As minas de ouro das Américas, novos espaços para a imaginação científica

Abstract

By the mid seventeen hundreds, Brazilian José Basílio da Gama wrote Brasilienses aurifodinae ([Roma], c. 1762), a Latin poem included in a long tradition of didactic poetry, which at that time would make itself evident in texts, written both in Europe, and the New World, referring to the subject of gold, and its mining. To support this are provided examples such as the Aurum (Paris, 1703) by French Jesuit Antoine le Febvre, the Metallurgicon (Tyrnau, 1748), by Hungarian Jesuit Joseph Bartakovics, and the Rusticatio mexicana (Bolonha, 1782) by Rafael Landívar’s (SJ). Evidence is thus given for the fact that didactic poetry persisted throughout the ages, depicting itself in poetic production with various linguistic uses and diverse levels of expanding scientific detail, but with an ever present didactic intent; they can be viewed today as a set of relevant examples of the Society of Jesus’ spirit of scientific inquiry, as well of historic commitment to gold lore.