Excerpt from The Life and Letters of St. Francis Xavier Shades of feeling which can only be discerned by close' and faithful study of the mind and heart of some one in whose history we are interested, and we set the highest store on such biographies as make this study most easy to us, by putting before us in its native simplicity whatever comes to us most immediately from such a heart and mind. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Excerpt from The Life and Letters of St. Francis Xavier, Vol. 2 of 2 Letter LXXX. To the Fathers Gaspar Baertz. Balthasar Gago, and Diego Carvalhez, Cagoxima, Nov. 4, 1549. They are to come to Japan 262 letter LXXXI. To the Society at Goa, Cagoxima, Nov. 8, 1549. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

ALTHOUGH several beautiful Lives of St. Francis Xavier exist—some of them in our own language—I do not think that any excuse will be required for the attempt made in the present work to produce a new Life, which may satisfy in some sort the legitimate requirements of our own time. We are accustomed to set a higher value than men of former generations on those indications of personal character, in the case of great men and conspicuous Saints, which are to be found in their own words, in their letters, in anecdotes which set them familiarly before our eyes, and the like. The Catholics of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries would take the letter of a Saint, for instance, of St. Teresa or St. Francis Xavier, and cut it to pieces for the sake of making up a signature out of letters from separate words, or forming some holy text in the Saint’s handwriting in the same way. Aeterna Press

Few letters have been so enthusiastically received & so widely diffused as those of the sixteenth-century Jesuit missionary & Saint, Francis Xavier. Written from India, the Indonesian archipelago, Japan, & the island of Sancian off the coast of China, these letters were copied, recopied, translated into Latin, German, French, & other languages, & frequently printed for wider circulation. They are filled with information on newly discovered lands & cultures, & they are filled with the missionary spirit, the zeal for the honor & glory of God, which animated the whole of Xavier's life & work. They constitute a religious classic & an historical resource heretofore unavailable in English. Francis Xavier was one of the first companions & followers of Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). In 1540, he set off as a missionary to southern Asia, where in the midst of ten years of ceaseless labor he produced the 138 letters & instructions that this book contains. The translator of this highly readable English version, M. Joseph Costelloe, S.J., is well known in scholarly circles for his masterful translation of the definitive four-volume biography, FRANCIS XAVIER, HIS LIFE, HIS TIMES by Georg Schurhammer, S.J., published by the Jesuit Historical Institute in Rome.

Vol. I: Book-I: From The Birth Of Francis To His Sailing For India 1506-1541; Book Ii: From The Sailing Of Francis For India To His First Voyage To The Farther East 1541-1545; Book-Iii: From The First Voyage Of Francis To The Eastern Archipelago To His Return To India 1545-1548. Vol. Ii: Book-Iv: From The Return Of Francis To India To His Sailing For Japan 1548-1549; Book-V: From The Sailing Of Francis To Japan To His Last Return To Indian 1549-1552; Book Vi: From The Last Return Of Francis To India To His Death At Sanchan 1556.

The most in-depth and scholarly panorama of Western spirituality ever attempted!In one series, the original writings of the universally acknowledged teachers of the Catholic, Protestant, Eastern Orthodox, Jewish, Islamic and Native American traditions have been critically selected, translated and introduced by internationally recognized scholars and spiritual leaders.The texts are first-rate, and the introductions are informative and reliable. The books will be a welcome addition to the bookshelf of every literate religious persons". -- The Christian Century Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved.