n

explaining he weakness f D. Joao and that by the time he

wrotetheRepresentationse had arrived t a more realistic

assessment f the deceased

king.20 would uggest hatthe Esperanfasnd the Representations

ightmoreaccurately

be placedon a

continuum ndthatduring he years hatelapsed

between he writingof

thesetwo textsVieirarefinedbut in no way abandoned he interpretationf D. Joao

that would ocus in the

Representationsn the difference

etweenkings who havebeen

seen and kingswho

havebeen read reys istos nd reysidos).Theyears n prison imply

madethis difference

moreapparent, s Vieiraplaced ncreasing mphasis n the mys-

teriousrelationship

etweenhistoryand the prophetic ext.Over he courseof his pro-

pheticwritingsVieira ransferredhe focusof his hope n the

Encobertouccessivelyrom

D. Sebastiao o D. Joao

IV,

D. Affonso

VI,

D. Pedro

I,

and

finally o D. Pedro's wo

sons,the firstof whom

died n infancyandthe secondof whombecameD. Joao v. This

continuous ransfer,

ather hanreflecting he inconsistenciesn Vieira's nterpretation

of the FifthEmpire,

obeys he logic of prophecy hat he developed or the first ime in

the Esperanfas.

During he yearswhenhe wasunderhousearrestand in

prisonVieiraworked n a

prophetic ext, the

Historia oFuturo,hat he hopedwould inda warmreception rom

the Inquisition nd

from he Portuguese rown.Theaudience-particularlyhe crown

and courtaudience

figuresprominentlyn the Histo'riaoFuturo. ieira's ext is suf-

fusedwith the

inflections f the preacherwho seeksboth to

revitalize he Portuguese

imperialand ecclesialmagination nd to free himself romthe

graspof the tribunal.

While t has been

clearlydetermined hat the Representationserewritten n 1665-

66, the preciseperiod

duringwhich he Historia oFuturo aswrittenhas been one of

the central ointsof

controversyoncerninghe text.21 etermininghe datesof compo-

sitionof the text s

important ecauseof the accretions f

missionary xperiencehatby

the time of Vieira's

mprisonment ad transformedhe

millenarian isionto whichhe

firstgaveexpressionn

the 1640s.With he notable xception f

MarcelBataillon, ead-

ers of the Histo'riaoFuturoaveattached merebiographical

nterest o the datingof

the text. Yet heinternalbiographicalvidence hatsuggests hat

sections f the Historia

doFuturo eredraftedprior o 1664becomesrelatively

nimportantwhen considered



27

ohen

alongsideVieira'snterpretivechema,whichwasa product f his exilefrom he colony

and of his subsequentnternal xile in Portugal.22

Vieira's eriesof conversations ith Rabbi Menassehben Israel nspiredhim to

forgewhatproved o be a fateful inkbetween heJewishbelief hatthe TenLostTribes

wouldbe restored o Israeland his own incipientbelief n redemption y a Portuguese

king who wouldserveas the temporal icarof the FifthEmpire.The spiritual icarof

this empirewouldbe the pope.The importance f this idea n Vieira's ubsequent ro-

pheticwritings ed Besselaaro suggest hat t was n prison hatVieiraexperienced is

second stalo.3 Withoutunderestimatinghe importance f the discussionswithMenas-

seh ben Israel wouldargue hat t wasnot nAmsterdamut athernprisonhatVieiraxpe-

rienced second stalo.The defeat in Brazil and two years in prison tested Vieira's

certainty bouthis messianic ision ikeno previous xperiences ad done.Only in the

courseof reflecting n prisonon his recenthistorywas he able to cement he link be-

tween he conversion f theJews and the conversion f the New World hathe had be-

gun to consider n Amsterdam.

In the closingpagesof the LivroAnteprimeiroieirasought o prove hatthe Hebrew

prophets ssigneda privileged ole n the missionary nterprise o the Portuguese m-

pire n general nd to the colonyof Maranhaon particular. he specificitywithwhich

he appliedeach wordof the eighteenth hapterof Isaiah o the AmazonIndianswill

seem strained nless he readerbears n mind the frameworkor the interpretationf

prophecy hatVieira irstelaboratedn the Esperanfasnd continued o develop n the

LivroAnteprimeiro.oth texts focus on the indeterminacy f humanhistory:

This world s a theater,men are the players n its stage,and the true

historyof their fortunesa comedyby God that is wondrously rawn

and stagedby the agesof his Providence.And ust as the excellence nd

subtletyof the comicart consistsprincipallyn that suspension f the

understanding nd sweetconfusionof the senseswith whichthe plot

carriesmen along, eaving hemhanging romone developmento the

next, and shielding he end of the story rom hosewhowouldguess t,

so that no one can knowwhere t will end until the momentwhenthat

end comesupon him and reveals tselfsuddenlybetween he expecta-

tion and the applause; n the same way God. . .does not permitus to

graspand understand he secretsof his intentionsuntil the ends of

those ntentions reuponus, in order hatwe mightbe heldalways us-

pended n expectation nd hangingby his Providence.24

Between he expectation nd the applause he mysteries f historyunfold. Foremost

among hesemysteriess the falteringprogress f the missionary hurch.The church

for Vieira s a necessarily ragilecreationwhose futurecan neverbe adequately is-

cerned.It is the obligation f thosewho possessa gift for interpretationo drawon the

increments f knowledge hat have accrued o each successive ge in order o under-

standhowthe prophecies f scripturewillbe fulfilled.Prophecies, owever, re ikewa-

ter: "dark. .however learthey mightbe."25

During he periodof exile and imprisonmenthat lasted rom 1661 o 1668Vieira

arguedwith increasing ertainty hat Braziloccupieda privilegedpositionwithinthe

missionary hurch.He broadened he reachof his propheticwritingsby insistingwith



28

Luso-Brazilian

eview

28:1

a

ew

pecificity

n

the

interwovenness

f

scripture,

he

missionary

nterprise,

nd

Portugueseestiny.Vieiradidnotseehimself

as

a

rebel

or

as

one

who

sought

o

restrict

the

uthority

of

the

metropolitan

hurch.

But

by

reinterpreting

he relationship e-

tween

ortugal

nd

Brazil

and

between

he

church

and

the

Jesuit

order

on

the

basis

of

his

xperience

n

the

New

World,

he

called

nto

question

he

foundations

f

the

mis-

sionary

nterprise

nd

its

place

n

the

imperial

project

as

a

whole.

The

most

mportant

criptual

nfluence

n

the

millenarian

ision

of

the

Historia

o

Futuro

nd

the

Representations

as

the

Book

of

Daniel.

Vieira

drew

on

Daniel

hroughout

his

rison

writings

n

an

attempt

o

establish

ormal

precedents

or

the

interpretation

f

human

nowledge

nd

the

gift

of

prophecy

hat

he

set

forth

n

his

informal

meditation

on

andarra

n

the

Esperanfas.

aniel's

prophecies,

however,

do

not

figure

only

in

Vieira'seneral rgumentortheprovisional ualityof the

exegetical

rocess.

He

also

looks

o

Daniel

n

advancing

is

more

specific

defense

of

the

interpreter's

ight oenlist

history

n

the

service

of

exegesis.

f

prophecy

s

a

gift

given

o

the

seer

whom

God

has

chosen,

he

understanding

f

prophecy

s

an

additional

ift

that

depends

on

the

times

in

hich

we

live.

Commenting

n

Daniel's

nability

o

understand

rophecies

hat

he

spoke

nd

that

became

clear

to

succeeding

enerations,

Vieira

concludes

hat

the

very

mysteries

hat

were

hidden

from

the

greatest

wise

men

and

Doctors

may

become

clear

o

those

who

know

much

ess,

because

his

knowledge

s

not

the

prerogative

f

learning

but

the

fortune

of

the

times.26

In

the

Esperanfas

ieira

nterpreted

Daniel

through

he

mediation

f

Bandarra.

n

the

Historia

o

Futuro

nd

the

Representations,

owever,

e

sets

orth

a

more

personal

nter-

pretation

f

the

Fifth

Empire

hat

draws

ven

more

directly

han

did

the

Esperanfas

n

scripture

nd

on

his

own

experience

n

the

missionary

hurch

n

Brazil.

The

Livro

nteprimeiro

nd

the

Representations

ut

forward

n

inclusive

millenarian

i-

sion

hat

affirms

he

role

of

all

Portuguese-not

just

missionaries

nd

the

secular

clergy

in

the

fulfillment

f

prophecy.

n

this

context

Vieira

assigns

entral

mportance

to

he

evangelical

ole

of

what

he

terms

he

"first

ruits"

of

conquest:

he

riches

hat

the

PortugueseaveharvestedntheNewWorld.Themissionariesecome ollowersather

than

nitiators,

nd

the

souls

hey

convert

re

the

"second

ruits"

of

Portuguese

xpan-

sion.

This

is

as

it

should

be,

Vieira

argues,

n

a

characteristic

ttempt

o

discern

he

for-

tuitous

consequences

f

obstacles

o

evangelization.

He

understates

he

points

of

conflict

etween

he

missionary

hurch,

he

crown,

and

the

explorers

nd

traders

f

the

empire

n

order

o

insist

on

the

efficacy

f

temporal

ower

n

the

missionary

nterprise.

This

efficacy

depends

on

the

capacity

of

kings

to

inspire

ear.27

he

Livro

Anteprimeiro

provides

resounding

ffirmation

f

the

imperial

nterprise

n

its

entirety,

as

befits

a

work

hat

is

meant

to

inspire

he

whole

Portuguese

ation.

Vieira

eeks

o

identify

n

scripture

vocabulary

ith

which

o

affirm

he

apostolic

uses

of

European

reed.He recitesa litanyof NewWorldriches drogasasIndias)n

order

o

personify

hese

products

s

agents

of

evangelization.

he

cinnamon,

honey,

and

cedar

of

the

prophecies

ll

had

specific

Brazilian

eferents.

