**3. Stefano Tuccio's** *Christus Iudex*

Sicilian Jesuit Stefano Tuccio (1540–1597)—educator, orator, poet, priest, theologian and playwright—is well known for his use of angels and devils and their influence on human nature in many of his biblical and Christological theatrical works.<sup>21</sup> In his 1564 play *Giuditta*, based on the biblical character of Judith, for example, the demon Asmodeo enters Olophernes' dream convincing him to try to seduce Judith, thus suggesting to the audience a connection between sexual arousal and the devil in this story (Saulini 2002, p. 81). In his *Christus patiens* (1569), on the passion of Jesus, during a scene set in hell, the aptly named Cacodemon encourages several of the souls to recount their past lives of sin. In this particular case, the souls of the damned were chosen as representatives of their profession: a politician, a rich man, a lecher, and a philosopher. They all blame their ignorance of the consequences of their earthly behavior on their eternal life. The politician asks: "Why during the course of our lives did nobody show us the miseries, what course each of us should follow, what behaviors or frames of mind were best in life?" The rich man admits to being thirstier for gold than charity, but "nobody lived with me who could show me the riches of the life to come" (Tuccius 2011, p. 82). The same play also stages the descent to earth of archangels Gabriel, Raphael and Michael with the intention of freeing Jesus from his suffering on the cross, a help which, however, he refuses: "There is no need of your help; put away your swords [ . . . ] let this go, nothing is hard which this happy destiny will follow" (Tuccius 2011, p. 130). Such a scene would have served both symbolic and theatrical purposes, as yet a further demonstration of the strength of the forces of good opposed to those of evil, as well as a spectacular use of theatrical machines that would have allowed for a descent from heaven of the three angels (Saulini 2002, p. 109).

The most famous of Tuccio's tragedies is the aforementioned *Christus Iudex*, also known as *De Ultimo Dei Iudicio* [The last judgment], which is reported to have caused many conversions among its spectators (Saulini 2002, p. 113).<sup>22</sup> The educational intent of the play emerges even from the prologue, which explicitly states that spectators should learn such behaviors as will obtain clemency from God the judge. Like a modern-day Jonah calling Nineveh to conversion, a subsequent address summons the city of Messina to purification and repentance or the city will be destroyed by plague, famine, storm, sweeping sea waters and a devouring flame: "The flame will destroy those ports and travelled shores you are so proud of. The flame will destroy your high walls. The flame will turn to ashes your crops and your fields scattered with fruits, your meadows and your homes" (Tuccius 2011, p. 148). In addition to anticipating the apocalyptical images that will be developed in the play itself, the prologue serves as a reminder to the citizens of Messina, a city that was known for its wealth, culture and independent spirit among Sicilian towns, that the desire for riches is the root of all evil (Saulini 2002, pp. 120–21).<sup>23</sup>

Though the prologue may elicit images of Old Testament prophecy, *Christus Iudex* finds its main source in Revelation 20: 2–11, staging the end times, when Satan, the antichrist, is set free of his 1000-year bondage before the impending final judgement of Christ (Saulini 2002, p. 116). Set in Jerusalem, heaven and hell, the play would have afforded spectacular scenes of angels descending from heaven into hell, as Michael does in obedience to Jesus' order to free the arch-enemy "such that with a sinister light he might corrupt the peoples and begin the ultimate ruin of the world [ . . . ] disturb the realms of men, the seas, and the people who live in peace" (Tuccius 2011, p. 158). It would also have allowed for scenes of battle, meant to showcase the physical and military skills acquired by students in

<sup>21</sup> Saulini (2002) offers an exhaustive introduction to Tuccio's life and works.

<sup>22</sup> On the difference between the play as staged in Rome and Messina, see Saulini (1999). See also Saulini (2002, p. 179) for the debates over the date of the first performance at the Collegio Romano.

