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TA54^
Columbia ^nibetjeiitp
LIBRARY
I
BOHN'S ILLUSTRATED LIBRARY.
NICOLINI'S
HISTOEY OF THE JESUITS.
^
HISTOEY OF THE JESUITS:
THEIE OEIGIN,
PEOGRESS, DOCTRINES, AND DESIGNS.
BY
G. B. NICOLINI,
OF ROME,
AUTHOR OF "the HISTORY OF THE PONTIFIGATR OF PIUS IX.,
"the life of father gavazzi," etc.
LONDON :
HENRY G. BOHN, YORK STREET, COVENT GARDEN.
1854.
PRINTED BY HARRISON AND SONS :
LONDON GAZETTE OFFICE. ST. MAETIN's LAW..
PREFACE.
I TRUST that In the following pages I have suc-
ceeded in the task I proposed to myself, of con-
veying to my readers a just and correct idea of
the character and aims of the brotherhood of
Loyola. At least I have spared no pains to
accomplish this end. I honestly believe that
the book was wanted ; for liberal institutions
and civil and religious freedom have no greater
enemies than that cunning fraternity ; while it is
equally true, that although the Jesuits are dreaded
and detested on all sides as the worst species of
knaves, there are few who are thoroughly ac-
quainted with their eventful history, and with all
those arts by which the fathers have earned for
themselves a disgraceful celebrity. The fault
does not altogether lie with the public; for,
strange to say, there is no serious and complete
history of this wonderful Society. I have done
my best to supply the deficiency ; and I indulge
138569
IV PREFACE.
the hope that, if the book is fortunate enough
to challenge public attention, it may be produc-
tive of some good. In no other epoch of history,
certainly, have the Jesuits been more dangerous
and threatening for England than in the pre-
sent. I am no alarmist. I refuse to believe that
England will relapse under the Papal yoke, and
return to the darkness and ignorance of the
middle ages, because some score of citizens pass
over to the Romish communion ; but at the
same time I do believe that many bold and less
reflective persons make too light of the matter,
and are wrong in refusing to countenance vigor-
ous measures, not for religious persecution, but
to check the insolence and countermine the plots
of these audacious monks. It is true that there
exists a great difficulty in deciding what mea-
sures are to be adopted for accomplishing this
end. It is repugnant, doubtless, to a liberal
and generous mind, and it is unworthy of a
free and great nation, to persecute any sect,
and to make different castes in the same body
of citizens. But, it may fairly be asked, are
monks, and especially Jesuits, really English
citizens, in the strictest sense of the word ? Do
they recognise Queen Victoria as their legitimate
sovereign ? Are they prepared to yield a loyal
obedience to the laws of the land ? To all
PREFACE!. T
these questions I answer, ]^o ! Even when
born in England, they do not consider them-
selves Enghshmen. They claim the privileges
which the name confers, but will not accept the
obligations it imposes. Their country is Rome ;
their sovereign the Pope; their laws the com-
mands of their General. England they consider
an accursed land ; Englishmen heretics, whom
they are under an obligation to combat. The
perusal of this work will, I imagine, prove
beyond the possibility of contradiction that,
from their origin, the Jesuits have constantly
and energetically laboured towards this object.
I cannot too much impress upon the minds of
my readers that the Jesuits, by their very call-
ing, by the very essence of their institution, are
bound to seek, by every means, right or wrong,
the destruction of Protestantism. This is the
condition of their existence, the duty they must
fulfil, or cease to be Jesuits. Accordingly, we
find them in this evil dilemma. Either the
Jesuits fulfil the duties of their calling, or not.
In the first instance, they must be considered
as the bitterest enemies of the Protestant faith ;
in the second, as bad and unworthy priests ; and
in both cases, therefore, to be equally regarded
with aversion and distrust.
Can no measure, then, be taken against these
VI PREFACE.
aliens, wlio reside in England purposely to
trouble her peace? Cannot a nation do something
to protect itself, without incurring the reproach
of being intolerant? What ! When some English
writers and newspapers insist that measures
should be taken against certain other foreigners,
who trouble not the peace of Great Britain,
though they may disturb the imperial dreams
of a neighbouring tyrant ; and when the local
authorities in Jersey have, to a certain extent, re-
sorted to such measures, shall England be denied
the right to take steps against the enemies of
her faith, her glory, and her prosperity ? The
important point of the question which I submit
to the consideration of those who, indifferent in
matters of religion, care very little whether
Jesuits convert a half of the nation to Eoman-
ism, is this : In England, the religious question
involves also the question of national peace, great-
ness, and prosperity. If one-half of England
w^ere Papists, Queen Victoria, in given circum-
stances, could not depend upon the allegiance
of her subjects, nor the Parliament on the exe-
cution of the laws. It may be that the priests (to
be liberal in my hypothesis) will teach the igno-
rant and bigoted Popish population to respect
and obey the Queen — but most assuredly they
will also command them, and, moreover, under
PREFACE. TU
penalty of- eternal damnation, to obey, in pre-
ference, the orders of the Pope, if they are in
contradiction to those of the Sovereign. Their
cry will be : — the Pope before the Queen ; the
canon laws before the civil code ! I^ow, I ask,
if the Pope were sure of being obeyed by half
the English population, would England long
enjoy her liberties, would she prosper in her
enterprises, and continue to be, without contra-
diction, the first and most powerful nation of
Europe ? Can it be imagined that that admir-
able combination of rights and duties embodied
in the constitution, that respect of the Sovereign
for the rights of the citizens, and that unaffected
love of the people for the Sovereign, which form
the real strength and power of Britain, could
long be preserved ? I need not insist further on
this point. I believe, however, I have said enough
to shew that, whether any other measures can
be taken against this insidious Order or not,
the clause in the Emancipation Act concerning
the religious communities should be rigorously
executed.
I am sensible that the above remarks would
perhaps have been more appropriate to the
Conclusion of the work ; but, as they have not
a general character, but are considerations more
particularly submitted to an English public, I
Tin PREFACE.
have thought it better to consign tkem to the
Preface, which may be modified, according to
place and circumstances, without altering the
general features of the work to which it belongs.
In the compilation of this work, I have studi-
ously kept my promise not to advance a single
fact for which I could not produce unquestion-
able authority ; and^ while I expect that my de-
ductions will be impugned, I can safely defy any
one to contradict the facts upon which they are
based. When I have quoted original authors, on
the authority of others, I have never done so with-
out ascertaining, by my own inspection, or by that
of friends — when the works were not to be had
here — that the quotations were correct. I have
entered somewhat minutely into details in the
first part of the History, partly, perhaps, a little
influenced by the interminable prolixity of the
Jesuit authors I consulted, and partly because
I deemed it necessary, in order that my readers
might form a correct idea of the mechanism,
the principles, and the proceedings of the So-
ciety. Once persuaded that the reader was
acquainted with the acts and ways of the
fraternity, I have abandoned detail, and given
such broad features of the principal events as
might afford instructive lessons. I have endea-
voured to reject from the narrative all that is
PREFACE. 1 X
extraneous to the subject. I have overlooked
embelhshments. I do not claim the merit of
being an elegant or eloquent writer, still less in
a language which is not my own, and in which
I was often at a loss to express my ideas. But
I must confess that I have some hope that in
the eyes of an indulgent reader the consequences
I have deduced from the facts will be found to
be logical, the language intelligible, and the
work not altogether wanting in order.
In the course of the publication, I have
received many letters — some friendly, others
insulting ; but, as they were all anonymous, I
could answer neither. In any case, I should
only have answered my friends, and thanked
them for their advice ; while, in regard to the
second class of my correspondents, even although
the " modest authors " had not deemed it
prudent " to conceal their names," I should
assuredly not have condescended to furnish a
reply, contenting myself with the simple reflec-
tion that it is naturally unpalatable to the
culprit to have his crimes dragged into the
light of day.
I cannot conclude this Preface without ex-
pressing my warmest gratitude to the libra-
rians of the different public establishments in
Edinburgh, and especially to the librarian of
X PREFACE. '
the Advocates' Library, and his assistants, for
the liberal manner in which they have put at
my disposal the books contained in their collec-
tions.
Finally, as I am sensible (from a conviction
of my own insufficiency) that the work cannot
be productive to me of either renown or con-
sideration, my chief hope is, that it may prove
useful and beneficial to some portion at least of
the English community, otherwise I should
indeed have cause immensely to regret my pains
and my labour.
Edinburgh, December 4, 1852.
CONTENTS.
Preface, ••....,. iii
INTRODUCTION.
Tlie Axxthor dissuaded from siting the History of the Jesuits—
Keasons for undertaking the Work— Difficulty of M^ell delineating
the Character of a Jesuit— The Author pledges himself to be Im-
partial, A ^ \i ;' t-i ■ - . ..... 1
CHAPTER I.
1500-40.
OBIGIN OF THE ORDER.
State of Europe in the Sixfteenth Century— Italy the Centre of
Civihsation- Alexander VI.— Julius II.— Leo X.— His Indifter-
ence in matters of Religion— Obliged by the Court to Excommuni-
cate Luther— Reformation m Germany, England, and Switzerland
—Ignatius of Loyola— His Birth and Education— Wounded at
rampeluna— He decides upon becoming a Saint— The Spiritual
Exercises-Ov^gm of the Book-Cretineau-Joly-Analysis of the
Spiritual Exercises by Cardinal Wiseman-Some Quotations from
It— Pilgrimage ot Loyola to Palestme— His Return— His Attempts
at Piv^selytism m Barcelona- In Alcada— In Paris— The First
Ten Companions of Loyola-They take the Vow of Obedience at
Montm^rtre m 1534-They depart for Italy-Projected Missions
in the Holy Land— Pierre Carraffii, afterwards Paul IV —Loyola
and his Companions in Rome— They conquer all Opposition, and
the intended Society is approved of by a Bull of Paul III 1540
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER II.
1540-52.
CONSTITUTIONS OF THE SOCIETY.
Btate of the Roman Churcli at the Epoch of the Establishment of
the Society — Adriau VI. 's extraordinary Avowal — Loyola's remark-
able Cleverness in framing the Constitutions — Analysis of this
Work — Passive Obedience — Poverty — Instruction given gratis, and
why — Ways by which the Jesuits get at Wealth, . , 30
CHAPTER III.
1540-53.
HIERARCHY.
The Members of this Society are divided into Four Classes — Gioberti
and Pellico upon a Fifth Secret Class — The Novices — Their Trials —
Theii- Vows — Scholars — Qualities they must possess — Coadjutors
Temporal and Spiritual — Their several Duties — Their Vows — Pro-
fessed Members— The First Class in the Society — They take a
Fourth Vow of implicit Obedience to the Holy See — Ceremony in
taking the Vows — They as well as the Coadjutors are bound to live
by Alms— The General of the Order— How Elected— His Attribu-
tions — His Powers — The Provincial and other inferior Officials of
the Order— Their Attributions, . . . . 45
CHAPTER IV.
1541^8.
PROGRESS OF THE ORDER, AND ITS FIRST GENERAL.
Ignatius elected General, at first refuses the office — Afterwards
accepts of it — His Zeal and Activity in promoting the Interests of
the Order — Chai'itable Institutions in Rome — He co-operates in
re-establishing the Inquisition — The Albigenses — Rules of the Tri-
bunal — Terror which it spread through Italy — The Jesuits in
Missions Lq various parts of Europe — The first Jesuits in Great
Britain— Instructions given them by Loyola— Their Proceedings,
CHAPTER V.
1547-1631.
THE FEMALE JESUITS.
Their origin — Donna Isabella — Rosello — Trouble which they gave
to Ignatius — He refuses to take charge of them — Attempts of some
Women to establish the Order of Female Jesuits — They are Sup-
pressed in 1631— They Revive as the Sisters of the Hol^ Heart,
CONTENTS.
I
CHAPTER VI.
1548-56.
THE FIRST OPPOSITION TO THE ORDER, AND DEATH OP LOYOLA.
Charles V. — His Interim — He banishes Bobadilla, who opposes it —
Cano, a Dominican Friar — His Opposition to the Jesuits — He is
made Bishop of the Canaries — He renounces his Bishopric to
return to Europe — His Prediction concerning the Society — The
Archbishop of Toledo lays an Interdict on the College ofthe Jesuits
— Disturbance in Saragossa to prevent the Jesuits from opening
their Chapel — The Jesuits in Portugal — Their Idleness and
Debauchery — Recall of the Provincial Rodriguez — New Superiors
— Stratagem to reduce the Members to their Duty — The Jesuits in
France— Du Prat, Bishop of Clermont, their Protector — Henry II.,
at the recommendation of Cardinal Guise, wants to Establish the
Jesuits in France — The Parliament refuses to Register the Ordi-
nances — Their Establishment opposed by the Sorbonne — Also by
De Bellay, Archbishop of Paris — Reasons adduced by them for
their Opposition — The Jesuits obliged to leave Paris — Accused at
Rome of Heresy — Remarkable imanimity of the different Nations
in opposing the Establishment of the Order — The Jesuits conquer
all Opposition — The Order Established in direct Opposition to the
Reformed Religion — Character of Loyola — His Correspondence with
the different Sovereigns — His Illness and Death, 1556 — Partiality
of Macaulay, Taylor, Stephen, and others, for Loyola and the
Jesuits — Reason of this Partiality, ....
CHAPTER VII.
1541-1774.
Jesuit Authors who write about them — Mission of East India —
Francis Xavier — Zeal and Devotedness of the First Missionaries
— Sketch of the Life and Character of Xavier — He Arrives at
Goa — Moral State of the Town— Efforts of Xavier to Reform it —
He Succeeds but Partially — Xavier on the Coast of Malabar —
His Conduct there — He goes to Malacca — To Japan — His inten-
ded Mission to China — Opposition of Don Alvarez, Captain
General of Malacca — Xavier lands at Sancian — His Illness and
Death, 1552 — Appreciation of Xavier's Merits — Prevarication of
the Missionaries after Xavier's Death — Father Nobili introduces
Idolatry into the Christian form of Worship — He gives himself out
as a Brahmin — The Jesuits maintain the Distinction of Castes
among the Con vei-ts— Their way of making Christians — They
greatly exaggerate the number of Converts — Scandalous Idolatry
— The Court of Rome condemns it — Cardinal de Tuurnon, Pope's
Legate in India — He solemnly condemns the Malabar Rites —
Incredible Impudence and Audacity of the Jesuits, to elude the
Ordinance of the Legate — The Pope and the Inquisition confirm the
XIV CONTENTS,
PAGE
Decree of De Toumon — He proceeds to China — His Conduct there
— He is F spelled from Pekin — His Imprisonment — Cruel Treat-
ment to which he is subjected — His Death, 1710 — The Jesuits
the Au+hors of his Misfortunes — The Pope's Eulogium on De
Tournon — Repeated Decrees of the Holy See against the Jesuits
— Decline of their Influence in India — Principal Feature of
Missions — Why the Pope Condemned the Malabar Eites — Popish
Idolatry — Procession of Good-Friday , ... 96
CHAPTER VIII.
1556-1581.
THE GENERALS OP THE OEDER,
Lajnez is chosen Vicar-General — Difficulties of holding a General
Congregation — Paul IV. — His Hatred against the Spaniards —
Revolt of Bobadilla — How subdued — War between Paul IV. and
Philip II. — The Duke of Alva in Rome — General Congregation —
Interference of the Pope — Lainez chosen General — The Pope orders
that the General should only stay in Office for Three Years — Death
of Paul IV.— Election of Pius I'V.— The Nephew of the late Pope
Executed— The Jesuits suspected of having Participated in that Act
of Revenge — The Jesuits accused of various Misdemeanours —
Lainez in France at the Congress of Poissy — He goes to Trent —
The Council of Trent — Its Opening and Close — Its Results — Influ-
ence of the Jesuits — Lainez returns to Rome — He Dies, 1565 — His
Character — Borgia, ex-Duke of Candia, elected Third General —
His History — Pius V. Cruel and Sanguinary — He subjects the
Jesuits to Monastic Duties — Borgia in Spain and France — Battle
of Lepanto, 1571 — Defeat of the Turks — Eve of St Bartholomew
— Death of Borgia, 1572 — IMercurianus Fourth General — The
Jesuits Inherit the Wealth of the Bishop of Clermont, . 133
CHAPTER IX.
1560-1600.
PROCEEDINGS OP THE JESUITS IN THE DIFFERENT COirNTRIES OP EUROPE.
Jesuits in England under Elizabeth — William Allen establishes
Colleges at Do\iay and in Rome for Englishmen — The Jesuits
direct them — Bull of Pius V. Excommunicating Elizabeth —
Character given of her by the Jesuits — Campion and Parson at
the Head of a Jesuit Mission in England — Their Biography —
They arrive in England — Encourage the Roman Catholics to
Disobey the Queen — Proclamation against the Jesuits — Their
Answer to it — Enmity of Gregory XIII. to England — His Cha-
racter — He Encourages all the Insurrections against the Queen —
Parson and Campion eagerly sought by the Government — Elude
the Seai-ch — Capture of Campion — Divers Opinions concerning his
CONTENTS. XV
PAGE
Trial — Execution of three Jesuits, Campion, Sherwin, and
Briaut — Parry's Project for Assassinating the Queen — Encour-
aged by the Jesuits and the Pope's Nuncio, Kagazzoni — The
Jesuits attempt to justify PaiTy — Absurdity of their Vindication
— Severe Laws against the Jesuits — The most of them leave
Enghmd — Hume on Babington's Conspiracy — The Jesuits along
■with the Great Armada — The Jesuits actually Troubling the Peace
of England — Duplicity of their Conduct — A Jesuit, pretending to
be an ardent Republican in Rome in the last Revolution — Is
thro-vvn into the Tiber, ... . . 151
Conduct of the Jesuits in Portugal — They prevent Don Sebastian
from Marrying — Pasquier accuses them of having aspired to he-
come Kings of Portugal — The Accusation repeated throughout all
Europe — They suggest to Don Sebastian the Expedition to~ Morocco
— Death of the King — The Jesuits place the Crown on the Head
of Philip II. of Spain, . . . , . 171
The Jesuits at last admitted into France — Under what Restrictions —
Principal Doctrines of the Galilean Church — The League — Henry
III. of France — His Indolence — His Tolerance — Ambition of the
Duke of Guise — He is declared Chief of the League — Makes a
Treaty with the King of Spain — Day of the Barricades — The King
causes Guise to be Murdered — The Jesuits Preach against the King
—Clement, a Dominican Friar, stabs him, 1589— The Council of
Seize order the Preachers to praise Clement's Deed — Henry of
Bourbon, King of Navarre, assumes the Title of King of France —
Opposed by Cardinal de Bourbon — Civil War — Henry IV. abjures
Calvinism — Siege of Paris — Conduct of the Jesuits — Henry Ac-
knowledged as King — Part taken by the Jesuits in the League —
Barriere attempts to Assassinate the King — The Jesuits are his
Accomplices — John Chastel — Stabs the King — Instigated by the
Jesuits — The Jesuits expelled from France — Execution of Chastel,
and of the Jesuit Guinard — The House of Chastel is pulled down
— A Pyramid erected to perpetuate the Memory of his Crime —
Inscription on the Pyramid concerning the part the Jesuits had in
it — Horrible Doctrines of the Jesuits — Reflections upon them, ,175
Immense Influence exercised by the Jesuits in Germany — What'
Requisites they had for success — Their Schools and Colleges — Their
Method of giving Instruction — Even Protestants send their Chil-
dren_ to their Schools — The Sovereigns of Germany support the
Jesuits — Albert V. of Bavaria obliges his Subjects to subscribe the
Professio Fidel — Rodolph 11. Emperor of Germany — Is directed
by Father Maggio — Persecutes the Protestants, and re-establishes
the Roman Catholic Worship, .... 194
The Jesuits in Poland — Sigismond the King of the Jesuits — The
Jesuits' Paramount Influence employed in re-establishing Popery, 202
Attempt of the Jesuits to convert to Romanism John III. of Swe-
den — The Jesuit Possevin in Stockholm in Disguise — John pro-
mises to become a Roman Catholic — Haughty Conduct of Gregory
XIII.— John remains a Protestant, and expels the Jesuits—
Sigismond succeeds John — War between Sweden and Poland —
The Jesuits are the Authors of it, .... 203
The Jesuits in Switzerland and Piedmont — Canisius founds the
College of Friburg— The Waldenses— Their Simplicity and Inno-
cence — Persecution and Cruelties exercised against them by Pos-
sevin— He hunts them as Wild Beasts— Pretends that many ab-
.y
:V1 CONTENTS.
PAGE
jure Protestantism — Refleiions on tlie Influence and Conduct
of the Jesuits throughout Europe, . . . • 205
CHAPTER X.
1581-1608.
COMMOTION AMONG THE JESUITS.
Acquaviva chosen General— His Character — The Spanish Jesuits
refuse to obey him— Philip II. takes part with them— Sixtus V.
supports Acquaviva Prudence of the latter — His Letter — Ratio
Studioruni — Admirable Plan of Education — Influence which it
gave them — Origin of the Congregations, 1569 — Its rapid Increase
— Directed by the Jesuits — Who derive immense Power from it —
Its various Denominations — Internal Life of the Jesuit Colleges—
Their Studies — The Instruction more Specious than Solid — Dis-
tinctive Character of Jesuit ^Yriters— They are Affected— Excep-
tions — Bartolis Segneri — Bourdaloue — Great Change in t!ie Policy
of the Society— They become Attached to the French Interest-
Henry IV. re-establishes them in France, 1603— Reasons which
he adduces to his Minister Sully -He writes to the General Con-
gregation in favour of Acquaviva — Affair of Venice — The Jesuits
leave the Territory of the Republic— Henry IV. sues for their
Return — Spain opposes it — The Jesuits not allowed to re-enter
Venice till 1657 — Acquaviva's Success in mastering the revolted
Province of Spain — Proves ultimately the Ruin of the Order, . 209
CHAPTER XL
1600-1700.
DOCTRINES AND MORAL CODE OF THE JESUITS.
Acquaviva's opinion of St Thomas's Theology — Molina's Doctrine on
Free-will — The Dominicans oppose Molinism — The two parties
hold thirty-seven Disputations in TTt^'^nce of the Pope— Clement
VIII. adverse to the Doctrine of the Jtsiite— Why he did not
condemn it — He imposes silence on the two parties— Origin of
Jansenism — Jansenius — Du Verger de Hauranne, Abbotof StCryan
— Jansenius composes the " August inus" and dies — St Cyran
Chief of the School— The Nuns of Port-Royal and the D'Arnauld
family — St Cyran Prisoner at Vincennes — The Jesuits embody the
essential Docti'ines of the Augustinus in five Propositions, and
oblige the Pope to condemn them — The Jansenists deny that
such Propositions are contained in the Book — Alexander VII.
declares by a Bull that they are contained in it — The Pope's In-
fallibility in Matters of Fact— Why the Jansenists took such
pains to persuade people that they were good Roman Catholics —
How the Jesuits had become such a powerfal Brotherhood — They
are no more needed as Theologians — Many Kings and Nobles have
each his own Confessor — Contrivances of the Jesuits to be
chosen to this Office — Their very accommodating Doctrines —
Escobar and his Moral Doctrines of the Jesuits on Sin — Inviu-
CONTENTS. XVU
PAGE
cible Ignorance — Pasciil the Provincial — Probable Opinion — Men-
tal Reservation — Impiety — Easy way to go to Paradise — The
Book of Father Barry — Extracts from it — The Month of M;iry
— Ridiculous Ceremonies in honour of the Virgin during the
Month of May — Secreta Monita — How originated — Why we believe
them to be Apocryphal, ..... 230
CHAPTER XII.
1608-1700.
OVERGROWING INFLUENCE OF THE SOCIETY.
New Phase of the History of the Order — The Jesuits contend for
iSuprenuicy wherever they are established — Their Influence in
various Courts — They become Confessors of the Kings of France
— Assassination of Henry IV. — The Jesuits accused by the Par-
liament of being the Accomplices of Ravaillac — Apologetic Letters
of Father Cotton, the late King's Confessor — The Anti-Cotton, a
Pamphlet against the Jesuits — Cotton, Confessor of Louis XIII.
— Death of Acquaviva, 161.5 — His Acts — With him ends the
•prestige exercised by the Generals — Election of Vitelleschi— His
Character — Canonisation of Loyola and Xavier — Rules to be ob-
served in making Saints — Quantity of Saints found in the Ceme-
try of St Lorenzo fuor delle mura — They are at last discovered to
have been dug up from a Pagan Burial-place — Feasts on the Ca-
nonisation of Loyola and Xavier — Impious Panegyrics in their
Honour — Solemnisation of the Secular Year of the Establishment
of the Society — Imago Primi Scecidi — Some Extracts from it — How
Cretineau excuses the Extravagancies of the Imago — The Book
expresses the real Feelings of the Jesuits — The greatest Hous-^s
have one of their Members a Jesuit — The Jesuits under Richelieu —
Under Mazzarini — Louis XIV. assumes the Government— Begin-
ning of theextraordinary Influence of the Order — Louis XIV. and
Philip II. both bigoted Papists — Both wage War against the Pope
> — Servility of the Jesuits towards Louis XI V. — TJiey are allowed to
persecute the Protestants — De la Marca's Furmula to be sub-
scribed by the Jansenists — They refuse to do so — Persecution
raised against them — Edict of Nantes — Father Lachaise — His
Cljaracter — He becomes the King's Confessor — His Ascendancy
over the King — Revocation of the Edict of Nantes — Massacre of
the Huguenots— Their Bodies exhumed from the Tombs — Num
berless Faiflilies oliliged to leave France — Lachaise becomes an
important Personage — His Residence — He disposes of Lettrcs de
Cachet — What these were — He unites in Secret Marriage the
King and Madame de Maintenon. The Right of disposing of all
the Livings and Bishoprics attached to the Office of the King's
Confessor — Immense Power which it confers upon the Order —
Letellier succeeds Lachaise as King's Confessor — His Character
— His Persecuting Spirit — By his orders, Port-Royal Destroyed
from the Foundation, the Tombs Violated, and the Bodies of the
Deceased given to be Devoured by the Dogs, . . . 253
The Jesuits in Spain — Their Influence under Philip III. and IV. —
XVm CONTENTS.
PAGE
Olivarez leaves them little share of Authority— They resolved to
he Revenged — Their Conspiracy in Portugal —Father Corea and
the Duke of Braganza— Cretineau confesses the part they took iu
the Revolution — Tlie House of Braganza ascend the Throne of
Portugal — Paramount Influence of the Jesuits — Lisbon the Centre
of their Commerce — Decrees of the General Congregations forbid-
ding the Jesuits to mix in Political or Commercial Matters —
"Whether observed or not — Why enacted, . . . 274
The Jesuits in Germany — They are the most able Auxiliaries of
Ferdinand in destroying the Protestants — Tilly, Walenstein, and
Piccolomini, their Pupils — Conduct of the Jesuits in the Thirty
Years' War — Advantages which they derived from it, . 278
Influence of the Jesuits in Poland — They used it against the Protes-
tants — Letter of the University of Cracow to that of Louvain on the
Jesuit Cruelties — Cassimir, King of Poland, formerly a Jesuit — He
is on the point of losing his Kingdom — Commits it to the care of
the Virgin Mary, ...... 2S0
The Jesuits and Christina of Sweden — Father Macedo Converts her
to Romanism — She Abdicates the Crown and goes to Rome, 282
The Jesuits in England under James I. — Grunpowder Plot — What
part the Jesuits had in it — Difiiculty of arriving at the Truth —
The Jesuits from first to last the Contrivers of all the Plots
against Elizabeth and James — Parson disposes of the Crown of
England — He obtains from the Pope a Bull which forbids the
Roman Catholics to take the Oath of Allegiance — Percy reveals
to Father Gerald the Gunpowder Plot — Garnet pretends not to
have knowTi the Conspiracy but under the Seal of Confession —
This Plea cannot exculpate the Jesuits fi'om being Accomplices in
the Plot — Reasons why — Imprisonment of Garnet — The Govern-
ment violates all the Laws of Justice and Humanity — Punishment
of Garnet — Moral Torture he is made to endure on the Scaff"old —
Execution of Father Oldcorne — The Jesuits are not discouraged
from Plotting — Struggle of Charles I. with his Parliament — The
Jesuits accused of fighting in both Camps — Absurdity of the Re-
cital of Jurieu to prove the Accusation — The Author's opinion upon
the Fact — The Jesuits' Discouragement under Cromwell — They
re-appear under Charles II. — Cretineau on a Treaty to Re-establish
the Roman Religion — Popish Plot — Gates and Bedloe — Their in-
famous Character —Their absurd Inventions — Credit they obtain
— Persecution of Papists — Father Ireland executed — Reign of
James II. — Influence of the Jesuits — Father Peter, Member of
the Privy Council— Revolution of 16S8, . . .283
CHAPTER XIII.
1600-1753.
AMERICAN MISSIONS.
Our Opinion of the Missions — Praises awarded to the Fathers —
Differeaice batween the Indian and American Missions — State
CONTEXTS. XIX
PAGli
of the two Countries — Cruelties exercised by the Spaniards
against the Indians — Humane and Christian-like Conduct of the
Jesuits — Tliey Differ from other Monks— The Indians receive the
Jesuits as their Protectors — Wandering of the Jesuits in making
Proselytes — Acquaviva Traces to tliem a Plan of Proceeding —
They Establish themselves in Paraguay — The Reductions —
Conduct of the Jesuits — The Indians Idolise them — Form
of Government of Reductions — Communism — Mode of Life in the
Reductions — The Indians forbidden to leave the Reductions,
and Stran^'ers to enter them — The Indians drilled to Arms —
The Jesuits accompany and direct them in their Expedi-
tions — Criticism of the Jesuits' System in the Reductions-
Opinion of Quinet — Our Opinion differs from that of this cele-
brated Professor — "Well-founded Reproaches addressed to the
Jesuits on account of the Superstitious Practices Introduced by
them into Religion — They are reproved even by Roman Catholics
— Palafox, Bishop of Angelopolis — He attempts to exercise
his Authority over the Fathers — Privileges of the Jesuits — Letter
of Palafox to the Pope, asking for a Reform of the Society —
Persecution raised against him by the Jesuits continued after his
Death — They Oppose his Canonisation — What are the Causes of
Discord between the Jesuits and the other Orders — Opinion of
Gioberti — The Jesuits want to Domineer over Bishops and
Legates —Their Conduct towards them — Divers Bulls of different
Popes on the Disobedience and Revolt of the Order against the
Holy See, 295
v/
CHAPTER XIV
1617-1700.
INTERNAL CAUSES OF DECLINE.
A Spirit of Independence pervades the Order — The Aristocratic Class
of the Professed refuse Obedience to the Generals — Incapacity of
the latter — Under Vitelleschi, the Spirit of the Constitution is
quite Changed — Letters of Vitelleschi and Carafflx to deprecate
the Ruin of the Order — Piccolomini and Gottifredi, Genei'als —
Nickel, the elected General, attempts a Reform — General Congre-
gation depriving him of all Authority — Oliva Vicar-General — He
becomes General after the Death of Nickel — His Character — His
Epicurean Habits — Relaxation of Discipline — Political Influence
which the Society acquired at such an Epoch — Its Causes — The
Jesuits, blinded by Prosperity, become less Cautious — Noyelle,
Gonzales, and Tambourini, Generals — The Company follow a
Ruad which leads to Ruin — They excite the Jealousy of all the
other Monastic Orders — They sell a Passport against the Evil
Spirit — Mastrilli sends a Message every day by an Angel to
Xavier, and receives Answers, . , , 31.5
XX CONTENTS.
PAoa
CHAPTER XV.
1700-1772.
DOWNFALL OF THE JESUITS.
Gradual March of the Order — It attains the Height of its Power —
Causes of Decay — The Instruction no more Gratuitous — The Prin-
ces of Germany limit thfir Unrestricted Authority — Rome begins
to frowTi upon them — Benedict XIV. 's injurious Description of
them — Hatred which they incur in France — Its Causes — After
the Death of Louis XIV., they are attacked from every Quarter
— The Jesuits have Identified themselves with all the Absurd and
Idolatrous Practices of the Roman Church — They are attacked
by the Encyclopedists — OtFer no Efficient Resistance — Philip of
Orleans, Regent of France — He refuses to protect them — They
attempt in vain to regain their Influence under Louis XV. —
The Ministers of various Sovereigns of Europe undertake Reform
— Choiseul — Tanucci — Squillace — Carvalho — The Fall of the Jes-
uits ouglit not to be attributed to Private Causes — Epitome of
the History of the Jesuits in Portugal — Carvalho, Marquis of
Pombal — His Character — His Hatred of the Jesuits and the
Aristocracy — Portugal and Spain exchange their Possessions in
America — The Indians of the Reduction refuse to Obey — They
take up Arms — Are Defeated — The Jesuits Accused by Pombal of
having Excited the Revolt — Denial of the Fathers — Earthquake of
Lisbon — Intrepid and Heroic Conduct of Pombal — He becomes
All-powerful — He Removes from the Court the three Jesuit Con-
fessors — Manifesto against them — Benedict XIV. subjects them
to a Visitation — Commerce of the Company in Europe — In
both Indies — The Visitor, Cardinal Saldanha, Censures the
Commercial Pursuits of the Order — Death of Benedict XIV.
— Clement XIII. — His Character — His Partiality for the Fathers
— Cardinal Torrigiani, the Pope's first Minister, is bribed by the
Jesuits — Joseph I. of Portugal — Attempt to Assassinate, while
returning from his Nocturnal Visit to a Lady — Measures taken
by Pombal — The Duke d'Averio, the Marquis of Tavora's Family,
and some of their Relations, are thrown into Prison — They are
accused of being AccomiDlices in the Attempt — Illegal and Inquisi-
torial Proceedings — The Prisoners are Condemned and Executed — -
Horrible Mode of Execution — It tarnishes Pombal's Fame — The
Jesuits are Imprisoned as Accomplices — New Manifesto of Pombal
against them — Decree Expelling all the Jesuits from the Portu-
guese Dominions, 1559 — France strikes the second Blow against
the Order— Aff"air of La Valette— The Order is held by the Tri-
bunals as answerable for all his Debts — Unaccountable Blindness
of the Jesuits, in appealing to the Parliament against this decision
— Cardinal de Luynes and the Assembly of Bishops — They declare
the Obedience due by the Jesuits to their General to be Incom-
patible with the Duties of a Subject — Louis XV. — His Character
— Pressed by Choiseul and Madame de Pompadour, demands a
Reform of the Order — Character of Choiseul — There was no Agree-
ment between him, the Philosophers, and Pombal, to Destroy the
Jesuits — Answer of Ricci, the General, to the Demand for Reform
— The Parliament AI)olish the Society, 1702 — Its Members Ex-
pelled from France, 17o4, . . . . . .326
CONTENTS. XXI
I'AGE
The Jesuits meet with a Greater Calamity in Spain— Charles III.,
his Character— Uncertainty as to the Motives which induced him
to abolish the Order— Erneute des Chapeaux—'Royiil Proclamation
Abolishing the Order of the Jesuits, 1767— Motives adduced by
Charles for this Measure— Motives ascribed to him by the Jesuits •
and llanke— Our own Conjectures on this matter— The way in
which the Decree was executed — Clement XIII. 's Useless Pro-
tection of the Jesuits— His Praises of the Order— llicci's Desperate
Efforts to Save tlie Society— His Character— By his orders, the
Jesuits, expelled from Spain, are refused Admittance into the
Papal Dominions— They are repulsed from Leghorn and Genoa-
After Six Mouths' Wandering on the Sea, they are received in Cor-
sica—Naples and Parma Expel the Jesuits from their States— The
Pope Excommunicates the Duke of Parma— Indignation of
Charles III. at the Boldness of the Pope— Louis XV. unites with
him in Remonstrating against the Act— The Pope refuses to re-
ceive the Remonstrance— The French Troops take Possession of
Avignon— The Neapolitans of Benevento— The Pope has no
Friend left to whom he can apply for Aid— The Courts of France,
Spain, and Naples, demand the Suppression of the Order— Death
of Clement XIII. — His Monument by Canova, . . 349
CHAPTER XYI.
1773.
ABOLITION OF THE ORDER.
The Court of Rome is divided into Zelanti and Regalisti— Intrigues
of the two Parties to Insure the Tiara to one of tlieir own Adhe-
rents — Cardinal de Bernis— His Character — His Insinuations to
the Conclave— Answer of the Opposite Faction— Charles III.
Refuses to give his Support but to a Candidate who would promise
to Abolish the Order— Joseph II., Emperor of Germany, and Leo-
pold, Grand Duke of Tuscany, in Rome— Veneration of the
Romans for the names of Republic and Emperor— Joseph is
courted by both Parties— His Visit to the Gesu— His Words to
the General— Consternation which they produce— He affects an
Indifference as to the Election of the Pope— He Visits the Con-
clave—His Haughty Behaviour there— The Spanish Cardinals
enter the Conclave— They succeed in bringing it to a close — Lo-
renzo Ganganelli— His Birth— First Education — Character-
Habits before and after being elected Pope — Ranke and others
exaggerate the Virtues of Ganganelli — His Ambition — His Equi-
vocal Conduct in order to gratify it — How he was chosen to the
Throne — Written Opinion concerning the Abolition of the Jesuits,
given by him to the Spanish Cardinals— Whether this constitutes
the Sin of Simony— Specious part played by De Bernis in tlie In-
triiiUes for the Election— Joy of Ganganelli at being elected Pope
— His Liberal and TolerantPoliey— The Affair of the Jesuits Poisons
all his Joy — His Perplexities on the Measure of Abolishing them
— He flatters Do Bernis, in order to obtain some delay in coming
to a Decision— He obtains some Respite— He goes to Castel-Gau-
XXll CONTENTS,
PAGE
dolfo to enjoy this short Triumph— Charles III. and Choiseul
press De Bernis to bring the Pope to a Speedy Decision — Bemis'
Urgency with the Pope — Letter of Ganganelli to the King of
Spain to obtain some Respite — The Jesuits assert that Ganganelli
■wsis Forced by the Sovereigns to Abolish the Order— How far this
Assertion is true — Very Plausible Reasons why he Hesitated so
long to Abolish the Order — Some of them less honourable — The
Pope is afraid of being Poisoned by the Jesuits — Menacing Atti-
tude of the Sovereigns of the House of Bourbon toward the Court
of Rome — Florida Blanca, Spanish Ambassador — Clement resists
all Importunities till he is persuaded that the Abolition is an
Act of Supreme Justice — His Foreboding in Signing the Bull of
Suppression — A Short Analysis of the Bull — Gioberti's Opinion of
it — The Bull Dominus et P^.edem'ptor, . . _ . 3G2
Proceedings against the Jesuits immediately after the Publication of
the Bull— A Retrospective Glance at the Progress of the Order —
Its Humble Origin— Its Increase — Its Considerable Power — Num-
ber of Houses, Colleges, and Fathers at the Epoch of the Sup-
pression — Approximate Estimate of their Wealth — Different
Sources of it — Ricci's Denial that the Order possesses any Money
— Reasons for believing otherwise — Ricci and some other Jesuits
sent Prisoners to the Castel St Angelo — Slanders of the Jesuits on
Ganganelli's Conduct, ..... 407
CHAPTER XYII.
1774.
DEATH OF CLEMENT XIV.
After the Issuing of the Bull, Clement re-assumes his gay hu-
mour—His Health is perfect— Unanimity of the Authors on this
point— The Jesuits have his Death Predicted— The Pythoness of
Valentano— Sudden Illness of the Pope — Symptoms— His Delirium
— Compulsusfeci — He resumes some Composure — His Death, 1774
— The Romans had expected his Death — Indecent Joy ofthe Jesuits —
What was the Nature of Clement's Illness — The Jesuits assert that
he died of Remorse — Untruth of the Assertion— Reason for it —
Decomposition of Ganganelli's Body after his Death — Salicetti, the
Apostolic Physician, declares the Rumour False that the Pope
Died by Poison— The Romans had no doubt that he perished by the
Acqua To/a na— Gioberti's Authorities for believing the Pope
Poisoned — Irrefragable Testimony of De Bemis — His Letter to
the Court of France — Character of Ganganelli, . . 412
CHAPTER XVIII.
1773-1814.
TnE JESUITS DURING THE SUPPRESSION.
Conduct of the Jesuits after the Suppression — Few obey the Bull —
They seek an Asylum with Protestant Prmces— Strange conduct
CONTENTS. XXIU
fACB
of Frederick of Prussia— lie Protects the Jesuits— Is EicUculed
by his friend D'Alembert— The Jesuits in Silesia— Braschi (Pius
VI.) succeeds Ganganelli in the Papal Chair— The Sovereigns of
the House of Bourbon press him to see the Bull of his Predecessor
executed— Character of Braschi — He fears rather than loves the
Jesuits — He writes to Frederick — The Answer of the King— St
Priest explains the Conduct of Frederick— The Author differs with
him in Opinion, . . . ... . _ 422
Catherine of Russia protects the Jesuits — Her Motives — The Jesuits
Establish themselves in Russia in Opposition to the Pope's Com-
mand—Death of Ricci — The Jesuits in Russia name a Vicar-
General — Siestrence-wiecz, Bishop of Mohilow — He permits the
Jesuits to receive Novices — Remonstrances of the Court of Rome
— The Jesuits name a General and act as if the Bull of Suppres-
sion had not been Issued — How Cretineau Exculpates them — Chi-
aramonti (Pius VII.) succeeds Braschi — He Re-establishes the
Society in White Russia — Its Progress there — Grouber elected
General — His Talents and Prudence — The Jesuits Re-established
in Sicily — Grouber Dies in a Conflagration — Imprudent Conduct
of the Jesuits afler his Death — Alexander Expels them from St
Petersburg — The Jesuits persisting in their Criminal Practices,
axe Expelled from Russia, 1820, .... 430
CHAPTER XIX.
1S14.
EE-ESTABLISMENT.
Fall of Napoleon — Restoration of different Princes— The Jesuits
pretend that all the Evils of the last Revolution were the Conse-
quences of their Suppression — The Princes Believe or feign to Be-
lieve it — The Jesuits are the natural Enemies of the Liberals —
Restoration of Pius VII. — His Character — He Re-establishes the
Order — Why — The Bull of Re-establishment weakens but little
that of Suppression — Short Analysis of the Former — Bull of Re-
establishment, 1814 — The Jesuits flock to Rome from every part
— Eagerness of many to become Members of the Society — The
King of Sardinia a Jesuit — Italy covered with Jesuits — Their per-
fect Understanding with the Pope — Hatred of the Italians against
the Order — They Invade the principal Countries of Europe — They
are Befriended by Ferdinand VII, in Spain — They side with Don
Carlos — Are Abolished by the Cortes, 1835 — They re-enter, and
are soon after Expelled from Portugal — Metternich refuses to admit
the Jesuits into Austria — They are permitted to Establish them-
selves in Galicia — Their Influence there, and its Effects —
The Jesuits Excluded from every other part of Germany —
The Jesuits in Holland — Ungrateful to King William — Their
undutiful Conduct there — They Prepare the Revolution of 1830 —
Their flourishing state in Belgium — Vicissitudes of the Jesuits in
France after 1764 — They never quitted the Country — Different
Names under which they Concealed themselves — The Sisters of
the Sacred Heart —The Congregation of the Sacred Family of the
XXIV CONTENTS.
PAGE
Virgin — Their Object— The Fathers of the Faith Suppressed by
Napoleon — Also the Congregation of the Virgin — Intrigues and
Conduct of the Jesuits after the Restoration — They court the
Favour of the Clergy— Their Mission— They Monopolise the Edu-
cation — Decree against them in 1828 — They disappear from France
after the Revolulion of 1830 — They are again found numerous in
1836 — Affairs of Affnaer — Thiers invokes against them the Laws of
the Land — Rossi's Mission to Rome — Its Results — The Jesuits
constrained to Abandon their Establishments — Their Colleges of
Bragellette and Friburg— Little is known of them for some years
— Their Re-appearancein 1849 — Their Influence in the present Day
■ — Affairs of Lucerne — The Jesuits guilty of Fomenting the Civil
War — Cretineau's Account of the Jesuits' Conduct in England —
Mr Weld presents the Jesuits with his Property in Stoneyhurst —
— Their rapid Progi'ess there — Prodigious Inci'ease of the Papists
after their Establishment fhere — Part of the Colony pass over to
Ireland — Father Kenny, Vice-President of Maynooth — The
Jesuits Disregaixl the Clause of the Emancipation Act on the Re-
ligious Corporations — The Fifth, Secret Class of the Jesuits the
most Dangerous of all — Perfidious Arts of the Jesuits in making
Converts — The Puseyites — The Papists rely upon them -Their
Eulogium by Cretineau — Rome desires the Ruin of England-^Has
intrusted to the Jesuits the Mission of bringing it about — The
Jesuits more Dangerous to Protestantism than all other Monks —
Every Roman Catholic Priest is by his Calling obliged to Labour
for the Extirpation of Protestants — England ought to awake to a
Sense of her Danger, ,.,•.. 43G
CHAPTER XX.
1848-1852.
THE JESUITS IN AND AFTER 1848.
Italy the Seat of Jesuitical Power after the Re-establishment of the
Order — State of the Peninsula before the Pontificate of Pius IX.
■ — Auspicious Beginning of his Reign — The Jesuits Oppose his
Acts of Benevolence — The Romans decide upon Dej^riving the
Priests of all Civil Authority — Resistance of the Pope — Death of
Grazioli, the Pope's Confessor — Pius falls back to the Errors of
former Popes — Hatred of the Romans to the Jesuits — II Gesuita
Moderno — Gioberti in Rome — The Pope's Menaces against the
Enemies of the Order — The Jesuits forced to leave Rome — Mortal
Hatred vowed by the Pope against the Liberals — Flight of the Pope
to Gaeta — Moderation of the Romans — Plots of the Jesuits and
Cardinal Antonelli — Crusade to Replace the Pope on the Throne —
Louis Napoleon, who fought in 1831 against the Pope, sends an
Army against the Roman Republic — Why — General Oudinot — His
Jesuitical Conduct — Gallantry of the Romans in Defending their
Country — They are obliged to yield — Reproaches against England
for having Abandoned the Cause of Civil and Religious Freedom —
Serious Consequences which followed— Whether England could
with justice have Interfered in the Affairs of Italy — The French
enter Rome — Oudinot goes to Gaeta — Receives the Pope's Blessing
CONTRNTS. XXT
PAGE
— Acts of Revenge of the Clerical Party after their Restoration —
Miserable Condition of the Roman States — The Executions at
Sinigallia and Ancona— Political Assassinations in those Towns —
The Jesuits suspected of being the Instigators — How State Trials
are Conducted in the Papal Dominions — a Note upon Simoncelli —
The Pupo grants £40,000 to his native Town for erecting a Jesuit
College — Reception of the Jesuits on their Re-entering Naples —
Ridiculous xVddresses — The Jesuits All-powerful in the Two Sicilies
— Abominable Conduct of the Neapolitan Government — Jesuitism
invades Tuscany — Its Effects — Religious Persecution — Jesuits
Introduced into Lombardy — The Jesuits Excluded from Piedmont
— The Clergy refuse to submit to Equality of Rights — The Priest
considers himself a Superior Being — Why — Intrigues and Hatred
of the Piedmontese Clergy against the Government — Ominous In-
fluence possessed by the J esuits in France at the present moment —
The Laws of Providence — Popery can never again be the Religion of
the Italians — Abject Flatteryof theJesuitsto Louis Napoleon — His
Character — The Priests help him to grasp the Imperial Crown —
His Marriage — Why we do not speak of the Actual State of the
Jesuits in England, ...... 469
"oNCLusiON, ....•«. 493
INDEX . . . . . . .497
ILLUSTUATIONS.
1. Portrait of Loyola {Frontispiece).
Page
2. „ Xavier 98
3. „ Lainez 133
4. „ Borgia 145
5. „ Acquaviva 210
C. „ Laciiaise 270
7. „ Ricci 357
8. „ Ganganelli 413
INTRODUCTION.
When I first Intimated to some of my friends my in-
tention of writing the History of the Jesuits, most of
them dissuaded me from the enterprise, as from a task
too difficult. I am fully aware of all the difficulties I
have to encounter in my undertaking. I am sensible
that to write a complete and detailed history of the
Jesuits would require more time and learning than
I have to bestow : neither could such a history be
brought within the compass of six or seven hundred
pages. It will be my endeavour, however, to give as
faithful an account of the Society as I can, to furnish
an accurate narrative of facts, and an outhne of the
principal members of the order. Thus much, at
least, with the aid of time, patience, and study, may
be achieved by any one.
I confess, too, that 1 am encouraged by a sense of
the intrinsic interest of the subject itself, which may
well do much to cast a veil over my own imperfect
treatment of it : for, amidst the general wreck and
decay of all human things, amidst the rise and fall of
dynasties, nay, of empires themselves and whole
nations of men, the inquiry may indeed give us pause
— Wherein larj the seeds of that vitality in the ori-
ginal constitution of the Jesuits, luhich has served
INTRODUCTION.
during three centuries to 'maintain the ranhs of the
Society, under many shocks, still unbroken ? A suf-
ficient answer to this inquiry will, 1 trust, be deve-
loped during the course of my narrative.
The main difficulty of my subject, as will be readily
understood, lies in "discovering and delineating the
true character of the Jesuits : for, take the Jesuit for
-what he ought or appears to be, and you commit the
greatest of blunders. Draw the character after what
the Jesuit seems to be in London, and you will not
recognise your portrait in the Jesuit of Rome. The
Jesuit is the man of circumstances. Despotic in Spain,
constitutional in England, republican in Paraguay,
bigot in Rome, idolater in India, he shall assume and
act out in his own person, with admirable flexibility,
all those different features by which men are usually
to be distinguished from each other. He will accom-
pany the gay woman of the world to the theatre, and
will share in the excesses of the debauchee. With
solemn countenance, he will take his place by the
side of the religious man at church, and he will revel
in the tavern with the glutton and the sot. He
dresses, in all garbs, speaks all languages, knows
all customs, is present everywhere though nowhere
recognised — and all this, it should seem (O monstrous
blasphemy!), for the greater glory of God — ad
majorem Dei gloriam.
According to my opinion, in order to form a cor-
rect estimate of the Jesuits, we must, first, study their
code, and, disregarding its letter, endeavour to discover
the spirit in and by which it w\as dictated ; secondly,
we must be ever on our guard against the deception
of judging them simply by their deeds, without con-
stant reference to the results flowing from them — for
we may rest assured that, in their case, it will be too
often found that the fruit which externally may be
fair and tempting to the eye, yields nothing at. its
core but vileness and corruption.
INTRODUCTION. 3
It is under the guidance of such principles of criti-
cism as these that I shall write my history.
My readers, however, must not look to find my
book thick- soAvn throughout with nothing but vehe-
ment and indiscriminate abuse against the order.
Such is not the vehicle through which, in the judg-
ment of the impartial, I shall be expected to manifest
my disapproval, whenever the occasion for such disap-
proval shall present itself. It will be my endeavour
not to be led astray by any feeling whatsoever, but to
give every one his due. Whatever I shall advance
against the Jesuits, I shall prove upon their own
authority, or by notorious, incontestable facts Alas !
these will prove to be too numerous, and of too dark
a character, to require the addition of anything that
is untrue; and the Society numbers among its mem-
bers too many rogues to prevent its historian (if,
indeed, one so unjast could be found) from making
creditable mention, for poor humanity's sake, of the
few honest, if misguided, ones he may chance to meet
on his way.
I hope my readers will be indulgent to me, if I
promise that I will spare neither trouble nor exertion
to surmount all the difficulties that lie in my path,
and to present in as true a light as possible the
crafty disciples of the brotherhood of Loyola.
HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
CHAPTER I.
1500-40.
ORIGIN OF THE ORDER.
The sixteenth century presents itself pregnant with
grave and all-important events. The old world dis-
appears — a new order of things commences. The
royal power, adorned with the scignorial prerogatives
snatched from the subjugated barons, establishes itself
amidst their ruined castles, beneath which lies buried
the feudal system. Mercenary armies, now constantly
maintained by the sovereign, render him independent
of the mihtary services of his subjects, and formid-
able alike to foreign foes and to turbulent nobles.