These

goods

did

not

simply

nvite

the

Portuguese

o

the

New

World

but

actually

ompelled

hem

to

over-

come

the

hardships

f

discovery

nd

exploration.28

The

earthly

reasures

o

which

Vieira

refers

had

been

invested

with

evangelical

ig-



30

Luso-Brazilian eview28:1

The first ourwordsof Isaiah's rophecy Vaeerraeymbalolarum assume pecial ig-

nificance n Vieira'sapplication f the text to the Indiansof Maranhao.These words

havebeen alternatelyranslatedn the Vulgateand Septuagint s referenceso a "land

where hereare bells with wings"and to a "landwhere hereare shipswith wings."32

Vieiraclaims hat the two translations re in no waycontradictory:e intends o show

that the Indiansof Maranhao epresent he only instance n history n which he sinos

(bells,or instruments) f the Latinversionmay be perfectly econciledwith the navios

(ships)of the Greek.He concludes hat the Indians iguredclearly n the languageof

the prophets, houghthe existenceof these same Indiansremainedhiddenfrom the

church athersand fromtheir successors ntil the time of the Portuguese iscoveries.

The cymbalumf the Vulgatereferrednot only to the metal cymbal or bell, in

Vieira'sPortuguese ranslation) f the Europeansbut also to the generic erm with

which he Indiansdenoted nstrumentshatpossessed variety f morespecificnames.

The traditional ssociation f the bells of the Vulgatewith metal instrumentswas a

productnot of the text itselfbut of its European nterpreters. ieira's nterpretation,

like the interpretation y Miguelde Palacios hat he cites, frees he Indians romthis

need for European ntecedents:

Why, ask, should t not . . havebeenthe casethat he vessels f which

Isaiah spokewere calledby or took the name sinosnot becausethis

name was used among the Hebrewsbut ratherbecause t was used

among those same Indians?. .And so it is that Isaiah comes to say

that the land of whichhe speaks s a land where he vesselsare known

as sinos; nd theseveryvesselsare the maracatinsf the Maranhao ndi-

ans.33

The sinos f the Europeans ad theircounterpartsn the maraca'shatwerehung on

the prowsof the canoes n which he Indianswent nto battle.34he prowwascalled he

timby the Indians,who borrowed he designation rom their word for the beak of a

bird. The war canoeswereknownas maracatim.addling n these canoes,the battle-

ready ndiansbeat on their iguratively ingedmaracaso produce"a barbarously ar-

like and horrible hundering." or those readerswho remainuneasyVieira notes in

passing hat the Romans oo referred o the prowsof warship nd the beaksof birds

with the same word, rostra.35

The claim hatVieiramakeshere for the autonomy f Indian anguageparticular-

izes his moreelliptical laims or the autonomy f the New World tself. Earlier n the

Livro nteprimeiroieirahad suggested hat t is the metropolishat s dependent n the

colonies,andhe had compared he empire o a vastbodythat s sustained y the fruits

that come from ts furthest imbs.36 hese fruitswere createdat the sametime as the

fruitsof Europe,Asia and Africa,but because hey remainedhidden romEuropeans

they were thought o be products f a New World.This perception f the American

continent alled orth romVieira he mixtureof prideand irony hat runsthroughout

his writingson the New World,whichhe described s "new to us, who are the wise

ones; but for those savages, ts inhabitants,t is old and very ancient."37

Having dentified he cymbalolarumf the Vulgatewith the Indiansof Maranhao,

Vieiraextendshis interpretationo the naviumlarumf the Septuagint y arguing hat

the text refersnot to the sailsof shipsbut rather o "the realwingsof birds."Likethe

preceding xegesis,Vieira's nterpretationf the Septaguint ingeson his knowledge f



Cohen

31

Indian

warfare.

t

is

the

custom

of

the

Indians

o

cover

not

only

the

exteriors

f

tl1eir

canoesbutalsotheirbows,arrows,

maracas

and

bowsprits

with

the

feathers

f

Amazon

birds,

particularly

he

bright

red

feathers

f

the

guara.

The

maracatins

thatwereprevi-

ously

understood

o

be

figuratively

inged

because

he

flying

nstruments

were

sus-

pended

rom

the

beak

of

the

canoe)

may

now

be

seen

to

be

literally

winged

as

well;

"and

or

this

reason

he

prophet,

who

saw

and

noted

all

these

hings

because

hey

were

so

novel,

called

the

canoes

'sinos'

and

'sinos

with

wings:'

navium

larum,

ymbalo

alarum.

38

Vieira

concludes

he

Liuro

ntepnmciro

y

reaffirming

he

preeminent

osition

occu-

pied

by

the

Portuguese

rown

n

the

missionary

nterprise.

At

the

same

time

he

re-

minds

he

crown

f

the

role

of

theJesuits

as

partners

n

this

enterprise.

Vieira

has

relied

heavilyonAugustinehroughoutheLivro nteprirneiro.orAugustine

s

for

Vieira,

he

temporal

nd

spiritual

ingdoms

re

nextricably

ntertwined

n

the

church.

But

in

dis-

cerning

a

privileged

position

or

the

Jesuits

as

pilgrims

n

the

post-primitive

hurch

Vieira

assigns

o

human

agency

a

determining

ole

n

the

missionary

nterprise

hat

s

directly

t

odds

with

Augustine's

hilosophy

f

history.

The

argument

f

the

Livro

Ante-

primeiro

s

rooted

n

the

expulsion

rom

the

Amazon

and

in

the

Inquisition's

ttacks

n

Vieira

and

on

the

Society

as

a

whole.

Vieira's

oice

fades

away

n

chapter

welve,

but

not

before

providing

warning

for

hose

who

are

able

to

discern

t

within

he

exhorta-

tion

that

brackets

t)

that

hose

Portuguese

ho

attack

he

work

of

the

Jesuits

are

attack-

ing

the

body

of

Christ.39

TheCoimbra nquisition ensuredVieira orhisarguments,"noting hatsomeof

them

were

against

common

Catholic

nterpretation

nd

were

presumptuous,

anger-

ous,

and

scandalous

fatuas,

emerarias

escandalosas];

hile

others

offended

he

ears

of

pious

and

faithful

Catholics

nd

were

erroneous

nd

injurious

o

the

Holy

Fathers

and

Holy

Scripture,

nd

had

the

flavor

of

heresy."40

he

tribunal's

elatively

benign

sentence

mposed

nly

one

restriction

n

the

missionary:

e

had

to

remain

n

Portugal.

This

measure

was

taken

n

order

o

prevent

Vieira

rom

undermining

he

Inquisition's

authority

y

advancing

is

ideas

outside

he

country,

s

he

would

do

after

he

the

re-

striction

was

ifted

shortly

afterwards.

he

General

Council

n

Lisbon,

however,

ver-

ruled

the

tribunal

and

issued

a

sentence

hat

would

not

fail

to

wound

he

prisoner.41

TheCouncilplacedVieiraunderhousearrestn aJesuitnovitiatenearLisbon.More

important,

he

Inquisitors

ermanently

arred

Vieira

from

preaching.42

The

sentence

was

read

to

Vieira

n

a

private

audience

on

December

3,

1667,

and

in

a

special

Jesuit

convocation

he

following

morning.

The

convocation

nspired

he

most

resounding

emonstration

f

solidarity

hat

Vieira

would

ver

receive

rom

his

fel-

low

Jesuits.43

e

never

resigned

himself,

however,

o

accepting

he

Council's

censure,

and

with

the

1668

accession

f

D.

Pedro

I

as

prince

regent

he

quickly

gained

permis-

sion

to

travel

o

Rome.

The

stated

pretext

or

his

trip

was

an

effort

to

canonize

he

group

of

Jesuits

ed

by

Luiz

Figueira

who

died

at

the

hands

of

Indians

after

being

ship-

wrecked

ff

the

coast

of

Maranhao

n

1643.

Vieira's

rue

purpose,

however,

was

o

clear

his

own

name

andthatoftheSociety.HewasvindicatedwhenPopeClementx issueda

brief

recognizing

is

"virtues

nd

good

conduct"

and

granting

im

permanent

mmu-

nity

from

he

jurisdiction

f

the

Portuguese

nquisition.44

ieira

was

now

able

to

focus

his

attention

nce

again

on

the

Brazilian

missions.

n

1681

he

traveled

o

Bahia,

where

he

remained

or

the

rest

of

his

life.

Vieira

pent

he

first

years

ollowing

is

return

o

Bahia

n

writing

and

reflection

t

a

Jesuit

retreat

outside

he

city.45

e

did

not

remain

n

seclusion

or

long,

however.

At



32


the age of eightyhe accepted he post of Jesuit Visitadorn Brazil,with the provision

that he not be obliged o make nspection oursof the missions n the backlands.46n

accepting he posthe enteredoncemore nto the public phere o preacha seriesof ser-

mons that reflecthis continued ngagementwith the missionary nterprise nd with

Luso-Brazilianocietyas a whole.

The homecomingwasmadeat whatappeared o be an auspiciousmoment or the

Jesuits.The laws ssuedby D. Pedro

I

in 1680placed he Society n a strongposition n

the Amazon or the first ime since ts expulsion rom he region n 1661.47 iththeJe-

suits' exclusive urisdictionover the Indiansrestored, t seemed that the victory of

whichVieirahad dreamed incethe 1660s one that precluded ny compromisewith

the Portuguese ettlerson the Indianquestion-was finallywithinreach.

The Societywas granted ittle time to savor ts successes.Writing rom Lisbon o

theJesuit Superiorn Maranhaon one of the few etters rom he 1670s hat addresses

the Indianquestion,Vieiraanticipatedhe difficultiesheJesuitswould ace n enforc-

ing the new laws. The letter occupiesa crucialplace in the periodization f Vieira's

texts.Alongwiththe 1678Respostao D. Pedro, t standsat the beginning f a newbody

of writingsaboutBrazil,and, morespecifically, bout he missionary nterprisen the

colony.48ieira'spurposeduringhis last years n Brazilwasto distance heJesuitsand

theirIndiancharges rom he restof colonial ociety.He sought o strengthenheJesuit

alliancewith the Portuguese rownand to focus the Society'seffortson Indianswho

had not yet been brought nto European ociety:

for this is not the time or occasion or us to use the few men and little

money we have for anythingbut the task with which we have been

charged...all our effort and application hould be to take charge

quicklyof the aldeias the villages n which heJesuits'Indiancharges

lived) . . for our greatest bligation s not the serviceof the settlers nd

their slaves;rather t is the serviceof the free Indians,Christianand

gentio,eaving he rest for when there are more missionaries,whichI

hope will be very soon.49

Vieiracontinued o referoccasionallyo the needto convert he Portuguese nd the In-

dianswhom hey had enslaved,but thesereferenceswerevagueand increasingly are.