<sup>23</sup> See 1Tim 6: 10.

a Jesuit school, as well as, in the last act, the moment of the final judgment itself, when Christ gives his sentence first against the devil and then against each and every human being. The souls of the damned hurl themselves to the ground pleading for mercy first from the Judge, then from the angels and the saints. But their cries go unheard. As Christ rises to heaven with the blessed, the condemned remain behind weeping and gnashing their teeth until that time when Michael the Archangel utters his last command: "I order you, Acheron, to gape open, splitting the earth, and snatch away these souls plunged headlong into the deepest heart of Dis [ . . . ] And now, crushing the damned three times with my heel, I fasten the gates with iron bars forever" (Tuccius 2011, p. 268). And thus does our tragedy end.

As in most Jesuit plays where there is an abundance of spectacular activity on stage, one wonders how their technical skills would have allowed, for example, for the many blessed to be taken into heaven, or for the earth to swallow the damned. That aside, however, one scene, though less spectacular, stands out as far more significant from an educational point of view, as it displays the Jesuits' educational goals, united with their propagandistic spirit. At the end of the play, after the final judgment, following the example of Dante's *Inferno* written more than two centuries before, the author gives one last opportunity for some of those souls condemned for eternity to speak: the first to appear are Alexander the Great and Julius Cesar, two of the most important military leaders of antiquity, who now recognize the fragility and meaninglessness of such symbols of power as the scepter and crown that they had considered so important during their lives. "Where is the Martia legion?" asks Cesar. "Where are all the cohorts? Why don't they lift their swords to free their master from pain? Why haven't they employed their frightening spears against the Stygian enemy? Why don't they defend their leader? Alas, there is no help, no attendants for the king!" (Tuccius 2011, p. 266). Next comes Croesus, the embodiment of one who amasses wealth only to realize that death has reduced his riches to nothing; then Achilles, the great warrior, who finds himself now in chains; and finally, the last king of Assyria Sardanapalus, a symbol of decadence and self-indulgence, who remembers a life spent "playing the lyre, crowning my head with lilies and myrtle, taking my place at lavishly decked tables, [ . . . ] hunting young women for love from all over the place", and now fears the effect of the "Stygian fire" over his "tender limbs" (Tuccius 2011, p. 266).<sup>24</sup>

The speeches of these condemned are structured similarly: a synthesis of their past lives and earthly accomplishments join with the awareness of the present situation, too late for repentance. They condemn the quest for power, riches and pleasure, all of which block the human aspiration for the divine good (Saulini 2002, p. 146). In other words, they indicate to the audience precisely which earthly attitudes and desires are more likely to condemn one to an eternity of suffering. Furthermore, by taking as spokesmen for sins famous characters from the historical or literary tradition (instead of generic sinners such as politicians or lechers, as he does in *Christus patiens*), Tuccio also encouraged those young minds that might have been fascinated by their studies of brave generals or wealthy kings, to reconsider the values transmitted during their history and literature classes, leading them instead not toward personal glory or riches or even the glory of the state, but rather toward ethical and religious values.

The concluding two speeches by the souls of the damned are possibly even more important for their polemical value in the Catholic Church's then contemporary historical situation: at the time, Spain was engaged in war against the Turks, and only a few years prior the Council of Trent had firmly condemned the Reformed Church (Saulini 2002, p. 147). The penultimate damned soul to introduce himself and his sins is Maometto [Muhammed],<sup>25</sup> the founder of the Islamic religion which was at

<sup>24</sup> Some of these characters also appear in Dante's *Inferno*. Alexander the Great is probably the tyrant pointed out by Nessus in Inf. XII, 107; Julius Cesar is encountered by Dante in Limbo (Inf. IV, p. 123), while Achilles is found amongst the sexual sinners (Inf. V, 65). The name of Sardanapalus, on the other hand, is mentioned in Dante's *Paradiso* as an example of debauchery (Par. XV, pp. 107–8).

