French Literature Reviews - 2026
Antoine Vieyra, Histoire du Futur (translated by B. Emery)
Philosophy, Anthropology and Ideas
Father Antoine Vieyra, S.J.,
History of the Future
Ante-First Book – Clavis Prophetarum
Fragments and excerpts, newly rendered into French
Translation, introduction, and notes by Bernard Emery, in collaboration with Brigitte Pereira
In the « Paroles d’Ailleurs » series
ISBN : 978-2-84310-278-3 ISSN : 1286-8485 Price: 15 €
Father Antoine Vieyra, S.J., is renowned as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, sermon writer of the Baroque era in the Portuguese language. Indeed, in this capacity, he was already translated into French during his lifetime. On the other hand, the most fascinating aspect of his personality and work—the extraordinary spiritual adventure of the Fifth Empire, meaning the ultimate conversion of humanity to Christianity—has never been translated into this language. This is a gap we felt necessary to bridge, not only because of its thematic relevance in contrast to an era like our own, which has largely abandoned its utopias, but also in an attempt to capture in another Romance language all the brilliance and intensity of the illustrious Jesuit's discourse.
As it turns out, this endeavor, which occupied the religious scholar until the end of his life and brought upon him the wrath of the Inquisition, resulted in the writing of thousands of pages and three works intended for publication, the last of which was in Latin. However, this *opus magnum* was never completed, yet it was sufficiently developed for its superb dialectical scope to be clearly felt. We have sought to refocus, within a reasonably sized volume, both the rhetorical beauty of the best passages and the ideological coherence of the whole.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
1. The now-abandoned quintessence of militant Christianity
2. The messianic aura of a small, intrepid nation
3. The exemplary and paradigmatic life of Antoine Vieyra (a brief tribute to Dean Cantel and historical Lusitanism)
4. The French and the Lusitanians: a shared love of rhetoric, but under very different skies
5. Ardent tropicalism and a highly political vision
6. In defense and illustration of the arbitrariness of a choice
7. Praise and transfiguration of the imagination
8. Some final reflections on the deviations of the mind
I – ANTE-FIRST BOOK OF THE HISTORY OF THE FUTURE
Chapter 1 – Theory of the Future
Chapter 2 – Address to the Portuguese
Chapter 3 – The seven chapters of the book
Chapter 4 – Portugal, the new chosen people
Chapter 6 – The Miracle of Ourique (continued)
Chapter 8 – The prophetic genealogy and reaffirmed predestination of Portugal
Chapter 12 – On the antipodes or the superiority
of the Moderns over the Ancients. On the biblical invention
of Brazil and the prophetic mission of the Portuguese
II – HISTORY OF THE FUTURE, HOPES
OF PORTUGAL, AND FIFTH EMPIRE OF THE WORLD
Chapter 1 – Origin of the Fifth Empire
Chapter 2 – History of empires since Babel
Book I – Chapter 1 – Nebuchadnezzar's Dream
Book I – Chapter 2 – The Dream of the Four Beasts
Book I – Chapter 3 – The Dream of the Chariots
Book II – Chapter 6 – Dialectical Refutation
III – KEY TO THE PROPHETS
Chapter 4 – Theory of barbarians and sin
Chapter 5 – Saint Thomas in the Americas, a treatise on
the dual providence offered to the Indians… and to the Jews
Chapter 9 – Apotheosis of the Universal Church
APPENDICES
The mystical body of the king and the miraculous resurrection of John IV – 1659
2. Initial project of the History of the Future, Hopes of Portugal, and Fifth Empire of the World [The 7 books of which the work was to consist and the 59 questions it was to answer]
3. Final poetic image: Fernando Pessoa's tribute to António Vieira – 1929
Chronological milestones
Bibliography
Index of proper names
Index of treated themes
The texts gathered in this volume belong to the rich tradition of Baroque religious writing and early modern prophetic discourse, bridging theology, political messianism, and intellectual history. Father Antoine Vieyra stands as a major figure in Portuguese letters, known for an expansive rhetorical output that engaged deeply with the spiritual and imperial questions of his century. Within the broader current of Counter-Reformation thought and Lusophone culture, such prophetic writings reflected complex intersections between faith, geopolitical ambition, and global expansion.
This publication offers French readers access to translated fragments and excerpts from the History of the Future and the Clavis Prophetarum, accompanied by an introduction, notes, and appendices. The volume includes texts addressing the theory of the future, the messianic aura of Portugal, and the Fifth Empire of the world. Readers interested in Baroque literature, comparative rhetoric, and the history of religious utopias may find this volume relevant.