In anycase,the eventsof the next sevenl yearsofferedno reason o hopethattheJesu-

its' relationswith the Portuguesewere ikely o improve.A rebellion gainst he crown

administrationn Maranhaon 1684 ed once again o the expulsion f theJesuits rom

the colony.The lesson hatVieiradrew rom he violenceof 1653and 1684wasthatthe

missionof the Society n Brazil ay exclusivelyn the conversion f the Indiansand in

the partnership ith the Portuguese rown hat made conversion ossible.Vieirahad

formallypostponed he conversion f the Portuguese nd wasuncharacteristicallyau-

tious aboutpredictingwith any specificity ow and at what time it wouldoccur.

Vieira's ermas Visitador1688-91) oincidedwith the birthand deathof PrinceD.

Joao, the firstborn on of D. Pedro

I

andthe king'ssecondwife, D. MariaSofiaIsabe}.

The birth in December1688and the prince'sdeath less than three weeks ater pro-

duceda new cropof millenarian xpectationshat ed Vieira o writehis last two public

sermons: he SermameAcfam eGrafas,ndthe Discurso pologAico.0 Thesesermons re

unrivalledn Vieira'swritings orthe boldnesswithwhich hey inkcontemporaryolit-

ical contingencieso his longstanding reoccupation ith the FifthEmpire.Together



Cohen

33

they

onstitute

remarkable

ct

of

summation

n

Vieira's

part

of

the

implications

f

prophecyorpublic ifethathe hadaddressedhroughout

is

career,

most

recently

n

the

Exhortation

hat

he

had

delivered

o

the

novices

of

the

Jesuit

college

n

Bahia.51

he

several

istinct

strands

f

the

Exhortation-Vieira's

nsistence

n

the

illusoriness

f

hu-

man

hopes

and

the

lack

of

autonomy

of

the

agent

of

history,

and

his

command

hat

partnership

e

the

organizing

principle

of

mission

are

all

developed

n

a

new

direc-

tion

n

the

sermons

on

D.

Joao.

Vieira's

nterpretation

f

the

progress

f

the

church

was

designed

o

accomodate

he

many

everses

hat

the

church

had

to

suffer

n

both

Portugal

nd

the

New

World.

The

Sermatn

eAcfam

e

Grafas,

ead

witho?lt

nowledge

f

the

prince's

arly

death,

shows

hat

Vieira,

ven

n

the

act

of

giving

hanks

or

the

birth

of

the

prince,

anticipated

he

trag-

edy hattheDiscursopologeticoouldexplain.Put differently, ieira n theSermame

Acfam

e

Grafas

aid

the

foundation

or

a

reversal

hat

he

would

need

only

to

interpret.

The

fact

that

his

term

as

Visitador

oincided

with

the

birth

and

death

of

D.

Joao

was

weighted

or

Vieira

with

unmistakable

ymbolism.

He

interpreted

his

symbolism

irst

in

the

private

Exhortations

nd

then

in

his

final

public

sermons.

He

had

lived

long

enough

o

be

able

o

interweave

he

destinies

f

the

prince

and

the

missionary

o

closely

as

to

make

hem

virtually

ndistinguishable.

he

prince

and

the

missionary

re

agents

of

both

history

and

providence.

Neither

one

is

autonomous,

nd

each

fulfills

his

destiny

by

recognizing

nd

finally

sacralizing

is

lack

of

autonomy.

Critics

have

suggested

hat

Vieira

was

forced

n

the

Discurso

pologetico

o

perform

desperatectofreconstructionn order o rescue hecrumblingdificeoftheSermame

Acfam

e

Grafas.

his

view

misreads

both

sermons

by

failing

to

connect

hem

to

the

body

of

writings

f

which

hey

are

a part.52

ieira's

apse

nto

pride

required

o

expla-

nation

o

his

readers;

is

apologia

was

addressed

o

God

and

to

the

queen

who

served

s

an

instrument

f

divine

providence.

f

indeed

he

sought

o

respond

o

the

derision

hat

he

encountered

n

some

quarters,

he

text

of

his

response

annot

be

read

as

a

straight-

forward

ct

of

self-defense.

Even

as

he

rejoiced

at

the

birth

of

the

prince,

Vieira

had

found

reason

o

be

cau-

tious

about

the

fulfillment

f

Portugal's

opes.

In

no

sense

may

the

sermon

be

inter-

preted

as

a

return

o

the

enthusiasms

f

his

youth.53

he

Sermam

e

Acfam

e

Grafas

nd

Discursopologeticorethemostimportantateexamples alongwiththeletters)of the

complex

nterplay

etween

hope

and

desengano

n

Vieira's

hought.

As

a

nation

hat

has

been

given

a

unique

blessing

by

God,

the

Portuguese

ave

greater

reason

than

any

other

o

fear

both

divine

providence

nd

human

envy.

Vieira

posits

a

God

who

ovingly

witholds

rom

his

chosen

nation

the

blessings

hat

it

expects,

and

then

bestows

hese

same

blessings

n

unexpected

ways.

This

interpretation

rovides

new

gloss

on

a

theme

that

Vieira

reated

n

detail

n

the

Histo'ria

o

Futuro

nd

gives

his

audience

foretaste

f

the

arguments

n

which

he

will

draw

n

the

apologia

hat

follows.

The

only

thing

hat

s

certain

about

our

hopes,

Vieira

preaches

n

the

thanksgiving

sermon,

s

that

n

fastening

n

the

wrong

object

D.

Sebastiao)

hey

have

assured

heir

ownrealization.Hadthe Portuguese opedforD.Joao iv fromthebeginning, heir

hopes

would

have

been

destroyed

y

the

envy

of

their

rivals:

The

Portuguese

ave

always

oped

or

a

King

who

would

restore

hem.

And

in

what

way

was

their

hope

justified?

n

their

having

been

mis-

taken

n

the

one

for

whom

they

hoped

(Em

errarem

esperado).

f

they

had

hoped

correctly

or

King

D.

Joao

IV,

both

he

and

we

would

have



34

Luso-Brazilian

csiew

28:1

been

ost,

for

f

God's

ealousy

and

fear

of

that

hope

had

not

taken

him

[D.Joao

IV]

fromthe world,they

would

surely

have

taken

him

from

Portugal.

And

what

did

divine

Providence

o to revealhis destiny o

him,

and

through

him

to

us?

It

made

the

Portuguese

ive

themselves

over

to

their

hope

in

King

D.

Sebastiao.

For

what

purpose?

n

order

that

heir

hope

for

the

dead

King

(a

hope

n

which

here

was

nothing

o

be

feared)

would

preserve

without

danger

he

succession

f

the

living

King.

This

nterpretation

f

the

efficacy

of

reversals

n

history-

reversals

hat

make

human

society

ware,

however

leetingly,

f

the

precariousness

f

its

hopes

runs

throughout

thehanksgivingermon.Vieira husintroducesn a public

context

he

theology

hat

he

eveloped

n

the

private

Exhortation)

hich

was

preached

within

months

of theSer-

mam

e

Acfam

e

Grafas.

he

sermon

arries

choes

of

his

experience

with

the

Jesuits

n

Maranhao

hirty

years

arlier

when

he

speaks

of

hopes

hat

are

incapable

f

fulfillment

because

f

the

envy

they

inspire.

The

enmity

he

encountered

n

rival

religious

rders,

even

n

the

face

of

explicit

orders

rom

D.

Joao

IV,

has

clearly

not

been

forgotten

by

Vieira.

his

enmity

urther

trengthens

is

conviction

hat

the

most

visible

symbols

of

hope

particularly

he

church

are

not

likely

o

be

instruments

f

divine

providence.

In

he

missions,

he

has

called

or

a

long-term

ecommitment

y

the

Jesuits

o

the

work

of

onversion;

n

the

temporal

phere,

he

looks

o

the

fulfillment

f

the

Juramento

'Ouri-

quen D.Joao

IV

andhis successors.55

The

underlying

ink

between

he

Jesuit

mission

and

the

vagaries

f

Portuguese

uc-

cession

s

made

concrete

by

Vieira

n

the

miraculous

ole

he

ascribes

o

Francis

Xavier

in

he

conception

f

the

newborn

rince

by

D.

Maria

Sofia.

The

sermon's

mphasis

n

Xavier's

ntercession

or

the

queen

accomplishes

wo

purposes.

First,

Vieira

establishes

the

entral

and

unexpected

ole

of

this

foreign-born

esuit

in

the

Portuguese

mpire

both

uring

and

after

Xavier's

ifetime;

and

second,

he

establishes

Xavier

and

the

in-

fant

rince

as

having

been

singled

out

by

God

n

the

Juramento,

he

one

to

serve

as

a

Por-

tuguese

missionary,

he

other

as

vicar

of

the

temporal

kingdom.56

ortugal

ould

not

carry

n

the

work

of

conversion

y

herself:

he

had

to

rely

on

foreign-born

mission-

aries.At thesametime,it wasclear o Vieira hata non-Portuguese issionaryould

not

be

God's

chosen

nstrument

or

converting

he

New

World.

Xavier's

naturalization

by

D.

Joao

III

represented

more

than

a

renewal

of

God's

promise

o

the

Portuguese.

Vieira

discerns

n

the

king's

action

so

singular

a

manifestation

f

divine

providence

that

he

unhesitatingly

ompares

Xavier's

assumption

f

two

nationalities

o

the

Incar-

nation.

n

attributing

Portuguese

irthright

o

Xavier

and

to

other

oreign-bornJesu-

its

who

won

his

favor,

Vieira

sought

o

establish

a

necessary

elationship

etween

he

missionary

ervor

of

the

Jesuits

and

the

advancement

f

the

temporal

nterests

f

the

Portuguese

rown.57

The

privileging

f

Xavier

on

the

one

hand

and

of

Portugal

n

the

other

completes

Vieira's

hanksgivingisionofthedependency f themissionary,ftheempire,andfi-

nally

of

Jesus.

D.

Joao

and

Xavier

ogether

onverted

Asia,

something

hat

neither

one

could

accomplish

lone;

andJesus,

n

the

Juramento,

stablished

he

Portuguese

ing

as

the

vicar

of

the

temporal

ingdom

n

the

same

way

hat

he

established

eter

as

the

vicar

of

the

spiritual

ne.

