Loyola's Acts

Loyola's Acts: The Rhetoric of the Self offers a nuanced exploration of Iñigo López de Loyola's pivotal spiritual transformation and its rhetorical framing within the Christian tradition. Far from being a straightforward autobiography, the text, titled Acta, is positioned as a work of epideictic rhetoric—a genre focused on praise and moral persuasion rather than strict factual recounting. Loyola's recounted experiences, from his formative wounding at Pamplona to his spiritual exercises and reflections, are interpreted not as direct self-narration but as filtered through the lens of his scribe, Gonçalves da Câmara. The book argues that Acta aligns more with Renaissance rhetorical traditions than modern autobiographical norms, emphasizing moral edification over empirical detail.

This study situates Loyola's Acts within the cultural and rhetorical milieu of the sixteenth century, drawing connections to classical and medieval traditions of memory, imitation, and spiritual meditation. It examines how Loyola's recitations, shaped by Gonçalves da Câmara's interpretive role, were less about chronicling personal events and more about exemplifying divine governance and moral lessons. By uncovering the layers of rhetorical strategy, intertextuality, and cultural context, the book reinterprets Acta as a profound moral and spiritual artifact, offering a fresh lens on Loyola's legacy and the broader tradition of Christian rhetorical literature.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1997.