Educação moral e religiosa na Paraíba Oitocentista: o livro Imitação de Cristo (1864)

Abstract

The present work presents an analysis of the book Imitation of Christ (1441), a Latin work by Tomás de Kempis (1380-1471). Interest in the book arose from an advertisement found in the newspaper O Publicador (1862-1886), published in Paraíba in the 19th century. The emphasis given to the year 1864 refers precisely to the date on which the first publication announcing the book was located in the aforementioned newspaper. Searches were carried out in the periodicals Gazeta da Parahyba (1888-1890) and O Publicador (1862-1886), available on the website of the Hemeroteca Digital da Biblioteca Nacional, to understand the relationship between the newspaper, and consequently society, with the word morality. Bearing in mind that print contributes to the circulation of ideas in society, we sought to understand how the word and its concept were being presented on the pages of journals. The research sought to answer the following question: What is the guidance given by the author of the book Imitation of Christ on moral and religious conduct? And to understand the principles advocated by the author, some chapters were selected from each of the four books that make up the work. It was possible to observe some similarities between the teachings presented by the author in the analyzed chapters and the values sought by the society of Paraíba in the 19th century, highlighting as the main value given to morality and religion. In view of all the discourse on morality and civility present in the pages of periodicals.