In

Jesus's

words

o

Peter

"on

this

rock

I

will

build

my

church,"

Mt.16.18)

Vieira

inds

he

model

or

shared

ule

hat

will

be

inherited

y

the

Portuguese

dynasty:



Cohen

35

I

shall

establish

n

Empire,

Christ

said,

in

you,

in

te,

but

for

me,

mihi:

andwhat s themeaningof "inyou,"and"forme?"The

meaning

s

that

it

will

be

an

Empire

of

Christ

and

the

King

of

Portugal

ogether.

Because

t

is

founded

or

me,

miAt;

t

is

mine;

because

t

is

founded

n

you,

in

te,

t

is

yours.

And

if

this

Empire

s

mine,

and

yours,

t

belongs

to

the

two

of

us.

Who

are

these

two?

They

are

Christ,

who

spoke

t,

and

the

King

of

Portugal,

o

whom

he

spoke.58

The

partnership

hat

Vieira

posited

n

the

Exhortations

in

which

he

missionaries

oin

with

God

in

the

work

of

conversion)

s

given

a

new

temporal

ocus

the

king

of

Portugal

in

the

service

of

the

same

apostolic

nds.

The

progeny

f

the

sixteenth

gen-

erationo which heJuramentoefers s the newbornprince.Stillthe Portuguesemust

pray

or

their

prince,

ust

as

D.

Maria

Sofia

continued

o

pray

o

Xavier

after

she

had

conceived.

The

thanksgiving

ermon

ounds

a

final

prophetic

warning

about

the

pre-

cariousness

f

even

those

hopes

that

are

founded

n

Xavier

and

the

Juramento.

Vieira's

defense

of

the

thanksgiving

ermon

n

the

Discurso

pologe'tico

egins

with

a

tone

that

confounds

he

reader

with

echoes

of

his

angry

1642

Sermao

elo

bom

ucesso

as

armas

e

Portugal.

9

The

resemblance,

owever,

s

only

a

surface

ne.

Instead

f

returning

to

the

unmediated

age

with

which

he

confronted

God

in

the

earlier

ermon,

Vieira

n

the

Discurso

pologe'tico

inds

signs

of

God's

mercy

even

in

his

opening

ament.

Under-

mining

the

idea

that

it

would

have

been

better

or

the

newborn

prince

never

o

have

been givento Portugal hanto havebeen givenandtakenawayaftereighteendays,

Vieira

goes

back

o

the

conceit

of

looking

and

seeing

on

which

he

thanksgiving

ermon

was

based.

God

took

he

prince

rom

his

people

n

order

o

protect

him

from

he

hurtful

eyes

not

only

of

Portugal's

nemies

but

also

of

the

reverent

Portuguese

hemselves:

When

God

hurries

o

take

from

this

world

hose

who

are

well

looked

upon

by

him,

it

is

not

because

his

eyes

cast

his

olhado

n

them,

but

rather

because

his

eyes

see

and

foresee

he

olhado

rom

which

he

wants

to

deliver

hem.

And

this

was

the

reason

one

that

we

neither

xpected

nor

magined)

why

divine

providence

ave

and

took

away

within

o

few

days hedesired neofoureyesandthepromised neofitsown.These

are

the

second

effects

of

the

gaze

and

sight

of

God,

which

do

not

undo

but

rather

erfect

he

Elrst

ffects.

He

wished

hat

our

Infante

hould

be

born

nto

this

life,

in

order

hat

he

might

ive

into

the

other,

not

dead

exactly,

but

transported.60

These

"second

ffects"

are

the

central

onceit

of

the

Discurso

pologettico

nd

a

founda-

tion

block

of

the

religious

and

social

hought

of

Vieira's

ast

years

n

Bahia.

His

guilt

consists

n

his

having

orgotten

he

very

precariousness

hat

he

has

attributed

o

God's

promises.

n

an

affirmation

f

the

efficacy

of

his

preaching

hat

goes

even

further

han

his

customary

roadclaims,Vieiranowargues hathis thanksgivingermon ookthe

prince's

ife.

Words

re

actions.6'

he

manner

n

which

he

arrives

t

his

conclusion

on-

cerning

he

prince's

death

reveals

much

about

the

way

Vieira

understood

he

act

of

prophecy

nd

the

responsibilities

f

its

practitioners.

I

noted

earlier

hat

Vieira

n

his

thanksgiving

ermon

ook

a

divine

promise

respi-

ciet,

t

videbit)

nd

located

t

in

history

respexit,

t

vidit).

To

the

public

celebration

f

the

prince's

birth

Vieira

added

a

prophecy

hat

denied

the

tenuous

hold

on

life

that

had



36


been givenby the first ook olhar) f God. The sermon husserved s a kindof provoca-

tion. In offering hanks or whathad been given,Vieiraassumed oo readily hatwhat

had been givenwouldnot be takenaway.The resultwasthe second ookof God, which

numbersamong the second effectswith which human hopes are brought ow. The

workings f divineprovidence re completedwhenthesehopesare raisedup again, as

Vieirashowshis readers heymustbe. He discerns fine tensionbetween aithful ffir-

mation and pridefulexpectancy, nd it is in navigatingbetween hese two that the

preacherwho claimsa gift of prophecyputs the objectof his prophecy t risk:

It was I who put our Prince n this seconddangerXne in whichI was

also the cause of death, for when we were celebrating is birth as a

childI added o him the title anddestinyof Emperor; nd in this wayI

announced he newsand providedmorereason or the olhadohat took

his life.62

Vieira'sculpabilityboth underlines he fragilityat whichhe hinted in the Sermame

Accam eGrafasnd prepareshe ground or a new understandingf divineprovidence.

The thanksgivingermonprovokedGod to protect he newborn rince rom he admir-

ing gaze of the Portuguese.Vieiramoveson, in the Discurso pologetico,o a morecau-

tiouseffort o discernand understandhe secondeffects hat shapePortuguese istory.

It seemspuzzling,Vieiranotes,that the newbornprince the vicarof the temporal

kingdom) houldhave akenpossession f thatkingdom n heaven ather hanon earth,

wherePeter ook possession f the spiritualkingdom.To explain he puzzle,and to il-

lustrate he ogicof D. Joao'svicarship,Vieira ntroduces n analogywiththe protocols

of colonial administration. oth vicars, his argumentruns, receive heir respective

kingdoms irectly romJesus: he Portuguese iceroys re sworn nto theirpostsnot in

the coloniesbut in the metropolis,wherethe king presides,while Peterreceived he

spiritualkingdomon earthbecauseJesus was in the worldwhen he commanded he

apostle o build he church.D. Joao therefore ad to be removed o heaven n order o

receive he vicarship f the temporal ingdom romJesus.

Vieiranow faces he problem f understandingxactlyhow the temporal ingdom

will be governed.His argument onstitutes ne of his last discussions f the natureof

apostolicand politicaldependency.Vieiradrawshere on the historical articularity f

the successionragedy o investwithspecialurgency he knowledgehatno singlebrother

can serveas an autonomous gentof history.Anticipating is audience'swaryrecep-

tion of the argument hat D. Joao will govern hroughan unbornbrother a brother

who in turn will govern hroughhis fatheruntil he comesof age), he declares hat

for me, though t be a marvel, t is not a novelty; or this is God'sway

withthe Kingdoms hathe has madeand of whichhe is the King. And

the only two Kingdomsof this kind that the worldhas seen are the

Kingdomof Judah, and afterwardshat of Portugal.63

In thesepassages he concrete ersonal ndpoliticaldisappointmentsf his lastyears n

Bahiawerewoven eamlesslynto Vieira's nterpretive roject.Far rom orcinghim to

leapto savea crumbling difice, he thanksgivingermonanticipatedhe dynastic risis

that the Discurso pologeticonterprets.To the extent hat the preacherwas calledupon



Cohen

37

in

this

sermon

o perform

balancing

ct,

he

was

answering

he

demands

f

God

and

ofscripture, ot thoseof the Portugueseuccession r of anyothercontingency. he

Dtscurso

pologetico

llows

Vieira

and

his

readers

o approach

n

a

new

way

in the

light

ofa

national

ragedy

the

tension

between

he

illusoriness

f

human

hopes

and

the

ir-

revocable

romises

f

God.

Vieira

has

written

and

spoken

many

imes

of the

need

to

understand

he

mysteries

of scripture

n

their

iteral

ense.64

t

is therefore

ot

surprising

hat

n

thetwo

sermons

onD.

Joao,

which

allude

requently

o

theJuramcnto,

e

is

concerned

with

the

physical

activity

of

looking

and

seeing.

The

hope

contained

n

Hannah's

prayer

Si

respiciens

videris

carried

with

it

a

promise

hat

her

child

would

be given

o

the

service

of

God.65

It also

carried

he

conviction

hat

God's

sight

s

beneficent.

Vieira

shares

his

convic-

tion,butwitha differencehatonlybecomes ullyapparent fter hedeathof D.Joao.

Before

he

succession

ragedy

Vieira

had

never

considered

he

literal

sense

of

the

text

from

Samuel.

The

death

of the

prince

suggests

o

him

a

new

exegesis

of

the

pas-

sage.

The

eyes

of

God

that

attended

he

birth

of Samuel

are

fixed

not

only

onGod's

er-

vants

but also

on

the

sinful

ociety

n

which

hose

servants

ive.

God

is

watchful

f

those

who

watch.

In

a lapse

hat

pointed

o

the

fundamental

ensions

mbedded

n the

theol-

ogy

of his

later

years,

Vieira

or

a

moment

had

turned

his

view

away

rom

society

and

seen

only

the

destiny

of the

prince:

I founded

t [the

interpretation

f

the

destiny

of

King

D. Joao]

in

the

wordsandpromises f God.HowcouldI fearthattheeyesof thevery

God

who

gave

him

life

would

cast

the

olhado

pon

him,

since

only

the

one

who

gave

him

his

existence

ould

take

t away?

The

power

of

this

conclusion

aused

me at

first

o think

hat

God's

eyes

too

can

cast

the

olhado.

ut

after

he

clouds

of

pain

and

sadness

had

dispersed

little,

they

helped

meto

perceive

greater

ight;

and

in this

matter

which

s

all

a

mystery)

discovered

nother

ircumstance

hat

I had

not

imag-

ined

and

that

ndeed

could

not

easily

be

imagined.

And

what

mystery

was

this?

That

it

was

not

the

olhado

f

God

that

took

the

life

of

our

Prince,

but

rather

t

was

God

who

took

the

Prince's

ife

in

order

hat

theworldmightnot givehimthe olhada66

Again

Vieira

shows

hat

words

are actions.