<sup>25</sup> In Dante's *Inferno*, Mohammed is found among the sowers of dissension (Inf. XXVIII, pp. 22–63).

that time considered the ultimate enemy of Christianity. Like Jeremiah and Job before him, he curses the day he was born and every moment of his life, attributing infernal influence to the rules of the religion he created. The final character is Martin Luther, who defines his teaching against the sacred laws as foolish and false: "I am Luther. Ponder, friends, the ruin of your Luther. In what lands was Luther once unknown? What country did not hear the name of Luther? I who once preached so many heresies, I, the fool, who wanted to erase the traditions of the fathers and the rights of the Popes, I who wanted to cancel the sacred laws . . . Now the infernal fire forces me to unlearn my foolish nonsense, to understand, and that is right" (Tuccius 2011, p. 268). Author Stefano Tuccio, in other words, has made good use of Dante's lesson here as well. By showing the recently deceased Martin Luther in hell, Tuccio takes his revenge against the most recent enemy of the Roman Church just as Dante had done against his political enemy Filippo Argenti, whom the poet reports encountering in the fifth circle of hell, or Pope Boniface VIII who was not dead yet in the year of Dante's fictional journey, but already had a place waiting for him in the eighth circle of hell. As distinct from Dante, however, Tuccio never shows the Church's historical and present enemies suffering the torments of hell; rather, he presents them at the moment of the final judgment, when the realization of the error of their ways and of the eternal punishment that follows is inevitable—again, the only moment in human history in which repentance is impossible. Tuccio's educational message to his audience resounds loud and clear: repent now, while you still can. Go and sin no more.

#### **4. Vincenzo Guiniggi's** *Ignatius Arma Mutans*

The second Jesuit play that stands out for its description of heaven and hell is *Ignatius arma mutans* by Vincenzo Guiniggi (1588–1653), performed in Rome in 1622.<sup>26</sup> At first sight, the work appears to have unity of action, as it concerns Ignatius and his change from knightly arms to governing a sacred militia; and unity of place and time, as all the action occurs in Montserrat within one night and one day (Cao 1623, "Argomento abbreviato"). Despite this formal respect for the traditional unities of classic tragedy, however, the play also includes such dissonant scenes as an opening chasm, a pirate attack, the clash of armies, and a revelation of the heavens. The cast of characters include the Moors, young Indians, groups of Centaurs and Nereids, Neptune, a ghost, the king of Ethiopia, the good and the bad geniuses of Europe, Asia, Africa, America and the evil genius of Luther, arriving on a chariot through the air (Cao 1623, passim). Of the many events presented in this 5-act tragicomedy, again we find that some of the most powerful are the scenes set in heaven and hell, as well as those where angelic or diabolical characters intervene in earthly matters.

The main plot of the play refers to the night when Ignatius Loyola hung his sword and dagger at the altar of the Virgin Mary in her sanctuary of Montserrat. Such a portentous decision spurred great interest both in the infernal and heavenly spheres. As soon as Ignatius expressed his intention, the scene moves quickly from Montserrat to hell "represented by fiery mountains all around, and fires rolling beneath, and smoke and haze in the air" (Cao 1623, Act 2, sc. 5). There appear four demon tyrants representing the four corners of the earth; next an even larger mouth opens, and a deeper hell appears, from which the king of darkness and his court emerge.<sup>27</sup> The devil declares that the world is in a period of transition. There could be great gains—or great losses. He asks his demons for news from each region of the world. As in Tuccio's *Christus Iudex*, Guiniggi uses the infernal environment to make both political and educational statements. Continuing the Jesuits' battle against reformist thought, the author at this point stages the flying demon from Germany, who reports with satisfaction

<sup>26</sup> See Mertz et al. (1989, p. 193) for a very short biography of Guiniggi in English. The play has been printed in Latin; a detailed summary in Italian can be found in Cao (1623). Marii also summarizes the play in Italian, using the success and the request for repeated stagings of this five-act play in Latin as proof of the decadence of the educational system in Italy, since at the time when he was writing "even just the announcement of a play in Latin" would scare away anyone wishing to attend (Marii 1922, p. 491).

