Anonymous 18th Century Publication Dedicated to the Virtue of Purity
Anonymous 18th Century Publication Dedicated to the Virtue of Purity

Summary/Abstract: The basis of the analysis is the anonymous publication Prayer for the preservation of purity, dated back to the second half of the 18th century. Academic reflection in the article focuses on the text indicated in the title, bulleted warnings, regarding benefits and methods of maintaining purity, the dangers which a virtuous lady should be wary of and also prayers to Mary, Jesus, and the saints, at the text’s conclusion. The aims of the analysis are to characterize the composition, find its purpose, and the elements it contains relating to the catechism, admonition and the bill of conscience. Discussion of the method of realization of a model of prayer is especially relevant for concrete, sociologically defined group of recipients. Contemporary eschatological perceptions and realities of the environment (salon flirtation, provocative dress) are cited as part of the context for the academic analysis. The investigation is completed with remarks on the relationship of the discussed text with warnings on maintaining the virtue of purity, issued by the Carmelite Jakub Kulczycki (1796).

• Details
• Contents