SCARAMELLI, GIOVANNI BATTISTA

Jesuit spiritual writer; b. Rome, Nov. 23, 1687; d. Macerata, Jan. 11, 1752. He entered the Jesuits in 1706 and was ordained in 1717. He spent the greater part of his priestly life as a home missionary. As a sacred orator he reflected the temper of the 18th century. A strong and rather severe character, Scaramelli conducted his missions with a theatricalism that attracted great crowds to hear him. He is chiefly remembered, however, for his ascetical and mystical writings, of which he composed six: Vita di Suor Maria Crocifissa Satellico (Venice 1750), Discernimento degli Spiriti (Venice 1753), Direttorio Ascetico (Venice 1754), Direttorio Mistico (Venice 1754), La dottrina de San Giovanni della Croce (Venice 1815), and Vita della serra di Dio Angelica Cospari (unpub.).

The Vita di Suor Maria Crocifissa was put on the Index in 1769 probably because the author affirmed too categorically the sanctity of the religious before an ecclesiastical decision had been given. The Discernimento degli Spiriti ran through 11 editions in Italian, three each in Spanish and French, and two in German. The Direttorio Ascetico, which treats of Christian perfection and the virtues, had 29 editions in Italian, 21 in French, five in German, four in Spanish, three in Latin, and eight in English (the earliest, London 1868–70). La dottrina di San Giovanni was an early composition of Scaramelli and has been reprinted three times. The unpublished work was discovered recently.

The Direttorio Mistico, the most important and original of Scaramelli's works, treats of contemplation and its degrees and of passive purification of the senses and spirit. This work became a classic in this difficult field, went through 15 editions in Italian before 1900, and was translated into Spanish, German, French, Latin, and Polish. In 1913 an English abridgment by the Anglican D. H. Nicholson was published. Scaramelli's object in this work was practical: to aid directors in their conduct of souls. Consequently, he is not satisfied with a simple exposition of doctrinal principles. Almost every chapter has advice for directors as well as answers to objections. As a writer Scaramelli shows strong convictions, while he relies on an abundance of arguments rather than on subtle logic. He is always the missionary, a composer of Lenten discourses rather than the professor of mystical theology. He was, however, an influential mystical writer and expounded traditional Catholic doctrine with precision and rare breadth of judgment.

Bibliography: l. a. hogue, Dictionnaire de théologie catholique, ed. a. vacant et al., 15 v. (Paris 1903–50; Tables Générales 1951–) 14.1:1259–63; "The Direttorio Mistico of J. B. Scaramelli, SJ," Archivum historicum Societatis Jesu 9 (1940) 1–39.

[e. a. ryan]