He

recalls

his

sermon

as

both

an act

of

prophecy

nd

an

act

of creation:

founded

t

refers

not

only

to

the

hope

but

also

to

the

realization

f

that

hope.

At

the

same

time,

a passage

hat

briefly

had

the

look

of

an

apology

becomes

a

vehicle

by

which

Vieira

reaffirms

ispreferred

method

of exegesis

and,

not

incidentally,

eminds

his

audience

hat

his

prophetic

owers

produced

esults

that

were

fatal

only

in

appearance.

Wary

perhaps

f exhausting

he

patience

of

hisreaders,

Vieira

has

offered

a

some-

what

elliptical

reatment

ere

of

the

gaze

of

God.

But

his

brief

discussion

f

the

olhado

provides

n

effective

ink

to

his

larger

argument

oncerninghespecificity f theJura-

mento

and

of

scriptural

eferences

o

the

shared

rule

of the

Portuguese

eirs.

He

in-

vokes

once

more

the

promised

mission

of the

Portuguese

rown:

The

Kingdom

ofPortugal

was

conceived

efore

t existed

n

the

person

of

D. Henrique,

and

while

still

in

the

embryo

t

was

already

animated



38

Luso-Brazilianeview 8:1

by the spirit

of the

conquestofJerusalem . .

The same

Kingdomwas

bornon theFieldsof Ourique n the fightingarmsof King D. Affonso

I.67

This

reaffirmation

f themission hat

was

prophesiedn theJuramento

ivesway n

theconclusion f the

Discurso

pologeticoo a sustained

iscussion f

extra-biblical rit-

ings that

the

Portuguese aveembraced s

prophecies.

Among he

prophecieso which

Vieira

refersare those

of FreiZacharias f

Guimaraes,n whose

wordsD.

MariaSofia

Isabel s

mostclearly

prefigured.68ieira's

nterpretationf Frei

Zacharias,

ndhis ref-

erence

oJohn

Chrysostomo supporthis

conclusion, ocuson

the

prophecy hat "In

the last

days of greaterSpain

there will reign a King

two times

piouslygiven [duas

vezespiamentedado]:andhewill reign hrough womanwhosenamewillbeginwith

I

and end with L, and

this Kingwill come

from he

East."69 isdiscussion

f this pas-

sagecontains wo

striking

lements, he firstof which

s his

attempt o link FreiZacha-

rias'sprophecyo his

veiled uggestion

lsewheren the

Discursopologetico

hatnot only

the

promisedking but also the

queen will

be "two times piously

given."

Vieira's

ntipathy

o the lateD. Maria

Franciscasabelwas

wellknown.

This antip-

athytakes

on a more

complex hading n

lightof Vieira's

nterpretationf

FreiZacha-

rias.In his

1684

obsequies or the queen,he

pointed o the

renewal f the

dynastic ine

thathehopedwould

ollow

peedily n theQueen's

death.70 he

obsequies ntagonized

the king, whohad

neversharedhis father's

steem or

Vieira.Fiveyears

aterVieira s

unrepentant, nd evenmoreunmindful f D. Pedro's eaction o his words:

God tookaway

oneQueen, in

order o give us

another.EIe ook

away

Her

SereneHighnessof

Savoy o be

ableto giveus Her

August

High-

ness

ofAustria;he took

away he

sterilequeen o be able

to give us

the

fecundone; he tookaway

he onewho afterso

manyyears

of hopeand

desengano

bligedus to look outside

he Patria

o becomesubjects

and

vassalsof a foreign

Prince.He did all this in

order o

bring us from

even urther

way ne

whowithin he firstyear

restoredous the

Lord-

ship

of native-born

Kings.'l

Withthese

wordsVieira inks

FreiGil's

prophecy hatsalvation

will comefromafar o

Frei

Zacharias'sredictionhat

hissalvationwill be

accomplished

hrough woman.72

The

redeemer romafar

presents he Portuguesewith

a twofold

reversal f expecta-

tions:redemptionwill

come

unexpectedly,nd it will

come from

an unexpected ing.

Vieira

has beenrefining his

argument

or almost iftyyears,

but thereplacement f

the sterile

queenwiththe fertile

D. Maria

Sofiasuggests hathe

wasrethinking is in-

terpretation

f the prophetic

exts. The

late queencame from

afar and possesseda

name that lent itself

to the

fulfillmentof Frei

Zacharias's

rophecy.Symmetryre-

quired,

however,hat

not thequeen rom

Savoybut

another tillmoredistant

sabelbe

the

instrument f

divineprovidence. he

masculine

nd feminine ndings

maythusbe

applied

nterchangeablyo the

participle n the

prophecy.

A final ndication

f the

singulardestiny hat

Vieirareservedor the

secondqueen

wastheimage n the

thanksgiving

ermonof D. Maria

SofiaIsabelas an

instrument f

restitution.This image

provided

foretaste f the

strategy hat

Vieiraemploys n the

Discursopologeticoo

locate he

queen'splace n history.

Godhad

removed he newborn

prince n

order o protecthim

fromthe gazeof the

Portuguese.

God'sowngaze, how-



Cohen

39

ever,

had

come

to

rest

on

the

prince's

mother.

The

prophecy

equired

ot

only

that

the

kingbe twicegiven,butthattherestitution e accomplished ythisparticularwice-

given

queen.

Vieira's

dentification

f

the

queen

who

will

rule

nthe

name

of

a king

from

he

west

with

the

queen

who

will

be twice

given

s

thefirst

mportant

lement

of his

interpreta-

tion.

The

second

element

s

his

appropriation

fJohn

Chrysostom

n

privileging

he

queen's

role

in

propagating

he

royal

line.73

The

Discurso

pologetico

xtravagantly

praises

D.

Pedro's

eroism

nd dentifies

he

king

as

the

appointed

uardian

f

the

Fifth

Empire

hat

will

be

inherited

by

his son.74

Vieira

had

identified

D.

Pedro

hirty

years

earlier

s

the

rightful

eir

to

his

brother,

D.

Affonso.75

n

old

age,

however,

ieira

places

his

hopes

for

the

redemption

f

Portugal

n

the

queen

as

well

as

in

D.

Pedro

and

the

Jesuits.Byemphasizingheroleof thequeenVieiraradicallyxpandsheideaofapos-

tolic

partnership

hat

underlies

he

Exhortations

nd

the

sermons

on

D.Joao.76

Vieira

expands

his

interpretation

f

apostolic

partnership

till

further

when,

in

at-

tributing

he

birth

of the

prince

o

the

prayers

f

the

Queen,

he

extends

he

prophecy

concerning

ifts

given

wice

to

include

he

repeated

ntercession

f

Xavier.

The

prince

was

conceived

s a

result

of

the

Queen's

veneration

f

the

image

and

biretta

hat

had

been

brought

rom

Goa

(thus

he

dual

nterpretation

f the

prophecy

hat

the

king

will

come

from

the

East).

The

second

son too

will

come

from

the

East:

Because

f when

given

he

first

ime

it came

from

Goa

in

the

reliquary

andbirettaof St. FrancisXavier(as we havealreadynoted), in the

same

way

when

given

he

second

ime

t

will

come

from

hat

same

East

through

he

intercession

fthe

same

Saint,

whose

proven

power

nd

fa-

vor

were

sought

n

the

prayers

nd

novenas

f

Her

Majesty.

Atthe

time

when

the

nine

months

of

the

first

pregnancy

egan,

the

Image

of St.

Francis

Xavier

was

brought

rom

Sao

Roque

[the

Jesuit

college]

o the

Palace,

and

speaking

with

the

Image

our

Lady

the

Queen

told

it in

words

most

Portuguese

com

palavras

muito

Portuguezas]:

My

Saint,

give

mea

son

if

God

should

wish

it.

God

wished

t,

and

wished

hat

t

be

not

only

his

gift,

but

also

that

of the

Saint.'7

Vieira

here

ies

together

he

diverse

trands

fthe

Discurso

pologetico

y

focusing

n

the

shared

destiny

of Xavier,

the

queen,

and

the

Portuguese

nation.

The

foreign-born

queen

becomes

he

instrument

hosen

by

God

to

express,

"with

words

most

Portu-

guese,"

he

singular

devotion

of her

adopted

homeland.

Similarly,

ivine

providence

turned

a Navarran

nto

a Portuguese

who

would

convert

he

East.

Together,

he

queen

and

the

missionary

would

wice

bless

the

nation

with

the

sons

who

would

receive

rom

Jesus

the

vicarship

f the

Fifth

Empire.

The

Discurso

pologetico

ight

have

concluded

here,

but

Vieira

was

not

a

preacher

who

invited

complacency.

hough

he

Fifth

Empire

had

been

irrevocably

romised

o

thenation, hePortuguesemustworkandpray n order hatthepromisenotbedenied

to them

ndividually.

he

progressive

arrowing

f the

sermon's

ocus

s

now

reversed,

and

Vieira

preaches

f

the

sins

of

Portuguese

ociety

n

a style

that

recalls

his

sermons

of the

1650s

more

han

those

of

hislast

years

n

Bahia.

Rlieira

raised

he

Queen

n

the

Sermam

e

Accam

e

Grafas

or

her

devotion

o

Xavier

even

after

she

knew

that

she

had

conceived.

D.

Maria

Sofia

knew

that

God,

"though

he

cannot

ail

in

his

word,

none-

theless

wishes

hat

we

ask

him

for

the

very

hing

hat

he

has

promised

s."78

he

Portu-



40 Luso-Brazilianeview 8:1

guese of Bahia have recently been providentiallywarned of the consequencesof

forgetting his requirement. he biblical ext for the feastday of Xavier hat coincided

with the announcementn Bahiaof the birthof the princewasfromthe twenty-fourth

chapter f Isaiah.The remnant f which

he prophet peakswill be the Portuguese, ut

only those Portuguesewhoseactionsdeliver

hem frompunishment.ForVieira,pray-

ers must be linkedto action, and this irreducible

act is reflected n the wordswith

whichhe warns he Portuguesehat "there

will remainonly the few who haveunder-

standingand who conduct hemselves s men with understanding."79

The conversion f the Portuguese ation husemergesas the ultimate onsequence

of the devotion f its queenand of her intercessor,

avier.This conversion asVieira's

constantpreoccupationuringhis sermons

f the 1650s,andthough t appearsess fre-

quently n his writings fterhis finalreturn o Brazil,he neverabandonedt. The Elnal

passageof the Discurso pologeticoasaddressed

o the Portuguese ation.Vieira's llu-

sion to a secretpaper hat the author ntends

or a wideraudience uggests he divine

inspirationo whichhe laysclaim n this

and othersermons.His purpose, ikehis pur-

pose in Lisbonand in Maranhao,s to

prompt he Portugueseo act:

If this paper houldpass nto the

handsof the Portugueseforwhom t

is not formallyntended], would

wishto tell them hatplacedbetween

the dangerand the hope in which

this prophecyputs us today,each

person hould ee and consider arefullywhether t is better or him to

mendhis mad waysand live withthe few,or to continue n theseways

and perishwith the many.80

Between he dangerand the hope lie the

secondeffects hroughwhichhistoryunfolds.