The monarchs advance nxpidly towards despotism —
the people subside into apathetic submission. Europe
has become the appanage of a fevr masters. Henry
Vin. of England, Francis I. of France, and Charles
V. of Spain, share it among them ; but, not content
with their respective dominions, they fight among
themselves for the empire of the whole, or at least
for supremacy of power. Henry having retired from
the contest after the Electoral Congress of Frankfort,
B
6 HISTORY OP THE JESUITS.
the other two contuiue the strife with varying suc-
cess. The gold of the recently discovered western
world, and his immense possessions, give to Charles
an enormous power. The bravery of a warlike nation
makes formidable the chivalrous spirit of the indomit-
able Francis. Their wars redden Europe with blood,
yet produce no decided result.
Meamvhile, as a compensation for these evils, the
human mind, casting off the prejudices and igno-
rance of the Middle Ages, marches to regeneration.
Italy becomes, for the second time, the centre from
whence the light of genius and learning shines forth
over Europe. Leonardo da Vinci, Tiziano, Michael
Angelo, are the sublime, the almost divine interpre-
ters of art. Pulci, Ariosto, Poliziano, give a new and
creative impulse to literature, and are the worthy
descendants of Dante. Scholasticism, with its subtle
argumentations, vague reasonings, and illogical de-
ductions, is superseded by the practical philosophy of
Lorenzo and Machiavelli, and by the irresistible and
eloquent logic of the virtuous but unfortunate Savo-
narola. Men who for the last three centuries had
been satisfied with what had been taught and said
by Aristotle and his followers — who, as the last and
incontrovertible argument, had been accustomed to
exclaim. Ipse dixit — now begin to think for them-
selves, and dare to doubt and discuss what had
liitherto been considered sacred and unassailable
truths. The newly-awakened human intehect eagerly
enters upon the new path, and becomes argumenta-
tive and inquiring, to the great dismay of those who
deprecated diversity of faith ; and the Court of Rome,
depending on the blind obedience of the credulous,
anathematising every disputer of the Papal infallibi-
lity, views with especial concern this rising spirit of
inquiry, and has to tremble for its usurped power.
Fortunately, the three last Popes had bestowed
little or no attention on the spu-itual affairs of the
ORIGIN OP THE ORDER. 7
world, and made no effort to combat the new ideas.
Borgia, amid his incestuous debaucheries, had been
solely intent upon suppressing by poniard and
poison the refractory spirit of the Roman barons, and
upon acquiring new territories for his cherished
Caesar — a son worthy of such a father. Julius, in
his noble enterprise of ridding Italy from foreign
domination, was a great deal fonder of casque and
cuirass than, of the Somma of St Thomas or any
other theological book. Leo, son of that Lorenzo
rightly called " Magnifico," had inherited his father's
love of art and literature, and of every noble pursuit.
Magnificent, generous, affable yet dignified in his
manners, living amidst every luxury, the centre of
the most splendid court in the world, he exhibited
the characteristics of a temporal prince rather than
those of the supreme pontiff. He took a greater
interest in a stanza of Ariosto or a statue by Michael
Angelo than in all the writings of the scholastics, of
which, in fact, he knew very httle. The impartial
and accurate Sarpi says of him — ■" He would have
been a perfect pontiff, if to so many excellencies he
had united some knoiuledge in the matter of religion,
and a little more inclination to piety, two things
about which he seemed to care but Httle." * He
laughed heartily when some of his more bigoted
prelates pointed out to him the imminent perils to
rehgion and the Church from the rapid spread of ■
the new and dangerous doctrines. He viewed the
quarrels between the Dominican and Augustine Friars
much in the same light in which Homer is supposed to
have regarded the battle of the frogs and mice, and
was at last roused from his indifference only when
Luther attacked-— not any article of faith, but his pre-
tended right of selling indulgences to replenish his
coffers and provide his sister's dowry. Yet even then
he would have preferred a compromise to a religious
* RiUory of the Coimcil of Trent, by Fra Paolo Sarpi, tome i. p. 9.
8 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
war. Had his fanatical courtiers participated in his
prudent scruples, the Roman Church might have long
retained Germany and many other European coun-
tries under her yoke. But God in his wisdom had
ordained otherwise.
To a very submissive letter which the Reformer
addressed to the Pope, appealing to him as to a
judge, the Court of Rome replied by a bull of excom-
munication. Upon this Luther renewed his anxious
investigation of the Holy Scriptures with increased
ardour ; and, becoming more and more powerfully
convinced that he had been propounding nothing but
the Word of God, fearlessly cast aside all idea of a
reconciliation, and stood firm in support of his doc-
trines. Previously he might have been inclined to
keep in abeyance some of his private opinions, but
now he had come to consider it a deadly sin not to
preach the truth as expressed by God in his Holy
Word.
The German princes, partly persuaded of the truth
of Luther's doctrines, partly desirous to escape the
exacting tyranny of Rome which drained their sub-
jects' pockets, supported the Reformer. They pro-
tested at Spires, and at Smalkaden made prepara-
tions to maintain their protest by arms. In a few
years, without armed violence, but simply by the
persuasive force of truth, the greater part of Germany
became converted to the Reformed faith. The honest
indignation of Zuinglius'in Switzerland, and, conspir-
ing with the diifusion of the truth, the unbridled
passions of Henry VIH. in England, alike rescued a
considerable portion of their respective countries from
the Romish yoke. In France and in Navarre the
new doctrines found many warm adherents ; whilst
in Italy itself, at Brescia, Pisa, Florence, nay, even
at Rome and at Faenza, there were many who more
or less openly embraced the principles of the Refor-
mation. Thus, in a short time, the Roman religion —
ORIGIN OF THE ORDER. \J
founded in ancient and deep-rooted prejudices — sup-
ported by the two greatest powers in the world, the
Pope and the Emperor — defended by all the bishops
and priests, who lived luxuriously by it — was over-
turned throughout a great part of Europe.
And let us here admire the hand of Divine Provi-
dence 1 As if with the special view of facilitating the
rapid diifusion of the Peformed religion, there was
given to the world but a few years before, and in that
same Germany where it took its rise, the most won-
derful and efficient instrument for the purpose — the
Art of Printing. Without the press, Luther's doc-
trines would never have spread so widely in so very
few months. As at that time this beneficent invention
was a powerful agent in advancing rehgious reforma-
tion, so has it since become an effective means of
political as well as religious enfranchisement. Hence
the hatred of the Popes and their brother despots
towards this staunch supporter of hberty.
But while the Word of God was thus rescuing such
multitudes from idolatry, the Spirit of Evil, furious at
the escape of so many victims whom he had already
counted his own, made a desperate effort to retrieve
his past, and prevent future losses. He saw, Avitli
dismay, Divine truth, hke a vast and ever-extending
inundation, rapidly undermining and throwing down,
one by one, his many strongholds of superstition and
ignorance ; and, with the despairing energy of baffled
malignity, he set about rearing up a bulwark which
shoutd check the tide ere its work of destruction was
completed. For this bulwark he devised the since
famous order of the Jesuits, which arose almost
simultaneously with the establishment of the Refor-
mation. So lue may say. The Roman Catholic
writers, however, ascribe the origin of the Jesuits
to a far different influence. They declare, '' that, as
from time to time new heresies have afflicted the
Church of God, so He has raised up holy men to
10 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
combat them ; and as He had raised up St Dominic
against the Albigenses and Vaudois, so He sent
Loyola and his disciples against the Lutherans and
Calvinists." *
It is of this renowned and dreaded Society that I
purpose to write the history. As a matter of course,
the first few pages will contain a biographical sketch
of its bold and sagacious founder, to whom altars have
been consecrated, and who is still regarded as the
type and soul of the order.
Ifiigo, or, as commonly called, Ignatius Loyola, the
youngest of eleven children of a noble and ancient
family, was born in the year 1491, in his father's
castle of Loyola at Guipuscoa in Spain. He was of
middle stature, and rather dark complexion; had
deep-set piercing eyes, and a handsome and noble
countenance. While yet young he had become bald,
which gave him an expression of dignity, that was
not impaired by a lameness arising from a severe
wound. His father, a worldly man, as his biographer
says, instead of sending him to some holy community
to be instructed in religion and piety, placed him as
a page at the court of Ferdinand V. But Ignatius,
naturally of a bold and aspiring disposition, soon found
that no 2;lory was to be reaped in the antechambers
of the CathoUc king ; and, delighting in military ex-
ercises, he became a soldier — and a brave one he
proved. His historians, to make his subsequent con-
version appear more wonderful and miraculous, have
represented him as a perfect monster of iniquity ; but,
in truth, he was merely a gay soldier, fond of plea-
sure no doubt, yet not more debauched than the
generality of his brother officers. His profligacy,
whatever it was, did not prevent him from being
* Helyot, Histoire des Ordres Monastiques, Religieux et Militaires,
tome vii. p. 452. When we have modern Catholic authors who quote
from Sacchinus Orlandinus, &c., we shall quote them, as books more
easily to be had.
ORIGIN OF THE ORDER. 11
a man of strict honour, never backward in time of
danger.
At the defence of Pampeluna against the French,
in 1521, Ignatius, while bravely performing his duty
on the walls, was struck down by a ball, which dis-
abled both his legs. With him fell the courage
of the besieged. They yielded, and the victors enter-
ing the town, found the wounded officer, and kindly
sent him to his father's castle, which was not far dis-
tant. Here he endured all the agonies which gene-
rally attend gunshot wounds, and an inflammatory
fever Avhich supervened brought him to the verge
of the grave — when, "Oh, miracle!" exclaims his
biographer, " it being the eve of the feast of the
glorious saints Peter and Paul, the prince of the
apostles appeared to him in a vision, and touched him,
whereby he was, if not immediately restored to
health, at least put in a fair way of recovery." Now
the fact is, that the patient uttered not a syllable
regarding his vision at the time; nevertheless we are
gravely assured that the miracle was not the less
a fact. Be this, however, as it may, Ignatius un-
doubtedly recovered, though slowly. During his long
convalescence, he sought to beguile the tedious hours
of irksome inactivity passed in the sick chamber by
reading all the books of knight-errantry which could
be procured. The chivalrous exploits of the Po-
lands and Amadises made a deep impression upon
his imagination, which, rendered morbidly sensitive
by a long illness, may well be supposed to have been
by no means improved by such a course of study.
When these books were exhausted, some pious friend
brought him the Lives of the Saints. This work,
however, not suiting his taste, Ignatius at first flung it
aside in disgust, but afterwards, from sheer lack of
better amusement, he began to read it. It presented
to him a new phase of the romantic and marvellous,
in which he so much delighted. He soon became
12 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
deeply interested, and read it over and over again.
The strange adventures of these saints — the praise,
the adoration, the glorious renown which they acquired
— so fired his mind, that he almost forgot his favourite
paladins. His ardent ambition saw here a new career
opened up to it. He longed to become a saint.
Yet the military life had not lost its attractions for
him. It did not require the painful preparation ne-
cessary to earn a saintly reputation, and was, more-
over, more in accordance with his education and tastes.
He long hesitated which course to adopt — whether he
should win the laurels of a hero, or earn the crown
of a saint. Had he perfectly recovered from the
effects of his wound, there is httle doubt but that
he would have chosen the laurels. But this was not
to be. Although he was restored to health, his leg
remained hopelessly deformed — he was a cripple for
life. It appeared that his restorer, St Peter, although
upon the whole a tolerably good physician, w^as by
no means an expert surgeon. The broken bone of
his leg had not been properly set; part of it pro-
truded through the skin below the knee, and the limb
was short. Sorely, but vainly, did Ignatius strive to
remove these impediments to a military career, which
his unskilful though saintly surgeon had permitted to
remain. He had the projecting piece of bone sawn
off, and his shortened leg painfully extended by me-
chanical appliances, in the hope of restoring it to its
original fine proportions. The attempt failed ; so he
found himself, at the age of thirty-two, with a
shrunken limb, with httle or no renown, and, by
his incurable lameness, rendered but shghtly capa-
ble of acquiring military glory. Nothing then re-
mained for him but to become a saint.
Saintship being thus, as it were, forced upon him,
ho at once set about the task of achieving it, with all
that ardour which he brought to bear upon every
pursuit. He became daily absorbed in the most pro-
ORIGIN OP THE ORDER. 13
found meditations, and made a full confession of all
his past sins, which was so often interrupted by his
passionate outbursts of penitent Aveeping, that it lasted
three days.* To stimulate his devotion, he lacerated
his flesh with the scourge, and abjuring his past life,
he hung up his sword beside the altar in the church
of the convent of Monserrat. Meeting a beggar on
the public road, he exchanged clothes with him, and,
habited in the loathsome rags of the mendicant,
retired to a cave near Manreze, where he nearly
starved himself. When he next reappeared in pub-
lic, he found his hopes almost realised. His fame had
spread far and wide ; the people flocked from all
quarters to see him — visited his cave with feelings of
reverent curiosity — and, in short, nothing was talked
of but the holy man and his severe penances. But
now the Evil Spirit began to assail him. The tender
conscience of Ignatius began to torment him with the
fear that all this public notice had made him proud;
that, while he had almost begun to consider himself
a saint, he was, in reality, by reason of that very
belief itself, the most heinous of sinners. So embit-
tered did his life become in consequence of these
thouo-hts, that he went wellnio-h distracted. '' But
God supported him ; and the Tempter, baftled in his
attempts, fled. Ignatius fasted for seven days,
neither eating nor drinking ; went again to the con-
fessional ; and, receiving absolution, was not only
delivered from the stings of his own conscience, but
obtained the gift of healing the troubled consciences
of others." ■\ This miraculous gift Ignatius is believed
to have transmitted to his successors, and it is in a
great measure to this belief that the enormous influ-
ence of the Company of Jesus is to be attributed, as
we shall see hereafter.
Kow that Ignatius could endure his saintship witli-
* Helycc, Hist, des Ord. Mon., Rd. et Mil., tome vii. p. i56.
t Ibid. p. 459.
14 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
out being overwhelmed by a feeling of sinfulness, he
pursued his course with renewed alacrity. Yet it
was in itself by no means an attractive one. In order
to be a perfect Catholic saint, a man must become a
sort of misanthrope — cast aside wholesome and cleanly
apparel, go about clothed in filthy rags, wearing hair-
cloth next his skin — and, renouncing the world and
its inhabitants, must retire to some noisome den,
there to live in solitary meditation, with wild roots
and water for food, daily applying the scourge to
expiate his sins — of which, according to one of the
disheartening doctrines of the Catholic Church, even
the just commit at least seven a day. The saint must
enter into open rebellion against the laws and instincts
of human nature, and consequently against the will of
the Creator. And although it cannot be denied that
some of the founders of monastic orders conscien-
tiously believed that their rules were conducive to
holiness and eternal beatitude, nevertheless, we may
with justice charge them with overlooking the fact,
that as the transgression of the laws of nature inva-
riably brings along with it its own punishment — a
certain evidence of the Divine displeasure — true holi-
ness cannot consist in disregarding and opposing them.
Ignatius, however, continued his life of penance,
made to the Virgin Mary a solemn vow of perpetual
chastity, begged for his bread, often scourged himself,
and spent many hours a day in prayer and medita-
tion. What he meditated upon, God only knows.
After a few months of this ascetic life, he pubhshed
a little book which much increased his fame for
sanctity. It is a small octavo volume, and bears the
title of Spiritual Exercises* As this work, the
only one he has left, is the acknowledged standard of
* By the term " Spiritual Exercises," Catholics understand that
course of solitary pi-ayer and religious meditation, generally extending
over many days, which candidates for holy orders have to perform in tlie
seclusion of a convent previous to being consecrated. Again^ when a
ORIGIN OF THE ORDER. 15
the Jesuits' religious practice, aud is by them extolled
to the skies, we must say some few words about it.
First of all, we shall relate the supernatural origin
assigned to it by the disciples and panegyrists of its
author.
*'IIe" (Ignatius) "had already done much for
God's sake, and God now rendered it back to him
with usury. A courtier, a man of pleasure, and a
soldier, he had neither the time nor the will to gather
knowledge from books. But the knowledge of man,
the most difficult of all, was divinely revealed to him.
The master who was to form so many masters, was
himself formed by Divine illumination. He composed
the Spiritual Exercises, a work which had a most
important place in his life, and is powerfully reflected
in the history of his disciples."
This quotation is from Cretineau Joly (vol i. p. 18),
an author who professes not to belong to the Society,
but whose book was published under the patronage
of the Jesuits, who, he says, opened to him all the
depositories of unpublished letters and manuscripts in
their principal convent, the Gesu, at Rome ; he wrote
also a virulent pamphlet against the great Pontiff
Clement XIV., the suppressor of the Jesuits. Hence
we consider ourselves fairly entitled to rank the few
quotations we shall make from him as among those
emanating from the writers that belong to the order;
and we arc confident that no Jesuit would ever think
of repudiating Cretineau Joly. This author proceeds
to state, that " in the manuscript in which Father
Jouvency narrates in elegant Latin those strange
events, it is said — ' This light shed by the Divine will
upon Ignatius shewed him openly and without veil
the mystery of the adorable Trinity and other arcana
of religion. He remained for eight days as if de-
priest incurs the displeasure of his superior, lie is sent as a sort of
prisoner to some convent, there to perform certain prescribed ''spiritual
jgxercises," which in this case may last from one to three weeks.
16 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
prived of life. What he witnessed during this ecstatic
trance, as well as in many other visions which he had
during life, no one knows. He had indeed committed
these celestial visions to paper, but shortly before his
death he burned the book containing them, lest it
should fall into unworthy hands. A few pages, how-
ever, escaped his precautions, and from them one can
easily conjecture that he must have been from day to
day loaded with still greater favours. Chiefly was
he sweetly ravished in contemplating the dignity of
Christ the Lord, and liis inconceivable charity _ to-
wards the human race. As the mind of Ignatius was
filled with military ideas, he figured to himself Christ
as a general lighting for the Divine glory, and call-
ing on all men to gather under his standard. Hence
sprang his desire to form an army of which Jesus
should be the chief and commander, the standard
inscribed — •' Ad majorem Dei gloricun.' "
With deference to M. Joly, we think that a more
mundane origin may be found for the "Exercises"
in the feverish dreams of a heated imagination. Be
this as it may, however, we shall proceed to lay
before our readers a short analysis of it, extracted
from Cardinal Wiseman's preface to the last edition.
He says — " This is a practical, not a theoretical work.
It is not a treatise on sin or on virtue ; it is not a
method of Christian perfection, but it contains the
entire practice of perfection, by making us at once
conquer sin and acquire the highest virtue. The
person who goes through the Exercises is not in-
structed, but is made to act ; and this book will not be
intelligible apart from this vicAV."
"The reader will observe that it is divided' into
Four Weeks; and each of these has a specific object, to
advance the excrcitant an additional step towards per-
fect virtue. If the work of each week be thoroughly
done, tJiis is actually acconij^lished*
'■• The Italics here are our own.
ORIGIN OF THE ORDER. 17
" The first week has for its aim the cleansiniy of
the conscience from past sin, and of the affections
from their future clangers. For this purpose, the
soul is made to convince itself deeply of the true end
of its being — to serve God and be saved, and of the
real worth of all else. This consideration has been
justly called by St Ignatius the prmci/^/e or founda-
tion of the entire system." The Cardinal assures us
that the certain result of this first week's exercises is,
that '' sin is abandoned, hated, loathed
" In the second, the life of Christ is made our
model ; by a series of contemplations of it we become
famihar with his virtues, enamoured of his perfec-
tions ; we learn, by copying him, to be obedient to
God and man, meek, humble, affectionate; zealous,
charitable, and forgiving ; men of only one wish and
one thought — that of doing ever God's holy will
alone ; discreet, devout, observant of every law, scru-
pulous j)erformers of every duty. Every meditation
on these subjects shews us how to do all this ; in fact,
tnakes us really do it.* The third week
brings us to this. Having desired and tried to be
like Christ in action, we are brought to wish and
endeavour to be hke unto him in suffering. For this
purpose his sacred passion becomes the engrossing
subject of the Exercises But she (the soul)
must be convinced and feel, that if she suffers, she also
shall be glorified with him ; and hence the fourth and
concluding week raises the soul to the consideration
of those glories which crowned the humiliations and
sufferings of our Lord." Then, after a highly figu-
rative eulogium upon the efficacy of the Exercises
*' duly performed," the reverend prelate proceeds to
shew that the one " essential element of a spiritual
retreat " (for so the Exercises reduced to action are
popularly called) "is direction. In the Catholic
Church no one is ever allowed to trust himself in
* The Italics here are our own.
18 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
spiritual matters. The sovereign pontiff is obliged to
submit himself to the direction of another, in what-
ever concerns his own soul. The life of a good re-
treat is a good director of it." This director modifies
(according to certain written rules) the order of the
Exercises, to adapt them to the peculiar character of
the exercitant ; regulates the time employed in them,
watches their effects, and, like a physician prescribing
for a patient, varies the treatment according to the
symptoms exhibited, encouraging those which seem
favourable, and suppressing those which are detrimen-
tal, to the desired result. " Let no one," says the
Cardinal, " think of undertaking these holy Exercises
without the guidance of a prudent and experienced
director."
*' It will be seen that the weeks of the Exercises do
not mean necessarily a period of seven days. The
original period of their performance was certainly a
month ; but even so, more or less time was allotted
to each week's work according to the discretion of the
director. Now, except in very particular circum-
stances, the entire period is abridged to ten days;
sometimes it is still further reduced."
It will be observed from the above extracts, that
the Cardinal, ignoring the fact that the sinner's con-
version must be effected entirely by the operation of
the Holy Spirit, seems to regard the unregenerate
human soul merely as a piece of raw material, which
the " director " may, as it were, manufacture into a
saint, simply by subjecting it to the process pre-
scribed in the Exercises.
In regard to the merits of the book, I cannot agree
either with Wiseman or a very brilliant Protestant
writer,* who, speaking of the approbation bestowed
on it by Pope Paul III., says — " Yet on this sub-
ject the chair of Knox, if now filled by himself, would
not be very widely at variance with the throne of St
* Stephens.
ORIGIN OF THE ORDER. 19'
Peter." The book certainly does not deserve this
high euloo'ium. However, it cannot be denied that,
amidst many recommendations of many absurd and
superstitious practices proper to the Popish rehgion,
the httle volume does contain some ver}^ good maxims
and precepts. For instance, here are two passages to
which I am sure that not even the most anti- Catholic
Protestant could reasonably object. At page 16 it is
said —
" Man was created for this end, that he might
praise and reverence the Lord his God, and, serving
him, at length be saved.* But the other things which
are placed on the earth were created for man's sake,
that they might assist him in pursuing the end of
creation ; whence it follows, that they are to be used
or abstained from in proportion as they benefit or
hinder him in pursuing that end. AVherefore we
ought to be indifferent towards all created things (in
so far as they are subject to the liberty of our will,
and not prohibited), so that (to the best of our power)
we seek not health more than sickness, nor prefer
riches to poverty, honour to contempt, a long life to
a short one. But it is fitting, out of all, to choose
and desire those things only which lead to the end."
And again, at page 33 — " The third" (article for
meditation) " is, to consider myself; who, or of what
kind I am, adding comparisons which may bring me
to a greater contempt of myself; as, if 1 reflect how
little I am when compared with all men; then, what
the whole multitude of mortals is, as compared with
the angels and all the blessed : after these things I
must consider what, in fact, all the creation is in com-
parison with God the Creator himself; what now
can I, one mere human being, be? Lastly, let me
look at the corruption of my whole self, the wicked-
ness of my soul, and the pollution of my body, and
account myself to be a kind of ulcer or boil, from
* See the Shorter Catechism, Qu. 1.
20 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
■which so great and foul a flood of sins, so great a
pestilence of vices, has flowed down.
" The fourth is, to consider what God is, whom I
have thus offended, collecting the perfections which
are God's peculiar attributes, and comparing them
with my opposite vices and defects; comparing, that
is to say, his supreme power, wisdom, goodness, and
justice, with my extreme weakness, ignorance, wick-
edness, and iniquity."
But then the above " Exercises " are followed by
certain *' Additions," which are recommended as con-
ducing to their " better performance." Some of these
are very strange; for instance — " The fourth is, to set
about the contemplation itself, now kneeling on the
ground, now lying on my face or on my back ; now
sitting or standing, and composing myself, in the way
in which I may hope the more easily to attain what
I desire. In which matter, these two things must
be attended to : the first, that if, on my knees ot in
any other posture, I obtain what I wish, I seek
nothing further. The second, that on the point in
which I shall have attained the devotion I seek, I
ought to rest, without being anxious about pressing
on until I shall have satisfied myself." " The sixth,
that I avoid those thoughts which bring joy, as that
of the glorious resurrection of Christ; since any
such thought hinders the tears and grief for my sins,
which must then be sought by calling in mind rather
death or judgment." " The seventh, that, for the
same reason, I deprive myself of all the brightness of
the light, shutting the doors and windows so long as
I remain there" (in my chamber), " except while I
have to read or take my food." At page 55 we find,
in the Second Week — " The Fifth Contemjjlation is
the application of the senses to those" (contemplations)
*• mentioned above. After the preparatory prayer,
with the three aleady mentioned preludes, it is emi-
nently useful to exercise the five imaginary senses
ORIGIN OF THE ORDER. 21
concerning* the first and second contemplations in the
following way, according as the subject shall bear.
" The first point will be, to see in imagination all
the persons, and, noting the circumstances which shall
occur concerning them, to draw out what may be pro-
fitable to ourselves,
" The second, by hearing, as it Tvere, what they
are saying, or what it may be natural for them to
say, to turn all to our own advantage.
" The third, to perceive, by a certain inward taste
and smell, how great is the sweetness and delight-
fulness of the soul imbued with Divine gilts and
virtues, according to the nature of the person we are
considering, adapting to ourselves those things which
may bring us some fruit.
" The fourth, by an inward touch, to handle and
kiss the garments, places, footsteps, and other things
connected with such persons ; whence Ave may de-
rive a greater increase of devotion, or of any spiritual
good.
*' This contemplation will be terminated, like tha
former ones, by adding, in like manner, Pater
noster."
At page 52, among things " to be noted " is —
" The second, that the first exercise concerning
the Incarnation of Christ is performed at midnight ;
the next at dawn ; the third about the hour of mass ;
the fourth about the time of vespers ; the fifth a little
before supper ; and on each of them will be spent the
space of one hour ; which same thing has to be
observed henceforward everywhere."
Loyola's next step towards hoHness w^as a pil-
grimage to Palestine to convert the infidels. AVhat
he did in the Holy Land we do not know ; his bio-
grapher tells us only that he was sent back' by the
Franciscan friar who exercised there the Papal
authority.*
* Hd. Eist. dee Ord. Mon., Bel. et Mil. tome vii. p. 461. '
c
22 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
On his homeward voyac^e, Ignatius conceived that
a httle learning would perhaps help him in the task
of converting heretics, and thus furnish him with an
additional chance of rendering himself famous ; so
after his return he attended a school at Barcelona
for two years, where, a full-grown man of thirty-
four, he learned the rudiments of the Latin language,
sitting upon the same bench with little boys.
Having failed to make any proselytes to his ex-
travagances at Barcelona, he went to Alcala, and
studied in the university newly erected there by Car-
dinal Ximenes. Here he attracted much public
notice by the eccentricities of his fanatical piety.
He wore a peculiar dress of coarse material, and by
his fervid discourse contrived to win over to his
mode of life four or five young men, whom he
called his disciples. But he was regarded with sus-
picion by the authorities, who twice imprisoned him.
He and his converts were ordered to resume the com-
mon garb, and to cease to expound to the people the
mysteries of religion.* Indignant at this, Ignatius
immediately set out for Paris, where, in the beginning
of 1528, he arrived alone, his companions having de-
serted him.
His persecutions at Alcala had taught him pru-
dence ; so that, although his attempts at notoriety
in Paris, in the way of dress, manners, and language,
brought him before the tribunal of the Inquisition,f
he nevertheless had managed matters so cautiously
as to escape all punishment. Here, while contend-
ing with the difficulties of the Latin grammar,{ he
* Hel. Hist, des Ord. Mon., Rel. et Mil. tome vii. p. 463.
+ Ibid, tome vii. p. 464.
X Once for all, I promise my readers that I am not going to trouble
them with the nan-ative of all the miraculous legends related concerning
Loyola. They are in most instances so absurd as to be beneath the dignity
of history. Let the two following suffice as specimens. It is said that
the devil, determined to prevent his learning Latin, so confused his intel-
lect that he found it impossible to remember the conjugation of the verb
amo ; whereupon he scourged himself unmercifully every day, until by
ORIGIN OF THE ORDER. 23
was ever revolving in Ills vast and capacious mind
some new scheme for fulfilling his desires and gra-
tifying his passion for renown. But as yet he knew
not what he was destined to accomplish. There
seems no ground for supposing that he could already
have formed the gigantic and comprehensive pro-
ject of establishing, on the basis on which it now
stands, his wonderful and powerful Society. No ;
he only contrived, as he had done in Spain, to enlist
some followers, over whom lie could exercise an
absolute control, for the furtherance of any future
project. In this his success had far exceeded his
expectations. The magnanimous and heroic Xavier,
the intelligent and interesting Le Fevre, the learned
Laincz, the noble and daring Rodriguez, and some
three or four others, acknowledged him as their chief
and master.
It may at first sight appear strange that such pri-
vileged intelligences should have submitted themselves ,
to a comparatively ignorant ex-officer. But when it
is borne in mind that Ignatius had a definite end,
towards which he advanced with steady and unhesi-
tating steps, whilst his companions had no fixed plan
— that he was endowed with an iron will, which
neither poverty, nor imprisonment, nor even the
world's contempt, could overcome — that, above all, he
had the art to flatter their respective passions, and
to win their affections by using all his influence to
promote their interests — it is less surprising that he
should have gained an immense influence over those
inexperienced and ingenuous young men, on whose
that means the evil spirit was overcome, after which the saint was soou
able to repeat amo in all its tenses. Again, when Ignatius was in
Venice on his way to the Holy Land, it is said that a wealthy senator
of that city, Travisini by name, whilst luxuriously reclining on his
bed of down, was iniormed b}' an angel that the servant ot God was
lying upon the hard stones under the portico of his palace. Where-
upon the senator immediately arose, and went to the door, where he
foxmd Ignatius.
24 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
generous natures the idea of devoting their lives to
the welfare of mankind had already made a deep
impression. Loyola's courage and ambition were
strongly stimulated by the acquisition of disciples so
willing and devoted — so efficient for his purpose — so
attached to his person; and he began to consider
how he mio'ht turn their devotion to the best ac-
count.
After some conferences with his companions, he
assembled them all on the day of the Assumption,
16th August 1534, in the church of the Abbey of
Montmartre, where, after Peter Le Fevre had cele-
brated mass, they each took a solemn vow to go to
the Holy Land and preach the gospel to the infidels.
Ignatius, satisfied for the present with these pledges,
left Paris, in order, as he asserted, to recruit his
health by breathing his native air at Loyola before
setting out on his arduous mission, and doubtless also
to find solitude and leisure in which to meditate
and devise means for realising his ambitious hopes.
His disciples remained in Paris to terminate their
theological studies, and he commanded them to meet
him again at Venice in the beginning of 15e37, en-
joining them, meanwhile, if any one should ask them
what rehgion they professed, to answer that they be-
longed to the Society of Jesus — since they were
Christ's soldiers.*
Our saint preceded them to Venice, _ where he
again encountered some difficulties and a little perse-
cution ; but he endured all with u»flinching patience.
Here he became acquainted with Pierre Carafta (after-
wards Pope Paul IV.) This harsh and remarkable man
had renounced the bishopric of Theate, to become
the companion of the meek and gentle Saint Gaje-
tan of Tyenne, and with his assistance had founded
* Negroni expounds the word societas "quasi dicas coliortem aut
centuriam qu» ad pixgnam cum hostibus spiritualibus conserendam con-
Bcripta est. '
OUIGIN OF THE ORDER. 25
the religious order of the Thcatincs. The mcmhors
of this fraternity endeavoured, by exemplary living,
devotion to their clerical duties of preaching and
administering the sacraments, and ministering to the
sick, to correct the evils produced throughout all
Christendom by the scandalous and immoral conduct
of the regular and secular clergy. To Caraifa, who
had already acquired great influence, Ignatius at-
tached liimself, became an inmate of the convent he
had founded, served patiently and devotedly in the
hospital Tvhich he dn-ected, and shortly became Ca-
raifa's intimate friend. This fixed at once the hitherto
aimless ambition of Loyola. He conceived the idea of
achieving power and fame, if not as the founder of a
new order, at least as the remodcller of one already
existing. With this design, he submitted to Caraffa a
plan of reform for his order, and strongly urged its
adoption. But Caraifa, who perhaps suspected his
motive, rejected his proposal, and offered to admit
him as a brother of the order as it stood. This,
however, did not suit Ignatius, whose proud nature
could never have submitted to play even the second
part, much less that of an insignificant member in
a society over which another had all power and au-
thority. He therefore declined the honour, and at
once determined to found a new religious community
of his own. Aware, however, of the difficulties he
might have to overcome, he resolved to proceed with
the utmost caution.
Being under a v^w to go to convert the infidels in
the Holy Land, he gave out that to this work alone
were the Hves of himself and his companions to be
devoted. Accordingly, as soon as they arrived in
Venice, he sent them to Rome to beg the Pope's bless-
ing on their enterprise, as he said ; and also, no doubt,
to exhibit them to the Eoman court as the embryo of
a new religious order. The reason assigned by his
26 HISTORY OP THE JESUITS.
historians for his not going to Rome along with them,
is, that he feared that his presence there might be
prejudicial to them.* It is just as likely that he was
afraid lest, beneath his cloak of ostentatious humility,
the discerning eye of Pope Paul might detect his un-
bounded ambition.
At Pome his disciples were favourably received ; —
the Pontiff bestowed the desired benediction, and they
returned to Venice, whence they were to sail for Pa-
lestine.
Here Ignatius prevailed upon them to take vows
of perpetual chastity and poverty, and then, under
pretext of the war which was raging at the time
between the emperor and the Turks, they aban-
doned their niission altogether. So ended their pious
pilgrimage.
Taking with him Lainez and Le Fevre, Loyola
then proceeded to Rome, and craved audience of the
Pope.
The chair of St Peter was at this time occupied
by Paul Farnese — that same Pope who opened, and
in part conducted, the Council of Trent; who insti-
gated the emperor to the war against the Protes-
tants : who sent, under his grandson's command,
12,000 of his own troops into Germany to assist in
that war; and who hfted up his sacrilegious hand to
bless whoever would shed Protestant blood. He had
been scandalously incontinent ; and if he did not, like
Alexander VL, entirely sacrifice the interests of the
Church and of humanity to the aggrandisement of his
own family, nevertheless, his son received the duke-
dom of Piacentia, and his grandsons were created car-
dinals at the age of fourteen, and one of them was
intended to be Duke of Milan. However, Paul had
some grandeur in his nature. He was generous, and
therefore popular, and his activity was indefatigable.
* Hel. Uist. des Ord. 3Ion., Rel. et Mil. tome \ii. p. 469.
ORIGIN OF THE ORDER. 27
But Sarpl says of liim, that of all his own qualities,
he did not appreciate any nearly so much as his
dissimulation.'^
By this amiable pontiff, Ignatius and his compa-
nions were kindly received. He praised their exem-
plary and religious life, questioned them concerning
their projects, but took no notice of the plan they
hinted at, of originating a new religious order.
But Loyola was not to be thus discouraged. He
summoned to Borne all his followers (who had re-
mained in Lombardy, preaching with a bigoted fana-
ticism and calling the citizens to repentance), and gave
them a clearer outline than he had hitherto done of
the society he proposed to establish. This they en-
tirely approved of, and took another vow (the most
essential for Loyola's purpose) of implicit and un-
questioning obedience to their superior. Admire
here the cautious and consummate art by which
Ignatius, step by step, brought his associates to the
desired point.
Notwithstanding the repeated refusals of the Court
of Borne to accede to his wishes, neither the courage
nor the perseverance of Ignatius failed him. After
much reflection, he at last thought he had discovered
a way to overcome the Pope's unwillingness. Consult-
ing with his companions, he persuaded them to take a
fourth vow, viz., one of obedience to the Holy See
and to the Pope |9ro tempore, with the express obli-
gation of going, Avitliout remuneration, to Avhatever
part of the world it should please the Pope to send
them. He then drew up a petition, in which were
stated some of the principles and rules of the order he
desired to estabhsh, and sent it to the Pope by Car-
dinal Contarini.
This fourth vow made a great impression on the
wily pontiff ; yet so great was his aversion to rehgious
communities, some of which were just then the objects
* Fra Paolo Sarpi, Hi&tory of the Council of Trent, p. 118.
28 HISTOKY OF THE JESUITS.
of popular hatred and the plague of the Roman court,
that he refused to approve of this new one until he
had the advice of three cardinals, to vrhom he referred
the matter. Guidiccioni, the most talented of the
three, strenuously opposed it ; but Paul, who per-
haps had by this time penetrated the designs of Loyola,
and perceived that the proposed Society could not
prosper unless by contending for and maintaining the
supremacy of the Holy See, thought it would be his
best policy to accept the services of these volunteers,
especially as it was a time when he much needed
them. Consequently, on the 27th of September
1540, he issued the famous bull, regimini militantis
EcclesicE, approving of the new order under the name
of " The Society of Jesus." We consider it indispen-
sable to give some extracts from this bull.
" Paul, Bishop, Servant of the Servants of God, for
a perpetual record. Presiding by God's will over
the Government of the Church, &c. . . . Whereas we
have lately learned that our beloved son Ignatius de
Loyola, and Peter Le Fevre, and James Lainez ; and
also Claudius Le Jay, and Paschasius Brouet, and
Francis Xavier ; and also Alphonso Salmeron and
Simon Rodriguez, and John Coduri, and Nicolas de
Bobadilla ; priests of the Cities, &c. . . . inspired, as
is piously believed, by the Holy Ghost ; coming from
various regions of the globe ; are met together, and
become associates ; and, renouncing the seductions of
this world, have dedicated their lives to the perpetual
service of our Lord Jesus Christ, and of us, and of
other our successors, Roman Pontiffs ; and exj^ressly
for the instruction of hoys and other ignorant people,
in Christianity ; and, above all, for the spiritual con-
solation of the faithful in Christ, by hearing confes-
sions ; . . . We receive the associates under our protec-
tion and that of the Apostohc See ; conceding to them,
moreover, that some among them may freely and law-
fully draw up such Constitutions as they shall judge to
ORIGIN OF THE ORDEH. 2^
be conformable to, &c. . . . We will, moreover, tliat
into this Society there be admitted to tlie nmnber of
sixty persons only, desirous of embracing this rule of
living, and no more, and to be incorporated into the
Society aforesaid."
The above-named ten persons -were the first com-
panions of Loyola, and, -with him, the founders of
the Society. But the merit of framing the Constitu-
tion which was to govern it belongs solely to Ignatius
himself. He alone among them all was capable of
such a conception. He alone could have devised a
scheme by which one free rational being is converted
into a mere automaton — acting, speaking, even think-
ing, according to the expressed will of another. There
is no record in histor}^, of any man, be he king, emx-
peror, or pope, exercising such absolute and irrespon-
sible power over his fellow-men as does the General
of the Jesuits over his disciples. In the Spiritual
Exercises Loyola appears to be merely an ascetic
enthusiast ; in the Constitution he shews himself a
high genius, with a perfect and profound knowledge of
human nature and of the natural sequence of events.
Never w^as there put together a plan so admirably
harmonious in all its parts, so wonderfully suited to
its ends, or which has ever met with such prodigious
success.
Prompt, unhesitating obedience to the commands of
the General, and (for the benefit of the Society, and
ad mqjoreni Dei gloriam) great elasticity in all other
rules, accordino; to the General's o-oodwill, are the chief
features of this famous Constitution, which, as it con-
stitutes the Jesuits' code of morality, we shall now
proceed to examine, doing our best to shew the spirit
in which it was dictated.
30 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
CHAPTER 11.
1540-52.
CONSTITUTIONS OF THE SOCIETY.*
The times in which Ignatius wrote the Constitutions
were, for the Court of Rome and the Cathohc rehgion,
times of anxiety and danger. The Reformation was
making rapid progress, and all Christendom, Catholic f
as well as Protestant, resounded witli the " Hundred
Complaints" {Centum gravamina) brought forward
at the Diet of Nuremberg against the Roman court
— complaints and accusations which the wonderfully
candid Adrian VI. acknowledged to be too well
founded. This pontiff, by his nuncio, frankly declared
to the Diet, " that all this confusion was originated
by men's sins, and, above all, by those of the clergy-
men and prelates — that for many years past the
Holy See had committed many abominations — that
numerous abuses had crept into the administration of
spiritual affairs, and many superfluities into the laws
— that all had been perverted — and that the corrup-
tion, descending from the head to the body, from the
Sovereign Pontiff to the prelates, was so great, that
* These famous Constitutions were composed by Loyola in the Spanish
language. They were not at first the perlect system we now find them ;
and it was not till about the year 1552 that, after many alterations and
improvements adapting them to the necessities of the times, they as-
sumed their ultimate form. They were translated into Latin by the
Jesuit Polancus, and printed in the college of the Society at Rome in
1558, They were jealously kept secret, the greater part of the Jesuits
themselves knowing only extracts fiom them. They were never produced
to the light until 1761, when they were published by order of the French
parliament, in the famous process of Father Lavalette.
"Y We beg to explain the sense in which we xise the word Catholic.
We don't mean that the Christians of the Roman persuasion have anex-
clusive right to it. We only maintain to them the current denomination,
as all other historians do^ to prevent confusion.
CONSTITUTIONS OF THE SOCIETY. 31
there could hardly be found one wlio did good." *
When a pope confessed so much to Protestant cars, it
may well be imagined to what a degree of rottenness
the moral leprosy must have arrived.
But, besides this corruption, great confusion reigned
throughout the Roman Catholic world. The different
monastic orders were at war with one another. The
bishops accused the Pope of tyranny ; the Pope de-
nounced the bishops as disobedient. The mass of the
people were deplorably ignorant, and general disorder
prevailed.
Now, mark with what admirable art, what pro-
found sagacity, Ignatius modelled a society, which,
by displaying the virtues directly opposed to the
then prevailing vices, should captivate the affections
and secure the support of the good and the pious,
■whilst, by underhand practices, and, above all, by
sheAving unusual indulgence in the confessional, it
should obtain an influence over the minds of the more
worldly believers.
In order that diversity of opinion and the free
exercise of individual will should not produce division
and confusion within this new Christian community,
Loyola enacted that, in the whole Society, there
should be no will, no opinion, but the General's. But,
in order that the General might be enabled profitably
to employ each individual member, as well as the
collective energy and intelligence of the whole So-
ciety, it was necessary that he should be thoroughly
acquainted with his character, even to its smallest
peculiarities. To insure this, Ignatius established
special rules. Thus, regarding the admission of pos-
tulants, he says —
*' Because it greatly concerns God's service to make
a good selection, diligence must be used to ascertain
the particulars of their person and calling ; and if the
superior, who is to admit him into probation, cannot
* History of the Council of Trent, by Paolo Sarpi, tome i. p. 47.
32 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
make the inquiry, let him employ from among those
who are constantly about his person some one whose
assistance he may use, to become acquainted with the
probationer — to live with him and examine him ; —
some one endowed with prudence, and not unskilled in
the manner which should be observed with so many
various kinds and conditions of persons." * In other
words, set a skilful and prudent spy over him, to
surprise him into the betrayal of his most secret
thoughts. Yet, even when this spy has given a tole-
rably favourable report, the candidate is not yet
admitted — he is sent to live in another house, " in
order that he may be more thoroughly scrutinised, to
know whether he is fitted to be admitted to pro-
bation."]' When he is thought suited for the Society,
he is received into the '' house of first probation ; "
and after a day or two, " he must open his conscience
to the superior, and afterwards make a general con-
fession to the confessor ivJio shall be designed by
the superior."+ But this is not all, for — " in every
house of probation there will be a skilful man to
whom the candidate shall disclose all his concerns
with conhdence ; and let him be admonished to hide
no temptation, but to disclose it to him, or to his
confessor, or to the superior ; nay, to take a pleasure
in thoroughly manifesting his whole soul to them, not
only disclosing his defects, but even his penances,
mortifications, and virtues." § When the candidate
is admitted into any of their colleges, he must again
*' open his conscience to the rector of the college,
whom he should greatly revere and venerate, as one
who holds the place of Christ our Lord ; keeping
nothing concealed from him, not even his conscience,
which he should disclose to him (as it is set forth in
the Examen) at the appointed season, and oftener, if
* Const. Socie. Jcsu, pars i. cap i, § 3, t Const, pars i. cap. iv. § 6.
t Const, pars i. cap. ii. § 1. § Const, pars iii. cap. i. § 12.
COXSTITUTIOXS OF THE SOCIETY. 6d
any cause require it ; not opposing, not contradicting,
nor shewing an oj)inion, in any case, opposed to his
opinion." *
The information thus collected, regarding the tastes,
habits, and inclinations of every member, is communi-
cated to the General, who notes it down in a book,
alphabetically arranged, and kept for the purpose, in
"which also, as he receives twice a year a detailed re-
port upon every member of the Society, he from time
to time adds whatever seems necessary to complete
each delineation of character, or to indicate the
slightest change. Thus, the General knowing the
past and present life, the thoughts, the desires of
every one belonging to the Society, it is easy to
understand how he is enabled always to select the
fittest person for every special service.
But this perfect knowledge of his subordinates' in-
most natures would be of but little use to the General,
had he not also an absolute and uncontrolled autho-
rity over them. The Constitution has a provision
for insuring this likewise. It declares that the can-
didate '•' tnust regard the superior as Christ the
Lord, and must strive to acquire perfect resignation
and denial of his own will and judgment, in all things
conforming his will and judgment to that which the
superior wills and judges." f To the same purpose
is the following : "As for holy obedience, this virtue
must be perfect in every point — in execution, in will,
in intellect; doing what is enjoined wdtli all celerity,
spiritual joy, and perseverance ; persuading ourself
that everything is just ; suppressing every repugnant
thought and judgment of one's own, in a certain obe-
dience ; and let every one persuade him-
self that he who lives under obedience should be
moved and directed, under Divine Providence, by his
superior, just as if he were a corpse (perinde ac si
cadaver esset), which allows itself to be moved and
* Const, pars iv. cap. x. § 5. f Const, pars iii. cap. i. § 23,
34: HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
led in any direction."* And so absolutely is this rule
of submissive obedience enforced, that the Jesuit, in
order to obey his General, must not scruple to disobey
God. The warnings of conscience are to be sup-
pressed as culpable weaknesses ; the fears of eternal
punishment banished from the thoughts as supersti-
tious fancies ; and the most heinous crimes, when
committed by command of the General, are to be
regarded as promoting the glory and praise of God.
Head and consider the following blasphemy : — " No
constitution, declaration, or any order of living, can
involve an obligation to commit sin, mortal or venial,
unless the su]oerior command it in the na3ie of our
Lord Jesus Christ, or in virtue of holy obedience ;
which shall be done in those cases or persons wherein
it shall be judged that it will greatly conduce to the
particular good of each, or to the general advantage ;
and, instead of the fear of offence, let the love and
desire of all perfection succeed, that the greater
glory and praise of Christ, our Creator and Lord,
may follow !" -f
1 shudder at the thought of all the atrocities which
have been perpetrated at the order of this other " old
man of the mountain," who presents to his agents the
prospects of eternal bliss as the reward of their obe-
dience.
But this is not enough. Not content with having
thus transferred the allegiance of the Jesuit from his
God to his General, the Constitution proceeds to secure
that allegiance from all conflict with the natural affec-
tions or worldly interests. The Jesuit must concen-
trate all his desires and affections upon the Society.
He must renounce all that is dear to him in this life.
The ties of family, the bonds of friendship, must be
broken. His property must, within a year after his
entrance into the Society, be disposed of at the bid-
ding of the General ; " and he will accomplish a work
* Const, pars vi. cap. i. § 1. f Const, Dars vi. cap. v. § 1.
CONSTITUTIONS OF THE SOCIETY. 35-
of greater perfection if he dispose of it in benefit of
the Society. And that his better example may shine
before men, he must put aiuay all strong affection
for his parents, and refrain from the unsuitable desire
of a bountiful distribution, arising from such disad-
vantageous affection."*
He must, " besides, forego all intercourse with his
fellow-men, either by word of mouth or by writing,!
except such as his superior shall permit. " He shall
not leave the house except at such times and with
such companions as the superior shall allow. Nor
within the house shall he converse, without restraint,
with any one at his own pleasure, but with such only
as shall be appointed by the superior." | Such was
the strictness with which these rules were enforced,
that Francis Borgia, Duke of Candia, afterwards one
of the saints of the Society, was at first refused admit-
tance into it, because he delayed the settlement of the
affairs of his dukedom, and refused to renounce all
intercourse with his family; and although, by a
special rescript from the Pope, he was enroUed as a
member, Ignatius for three years sternly denied him
access to the house of the community, where he was
not admitted till he had renounced all intercoui^se with
the external world.
But not only is all friendly communication forbidden
to the Jesuit, but he is also placed under constant
espionage. He is never permitted to walk about
alone, but, whether in the house or out of doors, is
always accompanied by two of his brethren.§ Each
* Examen, iv. § 11 ; and Const, pars iii. cap. i, § 7-9.
+ After his entrance into the house of first probation, the Jesuit is
not allowed either to receive or send away any letter wliich has not
been previously read by his superior.
X Const, pars iii. cap. i. § 2, 3.
§ Let not any English reader accuse me of inaccuracy on this_ point,
upon the ground that Jesuits actually walk about the streets in this
country slngbj, or even in disguise. They must take notice that CA'ery
rule of the Constitution contains this clause — "Except the General
order otherwise, for the greater glory of God, and the benefit of the
36 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
one of this party of three acts, in fact, as a spy upon
his two companions. Not, indeed, that he has special
instructions from his superior to do so, but, knowing
that they, as well as himself, have been taught that
it is their duty to inform the General of every suspici-
ous or pecuhar expression uttered in their hearing, he
is under constant fear "of punishment, should either of
them report anything regarding the other which he
omits to report likev>ise. Hence it is very seldom
that a Jesuit refrains from denouncing his companion.
If he does not do so at once, his sinful neglect becomes
revealed in the confessional, to the special confessor
appointed by the superior.
Then, in order that these members, so submissive in
action to their General, should not differ in opinion
among themselves and so occasion scandal in the
Cathohc world, and to oppose an uniformity of doc-
trine to that of the free examen of the Protestants,
the Constitution decrees as follows : — " Let all think,
let all speak, as far as possible, the same thing, accord-
ing to the apostle. Let no contradictory doctrines,
therefore, be allowed, either by w^ord of mouth, or
public sermons, or in written books, wdiich last shall
not be published without the approbation and the
consent of the General; and, indeed, all difference
of opinion regarding practical matters should be
avoided."* Thus, no one but the General can exercise
the right of uttering a single original thought or
opinion. It is almost impossible to conceive the
power, especially in former times, of a General having
at his absolute disposal such an amount of intelli-
gences, wills, and energies.
