Two European missionary teams, one Catholic and the other Protestant, encountered each other in the Tamil country in the first decade of the eighteenth century. They acted as if and thought that their goals were irreconcilable, even if the Protestants in Tranquebar admitted that the Catholic Jesuit proselytism in the region had been efficient as “ preparatio evangelicae ” for the Protestant mission. Jesuits and Pietists were not only rivals; they also collaborated, uneasily and unequally, in collecting, processing, and disseminating knowledge. Missionary linguistic and medico-botanical expertise was considered an indispensable proselytizing tool, and it showcased their “scientific” achievements that were admired and envied in Europe. Both Pietists and Jesuits of this period were fighting the early Enlightenment atheists while feeding them the materials from the missions. Both missionary groups were also victims of Enlightenment historiography. Despite their theological differences, they were far closer in their practices than either the missionaries themselves or their historians, who have mostly written from the same denominational perspective, have been willing to acknowledge. In part this was because the Protestants, especially their mission's founders, relied on both texts and converts produced by their Catholic rivals.

中文翻译：

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竞争对手的使命，竞争对手的科学？十七和十八世纪南印度的耶稣会士和虔诚者

两个欧洲传教队，一个是天主教徒，另一个是新教徒，在 18 世纪的第一个十年在泰米尔国家相遇。他们表现得好像并认为他们的目标是不可调和的，即使特兰克巴尔的新教徒承认该地区的天主教耶稣会传教作为新教传教的“准备福音”是有效的。耶稣会士和虔诚者不仅是对手；他们还在收集、处理和传播知识方面进行了不安和不平等的合作。传教语言和医学植物学专业知识被认为是必不可少的传教工具，它展示了他们在欧洲受到钦佩和嫉妒的“科学”成就。这一时期的虔信者和耶稣会士都在与早期启蒙运动的无神论者作战，同时为他们提供传教的材料。这两个传教团体也是启蒙史学的受害者。尽管他们在神学上存在差异，但他们在实践上比传教士本人或他们的历史学家更接近，他们大多从同一教派的角度来写作，他们愿意承认。这部分是因为新教徒，尤其是他们的传教士创始人，都依赖于他们的天主教对手制作的文本和皈依者。大多数从相同教派的角度写作的人，都愿意承认。这部分是因为新教徒，尤其是他们的传教士创始人，都依赖于他们的天主教对手制作的文本和皈依者。大多数从相同教派的角度写作的人，都愿意承认。这部分是因为新教徒，尤其是他们的传教士创始人，都依赖于他们的天主教对手制作的文本和皈依者。