This volume makes an important contribution toward a nuanced appreciation of the Jesuits' interaction with "modernity", and a greater recognition of their contribution to the mathematization of natural philosophy and experimental science. The six essays provide a cross-section of the complex Jesuit encounter with the mathematical sciences during the 17th century.
Mathematics and Modesty in the Society of Jesus: The Problems of Christoph Grienberger.- The Grounds for Conflict: Grienberger, Grassi, Galileo, and Posterity.- Additio illa non videtur edenda: Giuseppe Biancani, Reader of Galileo in an Unedited Censored Text.- Two Jesuit Responses to Galileo's Science of Motion: Honoré Fabri and Pierre Le Cazre.- Jesuit Mathematical Practice in Portugal, 1540-1759.- The Celestial Pilgrimages of Valentin Stansel (1621-1705), Jesuit Astronomer and Missionary in Brazil.