Society." Is it not " for the greater glory of God, and tte benefit of
the Society," that the Jesuit, to escape suspicion, should go alone 1 —
that he should be introduced into your family circle as a Protestant
gentleman 1 — that he should, to gain your unsuspecting confidence, enact
the part of your gay companion at theatres, concerts, and balls ? — that
he should converse with you upon religious matters, beginning always
by cursing the Pope, &c. %
* Const, pars ill. cap. i. § 18. - » >
CONSTITUTIONS OF THE SOCIETY. 37
Now, it must not be imagined that all, "willing
miplicltly to obey the behests of the superior, arc
indiscriminately admitted into the Society. Such,
indeed, is the case with all other monastic orders (I
speak more particularly of Italy and Spain). Vaga-
bonds, thieves, and ruffians, ol'ten became members of
those connnunities, in whose convents they had found
an asylum against the police and the hangman. Igna-
tius wisely guarded his Society from this abuse. Its
members must be chosen, if possible, from among
the best. The Avealthy and the noble are the fittest
for admission ; although these qualifications are not
essential, and the want of them may be supplied by
some extraordinary natural gift or accpired talent.*
Besides this, the candidate must possess a comely
presence, youth, health, strength, facility of speech,
and steadiness of purpose. To have ever been a
heretic or schismatic, to have been guilty of homicide
or any heinous crime, to have belonged to another
order, to be under the bond of matrimony, or not to
have a strong and sound mind, are insurmountable
obstacles to admission. Ungovernable passions, habit
of sinning, unsteadiness and fickleness of mind, luke-
warm devotion, ivant of learninf/ and of ability to
acquire it, a dull memory, bodily defects, debiUty and
disease, and advanced age — any of these imperfections
render the postulant less acceptable ; f and, to gain
admission, he must exhibit some very useful compen-
sating qualities. It is evident that persons so carefully
selected are never likely to disgrace the Society by
any gross misbehaviour, and will perform w^ith pru-
dence and success any temporal or worldly service they
may be put to by the General. I say ivorldly ser-
vice, because I should suppose that it must matter
very little for the service of God should the servant
be lame or of an " uncomely presence.''
* Const, pars i. cap. ii. § 13. f Ibid, pars i. cap. iii. § 3-10.
38 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
But in no part of the Constitution do Loyola's
genius and penetration shine so conspicuously as in
the rules regarding the vow of poverty, and the
gratuitous performance of the duties of the sacred
ministry. The discredit and hatred which weighed
upon the clergy and the monastic orders was in great
part due to the ostentatious display of their accumu-
lated wealth, and to the venality of their sacred
ministry. To guard against this evil, Ignatius or-
dained that " ijoverty should be loved and maintained
as the firmest hiilivark of religion.'' The Jesuit was
forbidden to possess any property, either by inheri-
tance or otherwise. He was required to live in an
inexpensive house, to dress plainly, and avoid all
appearance of being wealthy. The churches and reli-
gious houses of the order were to be without endow-
ments. The colleges alone were permitted to accept
legacies or donations for the maintenance of students
and professors. No limit was assigned to these gifts,
the management of which was intrusted entirely to the
General, with power to appoint rectors and admini-
strators under him. These functionaries, generally
chosen from among the coadjutors and very rarely
from the professed Society, although debarred by
their vow of perpetual poverty from the possession of
the smallest amount of property, are yet, by this
ingenious trick, enabled to hold and administer the
entire wealth of the Society. We shall afterwards
see, and especially in the famous process of Lavallette,
in what a large sense they understand the word ad-
minister. So much for the display of wealth. AYitli
respect to the venality of the sacred ministry, they
declared that " no Jesuit shall demand or receive pay,
or alms, or remuneration, for mass, confessions, ser-
mons, lessons, visitations, or any other duty which the
Society is obliged to render ; and, to avoid even the
appearance of covctousness, especially in offices of
piety which the Society discharges for the succour of
CONSTITUTIONS OF THE SOCIETY. 39
souls, let there be no box In the church, into wliich
alms are generally put by those -who go thitlier to
mass, sermon, confession," &c.* Thus the Jesuit
refuses to accept a few paltry sixpences for performing-
mass, or a fee of some shilHngs per quarter for teach-
ing boys. He disdains to appear mercenary. Ho
would much rather be jyoor. He looks for no reward.
Yet, those httle boys whom he instructs gratuitously,
and with such affectionate tenderness that lie cannot
bring himself to chastise them, but must have the
painful though necessary duty performed by some
one not belonging to the Society;! — these boys, I
say, will become men, many of them religious bigots,
strongly attached to their kind preceptors, to whom
they will then pay the debt of gratitude incurred in
their youth.
Alas for such gratitude ! How many families have
had cause to deplore it! How many children havo
been reduced to beggary by it ! How many ancient
and noble houses has it precipitated from the height
of affluence and splendour into the depth of poverty
and wretchedness ! Who can number the crimes
committed in the madness of despair occasioned by
the loss of the family inheritance ? That the parent
may suffer a few years less of purgatory, the child
has been too often condemned to misery "in this life,
and perhaps to eternal punishment in the next. But
all this is of no consequence. The man who has
been led thus to disregard one of his most sacred
parental duties, in order to found a Jesuits' college
or endow a professorship, will be saved, because they
promise him — " In every college of our Society, let
masses be celebrated once a week for ever, for its
founder and benefactor, whether dead or alive. At
the beginning of every month, all the priests who are
in the college ought to offer the same sacrifice for
them ; and a solemn mass, with a commemorative
* Comt. pars t. cap. ii. § 7, 8. t Il^id. pars iv. cap. xvi. § 3.
40 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
feast, shall be celebrated on tlie anniversary of the
donation, and a wax candle offered to the donor or
his descendants." Besides this, " the donor shall have
three masses while alive, and three masses after his
death, by all the priests of the Society, with the
prayers of all its members ; so that he is made par-
taker of all the good works which are done, by the
grace of God, not only in the college which he has
endowed, but in the whole Society." *
By such allurements do these crafty priests, with
diabolical cunning, snatch princely fortunes from the
credulous and superstitious believers. And so assi-
duous and successful were they even at the very
beginning, that, only thirteen years after the estab-
lishment of the order, during Loyola's lifetime, they
already possessed upwards of a hundred colleges very
largely and richly endowed.
Now, let not my Protestant readers wonder how
sensible men can be induced, by such ephemeral and
ill-founded hopes, to disinherit their families in order
to enrich these hypocritical monks. They nmst re-
member that the Komish believer views these matters
in quite a different light from that in which they see
them. Masses and prayers are, in his belief, not only
useful, but indispensable. For lack of them he would
writhe for centuries amid the tormenting fires of
purgatory, the purifying pains of which are described
by his priest, with appalling eloquence, as being far
more excruciatino- than those of hell. Accordino- to
the doctrine of his Church, every soul (one in a
million only excepted) who is not eternally damned,
must, ere it enter heaven, pass a certain time in this
abode of torture for the expiation of its sins. And
let him not take comfort from the fact that his con-
science does not reproach him with the commission
of any heinous crime. Tlie catalogue of sins by which
he may be shut out from eternal blessedness is made
* Comt. pars iv. cap. i. § 1, G.
CONSTITUTIONS OP THE S JCIETY. 41
artfully long, and detailed with great miimtcncss.
The most upright and pious of men must condemn
himself as a presumptuous sinner if he for an instant
harbours the hope of escaping the purifying lire. So
he becomes quite resigned to his fate, and all his care
in this life is, how to appease the Divine anger, and
shorten tlie period of his exclusion from heaven. This
he is taught to do — not by trusting to the righteous-
ness of jesns Christ, with the true repentance which
manifests itself through a holy life, but by accumulating
on his head hnndrcds of masses and millions of days of
indulgence. Hence the innumerable masses and prayers
which he sends before him during his life, as if to
forestall his future punishment, and bribe the Divine
justice. And wlien the terrible moment arrives — that
moment in which he is about to appear before the awful
Judge, beneath whose searching eye his most secret
thoughts lie bare — when, trembling at the strict ac-
count that is about to be demanded of him, his fears
represent to his excited imagination the most trifling
shortcomings as mortal sins — when, with the decline of
bodily strength, his enfeebled mind becomes more easily
worked upon — then does his Jesuit confessor, his gene-
rous master, his kind, disinterested friend, come to give
him the last proof of his ever-growing affection. He
seats himself at his bedside, and, serpent-like, under
pretence of inducing him to repent of his sins, he
draws liim a fearful and impressive picture of the tor-
ments which aAvait the damned, lie descants to him
with oily sanctity upon the enormity of offending
the Divine Saviour, who shed his precious blood to
redeem us. He tcrrifles him with the Almighty's im-
placable vengeance ; and when his victim, choked Avith
heart-rending agony, distracted, despairing of his ulti-
mate salvation, is ready to curse God, and set his power
and anger at defiance — then, and not till then, does the
Jesuit relent. Now he raises in the sufferer's heart
the faintest hope that the Divine justice may possibly
42 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
be disarmed, and mercy obtained by means of masses
and indulo-ences. The exhausted man, who feels as if
he were ah^eady phmged amid the boihng sulphur and
devouring flames, grasps with frantic eagerness at this
anchor of salvation ; and, did he possess tenfold more
wealth than he does, he would willingly give it all up
to save his soul. It may be that his heart, yearning
with paternal aff"ection, shrinks at the thouglit of con-
demning his helpless ones to beggar}^ ; but neverthe-
less, as if the welfare of his family were necessarily
connected with his own perdition, and that of the
Jesuits with eternal beatitude, the family is invariably
sacrificed to the Jesuits.
It is notorious that the most diabolical tricks have
been resorted to in the case of dying men whose
better judgment and natural sense of duty have with-
stood such perfidious wiles.
Alas! the punishment of such criminal obstinacy
was always near at hand ; the sick-chamber has been
suddenly filled with flames and sulphureous vapour as
a warning to the impenitent sinner. And if he still
resisted, the Evil Spirit himself, in his most frightful
shape, has appeared to the dying man, as if waiting
for his soul. Ah! — one's hair stands on end while
listening to such sacrilegious manoeuvres. The
immense wealth of the Jesuits lias been bequeathed to
them by wills made at the last hour !
In order that all classes of Jesuits may better attend
to their peculiar occupations, Ignatius relieved them
from the obligation, incumbent on all other religious
communities, of performing the Church service at the
canonical hours.
Jesuits of every class may be expelled from the
order, either by the general congregation or by the
all-powerful General. In such cases, however, it is
enacted, that great care be taken to keep secret the
deeds or crimes which necessitate the dismissal, in
CONSTITUTIONS OF THE SOCETY. 43
order that tlio cx-Jcsuit may suffer the least possible
disgrace ; also, tliat he shall be assisted by the prayers
of the community, too'cthcr with something more sub-
stantial, to the end tliat he may harbour no resent-
ment against the order.*
No Jesuit, witliout the consent of the General, is
allowed to accept any ecclesiastical dignity or benefice ;
and the General is required to refuse such consent,
unless the Pope command him in the name of holy
obedience to grant it. By this rule Ignatius designed
to avoid exciting the animosity and jealousy of the
other monastic orders, and of the clergy in general.
Besides, Ignatius knew well that any ecclesiastical
dignity would confer lustre and power on the indivi-
dual, but be detrimental to the order. A bishop or
a cardinal would be less disposed than a poor priest,
to obey the General, and to work for the Society.
He himself most rigidly enforced it, and would permit
neither Lainez nor Borgia to receive the cardinal's
hat, which the Pope offered them. Since his time,
the Jesuits have very seldom broken this rule, and that
most often only to undertake some bishopric in far
distant countries where no one else would desire to go.
The dress of the Jesuits consists of a long black
vest and cloak, and of a low- crowned broad-brimmed
hat, all of the greatest simplicity, and of good but
common material. In their houses and colleges there
reigns the most perfect order, the most exemplary
propriety. The banqueting, revelling, and licence
which so disgrace the establishments of the other
monastic orders, are strictly prohibited.! They are
* Const, pars ii. cap. iii. § 5, G, 8.
+ In most monasteries, and more particularly in those of the Capuchins
and lleforraed {Riformati), there begms at Christmas a series of
feasts, which continues till Lent. All sorts of games are played 6he
most splendid banquets are given, and in the small towns, above all,
the retectory of the convent is the best place of amusement for the
greater number of the inhabitants. At carnivals, two or three very
magnificent entertainments take place, the board so profusely spread
that one might imagine that Copia bad here poured forth the whole
44 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
very frugal in their habits, and prudently avoid all
display of wealth. It is said that the General occasion-
ally relaxes the rules in favour of some of the most
trusty of the iwofessed and coadjutors, in order
that, disguised as laymen, they may enjoy a few
hohdays as they please, in some distant place where
they are not known.
We shall now proceed to examine that part of the
Constitutions which concerns the hierarchy. Our
readers must always bear in mind what we have
already said, that the Constitutions were not finished till
the year 1552, and it may perhaps be that some rules
were added even after. The Society at first consisted
only of professed members, and of scholastics or scholars,
a sort of Jesuit aspirants who were trained up for the
Society, into which they were admitted or not, accord-
ing to the proofs which they had given of their fitness.
In the year 1546, Paul III. approved of the introduc-
tion of the class of the Coadjutors, and in the year
1552 was erected at Lisbon the first house for the
novices. We may further observe that, under the
first three Generals, those Constitutions were scrupu-
lously observed. And those were the heroic times of
the Society. But from that moment, internal discord
at first, and afterwards the more worldly and political
character assumed by the Society, were its ruin, and
the cause of its suppression as well as of its re-
establishment. But let us not anticipate events.
contents of her Lorn. It must be i*emembere(I tliat these two orders
live by alms. The sombre silence of the cloister is replaced by a
confused sound of merrymaking, and its gloomy vaults now echo with
other songs than those of the Psahnist. A ball enliven'3 and terminates
the feast; and, to render it still more animated, and perhaps to shew
how completely their vo'^ of chastity has eradicated all their carnal
appetite, some of the young monks appear coquettishly dressed in the
garb of the fail sex, and begin the dance along with others transformed
into gay cavaliers. To describe the scandalous scene which ensues
would be but to disgust my readers. I will only say that I have myself
often been a spectator at such saturnalia.
HIEUAUCIIY. 45
CIIAPTELl III.
1540-53.
HIERARCHY.
The government of the Company of Jesus is purely
monarchical, and the General is its absolute and un-
controllable king-.
The members of the Society are divided into four
classes, — the Professed, Coadjutors, Scholars, and jS'o-
vices. There is also a secret lifth class, knoAvn only to
the General and a few faithful Jesuits, which, perhaps
more than any other, contributes to the dreaded and
mysterious power of the order. It is composed of lay-
men of all ranks, from the minister to the humble
shoe-boy. Among the individuals composing this
class are to be found many ladies, who, unknown and
unsuspected, are more dangerous in themselves, and
more accurate spies to the Company. These are
affihated to the Society, but not bound by any vows.
The Societ}^ as a noble and avowed reward, promises
to them forgiveness for all their sins, and eternal bless-
edness, and, as a more palpable mark of gratitude,
protects them, patronises them, and, in countries where
the Jesuits are powerful, procures for them comfort-
able and lucrative places under government, or else-
Avhere. If this is not sufficient, they are paid for their
services in hard cash, according to an article of the Con-
stitution, which empowers the General to spend money
on persons ivho will make themselves useful. In re-
turn for these favours, they act as the spies of the
order, the reporters of what goes on in those classes of
46 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
society with Avliicli tLe Jesuit cannot mix, and serve,
often unwittinoly, as the tools and accomphces in
dark and mysterious crimes. Father Francis Pelhco,
brother to the famous Silvio, in his recent quarrel
■with the celebrated Gioberti, to prove that the order
is not so very deficient of supporters as his opponent
asserts, candidly confesses that " the many illustrious
friends of the Society, prelates, orators, learned and
distinguished men of every description, the supporters
of the Society, remain occult, and obliged to he silent.''^
This avoAval, coming from Ihe mouth of a Jesuit, must
be specially noted. Now, reversing the order of the
classes, we shall begin by describing
I. THE NOVICES.
We have already seen the process a candidate must
go through before being admitted into the House of
First Probation. After undergoing a still more search-
ing scrutiny there, he passes to the House of Noviciate.
The noviciate lasts two years, and may be shortened
or prolonged at the General's pleasure. There are
six principal exercises by which the Novice is tried ;
they are as follows : —
" 1. The Novices are to devote a month to the
spiritual exercises, self-examination, confession of sins,
and meditation, and to a contemplation of the life,
death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ.
" 2. They are to serve for another month in one or
more of the hospitals, by ministering to the sick, in
proof of increasing humihty and entire renunciation of
the pomps and vanities of the world.
" 3. They must wander during a third month with-
out money, begging from door to door, that they may
be accustomed to inconvenience in eating and sleeping,
or else they may serve in an hospital for another month,
at the discretion of the Superior.
* A Vincenzo Giohevti Fra PcUico della Co7np((C/nia di Gesu, pp. 35. 86.
HIERARCHY. 47
"4. Thcj must submit to be employed in the most
servile offices of the house into which they have en-
toi'cd, for the sake of shewing a good example in all
things.
" 5. They are to give instruction in Christian learn-
ing to boys, or to their untaught elders, either publicly,
privately, or as occasion may be offered.
" 6. When sufficient proof has been given of im-
provement in probation, the Novice may proceed to
preach, to hear confessions, or to any exercise in which
circumstances may direct him to engage."*
" While a Jesuit is thus fulfilling the several trials
of his titness, he may not presume to say that he is
one of the Society ."j" lie must only describe himself
as wishing to be admitted into it ; indifferent to the
station which may bo assigned to him, and waiting in
patient expectation until it be determined how his
services may be most advantageously employed."
At the expiry of the biennium, if he has gone
through all his trials satisfactorily, he takes the vows,
of which the following is the formula : —
" Almighty, everlasting God, I, N., albeit every
w\ay most unworthy in Thy holy sight, yet relying on
Thine infinite pity and compassion, and impelled by
the desire of serving Thee, in the presence of the most
lioly Virgin ]\Iary, and before all Thine heavenly host,
vow to Thy divine Majesty perpetual poverty, chastity,
and obedience in the Society of Jesus, and promise
that I will enter the same Society, to live in it
perpetually, iinderstanding all things according to
the Constitutions of the Society. Of Thy boundless
goodness and mercy, through the blood of Jesus Christ,
I humbly pray that Thou wilt deign to accept this
sacrilice in the odour of sweetness, and, as Tliou hast
granted Thine abundant grace to desire and offer, so
Thou wilt enable me to fulfil the same. At Rome, or
elsewhere, in such a place, day, month, and year."
* Examen, iv. § 10-15. f Examen, iv. § 17.
48 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
" Then shall they take, as the others, the most holy
body of Christ, and the rest of the ceremony shall
proceed as before."*
After the T^ovice has taken the vows, he must
remain in an undeterminate state until the General
has decided in what capacity he can best serve the
Society. To this he must be wholly indifferent, and
on no account endeavour to obtain, either directly oi'
indirectly, any particular employment, but must await
in silence the General's decision.
Those are the written precepts ; but the sly and
abominable acts to which the Jesuits resort in or-
der to model the man to the standeird of the Society,
are numerous, and differ according to circumstances
and to the character of the Novice. But, in all cases,
before the hienniiun is elapsed, either the man is dis-
missed, or he has lost all ideas, all hopes, all desires
of a personal nature ; he is a man without will, sub-
mitting blindly to obey any order, and devoting soul
and body to the aggrandizement of the Society.
II. THE SCHOLARS.
To promote the objects of their Society, the Jesuits
rely in a great measure upon the talent and learning
of its members. Hence their decided preference for
candidates with superior mental endowments, and their
assiduous attention to the prosperity and good manage-
ment ot their colleges and universities, which were at
one time the best regulated and most efficient in
Europe. Their judicious arrangement of the studies,
their admirable superintendence, their exemplary dis-
cipline, their many inducements to application, ren-
dered the Jesuit colleges the resort of all those who
aspired to em/inencc in the literary or learned world.
The greatest men in all tiie Catholic countries of
* Const. Pars v. cap. iv. § 4.
HIERARCHY. 49
Europe during tlio seventeenth and clglitcenth centu-
ries were educated by the Jesuits.
All the property bequeathed or given to the So-
ciety is made over to the colleges and universities,
which, however, have not the power of administering
it. In these colleges are trained the Scholars, of
whom there are two sorts — the Received and the
Approved. The former are candidates for member-
ship, who are being tried for their skill in learning
previous to entering upon the noviciate ; the latter are
those who have completed their noviciate, and taken
the voAYS. Every Novice and Scholar aspires to enter
the class of the Coadjutors, or that of the Professed,
in which two classes reside all the power and authority
of the order. The vows of the Scholars are the same
as those of the Novices.
III. COADJUTORS.
The third class of Jesuits consists of Temporal and
Spiritual Coadjutors. The Temporal Coadjutors, ho^Y-
ever learned they may be, are never admitted to holy
orders. They are the porters, cooks, stewards, and
agents of the Society. The Spiritual Coadjutors arc
priests, and must be men of considerable learning, in
order that they may be qualiticd to hear confessions,
to teach, preach, &c. The rectors of the colleges,
and the superiors of the religious houses, are appointed
from this class. They arc sometimes permitted to assist
in the deliberations of the general congregation, but
have no voice in the election of the General.
Besides undergoing the tirst probation, and the
noviciate, the Coadjutors must submit to a third year
of trial, in order to afford a stronger proof of their
aptitude. It is here worthy of remark, that in the
case of a porter or a cook, there is required a year
of trial more than is thought necessary to qualify
the scholar who is to preach, and teach the Catechism.
50 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
The porters and cooks must know something of worldly-
business, and, consequently, there is the greater need
that they should be faithful and trustworthy. Here
is the formula of the voav taken by the Coadjutors : —
" I, N., promise Almighty God, before His Virgin
Mother, and before all the heavenly host, and you,
reverend father, General of the Society of Jesus,
liolding the i^lace of God, and of your successors ; or
you, reverend father, Vice-General of the Society of
Jesus, and o'f his successors, holding the j)lace of God,
perpetual poverty, chastity, and obedience, and therein,
peculiar care in the education of hoys, according to
the manner expressed in the Apostolical Letters, and
in the Constitutions of the said Society. At Rome, or
elsewhere, in such a place, day, month, and year.
" Then let him take the most holy body of Christ ;
and let the rest of the ceremony be the same as in the
case of the Professed."* The clause, "peculiar care
in the education of boi/s," is omitted in the vow when
taken by the Temporal Coadjutors.
lY. THE PROFESSED.
This fourth class, the first in order of power and
dignity, may be said to constitute, alone, the Society.
The probation required for it is longer and more
rigorous than that of any of the other classes. Tiuo
additional years of trial must be endured, in order
to gain admission into it. This is partly to prevent
the class becoming too numerous. The Professed
must, in terms of the Constitutions, be priests, above
twenty-five years of age, eminent in learning and
virtue. In addition to their acquirements in lite-
rature and philosophy, they must devote four years
specially to the study of theology. Their admission
is the immediate act of the General, who seldom de-
legates his power for that purpose, as he generally
* Const. Pars v. cap. iv. § 2.
HIERARCHY. 51
does for admitting to the other classes. Solemn vows
are taken by this class only ; those of the other
classes are designated merely as simple vows. Be-
sides the three ordinary vows of poverty, chastity, and
obedience, the Professed take a fourth — to obey the
Holy See, and to go, as missionaries, into whatever
part of the world the Pope 2:^ro tempore chooses to send
them. My readers will remember, that it was this
fourth vow which overcame the crafty Pope Paul's ob-
jections to sanction the order. But this pontiff, with
all his cunning, was no match for Loyola, who quite
nullified this voav by the formula in which he embodied
it. According to this formula, the vow is made only
in accordance with the spirit of the Constitution. Now,
the Constitution enacts, " that the General shall have
all power over every individual of the Society, to send
any one on a mission, to recal missionaries, and to
proceed in all things as he thinks will be best for the
greater glory of God."* Thus, obedience to the Pope
depends entirely on the will and pleasure of the Ge-
neral. Hence the General's preponderating influence
with the Court of Pome.
The ceremony of taking the vows of the Professed
is more solemn than that of the others. It must take
place in the church, which with the others is not im-
perative. " First of all, the General, or some one
empowered by him to admit to Profession, when he
has offered the sacrifice of the pubhc Mass in the
church, before inmates and others there present, shall
turn to the person who is about to make profession
with the most holy sacrament of the Eucharist ; and
he, after the general confession and the words which
are used before the communion, shall, with a loud
voice, pronounce his written voav (which it is meet that
he should have meditated on for several days), whereof
this is the form : —
" I, JS"., make profession, and promise Almighty
* Const. Pars ix. cap. iii. § 9.
52 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
God, before His Virgin IMother, and before all the
heavenly host, and before all bystanders, and yon,
reverend father, General of the Society of Jesus, hold-
ing the place of God, and your successors ; or you,
reverend father, Vice-General of the Society of Jesus,
and of his successors, holdimj the place of God, per-
petual poverty, chastity, and obedience, and therein
peculiar care in the education of boys, according to
the form of living contained in the Apostolic Letters
of the Society of Jesus, and in its Constitutions. More-
over, I promise special obedience to the Pope in mis-
sions, as is contained in the same Apostolic Letters and
Constitutions. At Rome or elsewhere, on such a day,
month, and year, and in such a church.
*' After this, let him take the most holy sacrament
of the Eucharist. Which being done, the name of
him who makes profession shall be written in a book
v>^hich the Society shall keep for that purpose ; the
name of the person to whom he made it — the day,
month, and year, being also set down ; and his written
vows shall be preserved, that an account of all the par-
ticulars may appear for ever, to the glory of God."*
It is this class, and that of the Coadjutors, who are
wont to live by alms, and who, for appearance ' sake,
sometimes o-o beo-frincv from door to door — (this is the
case in Italy, at least). But, either from pride or
roguery, they never ask, in our day, anything in
their own name, but always in the name of the poor,
the hospitals, and the prisoners, and thus they win
for their order the veneration of the credulous and the
iirnorant.
To the Professed alone are confided the missions,
and the management of the more important affairs of
the order, into the secrets of which they are admitted
farther than any other class. Hence they were never,
except in urgent cases, to be appointed rectors of
colleges, or superiors of the House of Probation. It
* Const. Pars v. cap. iii. § 2—1:.
HIERARCHY 53
was tlie strict observance of tliis rule ^vlllch, perliaps
more than anything else, contributed to the ruin of
the order.
The General, as wc have already said, is at the
head of the hierarchy, the absohite master of persons
and things. He is elected for life, by a General Con-
gregation of the Society, the decision requiring a
majority of votes, and the observance of certain
rules. But sometimes, when " elected by general in-
spiration, those rules may be dispensed with," for
the Holy Ghost, who inspires such an election, sup-
plies the want of every form of election.* To this
Congregation there arc convened two Jesuits of
the J^rofessed class residing in Rome, all the Pro-
vincials, and also two Professed members chosen in
every province by a Provincial Congregation. The
formalities of the election are very much the same as
those observed in the election of the Pope.f After
attending mass, the electors are confined in an apart-
ment, where they cannot communicate with any one
from without ; and, to compel them to decide within a
reasonable time, they are allowed no better aliment
than bread and water until a General is chosen.
When this fortunate occurrence takes place, and tlic
new General is proclaimed, every one present must
come forward to do him reverence, and, kneeling on
both knees, kiss his hand.t The same Congregation
which elects the General appoints also four assist-
ants, to reside near him in Pome. At the period
when the Constitution was ultimately defined, toward
1552, the Jesuits had divided the world into four
provinces, viz. India, Spain and Portugal, Germany
and France, and Italy and Sicily. Each of the four
assistants attend separately to the affairs of one of
these four provinces, and all of them together, when
* Const. Pars ix. cAp. v. § 5.
+ See my Historif of the Pontificate of Pids IX., p. 3.
X Const. Tars viii. c:ip. vi. § t\
E
54 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
required, assist the General in the general business of
the Society. At the same Congregation there is also
appointed a pious man as admonitor to the General,
Avhose duty is to be near the General, to watch him,
and, " should he perceive him swerving from the right
path, with all possible humility to advise him, after
earnest and devout prayer to God, what he considers
to be the best course to follow."
In the event of the death or prolonged absence of
any of these officials, the General may appoint some
one to the vacant post, provided his choice be ap-
proved by the majority of the Provincials. All these
officials are given to the General by the Constitution,
partly to assist him in the fulfilment of his duties,
and partly to be constant and keen surveyors of his
conduct. " And should the General sin in copula
carnalis, wounding any one, applying to his own use
or giving away any cf the revenues of the colleges,
or holding depraved doctrines, as soon as the charge
is proved by adequate evidence, the four assistants
immediately call forth the General Congregation." *
However, with the exception of alienating any real
property of the colleges, the General has full and
unlimited power, even to the granting of a dispensa-
tion for any of the rules of the Constitution. He ap-
points and disposes of all the subaltern officials of the
Society, and receives into it, or dismisses from it, any
person Avhom he pleases, and that at any time he may
choose. He buys or exchanges property for the order
by his own authority, and has the superintendence of
its whole administration.
The Provincials send him, once a year, an elaborate
and detailed account of every member of the order,
the correctness of which is ascertained by private in-
vestigation through difiercnt and opposite sources,
because (as is thought) he does not place implicit con-
fidence even in them. The Constitutions say — " The
*■ Conbt. Pars ix. cap. iv. § 7.
HIERARCHY. 55
General scrutinises as far as possible tlie character of
those who are under his control, and especially Pro-
vincials, and others to whom lie intrusts matters of
importance." *
V. THE PROVINCIALS.
The Provincials are elected by the General from
the class of the Professed. They are appointed for
three years, but may be confirmed or dismissed at the
General's will. The importance of the province over
which he is set depends upon the number of houses
or colleges established within its bounds. The Pec-
tors, Administrators, or local Superiors, write to the
Provincials monthly a full and correct account of the
inclinations, opinions, defects, propensities, and cha-
racters of every individual under their charge. Con-
fidential persons, and especially Confessors, are of
great assistance to them in the drawing up of their
reports, from which the Provincials extract theirs,
which are yearly sent to the General.
VI. RECTORS, SUPERIORS, AND ADMINISTRATORS.
The Rectors are intrusted with the superintendence
of the colleges. The General chooses them from the
class of the Spiritual Coadjutors, but appoints them
for no determinate period, which leaves him at liberty
to dismiss them wdienever he pleases.
The Superiors, elected from the same class and by
the same authority, have the oversight of the Houses
of the First and Second Probation. Each of these
officials, Superior, Kector, and Provincial, has in his
respective sphere as absolute a power over his subor-
dinates as the General has over any member of the
Society.
The Administrators arc chosen by the General from
* Const. Pars. ix. caj). iii. § 14-19.
56 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
the Temporal Coadjutors under his control. They
have the entire management of tlie temporal concerns
both of houses and colleges.
The Hectors and Superiors are forbidden to have
anything to do with any temporal matter whatever;
because it forms a conspicuous part of the admirable
Jesuitical system, to have prescribed for every class
of Jesuits its particular duties, from which it is not to
be diverted by any occupation whatever. This has
largely contributed to the aggrandisement and suc-
cess of the Society, as long as the rules were ob-
served.
All these functionaries have subaltern officers, who
assist them in the discharge of their duties. Provin-
cials, Hectors, Superiors, and some of tlie Professed,
compose the Provincial Congregations, where the
aifairs of the district are discussed, and whence the
delegates which are to be sent to the General Congre-
gation are chosen.
Having thus given a general outline of the origin
and constitutions of the Society, and the limits of this
work forbidding me to enlarge to any great extent
upon this part of my subject, I shall now proceed to
examine its progress.
PROGRESS OF THE ORDER. 57
CHAPTER IV.
1541-48.
THE PROGHESS OF THE ORDER, AND ITS FIRST
GENERAL.
Ignatius had no sooner obtained a bull from the Pope
approving of the Society, than ho thought it expedient
to give it a cliief, or, to speak more correctly, to bo
himself formally elected as such, being de facto its
master already. In order, therefore, to proceed to
the election of the General, he summoned to Rome
his companions, who were scattered through different
parts of Europe. Six came. Bobadilla, Xavier, and
Rodriguez sent their votes written. Both absent and
present were unanimous in their choice, which (as one
may well imagine) fell upon Ignatius. He, however,
had the modesty (so we are told) to refuse the honour,
and insisted that they should proceed to a new elec-
tion. The second trial had the same result, but
Ignatius still declined to accept of the office. At last,
however, on being much importuned to do so, he ex-
claimed — -" Since you persist in choosing me, who
know well my infirmities, I cannot in conscience sub-
scribe to your judgment. It only remains, then, that
we refer the contested point to my confessor, whom,
as you know, I consider the interpreter of the Divine
will."* The good fathers consented to this arrange-
ment the more willingly, as they had no doubt what-
ever (I should think not) that Father Theodose
* Maffei, Vita T<jn. p. 90.
58 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
would approve of their selection. Nor were they
deceived.*
On Easter-day, therefore, in the year 1541, he
assumed the government of the Society, and on the
following Friday he and his disciples, in the magnifi-
cent Basilica of St Paul's at Rome, renewed the four
vows to which they had bound themselves, with extra-
ordinary pomp and ceremony.
We candidly admit, however, that Ignatius, after
reaching the height of his ambition, relaxed nothing in
the strictness of his conduct, nor allowed that zeal which
he had manifested in order to attain it, to cool down.
On the contrary, he seemed to redouble his energy,
and gain additional strength in his new dignity. The
days in which he lived were days of battle, and
Ignatius, not forgetting his first vocation, was impa-
tient to enter the melee. Protestantism, a giant in its
infancy, standing in a menacing attitude, with the
Bible in one hand and the sword in the other, bid de-
fiance to the impugners of the Sacred Volume.
Catholicism, old in the debauch of power, discredited
by the vices of its ministers, could only oppose his
formidable antagonist with a scattered and undis-
ciplined army of monks and priests, rendered effete
by a life of effeminacy and debauchery. At this
critical moment, Ignatius rushed to the rescue with
an army, small indeed in number, but composed
of brave and resolute souls, learned, eloquent, pas-
sionate, trained to light, fully persuaded, as almost
every soldier is, that theirs was the just cause, and
that to them the victory ought to belong. The
disciples of Ignatius took the field high in spirits, and
prepared, if need be, to sacrifice their liberty, their
blood, their lives, their all, for the cause they had.
embraced, which was in their eyes the cause of God.
They dispersed to every part of Europe. Lefevre,.
from the Congress of Worms, proceeded to Spain;
* Maffei, Vita hjn. p. 90.
PROGRESS OF THE ORDER. 69
Laincz and Lojay succeeded him in Germany. Boba-
dilla went to Naples, Broiiet and Salmeron to Ireland,
llodrigiiez and Xavier to Portugal. Everywhere
these rigid and fanatic monks were, on the one hand,
engaged in theological discussion, while, on the other,
they preached repentance to the people and reform to
the clergy, and paid no regard to the hatred evinced
towards them both by Protestants and Catholics.
It seems as if they courted persecution, and wished
to wear the martyr's crown. When the infuriated
populace of Vienna threatened to throw Lejay into
the Danube, he smiled scornfully, and calmfy an-
swered — " What do I care whether I enter heaven
by water or land ! "
From Rome, Ignatius, as an able general, directed
the movements of all those soldiers of Clirist, as they
styled themselves. lie praised cne, admonished an-
other, inspired all w^ith his zeal and fanaticism. Nor
was this enough for his ardent and indefatigable spirit.
He turned his attention to less unquestionable acts of
religion and charity. Many of the hospitals erected
in the middle of Home, were the fruits of his zealous
exertions. The Convent of Santa Martha w\as opened
for abcindoned women, who wished to repent, and pass
an upright and easy life. In that of Santa Catherine,
poor and honest young girls found an asylum against
temptation and seduction ; fatherless children of both
sexes were received, and carefully educated, in two
hospitals which yet exist in liome ; and the inmates
of which, on the 31st of July of every year, go in pro-
cession to the Church of Gesu, to pray to the shrine
of the saint, and to give thanks to their benefactor.
However, the gratitude which we owe to Loyola for
those charitable institutions cannot restrain our indig-
nation and abhorrence towards the man "vvho had so
great a share in reviving the infamous tribunal of the
Inquisition. The Jesuits reckon it among the glories
of their order, that Loyola supported, by a special
60 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
memorial to the Pope, a petition for the reorganising
of that cruel and abhorred tribunal.
In the 13th century, the Inquisition had been dia-
bolically active. 25,000 Albigenses perished for bear-
ing testimony to the Word of God. Dominique, that
wholesale butcher of these unfortunate Christians, by
his barbarous inhumanities, struck horror throughout
Europe, and gained for liimself a place among the
Roman saints. But, as is always the case, its very
excess prepared a reaction. The tribunal, as if
satiated with human suffering, gradually relented,
and, in the epoch of which we are speaking, had al-
most fallen into decay. Besides, the inquisitors, chosen
from among the monastic orders, were little inclined
to enforce strict and severe laws against practices or
opinions with which they themselves were in many
cases chargeable.* Above all, the See of Home,
under the Alexanders, the Juliuses, the Leos, plunged
in political affairs, and, extremely lax in matters of
religion and morality, had little or no inclination
to enforce the almost forgotten edicts of the Inqui-
sition. But the new doctrines spread in Germany
with amazing rapidity ; and the outcry raised against
the morals of the Catholic clergy produced two
immediate effects — the partial reform of the more
flagrant abuses of which the clergy were guilty,
and the revival of a tribunal, which should destroy
by fire and sword whoever dared to impugn the
doctrines of the Popes, and the canonical laws.
Caraffa, whom we have already mentioned, was the
principal author of this dreadful tribunal. Through
his exertions, and those of Loyola, an edict appeared
on the 21st of July 1542, appointing six cardinals
commissioners of the Holy See and general inquisitors,
with poAver to delegate their authority to any person
they pleased. All ranks of citizens, without exception,
were subjected to these inquisitors. Suspected persons
"" JJromato VUa dl Paolo IV. lib. vii. § 3.
PROGRESS OP TIIK ORDER. 61
were immediately imprisoned, tlie guilty punished with
death, and their property confiscated. No hook could
he printed or sold (and such is still the case through
nearly the whole of Italy) without the authority of
the inquisitor. Hence a catalogue of prohibited
books, the first issue of which, containing seventy
works, a])peared at Venice.
In order that the tribunal might be made more eflfi-
cient, Carafta drew up, himself, the following stringent
rules : —
*' First, When faith is in question, there must be no
delay ; but, on the slightest suspicion, rigorous mea-
sures must be resorted to with all speed.
" Secondli/, No consideration is to be shewn to either
prince or prelate, however high his station.
" Tliirdb/, Extreme severity is to be exercised
against all those who attempt to shield themselves
under the protection of any potentate ; and those only
are to be treated with gentleness and fatherly com-
passion, who make a full and frank confession of the
charges laid against them.
" Fourthhj, No man must debase himself by shewing
toleration towards heretics of any kind, and above all
to Calvinists." *
This terrible tribunal, in the hands of the relentless
and unforgiving Carafta, spread desolation and dismay
throughout Italy, from its very commencement.
Thousands were arraigned before it, whose only crime
consisted in becoming the unhappy victims of such as
were actuated by the fell rage of revenge, or the thirst
for power or wealth — in a word, by any or all of those
foul passions which degrade and brutalise humanity.
As sacerdotal ferocity then called to its aid the might
of the secular arm, and thus became all-powerful, death
assumed a new and more terrible aspect. And he who
should invent new instruments of torture to dislocate
the limbs of the victims with the most exquisite and
* Ranke's Hist, of the Popes, vol. i. p. ISO. English translation.
62 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
excruciating pains possible would be rewarded ! ! !
Throuo'hout Italy, and in various parts of Europe, you
might have seen, whilst the infernal flames of the pile
were ascending, the sinister and diabolical smile of the
Jesuits, who were aiming at the increase of their order,
under the shade of this all-mastering power !
But we must resume our history. The first col-
lege of the order was founded in Coimbra, in 1542, by
John III. of Portugal. The same year twenty-five
of his subjects were admitted into it under the super-
intendence of Rodriguez.
Lainez, aided by the Lipomana family, erected
another at the same time in Venice. A third was
built in Padua. After that Italy became studded with
them. Those youth whom Loyola, in the beginning
of 1540, had sent to Paris to study, and receive a
degree in its university, being expelled from France,
went to Louvain, and there, under the direction of
Lefevre, became the inmates of a college afterwards
famous. The Jesuits had already many colleges estab-
lished in Germany, one of which was nursing in its
bosom Peter Canisius, who became most notorious for
his cruelties. In Spain, also, the new order met with
prodigious success. Besides being the birthplace of
Ignatius and six of the founders of the order, it suc-
ceeded, at its very commencement, in making a con-
quest of no less a person than Francis Borgia, Duke
of Candia, and vice-king of Barcelona. The authority
of his name, his exertions, and the eloquence of Father
Araoz, soon covered Spain with houses and colleges.
Since the year 1543, the order already counting nine
houses, and more than eighty Professed members,
Paul III., who at first had limited the number of the
Jesuits to sixty, being highly satisfied with these new
champions of the Roman See, issued another bull on
the 15th of March 1543, by which he empowered the
order to receive an unlimited number of members.
In speaking of the different countries into which the
PROGRESS OF THE ORDER. G3
Jesuits had intruded themselves, wc have purposely
passed over England ; and that for two reasons :-^
First, Because, writing in England, and for English
readers, wc consider it but fair to expatiate all the
more on what particularly concerns their own country.
Secondly, Because the two first Jesuits who entered
England Avere intrusted with a special political mission
— the first one of the kind, and which we are going to
relate : —
The severe and somewhat capricious edicts of Henry
VIII., even after Moore and Fisher had perished
by the hands of the executioner, while but partially
obeyed in England, were totally disregarded in Ire-
land. True it is, that a great part of the aristocracy,
for fear of proscription and confiscation, had yielded
to Henry's orders, and even supported him in his des-
potic pohcy ; but the bulk of the nation, more per-
haps out of hatred to their oppressors than from real
attachment to their religion, refused to subscribe to a
creed violently enforced by a hated and despotic
power. Not content with opposing Henry in his reli-
gious ordinances, they, under the very pretence of
religion, caused partial insurrections, with the view of
shaking off the yoke of their masters. But the power
of Henry bore down all opposition ; and, as Dr Lin-
gardsays, " the English domination over Ireland never
appeared to be more firmly established." In such a,
state of things, the Archbishop of Armagh, a Scotch-
man by birth, abandoning the flock confided to his
care, fled to Home to implore the assistance of his
master the Pope. Paul had already evinced great
anger against Henry for his apostacy. His anger
was increased by the fact, that not only was he unable
to prevail on citlier Francis I. or Charles V. to in-
vade England, but, that these monarchs had, in the
face of his express commands, made, successively, a^
treaty with the excommunicated king. Accordingly
his resentment knew no bounds. However, the means
64 " HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
wliicli Paul had at command to contend with Henry
were inadequate to gratify the hate which rankled in
his bosom towards him. Determined, nevertheless,
not to remain inactive, he thought of despatching
some emissaries into Ireland, in order that, by work-
ing upon the ignorant and bigoted minds of its
fanatic inhabitants, he might excite them to a civil
war. AYith this pious end in view, he turned his
eyes to this newly established society, and asked
from the General two of its members, to be sent
thither. From that day, down to the recent mission
of Cardinal Wiseman, the Court of Rome has striven,
more or less openly, more or less eagerly, to exasperate
the Irish Catholics ao-ainst the Eno-lish Protestants,
and has made Ireland a sore thorn to the sister island.
Many a time did Pius V. exclaim, that he would wil-
lingly shed his blood in a war against England ; and
Gregory XIII. was seriously meditating to march in
person, and head the insurrection which broke out in
Ireland durino- the reign of Elizabeth !
The two Jesuits whom Ignatius gave to the Pope for
this mission were Salmeron and Brouet, wdio received
secret instructions from the Pope, and were honoured
with the name of Papal Nuncios. " They accepted
wdth joy the perils of the embassy, but were in no way
ambitious of the lustre and honour vrhich the title
conferred."* So modest they were, according to Mr
Cretineau.
The fact is, that they could not and w^ould not have
dared to assume in public the title of the Pope's
Legates, or Nuncios, and were obliged to content
themselves to be simple and secret emissaries. Ig-
natius also gave them private instructions, and w^e may
thank Orlandini for having sent down this document,
which, if well examined, clearly shews that the crafty
and mysterious policy for wdiich the Society lias
earned such merited notoriety and execration, is as
* Cretineau, vol. i. p. 134.
PEOGRESS OF THE ORDER. 65
old as tlic order. Here is the precious document,
v.'liicb, however, shews a remarkable knowledge of
human nature : —
" I recommend you to he, in your intercourse with
all the world in general — but particularly with your
equals and inferiors — modest and circumspect in your
words, always disposed and patient to listen, lending
an attentive car till the persons who speak to you have
unveiled the depth of their sentiments. Then you
will give them a clear and brief answer which may
anticipate all discussion.
" In order to conciliate to yourselves the goodwill
of men in the desire of extending the kingdom of God,
you will make yourselves all things to all men, after
the example of the apostle, in order to gain them to
Jesus Christ. Nothing, in effect, is more adapted than
the resemblance of tastes and habits to conciliate
affection, to gain hearts.
" Thus, after having studied the character and
manners of each person, you will endeavour to con-
form yourselves to them as much as duty will permit,
— so that, if you have to do with an excitable and
ardent character, you should shake of all tedious
j)rohxity.
" You must, on the contrary, become somewhat slow
and measuring in speech, if the person to whom you
speak is more circumspect and deliberate in his speech.
" For the rest, if he who has to do with a man of
irascible temperament has himself that defect, and if
they do not agree thoroughly in their opinion, it is
greatly to be feared lest they permit themselves to be
hurried into passion. Therefore, he who recognises
in himself that propensity ought to watch himself with
the most vigilant care, and fortify his heart with a
supply of strength, in order that anger should not
surprise him ; but rather that he may endure with
equanimity all that he shall suffer from the other,
even should the latter be his inferior. Discussions and
66 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
quarrels are much less to be apprehended from quiet
and slow tempers than from the excitable and ardent.
*' In order to attract men to virtue, and fight the
enemy of salvation, you shall employ the arms he uses
to destroy them — such is the advice of St Basil.
"When the devil attacks a just man, he does not let
him see his snares; on the contrary, he hides them,
and attacks him only indirectly, without resisting his
pious inclinations, feigning even to conform to them; —
but by degrees he entices him, and surprises him in
his snares. Thus it is proper to follow a similar track
to extricate men from sin.
" Begin -with praising what is good in them, without
at first attacking their vices; when you shall have
gained their confidence, apply the remedy proper for
their cure.
" With regard to melancholy or unsettled persons,
exhibit wdiilst addressing them, as much as you can, a
gay and serene countenance — give the greatest sweet-
ness to your words, in order to restore them to a state
of mental tranquillity — combating one extreme by
another extreme.
" Not only in your sermons, but also in your private
conversation, particularly wdien you reconcile people
at variance, do not lose sight of the fact that all your
words may be published — what you say in darkness
may be manifested in the light of day.
" In affairs anticipate the time, rather than defer or
adjourn it ; if you promise anything for to-morrow^,
do it to-day. As to money, do not touch even that
which shall be fixed for the expenses wdiich you shall
pay. Let it be distributed to the poor by other hands,
or employ it in good works, in order that you may be
able, in case of need, to affirm on oath that in the
course of your legation you have not received a
penny. When you have to speak to the great, let
Pasquier Bruet have the charge. Deliberate with
yourselves in all the points touching which your senti-
PllOGRESS OF THE ORDER. 67
ments might be at variance. Do what two persons
out of three would have approved, if called upon to
decide.
"Write often to Rome during your journey — as soon
as you shall have reached Scotland, and also when you
shall have got over to Ireland. Then give an account
of your legation monthly."*
Now, examine well these instructions, and you will
find that the true Jesuit must be crafty, insinuating,
deceitful, even whilst pretending to be a most sincere
-Christian, and as if raised by God to defend his holy
relio'ion. Their sacrileo-ious maxim, "that no means
can be bad when the end is good," sanctifies in their
eyes the most atrocious crimes.
At first sight, these precepts which Ignatius gave
to the two emissaries of Paul, although not very
honest, appear in themselves prudent instructions for
proceeding in what they considered a most holy cause
— the maintenance of the Catholic religion. But
apply them to political purposes — and Ignatius knew
'that this was the case — and you will at once perceive
the extent of the Jesuit immorality, and the artful
way in wdiich, in the name of the most sacred of
all things — religion, they accomplish the most heinous
off*ences.
But listen to the ingenious Mr Cretineau : — " In these
instructions," says he, " Loyola takes care to be silent
about those which the Pope had given them ; he keeps
■aloof from politics. Salmeron and Brouet are the
^Pope's legates, and have his confidence. Ignatius
'endeavours to make them worthy of it, but he does
not go beyond."t Good ! You confess, then, that
Paul — Christ's vicegerent — is ])lotting revenge under
tlie garb of religion, and that he has sent the Jesuits
on a political mission. Ignatius, confident in Paul's
abihties, confined himself to the prescribing of rules
calculated to insure success in their undertaking ; you
* Orland. lib. iii. 48 ; Cret. vol. i. p. 134. f Cret. vol. i. p. 136.
68 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
prize him for that, and boast that he keeps aluof from
pohtics ? Good !
Salmeron and Bronet set out on their mission, and,
«s they were ordered, visited Holyrood on their way
to Irehind. James V. was then on the throne of
Scotland, who, '' there is reason to beheve,'* says the
author of the Tales of a Grandfatlier, " was some-
what inchned to the Reformed doctrines — at least he
encouraged the poet Lindsay to compose bitter satires
ao-ainst the corruptions of the Roman Catholic clergy."
His uncle, Henry VIH., encouraged him in this dis-
position, strongly advised him to take possession of the
immense wealth of the religious orders ; and desired an
interview with him at York in the beginning of the
year 1542. Henry went there, and waited six days
for his nephew, but he never made his appearance.
There can be little doubt that the Jesuits, who had
arrived in Scotland some time before with the Pope's
letter for the king, to whom they were introduced
by Beaton, of cruel and tragic memory, who had
known Loyola at Rome, used their utmost influence to
prevent this meeting. iS^or do I think it presumption
to assert that the two Jesuits, and the letter which
they brought from Paul, who exhorted the king to re-
main faithful to the religion of his fathers, were the
chief cause that detained him at home. The war
which followed soon after, with disastrous consequences
to both nations, and especially to Scotland, as well
as the torrents of blood shed during a long course
of rehgious struggles, would, in all likelihood, have
been avoided had James resisted the influence of the
Jesuits.
Meanwhile Paul's two emissaries arrived in L'eland
about the month of February 1542. There, according
to Jesuitical historians, they wrought prodigies, reform-
ing and stirring up the people, and confirming them
in tlie tenets of the true religion ; celebrating masses,
hearing confessions, and especially granting many in-
PROGRESS OF THE ORDER. 69
diligences ; * exacting from the people a very moderate
tax, which, according to the instructions of Ignatius,
was not gathered by themselves, but by a stranger.f
The people flocked around them, and poured out bene-
dictions upon their head. Their adversaries, on the
other hand, assert that they plotted to stir up one
class of citizens against another, and drained the
pockets of the credulous Irishmen so forcibly, that at
last they became so odious in the eyes of the people,
that they threatened to deliver them into the hands of
Henry's oflicers.l We ourselves believe that both of
these versions are in part true. No doubt they, to
keep up appearance, said masses, heard many confes-
sions, granted millions of indulgences, but there is as
little doubt that they excited the peojde against their
excommunicated sovereign, whom, to be faithful to
their religion, they must execrate, and use all theu^
efforts to dethrone. That they collected money from
the people, either party confess ; but wdiether that
money was employed for the repairing of the churches
and the supporting of widows and orphans, as the one
pretends, or as an aliment to foment civil war, as the
other asserts, is not sufficiently ascertained. We leave
our readers to judge for themselves. Certain it is,
however, they only continued in Ireland for thirty-
four days, and during that time they wandered about
from place to place in disguise, never sleejiing two suc-
cessive nights under the same roof, afraid every
moment of being seized. Upon leaving, they formed
the noble comjylot (says Mr Cretineau, illustrating Or-
landini) of going to London, and finding means of being
admitted into Henry's presence, when, by their elo-
quence and tenderness, they would disarm the anger
of the king, in pleading the cause of the Catholic reli-
* Cumulatam peccatorum indulgentiam tribuebant. — Orland. lib. iii.
sec. 59.
f Exception es immunitatesque, aut plane gratuitas aut cere permo-
dico tenuoribus indugebant, kc.—Ibid. and Cret. vol. i. p. 140.