No longeraffecting o speakonlyto the queen,

Vieira eesa final nstructivexample f

these secondeffects n the circuitousmanner

n whichhis text will reach ts readers.

The preacherwho couldonce command

a crowdat Sao Roquemust now speak o his

audiencenot directlybut through he hands

hatmightcomeuponthis avowedlyecret

sermon.Vieira's ope is an inclusionary

ne inasmuch s it assigns o all Portuguese

role n establishinghe FifthEmpire.The

fulElllmentf thatrolehas been sealedby the

Juramento,ut the covenantmust continuously e made anew by a converted ation.

The Portuguese, lessedwithanother aving

reversal f expectations,will be set on the

road to conversion y those faithfulwhoprovidentiallyeceiveand act upon Vieira's

warning.

N(ZES

'The Restorationed by D. Joao, the former

Dukeof Bragansa, ndedsixtyyearsof Spanish

rule in Portugal 1580-1640).

2Vieira1608-1697)wasborn n Lisbonandspenthis childhoodn Bahia.He returnedo Por-

tugal mmediately fter he Restorationt the request

f the Brazilian iceroy n order o convey o

D. Joao IV the support f his Brazilian ubjects.Forthe standard iography,eeJoao Luciode

Azevedo,Histo'riaeAntonio ieiratwo vols.,

Lisbon, 1918-20).

3Thephrase s fromJosevan den Besselaar,

Erudisao,EspiritoCritico Acribia a Historia

do Futurode AntonioVieira," n RevistaaFaculdade

eFilosofia, ienciasLetraseMarilia1976),

47.



Cohen

41

4Menasseh

en

Israel,

The

Hope

fIsrael,

ds.

H. Mechoulan

nd

G. Nahon

New

York,

1987).

5EsperancasePortugal,uintomperiooMundo.rimeirasegundaida eEl-reiDomoao V, scritas

por

Goncalo

annes

andarra

comentadas

or

Vieira,

m

arta

o

bispo

o apao,

D.

Andre

ernandes,

n Ob-

rasEscolhidas,

ds.

Hernani

Cidade

and

Antonio

Sergio

twelve

ols.,

Lisbon,

1951-54),

I, 1-66.

6Livro

nteprimeiro

a

Historia

oFuturo,

d.

Jose

vanden

Besselaar

two

vols.,

Munster,

1976);

Historia

o

Futuro,

d.

Maria

Leonor

Carvalhao

uescu

Lisbon,

1982).

The

two

Representations

Re-

presentacoes)

ave

been

published

s the

Defesa

erantc

Tnbunal

o

Santo

Oficio,

d.

H.

Cidade

two

vols.,

Bahia,

1957).

Unless

otherwise

oted

the

Histotna

oFuturo

ill

hereafter

efer

o

both

sec-

tions

of the

text.

Besselaar's

ritical

dition

of the

Livro

Antctrimeiro

epresents

he

most

nsightful

treatment

o

date

of Vieira's

prophetic

writings.

'Azevedo

mphasizes

he

socio-political

mplications

f

Vieira's

rial

but

devotes

ittle

attention

to the

doctrinal

nd

exegetical

ssues

hat

were

at

stake.

Cidade

provides

n

excellent

nalysis

f

theimportancefBrazilnVieira'snterpretivechemabut,likeAzevedo, e isnotprimarilyon-

cerned

with

the

specific

nterpretive

trategies

hat

caused

problems

or

the

missionary.

esselaar,

finally,

s

anindispensable

uide

o

the

prophetic

exts

upto

but

not

including

he

defense;

e

un-

derlines

he

need

or

an

analysis

fthe

Representations.

zevedo,

Histo'ria

eAntonio

ieira,

p.cit.,

II,

5-95;

Representacao

rimeira,

, Cidade,

ed., viiff.;

Jose

van

den

Besselaar,

O Sebastianismo:

istoria

sumaria

Lisbon,

1987)

137.

8Vieira

erved

as

Superior

f

the

Jesuit

missions

n Maranhao

nd

Grao

Para

rom

1653

o

1661.

His

work

n the

Amazon

came

to

an abrupt

nd

when

he

and

his

fellow

missionaries

ere

expelled

rom

he

region

and

sent

back

o

Lisbon

by

Portuguese

ettlers

whohad

ong

resisted

he

temporal

uthority

f

the

Jesuits

n

theregion.

The

settlers

ought

o strip

he

Jesuits

of

thepower

that

D.

Joao

hadgranted

hem

o

regulate

he

slaving

xpeditions

entradas)

nto

the

backlands

nd

the subsequent istributionf Indian abor o Europeans.The expulsionpermanentlyompro-

mised

Vieira's

ommitment

onegotiating

with

he

settlers

ver

heir

reatment

f

the

Indians

nd

over

he

political

nd

economic

ole

of

the

missionaries

n

the

Amazon.

He returned

o

Lisbon

de-

termined

ovindicate

is

conduct

nd

to

convince

D.

Luisa

the

widow

of

D.Joao)

to

reaffirm

he

Jesuits'

authority.

or

an

excellent

discussion

f

the

conflict

between

heJesuits

and

the

Portu-

guese

settlers

ver

he

control

f

Indian

abor,

ee

Dauril

Alden,

"Black

Robes

versus

White

Set-

tlers:

The

Struggle

or

'Freedom

f

the

Indians'

n

Colonial

Brazil,"

n

Howard

Peckham

nd

Charles

Gibson,

eds.,

Attitudes

f

Colonial

owers

oward

he

American

ndian

Salt

Lake

City,

1969)

1945.

9Bandarra

ca.

1500-1550)

was

a cobbler

rom

Trancoso

hose

Trovas

ecame

he

central

ext

of the

Sebastianist

movement.

The

most

frequently

ited

ext

of the

Trovas

s the

Porto

edition

of

1866.

l°Saraiva

rites

hat

"For

Vieira

Bandarra

as

a

prophet

with

the

same

authority

sthose

of

the

Old

Testament."

ntonio

ose

Saraiva,

Antonio

Vieira

t

Menasseh

en

Israel,"

nStudia

o-

senthaliana

I:

1

(1972)

27.

IISee

Hernani

Cidade's

omments

Representacao

rimeira,

,

Prefacio,

nd

Representacao

egunda,

II,

Posfacio;

nd

Besselaar,

p.

cit.,

120,

139.

l2Azevedo,

Evolucao

o

Sebastianismo

second

d.,

Lisbon,

1947)

28;

cf. Azevedo,

d.,

Histotria

do

Futuro,

n

Boletim

a

Clase

e

Letras

a

Academia

as

Sciencias

e

Lisboa,

.

12

(Coimbra,

918)

110ff.;

Azevedo,

OsJesuitas

o

Xo

Para

second

dition,

Coimbra,

930)

114;

Cidade,

Prefacio,

n

Obras

s-

colhidas,

I,

xli; and

Besselaar,

O

Sebastianismo,

p.

cit.,

49.

l3The

most

famous

ontemporary

riter

o

share

Vieira's

eadiness

o

transfer

is

hope

n the

Encoberto

rom

D.

Sebastiao

o

D.Joao

IV wasa fellow esuit,Joaode Vasconcellos1592-1661),

who

wrote

under

he

pseudonym

Gregorio

eAlmeida.

See

Sstauracao

ePortugal

rodiogiosa

Lis-

bon,

1643;

reprint,

our

volumes,

Damiao

Peres,

ed.,

Barcelos,

939-40).

Azevedo

alls

Almeida

the

"doctor

par

excellence

f

Restoration

messianism;"

p.

cit.,

72.

'4Fernandes

as

the

confessor

f

D.

Luisa.

t5Obras

scolhidas,

I,

2.

'60bras

scolhidas,

I,

17.



42

Luso-Brazilian

tview 8:1

i'Representafao

rimeira

,

123.

98Themost important f theseprophets or the Portuguese re Bandarra nd

S

FreiGil.

Vieiraalso

refers

requently

o the

Juramento

'Ourique.

l9In dentifying

King

D. Joao

as the hidden

king

of the Trovas,

ieiraextends

Bandarra's

prophecies

oncerning

O Encoberto

o accomodate

he

perceived hortcomings

f the

deceased

ruler:

Oh

howmuchwas

hidden n that

man,

El-reiDom

Joao

El-reiDom

Joao washidden

withinhimself;

ndcertain

mperfections

f the

king

thatwere

mostwidelycommented

uponwerea

natural overing

nd

maskwith

which

God hadhidden

n

the kingwhat

he

wantedo bring

about

hrough im,

inorder hat

he

king'swonders

might

bemorewon-

drous.Obras

scolhidus,

I,

46.

20"Specious

rgument:

DomJoao,

precisely

ecausehe is

an anti-hero,

will be

chosen

byGod

tobetheheroofthelasttimes ''

Besselaar,

p. cit.,

124;cf. RepresentafaoPrimeira,

,

198.

Foraview

similar

o that

of Besselaar,

ee Azevedo,

A Evolufao

eSebastianismo,

p. cit., 93-94.

21The

inalpage

of the Second

epresentation

sdatedJuly

23,

1666.Fordiscussions

f theproba-

ble

datesof composition

f the Histo'ria

oFuturo,

ee Histo'ria

oFuturo,

zevedo,

d., op.

cit., 114;

Raymond

Cantel, "ICHistoria

o

Futuro

u PereAntonio

Vieira:Reflexions

ur la

genese

de

l'oeuvre

et les differents

momentsde sa

composition,"

n

Bulletin esEtudes

ortugaises,XV

(1964),

35; Jose

vanden Besselaar,

ivroAnteprimeiro,

omentario,ff;

and

MarcelBataillon,

"Le

Bresildans

unevision

d'Isaie

elon e pere

AntonioVieira,"

n Bulletines

Etudes

ortugaises,.

25

(1964),11-21.

22Severalassages

n Vieira'setters

make

tpossible

o identifyhe

period

duringwhich

Vieira

worked

n theHistotria

oFuturo. artas,

d. JoaoLucio

de Azevedo

three

vols.,Coimbra,

1925-

28),

II, 59, 74,

143, 160,166ff.

Cantel

makes ffective

se of the

internal

vidence

f the

text. Can-

tel,

op.

cit., 35ff.

23Vieira's

irstestalo,

r

sudden llumination,

ccuredwhen

he was a

Jesuit

novice n Bahia.

24Livronteprimeiro,

, 223.

25Ibid.,

,

290.

26Representafao

egunda,,

234;cf. Dan.12.8:

"I heard,but

I did

not understand."

27cf.

Representafao

egunda,

I, 71.

28The

iches

"forcedhuman

greed o prepare

tselfto overcome

ll thosedifficulties

ndto

openandallowus to pass hroughhosedoors."bid.,752.The imageof thedoor hroughwhich

theEuropean

ntersnto contact

with he

gentio

i11 eappear

n Vieira's

688Exhortation

o the

Je-

suitnovices.

nthissermon

Vieirapersonifies

anguage

s "the

onlydoorby

which

t ispossible

o

enter

ntoknowledge

f others."

ermoes

sixteen

vols.,

SaoPaulo,

1943-45),

VIII, 523.

Commenting

n

Vieira'snterpretation

f temporal

ower,Besselaar

writes:"a dialectical

e-

lationship

xistsbetween

he

subjectivententions

f men

(such

as theambition

or

wealth) nd

he

objective

nds

of Providence

the

Christianization

f the

world)." ivro

nteprimeiro,

omenta'rio,

II,

740.

29Vieira

ill

returno this

theme n his

discussion

nthe Second

epresentation

f

Jesus'sministry

to

theJews,stating

hatJesus

made

"a concession

o human

weakness

whenhe exhorted

mennot

to

abandon heir

treasures

bsolutely

ut rather

o pass

thosetreasures

o Heaven,

wherethey

might ecurely ossesshem."Thekingsof Portugal,nturn,offermaterial enefitso neophytes,

"hoping

hat

with he

helpof human

and emporal

nterests

heconversion

f theheretics

might

be

morecopious

andthat

of thegentios

ore

irm;andexperience

asshown

his tobe the

case,

with

divine

Providencend

grace

makinguse

of those

means hat

aremost suited

o

humannature."

Representafao

egunda,

I,

156;

ora similar

rgument,

eethe

Histo'ria

oFuturo,

I, 6, 321ff.,and

the

1644

Sermao

eS. Roque,

n which

Vieira

defendsan idea

that

he qualifies

n theLivroAnteprimeiro

and

Histotria

oFuturo

roper:hat

riches

whichare gained

by

impiousmeans

maybe legitimately

usedfor

piousends.

Sermoes,

II, 22ff.



Cohen

43

30The

ontinuing

orce

of

this

project

s

reflected

n

the

words

of

Cardinal

.

Paracattil

o

the

1970ynod nNewDelhi:"TheCatholic

Church

s

neither

Latin

nor

Greek

nor

Slav,

but

univer-

sal.

Unless

he

Church

an

show

herself

ndian

n

India

and

Chinese

n

China,andJapanesen

Japan,

he

will

never

reveal

her

authentically

atholic

haracter."

uoted

n

Enrique

Dussel,

"Theologies

f

the

'Periphery'

nd

the

'Centre:

Encounter

r

Confrontation?X"

n

C.

Geffre,

G.

Gutierrez,

nd

V.

Elizondo,

ds.,

Diff^rent

heologies,

ommon

csponsibility:

abel

r

Pentecost?

Edin-

burgh,

984),

88.

3lIs.

18.1,2,

Revised

Standard

Version.

The

Vulgate

n

which

Vieira

based

his

exegesis

eads:

Vae

errae

ymbalo

larum,

Quae

est

trans

lumina

Aethiopiae,

Qui

mittit

n

mare

ega-

tos,

Et

in

vasis

papyri

uper

aquas.

Ite

angeli

voces,

Ad

gentem

convulsam

t

dilacera-

tam;

Ad

populum

erribilem,

post

quem

non

est

alius;

Ad

gentem

exspectantem

t

conculatam,Cuiusdiripueruntlumina erram ius.

The

KingJames

Version

eads:

Woe

o

the

and

shadowing

ith

wings,

which

s

beyond

he

rivers

f

Ethiopia:

That

send-

eth

ambassadors

y

the

sea,

even

n

vessels

f

bulrushes

pon

the

waters,

aying,

Go,

ye

swift

messengers,

o

a

nation

cattered

nd

peeled,

o

a

people

errible

rom

heir

begin-

ning

hitherto;

nation

meted

out

an

trodden

down,

whose

and

the

rivers

have

spoiled

The

Revised

Standard

ersion

oes

not

suggest

everal

f

the

specific

eferences

o

the

Indians

hat

VieiradiscernsntheVulgate.TheKingJamesVersionmoreclosely ollowsheVulgate,

particu-

larly

n

its

reference

o

"a

nation

scattered

nd

peeled.

.meted

out

and

trodden

down."

32Neither

he

Revised

Standard

Version

"whirring")

or

the

KingJames

Version

"shadow-

ing")

admits

Vieira's

mphasis

n

the

bell-like

ound

produced

y

sinos

n

his

translation

f

the

Vulgate

cymbalo

larum)

nto

Portuguese:

Ay

da

terra,

que

tem

sinos

com

azas)

[Woe

o

the

land

where

here

are

bells

with

wings]."

Besselaar

uggests

hat

Vieira's

lternate

ranslation

"Ay

da

terra,

que

tem

navios

com

azas"

Woe

o

the

land

where

here

are

ships

with

wings)

s

based

on

Thomas

Malvenda's

eading

f

one

of

the

Latin

versions

f

the

Septaguint.

ivro

nteprimeiro,

om-

entario,

II,

1137.

33Livro

nteprimeiro,

II,

1168.

In

an

uncharacteristic

apse,

Vieira

misconstrued

he

argument

of

Palacios

s

arguing

against

his

own

view

of

scriptunl

references

o

the

Indians.

34Themaraca'seremadeofcoconutorcalabashhells illedwithseeds.Livro nteprimeiro,

II,

1156.

35Vieira's

ext

has

rostrata

nstead

of

rostra.

ivro

Anteprimeiro,

II,

1185.

36Ibid.,

VII,

253.

3'Ibid.,

I,

378.

38Ibid.,

XII,

1207.

39The

ivro

nteprimeiro

as

no

conclusion

roperly

peaking:

Vieira

never

ompleted

he

work,

and

the

text

published

y

Besselaar

nds

in

mid-sentence.

400bras

scolhidas,

I,

181-182

.

4tRepresentafaoPrimeira,

,

xxxvii;

Azevedo,

p.

cit.,

82.

420bras

scolhidas,

I,

235-236.

43"Whenhecondemnedmanstoodup to havehis sentence ead,all the religiouswhohad

convened

n

the

chapter

ouse

stood

with

him.

It

was

a

common

protest

gainst

an

injury

hat

he

fathers

well

knew

had

been

mposed

in

its

calculated

each)

s

much

on

the

whole

Order

as

on

the

colleague

who

personally

uffered

t."

Azevedo,

op.

cit.,

83.

44Breve

e

senfao

as

nquisifoes

e

Portugal

mais

einos.

o

amado

ilho

Antonio

ieira,

resbt'tero

a

Companhia

e

esus,

portugues,

n

Obras

scolhidas,

I,

246.

The

brief

was

issued

n

April

1675.

45Andre

e

Barros,

Vida

o

Padre

ntonio

Vieira

Lisbon,

1858)

271ff.;

Joao

Lucio

d'Azevedo,

Histo'ria

e

Antonio

ieira,

.

II

(Lisbon,

1920),

225ff.



44

Luso-Brazilian Rzview 28:1

46Barros, p. cit., 284; Azevedo, op. cit., 270.

47Forhe texts of the laws, which were publishedon April 1, 1680, see LivroGrosso oMaranhao,

Artur Cesar FerreiraReis, ed., in Anais da

BibliotecaNacional,v. 66 (Rio, 1948), 51-59.

48Vieira'sorrespondent, Padre Pier Luigi Consalvi, served as Superior from 1674 to 1683; his

name has been variously spelled Consalvi by

Leite, and Gonsalvi by Bettendorff and Azevedo.

Serafim Leite, Histotria a Companhia eJesus no

Brasil, v. IV (Rio and Lisbon, 1943), 217 passim;

Joao Felipe Bettendorff, Chronicaa MissaodosPadres a CompanhiaeJesus no EstadodoMaranhao,n

Revistado InstttutoHistorico Geographicorasileiro, . LXXII,

Parte I (Rio, 1910), 300ff.; Cartas,

II,

428.

49Cartas,II, 432-33 .

50The omplete titles of the sermons are: Palavra

eDeosDesempenhada:ermam eAccam e Gracas

peloNacimento o PrincipeD. Joao (1688), Sermoes,III,

65ff.; and Palavra o Pregador mpenhada,De-

fendida:Empenhadaublicamenteo Sermam eAccam eGracas elo nacimentoo PrincipeD. Joao, Primo-

genito de SS. Magestades ue Deos guarde;Defendida

epoisde sua morte m hum DiscursoApologe'tico,

oXerecidoecretamenteRainhaN. S. paraaliviodas

saudades o rnesmorincipe 1689), Sermoes,

III,

139ff.

These sertnons, along with the 1684 obsequies for D. Pedro's first wife (D. Maria FranciscaIsabel)

make up volume thirteen of the Sermoes. he

Sermam eAccam e Gracaswas preached in the cathe-

dral of Bahia in December 1688. The Discurso

Apologe'ticoas written in 1689 and never preached: it

was formally intended only for the eyes of the

mourning queen, but it is clear that Vieira intended

it to circulate in Bahia and in Lisbon.

5'Exhortacamem VesporaoEspiritoSanto 1688),

in Sermoes,III, 514ff. For the companion piece

see ExhortacamI em Vesporaa Visitacamn.d.,

preached during Vieira's term as Visitador), Sermoes,

VIII,

534ff.

52We ave no record of the derision with which some readers must have greeted Vieira's at-

tempt. Cidade offers some indication of the reception the sermon may have been given by sympa-

thetic skeptics when he argues that Vieira was

forced to struggle "to keep on its feet the daring

architecture of the [previous] chimerical political

sermon." H. Cidade, ed., PadreAntonioVieira

(four vols., Lisbon, 1940), I, 153.

Cantel, like Cidade, posits a building

metaphor in discussing Vieira's exegetical work in the

present sermon: "He remains a prisoner of his system. All the agility of his spirit will not enable

him to escape, for this is a question of faith. His

agility permits him only to keep the structure

standing in an ever more precariousequilibrium

each time events seem to be at the point of bring-

ing it down." Raymond Cantel, Prophetisme

tMessianisme ans 'oeuvre 'AntonioVieira, p. cit., 130-

131.Neither writer grants that it was because of

these reversals-not in spite of them-that Vieira's

certainty grew stronger.

53cf.Cantel, who writes that with the birth of

the prince Vieira "rediscoversall the exuberance

of his youth;" "Emerging from his long retreat [in Bahia], Vieira rediscovers he enthusiasm of his

youth and makes of this sermon a public exposition of his messianic doctrine." Ibid., 127, 184.

Cantel veers away from or misinterprets the writings in which Vieira underlines the illusoriness of

human hope.

5 45 m oe XIII, 89. The most important warnings

in the Sermoesf the danger of placing hope in

the agents of divine providence are found in the

1647 Sermao a PrimeiraOitavade PaschoaSermoes,

VIII,

197ff.), in which Vieira takes the Israelites'veneration of Moses as his example; in the 1656

Sermao a PrimeiraOitava ePascoa SermoesvV, 396ff.,

in which he discerns the providential effects of

the failure oftheJornada de Ouro; in the 1643

Sermao oMandutoSermoes,

II,

355ff.), in which his

example is David's love for his wife; and in the 1654

Sermao asExequias o Serenissimorincipe ePor-

tugalD. TheodosioSermoes

VI,

253ff.), in which Vieira preached that D. Theodosio was denied the

throne because his talents had wakened God's

jealousy.

55AtOurique Christ appeared to D. Affonso

and promised to establish an everlasting empire

in the sixteenth generation of D. Affonso'sdescendants. Vieira refers frequently to the Juramenton

the thanksgiving sermon and in the DiscursoApologe'tico,eplacing a present hope ("Respiciet, et vi-

debit" [He will look upon, and will see]) with an

accomplished fact ("Respexit, et vidit" [He

looked upon, and saw]). For a discussion of

previous interpreters, see Luis Filipe Lindley Cintra,



Cohen

45

"Sobre formacao evolucao a endade Ourique atea Cronica e 1419),"n Miscelaneaeestudos

emhonra oProfessor. CidadeLisbon,1957),168-215.

56Xavierecamean increasinglymportant eference oint n Vieira's heoryof missionafter

his return romMarahaon 1661; n addition o the seriesof sermons edicatedo Xavier, he Ex-

hortationsnd the Historia oFuturoefer o him frequently.

57cf.he 1685 etter n whichVieiracommended n Italian esuitto the Duke of Cadaval y

explaining hat PadreCandoni,who had servedwith distinctionn the Chinamissions,

is Sicilianby birth,but by oveandzealhe is as passionately ortuguese s if he hadbeen

born n Lisbon;what s more,he is working ot only for the preservationnd ncrease f

Christendom ut alsoforthe rightsandprivileges f the crownandforthe authority nd

greatness f the monarchy.CartaE

II,

518.

58Sermoes, XIII, 117-

59Sermoes,II, 466ff.

60The ortuguese onveysVieira's nderstandingf ver nd olhar,he two verbson which he

passagehinges:

de sortequequandoDeosse apressa tirardestemundoos que dellesaobemvistos,nam

he porque s seusolhos he demolhado, asporque em,e prevem olhadoe que os quer

livrar.E esta foy a razaode nos nam esperada, em imaginada,porquea providencia

divinanos deu, e levoudentroem tao poucosdias o desejado e nossosolhos,e o pro-

metidodos seus.Estes aoos segundos ffeitos o olhar, verde Deos, quenaodesfazem,

mas aperfeicoao s primeiros.Quiz que o nosso Infantenacessea esta vida, paraque

fossevivera outra,nao mortopropriamente, as trasladado. ermoes,III, 146.

6lFor n evenmoreexplicit xampleof this conviction, ee the SermaooNacimentooMenino

Deus, n Sermoes,VI, 48ff.

62Sermoes) XIII, 143-

Sermoes,III, 165.

64Hismost detailed ustification f this exegetical tyle s found n the LivroAnteprimeiro,h.

XII; see also Historia oFuturo, ookI, Ch. 5.

65"ifhou wilt indeed ook on the affliction f thy maidservant"1 Sam.1.11). he Revised

StandardVersiondoes not suggesta potentialdisjunction etween ookingand seeing.

Sermoes,

III, 144.

6'Sermoes,

XIII,

220.

68Vieira'sppropriationf Frei Zachariass surprising ecause, houghhe makesuncritical

use of a widevariety f sources o support is arguments, e generally itesonly the mostwidely

diffused nd acceptedPortuguese ropheciesnotably heJuramentond the prophecies f S. Frei

Gil and Bandarra) hen nterpretinghe nation'sdestiny.

69Sermoes,

XIII, 257.

70SermameAcfameGrafas mpenhada:ermaoasExequiasaRainha .S.D.Maria ranciscasabel

deSaboya. zevedo ndCidadediffer harply ver he toneof thissermon,withAzevedo inding n

it an unmistakable alicious ntent.Cidade eesthe sermonas a complex"extension f [Vieira's

earlier] raise" hatgoesbeyond elebratinghe queen n the traditionaltyle n order o embrace

the king and the fertilebridewhomVieirahopeshe will find. These wo viewsare not as incom-

patibleas Cidade uggests.D. Pedro's videntdispleasure ithVieira's ffort,and his subsequent

lack of regard or Vieiraduringhis old age in Bahia,suggest hat Azevedoaccuratelydentified

Vieira'smalice; houghhe mayoverstate ieira's ntagonism,he preacher learly elished he op-

portunity o repay, f only by omission, he low esteem n whichhe had been held by the late

queen.At the same ime,the obsequies how hatVieirawasalready pplying imself o the inter-

pretiveproject hatwouldcome o fruition n the SermameAcfam eGrafasnd the Discursopolo-



46

Luso-Brazilianzview 8:1

getico.he obsequies provided Vieira with an

opportunity to suggest that the queen's death would

be attended by triumphs that he would be able to reveal to D. Pedro.

Sermoes,

III,

lff. passim, es-

pecially pp. 59-60; Cidade, op. cit., 148; Azevedo,

op. cit., 239-42.

715ermoes)

XIII, 68.

'2The section of the prophecy that is of particular interest here is: "Salvation will come from

far off, and by one who has not been expected

you will unexpectedly be redeemed [Salus a longin-

quo veniet, et insperate ab insperato redimeris]."

Ibid., p. 254. Vieira interpreted the prophecy in

detail in his 1642 SermaoosBonsAnnos. his

sermon, which announced the destiny of D. Joao IV,

was the Elrst hat Vieira preached in the royal

chapel. Sermoes,I, 399ff. Frei Gil's prophecy is also

examined in the

LivroAnteprimeiroaHistoria

oFuturo,p. cit.,

XII, 666.

73"By o means shall one err who calls this

woman at the same time both mother and father

of

this child, for even though the man might have

contributed the seed, nonetheless her prayerboth

supplied the efficacious force and brought it about that Samuel would be born with more auspi-

cious beginnings." Sermoes,

III, 260.

74See specially Part VI, in which Vieira

notes the symmetry in the names and destinies of the

agents to whom the spiritual and temporal vicarships

would be entrusted. Peter was appointed

to

be the first vicar through whom the Father

would subject the world toJesus; the second vicar

will

rule through D. Pedro II, in whom "this beautiful architecture shall bring forth in equal propor-

tion and grace not only the correspondenceof the office but also the consonance of the name

in

one and another Empire." Ibid., 199. This is

among the most lyrical of the many passages in the

Sermoeshat praise the Portuguese kings. Cidade

aptly writes that "the soul of the King is here

richly privileged in all things." op. cit., 154.

'5The beginnings of the transformation

n Vieira's thought that led to the Discurso pologetico

may be discerned in the words with which the preacher voiced his support for D. Pedro in the

Ser-

maodaEpiphania.n the 1661 sermon Vieira

still saw the missionary enterprise as a burden

that

had to be shared by Portuguese society as a whole under the leadership of a powerful missionary

king. D. Affonso was clearly unfit for this enterprise.The sermon provides one of the most vivid

declarationsof the task of the ruler in all Vieira's

writings. Vieira linked a thinly-veiled reference

to

the invalid king and his heroic brother to an explicit summons to pursue conversion over empire.

Is. 9.6; Lk.15.5; SermaoaEpiphania,n Sermoes,

V, 547.

76Similarly,n Clavis rophetarume extends the notion of the partnership between brothers

in

the temporal and spiritual kingdoms (Moses

and Aaron) to the partnership between king and

queen, with the queen representing the spiritual

kingdom. Vieira draws here on Is.49.23: "Kings

shall be your foster fathers, and their queens

your nursing mothers."

Obras scolhidas,

X, 252.

77Ibid.,261; see pp. 181-187 for Vieira's initial discussion of Xavier's intercession for the

Queen.

78Ibid.,136.

79Vieira ites the righteous few in Isaiah's

prophecy of the day of judgement: "For thus it shall

be in the midst of the earth among the nations,

as when an olive tree is beaten, as at the gleaning

when the vintage is done" (Is.24.13). The

passage recalls a prophecy from Frei Gil that Vieira

omitted from his earlier discussion of the Dominican

religious but cited in a revealing 1678 letter

to Duarte Ribeiro de Macedo:

Domus Dei recuperabitur

Pax ubique erit.

Aetas aurea reviviscet:

Felices qui viderint. (Cartas,II, 251)

"The house of God will be regained/Peace

will reign everywhere/The golden age will live again/

Fortunate those who shall see it."

Sermoes,III, 274.

cohen_millenarian themes in vieira

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