<sup>27</sup> This scene may have been influenced by Canto IV of Torquato Tasso's *Gerusalemme liberata* (1581), which opens with a conclave of devils in hell, in itself a parody of the council of the gods of the Greco-Roman epic.

that his pupil Martin Luther has escaped from the hands of the Catholics.<sup>28</sup> The demon master of Luther recounts "the many schemes he [Luther] is plotting, the credit he has been obtaining, and the fact that his followers, whom he convinced to abandon the study of sciences, have brought their books into the public squares and set them on fire" (Cao 1623, Act 2, sc. 6). Though in keeping with chronological events, Guiniggi could not put Luther in hell as Tuccio did—given that the events of the play take place in 1522 and Luther did not die until 1546—still he manages to convey the idea that Luther was in fact the devil's pupil, and that his reform was the work of the devil.

If the demon from Germany helps Guiniggi in his polemic against the Reformation, the demon from Spain announces that Ignatius is presently in the Montserrat sanctuary, ready to devote himself to a mission to "convert the peoples, traverse Jerusalem, and enflame the World in the love of its Creator". At the news, "the king of hell is taken by great fear" and in fact all demons join him "in a desperate lament" (Cao 1623, Act 2, sc. 7). As at all costs Ignatius must be stopped from his plans, the evil genius of Spain brings under his command four minions: idolatry, atheism, heresy and national interest. This fourth evil minion takes the form of a soldier friend of Ignatius, who tries to convince him to resume his military life in defence of Spain; in fact, Ignatius "soon begins to feel the effects of the infernal spirit, experiencing an internal struggle of opposing ideas" (Cao 1623, Act 3, sc. 8). Thus, Guiniggi's educational message warns not only of the errors of religious heterodoxy, but also of one's false sense of duty towards civic life. Even military, political undertakings and nationalistic fervor, lie within the realm of Satan.

In the meantime, the celestial realm has shown interest in Ignatius as well. In scenes set in heaven, St Michael the Archangel explains to the Church that God is preparing for her a special protector. Since this protector, Ignatius, at that very moment is deposing his weapons in a church and devoting himself to the Blessed Virgin, St Michael asks that from the heavenly armory materials be selected for this man's new arms. The angels create for Ignatius an impenetrable armor, as well as a sword which takes strength, agility and splendor from lightening, and then give him a banner bearing Jesus' name. Eventually, Ignatius is taken up to the sky where he is shown the wonderful future achievements of his companions (in particular Francis Xavier, Luigi Gonzaga and Ignacio Azevedo). With their reference to books VI and VIII of Virgil's *Aeneid*, in which the hero Aeneas foresees his descendants, and receives divine weapons from his mother Venus, these scenes create a clear parallel between Ignatius the founder of the Jesuit order, and Aeneas the founder of Rome, as well as between the two heroes' civilizing mission throughout the world. In the final scene, the infernal monsters make one last desperate attempt, but Ignatius, now fortified with his heavenly weapons, scatters them. Rejoicing follows, not only on earth but also among the celestial spirits who carry Ignatius's name to heaven.

It is not difficult to see that this play, staged at the Jesuit Collegio Romano on the occasion of the festivities for the canonization of Ignatius of Loyola and Francis Xavier (16 March 1622), represents heaven and hell in order to show the extent of the influence that the Jesuits had on the history of the world. And although the play claims to be about that 24-h period in which the founder of the Society of Jesus made a solemn promise to leave his military career and become "a Captain in the sacred army devoted to the defence of the holy Church [ . . . ] with no other goal in front of his eyes than the greater glory of his Lord" (Cao 1623, Act 5, sc. 9), it uses heavenly intervention to give Ignatius (in the play) and the spectators (in the Collegio Romano) a vision of the future development and world-wide achievements of the order. These visions of heaven and hell, however, are concerned with much more than the afterlife. Heaven and hell exist here; they influence life now. The message is clear: beware the friend who tries to convince you to do something that is not right. He could be a false friend—he could be the devil himself.

<sup>28</sup> This section probably refers to the time when Martin Luther, after being excommunicated in 1520, stayed at Wartburg Castle and translated the New Testament into German. In his summary, Cao alludes to Luther's "retreat into his Patmos" (1623, Act 2, sc. 6), in reference to the island where John wrote the Book of Revelation.