4: Steinmetz, vol. i. p. 308.
70 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
gion at the tribunal of his conscience.* It was as well
for Henry, and England too, that their plan was found
to be ^'impracticable .'' We must not forget that they
were the emissaries of that Paul who thought the sword
and the stake, for the conversion of heretics, to be
the most effectual and conclusive arguments. Neither
must we forget, that some years after, James Clement
and Kavaillac adopted a more expeditious way than
eloquence for the converting of Henrys III. and IV.
Salmeron and Brouet thought it advisable, in the cir-
cumstances, to retire into France, and being ordered
by Paul to return again into Scotland, they refused to
obey, and went direct to Eome.
Thus ended the first mission into England. Would
to God it had been the last I
* Orl. lib. iii. 60 ; Cret. rol. i. p. 141.
THE FEMALE JESUITS. 71
CHAPTER Y.
1547-1631.
THE FEMALE JESUITS.
Before proceeding further, we think it proper to make
a few observations on the Female Jesuitical Institution
which was estabhshed at this period, especially as the
order still exists, though under a different name.
When Ignatius was living at Barcelona, he received
many kindnesses and favours at the hand of a lady
called Rosello. But after he had left this place, his
mind was so absorbed in devising so many and lofty
projects, that he entirely forgot her. She did not,
however, forget Ignatius. Hearing of his increasing
sanctity, of his having become the founder and general
of a new order, and " being then a widow, she resolved
to abandon the world, and live in accordance with his
evangehcal councils, and under the authority of the
Society. With this pious resolution, and being joined
in her holy enterprise by two virtuous and noble
Roman ladies, she asked and received from Paul per-
mission to embrace this kind of hfe."* Ignatius had
the perception to see that these ladies would be an in-
cumbrance to him and his order, "yet the gratitude
which he owed to his kind benefactress weighed so
much upon his heart, that he consented to receive them
under his protection." But he soon had reason to re-
pent of this act of condescension ; the annoyance was
so great, that he confessed himself that they gave him
* Hdyot, vol. vii. p. 491.
72 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
more trouble than the whole community, because he
could never get done with them. At every moment
he was obliged to resolve their strange questions, to
allay their scruples, to hear their complaints, or settle
their diiierences ;* and as, notwithstanding all his saga-
city, Ignatius did not foresee of what advantage women
could one day be to the order, he applied to the Pope
to be relieved of this charge, Avriting, at the same time,
the following letter to Rosello : —
" Venerable Dame Isabella Rosello — my Mother
and my Sister in Jesus Christ, — In truth I would wish,
for the greater glory of God, to satisfy your good de-
sires, and procure your spiritual progress by keeping
you under my obedience, as you have been for some
time past ; but the continual ailments to which I am
subject, and all my occupations which concern the ser-
vice of our Lord, or his vicar on earth, permit me to
do so no longer. Moreover, being persuaded, accord-
ing to the light of my conscience, that this little
vSociety ought not to take upon itself, in particular,
the direction of any woman who may be engaged to
us by vows of obedience, as I have fully declared to
our Holy Father the Pope, it has seemed to me for
the greater glory of God, that I ought no longer to
look upon you as my spiritual daughter, and only as
my godmother, as you have been for many years, to
the greater glory of God. Consequently, for the
greater service, and the greater honour of the ever-
lasting Goodness, I give you as much as I can into
the hands of the sovereign Pontiff, in order that,
taking his judgment and will as a rule, you may find
rest and consolation for the greater glory of the Divine
Majesty. — At Rome, the first of October 1549."
The Pope complied with the request, and exempted
the order from the superintendence of women; and
Ignatius enacted in the Constitutions, " that no mem-
ber of the Society should undertake the care of souls,
* Helyot, Yol. vii. p. 491.
THE FEMALE JESUITS. 73
nor of Religious, or of any other women whatever "
[Loyola's disciples thought proper to differ from him],
"so as frequently to hear their confessions, or give
them directions, although there is no ohjection to their
receiving the confession of a monastery once, and for
a special reason." *
Dame llosello and her two companions, being de-
prived of their spiritual father, not wishing to change
him for another — so fcuthful were they — desisted at
once from their pious undertaking, and for a time
nothing more was heard of female Jesuits ; but, about
the year 1622, some females, more meddling than
devoted, took upon themselves the task of reviving
the institution, although they were not authorised to
do so. Nevertheless, they united into dift'erent com-
munities, established houses for noviciates and colleges,
chose a general under the name of Proposta, and
made vows into her hands of perpetual chastity,
poverty, and obedience. Not being restrained by
any law of seclusion, they went from place to place,
bustling with gossip, and causing confusion and scan-
dal throughout the Catholic camp. The community
soon spread over a great part of lower Germany,
France, Spain, and was especially numerous in Italy,
where it originated.
Urban VilL, after vainly endeavouring to impose
upon them some rules of discipline, by a brief of the
21st May 1631, suppressed them.f
* Const, pars vi. cap, iii. § 7. To be a nun's confessor was, and is
still, deemed a high privilege. Before the Council of Trent, this privi-
lege belonged to the oi'der of St Francis, under whose rules most of the
nuns also live. The conduct of tliese brothers and sisters was in the
highest degree improper and scandalous. Although the Franciscans are
now no longer the titular confessors of these nuns, nevertheless they are
on the most friendly terms with one another ; ixpon which friendships
the Italians exercise their satirical and sarcastic wit. The confessors are
now chosen by the respective bishops, who confer the honour upon their
most faithful adherents, as a reward for their services. The rivalries of
those sainted women, and their ingenious contrivances to engage the
smile of their holy father, are notorious to every one who lives near a
convent.
+ Hdyot, vol. iii. p. 492.
74 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
Thus ended the Society of Female Jesuits under
this name and form. But another afterwards sprung
up in its place, under the appellation of Religieuse du
Sacre Coeur, having special rules very like those of
the Jesuits, under whose absolute directions they now
are.
In Catholic countries — above all, in France, and, we
are sorry to say, in Piedmont also — very many of the
highest rank in society send their daughters to be
educated in these monasteries. Had Ignatius known
what powerful auxiliaries these luorthy nuns were likely
to prove to his order, he would, in all likehhood, have
borne with those petty annoyances caused to him by
good Dame Eosello. Ladies educated by these nuns
bring into their homes all those dissensions and cause
all those evils which are so ably described by the
French professor, Michelet, who lost his chair the
other day for daring to attack these all-powerful
auxiliaries of NaDoleon — the Jesuits.
FIRST OPPOSITION TO THE ORDER. 75
CHAPTER VI.
1548-56.
THE FIRST OPPOSITION TO THE ORDER, AND DEATH
OF LOYOLA.
The order of Jesuits, wliich had hitherto progressed
so favourably, was now surrounded with difficulties
and enemies. While the rapid increase of the Society,
the influence it had acquired, and the wealth which it
had already accumulated, combined to render the
Jesuits less cautious and more authoritative, they
caused also a great deal of envy, especially among
those classes menaced by the company in some of
their privileges. At the first opportunity an attempt
was made to crush the order in the bud.
This opportunity was offered by the emperor,
Charles V., who had at no time been very favour-
able to the institution, and who, no matter how
bigoted a Catholic he may have become in his latter
days, was then just as much Catholic as was neces-
sary to extend his dominions and to consolidate his
despotic power.
In 1548, Charles, indignant at the cunning policy
of Paul III., who set the emperor to war with the
Reformers, and who deserted him when he feared
that, being master of the Protestant league, he would
also become his dictator — Charles, we say, when the
Pope recalled his troops, not wishing to drive the Pro-
testant princes to extremities, published the famous
Interim, a sort of compromise between the two
76 , HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
creeds, and a tacit acquiescence in the more com-
monly received doctrines of the Reformers, leaving,
besides, in their hands, the confiscated ecclesiastical
properties. Paul became furious at the audacity of a
layman mingling in matters of faith, and loudly ex-
claimed against the prince. Cardinal Farnese, the
Pope's legate and nephew, told the emperor that his
book contained at least ten propositions which were
heretical, and for which he might be called to account.
Besides his legate, the Pope had in Germany a staunch
and faithful partisan in the person of Bobadilla. Boba-
dilia was a bold and thorough Jesuit. He went to
the war, and attached himself as a sort of commissary
to the troops which the Pope's grandson had led into
Germany. At the battle of Mulberg he received a
wound, but this gave him little concern. Some days
afterwards, he was to be seen at Passau, a Protestant
town, preaching the Catholic tenets, and announcing
a day of thanksgiving for the victory that the Catho-
lics had gained over the Protestants.
You may well believe that such a man would not
hesitate to attack the Interim, In fact, by writing,
by preaching publicly and privately, Bobadilla boldly
denounced the book, and that even in the presence of
the emperor himself, as a sacrilegious composition.
The emperor, frustrating the Jesuit's desire to gain
renown by means of persecution, simply expelled him
from all his estates.
Bobadilla hastened to Pome to receive, he hoped,
the deserved ovation. But, alas ! how bitterly was
he deceived ! Ignatius, *' fearing that Bobadilla in
impugning the Interim may have gone beyond due
bounds, thought it better at first not to receive him
into the house." * So Orlandini. Our Mr Cretineau,
who generally transcribes hterally, here, with more
zeal than prudence, thus reports the passage of the
Jesuit writer : — " Loyola seized hold of this circum-
* Oii. Ub. viii. § 6.
FIRST OPPOSITION TO THE ORDER. 77
stance to revenge the majesty of kings, which, even
in the height of the dispute, one ought never to at-
tain." * We understand you well, Mr Cretineau ! you
have lost much of your influence over the people,
too well educated to repose much fixith, either in
your sanctity or your miracles, and you intend to pre-
serve some of your domineering influence, by cling-
ing to these same kings against whom, when they
were adverse to you, you directed the poniard of the
assassin !
Bobadilla's expulsion seemed to have been the signal
for the outburst of a violent war against the order,
especially in Spain. The fight began at Salamanca.
Three Jesuits, Sanci, Capeha, and Turrian, arrived
there in 1548, for the purpose of establishing their
Society. They entered the town in the most piti-
able condition, and were so poor, that, " having no
image to adorn the altar of their private chapel with,
they in its stead put a piece of paper, upon which
was delineated, I do not know what figure — ' Im-
pressam nescio,' says Orlandini, ' quam in papyro
figuram, pro scite picta tabula collocarent.' " | And
Cretineau thus translates it : — " In consequence " (of
having no picture), " one of them simply sketched on
a piece of paper an image of the Virgin, and this
paper, stuck on the wall, was the only ornament of the
high altar." :j:
I must say I feel surprised at their candour! You
confess, then, that you Avorship a dirty scrap of paper,
upon which you do not know what sort of figure was
represented, or you scratch four lines and make it
the object of your cultus — the indispensable ornament
of your altar, upon which you are going to renew the
sacrifice of the Cross ! Ah ! we already knew that
your religion only consisted in externalities — in blind
and absurd superstitions. Yet we register this other
example to prove your own idolatry, and your constant
* Ci-et. vol. i. p. 284. + Orlan. lib. viii. p. 43. J Crct. vol. i. p. 285.
78 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
practice, to represent Christ the Lord in the back-
ground, while adoring images and statues which you
have made according to your hearts' wishes, as our
great poet says, of gold and silver —
" Fatto v'avete Dio d'oro e, d'sivgento."— Dante, Inferno, cant. xix.
However, there lived at that time at Salamanca a
Dominican friar, famous for his eloquence, his learn-
ing, and particularly for his uprightness of purpose —
Melchior Cano. He had known Loyola, and formed
a bad opinion of him, because he never ceased speak-
ing of his revelations, his visions, his virtues, his un-
deserved persecutions.
After his disciples came to Salamanca, equipped only
with their bigoted fanaticism, and of doubtful morahty,
he resolved to oppose them, and poured forth against
them, from his chair and pulpit, torrents of eloquent
invectives. He represented them as crafty, insinuat-
ino*; Uving in palaces, deceiving the kings and the
great; declaring them to be soiled by every species
of crime ; capable of all kinds of excesses ; and
dangerous both to religion and society.
We may perhaps say that the picture which he, in
his passionate eloquence, drew of the members of the
order, which he also called the pioneers of Antichrist,
was then somewhat exaggerated. The Jesuits at that
time were not so perverse as he represented them to be,
for they had as yet only existed for a few years. But
it would seem that Cano had spoken in the spirit of
prophecy, of the character which it assumed in after
generations, the germ of which he may have seen be-
ginnino; to develop itself. |
If the letter which we are about to transcribe, !
written by him in 1560, two days before his death, is
not to be numbered among the prophecies, it is never-
theless an extraordinary prediction, which came to be
fulfilled in every point. Here is this remarkable j
letter : — " God grant that it may not happen to me as j
riRST OPPOSITION TO THE ORDER. 79
is fabled of Cassandra, whose predictions were not
believed till Troy was captured and burned. If the
members of the Society continue as they have begun,
God grant that the time may not come when kings
will wish to resist them, but will not have the means
of doing so." *
But we have anticipated. — The hideous colours
in which he pourtrayed the disciples of Loyola made
such an impression in Salamanca, that the Jesuits were
not allowed to establish themselves in it. In vain did
the Pope, taking up the cause of the Jesuits, by a
bull reprove the conduct of Cano. In vain did the
General of the Dominicans issue a circular to all his
subordinates, in which, after a long eulogium on the
Society, he says that "it ought to be praised and
imitated, and not assailed with calumnies.f Cano,
disregarding both the Papal brief and his general's
circular, and being supported, at least secretly, by
the civil authorities, boldly held out against the order.
What could his adversaries do ? Persecution and re-
venge were impossible against a subject of the empe-
ror, who was then at war with the Pope, and yet
Cano must be got rid of. Well, one fine morning he
was strangely and agreeably surprised with the news,
that that same Pope who had threatened and censured
him had now conferred upon him the bishopric of
the Canaries. Dazzled and flattered, the friar yielded
at first to the temptation, and left Salamanca for his
bishopric. But soon, very soon, he perceived why he
had been sent so far away. Pesolved, therefore, to
baflle his enemies' cunning, he resigned the Episco-
pal dignity, and returned to Salamanca, the un-
doubted and indefatigable adversary of the order.
He died Provincial of his order, and much respected.
About the same epoch, 1548, the University of Al-
cala also declared against the order. The contest
lasted for a considerable time ; and even after many
* Cret. vol. i. p. 290. t OHand. lib. viii. 10.
80 HISTOil^OF THE JESUITS.
of the doctors were, by the usual mysterious arts,
gained over to the cause of the company, Dr Scala
persisted in his opposition, and did not refrain from
attacking them till he was called before the Inquisi-
tion, and threatened with an auto-da-fe.*
The opposition which the Jesuits encountered in
Toledo, where they had already established them-
selves, was a more serious affair. They had found
here the population docile, and easy to be imposed
upon. They had introduced sundry abuses, and many
superstitious practices. Nay, their devotees — horrid to
say ! — went to the communion table twice a day I In
the year 1550, these scandalous enormities forced
themselves upon the attention of the authorities. Don
Siliceo, Cardinal Archbishop of Toledo, once tutor to
Philip of Spain, wishing to repress them, published an
ordinance, reproving and condemning them, and in
which, after bitterly reproaching the Jesuits for their
many usurpations, he forbids the people, under pain
of excommunication, to confess to any Jesuit, and em-
powers all curates to exclude them from the adminis-
tration of all sacraments ; furthermore, laying an in-
terdict upon the Jesuit College of Alcala.
This ordinance produced a great excitement among
the Jesuits and their partisans, and nothing was left
untried to make the archbishop relent. But neither
the influence that the Society already possessed, nor
the intercession of the Papal nuncio, and of the Arch-
bishop of Burgos, nor even the Pope's own authority,
could vanquish the archbishop's hostility. Then the
bold Loyola had the impudence to institute a process
against the archbishop, before the Royal Council of
Spain. Paul III. was dead, and was succeeded by
Julius III., who, as Ignatius well knew, was on the
best terms with Charles. The Royal. Council con-
demned the prelate, who thereupon recalled the inter-
dict! — not that his opinions were changed, but to avoid>
* Cret. vol. i. p. 299.
t Ibid. p. 292. As this author genera' ly quotes Orlandini and the
FIRST OPPOSITION TO THE ORDER. 81
perhaps, the fate wliicli encountered his successor, tlic
learned but unfortunate Carranza — twelve years of
torture in the dungeons of the Inquisition.
A still fiercer tempest was gathering over the heads
of the Jesuits at Saragossa. Instructive is the cause
of the quarrel. The town of Saragossa was so full of
convents and monasteries, that, to observe the rule
which forbade any religious house to be built within
a certain distance of another, it w^as impossible for
the Jesuits to find a spot unforbidden. However, after
thoroughly surveying the town, they imagined they
had found a spot at the requisite distance. They there
erect a house and a chapel, which is to be consecrated
on Easter Tuesday 1555. Great preparations are
made to make the pageant pompous and attractive,
when, alas ! Lopez Marcos, Vicar-general of Saragossa,
on the complaint of the Augustine Friars, who pretend
that the chapel was built on their grounds, intimated
to Father Brama, the superior of the house, that the
ceremony might be deferred. Brama refused to obey.
Lopez, at the very moment the Jesuits were perform-
ing the solemn ceremony, issued a proclamation for-
bidding the chapel to be entered under pain of excom-
munication. x\nathemas were poured upon the fathers,
and the clergy, accompanied by a great crowd of
people, march through the town, singing the 109th
Psalm, the people repeating — " As he clothed himself
•with cursing like as with his garment, so let it come
into his bowels like w^ater, and like oil into his bones ;"
and, to unite the ludicrous with the terrible, they carry
along images with hideous faces, representing the
Jesuits dragged to hell by a legion of demons still
more hideous. A funeral procession, with the image
of Christ covered with a black veil, sino-ino; lugubrious
songs, march towards the house of the Jesuits. From
other Jesuitical writers verhatim, we shall refer our readers to him,
as it can much more easily be procured, and we shall only quote from
the original when the translation is inaccurate.
82 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
time to time, the cr j, " Mercy ! Mercy ! " bm^st from
the crowd, as they wished to avert the curse of God
from an interdicted city. The poor Jesuits, shut up
in their own house, patiently wait for a fortnight, until
the tempest should pass away. But this ignoble gob-
lin representation, worthy only of Jesuits and of their
opponents, not yet ending, Loyola's disciples, as usual,
gave way, feeling assured that, if actual force would
be of no avail in making good their claim, intrigues
and cunning would in the end win the day. Nor were
they deceived.*
In Portugal, dangers of another kind menaced the
Society. It seemed as if Portugal were to be the
theatre where the Jesuits were to perform the principal
act of their ignoble drama.
The protection of John III., united with the zeal of
Rodriguez, had made this country one of the most
flourishing provinces of the Society. But its very
prosperity nearly caused its ruin. Having possessed
themselves of immense wealth, the Jesuits, yielding to
the common law, relaxed in the strictness of their con-
duct, pursued a life of pleasure and debauchery ; above
all, their principal college (Coimbra) resembled more a
garden of academics than a cloister.f Scandal became
so great, that the court began to frown upon them,
and the people were losing that respect and venera-
tion with which they had before regarded them.
Ignatius, of course, was soon informed of the state of
things, and took at once the most energetic measures
for repressing the evil (in 1552). Rodriguez was
recalled and sent to Spain, and a new provincial and
rector were sent to Coimbra.
Mir on, the provincial, attempted a reform, but the
Jesuits — spoiled children — refused to submit to it.
Some he dismissed from the college — a greater num-
ber abandoned it. Insubordination and disorder were
at their height. Fortunately, Ignatius had in the
* Cret. vol. L p. 305. f I^id. p. 299.
FIRST OPPOSITION TO THE ORDER. 83
rector Godin a man according to Lis licart. Godln
proved a worthy disciple of the author of the Spiritual
Exercises. Stripping his shouklers of their garments,
arming himself with a scourge, he rushed, demoniac-
like, out into the streets of Coimbra, and flagellated
himself, crying for mercy. Breathless, covered with
dust and blood, running and screaming, he returned
to the college church, where the brethren were as-
sembled, and here he again lashed himself. Strange
and uncommon examples fire the imagination and pre-
judices of imitators. The Jesuits were at first sur-
prised ; then, all on a sudden, they beg to be allowed
to undergo the same public penance. Godin feigns to
refuse ; he speaks of the scandal given — ^^he paints in
strong colours the enormities of their sins, and dwells at
length upon the sufferings and passion of Christ. When
he had wrought their feelings to the highest pitch, he
granted them the permission solicited, and, like a crowd
of Bacchanti, when their deity rages within them, they
all rush out of the church, and with lamentable cries
run through the streets, scourging themselves in a
most merciless manner. When they reached the Church
of the Misericordia, they knelt down, whilst the rector
begged pardon of the multitude for the scandal they
had given them. Some of the people are moved —
others laugh loudly — but the intent of the rector is
obtained. The disciples become more tractable ; the
college submits to the necessary reform, and the Jesuits
regain their influence.*
The Society met with a more serious and durable
opposition in France. After their first banishment
they had returned to Paris, but there they had no
house of their own, neither could they find any.
They therefore took up their abode in the College des
Lombards, till Du Prat, Bishop of Clermond, offered
them his own hotel, to which they immediately re-
* Oret. vol. i. p. 290.
84 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
paired. As yet, however, this establishment was
neither a house for professed members, since there
were none of them, nor a noviciate, since the rules
for the noviciate were not established till six or seven
years afterwards. The members who repaired to
Clermond hotel were only students, or priests aspiring
to become members of the Society ; but we are told
that they were so conspicuous for their learning and
piety, that three of them were chosen by Ignatius to
establish a new college in Sicily, while Viole, the chief
of those aspirants, was named by the university,
Procurator of the College des Lombards. This
nomination, however, appeared to Ignatius to be of a
rather doubtful character, since it proceeded from the
university, which had been adverse to the order from
the first. It seems as if he feared that these students,
seduced by the allurements of honour and emoluments,
would renounce their pious determination to become
Jesuits; he therefore ordered Viole to give up the
appointment, and to take the vows of the order
before Du Prat, enjoining at the same time, that all
students who may receive any pension from the
Colleo-e des Lombards should instantlv renounce it.
Although these orders were absolute, they were
promptly obeyed. The great secret of Loyola's
influence and power lay in the inflexibility of his
character, and in his miUtary education, which ren-
dered him absolute and imperative, and excluded the
possibility of others disputing his orders.
Meanwhile the Society in France — we should say
in Paris — the only place where it had tried to establish
itself, lived in a most precarious state, until the year
1550, when Henry IL, stimulated by the too famous
cardinal of Guise, thought of establishing the Jesuits
in his kingdom, and issued patent letters authorising
them to do so.
The ordinances of the French kins: were not at
riRST OPPOSITION TO THE ORDER. 8-3
this time considered binding, nntil they were regis-
tered by the parhament.* When those concerning
the Jesuits were brought before them, the parhament,
after hearing the conclusions of their Advocate-Gene-
ral, refused to register them, on the ground " that the
new institute would be prejudicial to the monarchy,
the state, and the ecclesiastical hierarchy."
The contest lasted for two years, wdien the king, in
1552, sent an order to the parliament to register the
patent letters of 1550, authorising the establishment of
the Jesuits. The order w^as formal and imperative, yet
the parhament refused to comply with it, although,
out of deference to the sovereign will, they advised
that further inquiries be made concerning the Society.
After other two years of serious consideration and
strict inquiry, the parliament, in 1554, enacted that "tho
bull establishing the Society, and ihe king's patent let-
ters, shall be communicated both to the Archbishop of
Paris, and to the Faculty of Theology there, in order
that, their opinion heard, the court may come to a sen-
tence. The archbishop and the faculty were thus called
to decide upon a question of their exclusive competence,
since the one was the ecclesiastical superior, and the
other the natural judge in matters of faith. Both took
the case in hand, and after due consideration, they re-
spectively decided against the establishment of the
Society. The archbishop, Eustache de Bellay, belong-
ing to one of the most illustrious parliamentary
families of France, after mature deliberation, gave
out all the reasons why he thought it his duty to op-
pose the introduction of the order, and concluded in
this remarkable and logical way : — '• Since the order
pretends to be established for the purpose of preach-
* Our readers must not take the word parliament in the same signifi-
cation it has in England. The parliament of France was composed of a
body of magistrates, and formed the Supreme Court of Judicature, in
which the princes of the Llood had a stat ; and which was sometimes
presided over bj- the king. Every province had its parliament, but none
exercised the same influence with that of Paris.
86 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
ing to the Turks and infidels, to bring them to the know-
ledge of God ; they ought to establish their houses and
societies in places near the said infidels, as in the times
of old had been done by the Knights of Rhodes, who
were placed on the frontiers of Christendom, not in the
midst thereof." But the severe and bitter censure of
the Doctors of the Sorbonne was a more explicit con-
demnation of the order. Here is the document of their
famous " conclusion :" —
" As all the faithful, and principally the theologians,
ought to be ready to render an account to those who
demand the same, respecting matters of faith, morals,
and the edification of the Church ; the faculty has
thought, that it ought to satisfy the desire, the de-
mand, and the intention of the court.
" Wherefore, having perused, and many times re-
perused, and well comprehended all the articles of the
two bulls, and after having discussed and gone to the
depths of them, during several months, at different
times and hours, according to custom, due regard be-
ing had to the subject, tlie Faculty has, with unani-
mous consent, given this judgment, which it has sub-
mitted with all manner of respect to that of the Holy
" This new Society, which arrogates to itself in par-
ticular the unusual title of the name of Jesus — which
receives with so much freedom, and without any choice,
all sorts of persons, however criminal, lawless, and in-
famous they may be — which differs in nowise from
the secular priests in outward dress, in the tonsure, in
the manner of saying the canonical hours in private,
or in chaunting in pubhc, in the engagement to remain
in the cloister and observe silence, in the choice of food
and days, in fasting, and the variety of rules, laws, and
ceremonies which serve to distinguish the different in-
stitutes of monks ; — this Society, to which have been
granted and given so many privileges and licences,
chiefly in what concerns the administration of the sac-
FIRST OPPOSITION TO THE ORDER. 87
raments of penance and the cucliarist, and this without
any regard or distinction being had of places or per-
sons; as also in the function of preaching, reading,
and teaching, to the prejudice of the ordinaries and
the hierarchical order, as well as of the other religious
orders, and even to the prejudices of princes and lords,
temporal, against the privileges of the universities, — in
fine, to the great cost of the people ; — this Society seems
to blemish the honour of the monastic state ; it weakens
entirely the painful, pious, and very necessary exer-
cises of the virtues of abstinences, ceremonies, and
austerity. It even gives occasion very freely to desert
the religious orders ; it withdraws from the obedience
and submission due to the ordinaries ; it unjustly
deprives lords, both temporal and ecclesiastical, of their
rights, carries trouble into the government of both,
causes many subjects of complaint amongst the people,
many lawsuits, strifes, contentions, jealousies, and
divers schisms and divisions.
" Wherefore, after having examined all these mat-
ters, and several others, wdth much attention and care,
this Society appears dangerous as to matters of faith,
capable of disturbing the peace of the Church, over-
turning the monastic order, and more adapted to break
down than to build up."*
Here, as in the denunciations of Cano, the faculty
seem to have got a glimpse of the future history of the
Jesuits, since, at that epoch at least, the accusation of
receiving into the Society indiscriminately was not well
founded.
The apologists of the Jesuits have said — and we are
partly incHned to admit the truth of their assertion —
that as the Jesuits were then in possession of the edu-
cation of youth in many parts of Europe, the univer-
sity, jealous of its privileges, condemned the order of
the Jesuits, not as an infamous and sacrilegious com-
munity, but as a dangerous rival. They have also
* CreL vol. i. p. 320.
C« HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
affirmed, that the expulsion of the famous Postel* had
irritated the Sorbonne, of which he was a doctor. But
this we behove to be a gratuitous supposition.
However, the decisions of the parhament, arch-
bishop, and university, were hailed throughout France
with a shout of jubilee. The Jesuits were obliged to
leave Paris, and as all the parliaments of France had
echoed the resolution of that of the capital, they would
be nowhere received, and, as a last and momentary
refuge, they went and hid themselves in the Abbey
of St Germain des Pres.
Tlie more warlike and inconsiderate members of the
order woukl have replied to the terrible sentence of
the Sorbonne, but Ignatius was too consummate a poli-
tician to yield to their imprudent desires. For open
wars, the Jesuits had no predilection. When their op-
ponents were too strong for them, their practice was,
and still is, to give way, as if in submission ; but then
they begin a hidden and mysterious war of intrigues
and machinations, tliat in the end they are always
the victors. So acted Ignatius in tliis affair in France.
The Jesuits contented themselves with living for some
time in obscurity and complete seclusion from all
society, and preparing the way for future triumph.
Nor had they long to wait. Soon were they called
into France to help and cheer that atrocious and cruel
hecatomb, that bloody debauch of priests and kings —
the Saint Bartholomew.
But what is worthy of more serious reflection, is the
fact, that in Rome — the centre of their power and
* This Postel was a rabbin converted to Catholicism. He was very-
learned, a graduate of the university, and held in high estimation by
Francis I. and all his court. In 1515 he went to Rome to enter the
Society of Gesii. This acquisition gave great joy to the Jesuits. Postel
was very kindly received, and much flattered. He then went through
the Spiritual Exercises; but this strange course of devotion affected his
fervid imagination so much, that his faculties became impaired. He
began to propound strange doctrines — to propose new rules for the
Society ; and, above all, would by no means obey the orders of Ignatius.
Loyola having no longer any hold upon him, dismissed him, for which
act of firmness Loyola's panegyrist extols him to the skies.
FIRST OPPOSITION TO THE ORDER. 89
glory — the Jesuits were also publicly accused as a set
of heretics, dangerous and immoral persons ; and the
famous book of The Spiritual Exercises was submitted
to the Inquisition. It is indeed true that this little
manual got a certificate for orthodoxy, and that the
priest who had traduced them before the tribunal,
having to struggle alone against the Society, was con-
demned (we don't wonder at it) as a calumniator ; but
how can you, you subtle sons of Ignatius, explain this
concurrence, this accumulation of accusations and
hostilities? IIow is it that nations, separated from
one another by diversities of interest, custom, opinion
— that citizens of diifcrent classes, characters, princi-
ples, interests — that all men and nations, widely sepa-
rated in every thing else, united only by a common
tie — i\\Q Catholic religion — should exactly agree in this
one thing — hatred to and abhorrence of the avowed
champion of Catholicism ? And remember we don't
speak of Protestant countries, or Protestant oppo-
nents. All your adversaries were bigoted Catholics.
There is but one way to explain this strange coin-
cidence. We fear that from the very beginning, the
Jesuits, notwithstanding all their prudence, could not
conceal from the eye of the observer those subtle arts,
that duplicity of character, that skill in accomplishing
dark and mysterious exploits, for which they were in
later times opposed, and at length abolished.
What is still more remarkable, is the fact that the
greatest part of those persons who were foremost in
opposing the Jesuits, knew Loyola, and, if not as inti-
mately as Caraffa and Cano, at least well enough to
be able to appreciate him. We shall adduce as the
last, though not the least fact, militating against
the order — that Caraffa, a man of the most rigid
Catholicism, nay, bigotry — who had nothing so near his
heart as the furtherance of the Roman rehgion — the
former friend of Loyola, both as cardinal and as Pope,
was constantly and firmly adverse to the order. I
90 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
should like if some of the reverend fathers would ex-
plain this almost inexplicable fact.
However, all these oppositions were sooner or later
got rid of by Jesuitical craft ; and the Society, in 1556,
only sixteen years after its commencement, counted as
many as twelve provinces, a hundred houses, and up-
wards of a thousand members, dispersed over the
whole known world. Their two most conspicuous and
important establishments were the Collegio Romano
and the German College. They already were in pos-
session of many chairs, and soon monopolised the right
of teaching, which gave them a most overwhelming
influence. We shall speak of the colleges, and of their
method of study, after it had received from Acquaviva,
the fifth General, a farther development, and nearly
the same form in which it is at the present day. The
Jesuits also derived great importance from their mis-
sions, to the consideration of which we shall devote the
next chapter. The reason of the immense success of
the Jesuits is the fact, that their order was established
in direct opposition to the rising Protestantism, and
that both the court of Rome, and those princes whose
interest it was to maintain the Catholic religion, and
oppose that of the Reformed, were very eager to in-
troduce and uphold the Society of Jesuits into their
states. Yet even with this preponderant favourable
circumstance, the Society would have either succumbed
under the many obstacles it encountered in its begin-
ning, or at least would not have progressed so rapidly,
had it not been for Ignatius Loyola. This extraordi-
nary man seems to have united in his own person
all the quaUties indispensable for succeeding in any
undertaking; — unbounded ambition — inflexibility of
character — unwearied activity, and a thorough and
profound knowledge of the human heart. With such
qualities, he could hardly fail to succeed in the ac-
complishment of any project. Almost every writer of
Loyola's life (I do not speak cither of the miracle-
FIRST OPPOSITION TO THE ORDER. 91
tellers or of the pamphleteers) has represented him
as most sincere, fervidly devout, and pious. On this
pomt, however, we must observe, that all the histo-
rians, not excluding even the Protestant, copied from
his two first biographers, MafFei and Rybadaneira.
We also beg to be permitted to give the humble
opinion which we have formed of him, after having
carefully perused what has been said regarding him —
and much more, after a dispassionate examination of
the facts connected with his life. Without doubt,
Ignatius, during his illness, felt disposed to change his
dissipated course of life, and, as happens in every
sudden reaction, he, from being a profligate freethink-
ing officer, went to the other extreme, and became
a rigid and bigoted anchorite. No penances were
too severe to expiate his numerous sins, and no devo-
tion was too fervent to atone for his past irreligion.
So he thought at the moment, and, we think, con-
scientiously. But after the first burst of his devotion
— after the deep contemplation into which he was
plunged had given place to the felt necessity of acting
in one way or another, we are led to believe, and have
already expressed that belief, that his natural ambi-
tion rose, and that all his thoughts were turned upon
the surest method of accomphshing some great and
uncommon exploit, by which he might render himself
famous. As devotion was the principal requisite for
success in the path which he had chosen, Ignatius was
a fervent devotee, first by calculation, and then by
habit — but not the less zealous for all that. Had
his whole thoughts been absorbed with that one object
— the salvation of his soul — his devotion would have
been less ostentatious, and, without wavering between
one project and another, he would have been contented
with an humble and retired life, or would have spent
it in unquestionable works of charity — in ministering
to the sick, as he had begun in the Hospital of the
Theatincs. It cannot be denied, however, that Ig-
92 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
natius, after his conversion, was very humane, com-
passionate, and charitable, and that his private con-
duct, in the later part of his life, was moral and
unimpeached. He treated his disciples with much
kindness, and never denied them what he could grant
without inconvenience. On the other hand, he was
imperious to the last degree, and could not endure the
slightest contradiction. An old Jesuit priest, who had
been once guilty of disobedience, was scourged in his
own presence. One instance will perhaps serve to
depict Loyola more effectively than words can. He
had sent Lainez as provincial to Padua. Lainez, who
had had an immense success at the Council of Trent,
and who was in fact superior to any one then be-
longing to the Society, at first refused this secondary
post, but at last obeyed. Hardly had he, however,
entered upon his functions, before Ignatius drained his
province of all the best professors, whom he summoned
to Rome. The provincial remonstrated. It was the
Lainez, Ignatius' bosom friend — his right hand — the
glory of the company — the man who had been chosen
to be a cardinal. But Ignatius disregarded all these
considerations, and without even entering into any
discussion, simply wrote to him, thus : " Reflect on
your proceedings ; tell me if you are persuaded of
having erred, and if so, indicate to me what punish-
ment you are ready to undergo for the expiation of
your fault." * This letter pourtrays the man !
We are also assured, that the general was so
humble, that you might have seen him carrying wood
on his shoulders — lighting the common fire — or going
to the well with a pitcher in his hand. We should
be incHned to call such humility ostentation, or, if
you prefer it, good policy. Ignatius was, above all,
anxious to curb the spirit of his disciples. In his
eyes, they could not be humble and submissive enough.
The Jesuit ought to value himself, individually, as
* Cretineau, vol. i. p 334.
FIRST OPPOSITION TO THE ORDER. 93
notliing — tlic Society as everything. Now, which of
his disciples would have dared refuse any undertaking,
however humble, after he had seen his general en-
gaged in the meanest services ?
But while Ignatius affected these acts of humility,
lie was seriously giving his attention to the state affairs
of different nations. He was holding correspondence
with John III. of Portugal, the cardinal his son,
Albert of Bavaria, Ferdinand of Austria, Philip of
Spain, Ercole of Est, and many other princes. Ho
was the spiritual director of Margaret of Austria. He
went to Tivoli, purposely to alla;y the quarrels of two
neighbouring towns, and to Naples to make peace
between an angry husband and his wife of rather
doubtful morals. All these things tend to prove what
we have said regarding his devotion, viz. that it was
of a rather meddlesome and ambitious character.
But his career was now drawing to an end. These
different occupations — the direction of both the spiritual
and temporal matters of the order, which was already
widely spread — the anxiety caused by the many con-
flicts in which the Society was engaged — the fear of
defeat — the joy arising from success — his unrelenting
activity — his uneasiness at seeing the pontifical chair
occupied by Caraffa, always adverse to the order — all
these things contributed to shorten his days. His con-
stitution, which had been impaired in his youth, and in
the cavern of Manreze, now gradually gave way ; and
although no symptom of his approaching end was yet
visible, " no paleness of countenance, not a sign in all
his body,"* nevertheless he felt the vital principle
fading away within him, and that his last hour was
rapidly drawing near. He tried the country air, and
for this purpose went to a villa lately given by some
friends for the use of the Roman college,! but he found
no relief. His strength was fast failing him ; an un-
conquerable lassitude crept over his whole frame, and
* Maffei, Ignaf. Vita, p. 110. t I*^lem, p. 109.
94 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
his intellect only remained clear and unchanged. He
spoke of his illness, nay, of his approaching- end, to
nobody. He returned to Rome, and threw himseK
upon a bed. A doctor was sent for by the alarmed
fathers, but he bade them be of good cheer, " for there
was nothing the matter with the general." Ignatius
smiled; and when the physician was gone, he gave
orders to his secretary, Polancus, to proceed to the holy
father straightway to recommend the Society to his
care, and to obtain a blessing for himself (Ignatius),
and indulgences for his sins.* Perhaps he made this last
attempt to disarm, by his humility, the inflexible Paul
ly. (Caraffa), and so render him favourable to the
Society. He was mistaken. Paul sent the requested
benison, but he did not change his mind toward the
Society. However, Polancus, reassured by the doc-
tor, and not seeing any danger himself, disregarded
the order, postponing the fulfilment of his mission till
next day. Meanwhile, after Ignatius had attended
till very late to some affairs concerning the Roman
college, he was left alone to rest. But what was the
surprise and consternation of the fathers, on enter-
ing his room next morning, to find him breathing
his last! The noise and confusion caused by such
an unexpected event were great. Cordials, doctor,
confessor, were immediately sent for ; but, before any
of them came — before Polancus, who only now ran
to the Pope, returned — Loyola had expired. His
demise took place at five o'clock on the morning of the
31st of July 1556, in his sixty-fifth year. So ended
a man who is extolled by the one party as a saint, exe-
crated by the other as a monster. He was neither.
Most assuredly, in the Protestant point of view, and
by all those who advocate the cause of freedom of con-
science, and of a return to the purity of the primitive
rehgion of Christ, Ignatius ought to be detested above
any other individual. To him and to his order belongs
* Orland. lib. xvi. § 96, 97.
FIRST OPPOSITION TO THE ORDER. 95
the mournful glory of having checked the progress of
the lleformation, and of having kept a great part of
Europe under the yoke of superstition and tyranny.
And here we are led to mention a fact which we
think has hitherto been unnoticed — the indulgence,
we should say the partiality, evinced by Protestant
writers for these last ten years towards the Jesuits,
and especially the founders of the order. The fact
must be explained. The Jesuits, from 1830 to the
end of '48, seemed to have lost all public favour, all
influence and authority. Persecuted and hooted in
France, Switzerland, Russia, hated in their own domi-
nion, Italy, they were considered as a vanquished enemy,
deserving rather commiseration than hatred. A reac-
tion ensued in their favour among their most decided
opponents. Generous souls rose up to defend these
persecuted men, and stretched out a friendly hand to
them, thus trodden upon by all. Carried away with
such chivalrous sentiments, they have embellished,
with the colours of their fervid imaginations and the
graces of their copious style, whatever the Jesuit
writers have related of their chiefs, and have repre-
sented Loyola and his companions as heroes of romance
rather than real historical characters. We leave these
writers to reflect whether the Jesuits are a vanquished
enemy, or whether they are not still redoubtable and
menacing foes. But, with deference to such distin-
guished writers as Macaulay, Taylor, Stephen, and
others, we dare to assert that in writing about the
Jesuits they were led astray by the above romantic
sentiments ; and we should moreover warn them that
their words are quoted by the Jesuit writers, Cretiueau,
Pellico, &c., as irrefragable testimony of the sanctity
of their members.
96 HISTORY OF THE JF4SUITS.
CHArTER VIL
1541-1774.
MISSIONS.
Before we proceed any further, we feel obliged to say
a few words regarding the missions which were under-
taken by the J esuits soon after the estabhshment of
their order. To write a complete history would be
almost interminable. To analyse Orlandini, Sacchini,
Bartoli, Jouvency, the Litterce Annum, and Les Let-
tres Edifiantes, not to speak of a hundred others,
would take up a great many volumes.* "We think
we may fill our pages with more instructive matter.
We shall now confine ourselves to a short chapter
on the missions of India. AYe shall next speak of those
of America, and finally, in what condition the missions
iire at the present day. In speaking of the missions
of India, we fear we shall incur the reproach we have
addressed to others, because we frankly confess that
we are partial to Francis Xavier ; but our Protestant
readers, to be impartial, must not judge those missions
by too rigid a standard, or by too constant a reference
to the doctrinal errors of those who undertook them,
furthermore, by the consideration of what those
missions subsequently became. All human institutions
emanating from imperfect beginnings, are necessarily
imperfect, and the further they recede from their
* The Litterce Annuce Societatis Jesxi, from 1606 to 1614, fill eight
volumes in 8vo; the Lettres Edifiantes, twenty-one volumes in 8vo,
and so on.
MISSIONS. 97
origin, the more tlioy lose of tlicir primitive chcaracter,
and the less are they calculated to answer the end for
which they w^ere established. The idle and immoral
monk — this gangrene of Catholic countries — was at
one time the most industrious of men ; and Europe owes
much to the monastic orders, not only for the preser-
vation of the greatest part of the works of genius of our
forefathers, but also for the tillage of its barren wastes.
If the monks and priests now bring disorder, confu-
sion, and often civil war into the countries where they
are sent under pretence of missions, such was not the
case at the discovery of the Western World, and at
the conquest of India by the Portuguese. The first
zealous and devoted missionaries attempted to civilise
and Christianise savage and barbarous populations.
And if you object that in their missions they preached
the Popish creed, and destroyed one idolatry by in-
troducing another, at least you ought to give them
credit for their good intentions. Nor are you to
suppose that they undertook the task of civilising these
nations in order to acquire dominion over them. No.
Such, indeed, has been the case in later times, but in
the beginning they w^ere actuated by worthier and more
disinterested motives. In going thither they had before
their eyes martyrdom rather than worldly establish-
ments. They carried with them no theological books.
Having no antagonist to dispute with, they had left
behind the acrimony and hatred inherent in almost
all theological controversies. They brought with
them the essence of the Christian rehgion — the most
consoling and sublime part of it — gratitude to the
Creator, with charity and love to their fellow-creatures.
Undoubtedly, when we speak of their missions, we
must not blindly believe all that the Jesuitical histo-
rians, who are often the only chroniclers of these events,
relate to us. We shall not give them credit for the
prodigies and miracles said to be performed by their
missionaries, even though that missionary be Xavier
98 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
himself. We shall not believe that he raised from the
tomb another Lazarus, or that at his bidding the salt
waves of the ocean were changed into sweet and palat-
able water. Yet there are irrefragable proofs of the
good done by their exertions, and of their success in
introducing Christianity, or at least civilisation, into
India and America. The man who first engaged in
that glorious work was Francis Xavier — Xavier, whom,
if Rome had not dishonoured the name by conferring
it upon assassins and hypocrites, we would gladly call
a saint.
He was the offspring of an ancient and illustrious
Spanish family, and was born in 1506, at his father's
castle in the Pyrenees. He was about the middle size,
had a lofty forehead, large, blue, soft eyes, with an ex-
quisitely line complexion, and with the manners and
demeanour of a prince. He was gay, satirical, of an
ardent spirit, and, above all, ambitious of literary re-
nown. All his faculties, all his thoughts, were directed
to this noble pursuit, and so efficiently, that at the age
of twenty-two he was elected a professor of philo-
sophy in the capital of France. There he lived on
terms of intimacy with Peter Lefevre, a young Savoy-
ard, of very humble extraction, of a modest and simple
character, but of uncommon intelligence and industry.
It was with Lefevre that Xavier first met Ignatius.
Francis was shocked at his appearance, his affected
humility, his loathsome dress ; and when he spake of
spiritual exercises, Xavier looked at his own fair, white
arms, shuddered at the idea of lacerating them with
the scourge — this principal ingredient of the spiritual
exercises — and laughed outriglit in his face. But
Ignatius, having cast his eyes upon such a noble
being, was not to be discouraged by a first or second
repulse in his endeavours to become intimate with him.
He spared no exertions to ingratiate himself with
Xavier ; and at last, as Bar toll says, " he resolved
ot gain him over by firing his ambition, just as Judith
MISSIONS. 99
did with feigned love to Holofcrncs, that she might
triumph over him at tlio last." * As we have already
stated, Xavier was ambitious, and eager for literary
renown. Ignatius made himself the eulogist of his
countryman. He gathered around his chair a benevo-
lent and an attentive audience, and gratified the young
professor in his most ardent wishes. The generous
heart of Xavier was touched by this act of kindness, and
he began to look upon this loathsome man with other
eyes. Ignatius redoubled his efforts. The improvident
Xavier was often surrounded with pecuniary difficulties.
Ignatius went begging, to replenish his purse. It was
not wonderful that Xavier, having fallen under the
influence of such a persevering assailant, who was ad-
monitor at once and friend — who flattered and exhorted,
rebuked and assisted, with such matchless tact — should
gradually have yielded to the fascination. He went
through the Spiritual Exercises, and from that
moment became a mere tool in the hands of Loyola.
This was the first missionary sent to India.
The order had not yet been approved by the Pope,
when John III. of Portugal, by means of his ambas-
sador D. Pedro de Mascaregnas, asked of him six mis-
sionaries to be sent to the East Indies. The Pope,
who was undecided whether he should consent to the
establishment of this new order or not, thought this a
plausible pretext to get rid of them altogether, and
asked Loyola for six of his companions. But Ignatius
was not the man to consent to the suicide of the intended
Society, and oftcrcd the Pope only two members for
the undertaking. The choice fell upon Rodriguez and
Bobadilla. The first set out immediately, but Bobadilla
falling ill, Ignatius called Xavier, and said to him,
'*■ Xavier, I had named Bobadilla for India, but Heaven
this day names you, and I announce it to you in the
name of the Vicar of Jesus Christ. Receive the ap-
pointment which his Holiness lays upon you by my
* Bart. Vita Ian.
100 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
mouth, just as if Jesus Christ presented it liimself.
Go, brother, whither the voice of God calls you, and in-
flame all with the divine fire within you — Id y accen-
dedlo todo y emhrasadlo en fiiego divino." Ignatius
often used these words, and in his mouth they were a
talisman which fanned the flame of enthusiasm. It is
impossible to describe the exultation of Xavier at the
thought of the boundless regions which would open
before him there, to exercise his unbounded charity
and love of mankind. Xavier went to receive the Pope's
blessing, and the very next morning he left Rome —
alone — penniless — clothed in a ragged cloak, but with
a light heart and joyful countenance. He crossed the
Pyrenees without even visiting his father's castle, and
hastened to Lisbon, where he joined his companion
Rodriguez. Portugal at this epoch was experiencing
the influence of the wealth brought from the recently
conquered provinces of India. Eagerness for pleasure,
effeminacy of manners, relaxation from every duty,
had completely changed the aspect of the nation.
These two Jesuits, by exhortation and preaching, endea-
voured to stem the onward march of that fast spread-
ing corruption. Their panegyrists assure us that they
succeeded in their efforts, but the subsequent history
of Portugal gives them the lie. To no man is given
the power to stop the propensities or the vices of a
nation, when they are in the ascendancy. Xavier
may perhaps have made the Portuguese nobihty for
a moment ashamed of their luxurious and profli-
gate life ; but if so, a more complete abandonment
to a life of idleness and pleasure succeeded a fugitive
shame.
However, the King of Portugal, changing his mind,
wished to retain in the capital the two Jesuits whom
he had intended for India, but he could only prevail
on Rodriguez to remain. Xavier was impatient to be
sent on his mission. At length, on the 7th of April
1541, the fleet, having on board a thousand men to
MISSIONS. 101
reinforce the garrison of Goa, left tlic Tagus, and
spread her sails to the wind. It was under the com-
mand of Don Alphonso of Sousa, the vice-king of India.
As the fleet sailed on, the eyes of the soldiers were bc-
dimmed with tears ; even the bravest of the host could
not see without emotion and dismay the shores of their
native land receding irom their view. Xavier alone
was serene, and his countenance beamed with dehght.
On sailed the fleet, and after five long and weary
months, they reached the coast of Mozambique. Un-
der a burning African sun, they found httle relief from
the fatigues of their tedious voyage, and an epidemic
fever spread consternation and death among these
European adventurers. Xavier was indefatigable
among them, nursing the sick, consoling the dying,
and cheering all with his joyful and placid counte-
nance.
After six months' stay, they left this inhospitable
land, and arrived at Goa, the capital of the Portuguese
dominions in India, thirteen months after their depar-
ture from Lisbon.
There Xavier was horror-struck at the indescriba-
ble degradation in which he found, not the Indian
idolaters, but the Portuguese Catholics, their own
priests foremost in the path of vice. The contempt
that these proud conquerors had for a feeble and
despised race, the charm of the East, the wealth they
found, the climate inspiring voluptuousness — all com-
bined to banish from their breasts every sentiment
of justice, shame, and honesty. The history of their
debauches and immoralities is really revolting. Thirst
for gold and voluptuousness were their two predomi-
nant passions ; and the gold, acquired by infamous and
cruel means, was dissipated in revolting and degrad-
ing deeds. Bartoli gives us a fearful picture of the
demoralised condition of the Portuguese in India.*
But, without trusting implicitly to all this historian
* Bart. Asia, p. 31.
H
102 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
represents regarding their corruptions and licentious-
ness, we know by other sources that the corruption was
extreme, and that it was their dissolute life that in-
duced the Indians who had been converted to our
rehgion, feeling ashamed of the name of Christian, to
return to their idols. Xavier thought it would be use-
less to attempt converting the idolater before he had
reformed the morals of the Christian; but he consi-
dered it neither prudent nor useful to attack so great
an evil directly and openly. He rightly judged that
the children would be most easily worked upon, and
he resolved to reach this by exciting their love of
novelties and unwonted sights. He arms himself with
a hand-bell, which he swings with a powerful hand,
throws away his hat, and calls in a loud and impres-
sive tone on the fathers to send their children to be
catechised. The novelty of the fact, the noble and
dignified countenance of a man dressed in rags, could
not fail to excite curiosity at least. Men, women,
and children rush out to see this strange man, who
draws along with him a crowd to the church, and there,
with passionate and impressive eloquence, endeavours
to inspire them with shame for their conduct, and
lectures to them on the most essential rules of morality.
Then he begins to teach the children the rudiments
of the Christian religion, and these innocent creatures
love to listen to a man who shews himself the kindest
and gentlest companion, joyfully mixing in all their
pastimes. A number of children soon became his
constant auditors, and to say he did not work any good
among them would be an untruth. Nor did he confine
his apostolic ministry to the instruction of children.
He was, on the contrary, indefatigable in his exertions
to be of use to every one. He took up his abode
in the hospital, visited the prisoner, assisted the dying.
With a flexibility characteristic of the system, and
often employed for the worst ends, he mixed with all
classes, and spoke and acted in the most suitable
MISSIONS. '103
manner to please them all. Often might you have seen
him at the same tabic with the gamester — often
did he by his gay humour rejoice the banquet table
— often might he have been seen in the haunts of
debauchees ; and in all those places exquisite good
taste, combined with jest or bitter sarcasm, d-j^ropos to
time and place, rendered the vice either ridiculous or
loathsome. Many, to enjoy Xavier's friendship, re-
nounced their profligate habits, and fell back to the
paths of virtue. But it is a gratuitous assertion, and
contradicted by Xavier himself, that the aspect of the
town was changed by his predications and catechis-
ings. We repeat it again — no man has the power to
work such miracles. After Xavier had spent twelve
months in Goa, he heard that the pearl fishermen on
the coast of Malabar were poor and oppressed. Thither
Xavier went without delay. He took with him two
Malabarese whom he had converted, as his interpeters.
But finding this mode of communication slow and in-
effectual, he committed to memory the creed, the
decalogue, and the Lord's Prayer in the Malabar
language, and repeated them to the natives with pas-
sionate and eloquent eagerness. By degrees he began
to be able to communicate with them ; and here, as else-
where, Xavier not only acted the indefiitigable apostle,
but also shewed himself the best friend, the kindest
consoler of these poor people, and shared in their
fatigues and privations. Many were the favours which
he obtained for them from the vice-king, and these
grateful fishermen willingly embraced the religion
preached by their benefactor. He lived among them
for thirteen months, and we are assured that at his
departure he had planted no less than forty-five
churches on the coast. From Cape Comorin he passed
to Travancore, thence to Meliapore, to the Moluccas,
to Malacca; and, in short, he visited a great part of
India, always vigilant, zealous, and indefatigable in
104 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
his endeavours to make these Idolaters partake of the
benefits of the Christian religion.
In 1547 he returned to Goa. Ignatius had sent
him in the year 1545 three Jesuits. Xavier had
directed two of them to go to Cape Comorin, and
named the third, Lancillotti, Professor of the College
of Saint Foi. Soon after, nine other Jesuits were sent
to assist him. Xavier assigned a place and an occu-
pation to each of them, and he himself returned to
Malacca. Here he learned something about Japan.
He was informed that the Japanese were moral, indus-
trious, and very eager to acquire knowledge of every
kind, Xavier at once determined that neither the dis-
tance nor the difficulties of the way should deter him
from visiting Japan. Listening to no remonstrance
which would have dissuaded him from this undertaking,
he named the Jesuit, Paul of Camarino, Superior in his
place, and with two companions set out for Japan.
Before leavino' Malacca he wrote to lo-natius thus : —
*' I want words to express to you with what joy I un-
dertake this long voyage, full of the greatest dangers.
Although these dangers arc greater than all I have
yet encountered, I am far from giving up my under-
taking, our Lord telling me internally that the cross
once planted here will yield an abundant harvest."
We shall not relate the various extraordinary inci-
dents or miracles which we are told he performed
whilst on the way, and we shall conduct him at once
to that cluster of islands, with mountains barren of
fruits and grain, but rich in mines of all sorls, which
we call Japan, where he arrived in the summer of
1549. The Japanese of those days were partly
atheists, partly idolaters. Xavier endeavoured to
ingratiate himself with the Bonzes, those crafty priests
of Japan. He succeeded in converting some of them,
and by their influence a great many more of the idola-
ters, and prepared the ground which should afterwards
MISSIONS. 105
have produced an abundant liarvcst, if tins lather's
successors had possessed a little more of his upright-
ness and charity.
But Xavier's vivid imagination and restless activity
made him soon desert Japan for a more ample and
splendid theatre. He formed the project of pene-
trating into the Celestial Empire. Leaving his two
companions in Japan, he returned to Goa to settle the
affairs of the Society, which had increased in num-
bers, influence, and authority; and this duty performed,
he returned to Malacca, to embark from thence for
China.
Better to succeed in his undertaking, he iiad ob-
tained for a Portuguese merchant, Pereyra, the title
of ambassador to the emperor. Pereyra, according to
custom, had purchased many presents, in order to
obtain a more cordial reception for himself and his
friend Xavier. The vessel in which the two friends
were to take a passage was on the point of saihng,
when Don Alvarez, Captain-General of Malacca, op-
posed their departure, and, effectually to prevent it, laid
an embargo on the Saint Croix, the only vessel which
was bent thither. Xavier remonstrated in vain. The
captain persisted in opposing the embassy of Pereyra.
Xavier shewed him the commission of John III., which
conferred upon him great and almost unlimited power,
and also his commission as the Pope's legate. Alvarez
still refused to consent to their departure, and Xavier
fulminated against him the anathemas, but without any
effect.
Pereyra was thus obliged to remain, and Xavier,
after having lost much time, took a passage in tliis same
vessel, which Avas now ordered for the island of San-
cian. _ There they at length landed, to the inexpres-
sible joy of Xavier, who saw himself within a few
leagues of this promised land of his own. But, alas !
his hopes were frustrated. It was ordained that his
praiseworthy ambition should not be gratified, and
106 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
tliat he should not see the vast empire he aspired to
conquer to Christianity, but at a distance. Others
might attempt this difficult mission; Xavier, a victim,
to fatigue and fever, lay powerless on the inhospitable
shore of Sancian. In a very few days his illness made
fearful progress, and on the 2d of December 1552,
Xavier, in the forty-sixth year of his age, breathed
his last. Thus ended the adventurous life of this
noble and extraordinary man, which we have merely
sketched.
We pass over the absurd and miraculous facts which
the panegyrists of the saint have coupled with his
name. We think they have injudiciously smothered,
in ridiculous and supernatural legends, the many noble
exploits and the great qualities of Xavier. In respect
for his memory, we shall therefore make no mention of
his miracles. Besides, Xavier's miracles are as nearly
as possible the same as those performed by other saints.
We really believe that the biographers of any saint
might do hke that gentleman who, after having writ-
ten a long letter without either comma, colon, period,
or point of interrogation, put down a great quantity of
these at the close of the epistle, and enjoined his cor-
rjespondent to insert them in their requisite places. Our
biographers should, in like manner, place at the end of
their panegyrics some hundreds of miracles performed
OH the sick, or the blind, or those possessed wnth devils,
and let the judicious reader insert them in those parts
of the narrative they may think proper.*
No one, however, will deny to Xavier uprightness
* For nearly two centuries, miracles and saints rarely occurred. It
seems as if they were in a state of embryo, slumbering until an oppor-.
tune season for their appearance should arrive. After the Reformation,
however, it was deemed expedient that some n.w miracles and saints
should come forth to prove the truth and the superiority of the Roman
Catholic religion over the Protestant, whicli cannot boast of such testi-
monials. It was then that the images of tlie Virgin Mary again began
to speak, laugh, weep— that the hair of the images on the crucifix grew
— that they slied blood from their wooden sides — that the relics of saints
acted as a charm to keep away diseases and miafortunes — and that uew
saints sprang into existence like mushrooms.
MISSIONS. 107
of purpose, sincerity of conviction, mildness and in-
trepidity of character, self-denial, and a fervid zeal for
the propagation of the Christian religion. But while
we gladly give him praise for his excellent qualities, ^\o
cannot overlook some of his defects. Thus, for exam-
ple, we cannot approve of his continual -wandering,
and we think, that in undertakino- his voyao-es, he was
actuated, perhaps, as much hy the love of novelty as
by the desire of propagating Christianity. His way
of makino; Chi-istians was also in the hio-hest deo^ree in-
considerate and hasty ; for, most assuredly, the 10,000
idolaters whom he christened in a single month, had
no more of the Christian than the baptism.
But we must impute to him a still greater fault,
and one which seems to be inherent in the character
of the llomish priests — the absolute authority which
they claim over all men, and their unscrupulous pro-
ceedings against any one who is bold enough to resist
their orders — nay, their very wishes. Observe. Don
^ Alphonso de Sonza, vice-king of India, although an
exemplary Roman Catholic, because he does not yield
to all Xavier's wishes, the Jesuit writes to the king and
procures his recall ! Alvarez opposes the embassy of
Pereyra, which Xavier had contemplated, and for this
the Jesuit priest excommunicates him ! These two acts
are characteristic of the Romish priests, and we quote
them to shew that even the mildest does not hesitate
at anything, in order to carry his point.
However, in the time of Xavier, and for some fifty
years afterwards, the missions, if they were far from
what they ought to have been, as instrumental for pro-
pagating the gospel, were nevertheless conducted in a
manner not altogether unpraiseworthy. The mission-
aries were laborious, energetic, indefatigable. They
submitted to every kind of privation, persecution, even
death itself, with a courageous and sometimes joy-
ful and wilhng heart. Had they simply preached the
gospel, and not mingled with it the diffusion of the
108 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
superstitious practices of the Church of Kome, no praise
would be adequate to their deserts. But, alas I the noble
quaUties which they brought to work were soon per-
verted, and directed to interested and impure motives,
so that we fear the good which they did at first can
hardly compensate for the evil which they at length
produced.
The man who after Xavier had the greatest suc-
cess in India, but who also perverted the character
of the mission, and introduced the most abominable
idolatry, was Father Francis Nobili. He arrived at
Madura in 1606, and was surprised that Christianity
had made so little progress in so long a time, which
he attributed to the strong aversion which the Indian
had for the European, and to the fact, that the Jesuits,
having addressed themselves more especially to the
Pariahs, had caused Christ to be considered as the Pa-
riahs' God.* He therefore resolved to play the part of
a Hindoo and a Brahmin. After having learned with
wonderful facility their rites, their manners, and their
language,! he gave himself out as a Saniassi, a Brah-
min of the fourth and most perfect class ; and, with
imperturbable impudence, he asserted that he had conie
to restore to them the fourth road to truth, which
was supposed to have been lost many thousands of
years before. He submitted to their penances and
observances, which were very painful ; abstained from
everything that had life, such as fish, flesh, eggs; J
respected their prejudices, and, above all, the main-
tenance of the distinction of classes. It was forbidden
the catechumen Pariah to enter the same church with
the Siidra or Brahmin converts. All this was the
beginning of those heathen ceremonies and superstition^
with which the Christian religion was contaminated.
Great care was taken by these Koman Saniassi
* Ranke's Hist, of the Popes, vol. ii. p. 231. English translation.
+ Juvencius' Hist. Soc. Jcsu. pars v. torn. ii. lib. xviii.
J Leltres Edifianics, torn, x.' p. 324.
MISSIONS. 109
that tlicy might not be taken for Ferlncjee.'^,^ and still
greater care not to liurt the prejudices of the Hindoos.
AVe might multiply quotations ad infinitum to provo
our assertions, but we shall content ourselves with two.
" Our whole attention," writes Father de Bourges, " is
taken up in our endeavour to conceal from the people
that we are what they call Feringees ; the shghtest
suspicion of this would prove an insurmountable ob-
stacle to our success." f And Father Mauduit writes, —
'' The oatechist of a low caste can never be employed
to teach Hindoos of a caste more elevated. The Brah-
mins and the Sudras, who form the principal and mosfc
numerous castes, have a far greater contempt for the
Pariahs, who are beneath them, than princes in Europe
can feel for the scum of the people. They would be
dishonoured in their own country, and deprived of the
privileges of their caste, if they ever listened to the
instructions of one whom they look upon as infamous.
We must, therefore, have Pariah catcchists for the
Pariahs, and Brahminical catechists for the Brahmins,
which causes us a great deal of difficulty." " Some
time ago, a catechist from the Madura mission begged
me to go to Pouleour, there to baptize some Pariah
catechumens, and to confess certain neophytes of that
caste. The fear that the Brahmins and Sudras might
come to learn the step I had taken, and thence look
upon me as infiimous and unworthy ever of holding
any intercourse with them, hindered me from going !
The Avords of the holy apostle Paul, Avhlch I had read
that morning at mass, determined me to take this re-
solution, — ' Giving no offence to any one, that your
ministry might nut be blamed' (2 Cor. vi. 3). I
therefore made these poor people go to a retired place,
about three leagues from here, where I myself joined
them during the night, and with the most careful
precautions, and there I baptized nine I " J
* Feringee was the name given by the Hindoos to the Portuguese.
+ Lcttres Edif. torn. xxi. p. 77. + Idem, torn. x. pp. 2'i3-2'45,
110 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
We appeal to every impartial man, if these were
apostles and teachers of the gospel. But it seems by
all their proceedings, that they considered the conver-
sion of these idolaters to consist in the mere fact of
their being baptized. To administer baptism to a man
volens nolens, was the Jesuits' utmost ambition, and
this ambition they satisfied per fas et nefas. Let them
relate the facts themselves : —
•' When these children," says Father de Bourges,
*' are in danger of death, our practice is to baptize
them without asking the permission of their parents,
which would certainly be refused. The catechists and
the private Christians are well acquainted with the
formula of baptism, and they confer it on these dying
children, iindei^ thej^retext of giving them medicines."^
Women were also found very useful in the case of
newly born infants, when none other could obtain ac-
cess. Father Bouchet mentions one woman in parti-
cular, " whose knowledge of the pulse and of the
symptoms of approaching death was so unerring, that
of more than ten thousand children whom she had
herself baptized, not more than two escaped death." f
In like manner, during a famine in the Carnatic, about
A.D. 1737, Father Trembloy writes, that according to
the report of the catechists and missionaries, the num-
ber of deserted and dying children baptized during
the two years of death, amounted to upwards of twelve
thousand. He adds, that, as every convert knew the
formula of baptism, it was rare, in any place where
there were neophytes, for a single heathen child to
die unbaptized.'' \
The logical consequence of this mode of making
Christians was, that at the first opportunity these con-
verts repudiated the name of Christian with as much
facility as they assumed it. This was seen on many
occasions, and more particularly, perhaps, in 1784 : —
* Lettres Edifiantes, torn. xii. p. 107.
t Tom. xiii. p. 54. J Tom. xiv. pp. 185, 186.
MISSIONS. 11 r
. " When Tlppoo ordered all the native Christians in
Mysore to be seized, and gathered together in Seringa-
patam, that he might convert them to Mahometanism,
amidst that vast multitude, amounting to more than
60,000 souls," says the Abbe Dubois, " not one — not
a single individual among so many thousands — had
courage to confess his faith under this trying circum-
stance, and become a martyr to his religion. The
■whole apostatised eii masse, and without resistance or
protestation." *
But even when these converts retained the name of
Christian, we are much at a loss to distinguish them
from the pagans, either in their manner of worship, or
in their moral conduct. And what is still more dis-
heartening, is to see that the Jesuits, who nourished
them in those idolatrous and diabolical superstitions
make light of them — nay, even seem to approve of
them.
Listen to M. Cretineau : —
" The Malabar rites consist in omitting some cere-
monies in the administration of baptism, respecting,
however, the essence of the sacrament ; in disguising
the name of the Cross, and of the objects of the Catho-
lic religion, under a more common and vernacular
appellation ; to give them heathen 7iames ; to marry
children before the age of puberty, seven years; to
allow the women to wear the Taly (bijou), f which they
receive the day of their nuptials, and upon which is
engraved an idol, tlie Greek god Priapus ; to avoid
assisting the Pariahs in their illness, and to refuse
them certain spiritual succours — the sacraments of
confession and communion." J He might have added
that these rites consisted also in the use of burned
* Letters on the State of Christianity in India, p. 74. Loudon, 1823.
+ The Taly bears the image of the god Pollyar, supposed to preside
over nuptial ceremonies. This most indecent idol was attached to a
ecrd of 108 threads, and worn round their necks by the women ever after
their marriage, as a wedding-ring.
X Cret. vol. V. p. 47. Tlie italics are our own..
112 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
cows' dung applied to the body,* in a joyous feast,
at an occasion which decency forbids us to name, in
dancino- and playing instruments of different kinds,
in idol processions, in ablutions according to the Brah-
minical rites, and in sundry other pagan superstitions.
Now, listen to what Cretineau and the Jesuits think
about these abominable acts of idolatry: —
" The Jesuits of Madura, Mysore, and the Carnatic
found themselves surrounded by so many superstitious
practices, that they thought best to tolerate those tvho
in their eyes did not cause any prejudice to the Chris-
tian religion.'" f ^o\y, these practices which in their
eyes " did not cause any prejudice to the Christian
religion," were exactly those which we have named ;
which the Jesuits pertinaciously maintained even after
they were condemned by three successive Popes, and
which they still considered " innocent ones." Really,
we don't know whether we ought most to execrate
their wickedness, or to lament their bhndness. We
could almost regret that they do not deny these facts.
A lie more or less would not*^ matter much in the sum
total, and would, at least, shew that they are still
alive to some sense of shame. Mycio, seeing Eschi-
nus blush at his remonstrances, looks complacently
aside, and says, " Eruhuit, salva res est !" Terentius
was right. Eschinus was capable of feeling shame, and
amended ; but the Jesuits blush not. Either they
have lost all shame, and you would not find —
•' CM di mal far si vergogni" —
* The ashes of the cows' dung are consecrated to the goddess Lakshini,
and are supposed to cleanse from sin anybody to whom they are applied.
The missionaries laid these ashes upon the altar near the crucifix (horrid
to relate !) or the image of the Virgin, then consecrated and distributed
them in the shape of little balls among their converts. This strange sort
of Christians invoked a pagan divinity as often as they applied the dung
to the body. Thus, when they rub it on the head or forehead, they say,
Neruchigurm netcliada ,S/iiven — that is, may the god Shiva be within
my head ; when they rub it on the breast, they say, Manu Rudren —
that is, may the god Hudren be in my breast ; and so on. — See Jlemoire^
Historiqucs, tom. iii. pp. 29, 30. Lucca, 1745.
t Cret. vol. v. p. 47,
MISSIONS. 113
"any one blush at doing wroni^," or tlicy consider as
innocent the most abominable profanation of our holy
religion. In both cases, I fear, we must renounce all
idea of seeing them change till their impenitent heads
be visited by the wrath of God. ]\Iay their conversion
avert it !
Complaints of these scandalous profanations were
sent to Home, even in the lifetime of Nobili. Paul Y.
delegated the Archbishop of Goa to inquire into the
nature of these practices, which the prelate utterly
condemned. The Jesuits stirred themselves up in
their own defence, and represented to Gregory XIII.,
Paul's successor, that those rites were merely civic
ceremonies, and not at all religious ones. Gregory,
either little scrupulous or persuaded by their misre-
presentations, by a brief, dated 1G23, approved con-
ditionally of some of those practices, such as absolution,
painting with sandal-wood, and some others, which, as
we said, were represented by the Jesuits to be merely
civic ceremonies. This success confirmed the Jesuits in
pursuing the same line of policy ; and as they were also
at that time at war wdth other monks to acquire, each
for his order, paramount influence over the Indians,
they thought that nothing could be more efficient to
accomplish their ends than to flatter the prejudices
of their neophytes, to be liberal in their concessions,
and, in fact, to tolerate almost all the pagan usages.
They acted in India, in all respects, as they did in
Europe, wdiere, to be the confessors of kings and of
the powerful, they invented the doctrines of probable-
ism, of mental reservation, and others of a character as
immoral, which we shall examine by and by. For
€ighty years, therefore, they went from one abomina-
tion ito another, till the scandal became so great and
so universal, that the Roman See was again moved to
interfere. Accordingly, Clement XL delegated Charles
Maillai'd de Tournon, Patriarch of Antioch, with un-
limited authority to investigate into and settle the
114 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
matter. The patriarch is described by Clement XI. as
*' a man whose well-known integrity, prudence, charity,
learning, piety, and zeal for the Catholic religion made
him worthy of the highest trust;" and, according to
Cretineau, " a man who possessed the highest' virtues
and best intentions, which, however, should have been
directed by a less intemperate zeal." *
He landed at Pondicherry on November 6, 1703,
and immediately commenced a thorough and minute
investicration of the whole aifair. After eio-ht months,
he, on June 23, 1704, published the famous decree con^
demning and prohibiting all these idolatrous practices ;
although the noble prelate, a good Roman Catholic as
he was, is not altogether free from superstition, as
may be seen in the decree itself. Here are some ex*
tracts from it : —
" Charles Thomas Maillard de Tournon, by the
grace of God .... Legate a latere, &c having
maturely examined all things, .... having heard the
above mentioned fathers (the Jesuits), having by public
prayers implored divine aid ; we, .... in our capacity
of Legate a latere, have enacted the present de-
cree : —
'' And to begin by the administration of the sacra-
ment. We expressly forbid that, in administering bap-
tism, any of the Christian rites are to be omitted. . . .
AYe command, moreover, that a name of the Roman
martyrology be given to the catechumen, and not an
idolatrous one.- .... We order that no one, under any
pretext whatever, shall change the signification of
the names of the cross, of the saints, or of any other
sacred thing. . . - .
" Further, as it is the custom of this country that
children, six or seven years old, and sometimes even
younger, contract, with the consent of their parents,
an indissoluble marriage, by the hanging of the Taly,
or golden nuptial emblem, on the neck of the bride,
* Cret. vol. V. p. 50.
MISSIONS. 115
wc command the missionaries never to permit sucli
invalid marriages among Christians.
" And since, according to tlie best informed adhe-
rents of that impious superstition, the Taly bears tlie
image, thougli unshapely, of Pullcar, or Pillear, the
idol supposed to preside over nuptial ceremonies ; and
since it is a disgrace for Christian women to wear such
an image round their necks, as a mark that they are
married, wc henceforth strictly prohibit them from
daring to have the Taly with this image suspended
from their necks. But, lest luives should seem not to
he married, they may use another Taly, ivitJi the
image of the holy cross, or of our Lord Jesus Christy
or of the most blessed Virgin, marked on it !
" The nuptial ceremonies also, according to the cus-
tom of the country, are so many, and defiled by so
much superstition, that no safer remedy could be de-
vised than to interdict them altogether ; for they over-
flow with the pollutions of heathenism, and it would
be extremely difficult to expurge them from that which
is superstitious
" In like manner, w^e cannot suffer that these offices
of charity which Gentile physicians, even of a noble
race or caste, do not consider unworthy (for the health
of the body) to be given to those poor people, the
Pariahs, although in the most abject and lowest con-
dition, be denied, for the sake of souls, by spiritual
physicians. Wherefore, w^e strictly enjoin the mission-
aries, as far as they can, to see that no opportunity
for confession be awanting to any sick Christian, al-
though he be a Pariah, or even of a more despised
race, if there were. And lest they should be compelled
to consult for their eternal welfare, when the disease
is increasing, and their temporal life is in evident dan-
ger, we chai'ge the missionaries not to wait till those
in this weak condition are brought to church, but, as
far as they are able, to seek for them at home, to visit
them, and to comfort them with pious discourses and
116 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
prayers, and with sacramental bread; and, in short,
to administer extreme unction to them, if they are
about to die, -without making any distinction in persons
or sexes, expressly condemning every practice contrary
to the duty of Christian piety
" We have learned with the greatest sorrow, also,
that Christians who can beat the drum, or play on a
flute, or other musical instruments, are invited to per-
form during the festivals and sacrifices in honour of
idols, and sometimes even compelled to attend, on ac-
count of some species of obligation supposed to be con-
tracted towards the public by the exercise of such a
profession, and that it is by no means easy for the
missionaries to turn them from this detestable tbuse ;
wherefore, considering how heavy an account we should
have to render to God did we not strive, with all our
power, to recall such Christians as these from the
honouring and worshipping of devils, we forbid
them," &c.
*' The missionaries also shall be held bound, not only
to acquaint them with the aforesaid prohibition, but
also to insist on its entire execution, and to expel
from the Church all who disobey, until they repent
from the heart, and by public marks of penitence ex-
piate the scandal they have caused."
In hke manner, the legate expressly prohibits the
heathen ablutions and superstitious bathings, at set
times, and with certain ceremonies, to all, and more
especially to the preachers of the gospel, whatever
pretence they allege, were it even to pass themselves
off as Saniassi, who were distinguished by their mani-
fold and multiplied washings — ' ut existementur Sanias
seu Brachmaues, pra) ceteris dediti hujusmodi ablu-
tionibus.'
*' We, in like manner, prohibit that the ashes of
cow-dung, a false and impious heathen penance insti-
tuted by Kudrcn, should be blessed and applied to the
foreheads of those who have received the sacred unction
MISSIONS. 117
of Chrism ; wc also proscribe all the signs of a red and
white colour, of which the Indians are very supersti-
tious, from being used for painting their face, breast,
and other parts of the body. We command that the
sacred practice of the Church, and the pious usage of
blessmg the ashes, and of putting them upon the head of
the faithful, Avitli the sign of the cross, in order to re-
call their own unworthiness, be religiously observed,
at the time and after the manner prescribed by the
Church, on Ash-Wednesday, and at no other time.
"And, lest from those things which have been ex-
pressly prohibited in tins decree, any one may infer
or believe that we tacitly approve of or permit other
usages which Avere wont to be practised in these mis-
sions, we absolutely reject this false interpretation, and
we explicitly declare the contrary to be our intention.
W^e will, also, for just causes knoivn to us, that the
present decree should have full force, and should be
considered as published, after it has been delivered
up by our Chancellor to Father Guy Tachard, Vice-
provincial of the French Fathers of the Society of Jesus
in India; and we command him, by vh^tue of holy
obedience, to transmit four similar copies to the Father-
provincial of the province of Malabar, to the Superiors
of the Mission at Madura and Mysore, and of the
Carnatic, who after two months, and all the other mis-
sionaries after three months, from the day in which
this decree shall be notitied to Father Tachard, shall
be bound to consider It as having been made pubhc,
and notified to every one.
" Given at Pondlcherry, this day, 23d June
1704."
^ Nothing can more effectually prove the culpability
of the Jesuits, and their sacrilegious crime, in encou-
raging such abominable Idolatry, than this decree, ema-
nating from so high a lioman 'Catholic authority, and
from a man Avho reproaches himself for being too lenient
I
118 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
towards the fathers. This document is a terrible and
overwhelming proof against the order's orthodoxy, and
M. Cretineau himself can find no fault with it. Hia
only complaint is, that the different historians who have,
quoted the prelate's decree, have omitted to speak of
the preamble, in which the patriarch declares that he
had been assisted in the investigation by tAvo of the
Jesuits, from which fact he (M. Cretineau) seems^
anxious that we should infer that the Jesuits them-
selves have condemned these practices. This, besides
being contradictory to what M. Cretineau has just
said, is by no means true in the sense in which he
wishes us to receive it. According to Father JN'or-
bert's version,* it seems that the patriarch arrived at
the truth of the whole matter by making use of a little
Jesuitical cunning. He called two of the fathers to a
private conference, received them with great kindness
and urbanity, praised their zeal, pitied them in their
difficult position, and so overcame them, that they
frankly confessed every thing to him. Now, their
confession was written down by two secretaries, who
were concealed in a closet for the j)urpose. The supe-
rior, to whom the Jesuits related what had taken place,
was indignant and alarmed at their wonderful inge-
nuousness, and sent tliem back to the prelate to retract
what they had said.j But it was too late. The legate,
to give more weight to the decree, begins somewhat
maliciously by saying, that he had been helped in his
investigation by Fathers Venant Bouchet and Charles
Bartolde, ** learned and zealous men, who had resided
long in the country, were perfectly acquainted with
its manners, lano-uao-e, and relio^ion, and that from
* Father Norbert was a Capuchin missionary in India, who presented
to Pope Benedict XIV. a book entitled, Memoires Historiques sur les
Missions des Indes Orientales. The work is illustrated with authentic
documents. It was published with the approbation of all the ecclesias-
tical authorities, and never contradicted. iStill, we will not quote Father
Norbert as a proper authority, unless what he relates can be corrobo-
rated by other proofs.
i* Mem. HisL torn. prim. p. 142.
MISSIONS. 119
their lips he had got a right iiuJcrstanding regarding
the real state of matters, which rendei*ed the vine and
branches feeble and barren, from adhering, as they
did, rather to the vanities of the heathen than to the
real vine, Christ Jesus."
What makes us believe in the veracity of Father
Norbert in this case is, that the Jesuits never submit-
ted to the decree, that they still continued to persist
in their old practices, and that neither Father Bouchet
nor Bartolde was punished or dismissed, one or other
of which would most certainly have taken place had
they deliberately and openly denounced these diaboli-
cal practices. On the contrary. Father Bouchet was
one of the two Jesuits who Avere sent to Rome to get
the decree abrogated.
The Jesuits, however, did their utmost to parry
the blow. Faithful to an essential rule of Jesuitical
cunning, they at first feigned to submit, only entreat-
ing the patriarch to suspend for a time the censures
attached to the non-execution of the decree, which the
good prelate granted for three years, hoj^ing that they
would obey, and abolish these abominations gradually.
But they were far from intending to do such a thing.
On the contrary, they, as we have already said, immedi-
ately despatched two Jesuits to Rome, for the purpose
of getting the patriarch's decree abrogated by the
Holy See. Father Tachard, the vice-provincial of the
India missions, thought that it would perhaps make a
great impression in Rome if, to the opinion of the
legate De Tournon they could oppose the opinion,
not only of all the Jesuits residing in India, but also
of the other priests along the ^lalabar coast. With
this end in view, he sent many emissaries round with
a sort of circular containing a number of questions, to
which he solicited answers, and these, as might be ima-
gined, were all found to be according to his wishes.
This strange circular is to be found in the eighth and
tenth pages of the third volume of the Memoires His-
120 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
toriques. Did not subsequent facts and the whole
conduct of the Jesuits render it credible, we should
have hesitated to insert it as an historical truth, so
strange does the document appear to us. Here it is: —
*' I. Is the frequent use of ashes (burnt cow's dung)
necessary for the Christians of these missions 1 They
answered in the affirmative.
" II. As the Pariahs are looked upon in a civil light
as so despicable that it is' almost impossible to describe
how far the prejudice is carried against them, ought
they to assemble in the same place, or in the same
church, with other Christians of a higher caste? They
ansiuered in the negative.
" III. Are the missionaries obliged to enter into the
houses of the Pariahs to give them spiritual succour,
while there are other means of arriving at the same
end, as is remarked elsewhere? They answered in
the negative.
" IV. Ought we, in the said missions, to employ
spittle in conferring the sacrament of baptism 1 They
answered in the negative.
" V. Ought we to forbid the Christians to celebrate
those brilliant and joyous fetes which are given by
parents when their young daughters ' ont pour la pre-
miere fois la maladie des mois?' They answered in
the negative.
" VI. Ought we to forbid the custom observed at
marriages of breaking the cocoa-nut ? They answered
in the negative.
" VII. Ought the wives of the Christians to be
obliged to change their I'aly or nuptial cord ? They
answered in the negative.'^
And he, Father Tachard, was not content with the
mere signature ; he wanted, also, a solemn oath —
" I, John Venant Bouchct, priest of the Society of
Jesus, and Superior of the Carnatic Mission, do testify
and swear, on my faith as priest, that the observance
of the rites, as set forth in the preceding answers, is
MISSIONS. 121
of the greatest necessity to these missions, as well for
tlicir preservation as for the conversion of tlie heathen.
Further, it appears to me, tliat tlie introduction of any
other usage contrary to these, would be attended
WITH EVIDENT DANGER TO THE SALVATION OP THE SOULS
OP THE NEOPHYTES. Thus I answor the reverend
father superior general, Avho orders me to send him
my opinion as to these rites, and to confirm it hy an
oath, for assurance and faith of which I here sign my
name. Signed, Nov. 3, 1704, in the Mission of the
Carnatic. Jean Venant Bouchet."
Fathers Peter Mauduit, Phihp de la Fontaine, Peter
de la Lane, and Gilbert le Petit took the same oath,
and attested it by their signatures, and after like
fashion swore all the Portuguese Jesuits in Madura
and Mysore.
Whilst two Jesuits were dispatched to Home with this
document, F. Tachard set another battery at work. The
Bishops of Goa and of St Thomas were creatures of
the Jesuits, and altogether devoted to their interest.
At the instigation of the fathers, they, respectively,
published an ordinance, by which, on their own autho-
rity, they annulled the decree of the legate, under the
specious pretext that they were not satisfied that this
prelate's power and authority were sufficient to enact it.
The Bishop of Goa, to whom the Pope had sent De
Tournon as his representative, to whom he had grant-
ed full and unlimited power, went still further, and
had the impudence to write to the Pope, telling him
that he, the bishop, had annulled the decree of the
patriarch, not knowing that he had power to publish it.
The Pope was highly incensed, both against the
bishops and Jesuits, and on the 4th January 1707
he fulminated a brief against the bishop's declaration
regarding De Tournon's decree, giving his full sanction
to the legate's decision in all its parts. At the same
time he wrote a terrible letter of admonition to the
122 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
Bishop of Goa, reproaching him for his impudence, and
threatening to depose him.
One would now, perhaps, imagine that the Jesuits
are going to acquiesce in these ordinances, which, ift
fact, are merely directed to abohsh Pagan superstition,
too abominable even in the eyes of a Popish pre-
late. Doubtless, these champions of Rome, these de-
vout servants of the Holy See, to which they are
bound by a special vow, are going to yield implicit
obedience to the supreme head of their Church. Far
from it. On the contrar}^ the Jesuits added per-
jury to disobedience, and uttered falsehoods so bold
and so barefaced, as Jesuits alone are capable of*
Fathers Bouchet and Lainez were unsuccessful in their
mission to Rome. Before they had even reached the
capital, the decree of the legate had been confirmed
by a decree from the General Inquisition, dated 6th
January 1706. The Pope received them very coldly;
and while they were in Rome, he published his brief
against the Bishops of Goa and St Thomas, and con-
firmed the ordinances of the patriarch. Well I can it
be behoved — would it be credited, that there could be
found two men, even among these Jesuits, so lost to
all sentiments of probity and honour, as to declare on
their return that the Pope had received them with the
greatest kindness, and that the decree of the legate De
Tournon had been abrogated ! Great was the astonish-
ment of the missionaries of the other orders, and of
some few Christians who viewed with abhorrence so
much idolatry as was introduced into the religion of
Christ. But after the first moment of surprise was
over, they began to doubt the veracity of the Jesuits'
report, and sent a memorial to Rome to ascertain the
whole truth. The Jesuits attempted to intercept this ;
but the messenger with great diflficulty escaped an
ambush that had been laid for him near Milan, and
at length arrived at Rome. We shall say nothing
MISSIONS. 123
regarding the indignation of Pope Clement XL on hear-
ing this. We sliall only report part of his brief, which
removes all doubt regarding the guilt of the Jesuits : —
" To the Bishop of St Thomas of MeUapar, Pope
Clement XI. tvisheth health, ^^c.
*' We have learned with the greatest sorrow, that it
has been divulged in your country (India) that wc
have nullified and abrogated the ordinances contained in
a decree of our venerable brother, Cardinal de Tour-
non, dated 23d June 1704, Pondicherry, whither he had
gone on his way to China ; and that we have, moreover,
permitted and approved of those rites and ceremonies
which in the aforesaid decree are declared to be in-
fected with superstition. Ardently wishing, that in a
matter of such importance, not only you, but by your
care all the other bishops and missionaries, should
know the truth, we have thought proper to send to
you the joint documents,* authenticated by an aposto-
lical notary, and by the seal of the General Inquisition ;
and we beg of the princes of the apostles, &c.
" Bome, Sej^t. 17, 1712."
Before we proceed further in our narrative, we
must go back some few years, and resume the history
of the Patriarch de Tournon, who, after having pub-
lished his decree at Pondicherry, proceeded to China,
where he arrived in 1705. The Jesuits were already
there. Before attempting to penetrate into this vast
empire, they had carefully studied the habits of that
(comparatively) scientific and learned people ; and, to
succeed in their enterprise, they resolved upon flatter-
ing the national prejudices, as well as instructing the
natives in the sciences and arts. Towards the end
of the sixteenth century, Father Ricci made his first
* The decree of the Inquisition of 1706, and his own of 1707, approving
and confirming De Tournon's decree.
124 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
entrance into China, and received a very friendly wel-
come, because he was an able mathematician, and could
repeat from memory the most important passages of
Confucius. The emperor esteemed him much for a clock
which struck the hours, and which had been made pur-
posely for him by the Jesuit ; and still more for a map,
far superior to anything the Chinese had attempted in
that department of knowledge.* But from their too
great desire to please the Chinese, the Jesuits did here
as they had already done in Madura — they allowed the
Christian religion to be contaminated with idolatrous
practices, and adapted themselves to all the manners of
the Chinese. Ranke says that llicci died in 1610, not
by excess of labour merely, but more especially by the
many visits, the long fastings, and all the other duties
of Chinese society and etiquette.*
The first step of the Patriarch de Tournon, on enter-
ing the Chinese Empire, was to summon all the mis-
sionaries and priests he was able, to Canton, and to
declare to them that he was determined to tolerate no
idolatrous superstition whatever. In consequence, he
commanded them to remove all idolatrous emblems
from their churches. The Chinese Jesuits seem to
have shewn more of the hypocrite than those of Ma-
dura had done. They manifested no opposition what-
ever to the commands of the patriarch, and obtained
for him a very kind reception from the Emperor
Thang-hi. But he enjoyed the imperial favour for a
very short time indeed. The Jesuits secretly stirred
up the emperor against him, by representing to him
that the legate despised the Chinese, their sovereign,
and their religion, and that he was the instigator and
adviser of the Bishop of Conon, who was apostohc-
vicar in the province of Foukin, and who had pro-
hibited some of the heathen superstitions, in compliance
with the patriarch's desire. The emperor, indignant
* Ranke's Hist, of the Popes, vol. ii. p. 230. Eng. trans. * Ibid.
MISSIONS. 125
at this, by a decree in August 1706, banished the
legate from his dominions, and by a subsequent one,
tlie Bishop of Conon.* The Jesuits, these diabohcal
sons of liypocr-isy, exulting in their hearts at the defeat
of their enemies, had the impudence — -we should say,
the cruelty — to insult their grief by a letter full of
false condolences and tears, which they sent to De
Tournon, while still in Nankin. However, it does
not seem that the prelate was the dupe of their arts,
as may be perceived from the following noble and
pathetic answer to the fathers of the Society residing
at Fekin : —
" We have received, reverend fathers, in a letter of
your reverences, full of grief, the decree of the 16th
December 1706, against the most illustrious Bishop of
Conon and others You say that this event causes
you grief and affliction. Would to God that your
affliction would lead you to repentance ! I should re-
joice at it, because it would be acceptable to God, and
might be the means of your salvation.
"Night and day I shed tears before God, not less
for the distressed state of the mission, than on account
of those u'Jio are the causes of its ajjliction ; for, if I
kneiu not the cause of the evil, and the authors of it,
I might endure all more cheerfully. The Holy See
has condemned your practices ; but much more to
be detested is that unrestrained licence tvith which
you try to bury your shame under the ruins of the
mission. You have not lent your ears to salutary
counsel ; and now you betake yourselves to means
that cause horror (modo ad horrenda confugitis).
" What shall I say ? Wo is me ! The cause has
* Maigrot. "We do not iu the least wish to diminish the merit and the
good intention of these two prelates, "We even believe that M. de Tour-
non was an excellent man. We only wish to observe that both he and
Maigrot were Frenchmen ; that very many of the French prelates always
evinced great enmity towards the Jesuits, and that this, perhaps, had
£ome influence in stimulating their zeal for the purity of the Christian
religion.
126 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
been determined, but the error continues ; the mission
will be destroyed sooner than it can be reformed.
" However, your reverences are not in earnest, but
merely jesting {ludiint non dolent reverentice vestrcB),
when you represent tlie emperor as being angry with
you — the emperor who does not act but according to
your wishes. He would assuredly be angry if he knew
(God forbid!) what injuries you have caused to his
glory What faith can I place upon those who in
all their intercourse with me have used nothing but
insidious devices? .... I pray of Him who has re-
served revenge for Himself, not to give you the recom-
pence you deserve, nor to measure to you with the
same measure ye have meted to your neighbour .If
you knew the emperor so well as to make you think
he deserves the name of Herod, why had you recourse
to him ? . . . . Why have you malignantly excited his
hatred against an apostoUc legate ? . . . . Would to God
that you would repent from your hearts ! — ^Yours, &c.
''Nankin, 17th January 1708."
But if the prelate was well acquainted with all the
Jesuitical cunning, he did not know the extent of their
wickedness. Soon after De Tournon had sent this
letter, he was arrested by order of the emperor (we
may well suppose at whose instigation), sent to Macao,
and delivered up to the Portuguese. The Bishop of
Macao, who was another creature of the Jesuits, loaded
him with chains, and threw him into prison. ^ It is
highly instructive to read the bull of excommunication
which Pope Clement XL fulminated against the Bishop
of Macao for this deed. He complained that a Papal
legate had been arrested, " not by pagans, but by
Christian magistrates and officers, who, forgetful of his
sacred character, of his dignity, &c., had dared to lay
their hands upon him, and to make him endure such
indignities and tortures that the heathen themselves
were horror-struck — ij^sis exhorrescentihus ethnicis,'^
MISSIONS. 127
In the same bull the Pope lets us know that De
Toiirnon, for certain causes, had been subjected to the
ecclesiastical censures of the Church, the College, and
Seminary of the Jesuits, which leaves no doubt as to
the authors of the capture and ill treatment of the
prelate, who was used like the worst of criminals, all ta
gratify the revenge of the Jesuits. To console De
Tournon for all these hardships, Clemens bestowed
upon him the cardinal's hat ; but, alas ! the prisoner
did not rejoice long in this high honour. His life was
near a close. The ill treatment, and, as many say, the
fastings, which he endured, brought his troubles to an
end. He died in 1710, at the age of forty-two. Oh !
one is almost tempted to implore the vengeance of God
upon such sacrilegious men, who, calling themselves
Christians — nay, most perfect Christians — condemned
to exquisite tortures, and to a most miserable and pro^.
tracted death, this noble-hearted man, for attempting
to purify the religion of Christ from pagan supersti^
tion. So perished De Tournon, a man certainly one
of the best prelates of the Romish Church. Clement
XL eulogised him in a public consistory, and, as we
have said, excommunicated the Bishop of Macao. We
shall not add a word of observation ; the facts speak
clearly for themselves.
We shall now resume our narrative about the
Malabar rites, and endeavour to bring it to a speedy
conclusion ; the facts which we have already reported
being more than sufficient to give a very clear idea of
the religious teaching of the Jesuits in India, and of
their deportment there. Clement XL, in 1719 ; Bene-
dict XIIL, in 1727 ; Clement XIL, in 1734 and 1739,
pubhshed briefs upon briefs to oblige the Jesuits to
submit to the decree of Cardinal de Tournon, but in
vain. The Jesuits either refused or eluded obedience
to them. And when Clement XIL, in 1739, forced
them to take a very stringent oath* to obey the
^ I, N., of the order N., or Society of Jesus, sent, designated as a misr
128 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
decree, every Jesuit took it, but no one observed it;
finding a specious excuse for not doing so in that doc-
trine of theirs, then in full force, which declares that
*' the man who makes an oath witli his mouth, without
the consent of his mind, is not obliged to keep the
oath, because he had not sworn, but only jested."
At last Benedict XIV. resolved to put an end to the
contest, by pubUshiog, in 1741, a terrible bull, in
which he calls the Jesuits chsobedient, contumacious,
.crafty, and reprobate men {inobedientes, contumaces,
captiosi, et 2^erditi homines), and in which he made
such stringent and undoubted provisions, that it was a
difficult matter to evade obeying it; and especially
after the Pope, by another brief in the following year,
commanded that the brief of 1741 be read every Sab-
bath-day in all the houses, churches, and colleges of
the Society.
The influence of the Jesuits in India now began to
decline rapidly. Their Saniassi were discovered to be
sionary, to the kiDgdom or province of N. in the East Indies, by the
Apostolic See, by my superiors, according to the powers granted to them
by the Apostolic See, obeying the precept of our Holy Lord Pope Clement
XII., in his Apostolic Letter, issued in the form of a brief, on the 13th
day of May 1739, enjoining all the missionaries in the said missions to
take an oath that they will faithfully observe the apostolic determination
concerning the Malabar rites, according to the tenor of the Apostolic
Letter in the form of a brief of the same our Holy Lord, dated 24th
August 1734, and beginning Com2)C)'tum deploratumque, well known to
me by my reading the whole of that brief, promise that I will obey fully
and faithfully, that I will observe it exactly, cntirchj, ahsolutthj, and
inviolabUi, and that I will fulfil it without any tergiversation; moreover,
that I will instruct the Christians committed to my charge according to
the tenor of the said brief, as well in my preaching as in my private
ministrations, and especially the catechumens before they shall be bap-
tized ; and unless they promise that they will observe the said brief, with
its determinations and prohibitions, that I will not baptize them ; further,
that I shall take care, with all possible zeal and diligence, that the cere-
monies of the heathen be abolished, and these rites practised and retained
by the Christians which the Catholic Church had piously decreed.
But if at any time (which may Grod forbid !) I should oppose (that brief),
€ither in whole or in part, so often do I declare and acknowledge myself
subject to the penalties imposed by our Holy Lord, whether in the decree
or in the Apostolic Letter, as above, concerning the taking of this oath,
in like manner well known to me by reading the whole thereof. Thus,
touching tlie Holy Gospels, I promise, vow, and swear, so may God help
me, and these God's Holy Gospels ! Signed with my own hand — N."
MISSIONS, 129
impostors. The war that bco-an shortly after between
France and Eno-land caused still greater damage ; and
when their order was abohshed in 1773, the Jesuits
had httle or no influence in India. — These are the
principal features of the missions in India, properly so
called. In Japan, that turbulent and warlike country,
the Jesuits adopted a different and more appropriate
method to acquire influence among the people. Throw-
ing away somewhat of their cunning and pretended
sanctity, they espoused the cause of one or other of the
various parties who were disputing for power, were
cherished, respected, and permitted to preach their
religion, if the party they sided with were triumphant ;
persecuted, exiled, and put to death if it were van-
quished. The hundreds of Jesuits who are represented
to us as having perished martyrs for their faith were
oftener executed as unsuccessful conspirators. The
Japanese were not so bigoted a race as the Indians,
and the Bonzes, their priests, were not all-powerful
like the Brahmins. The persecutions they exercised
against their dangerous rivals, the Jesuits, could not
be successful but when the people and the sovereign
were off'ended against them, not as missionaries, but
as defeated malcontents and conspirators. The Jesuits
maintained their ground in Japan with various vicissi-
tudes, till they were suppressed. In China, also,
they maintained their ground by the same means
which opened it for their reception — they conformed
themselves to the manners and customs of the people
as far as they could, and it appears that they partly
succeeded in conquering some of their national pre-
judices ; they were at least supported by the higher
classes, who held them in much esteem for their learn-
ing, and so much respected that some were made
mandarins ; and even when the Christians were perse-
cuted as dangerous conspirators, the Jesuits were left
unmolested. However, we possess few documents,
excepting those of the Jesuit historians relating their
130 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
own deeds, whereby to ascertain the real truth regard-
ing their condition in that country.
The Jesuits assure us that milHons of idolaters were
converted by them in all these countries, but their
fabulous narrations are contradicted by facts. For,
when a statistical account was made in 1760, of all
the Christians residing in India and Japan, the num-
ber was found to be less than a half of what Xavier
alone is said to have converted, and more than one
hundred times less than had been accomplished by the
united labours of all the Jesuit missionaries. This
reminds us of the computation made by a witty person
of all the Arabians killed by the French bulletins from
1831 to 1841, which three or four times outnumbered
the whole Arabian population.
In all these countries the Jesuits derived from their
converts great contributions ; but of their traffic more
anon.
We have thus given an outline of these celebrated
missions, and we are sorry that we cannot extend the
recital of them any further. A characteristic fact
ascertained from an accurate study of their missions
is, that the Jesuit missionaries, with the view of domi-
neering over these countries, altogether regardless of
the interests of the Christian religion, slandered and
persecuted all other missionaries, even although they
were Roman Catholics. And so they do still.
We must further observe, that the Jesuits, these so-
called fervent and unexceptionable Roman Catholics,
lived for more than fifty years in open rebellion against
the chief of their Church — God on earth — the infallible
vicegerent of Christ — and committed during that same
period as many sacrileges as were the sacerdotal func-
tions they performed ; for, since by the non-observance
of the Cardinal de Tournon's decree, they incurred a
suspension a divinis, which means, suspension from the
exercise of their ministry — whatever sacerdotal act
they performed, they committed a sacrilege.
MISSIONS. 131
But metliinks I hear some one say, do you believe
that the court of Home persisted in such a contest be-
cause she abhorred such idohitrous practices ? By no
means. The Popes fought for their authority, for tlie
infalhbihty of their oracles, and not to uphold the
purity of the Christian religion. Superstition —
idolatry — they like, they encourage, they live by it.
Under their eyes such acts of idolatrous abominations
are daily committed, that those of India become insig-
nificant when compared with them. I beg permission
to relate only one, which, if the fact could not be as-
certained by any one every year in many of the
Italian towns, I fear would not be credited, so very
sacrilegious is it. In the httie town of San Lorenzo
in Campo,* forty miles distant from Ancona, the fol-
lowing procession takes place on the Good Friday of
every year. The line of procession extends from the
town, through an almost open country, for about a
mile and a half, the whole way having been previously
prepared for the purpose. On platforms, erected at
certain distances, the different stages of our Saviour's
passion are represented. On one of them you see the
judgment-seat, and Pilate condemning Christ to death ;
on another, Christ crowned with thorns; on a third,
Christ falling under the load of the cross on his way
to Calvary, and so on. Next comes the crucifixion,
represented in four different acts. The first exhibits
Christ with one of his hands nailed to the cross ; the
second, with both his hands nailed; the third, with
both hands and feet ; and in the foui'th, our holy Re-
deemer is exhibited as expiring, and with his breast
pierced by a spear. At the foot of the cross may be
seen the three Maries. All these personages chosen
to represent our Lord's passion, are picked out from
the very dregs of the people, and are paid more or less,
according to the uneasiness of the posture which they
* I choose to speak of the procession held in this town, because I have
there witnessed it myself.
132 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS. ->
are made to assume. He who personates our Saviour
receives the greatest pay, a crown ; while the respec-
tive representatives of Pilate and Mary obtain the
smallest named, eighteenpence. All these sacri-
legous pantomimers are at their post half an hour
before the procession begins, and dressed suitably
to the character impersonated by each. The mis-
creant who hangs upon the cross (we shudder to relate
such abominations) has only a belt around his middle,
the cross being so constructed as to lessen the diffi-
culty of his posture. About an hour and a half after
sunset, the priests, in their pontifical robes, issue from
the church, accompanied by all the civil authorities,
and by a great concourse of citizens dressed in mourn-
ing, and carrying lighted torches in their hands. On
their way they kneel down before every platform,
offer up a prayer, and sing a part of some sacred
hymn ! This impious ceremony is performed with be-
coming gravity so soon as the priests and the bulk of
the procession draw nigh to tlie respective platforms ;
but before their arrival, and after their departure, the
scene presents a most revolting and disgusting spec-
tacle. Many of the lazzaroni go round, laughing
and shouting, and address those who impersonate our
Saviour and the Virgin, in the most insulting and
profane language. You may hear many saying, " Ha,
ha ! thou art here, Theresa ! Thou art the Virgin,
art thou not ? Ah, ah ! you " — (modesty forbids us
to repeat the remainder of the sentence). " Ah I
Frances, thou art the Magdalen ! By my troth, it is
not long since thou repentedst" — or, "Oh, Paul I
Paul ! there is some mistake. Thou oughtest to repre-
sent the impenitent robber, and not the Christ, thou
arrant thief I " But we must draw a veil over the rest
of that infernal scene.
So abhorrent is idolatry to the Court of Rome I
'^6^ .^.-Z^a^niS
THE GENERALS OF THfcJ OKDEK.
CHAPTER YIII.
1556-1581. ■
THE SECOND, THIRD, AND FOURTH GENERALS OF
THE ORDER.
Many were the trials tlie Jesuits had to encounter after
the death of Loyola. The moment he expired, the pro-
fessed memhers who were at Kome appointed Lainez
Vicar-General, although he was at the time dangerously
ill, fixing, at the same time, the month of November
for the election of the new General. No objection
could be raised against the nomination of Lainez, he
being without contradiction the most prominent living
member of the Society. The difUculties only began
when the Vicar-General adjourned the General Con-
gregation sine die. Lainez was constrained to take
this step because Philip IL of Spain had forbidden any
of his subjects to leave his dominions, as he was then
at war with the Pope.
Since that fatal epoch in which Clement VIL, for
the benefit of his family (the Medici), had betrayed
the glory and destinies of Italy into the hands of the
house of Austria, the unfortunate peninsula (if- we
except Venice) became an imperial fief, and the sub-
sequent popes the Emperor's chief vassals. Paul IV.,
although worn out with years, conceived the bold
idea of freeing Italy from the Austrian yoke. *' He
would sit," says llanke, quoting Xavagero, " for long
hours over the black, thick, tiery wine of Naples,
his usual drink, and pour forth torrents of stormy
eloquence against these schismatics and heretics —
accursed of God — that evil generation of Jew and
K
134- HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
Moor — that scum of the world, and other titles equally
complimentary, which he bestowed with unsparing-
liberality on everything Spanish." * And so intense
was his hatred against the house of Austria, that he
made a strict alliance with the Protestant leader,
Albert of Brandenburg, and formed his regiments
almost entirely of Protestants, to fight against a Ro-
man Catliolic king. "And, as if this were not enough,
the Pope, the so-called chief of Christianity, made
proposals to Soliman I., the great enemy of the
Christian name, to enter mto an alliance with him,
in order to destroy the ultra-Roman Catholic and
bigoted Philip 11.
The Spanish Jesuits thus prevented from going
to Rome, the General Congregation, as we have
said, was postponed. This began the strife. Private
ambition broke forth, and threw the community into
great confusion. The revolt was headed by the vio-
lent Bobadilla. He prevailed upon Rodriguez, Brouet,
and two or three others, to join him in reproaching
the tyranny and despotism of Lainez. They pre-
tended that he had no right to possess, alone, the su-
preme authority, which ought to reside in all the sur-
viving founders of the order till a General was elected.
Pamphlets were addressed to the Pope, accusing the
Vicar-General of entertaining the design to repair to
Spain for the purpose of holding the Congregation,
and of establishing the seat of the order in that coun-
try. The Pope, upon this announcement, became
furious ; he thundered imprecations against the So-
ciety ; and when Lainez presented himself to have an
audience, he refused to see him, and ordered him to
give up, within three days, all the constitutions and
ordinances of the Society, with the name of every
professed member resident at Rome, and forbade any
one of the latter to leave the capital. The storm,
it is evident, was gaining strength, but Lainez was
* Eanke's Uist. of the Popes, vol. i. p. 217. (Eng. trans.)
THE GENERALS OF THE ORDER. 135
an expert and skilful pilot. Inferior to Loyola in
natural <>ifts, in firmness of character, in boldness and
energy, he was his superior in cunning, in reflection,
in patience. Ignatius, the imperious ex-ofliccr, in
the same circumstances, would have scourged Boba-
dilla, dismissed some rioters from the Society, and
obliged the others to fall at his feet and ask forgive-
ness. The politician Lainez avoided combat in an open
field, hoping to gain the battle by stratagem. He
quietly and stealthily got possession of all Bobadilla's
writings on the subject,* learned from them what were
his enemies' projects, prepared his means of defence
accordingly, detached Rodriguez and Brouet from
Bobadilla's interest by caresses and promises, sent the
latter to reform a convent of Franciscan friars at Fo-
ligno, and condemned Gorgodanuz, the most pertina-
cious of the rebels, to say one pater noster and one
ave Maria ! When a cardinal related this fact to the
Pope, Paul crossed himself as at something strange and
prodigious.f Sacchini pretends that the Pope made the
sign of the cross, being filled with wonder at the blind-
ness of the rebels ; but assuredly Paul was struck at
the supremely cunning pohcy of the Vicar-General.J
The revolt was, however, subdued, the Pope ap-
peased, and soon after the war was also brought to an
end. The Duke of Alva, that sanguinary and ferocious
* The passage of Saccliini is most instructive upon this point.
" Lainez," says he, " did not write a shigle word on the matter ; on the
contrary, BohadilUx and Gorgodanuz did nothing else than issue pamphlet
upon pamphlet, but it always happened l)y the Divine will (Divino tamen
consilio Jicb(it), that their writings fell into the Yicar-General's hand.
Sometimes they (Lainez's enemies) imprudently drt)pped the writings in
the street, sometimes they negligently left them in their rooms unlocked,
at other times they were delivered up to Lainez by the very persons to
whom they were addressed. " In other words, Lainez, by the most ignoble
proceedings and abject espionage, made himself master of his enemies*
writings ; yet the Jesuit historian says " that it happened JJivino consilio."
I wonder he docs not add, ad majorem Dei gloriam.
t Sach. lib. i. § 86.
X The act of makiiig the sign of the cross is very significant. It is still
the custom in Italy tor the common people to do so on hearing of some
great aud unwonted crime, or of some extraordiuaxy event.
136 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
butcher of the Belgians, conqueror of the Papal troops
and of the allied armies, entered vanquished Rome,
craved for an audience of the Pontiff, threw himself at
his feet, and implored his forgiveness for having dared
to fight against him. What a strange piece of contra-
diction is man !
The peace established between King Philip and the
Pope made a free passage between Italy and Spain.
The fathers arrived in Rome, and the General Con-
gregation met on the 19th of June 1558.
On the 2d of July, while the fathers were on the
point of proceeding to the election of the General,
Cardinal Pacheco presented himself to the conclave in
the Pope's name, and after some trifling compliments,
said he was ready to act as secretary and teller of the
ballot. We cannot imagine the reason Paul had for
taking such a precaution, unless he was afraid lest Bor-
gia should be elected General — Borgia, the companion,
tlie friend of Charles V. and of his son. The Cardinal,
however, took his place among the fathers, and pre-
pared to act as secretary. The schedules, which had
been put into an urn by each elector, having been with-
drawn and examined, the Cardinal announced that
Lainez was elected by a majority of 13 to 7. He was
in consecpience proclaimed General, and the Jesuits
went in one after another to pay him homage, and to
kiss his hands on their bended knees.
The Congregation then proceeded to dispose of other
business. There was first of all a discussion as to
whether or not the Constitutions should be modified.
This was answered in the negative. It must be ob-
served, however, that Lainez, in the margin of the
16th chapter of the fourth part of the Constitutions,
where it is prescribed that in the School of Theology
the scholastic doctrine of St Thomas shall be explained,
had inserted a declaration, " that if any book of the-
ology could be found more adapted to the times, it
shall be taught." An liistorian very judiciously re-
THE GENERALS OF THE ORDER. 137
marks, tliat Lalncz appears already to have formed
the project of estal)llsliing a new doctrine, wliich was
propounded by Molina soon after. The original ma-
nuscripts, which were written by Ignatius in Spanish,
were next confronted with the Latin version by Po-
lancus. The latter was approved of, and ordered to
be printed by the press of the Roman College, and
this was immediately executed — the first edition of
the Constitutions bearing the date of 1558.
But whilst in the middle of their legislative labours,
they were startled by the arrival of Cardinal Trani,
Avho announced to them that it was the Pope's pleasure
that they should perform the choral office, like all the
other monastic orders, and that the office of General
should only last for three years. The Jesuits remon-
strated, and spoke of their Constitutions, and of the
papal bull that had been issued in their favour. The
cardinal answered that the commands of his holiness
must be obeyed. The Jesuits got up a memorial, and
Lainez and Salmeron went to present it to the Pope.
Paul received them freezingly; and at the first obser-
vation of Lainez, exclaimed, *' You are contumacious
persons. In this matter you act like heretics, and I
fear lest some sectarian should be seen issuing from
your company. But we are firmly resolved to tole-
rate such disorders no longer."* This was the second
time that Lainez had been abruptly and arrogantly
apostrophised by Paul. When he visited him after he
had been chosen Vicar-General, he received the volleys
of insult which the Pope poured upon him with the greatest
submission. But it seems that his patience at this time
gave way, and he boldly answered, that he had not
sought of his own accord to be made General, that he
was ready to give up the office at that very moment, but
that his holiness knew well that the fathers, in pro-
ceeding to the election, had intended to name a General
for life, according to the rules of theu' Constitutions;
* Cret. vol. i. p. 369.
138 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
for the remainder, " we teach," added he, " we preach
against the heretics; on that account they hate us, and
call us Papists. Wherefore your holiness ought to give us
your protection, and evince toward us the yearnings of
a father, rather than find fault with us."* This was the
substance of Lainez's answer, shaped by the Jesuit his-
torians into a more humble and respectful form. But
the irascible and obstinate Paul was unmoved by his
appeal. He told Lainez that he would not accept of
his resignation, that his orders must be executed, and
then dismissed him and his brother envoy. Paul was
fierce and vindictive, and not to be trifled with. He
had accused his own nephews in a full consistory, and
banished them and their families from Rome. His
greatest desire was to see the Inquisition at work.
"Ranke says that he seldom interfered in other matters,
but was never so much as once absent from presiding
every Thursday over the Congregation of the Inqui-
sition. Having such a man to deal with, the Jesuits
w^ere forced to submit to perform the choral oflice, con-
soling themselves with the hope that the next Pope
would be more lenient toward them ; nor were they
disappointed. Medici, the successor of Paul, who took
the name of Pius IV., shewed himself more favourable
to the Company of Jesus; not for love of them, but
out of hatred to his predecessor, who had been his
enemy.t Although he was of a mild and cheerful dis-
position, he made a fearful example of the nephews of
the deceased pontiff. Their crimes assuredly deserved
punishment ; but as it was not in the disposition of
Pius to be cruel or revengeful, he was doubtless insti-
gated to act in this case with unwonted rigour. But
who his instigators were, or whence he derived the
* Cret. vol. i. p 369.
+ Paul IV. had hardly expired, when the Romans, highly incensed at
the miseries caused by the war, and at the severities of the" Inquisition,
rose in a body, and with execrations and curses pulled down the statue
which haxl been erected to him in the beginning of his Pontificate, broke
into the Inquisition, and destroyed every thing in it.
THE GENERALS OP THE ORDER. 139
maliojnant and rctributory inspiration on which he
acted, it would be difficult to determine. We only
know that the Jesuits had been persecuted by the
Caraffas from the beginning, and that '* Pius IV.," as
Cretineau affirms, " shewed himself from first to last
to be more fiivourable to the Jesuits than even Paul
III. had been."* The Jesuits, it is certain, had then
great influence at the Court of Rome. Cardinal Car
rafl'a and the Duke of Palliano, nephews to the late
Pope, along with two of their relatives, were condemned
to death. They were denied their own confessors, and
Jesuits were called in as their spiritual comforters. Cre-
tineau says, that the Duke of Palliano asked Lainez
to send him a Jesuit confessor, while the detractors of
the order think that they intruded themselves, to wit-
ness the agony and death of their enemies. We let
our readers judge for themselves. The unfortunate
culprits were executed during the night of the 6th
and 7th August 1561. The cardinal never for a mo-
ment suspected that they would execute the sentence
upon him. He tried to delay his execution by linger-
ing with his confessor. " Make an end, my lord, we
have other business on hand," exclaimed an officer of
police. A few minutes longer, and the cardinal was a
corpse.
The Society now seemed upon the whole to be in a
prosperous condition, and increased rapidly. Lainez
did not exercise his authority with an iron hand, like
Loyola, but he had great tact, and knew how to govern
a community by cunning policy. Some mishaps, how-
ever, befel the Society. In Grenada, a Jesuit confessor
refused to give absolution to a woman till she had re-
vealed the name of her accomplice in the sin which she
had confessed. This made a great noise. But the Jesuits,
supported by the archbishop and the Inquisition, braved
the opinion of the public so far, that one of them, John
Paminius, declared from the pulpit, as an established
* Cret. vol. i. p. 386.
140 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
doctrine, " that although in general no sin of the most
holy confession ought to be revealed, there may, never-
theless, be circumstances in which the confessor may-
oblige the penitent to discover the accompUce of the
sin, or to give up the names of the persons infected with
heresy, permitting him (the confessor) to denounce the
person or persons to the competent tribunal."*
This of itself shews clearly enough the inviolability
of the secret of confession, yet we must say that these
gentlemen have made great progress since, for now,
without asking the penitent's permission, they betake
themselves at once to the officers of pohce.f However,
it is only the sins committed against rehgion or politics
which never fail to be disclosed ; the ruffian and
assassin need not apprehend that their crimes will be
brought to light.
The next disaster the order encountered was the dis-
pleasure evinced by Philip II. against Francis Borgia,
the ex-Duke of Candia, one of his father's testamentary
executors, and who had a very great influence over
the other sons of Charles V. % The Inquisition, that
faithful satellite of the Spanish crown, to please the
king, condemned two ascetic books by that same Borgia,
who, a few years afterwards, was numbered among the
saints who were worshipped; he himself narrowly
escaped being captured as a heretic. Borgia bore all
this with true Christian humility, as well as some
opposition shewn him by his own subordinates, and
* Saccli. lib. ii. § 131.
t I may here repeat what I have already said in one or two of my for-
mer publications. 'When we in 1848 took possession of the Convent of
La Minerva, the seat of the Inquisition in Rome, we found among other
things a packet of autograph letters, written by the priests of different
countries, revealing various confessions to the Inquisitor. And it was a
very curious thing that the first letter which fell into the hands of Mr
j\Iontecchi, a secretary of State, was from the capuchin of the State
Prison, in which he was a prisoner a few years before. These letters,
which are now out of our reach, are, however, safe, and will, I hope, be
soon published.
X The Jesuits, in this circumstance, were again forbidden to leave
Spain, or to send any money out of the country.
THE GENERALS OF THE ORDER. 141
was consoled by the Pope, who called him to Rome,
and received him with the utmost kindness.
Again, in Montepulciano, a town fifteen miles distant
from Sienna, the Jesuits were accused of immoraUty.
One was charged with having pressed a woman to
go home with him ; another, of having issued from a
brothel; a tliird, of having offered violence to a fe-
male; and Father Gombar, the Superior himself, of
having iUicit intercourse with several ladies, and par-
ticularly with one whose love-letters were found in
his possession. All these were incontestible facts,
proved by sworn witnesses. Now listen to the im-
perturbable impudence of the historian Sacchini upon
this matter. The reason he assigns for all these calum-
nies is, that " the Jesuits confessed almost all the women
in Montepulciano ; that they induced many young
ladies to consecrate themselves to God in monasteries,
and married females to be chaste and faithful wives.
Hence arose the grief and fury {dolor et furor) of those
whose passions could no longer find aliment. They,
therefore, plotted the expulsion of the fathers." What
a set of monsters were these citizens of Montepul-
ciano !
But let us proceed. "The man accused of having
solicited a woman to go with him, was a simpleton, who,
meeting a female on the road, was asked where he was
going, and had the imprudence to answer. It was an
enemy of the order, dressed as a Jesuit, who was seen
to leave the brothel. Gombar, the Rector, did indeed
entertain himself rather long in the confessional, but
then he was engaged in spiritual conversation with the
ladies. Among other penitents, he had two sisters
belonging to a very high family ; and the father, not
being able to undertake the cliarge of both, was forced
to abandon one of them. The one that was dismissed,
out of spite and jealousy, accused the other to her
brother, who forbade her to confess any longer to
Gombar. The letters were falsified, and every other ac-
142 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
cusation was mere calumny." * After such justifications
as these, few will doubt that the Jesuits were guilty.
Gombar, at any rate, frightened by the public rumour,
fled, and Lainez dismissed him from the Society, in
spite of all his entreaties. The town-council stopped
paying the Jesuit teacher the allowed salary. The
College was deserted — no alms ! — no friends ! Poor
Jesuits ! they were starving. And Lainez, after trying
in vain to regain for the College its former good name,
by sending thither some of the best and most conspi-
cuous of the Jesuits, suppressed it altogether in 1563.
Let them after this proclaim their innocence !
Accusations of a like nature were brought against
the Jesuits in Venice, and were corroborated by the
Patriarch. Some of the senators proposed to expel
the Jesuits from the states of the republic, or to make
them submit to the Patriarch's authority ; but the
authority and interference of the Pope brought mat-
ters ao'ain to an accommodation.
Further, all the Jesuits in the CoUeo-e of Milan were
accused of unnatural crimes. Here, also, the facts
were pretty well established. Cretineau himself is
forced to admit the occurrence of individual crimes;
but, although a certain bishop brought forth many
young men as witnesses against the Jesuits, yet the
cardinal, chosen by the Pope to examine into the case,
absolved them.
Meanwhile, at the end of three years, Lainez thought
it would be politic on his part to appear anxious to re-
sign the office. Having consulted his brethren on the
subject, they declared that the office should be perpetual.
We shall here give Bobadilla's answer, on account of
its originality. The formerly fierce opponent of Lainez
writes to him thus from Ragusa : — "My opinion is that
the office of General should be perpetual, according
to the letter of our Constitutions. Let, then, your
reverence keep a firm hold of it for a hundred years,
* Sacch. lib. V. § 107-10.
THE GENERALS OF THE ORDER. 143
and if after your death you should return to hfe, my
advice is that the oiiice be again conferred upon you,
that you may keep it to the day of judgment. And 1
beg of you, for the love of Christ, to keep it, and be
of good cheer," &:c.
Lainez being now assured of the perpetuity of his
office, leaving Salmeron to manage the affairs of Italy,
set out for France, in order that he might take part in
the famous colloquy or conferences of Poissy, of which
more hereafter. From France he passed into Bel-
gium, visited the Ehenish provinces, apart of Germany,
and crossed the Tyrol on his way to Trent.
In all these places Lainez made good use of both
his name and authority, endeavoured to acquire new
protectors for his order, to increase its revenues, to
estabhsh new houses, never forgetting, either in his
sermons or controversies, to throw out slanders, and
vehemently to attack the Protestant cause. He at
last arrived in Trent for the re-opening of the Coun-
cil. This famous assembly, which so solemnly conse-
crated some of the greatest errors that had ever been
given to the world — which interposed an impassable
barrier between Christian and Christian, but which,
nevertheless, the Court of Rome calls most holy, re-
opened on the 18th January 1562. This last Council
had been called for by Luther, by the Protestants,
and all those princes who were desirous to check the
despotism of the Court of Rome, and to give peace
to the Church by mutual concessions between the op-
posing parties. Different successive Popes refused this
as lon^ as possible, dreading the total ruin of their
authority. Yet this assembly, as Fra Paolo, its his-
torian, judiciously remarks, had a result quite opposite
from that which was expected. The Potestants took no
part in the Council's proceedings, the authority of the
Popes was further extended and more firmly established
than ever, and the hope of heaUng the schism in the
Church was altogether blasted.
144 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
The Council commenced its sittings in Trent on the
13th December 1545, was thence transferred to Bolog-
na in March 1547, against the will of the German and
Spanish prelates, who continued at Trent, was inter-
rupted on the 2d of June of the same year, re-opened
in May 1551, was again suspended in April 1552, re-
opened in Trent, as we have said, in January 1562,
and finally closed on the 3d of December 1563. The
Jesuits boast of having had the greatest share in
drawing up the decrees and fixing the dogmas as they
now stand. Salmeron, Brouet, and especially Lainez,
exercised great influence; and, if there were any glory
in upholding erroneous doctrines and the tyrannical
authority of the Pope, it most undoubtedly belonged
to them, nor are we disposed to envy them the dis-
tinction they thus gained.*
Lainez left Trent for Rome, and his whole journey
through Italy was one continued triumph. But, alas !
poor Lainez had not long to taste the sweetness of
adulation. His health, which had always been deli-
cate, became worse and w^orse. He fell seriously ill,
lingered in his bed for two or three months, and
breathed his last on the 19th of January 1565, at the
age of 53.
Lainez was under the middle size, had a fair com-
plexion and cheerfnl countenance, with large bright
eyes, but his appearance was very unprepossessing.
He was gifted with a great facility of elocution, and a
prodigious memory. He left many manuscripts be-
hind him ; some were unfinished, and almost all are
unintelligible, as his handwriting was execrable.
* Lainez, among other exploits, attacked with great violence the autho-
rity of the bishops, and would have had them to be mere tools in the hands
of the Pope. He maintained on another occasion that, "as the slave
possesses less authority than his master, in like manner the Council
could not undertake a reformation upon the matter, the annates being
of Divine right." Again, "as Jesus Christ has the power to dispense
from all sorts of laws, the Pope, his vicar, has the same authority, since
THE Judge and his Lieutenant have the same tribunal," and other
similar blasphemies. See Fra Paolo Sarpi upon the Congregations, 20th
October 1562, and 16th June 1563.
THE GENERALS OF THE ORDER. 145
The day after Laincz expired, the Jesuits in Rome
named Francis Borp;ia Vicar-General, until a now
election should take place. Borgia is one of the saints
and glories of the order, and his history is really a
most extraordinary one. He was descended from that
Alexander VI. who united in his person all the crimes
of past and future Popes, and was a stain to humanity
itself. Our Borgia was, however, a man of the strictest
honesty, and of unhlemished honour. He was hand-
some, brave, the companion in arms and friend of
Charles V., was Duke of Candia and Vice-king of
Barcelona. In 154G, when he was only 36 years
of age, his duchess died. The sight of her beautiful
face, altered and disfigured by death, made such a
powerful impression upon his mind, that he from that
moment resolved to give up all worldly thoughts, and
consecrate himself (as the phrase goes) to God. He
chose the Society of the Jesuits as the safest retreat,
and wrote to Loyola for the purpose. Ignatius' an-
swer begins thus : — " The resolution you have taken,
most illustrious lord, gives me much joy. Let the
angels and saints in heaven give thanks to God, for we
on this earth cannot be sufficiently grateful to God for
the great honour He bestows upon His httle Society
in calling you to join it."*
This man had nine children, some in infancy, and
all under age,, whom he left in the wide world unpro-
tected, to enter the Society. And the angels and
saints ought to praise God for this! Alas for the
moral blindness of perverted human nature ! Loyola
again wrote to him, saying that he accepted him as his
brother, but that, before he could be admitted into the
noviciate, he must settle all his temporal affairs, and
have nothing more to do with the world ; meanwhile,
until he was ready to enter the Society, to keep his
intention a secret. Borgia was admitted into the
house of probation in 1548, and from that moment he
* See the whole letter in Cret. vol. i. p. 294.
146 HISTORY OP THE JESUITS.
became a bigoted fanatic, whose greatest happiness
consisted in lacerating his body. Macaulay says,_ in
an article in the Edinburgh Revieiu, " that it is making
penitence with him to hsten to the recital of his flagel-
lations and his self-inflicted punishments of all kinds."
He had so destroyed his constitution by this absurd
way of trying to please God, that he never had a
single day of good health, and was even once threat-
ened with a gangrene over his whole body. Such was
the man appomted Vicar-General, and afterwards chief
of the order. He had no wish for the honour, con-
sidered the ofiice a burden, and we believe he was
sincere in his humility. The first battle he had to fight
was against the Holy See itself. Almost contempo-
raneously with his nomination, a Dominican friar as-
cended the Papal throne, under the name of Pius V.
A more bigoted, fanatical, cruel, and sanguinary man
never existed. Brought up under the wing of the
Inquisition, he contracted a sort of bhnd passion for
that bloody tribunal, and never felt so happy as
when he heard of some barbarous cruelties inflicted
upon the heretics, or when some hecatombs of these
accursed enemies of Popery were sacrificed at the altar
of his revenge, or when some new instrument of torture
was invented against them. Suffice it to say, that when
he sent his general, Santafiore, to fight against the
French Protestants, he commanded him in the most
peremptory manner to take no Huguenot prisoner, but
to put them one and all to the sword ; and because San-
tafiore had not rigorously executed his commands, he
reproached him in the most bitter manner. And when
that monster of cruelty, the Duke of Alva, had spread
death and desolation over the entire of the Nether-
lands, 18,000 of the inhabitants of which he boasted of
having delivered up into the hands of the executioners,
so pleased was Pius with his deeds, that he sent him the
consecrated hat and sword, as marks of his approval.*
Can this, then, be the rehgion of Christ ? Is it for a
* Ranke, Hist, of the Popes, vol. i. p. 286.
THE GENERALS OF THE OHDER. 147
moment possible that this should be the true religion,
this which erects upon its altars the statues of such
monsters of iniquity, and impiously calls them saints,
to be worshipped in place of God the Lord ? And
among the greatest of these modern saintships stands
forth the name of Pius V. ! This Pope, a most rigorous
observer of all the monastic and superstitious cere-
monies, gave the Jesuits to understand that they should
undertake the choral hours as prescribed by Pius IV.,
and that no Jesuit should be ordained a priest before
he had pronounced the four vows. We shall not repeat
the conversation wdiich took place between the Holy
Father and the saint Borgia, as given by Sacchini and
other historians ; we shall only give some extracts of
the bold and eloquent memorials which the Jesuits
presented to the Pope on this occasion.
After reminding his holiness, in a gentle ^^et ad-
monitory manner, that their Constitutions had been
approved of by three popes, and that they could not be
altered without good reasons for so doing, they proceed
to state, " that their Society had been established to
repel the impious efforts of the heretics, to oppose the
infernal tricks which had been had recourse to to ex-
tino'uish the light of the Catholic truth, and to resist
the barbarous enemies of Christ, who were besiegmg
the holy edifice of the Church, undermining it insen-
sibly ; that, in order that they might be able to resist
this invasion effectually, their holy father Ignatius
thought that it would be better for them to leave
singing to others And did not the same causes
still exist, they inquired, for the exercise of their ac-
tivity, as the signs of the times unmistakably demon-
strated? They submitted that a vast conflagration
was devouring France ; that Germany was in a great
measure consumed ; that England was one heap of
ashes ; that Belgium was falling into ruins ; that Poland
smoked in every quarter ; that the flames were already
blazing around the confines of Italy And they
148 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
should lose their time in undertaking the choral
hours."* On this point the Pope yielded; but, on
the other, he was inflexible, saying, that it was requi-
site that at least as much learning and virtue should be
in a priest as in a Jesuit, even of the class of the Pro-
fessed. This Sacchini denies, affirming that it is more
difficult to make one good Jesuit than a thousand
priests. The Jesuits, wlio stood in need of priests, but
would not enlarge the aristocratic class of the Professed
members, who alone take the four vows, obtained as
usual their end by exercising a little cunning. They
presented themselves for ordination, not as Jesuits,
but as secular ecclesiastics.
We pass over a number of interesting incidents
which happened under the generalship of Borgia
down to the year 1571, when we find the General,
though in very ill health, leaving Rome for Spain and
France, for the purpose of soliciting assistance from
the respective monarchs of these countries to aid the
Venetians in a war against the Turks, who were then
threatening to pour their savage hordes over Europe.
Philip II. joined the league, and his vessels gained
some of the laurels which were won at that ever
memorable battle fought at Lepanto on the 7th Octo-
ber 1571, when the descendants of the Prophet suffered
a defeat from which they have never recovered. Before
Borgia entered Spain, the Inquisition, aware that PhiHp
was on the best terms both with him and the Pope,
published, with the highest eulogium, those same works
which she had proscribed nine years before when the
king frowned upon Father Borgia — a most striking
example of the servility of the Spanish Inquisition
to the crown. From Spain, Borgia proceeded to
Portugal, thence to France, at the very time when
Catherine and Charles were plunged in continual feasts
and pleasures, the forerunner of what they expected
to enjoy on Saint Bartholomew's eve. But we have
no reason to believe that he was at all privy to the
* See Cret. vol. ii. pp. 25 and following.
THE GENERALS OF THE ORDER. 149
plot. It is not at all likciy that the ciinnln*^ and
circumspect Catherine of Mcdicis would be so foolish
as to confide so important a secret to such a weak-
brained man. Borgia witnessed the massacre in the
southern provinces of France, when on his return to
liome, where he arrived on the 28tli of September
1572, and where he expired three days after. So
ended this extraordinary man, whom the Church of
Home has enrolled among the saints. Would to God
that none of them were worse than he !
At the opening of the fourth General Congregation
the Pope inquired of the Jesuit deputies, Avho had
gone up according to custom to ask his benison, " How
many votes each nation had?" The answer was that
" Spain had more votes than all the rest put together."
" And from what nation or nations has the General
been hitherto chosen 1 " " From Spain," was the
reply. " Well," resumed Gregory XIIL, " it would
be but just, then, that you should, for this once, elect
one from some other nation." The deputies remon-
strated ; " but," said the Pope, " Father Mercurianus
is a very good man," and dismissed them. To another
deputation, sent purposely to assert their independence
in the choice of their own General, the Pope answered,
that he did not impugn their right, that he only re-
quested of them to inform him if their choice should fall
upon a Spaniard, before he was officially proclaimed.
The reason of all this was national jealousy, united
to the aversion evinced by Spain and Portugal to all
Christianised Jews and Moors. This aversion was
shared in by the Court of Rome, and w\as now
aroused by the fear of seeing Polancus, a Christianised
Jew, on the point of being elected General of the
order, " and it was not thought desirable that the
supreme authority in a body so powerful and so
monarchically constituted should be confided to such
hands.*
* Sacchiiii iu Eanke's History of the FqpcSj vol. ii. p. 80.
L
150 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
Father Mercurlanus was chosen. He was a sim-
ple and weak old man, a native of Belgium. He
deUvered up the government of the Society first to
Father Palmio, then to Father Manara. This produced
internal troubles and the formation of two parties,
which caused great commotion in the days of his suc-
cessor. Mercurianus exercised very little influence on
the destinies of the order, and was the first General
whose authority was held in little account. He died
on the 1st of August 1580, at which time the Society
numbered 5750 members, 110 houses, and 21 pro-
vinces. The wealth they had acquired was immense ;
it did not matter how it was got, as the end with them
sanctified the means. For example, when the troops
of the ferocious Alva sacked Malines, Father Trigosus
freighted a vessel with victuals and sailed to Mahnes
to buy a great part of the booty, under the pretext of
giving it back to the proprietors. Doubtless, to deceive
the fools, he restored some of it to the proper owners,
but then this was only to a trifling amount ; the re-
mainder and most valuable portion was employed to
adorn the College of Antwerp with regal magnificence.
In France the Jesuits were left heirs to the immense
fortune of the Bishop of Clermont. In Spain they
allured into their Society the representatives of two of
the wealthiest families in that country, for which they
were brought before the tribunal and condemned.
Moreover, Gregory XIII. presented them with enor-
mous sums, and founded no fewer than thirteen of
their colleges, every one of which was richly endowed ;
while in Portugal they were almost masters of the
entire kingdom. We shall by and by examine the
causes of this unparalleled prosperity.
PROCEEDINGS THROUGHOUT EUROPE. 151
CHAPTER IX.
1560-1 GOO.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE JESUITS IN THE DIFFERENT
COUNTRIES OF EUROPE.
ENGLAND.
Many have pronounced it impossible to write an ade-
quate history of the Jesuits, because, being more or
less connected with the history of the world, it is no
easy matter to pass from one event, and from one
country, to another, and yet follow the chronological
order, that the reader may have a clear and consecu-
tive narrative. To obviate this difficulty as far as
possible, we have, in the preceding chapter, which
embraces a period of twenty-five years, related only
the facts connected with the internal history of the
order; we shall now proceed to those which during
nearly the same space of time more or less exercised
an influence upon the history of the different countries
in Europe.
Let us begin with England. After the first expedi-
tion of Brouet and Salmeron in 1541, which we have
already noticed. Great Britain was no longer troubled
with Jesuitical missions till the '' good Queen Mary
had expired, to the inestimable damage of the Catholic
rehgion."* In 1550, however, the Pope despatched
to Ireland the Irish Jesuit, Davis Wolfe, and after
three years more, a bishop, accompanied with other
two Jesuits ; " while," as Sacchini says, " Father
Chimage, an Englishman, returned home, for the
purpose of having his health restored by his own
* Sacch. lib. ii. § 134.
152 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
native air."* These satellites of the Pope entered
the country under fictitious names, and as stealthily
as nocturnal robbers, mendacious in every word they
uttered, and exciting the people to rebellion against
the " impious " queen. However, the vigilance of Eli-
zabeth's police prevented them for the time being from
doing any material injury. Wolfe, guilty of a thousand
immoralities, was dismissed the Society, and the others
were obliged to return to Rome.
About this time (1562), Father Gandon was sent
into Scotland to exhort and encourage Queen Mary to
be faithful to her religion. This Avas, perhaps, the
avowed motive, but, doubtless, he had received similar
instructions to those given by Paul III. to Brouet and
Salmeron. Mary admitted him by a postern door into
her palace, and had three secret conferences with him ;
but his steps were traced, he was pursued, and a pnce
set upon his head. The Jesuit, who, it seems, had no
taste for martyrdom, left Scotland, but not before he
had done some mischief. He departed, along with
several young noblemen, whom he had seduced, and
who accompanied him to be educated in Flanders.
" They were hostages to the Church, and were after-
wards to return home, carrying thither the faith with
them."f About the same period, William Allen, "to
perpetuate," as Butler says, " the Catholic ministry
in England," resolved upon establishing colleges
abroad, in which English priests should be educated,
preparatory to exercising their calling at home. His
exertions were crowned with success. A college, which
he consigned into the hands of the Jesuits, was esta-
bhshed in Douay in 1568, and Pope Gregory XIH.
endowed it with £1500 yearly. When the Jesuits
* It is a remarkable fact that during the reign of the bigoted and per-
secuting Mary, the Jesuits did not make their appearance in England.
Cardinal Pole, to whom they had made several applications to be per-
mitted to establish themselves in Great Britain, always refused his con-
sent. Pole hiev) Loyola intimately.
t Cret. vol. i. p. 4G3,
PROCEEDINGS THROrCHOUT EUROPE. 153
•were expelled from Doiiay, and tlicir college sacked
hy (lie people, the Cardinal of Lorraine called tlicm
to Ivlieims. This happened in 157G. The same Pope
Gregory established another college in Rome for the
education of English youth, and for the purpose of
imbuinp' their minds Avith hatred to their soverei2;n
and country. The Jesuits had the supermtendence
of this also. Hence proceeded those priests and
Jesuits, who, with brands of discord in their hands,
departed to set their country on fire. Many Jesuits
were sent to Great Britain between the years 1^62
and ]580, and they all received the same instructions,
and acted in tlie same manner. Elizabeth, wdio at
the beginning of her reign had exercised a spirit
of toleration towards her Catholic subjects, w^as now
greatly incensed against them, driven, as she was, to
extremities by the continual torrent of abuse which
was poured upon her head by the sectarians of Eome.
The holy Pius V., on the 5th of February 1570, fulmi-
nated a bull of excommunication against "Ehzabeth,
the so-called queen of England, who, after having
usurped the throne, has dared to assume the title of
supremechief of the Church, and, moreover" . . . [here
the bull enumerates all Elizabeth's crimes]. "We,
therefore," the bull continues, " by the authority which
is given to us, declare that the aforesaid Elizabeth, and
all her adherents, have incurred excommunication ;
that she has forfeited her pretended right to the
crown of England; and we deprive her of it, and
of all other rights, domains, privileges, and dignities.
We absolve the Lords and the Commons of the realm,
and all others her subjects, from the oath of allegiance
which they may have tendered to her, prohibiting thtm
from obeying her commands, ordinances, and procla-
mations, under the penalty of being excommunicated
in like manner."*
The abuses poured upon her by priests and Jesuits
* See the whole Bull in Cret. vol. ii. page 241.
154 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
were most revolting and insulting. Without referring
to ancient writers, we shall quote a passage from
Cretineau, a writer of the present civilised and tolerant
age, that our readers may have an idea of what must
have been the scurrility of those times of fanaticism and
intestine commotions. " The Holy See," says the
French historian, "had frequently cursed the heiress
and daughter of Henry VHI. The Cathohcs, on the
other hand, having penetrated, along with all England,
into her licentious and voluptuous private life, refused
to salute the mistress of Leicester with the name of
maiden queen, to worship her caprices, or to applaud
her hypocritical passions."*
Nor were the Roman Catholies merely contented
with attacking Elizabeth by words — their deeds were
yet more criminal. Long before this, Allen solicited
the General of the Jesuits to establish a house in Eng-
land. But it seems that the General and the Pope were
waiting their own time, and that they did not resolve
till the year 1579 to grace Great Britain with a per-
manent Jesuitical establishment. When this resolution
was made known, the most distinguished members of
the Society implored, on their knees (as it is reported),
to be sent to England to brave the persecutions
of Elizabeth; Mercurianus told them, however, that
Enghsh Jesuits should be preferred for this mis-
sion. In consequence of this declaration, Fathers
Campion and Parson were chosen to head the mission,
which was composed of thirteen members.-f It arrived
at the sea-coast of France, about the month of June
1580. Campion and Parson were both fellows of Ox-
ford University, and not the least among its professors
and tutors. It seems that both of them were Catholics at
heart, though they pretended to be Protestants. The
Jesuits affirm that Parson was dismissed the University
because of his Catholic sentiments, while the other
party assigns his immoral conduct as the reason.
* Cret. vol. ii. p. 269. f Cret. vol. ii. p. 255.
PROCEEDINGS THROUGHOUT EUROPE. 155
Both took the oatli; both, we are assured, repented it all
their hves. Both left the university, and after various
vicissitudes, and the necessary probation, were received
among the sons of Loyola. As we may believe, Cecil's
police knew almost all the movements of these self-
invited visitors. Their intended landing in England
was announced to all the authorities, their persons
were carefully described, and orders were given for
arresting them the moment they put foot on shore.
But all was to no purpose. The Jesuits eluded every
vigilance, and Father Parson, upon arriving at Dover,
played to the officer who had the charge of examining
the passengers, a trick that would shame any modern
Robert Macaire. He gave out that he was a captain
returning from Flanders ; and being dressed suitably
to the character assumed, so well did he perform his
part, that the inspecting officer received him with
every species of civility and courtesy, shook hands with
him, and promised, moreover, to shew every attention
to one of the captain's merchant friends, who, as that
impostor intimated, was expected every day from the
Continent, and who proved to be no other than Father
Campion. AVhen the latter arrived in London, Parson
was on the banks of the Thames to receive him, and
saluted and cheered him with the air of one meeting a
long absent friend, so that no one could have suspected
that all was an artifice and a trick.*
The Jesuits, once in Eup-land, lost no time in com-
mencmg operations. A meeting of all the missionaries
and secular priests was summoned. Parson pre-
sided, lie was too cunning to declare publicly the
end of their mission, as he did not wish to frighten the
timid with the announcement of some dangerous en-
terprise. He disclaimed all political objects, and said
that he only aimed at the conversion of England in
co-operation with the secular priests ; and swore that
this was his only intention.| But then appeahng to a
* See Bartoli dell' lug. F. 101, 102, 104 f Bartoli, ibid.
156 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
decree of the Council of Trent, he forbade the Catho-
hcs to attend divine service in Protestant churches,
and recommended strict nonconformity. In the com-
pany of the more faitliful, he inveighed most bitterly
against the queen, and pointed out with what ease she
might be detln-oned, by the assistance of the King of
Spain and tlic Tope. Such exhortations as this caused
a great ferment among the Roman Cathohcs.
'" Swarms of Jcsuits\and Papists (from the seminaries
of Pome and Phehns), hnpclled by rehgious enthusiasm,
sedulously cultivated for that very purpose, and desir-
ous of returning to their own country, were constantly
pouring into the kingdom."* Parson, who was the
Provincial, guided all their movements, and himself
Mcnt from place to place to excite the worst passions
of man's nature in the breasts of those who sought
him, as their spiritual father, to confer peace and con-
solation. A great stir soon became visible among the
Ponian Catholics. People talked of nothing else than
conspiracy and revolt. Sinister rumours were afloat,
and acquired new strength from day to day, as is al-
ways the case in times of excitement, when some
strange idea always pervades the minds of the multi-
tude. It was now the general behef throughout Eng-
land that every Roman Catholic was a traitor, and
at the bidding of the priests was ready to become an
assassin. A general massacre of the Protestants by
the Papists, assisted by the invasion of a foreign
power, was talked of as a matter of more than probable
occurrence. Above all, Ehzabeth — the beloved queen
— the idol of the people — was in danger every moment
of being murdered. Books were daily printed denoun-
cing more or less particularly their abominable ma-
chinations. These gave consistency to the popular
belief. This belief extended from the lowest to the
liighest ranks of society, and put the nation into an
indescribable state of excitement. The government,
* Raiike's Hist, of the Popes, vol. i. p. 512. (Eng. trans.)
TROCEEDINGS THROUGHOUT EUROPE. 157
satisfied that the Jesuits were tlie cause of all these
troubles, aud ^vith tlie view of quieting the popular
commotions, issued a proclamation, -which may have
been considered just in those days, but which we, who
live in a more tolerant age, must unconditionally con-
demn. Among its other enactments were the follow-
ing : — " That whosoever had any children, wards,
kinsmen, or other relations in parts beyond the seas,
should after ten days give in their names to the
ordinary, and within four months call them home
again, and when they had returned, should forthwith
give notice of the same to the said ordinary. That
they should not, directly or indirectly, supply such as
refused to return with any money. That no man
should entertain in his house or harbour any priests
sent forth fi'om the aforesaid seminaries, or Jesuits, or
cherish and relieve them. And that whosoever did to
the contrary, should be accounted a fkvourer of rebels
and seditious persons, and be proceeded against ac-
cording to the kiws of the land."*
The proclamation was boldly answered by pamphlets
from each of the Jesuits. Parson's was full of virulence
towards the Protestants, and Campion's, although writ-
ten in a more moderate tone, was no less offensive. This
last was entitled Ten Reasons. It was a defence of the
Church of Rome and its supremacy, and made no little
noise, f In both of these writings, it was protested
that the Jesuits were in England solely for the pur-
pose of exercising their holy ministry, and not for any
political end whatever ; that, on the contrary, they had
come to modify the Bull of Pius V. Cretineau says,
that " Parson and Campion would not leave Rome
until they obtained from the Holy See this concession
(the modification of the Bull), which would greatly
facihtate their apostolic mission ; even the Protestants
* Camden, a.d. 1580.
+ It was secretly printed in Lady Stour's house, and widely circulated.
—See Cret. vol. ii. p. 272.
158 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
themselves mention this in their annals as a fact."*
And in a note he cites " Camden." We shall quote
for him the passage of the English annalist.
" Robert Parson and Edmund Campion were author-
ised hj Gregory XIII. in these words : — An explica-
tion of the bull issued by Pius V. against Elizabeth
and her adherents is sought for from our supreme
lord, since the Catholics desire that it be thus under-
stood, that it should always bind her and the heretics,
but by no means the Catholics, as matters now stand,
but only when the execution of the same bull be
publicly ordered. The supreme Pontiff granted the
aforesaid grace to Father Eobert Parson and Edmund
Campion when about to set out to England, on the
13th April 1580, in the presence of Father Ohver
Manara assistant."!
We might perhaps say that this pretended conces-
sion is rather an aggravation of the bull than any-
thing else ; but we shall be generous, and give it the
best interpretation possible. But then, if we prove
that all this was a wily cunning contrivance, that the
Jesuits might have greater chance of success in their
treacherous projects, their crime will be still more
execrable. Let us examine. The facts, it is true, are
far from us, and the actors have long ago departed to
their accounts : True ; but then the deductions of
logic from well-authenticated facts still remain to us,
and are equally convincing. The Jesuits assert that
the Pope, out of leniency and benignancy towards
England and its queen, had ordered them not to
* Cret. vol. ii. p. 266.
+ ''Robertus Parsonius et Edmundus Campionus facultatem impetra-
runt, a Gregorio XIII. in li^ec verba. Petatur a summo Domino nostro
explicatio BuUsfi Declaratorite per Pium V. contra Elizabetham et ei ad-
lian-entes, quern Catholicis cupiunt intelligi hoc modo, ut obliget semper
illam et hiereticos, Catholicos vero nullo modo rebus sic stantibus, sed
turn demum quando publica ejusdem Bullas executio fieri poterit. Has
in-:iedictas gratias concessit summus Pontifex Padri Roberto Parsouio et
Kdmundo Canipionio, in Anglicam profecturis die 13 Aprilis 1580, prse-
scate Padre Oliverio Manarco assistente."— Camden, p. 464.
PROCEEDINGS THROUGHOUT EUROPE. 159
f(irce upon the Roman Catholic believers the clause of
his predecessor's bull which forbade them, under pain
of excommunication, to consider Elizabeth as their
legitimate sovereign. Well, if the rest of the Pope's
conduct leads us to believe in the sincerity of this
mandate, we shall absolve them of every crime, and
say that the Jesuits proceeded to England with the
best intentions, and were martyrs to their faith. But
who was this pacific and tolerant Pope ? It was Gre-
gory XIII. ; that same Gregory who, at the news of
Saint Bartholomew's infernal feast, went in procession
to the French Church in Rome, offered up thanksgiv-
ings to the Almighty for the blood of 50,000 of His
creatures barbarously butchered, and had medals
struck to commemorate this glorious event ! It was
this same Gregory who had on the previous year sup-
plied the ruffian Stukely with money, arms, and troops
for the invasion of England, whilst the Catholics in the
interior were ordered to rise in rebellion in his fa-
vour.* It was this identical Gregory who at the same
time sent into Ireland the famous Dr. Sanders, as the
Pope's legate, with a bull declaring the invasion a
regular crusade with all its privileges! It was that
same Gregory who, says Ranke, " excited and en-
couraged all those insurrections which Elizabeth had
to contend with in Ireland."! All these facts, proving
Gregory's inexorable hatred towards the Protestants,
and his determined desire to dethrone Ehzabeth, hap-
pened shortly before and after the mission of the
Jesuits. And yet it is pretended that this same man
forbade the Jesuits from mixing in political affairs, and
that, on the contrary, he charged them to preach obedi-
ence to the queen 1 We believe that few will give the
* It is well knowTi that this adventurer, whom the Pope had made
his chamberlain, when off the coast of Portugal with the fleet which
had been equipped for the invasion, was persuaded by king Sebastian to
accompany him in his enterprise against Morocco, where he perished
along -with the imprudent monarch of Portugal.
t Kaaike's Hist, of the Fojjes, vol. i. p. 324. (Eng. trans.)
160 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
Jesuits credit on that score, but rather will be satisfied
they were sent for the purpose of stirring up a rebellion,
if possible to find an assassin, and that the injunction
was nothing else than a ruse — an act of duplicity where-
with the better to succeed in their treasonable designs.
The government was, however, highly incensed at
their audacity, and attached the utmost importance
to their capture. Another proclamation was issued,
forbidding any one to harbour, protect, or assist the
Jesuits to escape, and that he who did so would be
considered guilt}^ of high treason. This produced an
effect quite contrary to what was intended. Hun-
dreds of persons who, before the proclamation, shewed
no liking for the Jesuits, now risked their fortunes,
their lives, to protect them. So interesting does per-
secution render a man — so generous are the instincts of
the people. All the activity, all the vigilance of the
most energetic and vigilant of governments was for
thirteen months baflled by the dexterity and resources
of the Jesuits. The history of their escapes, and
the daring methods in which they executed them, is
both curious and amusing. Space will not permit us
to indulge in the recital of more than one of those
marvellous escapes. One evening the house in which
Parson had sought a retreat was suddenly surrounded
by a band who were in pursuit of him. Resistance
or concealment was impossible. Parson at once de-
termined on what he would do. He went to the door,
opened it, and calmly asked what they Avanted.
•' The Jesuit," was the reply. " Walk in," said he,
" and search for him quietly ;" and as they entered,
he went out, and made his escape.* The escapes of
Campion were no less wonderful. He himself wrote,
" My dresses are most numerous, my fashions are
various, and as for names, I have an abundance. "j
The government, enraged at being so often baflled,
had recourse, we are sorry to say, to persecution.
*Ann. Litt. 1583. f Bart. dell. Ing. F. 117.
PROCEEDIN'GS THROUGHOUT EUROPE. IGl
Thousands of citizens were thrown into prison for
nonconformity, or on mere suspicion. Domicihary
visits frequently disturbed even the inoffensive and
peaceful Papists, whilst the Jesuit authors of all
these disturbances and miseries laughed at the
abortive attempts of their enemies to capture them.
At last, in July 1581, Elliot, a Papist, betrayed.
Campion. He was arrested along with two other
priests, in a secret closet in a wall of the castle
of Yates. They mounted him on the largest horse
that could be got, tied his legs under it, pinioned his
hands behind his back, and fixed a placard on his hat
with this inscription, in great capitals, " Campion,
the seditious Jesuit." He was brought to London,
surrounded by a great multitude, vociferating impre-
cations and curses upon his head. The shouts of jubi-
lee among the Protestants throughout England were
deafening, and many a sincere person rejoiced at it,
as if by this capture the kingdom was rescued from
imminent danger and certain destruction.
The contradiction which exists between the Protestant
and Catholic writers, regarding the treatment, trial, and
execution of the Jesuits, renders it almost impossible
for us to arrive at the exact truth. The one party calls
them innocent martyrs, the other infernal traitors. The
one complains that they were most unmercifully treated,
the other, that they had too much lenity shewn them.
It is, however, an incontestible f^ict that they were put to
the torture, and Cretineau is right when he exclaims
against the Protestants, who, while professing to abhor
the Papal Inquisition so much, noAv adopted all its bar-
barous proceedings. It may be also true, that a jury
sitting no^v at Westminster w^ould not find sufficient mate-
rial from which to condemn them. But we must remind
the Catholics, that to judge of these events with imparti-
ality, we must transport ourselves to those times, w^hen
Ireland was in an almost continual state of rebellion ;
Avhen England was daily menaced with invasion ; when
162 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
the Roman Catholics of all Europe spoke of another
Saint Batholomew; when torrents of imprecations
were poured out against Elizabeth, her ministers, and
all her Protestant subjects. We must go back to those
times when the Jesuits persuaded the Roman Catholics
that it was a mortal sin for them to acknowledge Eli-
zabeth's right to the throne ; to those times in which
the Jesuitical doctrine, that it was lawful, nay meri-
torious, to kill an excommunicated king, had already
been proclaimed ; finally, to those times when the con-
test had come to this, — " Whether England should be
Protestant under the sway of Elizabeth, or Catholic
under Mary of Scotland, or PhiHp of Spain." That
the Jesuits and the Pope caused all this agitation,
there can be no doubt whatever. Hume, quoting a
passage from Camden, and Walsingham's letter in
Burnet, appears to me to assign the most plausible
reason for it in the following words : — " And though
the exercise of every religion but the established one
was prohibited by the statute, the violation of this law,
by saying mass, and receiving the sacrament in pri-
vate houses, was, in many instances, connived at;
while, on the other hand, the Catholics, at the begin-
nino; of her rei<xn, shewed little reluctance ao;ainst 0*0-
ing to church, or frequenting the ordinary duties of
public worship. The Pope, sensible that this practice
would by degrees reconcile all his partisans to the Re-
formed religion, hastened the publication of the bull,
which excommunicated the queen, and freed her sub-
jects from their oath of allegiance ; and great pains
were taken by the emissaries of Rome to render the
breach between the two religions as wide as possible,
and to make the frequenting of Protestant churches
appear highly criminal in the Catholics. These prac-
tices, with the rebellion which ensued, increased the
vigilence and severity of the government ; but the
Romanists, if their condition were compared with that
of the nonconformists in other countries, and with
PROCEEDINGS THROUGHOUT EUROPE. 1G3
their own maxims where they domineered, could not
justly complain of violence or persecution."*
The truth of this assertion is rendered still more
evident by a petition of the English Catholic priests
themselves, addressed to the Pope, in which they say,
" That those fathers (the Jesuits) were the sole authors
of all the troubles which agitated the English Church;
that, previous to the Jesuits' coming to England, no
Catholic had been accused of high treason ; that
they no sooner made their appearance in Great Bri-
tain, than the aspect of things began to undergo a
change ; that their political ambition wiis manifest ;
and that they had set a price on the crown, and put
the kingdom to auction."! These were the times and
the circumstances in which, on the 20th of November
1581, Campion and fifteen other priests were brought
to trial at Westminster. They were all condemned,
and three Jesuits, Campion, Sherwin, and Briant,
were publicly executed. Cretineau and the other
Jesuit historians give them the name of martyrs.
Hume, on the contrary, following the historians of the
epoch, says, that " Campion was detected in treason-
able practices, and being put to the rack, confessed
his guilt, and was publicly executed." j: It is repeat-
edly affirmed in the Justitia Britannica, and partly
proved, that they were convicted of treason and con-
spiracy against the life of the queen. One strong
proof against Campion, was the production of a letter
which he had found means to forward to Father Pond,
another Jesuit prisoner in the Tower, and in which
he writes : — " I feel in myself courage enough, and
I hope I shall have the strength, not to let drop from
my mouth one single word which may be prejudicial
to the Church of God, no matter what may be the
torments." § But we repeat, even though proofs
had been deficient for a strictly legal condemnation,
* Hume, chap. xl. (a.d, 1579), + See De Thou, a.d. 1587.
J Hume, chap. xli. (a.d. 15Su). § Cret. vol. ii. p. 280.
164 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
there is, nevertheless, a strong moral certitude of their
having been conspirators, purposely sent into England
to cause a revolt, and, if possible, to procure the as-
sassination of the queen. Thus, whatever may be the
objection raised against the legality of the form, no
one will deny the substantial justice by which they
were punished.
After the capture of Campion, Parson, like a prudent
general, not wishing to risk his own person, on which
so much depended, left England for France, where,
feeling himself secure, he gave vent to his hatred,
poured out curses and maledictions on the whole Eng-
lish nation, and set on foot new plots and new conspi-
racies. In conjunction with Dr Allen, the Guises, and
the Bishop of Glasgow (Mary's Resident at the court
of France), he sent over to Scotland Father Creighton,
for the purpose of converting James VI. to Romanism,
and of exciting him to join the Pope and the King of
Spain in war against England, promising him money
and all sorts of tavours from both these monarchs.
Creighton frequently crossed over from France to
Scotfand to effect this league ; and once, when on his
way, the vessel in which he was conveyed being seized,
he tore some papers, with the design of throwing
them into the sea, but tlie wind blowing them back
upon the deck, the pieces were arranged together,
and brouo'ht to lio-ht some dangerous secrets.*
The famous AVilliam Parry was detected about the
same time. This man, who had received the queen's
pardon for a crime deserving capital punishment, went
to travel. He repaired to Venice, where he was per-
suaded by Father Palmio, the Provincial of the
Jesuits in that locality, that he could not do a more
meritorious action than kill his sovereign and benefac-
tress. Campeggio, the Pope's nuncio, approved of
this; and Ragazzoni, the Pope's legate in Paris, to
confirm him in this criminal enterprise, promised liim
* Ca.mdeD in Hume, chap. xli. (a.d. 1584).
PROCEEDINGS TIIROUGliUUT EUROrE. 1G5
from the Holy Sec, not only absolution, but also the
Tope's paternal benediction, and a plenary indulgence
for all his sins. Morgan, a Catholic gentleman resid-
ing in Paris, gave him additional encouragement.
Parry returned to England, where, after some delay,
he disclosed his design to Nevil, Avho resolved to have
a share in the merit of its execution. Both deter-
mined to sacrifice their lives in the fulfilment of a
duty which they were taught was agreeable to the
will of God, and for the interests of the true religion.
But while they were watching for a fit opportunity to
put this execrable parricide into execution, the Earl of
Westmoreland died in exile ; and as Nevil was the next
heir to the family possessions, he, in the hope of being
put into the family estates and honours, betrayed the
whole conspiracy. Parry was arrested, and confessed
his guilt both to the ministry and to the jury who tried
him. The letter of the Cardinal of Como, in Avhich he
announced to Parry that the Holy Father sent him abso-
lution, his blessing, and plenary indulgence, was pro-
duced before the court, and put Parry's declaration
beyond all doubt.* He was condemned, and received
the punishment due to his treason. Parry, among
other revelations, said that he had informed Father
Creighton of his purpose ; and as this Jesuit was in prison
at the time, he was examined concerning Parry. At
first he denied all acquaintance with him, but he sub-
sequently wrote to Walsingham, confessing that Parry
had indeed declared to him his intention of taking the
queen's life, and had also asked his opinion on the
matter ; that he (Creighton) answered that it was not
lawful to do so, oninino non liceret ; that, on being
pressed by Parry, whether, to save the bodies and
souls of many, it was not lawful to take away a single
life, he, the Jesuit, answered, that even in this case one
ought not to attempt such a deed without, at least,
feeling an inspiration from ahove.'\ This ansAver, ia
* State Trials, vol. i. pp. 103, 104. f Camden and De Thou.
166 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS. I
my opinion, was more apt to inflame the fanaticism \
of the man than to check him in his parricidal pro-
jects. And yet this was all that Creighton could
say in his own justification. Now it is astonishing
with what impudence Cretineau tries to pervert the |
truth of this affair. Listen to his narrative. He pre- j
tends that Walsingham had sent Parry to the Conti- ;
nent in order to test the fidelity of the Jesuits ; that
he revealed to many of them his design to murder
Elizabeth, and was dissuaded by all from the commit- j
tal of such an abominable crime ; that, being introduced
by an EngUsh gentleman (Morgan, no doubt) to the I
Pope's legate, Ragazzoni, he, Parry, presented to him
a petition, craving the holy father's blessing, and j
absolution of his sins; that, having returned to I
England, he was introduced to the queen, to whom
he related that the Jesuits, and the partisans of Mary
Stewart, had excited him to take away her life ; that
he was not credited by the queen ; that he had sub-
sequently fallen into indigence ; that misery and de- !
spair had inspired him with the thought of executing
in reality the imaginary crime which he pretended i
to have meditated with the Jesuits.* And to explain j
Cardinal Como's letter, he adds — "As to the Pope's !
indulgences and absolution, no matter how great these ,
favours may appear to the eyes of the pious and the '
faithful, aux yeux de la jyiete, et de la foi, it must, j
nevertheless, be confessed, that every one may obtain
them Avithout being obliged to assassinate a heretic prin- j
cess."t Although the absurdity of these justifications
be already quite manifest, we shall suggest one or two '
observations. What interest could Walsingham have j
had in sending Parry to know the opinion of the ]
Jesuits upon the projected murder of the queen? j
These Jesuits were safe from the minister's anger, since j
* " La misere et le desespoir lui'inspirerent la pensee d'executer en \
realite le crime imaginaire qu'il pretendait avoir medite avec les Je- I
suites." I
+ Cret. vol. ii. p. 302.
PROCEEDINGS THROUGHOUT EUROPE. 1G7
they were in foreign countries. Parry did not set plots
on foot "which should involve many persons, whose
names it might have been useful to know ; he did not
ask to be made privy to any secret, or to be sent back
to England directed to some Popish partisan to dis-
cover and betray him. No — he was only sent for the
pleasure of knowing what answer the Jesuits would
give to his question — " May I, or may I not, kill the
queen?" But Walsingham was not only a stupid, he
was also an ungrateful, minister. He employed a man
in a most serious and delicate affair, he disclosed to
that same man dano-erous and rather disoraceful
secrets, and that man, immediately after he had ac-
complished his mission, was driven to extremities for
want of food ! Alas ! Monsieur Cretineau, your at-
tempted justification proves the culpability of your
Jesuits more forcibly than any other proof could.
A severe law was now^ passed by parliament against
the Jesuits. The law enacted that they should depart
the kingdom within forty days ; that those who should
remain beyond that time, or should afterwards return,
should be guilty of treason ; that those who harboured
or relieved them should be guilty of felony ; that those
who were educated in seminaries, if they did not return
in six months after notice given, and did not submit
themselves to the queen, before a bishop, or two jus-
tices, should be guilty of treason ; and that, if any so
submitting themselves, should Avithin ten years ap-
proach the court, or come within ten miles of it, their
submission should be void.*
Of fifty or sixty Jesuits, a part being frightened, left
England of their own accord, while the rest were dis-
covered and sent away, but only to become still more
dangerous enemies. We beg to quote a passage from
Hume regarding the too famous conspiracy of Babing-
ton, which passage exactly expresses our ideas upon
the subject : —
* 22 Eliz. c. ii.
168 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
'•' The English seminary at Rheims had wrought
themselves up to a high pitch of rage and animosity
against the queen. The recent persecutions from
which they had escaped ; the new rigours which they
knew aAvaited them in the course of their missions ;
the liberty which at present they enjoyed, of declaim-
ing against that princess ; and the contagion of that
religious fury which everywhere surrounded them in
France ; — all these causes had obliterated within them
every maxim of common sense, and every principle ot
morals or humanity. Intoxicated with admiration of
the Divine power and infalhbility of the Pope, they
revered his bull, by which he excommunicated and de-
posed the queen ; and some of them had gone to that
height of extravagance as to assert, that the perform-
ance had been immediately dictated by the Holy
Ghost. The assassination of heretical sovereigns, and
of that princess in particular, was represented as the
most meritorious of all enterprises ; and they taught,
that whoever perished in such attempts, enjoyed with-
out dispute the glorious and never-fading crown of
martyrdom. By such doctrines they instigated a man
of desperate courage, who had served some years in
the low countries under the Prince of Parma, to
attempt the life of Elizabeth ; and this assassin having
made a vow to persevere in his design, was sent over
to Eno'land, and recommended to the confidence of
the more zealous Catholics."*
It would be too tedious to follow the Jesuits in all
their machinations against both the queen and the
state, neither would it afford any additional instruc-
tion. We shall pass in silence the efforts of Father
Garnet to raise a revolt when the Invincible Armada
was approaching. AVe shall not even quote a pas-
sage from Cretineau, where he confesses without the
least hesitation that Pliihp II. had sent a host of
Jesuits along with the Armada, while Father Solarez
* Hume's Hist, of Eng. cliap. xlii.
PROCEEDINGS THROUCnOUT EUROPE. 1G9
by his order went on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to im-
plore Divine aid for its success. AVc shall not further
demonstrate, that if they were not the prime movers of
every plot, they were at least implicated less or more
in them all. Nor shall we detain our readers with
details of the deeds they performed in Scotland, where
their influence depended in great part, as the Jesuits
assert, upon the state of friendship between James and
Elizabeth. We shall merely translate a single passage
from their historian: — "After the death of Mary
Stuart," says Cretineau, "James seemed disposed to
break up all intercourse with England ; and, that this
rupture might be the better pubhcly attested, James
not only granted to the Jesuits a free access into his
dominions, but also himself invited them to come."*
AVe give this quotation as we find it, without being
responsible for its veracity ; but it will be sufficient to
prove that the Jesuits, even from the confession of
their own party, were the most perfidious and dange-
rous enemies that England ever had to contend with.
And as they were then, so they are still. If they
hated England and Queen Elizabeth in the 16th
century, they bear no less hate to England and Queen
Victoria in the 19th. Let an opportunity present
itself, and you shall see them again heading the re-
bellion, and preaching murder as the most meritorious
of all actions. Nor do they remain inactive while
waiting for the opportunity. Their evil genius is con-
stantly present and active. Many are the parents
whose last days are saddened with the thought that
their children have forsaken the green pastures and
the untainted waters of pure gospel truth, for the
turbid waters of adulterous Babylon, — these children,
once the worshippers of God, now the idolaters of man,
whom some disguised son of Loyola, skilfully insinu-
ating himself into their young minds and unsuspecting
hearts, has seduced from the right path. These riots,
* Cret. vol. ii. p. 309.
170 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
that blood spilt at Stockport, Dublin, Belfast, and
elsewhere — the attempted beginning of a civil war —
believe me, is due to the Jesuits, some of whom, while
in the confessional or in the midst of private circles
they speak with feigned devotion of the infallibihty
and supremacy of their Church, always find means, at
the same time, of exciting, indirectly it may be, the
ignorant and the bigoted against the Protestants ; while
the hypocritical occupation of others in the public
streets will be to pour out torrents of bitter invectives
against the abominations of the Court of Rome, and
stir up the worst passions of the Protestants against
their fellow-citizens the Papists ! What, it may natu-
rally be asked, could prompt the latter to such infer-
nal wickedness? The accomphshment, I answer, of
their mysterious designs, though this should be at the
cost of the blood of thousands of their unoifending
fellow-beings. Such demoniacal perfidy might well,
to the honour of mankind, be scarcely credited; but
listen to what I am going to relate. The fact is unfor-
tunately too notorious to be contradicted, and will go
far to afford an insight into the character of the
Jesuits. In our last struggle, in that mortal combat
which we, poor and inexperienced as we were,
fought single-handed against the Pope and all his
supporters, for civil and religious liberty, when Rome
was besieged and the trumpet sounded daily for
battle, a man of prepossessing appearance, wearing a
beard and moustache, was seen going about from place
to place, praising the soldiers for their valour, encourag-
ing the citizens not to desert their walls, inflaming the
minds of the youth with the glory of dying for one's
country, and cursing the French, the Pope, and espe-
cially the Jesuits. No one knew who he was, but many
a one admired him, and gave him credit for being
an ardent patriot. One day, however, some of the
National Guards perceived a sort of telegraph on a
house behind the Quirinal, almost over the wall of the
PROCEEDINGS THROUGHOUT EUROPE. 171
city, and wliich belonged to tlic Jesuits. They forced
an entrance into the premises, and there found three
persons making signals to the enemy. These three
were Jesuits, and one of them was recognised as the
very incognito who, a few hours previously, was
encouraging the people to fight. They were arrested,
and when on their way to the state prison, the Jesuit
wearing the moustache being recognised by some
women, they tore him from the hands of the escort,
stabbed him, and threw both him and his companions
into the Tiber. Five persons were afterwards taken
and executed under suspicion of being accomplices in
this criminal action. I beg to be excused for having
indulged in these remarks. They are wrung from a
man who has witnessed many of their iniquities, and
experienced much of their perfidy. I may, however,
assure the reader tliat the narrator will not be influ-
enced by these recollections.
PORTUGAL.
If the conduct of the Jesuits in Portugal was not of so
criminal a nature as in England, it was certainly far
more bold, and productive of more disastrous conse-
quences to the Portuguese nation. We have already
seen that the Jesuits had, from the very first, acquired
great influence in that country, an influence which, after
the death of John III., became paramount. During
and after the minority of Don Sebastian, the Jesuits
were the confessors of all the royal family. Consalves
de Camera was first the tutor and afterwards the confes-
sor of the young king, and possessed such an ascen-
dancy over his mind, that nothing important was done
without his consent or that of his brother Martin,
Count of Calhette. Catherine of Austria, sister of
Charles V., and grandmother to the king, a wise and
clear-sighted princess, dismissed her confessor, and
172 HISTORY OP THE JESUITS.
complained to General Borgia of the domineering
spirit of the Jesuits. For this she was deprived of
the regency, which devolved on Cardinal Henry, de-
voted both soul and body to the order. Meanwhile
Don Sebastian had reached manhood, and the nation
was impatient to see him married, that the line of royal
descent might be unbroken. A French princess, and a
daughter of the emperor Maximilian, were considered
fit matches, but were both rejected. The Jesuits were
accused of preventing Don Sebastian from marrying,
Avith the design of making a Jesuit of him, and then
becoming heirs to his throne. Strange as this accusa-
tion may appear, yet it is true in its principal part. Let
us first listen to what Pasquier, a contemporary histori-
an, and a celebrated advocate of the Parliament of
Paris, says on the point : — " The Jesuits, shrewd and well
advised as they were, saw that this territory (Portugal)
was a proper soil to make their vine-tree fruitful, and,
in order that they might the better succeed in their
projects, on their very entrance into the kingdom they
caused themselves to be called not Jesuits, but apostles,
comparing themselves with those who followed our Lord,
and they are there still designated by the same name.
The sovereignty having fallen into the hands of Don Se-
bastian, these good apostles thought that the kingdom
of Portugal would soon become the property of their
community ; and they frequently solicited him that no
one should in future be King of Portugal except a Je-
suit, and chosen by their own order, in the same way
that the Popes at Rome are elected by the College of
Cardinals. And because the king, although supersti-
tious as superstition itself, could not, or, to speak more
correctly, dared not, subscribe to their wishes, they
persuaded him that it had been so ordered by God,
as he himself would hear by a voice from heaven
near the sea-shore. This poor prince was so misled
as to go there two or three times, but they could not
act their part so well as to malce him hear the voice.
PROCEEDINGS TIIROUGnOUT EUROPE. 173
They had not as yet in their company an impostor to
rivalJiistinian, avIio in Rome was able to counterfeit tlic
leprous. These gentlemen, perceiving that they could
not gain their ends by this way, did not, however, give
up the pursuit. This king, Jesuit from his soul, would
not marry. In order to render themselves still more
important, they advised him to march against the king-
dom of Fez, wdiere he was killed in a pitched battle.
This was the fruit which Don Sebastian reaped for
having believed the Jesuits. What I have just related
1 learned from the deceased Marquis of Pisani, an excel-
lent Eoman Catholic, and the French ambassador at the
Spanish court." * For our own part, while we are con-
vinced of the truth of the selfish plot, we do not entirely
agree w^ith Pasquier in regard to the end which he at-
tributes to them. Bold and daring as they are, they
would not have braved popular opinion with such im-
pudence. They were too clear-sighted not to be aw^are
that the European courts w^ould not permit them to
have the possession of the throne. Yet Pasquier did not
invent this piece of romance himself. The same, or nearly
the same, story w^as repeated throughout all Europe.
And this is so true, that Father Mao-o-io, Provincial of
Austria, w^rote to Borgia from Prague, in the year
1571, in the following manner : — " Here the people
talk of nothing else than of the Portuguese affairs.
Despatches come from Spain, announcing that the king
often acts so as to alarm the whole nation. They add,
that our brethren (les notres) ai^e the instigators of
such conduct ; that they wish to make a Jesuit of the
king ; and there are not w^anting those who assert,
that they (les notres) have alone prohibited him from
marrying the French king's sister." f
This letter evidently shews that all Europe be-
lieved that the Jesuits were masters of Portugal, and
that they had the disposal of the crown almost en-
* Pasquier, Catechisme des Jcsuitcs, lib. iii. ch. 16.
t See Cret. vol. ii. p. .79.
174 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
tirely at their will. Moreover, as we have seen, the
Jesuits were accused of having instigated the impetu-
ous king to undertake the conquest of IMorocco, in
which attempt he lost both his life and his kingdom. ^
Let us, however, to be impartial, listen to their
justification. Cretineau asserts that these accusations
were calumnies, and gives us the following as proof : —
On the marriage question, he produces part of a letter
written by the accused Father Consalves himself, in
which, after having contradicted most of the calum-
niations which had been heaped upon him, he adds—
" So, if I have anything to reproach myself with, it is
for insisting too much that the marriage might take
place. Those who told the Pope that the heart of
the king was in my hands, and that I can direct his
affections as I please, think of Sebastian what they
would beheve of any other young man of his age. . .
. . . But he is obstinate, and in this matter he re-
mains immovable to all my advices." * We shall
scarcely be blamed, however, if we confess ourselves
sceptical regarding the truth of these justifications.
To exculpate the fathers for having induced the king
to undertake the expedition against Morocco, Cretineau
(juotes a passage from Mendoza, a man entirely de-
voted to the Jesuits, in which he simply asserts, " That
all the Jesuits were opposed to the expedition to Africa."
These two lines, written long after the event, and by
a partisan of the order, constitute the only proof of
their innocence which the Jesuits can adduce.
After such attempted justifications, there can remain
no doubt that the Jesuits wrested the crown from the
head of Don Sebastian, to place it upon that of Phihpll.
Philip was at that time the friend and the most poAver-
j'ul supporter of the Jesuits. He was the chief of the
Roman Catholic party — the hope of the Papists — the
dread of the Protestants. These reasons, I believe,
induced the Jesuits to accomplish this abominable
* Cret. vol. ii. p. 78.
PROCEEDINGS THROUOIIOUT EUROPE. 175
treachery. At tlic death of Don Sebastian, Cardinal
Henry assnmed the name of king, and asked from the
estates of Portugal that Phihp sliould be declared his
successor. They refused. Philip invaded Portugal.
The Jesuits used all their intiuence in his favour, ex-
communicated Don Antonio do Crato, the legitimate
heir of the crown, and placed Philip on the throne of
their benefactors. We must observe, that we believe
that neither the honest and conscientious Borgia nor
the old and insignificant Mercurianus were privy to
this treacherous transaction. They were persons in
no way to be trusted with such secrets. It thus
happened that the Portuguese monarchs, who first
nursed these sons of Loyola in their bosoms, found that
they had been giving life to a serpent, which now stung
them to the heart. But unfortunately the example
was lost ; the Portuguese monarchs continued to sub-
mit to the Jesuits, and one of them, Joseph I., barely
escaped falling under the poniard of the assassin hired
by the fathers.
FRANCE.
We have seen the Jesuits executed in England as
traitors. We beheld them in Portugal, as successful
conspirators, dispose of a sceptre wrested from the
hands of their benefiictors. We shall now see them
in France acting the part of traitors, conspirators, and
regicides, and the principal cause of an indescribable
evil. AVe have already mentioned the famous arret
(decision) of 1554, by which the parliament of Paris
refused to admit the Jesuits into the kingdom. From
this time, down to the year 1562, the disciples of
Loyola had repeatedly obtained from the French
sovereign letters patent authorising their establish-
ment ; but the parliament by repeated arrets refus-
ing to register them, rendered these letters nugatory,
176 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
and the contest went on, with no prospect of decision.
The king, the Guises, and a party of the nobles, sided
with the Jesuits. The parhament, the university, the
Bishop of Paris and his clergy, were against them.
The principal objection to the admission of the Jesuits
which was advanced by their adversaries was, that they
had obtained from the Court of Rome privileges* which
made them independent of the ordinary and of every
other ecclesiastical authority. To obviate this objection,
tlie Jesuits, in 1560, determined to carry their point,
presented a petition to the king, in which they renounced
their privileges, and solemnly engaged to respect the
laws of the realm and those of the Galilean Church,
and to submit to the jurisdiction of the ordinaries. f
The court now imperatively commanded the parlia-
ment to admit the Jesuits. The Archbishop de
Belley, vanquished by " the urgency of the court,
from which he expected the Cardinal's hat," J partly
v/ithdrew his opposition, and gave his consent, but
under so many restrictions, that, as Cretineau says, it
was rather a protest against them than anything else.
The parliament, which till now had withheld its con-
sent, leaning on the archbishop's opposition, now
registered the king's letters patent, but under the
same restrictions; adding, that the Jesuits might
appeal to the next national council or assembly. At
this very time a national council was convened at
Poissy, to put an end, if possible, to religious dissen-
sion, and heal the wounds of the Church. Catherine
de Medici, whose favourite maxim was, divide et im-
* These are some of the numberless privileges that the Jesuits had ob-
tained from different Popes even within the first twenty -five j^ears of
their establishment : — They had the privilege of having a private chapel
in every house or college, and to celebrate mass even in time of interdict ;
of absolving from every censure even in cases reserved for the Pope alone ;
of dispensing from religious vows, or from impediments to marriage ; of
conferring academical degrees which entitled the graduate to the honours
and privileges conferred by the rojval universities. They were exempted
from tithes and from all other ecclesiastical contributions ; and, above
all, they were independent nt the jurisdiction of the bishops.
t See Cret. vol. i. pp. -iOQ, 407. J Ibid.
PROCEEDINGS THllOUGIIOUT EUROrE. 177
peria, shewed herself impartial in this contest, think-
ing to retain the ohcdienco of one party hy the fear it
had of the other. Slic herself, therefore, along ^vitli
the king and the whole court, assisted at the Council
of Poissy. We shall not enter into the theological
discussions of this assembly. We shall only say, that
although a Roman Catholic cardinal presided over and
directed it, and although the Roman Catholics had a
large majority, yet the eloquence of the Calvinistic
divines, and especially that of Beza, was so overpower-
ing, that Lainez, after having had a thrust or two at
the redoubted champion, declared it to be almost a
mortal sin to admit Protestants to a discussion ; and
by his advice, the Council broke uj) without any re-
sult.
The assembly, before it broke up, after a great deal
of debating, decided that the Jesuits should be admitted
on the condition that they submitted to the laws of the
nation and of the Galilean Church, that the ordinary
bishops should have all authority over them, and that
they should renounce all their privileges, and take
another name than " The Society of Jesus," or
" Jesuits." By this decision, the Jesuit question was
at last settled. Now, to shew with what facility these
wily monks can renounce their most approved doctrines,
and invent a new principle for every contingency, that
they may succeed in any of their undertakings, we
shall set forth the principal points of doctrine of the
Gallican Church, which were already received in
France, and which were more solemnly sanctioned in
1662.
" The Pope is the chief of the Roman CathoHc reli-
gion, but he can neither excommunicate the king, nor
hiy an interdict upon the kingdom ; nor has he any
jurisdiction over temporal matters; nor can he dismiss
the bishops from their office, who hold their power
from Christ as his successors, and who, when he
ascended up into heaven, bade them go and preach
178 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
the gospel to every creature. The Pope's legato
cannot exercise any authority in France, unless em-
powered by the king. An appeal from the sentence of
the Pope is permitted to be made to a general council,
which possesses a power superior to that of the Pope ;
but even the decrees of council are not received in
France, when they attack the rights of the king, or
those of the Galhcan Church ; for which reason the
Council of Trent itself was received in France regard-
ing articles of faith, but not regarding matters of dis-
cipUne." *
These were the principal points to which the Jesuits
swore conformity. How despicable must be the man
who is ready to take a special oath for every occasion,
and to invoke the God of truth to witness his perjury
and infamy !
The Jesuits had no sooner set their foot in France
than they began to spread rapidly over the country,
and soon after aspired to enter the university and
monopolise the whole of the education of the youth.
AYith part of the immense fortune bequeathed to them
by the Bishop of Clermont, of which they at last got
possession, notwithstanding the opposition of the par-
liament, they built a college in the liue St Jacques, near
the Sorbonne, and, pretending to obey the orders of
the parliament, which enjoined them to renounce the
name of the Society of Jesus, they inscribed on the
front of it, " College of the Society of the Name of
Jesus." But the university would not admit them
into its bosom, notwithstanding all the intrigues of the
fathers and the orders of the Court. Of this protracted
contest, which terminated in favour of the Jesuits in
1616, we shall only transcribe part of an apology
* It is well knowTi that in France the Roman Catholic clergymen are
divided into ultramontane and Gallican ; that the latter, under Louis
Philippe, maintained their independence, and a sort of superiority ; but
that, under the nile of the pantheist Louis Napoleon, the ultramontane
party, under the direction and patronage of the Jesuits, has obtained
the ascendancy, which they exercise with a domineering spirit, and which
is increasing every day.
PROCEEDINGS THROUGHOUT EUROPE. 179
addressed by the university to Pope Gregory XITI. —
*' We do not," wrote the university, '* vex either
clnirches or private persons; we do not trouble the
order of succession; we do not sohcit testaments in
prejudice of the heirs, or appropriate the profits to our
own interest ; we do not plot devices to seize upon the
benefices of the monasteries, or of any other ecclesias-
tical establishment, to enrich ourselves with their pro-
perty, without being subject to the conditions imposed
by the founders ; we do not make use of the name of
Jesus to deceive the consciences of princes, affirming
that no one remains longer than ten years in purga-
tory." *
Our history is becoming too pregnant with grave
events to allow us to relate matters of secondary im-
portance. We shall therefore bring down our readers
to the year 1577, when was formed the celebrated
league which gave occasion to the bloody and pro-
tracted civil wars of France, and of which the Jesuits
were the chief instigators.
Remorse for the massacre of St Bartholomew had
deprived Charles IX. of his reason, and brought him
to an early grave. His brother, Henry III., who
succeeded him, either awed by the fate of Charles, or
occupied only with his pleasures, alloAved those same
Protestants whom, as Duke of Anjou, he had defeated
at Moncontour and other places, to live in peace.
Henry's indolence favoured the ambitious views of
the Duke of Guise, who aspired at nothing less than
the throne of France. He and his partisans, parti-
cularly the Jesuits, stirred up the fanaticism of the
more bigoted of the citizens against the king, who,
although a scrupulous observer of all those external
* Father Maldonat propounded a doctrine, that no one remained in pur-
gatory longer than ten years ; and this, in order to assure the princes
that, if the properties of monasteries or other benefices were given to the
Jesuits, there woukl be no fear of their ancestors, in general the pious
founders, roasting in purgatory — who knows how long] — if the benefices
■were appropriated to other uses than those for which they were in-
tended.
] 80 HISTORY OP THE JESUITS.
practices in which the Popish rehgion chiefly consists,
was considered by the Church party a bad Cathohc.
A remedy was to be found, lest France should become
a Protestant country. An association was accordingly
set on foot, which took the name of " the League,"
or " Holy Union." The vulgar saw in it the bul-
wark of the faith — Phihp of Spain, indirectly the
sovereignty of France — and Henry of Guise, the
throne. The members of this association took the
following oath : — " I swear to God, the Creator, and
under penalty of anathema and eternal damnation,
that I have entered into this Catholic Association,
according to the form of the treaty which has just
been read to me, loyally and smcerely either to com-
mand, or to obey and serve ; and I promise with my
life and my honour, to continue therein to the last
drop of my blood, without resisting it or withdrawing
from it, at any command, or any pretext, excuse, or
occasion whatsoever." * In 1577, Guise was declared
chief of the League ; and in 1584, he, a subject, had
the audacity to enter publicly into a confederacy with
Philip II. of Spain. The Articles of Alliance pur-
ported, " that a confederacy, offensive and defensive,
was entered into betwixt the king and the Cathohc
princes in behalf of themselves and their descendants,
for the maintenance of the Roman Catholic religion
in France as well as the Low Countries : and, on the
death of Henry III., to take measures that Cardinal
de Bourbon should be appointed his successor; the
heretic and relapsed princes being for ever excluded
from the right of succession." |
Henry III.'s position became very precarious.
The Guises were in possession of many of the chief
towns, and Duke Henry was the idol of the people.
The king, to avoid the impending danger, feigned to
adhere to the League — declared himself its chief —
waged war with the Protestants — and consented to
* Cret. vol. ii. p. 3S8. f Ibid. p. 392.
PROCEEDINGS THROUGHOUT EUROPE. 151
give more towns and places of security into tlie liands
of* his enemies. Nevertheless the king's opponent*
remitted nothing of their hostihty, and filled the
nation with hatred of his person, venting itself in
curses and imprecations. In Paris, the stronghold of
the League, the question was publicly discussed
whether Henry should be deposed. The king
advanced towards the capital with some troops. Guise
hastened to it against the king's express command.
The people took up arms — barricades were erected —
the royal army was defeated — and the king obliged
to fly. * Mafici and Cretineau reproach the Duke of
Guise for allowing him to escape uninjured. Henry,
concealing his hatred, feigned again to submit, sum-
moned a parliament to meet at Blois, and conferred
upon Guise almost unlimited power over the kingdom.
But in the very moment in which he saw within his
grasp the prize which he so eagerly sought, he fell,
along with his brother the cardinal, in the royal
palace, a victim of the king's revenge. Thus Guise
perished, not, as he deserved, by the SAvord of justice,
l3ut by the poniard of an assassin. The deed cannot
be excused. The League thundered anathemas
ao-ainst the king; the University of Paris excommu-
nicated him ; and the parliament declared that " the
aforesaid Henry of Valois should be condemned to
make honourable amends, dressed only in his shirt,
with a rope about his neck, assisted by the execu-
tioner, and holding in his hand a lighted torch
w^eighing thirty pounds; that from that moment he
should be deposed, and declared unworthy of the
crown of France ; and that, renouncing all right to it,
he should be afterwards banished and placed in a
convent of the Hieromites, there to fast on bread and
water for the rest of his days." -f
Priests and Jesuits from every pulpit poured out
* This insurrection -was called " the days of the barricades."
+ Gret. voL ii. p. 414.
N
182 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
volleys of curses upon that tyrant, who deserved to be
swept from the face of the earth. And while the
king, now in league with Henry of Kavarre, was
marching towards Paris, Clement, a Dominican friar,
stabbed him at St Cloud, on the first of August
1589.
Great was the consternation of the royalists, and
greater the rejoicing of the adverse party, at this
tragic event. The Council of Seize * met on the
6tir of September, and addressed a letter to all the
preachers, in which, among other tilings, was the
following exhortation : — " You must justify Jacques
Clement's deed, because it is the same as that of
Judith, which is so much commended in Holy Writ." j
Henry of Bourbon, king of ^"^avarre, the legitimate
heir, after the death of Henry IH., assumed the title
of king of France, and was supported by the less
bigoted of the Roman Cathohcs and by all the
Calvinists. The Cardinal de Bourbon, on the other
hand, also took the title of king, and was supported
by the fanatic Papists, headed by all the priests and
monks in the kingdom. Philip of Spain, the life and
guardian of the League, sent an army to its aid ; and
the Pope despatched Cardinal Cajetan, accompanied
by two Jesuits, with large sums of money, to foment
and maintain the revolt against the excommunicated
Henry IV.
Sixtus V. at first shewed great zeal in opposing
the right of the heretic Henry of Navarre. | He
promised to send 18,000 infantry and 700 horse into
* This Council was so called because it was composed of sixteen
members, representing the sixteen quarters of Paris ; and it possessed
the supreme authority de facto. In this council the Jesuits had the
greatest influence, and one of them was a member of it.
t Cret. vol. ii. p. 404.
X It is asserted in a memoir of the Seigneur de Schomberg, that after
the assassination of Guise, Sixtus, through his legate, suggested to
Henry III. to name one of the Pope's nephews as his successor to the
throne of France. But we have too good an opinion of Sixtus' saga-
city to believe him guilty of such an extravagant project.
PROCEEDINGS THROUGHOUT EUROPE. 183
France. lie tlircatcncd the Venetians with excom-
munication for having acknowledged Henry IV. as
king, and for once rekixed tlie reins of his well-known
parsimony, by sending his legate a sum of money to
continue the war in France. 13ut, when he perceived
what were the projects of Philip ; when he learned
that that monai-ch proposed to marry his daughter
the Infanta to the young Duke of Guise, who was to
assume the title of king ; and when Les Seize, in-
stigated by the Jesuits, renouncing every national
feeling, went so far as to proclaim Philip king of
France, Sixtus, afraid of the domineering spirit of
Philip, and the absolute power he would acquire if
successful in his design, relaxed in his enmity towards
Henry — expressed regret for having excommimicated
him — and gave other tokens of the change his opinion
had undergone. The legate, however, disregarding
the Pope's intentions, carried out his first instructions
with unremittino' zeal. *
The civil war, with all its horrors, lasted for five
years. To shorten it, Henry descended to an act which
has tarnished his glory, and the fame of his virtue.
He abjured the doctrines of Calvinism to enter into
communion with the Church of Eome, which he de-
spised, and excused himself by saying, " Paris vaut
bien une messe" — Paris is well worth a mass.f
But his apostasy availed him little. The Parisians
continued firm against him. The monks, and espe-
* Kanke's Hist, of the Popes, vol. ii. p, 25.
f How Elizal)etli deplored this unprincipled act ! " Ah, what grief,"
she wrote to him after his apostasy, "and what regrets and what groans
I have felt in my soul at the sound of such tidings as Morlaut has
related! My God! is it possible that any human respect should efface
the terror which Divine fear threateneth ! Can Ave ever, by arguments
of reason, expect a good consequence of actions so iniquitous] He who
has supported and preserv-ed you in mercy, can you imagine that He will
permit you to advance unaided from on high to the gi'eatest predica-
ment ] But it is dangerous to do evil in the hope that good will follow
from it. — Your very faithful sister, Sire, after the old tashion — I have
nothing to do with the new one — Elizabeth."*
* Bibl. du Roi MSS. de Colbert, apud Capefique, N. 251.
184 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
cially the Jesuits, encouraged them in their resistance.
Priests and soldiers simultaneously, they passed from
the pulpit to the besieged walls, replacing the sacer-
dotal robes by a coat of mail, the crucifix by a spear.
Solemn processions crossed the town and called
upon the people to be firm in defence of their faith,
trusting in God to protect them and to bless their
impious enterprise. The Pope's legate, dressed in his
pontifical robes, was foremost in these processions, and
supported the fanaticism of the multitude, to whom he
dispensed a thousand benisons. On the other hand,
Mendoza, the Spanish ambassador, the same who, after
the assassination of Henry, wrote to his master, *' We
must ascribe this happy event to the Almighty alone"
— Mendoza, to divert the hunger of the deluded Pari-
sians, distributed, in the name of his Most CathoHc
Majesty Philip, some Spanisli coin to the populace,
who, thus encouraged, raised the shout, " Long life to
our king Philip!" It is painful to think of all the
horrors which this misguided people endured while
they listened to the persuasions of the priests to per-
sist in their rebelhon. At last hunger, all-powerful
hunger, proved stronger than the king's army.
Famished Paris yielded, and Henry ascended the
throne of his ancestors.
Thus ended the League. Let us now see what share
the Jesuits had in it. Mezarai, speaking of the League,
says, "The zealous Catholics were the chief instru-
ments in it ; the new monks (the Jesuits) the paranymphs
and trumpeters; and the nobles of the kingdom the
authors and chiefs."* From its very beginning, the
Jesuits were the most ardent promoters of the League.
They ran from place to place, from country to country,
to enhst new supporters, and to strengthen the tie of
the holy union. Claude Matthieu, the Provincial,
went several times from Paris to Rome, to obtain the
* Mezarai, Abrege Cliromlogique in tlie year 1576.
PROCEEDINGS THROUGHOUT EUROPE. 185
Pope's approval of the holy union.* He was called the
messenger of the League; and Pasc^uier, in his old,
quaint style, in speaking of another Jesuit, says, "As
the Company of the Jesuits was composed of all sorts
of people, les wis jyoiir la pZifjne, les autres pour le
poll, so they had among them one Father Henry
Sammier, a man inclined and adapted to all kinds
of daring.t He was sent by the League in 1581 to
various Catholic princes poiu' sonder le cjue, to sound
the ford; and, to speak the truth, they could not have
chosen a fitter man, for he changed himself into as
many different forms as the different affairs he had to
undertake — sometimes dressed as a trooper, sometimes
as a priest, sometimes as a simple beggar. He was
acquainted with cards, dice, ... as well as with his
canonical hours ; and in doing this, he said that he could
not sin, since it was to arrive at a good end."j: But,
without referring to ancient authors, two lines from
Cretineau will say more than we could. " It was at
this epoch" (1584), says he, '' that the League acquired
all its consistency, and it is at the same epoch that you
may see the Jesuits in Paris, Lyons, Toulouse, joining
the insurrection and organising it."§ And of this
insurrection, or civil war, Pasquier, an eye-witness,
says, — " It was less a civil war than a coupe-gorge —
a cut-throat. The colleges of the Jesuits were, as
was notorious, the general rendezvous of persons hos-
tile to tlie king. There were fabricated their gospels
in cipher — se forgoient leurs Evangiles en cliiffre —
which they sent into foreign countries. There their
* Cretineau pretends that Gregory XIII., tlie father of all Christians,
wishing rather to pacify than excite their passions, refused to comply
with their reqviest. But Ranke affirms that his approbation was given,
and refers, as proof thereof, to a letter of Father Matthieu himself to the
X)uke of Nerves, reported in the fourth volume of Capefique Jieforme.
+ Ranke's Hist, of the Popes, vol. i. p. 5u5.
t See, for the first part, Cret. vol. ii. p. 392. As he does not quote
the latter part, see for it Pasquier, or Histoirc Generale de la Naismnce
et du Progres de la Compagnie de Jesus, vol. i. p. 180.
§ Cret. vol. ii. p. 391.
186 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS,
apostles were distributed among the different provinces,
some, to keep the troubles aUve by their preaching, as
did Father Commolet in Paris, and Father Rouillet at
Bourges ; others, to preach murder and assassination,
as did Father Varade and the same Father Commolet *
But we need not multiply quotations to prove that
they had a great share in exciting these troubles.
They themselves confess it with pride. In their Lit-
term Annuce of 1589, they represent the murder of
the king as a miracle which happened the very day
they were expelled from Bordeaux. When Clement's
mother came to Paris, the Jesuits called upon the
people to worship her; the portrait of the assassin,
now called a martyr, was exposed on the altars to
public veneration, and they even proposed to erect a
statue to him in the cathedral of Notre Dame.
We will, however, admit that all the Jesuits were
not fanatic Leaguers; not because they disapproved
of the League, but simply from good policy, or from
interested motives. Auger, the king's confessor, and
who wished to be provincial, sided with his penitent ;
and the General Acquaviva, the ablest and most
profound politician of his time, disapproved of the
Society's engaging so deeply with one party as to cause
the ruin of the order if the other triumphed. He
forbade the Jesuits who were in France to take part
in the contest (which advice, however, they disre-
garded), and begged permission of the Pope to com-
mand his subordinate Father Matthieu to leave France,
and betake himself to a distant country — which clearly
proves, that the Jesuits in France acted under the
Pope's own authority. " But Sixtus V.," says Cre-
tineau, " was not so gentle as Gregory XIII. ; when he
met an enemy, he fought with him; accordingly he
answered the General that the Leaguers acted very
rightly, and only did their duty."f Acquaviva, how-
ever, was as jealous of his authority as the imperious
* Catechisme des Jesuites, lib. iii. ch. 2. f Cret. vol. ii. p. 396.
PROCEEDINGS THROUGHOUT EUROPE. 187
and terrible Sixtus. When Father Matthieu arrived
at Lorctto on his return to France, the General ordered
him not to leave the town without his consent; and
the poor messenger died a few months after, from
sheer inactivity. Auger, for reasons unknown to us,
was recalled. Another provincial, Father Pigenat, w^as
sent to France — a man who, in the language of De
Thou, " was a furious Leaguer, and as fanatic as a
Corybante," and who, according to Arnauld, " was the
most cruel tiger that prowled through Paris." In
fact, after his arrival, the Jesuits became still more
audacious, and engaged in more criminal proceed-
ings.
After Henry IV. had abjured the Protestant faith,
and when he was at Melun, a man was arrested on
suspicion of having come thither to make an attempt
upon his life. Barriere — such was the assassin's
name — to escape the torture, acknowledged his guilt.
He confessed that having considted with Aubrey,
a curate of Paris, regarding his project, he w^as
highly commended, and sent to Varade, the rector
of the Jesuits, who confirmed him in his praise-
worthy resolution, and gave him his benediction;
that next morning he confessed to another Jesuit,
and received the communion. Barriere repeated on
the scaffold the declaration he had already made;
and Pasquier, who was at Melun at the time, declares
that he had examined the culprit, had read the infor-
mations and depositions, and even handled the knife
with which the crime was to have been perpetrated.*
Mezarai confirms the testimony of Pasquier in the
most unequivocal manner. " When the king," says
he, " had reduced Paris to submission, he gave a safe-
conduct to the Cardinal of Plaisance, who had acted
with so much energy against him, and granted him
permission to take with him Aubrey, curate of St
Andre des Arcs, and the Jesuit Varade, although
* Catechisme des Jesuit es, lib. iii. ch. 6.
188 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
culpable of participating in the horrible assassination
of Barriere." *
Barriere was executed, but his fate did not deter
other fanatics from making similar attempts, nor the
Jesuits from giving them encouragement. A few
months after Henry had made his entrance into Paris,
a youth of nineteen, named John Chastel, raised an
impious hand against the king. The blow was aimed
at his throat, but happening to bend his head at the
instant to salute one of his courtiers, it only wounded
his hps. Chastel was a student of philosophy in the
Jesuits' CoUege under Father Gueret. He confessed
that " in the Jesuits' house, he had been often in the
chamber of meditation, into which the Jesuits intro-
duced the greatest sinners, where they were shewn the
pictures of devils and other frightful figures to induce
them to lead a better life, and, by working upon their
spirits, to induce them by these admonitions to perform
some extraordinary deed." He further confessed that
he had heard the Jesuits say "that it was lawful to
kill the king, since he was out of the Church ; and that
no one ought to obey him, or acknowledge him as
king, till he should be approved of by the Pope."t The
murderer, on his examination, boldly maintained this
last proposition; and "this avowal," says Mezarai,
"joined to the injurious libels against Henry HI. and
the reigning king ; joined to the ardour which the
Jesuits had shewn for the interests of Spain, and to
the doctrines their preachers had propounded against
the security of the king, and against the ancient law
of the kingdom; joined also to the opinion held of them,
* Mezarai, Ahrege Chronologique pour Vannee 1594. Henry was
naturally generous, as all gallant men are. The only revenge he took
upon the corpulent Duke of Mayenne, the chief of the League, and his
rival for the throne after the death of Cardinal de Bourbon, was to take
him by the arm, and whilst engaged in friendly conversation, walking at
a very smart jmce two or three times round the garden. Henry smiled
when he had walked Mayenne Mrly out of breath, and all the Duke's
injuries were forgotten.
t See De Thou, L'Etoile, and all the historians of the time.
PROCEEDINGS THROUGHOUT EUROPE. 189
that by means of their colleges and auricular confes-
sion, they directed the minds of the youth and timid
consciences to whatever they pleased, gave an oppor-
tunity to the parliament to involve the Society in his
punishment.* In fact, the parliament, by the same
arret (29th Dec. 1594), by which Chastel was con-
demned to the punishment of the parricide, enacted
that "the priests and scholars of Clermont College,
and all others of the so-called Society of Jesus, as
corrupters of youth, disturbers of the public peace,
enemies to the king and the state, shall, three days
after the present intimation, be obliged to leave Paris
and other towns and places where they have colleges,
and, within a fortnight after, the kingdom ; under the
penalty, if found in France after that time, of being-
punished for high treason. Their property, movable
and immovable, shall be employed for charitable pur-
poses, and all the king's subjects, under the same
penalty, are forbidden to send pupils to the colleges of
the Society which are beyond the territories of the
kingdom." f
AH the Jesuits, except Fathers Gueret and Guinard,
who were arrested, were expelled from France. Gueret,
against whom no substantial proofs of being an accom-
plice with Chastel, could be produced, was soon after
liberated from prison and banished. This is a striking-
proof of the justice and rectitude of the parliament.
Guinard, in whose possession were found most abomi-
nable writings, subversive of every principle of justice
and morality,:]: was condemned and executed ; in con-
* Mezarai, Ah. Chr. at the end of 1594.
+ See Acts of the Parliament, or Jj'Argentre Collect. Jud. torn. ii. p.
524.
X In one of these writings, speaking of Henry IV., the Jesuit says : —
*' Shall we call him a Nero, a Sardauapalus of France, a fox of Beam]"
and further on, he declares, that "the crown of France could and ought to
he transferred to another family ; that Henry, although converted to the
Catholic faith, would be treated' too leniently, if a monk's crown (tonsure)
were given him in some convent to do penance ; that if he cannot be de-
posed without war, then (said he) let us make war, and if we cannot
make war, let him be killed." — Cret. vol. ii. p. 435.
190 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
formity with a proclamation issued some months be-
fore by the king, in which it was ordered that all books
and writings referring to the past troubles should be
burned, under pain of death. Cretineau confesses the
fact, but exculpates the man, by saying that these
writings were composed in the time of the League in
the year 1589. But this assertion is contradicted by
the quotation we have given in the note, which shews
that some of them at least were composed after
Henry's abjuration, which occurred four years later,
in 1593. And again, if they had been written at the
time specified, why did he not burn them, in obedience
to the king's commandment ?
Great horror was now felt throughout France at
these repeated acts of regicide, with an abhorrence of
the Jesuits, as the well-known instigators of such ne-
farious deeds. The parliament, the interpreter here
of the public opinion (Henry having gained over to
him many of his former opponents by his clemency
and generosity), by another arret, January 10, 1595,
ordered that Chastel's house should be destroyed, and
a pyramid be erected in its stead, to perpetuate the
memory of his infamy and that of his associates. In
consequence, four inscriptions were engraved on the
four faces of this pyramid, in all of which, the name
of Chastel was coupled with that of the Jesuits. In
the first inscription, the assassin was described as im-
pelled to the commission of the crime " by the pestilen-
tial heresy of that new sect (the Jesuits), which, con-
cealing under the garb of piety the most atrocious
crimes, had of late taught that it was lawful to kill
the king." In the second was the arret of parliament,
condemning Chastel and the Jesuits, part of which we
have already given. In the third, the senate and the
people of Paris congratulate the king on his having ex-
terminated " that pestilential sect" (the Jesuits). And
the fourth inscription was, " A house once stood here,
which was destroyed for the guilt of one of its inhabit-
PROCEEDINGS THROUGHOUT EUROPE. 101
ants, who had been instructed In a scliool of impiety by
l^erversc masters." * In 1605, the Jesuits were ao-ai'n
powerful enough in France, to get the pyramid do-
moHshed ; and in 1606 a fountain was erected in its
place.
And this seems to us to be the proper place to lay
before our readers the political creed of the Jesuits.
Observe, the following extracts are taken from none but
their most approved authors, and such as are held in
high estimation among their brethren.
Emmanuel Sa. Aphorismi Corifessariorum. (Yenet.
1595. Coloniae, 1616. Ed. Coll. Sion).— " The re-
bellion of an ecclesiastic against the king is not a
crime of high treason, because he is not subject to the
king."
" He who tyrannically governs an empire, which he
has justly obtained, cannot be deprived of it without
a public trial; but when sentence has been passed,
every man may become an executor of it ; and he
may he deposed by the people, even although perpetual
obedience were sivorn to him, if, after admonition
given, he ivill not be corrected.''
John Bridgewater. Concertatio Ecclesice Catholicce
in Anglia adversus Calvino-Papistas. (Augusts Tre-
virorum, 1594.) — " If the kings be the first to break
their solemn league and oath, and violate the laith
which they have pledged to God, the people are not
only permitted, but they are required, and their duty
demands, that, at the mandate of the Vicar of Christ,
who is the sovereign pastor of all the nations of the
earth, the fidelity which they previously owed or pro-
mised to such princes should not be kept."
Ilobert Bellarmine. Disputationes de Controver-
siis Christiance Fidei adversus hujus temptoris Hoire-
ticos, tom. I. (Ingolstadii, 1596. Parisiis, 1608. Ed.
* See the whole of the inscription in the authors of the epoch, in the
Recueil des Pieces touchant fllistoire de la Compagnie de Jesu. Liege,
1716. A very instructive work.
192 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
Mus. Brit.) — '' The spiritual power, as a spiritual
prince, may change kingdoms, and transfer them from
one sovereign to another, if it should be necessary for
the salvation of souls."
" Christians may not tolerate an infidel or heretic
king, if he endeavours to draw his subjects to his
heresy or infidelity. But it is the province of the
sovereign Pontiff, to wdiom the care of rehgion has
been intrusted, to decide whether the king draws them
to heresy or not. It is therefore for the Pontiff to
determine whether the king is to be deposed or not."
John Mariana. De Rege et Regis Institutione lihri
tres. (Moguntia?, 1605 1640. Ed. Mus.
Brit.) — " It is necessary to consider attentively what
course should be pursued in deposing a prince, lest sin
be added to sin, and one crime be punished by the com-
mission of another. This is the shortest and the safest
way ; — to deliberate, in a public meeting, if it can be
held, upon what should be determined by the common
consent, and to consider as firmly fixed and established
whatever may be resolved by the general opinion. In
wdiich case, the following course must be pursued.
First of all, the prince must be admonished and brought
back to his senses. If he does not amend, begin by
refusing to obey him ; . . . . and, if necessary, destroy
with the sword that prince who has been declared a
public enemy. But you will ask what is to be done if
a public meeting cannot be held, which may very fre-
quently happen. In my opinion, a similar judgment
must be formed; for when the state is oppressed by
the tyranny of any of the princes, and the people are
deprived, of the power of assembling, the will to
abolish the tyranny is not wanting, or to avenge the
manifest and intolerable crimes of the prince, and to
restrain his mischievous efforts ; / shall never consider
that man to have done ivrong, ivho, favouring the
2nd)lic ivishes, luould attempt to kill him!''
Oabriel Vasquez. Comment, et Disput. in primam
PROCEEDINGS THROUGHOUT EUROPE. 193
Partem, et primam secundce Summoi, S. TJi. Aquina-
tis, torn. II. (Ingolstadii, 1615. Antvcrpia?, 1(j21.
Ed. Coll. Sion.) : — *' If all the members of the royal
tamily are heretics, a new election to the throne devolves
on the state. For all his (the kint^'s) successors could be
justly deprived of the kingdom by the Pope; because
the preservation of the faith, which is of greater im-
portance, requires that it should be so. But if the
kingdom were thus polluted, the Pope, as supreme
judge in the matters of the faith, might appoint a
Catholic king for the good of the wdiole realm, and
might place him over it by force of arms if it were
necessary. For, the good of tlie faith and of religion,
requires that the supreme head of the Church should
provide a king for the state."
Busembaum and Lacroix. Theologia Moralis, nunc
plurihiis partibus aucta a E. P. Claudo Lacroix,
Societatis Jesu. (Coloniae, 1757. Colonia) Agrippina3,
1733. Ed. Mus. Brit.) ; — " A man -who has been ex-
communicated by the Pope may be killed anywhere,
as Fillincius, Escobar, and Deaux teach ; because the
Pope has at least an indirect jurisdiction over the
whole world, even in temporal things, as far as may be
necessary for the administration of spiritual affairs, as
all the Catholics maintain, and as Suarez proves against
the King of England."
Such were the principles and such the acts of the
so-called soldiers of Christ, and such the just punish-
ment inflicted on their crimes. We hardly find in
history a sect, bearing the Christian name, convicted of
so many and such atrocious crimes — ^so pubhcly stig-
matised and held up to the just hatred of posterity.
For if, in moments of feverish exaltation, political or
religious fanatics of every denomination have perpe-
trated iniquitous and barbarous crimes, no other party
has subsequently, in calmer times, accepted the respon-
sibility of these crimes, and praised them as virtuous or
meritorious actions. But there is no Jesuit, that I
194 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
know of, who has ever impugned or disclahned the
doctrines I have just pointed out. My Enghsh
readers ought seriously to meditate upon this fact, and
upon those doctrines, to which the Jesuits still firmly
adhere. Queen Victoria is in their eyes as much a
heretic as Henry of Navarre, and I have no doubt
that they wish her to meet with the same fate. I am
an advocate for toleration, and abhor the very idea of
persecution ; but, most assuredly, Avithout persecuting
those priests and Jesuits, the most inveterate enemies
of the Protestant religion, I would not countenance
them, or encourage and support them by grants of
public money. Theirs is not a religion of tolerance.
They do not look upon other Christians as brethren,
holding different forms of belief, or as, at worst,
persons who have been misled by ignorance. No !
in their view, every one who is not a Roman Catholic
is an accursed heretic, condemned already, and, if he
die in this condition, doomed to everlasting damna-
tion. They are not content to be received to the
rights of citizenship on terms of equality — they aspire
to domination. What rights and privileges can they
reasonably claim from persons towards whom they
cherish such sentiments? Surely those Papists who
would maintain their religion by persecution and
tyranny, ought to be thankful, if they are suffered to
live at peace and unmolested, in a Protestant country.
GERMA^n^.
While the Jesuits in France and in England, where
the monarch was adverse to them, not only pro-
pounded the doctrine of the sovereignty of the
people, but taught that every individual had a right
to murder the king if he were disliked by the nation
or accursed by the Pope — in Poland, Sweden, and
Germany, where the population was adverse and the
sovereign friendly to them, they inculcated the con-
PROCEEDINGS THROUGHOUT EUROPE. 195
trary doctrine, and did not scruple to enforce it by
the most cruel and violent procecdino-s. In France
and in England, Henry and Elizabeth had forfeited
their thrones by holding the doctrines of the llelbr-
mation. In Sweden, the Jesuits compelled the Iloman
Catholic Sigismond to swear to maintain the Confes-
sion of Augsburg, that he might not be driven from
his kingdom.* 13ut in those countries, the Jesuits,
being in close alliance with the civil power, were the
cause of more mischief, and greatly injured the cause
of truth and religion. The introduction of the Jesuits
into the north of Europe was the signal for a powerful
reaction against Protestantism ; and they not only
checked its progress, but, what is more strange, they
succeeded in reviving an obsolete doctrine — the tem-
poral supremacy of the lioman Church, which, after
having for centuries governed almost the whole of
Europe, had fallen into decay, and ought not, accord-
ing to the ordinary course of human institutions, to
exercise any further influence, since it had not under-
gone any material change or acquired a new prestige.
Yet such was the case. Many were the requisites of
success possessed by the Jesuits. Admirable unity of
purpose — versatility of character — unscrupulous plia-
bility of conscience — the confessional — the pulpit —
the conviction that upon their first success depended
the duration of their order, and, it must be added,
their unexceptionable outward conduct, all rendered
* Sigismond, on the death of his father John, having proceeded from
Poland to Upsala for the ceremony of his coronation, the estates jieremp-
torih' refused to render him homage, till he had solemnly sworn that the
Augsburg Confession should be inculcated everywhere, alone and purely,
whether in churches or schools. In this strait, the prince applied to
Malaspina, the Pope's nuncio, to know whether in conscience he could
give such promise. The nuncio denied that he could. The king
thereupon addressed himself to the Jesuits in his train, and what the
nuncio had not dared, they took upon themselves to do. They declared
that, in consideration of the necessity, and of the manifest danger in
which the sovereign found himself, he might grant the heretics their
demands without offence to God.— Ranke, Hi^t.of the Fopes, vol. ii. pp.
147, 8.
196 HISTORY OP THE JESUITS.
them in tlie highest degeee fit for their task. But,
above all, it was by the education of the youth,
that they wrought such changes in Germany. It
was, in fact, for this purpose that they were first
introduced into the country. In one of the auto-
graph letters that Ferdinand I. wrote to Loyola, he
declares it to be his opinion, that the only means by
which the declining tenets of Catholicism could be
restored in Germany was, to supply the youth with
learned and pious Catholic teachers. * The Jesuits
entered into the king's view with amazing activity
and energy. They established themselves in Vienna
in 1551, and soon after had the management of the
university. Their second important establishment
was at Cologne ; the third, at Ingolstadt ; and from
these three principal points, they spread all over
Germany. We think we cannot do better than tran-
scribe a passage from Ranke on the project : —
" The eiforts of the Jesuits were above all directed
towards the universlcies. Their ambition was to rival
the fame of those of the Protestants. The education
of that day was a learned one merely, and was based
exclusively on the study of the ancient languages.
This the Jesuits prosecuted with earnest zeal, and in
certain of their schools, they had very soon professors
who might claim a place with the restorers of classical
learning. Nor did they neglect the cultivation of the
exact sciences. At Cologne, Franz Koster lectured
on astronomy in a manner at once agreeable and
instructive. But their principal object was still
theological discipline, as will be readily compre-
hended. The Jesuits lectured with the utmost dili-
gence even during the holidays, reviving the practice
of disputations, without which they declared all
instruction to be dead. These disputations, which
they held in public, were conducted with dignity and
decorum, were rich in matter, and altogetl^er the
* See Ranke's History of the Popes, vol. i. p. 411.
rnOCEEDINGS THROUGHOUT EUROPE. 197
most brilliant that had ever been witnessed. In
Ingolstadt, they soon persuaded themselves that their
progress in theology was such as would enaljle the
university to compete successfully with any other in
Germany. Ingolstadt now acquired an influence
among Catholics similar to that possessed among
Protestants by Wittemberg and Geneva. They next
established schools for the poor — arranged modes of
instruction adapted to children — and enforced the
practice of catechising. Canisius prepared his cate-
chism, which satisfied the wants of the learners by its
well-connected questions and apposite replies.
" This instruction was imparted entirely in the
spirit of that fanciful devotion, which had character-
ised the Jesuits from their earliest establishment.
The first rector in Vienna was a Spaniard named
Juan Victoria, a man who had signalised his entrance
into the Society by walking along the Corso of Eome,
during the festivities of the carnival, clothed in sack-
cloth, and scourging himself as he walked, till the
blood streamed from him on all sides. The children
educated in the Jesuit schools of Vienna were soon
distinguished by their steadfast refusal of such food
as was forbidden on fast-days, while their parents ate
without scruple. In Cologne it was again become an
honour to wear the rosary. Relics were once more
held up to public reverence in Treves, where for
many years no one had ventured to exhibit them.
In the year 1560, the youth of Ingolstadt belonging
to the Jesuit school walked two and two on a pilgrim-
age to Gichstadt, in order to be strengthed for their
confirmation ' by the dew that dropped from the
tomb of St Walpurgis.' The modes of thought and
feeling thus implanted in the schools, were propagated
by means of preaching and confession through the
"whole population." *
We add to all this, that their instructions were
* Eanke's Hist, of the Fopea, vol. i. pp. 415-417.
o
198 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
gratuitous, and that the pupils made such rapid pro-
gress, that they were found to have learned more in
six months in a Jesuit school, than in two years any-
where else. Many were the Protestants who sent
their children to the Jesuit colleges: and these
children were kindly received by the masters, treated
with great indulgence, and premiums were freely
bestowed upon them even in preference to the Roman
Catholic children. The Jesuits thus acquired an im-
mense influence, especially over the female part of the
population, who were proud of their children's learning ;
while these imperceptibly acquired a tinge of their
masters' doctrines and modes of thinking, although in
countries where the majority were Protestants, they
were expressly forbidden openly to propound them.
Yet, notwithstanding all these advantages, the Jesuits
could not have hoped for such prodigious success had
it not been for the support they received from divers
sovereigns of the country. Perhaps we should be more
correct in saying, that these sovereigns called in the
Jesuits to re-establish the ancient religion.
At the commencement of the Reformation, even
those German princes who had not unreservedly
embraced the new doctrines were exceedingly glad
to shake oif the yoke of the Romish See ; and,
without separating themselves from its communion,
they made many concessions to their subjects, which
amounted in many places to toleration. Subse-
quently, however, the Popes made them understand
that by these concessions their sovereign authority
was greatly diminished, and that temporal princes
and the head of the Church were bound by a com-
mon interest to support each other. The princes
w ere easily persuaded to a policy which flattered their
inclination to despotism, and from that moment they
not only resisted every new demand for reform, but, to
the utmost of their power, withdrew the concessions
they had formerly made. The first who entered upon
PROCEEDINGS THROUGHOUT EUROPE. 199
this roactionar}^ path was Albert V. of Bavaria. Being
in continual want of money to pay his enormous debts,
the estates would grant him no supplies without ob-
taining in exchange some concessions, mostly of a reli-
gious kind. In this state of things, Pius IV., through
the medium of the Jesuits, and especially of Canisius,
persuaded him that any new concessions would dimi-
nish the obedience of his subjects ; and, in order to
render him less dependent on the estates, the Pope
abandoned to him the tenth of the property of his
clergy.* The duke perceiving what advantage he
might derive from a closer alliance with the Court of
Rome, decided at once to resist any further demand,
and firmly declared his intentions at the diet of 1563.
He found the prelates well disposed to second him ;
*' and, whether it was that the doctrines of a reviving
Catholicism, and the activity of the Jesuits, who in-
sinuated themselves everywhere, had gained influence
in the cities, or that other considerations prevailed,
the cities did not insist as formerly upon religious
concessions."! The nobles only kept up an opposition ;
but the duke, catching the opportunity of a sort of
conspiracy which he had discovered, deprived them of
their right to seats in the diet, and so became the
almost absolute and uncontrolled master of his people's
franchises. Then commenced the reaction. Encou-
raged by the Jesuits, who had now acquired an un-
limited influence over him, Albert resolved not to leave
a vestige of those new doctrines which for the last
forty years had been spreading so fast in his kingdom.
All the professors, all his household, all the civil
oflicers — in a word, all the public functionaries — were
compelled to subscribe the Professio Fldei of the
Council of Trent, and on their refusal, were immediately
dismissed. To obtain a recantation from the common
people, he sent through all his provinces swarms of
Jesuits, accompanied by bands of troopers, whose
* Kanke's History of the Popes, vol. i. p. 411. f Ibid, p, 426.
200 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
bayonets came to the aid of the preachers, when their
eloquence was unsuccessful in converting the heretics.
The mildest treatment the obstinate Protestants could
expect, was to be expelled from the duke's estates
without delay. Prohibited books were sought for in
the libraries, and burned in large numbers ; those of a
rigidly Catholic character, on the contrary, were highly
favoured. Relics were again held in great veneration ;
and, in short, throughout the whole country were re-
vived all the ancient practices, all the absurd super-
stitions, of the Popish religion. " Above all," says
Ranke, " the Jesuit institutions were promoted ; for
by their agency it was, that the youth of Bavaria were
to be educated in a spirit of strict orthodoxy."*
Duke Albert was now spoken of as the most bigoted
Roman Cathohc in Germany, and became the protector
of all those petty sovereigns who wished to tread in
his footsteps.
In Austria, although the reaction had long be-
gun, coercive measures against the Protestants were
not resorted to till somewhat later. As we have al-
ready said, Ferdinand invited the Jesuits to Vienna,
and delivered up to them the university as early as
the year 1551. Soon after, he established another
Jesuit college at Prague, to which he sent his own
pages, and to which resorted all the nobihty belonging
to the Roman communion. Colleges, and schools of
less consequence, were established throughout all the
Austrian dominions, and great efforts were made to
win back the Protestants to the Romish faith. Yet,
under the prudent and concihating Ferdinand I., and
during the reign of the wise Maximilian, the Jesuits
could not obtain any severe persecuting measure
against the followers of the Reformed religion, but
were more successful with Rodolph II. Father
Maggio, the Provincial of the Jesuits, was held by
the emperor in great estimation, and consulted in
* Ranke; vol. i. p. 422.
PROCEEDINGS THROUGHOUT EUROPE. 201
every matter of importance. lie was continually press-
ing tlie monarch to come to the resolution of com-
pletely extirpating heresy from his dominions. The
Pope's leg-ate and the Spanish ambassador backed him
in his intolerant demand. This bigoted prince at last,
under the pretence of a popular tumult, which took
place on the occasion of the procession of the Corpus
Domini in 1578, banished from his estates Opitz, a
Protestant preacher, and all his assistants; and this mea-
sure was the signal for a general persecution of the Lu-
therans. The greatest atrocity and the utmost rigour
were displayed in destroying every trace of Protes-
tantism.
In the first place, it was determined to extirpate
Protestantism from the imperial cities. The towns east
of the Ens, which had separated from the estates of
the knights and nobles twenty years before, could offer
no resistance ; the Reformed clergy were removed, and
their places filled by Catholic priests ; private persons
were subjected to a close examination. A formula, ac-
cording to which the suspected were interrogated, has
come into our possession. ' Dost thou believe,' in-
quires one of its articles, ' that everything is true which
the Church of Rome has laid down as the rule of life
and doctrine?' 'Dost thou believe,' adds another,
' that the Pope is the head of the one Apostolic Church?'
No doubt was to be endured. The Protestants were
to be expelled from all offices of state ; none were ad-
mitted to the class of burghers who did not declare
themselves Catholics. In the universities, that of
Vienna not excepted, all who applied for a doctor's
degree were first required to subscribe the Professio
Fidei. A new regulation for schools was promulgated,
which prescribed Catholic formularies, fasts, worship,
according to the Catholic ritual, and the exclusive use
of the Catechism of Canisius. In Vienna, all Protestant
books were taken away from the booksellers' shops,
and were carried in heaps to the Episcopal court.
202 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
Search was made at the customhouses along the river;
all packages were examined, and books or pictures not
considered purely Catholic were confiscated.*
All throughout Germany the same proceedings were
resorted to, and everywhere we find the Jesuits
foremost in the reaction. There was no bishop, no
prince, who went to visit a province upon religious
concerns, who did not bring with him a troop of Jesuits,
who, on his departure, were often left there with al-
most unlimited powers.
POLAND.
If from Germany we pass to Poland, there also we
meet the ominous influence of the disciples of Loyola.
" The Protestant cause," says Count Krasinski, in the
fourth of his admirable Lectures on Slavonia, '* was en-
dangered by the lamentable partiality which Stephen
Batory had shewn to the Jesuits; and the Romanist
reaction, beginning under his reign, had been chiefly
promoted by the schools, which that order was every-
where establishing." Stephen, however, either too pru-
dent to attack openly the religion then professed, in Li-
thuania at least, by a great majority of his subjects, or
anxious to maintain, to a certain extent, religious li-
berty, had recourse to no extraordinary measures for
the furtherance of this reaction, and contented himself
with ordering that in future none but strict Roman
Catholics should be appointed to bishoprics. But
under the bigoted Sigismond — under that king, who,
as the same learned Count says, '•' gloried in the appel-
lation of the king of the Jesuits, which was given him
by their antagonists, and who indeed became a mere
tool in the hands of the disciples of Loyola" — the reac-
tion made fearful and continued progress. Although
Sigismond could attempt nothing by main force against
the liberties of his Protestant subjects, he had it in his
* Banke, vol. i. p. 487.
PROCEEDINGS THROUGHOUT EUROPE. 203
power to give, and he at last cfFectually gave, a mortal
blow to tlic Reformed religion. The chief prerogative
of the Polish kings — we sliould perhaps say, the only
real power possessed by these nominal sovereigns —
was the right of conferring all dignities and official
appointments. Twenty thousand othces were at their
disposal ; and Sigismond declared that none but strict
Roman Catholics should be named to them. The favour
of the Jesuits was an essential condition of obtaining a
situation under the Government; and "the Starost
Ludwig von Montager became Waivode of Pomerel-
lia, because he presented his house in Thorn to the
Society of Jesus."* Many of the nobles who had pro-
fessed the doctrines of the Reformation, were induced
to recant, depending exclusively as tliey did on the king's
favour for the maintenance of their rank, and having
no hope for preferment while out of the pale of the
Romish Church. The influence of these examples,
seconded by the rigorous measures subsequently taken
against the Lutherans, and, above all, by the diabolical
cunning and artifice of the Jesuits, in a short time
brought back the great majority of the Polish nation
under the yoke of the Church of Rome.
SWEDEN.
In Sweden, the efforts of the Jesuits against Protes-
tantism, although no less active and vigorous, were
less successful. John III., son of the heroic Gustavus
Vasa, on ascending the throne, published a ritual, in
which, to the great amazement and dismay of the Pro-
testants, were to be found not only ceremonies, but
even doctrines of the Church of Rome.f The Pope,
apprised of this prince's good disposition towards his
* Ranke, Hist, of the Popes, vol. ii. p. 141.
f John, betore his ascension to the throne, had been confined in strict
captivity by his brother Eric. His wile, a Polish princess, the last de-
scendant of the Jagellonica family, and an adherent oi the Church of Home,
204 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
Church, despatched to vStockholm in all haste and
secrecy, as his legate, the famous Posse vin, one of the
cleverest and least scrupulous among the Jesuits. To
obviate the difficulty of obtaining admission into the
country and court of Sweden as Pope's legate, Posse-
vin, in passing through Prague, induced the widow of
the emperor Maximilian to send him to Stockholm as
her extraordinary ambassador. He assumed, in conse-
quence, another name, a splendid costume, and girded
himself with a sword, but, " to do penance in advance
for these transient honours, he went the greatest part
of the way on foot."* Acting publicly as the envoy of
the empress, he found means secretly to inform the
king of his real name and mission, and had several
conferences with him. The result was, that John was
persuaded to make the Professio Fidei, according to
the formula of the Council of Trent, promising at the
same time to take measures, and to use all his endea-
vours, to induce the nation to follow in the same path,
provided the Pope would second him by making cer-
tain concessions, the most essential of which were, that
the sacramental cup should be administered to the
laity, and mass performed in the language of the coun-
try. Possevin said that the Pope should be apprised
of his majesty's will, and asked him whether he would
submit to his decision in this matter. John having
answered in the affirmative, was absolved of his sins,
and received the sacrament according to the Roman
Catholic ritual. I
The Jesuit departed in high glee at his success, far
surpassing his most sanguine hopes. He hastened to
shared his imprisonment ; the sad and gloomy hours of which were ren*
dered less painful by the frequent visits of a Roman Catholic priest, who
shewed them the greatest sympathy. It seems that this made some im-
pression upon John, and rendered him favourable towards the Papists.
* Cret. vol. ii. p. 195.
•f* Ranke informs us that John, troubled by remorse for his brother's
assassination, Wiis very anxious to receive absolution ; — as if the word of a
man could quiet the gnawings of conscience, that unsparing avenger of
crime !
PROCEEDINGS THROUGHOUT EUROPE. 205
Rome, and assuming a privilege in use among am-
bassadors, he boasted of having achieved more than lio
had really done, assuring Gregory XIII. that Sweden
and its king were at his Iloliness's mercy. He then
laid before the Pope the conditions on which John had
insisted, but Gregory, cither too intolerant to make
any concession, or considering it unnecessary to grant
honourable terms to an enemy who threw himself at
his feet, refused to listen to such proposals, and sent
back the Jesuit to Stockholm, w^ith letters to the king,
in which he required the monarch to declare himself a
Catholic without restriction.
This imperious conduct saved Sweden from falling
back under the Popish rule. John, indignant at being
held in so light account — indignant at the assurance
of Possevin, who unceremoniously entered Stockholm
and the court in the garb of his order as the Pope's
legate, and accompanied by other Jesuits, as if
Sweden had already become a Koman Cathohc coun-
try — moved by the remonstrances of the Protestant
princes and divines, who, in the interval of Possevin's
departure and return, had entreated him to remain in
their communion— dismissed the Pope's ambassador,
and returned to the Reformed worship.
The attempts of the Jesuits to convert Sweden to
the Roman faith were revived with new vigour under
John's successor, Sigismond, the Polish king. For-
tunately, Charles of Sandermania, the king's uncle,
headed the nation in its resistance to Sigismond's
Popish propensities ; and although the Jesuits had
the sad glory of plunging Poland and Sweden into a
bloody war, the last-mentioned country remained Pro-
testant.
SWITZERLAND AND PIEDMONT.
The Jesuits experienced some difficulty in entering
Switzerland, and in some parts of it they could not
206 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
get footing; but towards the year 1574, they esta-
bhshed themselves in Friburg and Lucerne. They
succeeded in keeping back these two towns from the
AlHance of Berne, and scattered the flames of that
rehgious discord between these cantons which was not
extinguished even by the blood that was shed at the
instigation of the Jesuits in 1845-47. The famous
Canisius was the principal promoter and founder of
the College of Friburg, the resort, till lately, of a great
number of young men of the highest families, sent
thither for education from divers parts of Europe.
The cruelties exercised by Possevin against the in-
habitants of the Alps were most barbarous and revolt-
ing. Many Christians, driven out of other countries
by Popish persecution, had sought a refuge in these
almost inaccessible mountains, where the Waldenses
still preserved the religion of Christ in its primitive
purity. They had hoped, in the simpUcity of their
hearts, that there, far from the scene of conflict, they
would be permitted to worship God according to tlieir
consciences. They were not dangerous persons — they
were no chiefs of sects eager to make proselytes — they
were single-hearted people, seeking to please God by
living a pure and Christian life. It might have been
expected that their poverty, their innocence, their
peaceful conduct, would have sheltered them from any
persecution ; and, in fact, for a time they lived un-
molested. Unhappily for them, the Jesuits w^ere
watching them, and, urged on by that persecuting
spirit which led them to seek for victims everywhere,
were resolved to trouble them in their retreat, and, if
possible, to destroy them. Lainez, in 1560, despatched
Possevin to Nice, to Emmanuel Philebert, Duke of
Savoy, to excite him to persecute those heretic moun-
taineers. The Jesuit represented to the Duke that a
Catholic prince ought not, even though his own per-
sonal interest required it, to tolerate that the heresy
should estabhsh itself in his dominions, and that the
PROCEEDINGS THROUGHOUT EUROPE. 207
mountains of Piedmont and the Alps, in particular,
served for a retreat to the sectaries of Luther and
Calvin.* Possevin succeeded in bringing the duke into
his abominable views. Ferrier, the governor of Pignerol,
commenced a chase against these inoffensive people,
who were hunted from one retreat to another, and
M hen taken, were mercilessly and inhumanly consigned
to the flames. Driven to despair they took up arms, re-
solved hereafter to sell their lives at the dearest price.
A body of troops was sent against them. The Gene-
ral, the Sieur de la Trinite, placed them at the disposal
of Possevin, and the Pope's nuncio conferred upon him
the powers with which he pretended to be invested.f
The Jesuit, forgetful of his sacerdotal calling, repress-
ing every feeling of humanity, put himself at the head
of a chosen body of troops, and hunted down these
poor Christians as if they were wild beasts, putting
every one who fell into his hands to the sword.
Then, when he was tired of the work of slaughter, to
procure for himself a sort of triumph, he brought to
Vercelh, in solemn procession, thirty-four of those un-
fortunates, who, not having faith or strength enough
to prefer martyrdom to apostasy, publicly abjured
their rchgion in the presence of the duke and the
Jesuit.j: From that day till very lately, the house of
Savoy has more or less persecuted the Waldenses.
Our Protestant readers, we presume, have by this
time learned what malignant and unrelenting enemies
of their religion the Jesuits have always been. They
must have learned that all the north of Europe, and
France itself, perhaps, would have become Protestant
countries, had it not been for the demoniacal arts and
ill-employed activity of the disciples of Loyola. They
* Cret. vol. i. p. 449. + Ibid.
X This fact is reported by all the Jesuit historians. We, however,
have too good an opinion of the Waldenses not to suspect that the
Jesuits, in order to deceive and impose upon the populace, had mixed
among some few apostates a number of Koman Catholics who were will-
ing to appear converted heretics.
208 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
must, further, be aware that the Jesuits did not obtain
those results by honest means only, by force of argu-
ment, or by active and earnest exertions, which would
have at least entitled them to the approbation and es-
teem of all Roman Catholics, but they had recourse to
perjury, to murder, to persecution, to cruelties of every
kind — to means, in short, involving the perversion of
every principle of morality, for which they at last
came to be abhorred by every honest person, even of
their own persuasion. Lastly, it clearly appears, from
what we have related, that, while pretending to fight
for the Roman See, the Jesuits, in reaUty, fought for
their own aggrandisement ; that they recognise no re-
ligion, but their interest ; worship no God, but their
order. We must, finally, remind our readers that we
have omitted numberless other charges which are
generally brought against them, which we consider
well founded, but which we cannot satisfactorily prove.
All that we have advanced we have proved, according
to our promise, by documents of unquestionable authen-
ticity, and we shall continue to observe this rule to the
conclusion of our history.
COMMOTION AMONG THE JESUITS. 209
CHAPTER X.
1581-1G08.
COMMOTION AMONG THE JESUITS.
In relating the proceedings of the Jesuits in divers
countries of Europe, we have not mentioned Spain ;
first, because, though firmly established in that country,
they, under the absolute Philip IL, exercised no influ-
ence whatever over its general policy ; and, secondly,
because we had it in reserve to speak of their pro-
ceedings in that country in the present chapter.
In Spain the Jesuits had no heretics to contend
with — no zeal or fanaticism to excite. If now and
tlien some Christianised Jew or Moor relapsed into
his former belief, the Inquisition was too jealous of her
privilege of roasting those accursed of God, in a
solemn auto dafe, to permit the Jesuits to meddle in
the holy ceremony. Having thus no external enemy
to contend with, they, as usually happens, fell out
among themselves, and fought with one another.
The so-called Society of Jesus having been mostly
established by Spaniards, the Spanish Jesuits pre-
tended that all the honours and dignities of the order
were exclusively due to them. A first blow was dealt
to these pretensions when, by the interference of the
Pope, a General was chosen who was not a Castilian.
However, since Mercurianus, the person elected, was
old and weak, they submitted without much reluctance
to an authority they did not dread. But when the
210 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
fifth General Congregation chose for General a Nea-
politan nobleman, young, active, and enterprising,
they broke out into open revolt. This General, elected
in 1581, was Claude Acquaviva, son of the Duke of
Atri, only thirty-seven years of age at the time of his
election. Acquaviva was, and has remained, the heau
ideal of Jesuitism. He had grown up in the Court of
Rome, where he was chamberlain, and where he ac-
quired a thorough knowledge of men, and of all
political intrigues, in which the Roman curia at that
epoch excelled all the other courts of Europe. He
was crafty, insinuating, persevering. He never uttered
a precise command, but never suffered his exhorta-
tions to be disregarded. Gentle in appearance, and
renowned for the amenity of his manners, he was en-
dowed with an inflexible intrepidity of character. He
spoke rarely, never gave a decided opinion, and pre-
served in all circumstances a placid and calm demean-
our. His family had been from of old attached to the
French party, and he followed the same hne of policy.
As we have seen, he disapproved of the League, and
gave other tokens of his attachment to the French in-
terest, without, however, openly committing himself
with the other party. Such was Acquaviva.
At the news of Acquaviva's election, the old Jesuits
of Spain, incensed in the highest degree, broke out in
loud complaints first, refused afterwards obedience to
his orders, lastly rebelled openly, and asked that the
members residing in Spain should be governed by a
commissary-general independent of Rome. Philip,
to cast a reproach upon Acquaviva, whom he detested
on account of his partiality to the French king, sided
with the malcontents. The General faced the storm in
the best manner he could. First of all, he contrived,
by promises of advancement and honours, to retain in his
interest some of the less compromised among the riot-
ers; secondly, he sent into the Peninsula new provin-
cials and suj^eriorS; the most of whom were Neapolitans,
COMMOTION AMONG THE JESUITS. 211
young (a class of Jesuits who worsliippcd him), and
tirmly attached to his fortunes, with strict injunctions to
enforce obedience to liis orders. Some of the Jesuits,
in the hope of making their way to preferment, sub-
mitted ; the most refused obedience, and had recourse
to the Inquisition and the king. PhiHp ordered the
Bishop of Carthagena to subject the order to a visita-
tion, and the Inquisition arrested the provincial Mar-
cenius, and two or three more members of Acquaviva's
party ; the latter being accused by the other party of
absolving the members of their order from certain sins
from which the Inquisition only could absolve ; and those
sins, Sacchini tells us, consisted in the attempt to cor-
rupt the honesty of their penitents. This was rather
a serious matter, and menaced the Society in its very
existence. Nevertheless, Acquaviva was not appalled.
He did not lose his self-command, nor vent his anger
in threats. Against such enemies he had but one
shield — the Pope. Sixtus V. filled the chair of St
Peter; he bore no goodwill to the order, but he was
jealous to an extreme degree of his own authority, and
wished that that of others also should be respected.
Acquaviva persuaded Sixtus, or, to speak more cor-
rectly, insinuated to him, that the blow was aimed not
so much at him, the General, as at the supremacy of
Rome; at the same time skilfully making him under-
stand, that the Bishop of Carthagena was of illegiti-
mate birth, a blemish which he knew the Pope abhorred
above all things. Sixtus at once recalled the assent
which he had given to the visitation, and commanded
the Inquisition to set at liberty the arrested Jesuits,
and to remit the whole case to Rome. When he was
informed that the holy tribunal refused to obey his
orders, Sixtus became furious with anger, and directed
a letter to be written to Cardinal Quiroga, the Grand
Inquisitor, to which he added, in his own handwriting,
" And if you do not obey, I, the Pope, shall imme-
diately depose you from your office of inquisitor, and
212 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
tear from your head your cardinal's hat." This de-
cided language produced the desired effect. Sixtus's
orders were obeyed, and Acquaviva, under the shadow
of the Pope's authority, maintained himself unshaken
in his hio'h office durino- Sixtus's lifetime.
But the storm, which had been but momentarily
quelled, broke out again after the death of Sixtus,
ivith increased violence. In 1592, while the General
was absent from Rome, Philip, who never forgave to
Acquaviva his partiality for the French interest, sent
the Pope a petition from all the Spanish Jesuits,
praying for a general congregation of the order; he
himseh', at the same time, strongly recommending the
measure. Clement VIII., the reigning Pope, granted
their request, and before even the General could be
aware of his enemies' manoeu\Tes, the Pope issued orders
for the meeting of the congregation. Acquaviva, satis-
fied that the measure was noAv irrevocable, submitted
to it with the greatest possible good grace, and having
used his utmost endeavours that the election should
not prove too unfavourable to him, the moment the
congregation opened, he, without waiting to be accused,
requested that his conduct should be examined and
judged. A commission was immediately appointed to
receive any accusation or complaint that might be
brought against the General. But Acquaviva was far
too prudent to have violated any essential rule, or to
have grv'cn his enemies the right of consistently im-
peaching his private conduct ; so that, as no charge
could be substantiated against him, he was triumph-
antly acquitted. Philip, however, insisted that some
restraint should be put upon the General's authority,
and, although the congregation refused to comply
with the king's wishes, the Pope, in the plenitude of
his apostolic power, ordained that the superiors and
rectors should be changed every third year, and that,
at the expiration of every sixth year, a general con-
gregation should be assembled. Acquaviva shewed a
COMMOTION AMONG THE JESUITS. 213
^reat readiness to acquiesce in the Pope's decrees, but
he rendered them ahnost nugatory by other ordi-
nances ; and as a new generation of Jesuits, all devoted
to his interests, was now grown up, all questions taken
up both by the provincial and general congregations,
were decided in accordance with his wishes. By his
letter on the happy increase of the Society, Acquaviv-a
prescribed new rules to render the superiors more
respected by their subordinates, and more submissive
to the General. A second letter, ratio stiidiomim,
which contains a complete code of school legislation,
was of still greater importance, and productive of
more momentous results. As the education of the
young has been one of the j^rincipal and immediate
causes of the Jesuits' immense power and influence,
we feel obliged to devote some few pages to this im-
portant matter.
Had the Jesuits devoted themselves to the work of
education for the sole and noble end of diffusing know-
ledge and intellectual culture among the people, no
praise would be adequate to their meritorious exer-
tions and unremitting activity. Such, however, was
not exactly the ease. The Order — that idol which the
Jesuit must have constantly before his eyes — was in
this, as in every other undertaking, the great object
to which their labours were consecrated; and for its
honour and advantage they did not hesitate to sac-
rifice, when necessary, every other consideration.
Nevertheless, in a literary point of view, we shall not
refuse to them some eulogy.
"The instruction of boys and of ignorant people in
Christianity" was one of the ends which they proposed
to attain, and for which Loyola asked Paul III. to
approve his order. The example of John 111. of Por-
tugal, and of the Duke of Candia, who first erected
colleges for the fathers, was eagerly imitated by
many. Their colleges increased rapidly, and were
soon planted all over the world, so that there were no
p
214 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
less than 669 of them at the epoch of the suppression
of the order. We have already seen (pp. 40, 41) by
what allurements wealthy persons were induced by the
Jesuits to leave their property to Jesuit establishments.
These were of two kinds, seminaries and colleges, the
members of the latter being subdivided into gymnasium
and faculty-students. In connexion with each college
there was a boarding-house, whither parents were
happy to send their children as under a safe shelter
from the storms of passion, and from the dangerous so-
ciety of depraved companions. In their seminaries were
trained up the Scholars — those members of the order
who were thought to be possessed of such talents as to
qualify them to fulfil afterwards the office of professor.
But the most numerous class, and perhaps the most
useful for their purpose, was the class of day scholars.
It is well known that all persons, of whatsoever rank,
are admitted into the Jesuit schools, and receive the
same instructions. At school hours the prince's son,
who is brought up in their boarding-houses, descends
and takes his seat on the same bench with the son of a
cobbler. And this we consider an admirable and most
instructive plan. The only obligation imposed on the
day scholars is, that they must give in their names,
and promise to observe the rules of the college,
which are everywhere uniform, and which oblige the
pupil to hear mass every day, and to go to the con-
fessional once every month. In former times, the
Jesuits undertook a still more watchful oversight of
this class. They visited them at unwonted hours in
their abodes, they had them followed in their diiferent
movements, and if they were found guilty of any mis-
demeanour they were reprimanded, and their faults
were made an obstacle to their advancement to acade-
mical honours. It is, however, worthy of remark, that
Loyola, the clear-sighted Loyola, foreseeing that the
obligation to follow the rules of the college would
deter Protestants from sendino' their children to it,
COMMOTION AMONG THE JESUITS. 215
and wishing above all things to get hold of those
children and to try what the Jesuits could do to con-
vert them, had taken care to leave an opening for
their admission. To the third paragraph of the thir-
teenth chapter of the fourth part of the Constitution,
in which is enacted that the day scholars shall engage
to observe the rules of the college, he added the fol-
lowing note : — " If any of those who present them-
selves to our schools w^ill neither engage to observe
the rules nor give in his name, he ought not for that
reason to be prevented from attending the classes,
provided he conduct himself with propriety, and do
not cause either trouble or scandal. Let them be
made aware of this; adding, however, that they
shall not receive the pecuhar care which is given to
those whose names are inscribed in the register of the
university or of the class, and who engage to follow its
rules."* This is a characteristic specimen of Jesuitical
policy. By absolutely refusing to admit the children
of Protestants, they would obtain no result ; but by
admitting them on such terms, they obtain an oppor-
tunity of influencing their youthful minds, and bending
them to their purpose indirectly. On the one hand,
such pupils cannot but imbibe, in the ordinary course
of instruction, the principles and spirit of their masters ;
and on the other, their pride is mortitied at never
being considered or mentioned at those public exhibi-
tions which form so important a part of the Jesuit
system of education. This artful policy is too fre-
quently successful. Oftentimes the parents, jealous of
their children's renown, and anxious to sec them sur-
rounded by those affectionate and friendly cares which
the Jesuits unsparingly bestow upon the regular pupils,
are induced to consent that they shall follow the rules
of the college, and go to mass and to the confessional,
and even change their own faith, the better to secure
for them these desired advantages ; and if it should
* See also Cret. vol. iv. pp. 200, 201
216 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
chance that the mother alone is left as guardian, it
commonly happens that both mother and son become
Roman Catholics.
In the Jesuit schools the greatest order reigned.
The Jesuit masters were men of polite and agreeable
manners, in general of a comely appearance, with a
cheerful and smiling countenance. They descended
with a winning affability to the level of their pupils,
and accommodated their language and manners to the
capacities and dispositions of the class of persons
they had to deal with. The parents, who were highly
pleased with the polished manners and the high at-
tainments of their children, sounded forth the praises
of their kind instructors far and wide, and repaid their
gratuitous instructions sometimes by large donations,
always by a deference and devotion never withdrawn.
It is an incontestable fact, that even Protestants and
philosophers, who had been educated in these semina-
ries, and who afterwards became the most hostile to
the Jesuits as a religious community, continued to pre-
serve a grateful recollection of their Jesuit teachers.
Voltaire himself dedicated his tragedy Merope to his
dear master Father Poree; and the different princes
who were brought up by the Jesuits never lost, when
on the throne, that affection and veneration which they
had conceived for their kind instructors at an age when
generous minds are most susceptible of noble and ge-
nerous impressions.
Nor was this all. Another strong link, that of reli-
gion, was added to the chain of sympathy by which
they bound their pupils to the order, and insured for
themselves in the different nations of Europe an all-
powerful and irresistible influence. In 1569 the Jesuit
Leon, a teacher, thought of assembling during the
interval of studies such of the boys as were willing to
sing the praises of the Virgin, and perform certain
external acts of devotion, contributing at the same
time, monthly, small sums of money, part of which was
employed in works of charity, the merit of the action
COMMOTION AMONG THE JESUITS. 21 T
being always attributed, not to the donors, but to the
Jesuits. These meetin^rs took the form of associations,
and increased so rapidly, that fifteen years after, in
1584, Gregory XIII. erected them into primary con-
gregations, under the title of Congregations of the
Holy Virgin. " These congregations, of which the
General of the order was the supreme director, soon
broke out from the walls of the colleges wdth those
young men who left them to embrace a career, and
who Avished to remain in a communion of prayers and
remembrances with their masters and their fellow-
scholars. They became a link of connexion and friend-
ship; they spread in Europe and in India; they united
in the same association the east and the west, the
populations of the north and of the south. They had
statutes, rules, prayers, and duties in common. It
wvas a numerous brotherhood, extending from Paris to
Goa, and descending from Home to the most insignifi-
cant hamlet. The congregations of Avignon, of Ant-
werp, of Prague, of Friburg, were the most celebrated.
There were congregations composed of ecclesiastics, of
military men, of magistrates, of nobles, of burgesses,
of merchants, of artisans, of servants, all occupied in
good and meritorious works."* With the exception of
this last clause, this description is perfectly true. A
Jesuit was at the head of every congregation. At
appointed times the members met together to repeat
the office of the Virgin, and to listen to whatever ex-
hortation or advice the Jesuit might think proper to
give. Ilis influence w^as greater or less, according to
the quality of persons composing the congregation.
Over the poor and the ignorant he had an almost
absolute control, and whatever he enjoined, they un-
scrupulously obeyed. If he exercised no such abso-
lute control over members of the higher classes, he
still possessed a great influence over them, and had
free access to their families, wdiere he more leisurely
^' Cret. vol iv. pp. 221, 222.
218 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
practised those arts by which the Jesuit very seldom
fails to attain his ends. One is amazed when he con-
siders what immense power these congregations must
have given the General of the society. His orders,
his curses or commendations of a book, of a man, or of
a measure, were repeated in the same tone throughout
all the world by tens of thousands, who considered it a
sin to disbelieve his word, or to disobey his commands.
No wonder, then, that the Court of Rome itself was
obhged to submit to the ascendancy of the Jesuits, and
that the suppression of the order was with difficulty
effected by the united efforts of almost all the sove-
reigns of Europe.
After the order was suppressed, and during the poli-
tical turmoil and the unsettled state of Europe, the
congregations, although kept up secretly by some dis-
guised Liguorist or Jesuit, were thinly attended, and
had lost all their importance. But after the restora-
tion of the Pope and of the Bourbons, missionaries of
all kinds overran the whole of Italy, Spain, and part
of France, and, among other religious exploits, re-esta-
bhshed the congregations of the Virgin. Congrega-
tions both of men and women are now very numerous,
although they perhaps want that unity of purpose
and of direction, which in former times rendered them
so dangerously powerful. Their denominations are
numberless; congregations of the Rosary, congregations
of the Assumption of the Virgin, congregations of the
Blood of Jesus (del Sangue di Gesu). In those places
where there are no Jesuits, they are directed by proxy,
some other religious community, as the Liguorist, the
Lazarist, the Passionist, or such like idle and corrupted
crew, being appointed to that duty. In church affairs,
the members of these congregations have, so to speak,
privileges above the rest of the citizens. They go
foremost in the processions and other exhibitions; they
wear a distinctive badge; they are entitled to a greater
number of days of indulgence, and so on. Besides
COMMOTION AMONG THE JESUITS. 219
these things, which satisfy the devotional feeling, and
Hatter tlie vanity, especially that of the common people
in small towns, each individual member may count
upon receiving the protection and indirect assistance
of the father director.
The boarders in the Jesuit college are subjected to
almost the same mode of hfe as that of the Scholars (the
second class of Jesuits), which, however, is not strictly
conformable to that of the other classes ; Loyola hav-
ing given them a dispensation from some external
practices, acts of devotion and of mortification, that they
may have more time for study.* The boarders are
placed in large rooms, called in Italian Camerate, in
French Chambres, each of which accommodates from
fifteen to twenty, who are under the superintendence
of a Prefetto and Vice-jwefetto. At six in the morn-
ing a bell gives the signal for rising. The prefect
immediately chants some prayers, which are repeated
by some of the youths who are less asleep than the
rest. Half an hour is allowed for dressing ; an hour
is spent in the chapel, hearing mass, and singing the
praises of the Virgin and St Ignatius. Study follows,
and after breakfast, for which half an hour is allowed,
they descend to the public schoolroom, where they
mix with the day-boarders, with whom, however, they
have no opportunities of secret converse. Two pupils,
and every day different ones, are secretly charged by
the prefect to give an account of the behaviour of all
the others, and they are punished if they are not ac-
curate in their denunciations. At twelve they sit down
to dinner, during which ascetic books are read from
a pulpit placed in the refectory. After the evening
school, they walk for an hour in winter, two in sum-
mer, and almost double that time on holidays. Before
supper, half an hour is again spent in the chapel; and
what remains of the evening after supper is spent in
study and recreation. At nine o'clock, being warned
* Const, pars iv. chap, vi, § iii.
220 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
by the ringing of the bell, they prepare for resr, ac-
companying the prefect in chanting the Litany of the
Virgin. No one is allowed to go from one earner ata
to another, without the express permission of the
prefect or vice-prefect, one of whom must accom-
pany him. No one, not even a parent, is allowed to
visit a boarder without the consent of the superior,
who is almost always present at the interview. No
letter can be sent off or received by any boarder but
it must pass through the hands of the rector, who
stops it if he thinks proper. The boarders never go
home except during the holidays in September, and
some remain in the college even during that period.
The consequence is, that the influence of the family is
gradually destroyed, and the Jesuits mould these
youthful hearts and intellects according to their own
Jesuitical pattern. Every fortnight all the boarders
must go to the confessional, and severe punishment is
inflicted on those who transgress this principal rule of
the college. But no one ever dares to brave the
punishment, though many do not scruple to evade the
duty by practising a little ruse.*
* To ascertain "whether every one goes to the confessional every other
Saturday, each boarder receives a card with his own name written on
it, which he must deliver to his confessor, who gives it back to the rec-
tor. I may here mention that this method is also practised at Easter in
the whole of the States of the Church, with all the inhabitants. If your
card is not among those collected from the different confessors, it is evi-
dent that you have not fulfilled the precept, and if you do not give a
satisfactory reason for it before the 26th of August, your name is fixed on
the door of the parish church as that of a sacrilegious and infamous per-
son. In the college of Senegallia, where I was educated, we were about
two hundred boarders. Eight confessors were appointed to shrive. At
sunset we descende<^l to the chapel, whence we went in turn into the diffe-
rent schoolrooms to confess. The rooms were darkened, and the fathers
were seated each in an arm chair, before a sort of confessional, through
a grating of which our sins had to find their way to their pious ears. To
such confessors as had been more severe on former occasions we usually
played some tricks, such as putting a piece of raw garlic into our mouths,
and pretending to be seized with a fit of coughing or sneezing, so that the
poor confessor, who, in order to hear our confession well, was obliged to
nave his face close to the grating, had his olfactory nerves assailed by a
pulf of breath which was anything but agreeable. The penance, you
may be sure, was double, but it never deterred us from playing similar
COMMOTION AMONG THE JESUITS. 221
In all the Jesuit colleges, as we have already ob-
served, rcio-ns the greatest decency, and a sort of
niihtary order and discipline, which is highly pleas-
ing to the young. " Their colleges were open for
all the graceful arts. Even dancing and fencing were
not excluded. The annual distribution of prizes was
preceded not only by tragedies full of political allusions,
but also by ballets composed by the reverend fathers,
and executed by the most agile of their pupils."*
No pains were spared by the Jesuits to advance
their pupils in their studies. But as the end which
they taught them to have in view was not the t^mth — as
it was not their purpose to inspire their young minds
with those noble and generous sentiments which form
great citizens, but only to instruct them in their pecu-
liar doctrines, and render them subservient to their
order, the whole course of instruction was directed to
the attainment of these ends, and the progress of their
pupils was more brilliant than solid — partook more of
a theatrical character than of a serious method of
learning that would have developed the power of
reason and reflection. In the speculative sciences
especially, their instruction was most defective. The
student was by no means taught to penetrate the
superficial crust of prejudices and appearances on
which the mass of mankind build their opinions, and
pranks again, thougli we religiously fulfilled it. Sometimes we contrived
to evade confession altogether in the following manner : — One who was
going in to the confessional took with him the card of another along with
his own. ^ In kissing the hand of the confessor, after having confessed, he
put into it one card, and slipped the other upon the table on which the
father laid those he was receiving. After all was over, the servant
brought in a light, and the confessor collected all the tickets he found ou
the table, and took them with him. Meanwhile, the person whose card
had thus passed through the confessional without its owner was skulking
in a closet or some other hiding-place, till, after the lapse of a sufficient
length of time, he returned, as if he had religiously fulfilled the duty re-
quired. If you ask whether we believed in the efficacy of confession, I
answer that we all firmly believed in it, and that in any illness or danger
we would have earnestly asked for a confessor ; only we did not like to go
to it so often.
* Cret. vol. iv. p. 226.
222 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
to descend into the deeper essence of pliilosophy; but
his attention was chiefly directed to the art of dis-
puting in pitiable syllogism upon some of their esta-
blished principles. The most fantastical, and, at the
same time, attractive questions, were proposed for public
disputation; and to that incessant fencing of nego,
comedo, distinguo, &c., the apprentice philosopher
was taught to give all his attention, and, in the dis-
play of ability in this exercise, to place all his glory.
The Jesuits, so celebrated as casuists, cannot boast of
any great philosopher. If some of their pupils acquired
a great name in science or in literature, they owed it
to their own creative power, which broke out from
that sort of magic circle which had been described
around them. They became great, not because they
had had good masters, but, on the contrary, because
they had followed no other master than their own
inventive genius. And this is always the case — the
Dantes, the Bacons, the Shakspeares, had no masters.
The Jesuits cultivated, with more success, archaeology,
numismatics, and the study of languages. They have
especially rendered important services to the study of
the classics, which they strongly recommended as the
most effectual requisite of a good education. But
even to their labours in this department of learning
we cannot render unquahfied praise.
Literature forms the principal part of the education
of a people. Greece and Rome owe their civilisation
and grandeur to their poets and orators more than to
anything else. With the Eschyluses, the Demos-
theneses, the Horaces, and the Ciceros, disappeared
the glory, the liberty, the civilisation, of the two
nations. And if now and then some privileged intel-
ligences, such as Tacitus and Plutarch, appeared on
the scene, they could not give a tone to the age, both
because they stood alone, and because they were the
reflection, not of their own, but of bygone times, and
that all the elements of the expiring civilisation were
COMMOTION AilONG THE JEStlTS. 223
concentratecl, wc may say, in tliemsclvcs alone. For It
is not to the excellence of the form that literature is in-
debted for its power ; it is rather to its being a vivid re-
jH'esentation of the thoughts and feelings, the opinions
and sentiments, the hopes and fears, which constitute
the life of a nation, and which the writers powerfully
exhibit because tjiey themselves are powerfully moved
by them. It wns by their possessing this excellence
in the highest degree that the classical writers of
antiquity contributed to form the character of their
countrymen; and it is this which forms the chief
attraction of their works to the modern student, and
which renders them so efficient an instrument for
developing the powers of the youthful mind. Now% how
can a Jesuit, who has no country, no family, no affec-
tion, no history, nothing in which to glory but his
order — how can such a man impart to young minds
those noble sentiments, those inspirations, which form
the essential part of classical literature ? *' How,"
exclaims our Gioberti,* " how shall the youth love and
admire the heroes of Plutarch if they are made known
to him by a Jesuit ? f because," most judiciously adds
the Italian philosopher, " even if the pupils can repeat
the half of Demosthenes or of Cicero, the lesson cannot
produce any good effect on their tender minds, if it is not
assisted by the voice, by the manners, by the examples,
of the interpreter ; so that the soul and the life of the
master ought to be a mirror and image of that ideal
* Gioberti is a Roman Catholic priest, ex-Premier of the King of
Sardinia, and one of our greatest living philosophers. Though strictly
orthodox, and even partial to the Papal authority, he has contributed
more than any other man to give the last fatal blow to the Jesuits in
Italy. His Gesuita Moderno (Modern Jesuit), in which he lays bare all
the iniquities of the fathers, has ruined their order for ever, in the
estimation of the Italians, and effectually prevented them from again set-
ting foot in Piedmont. I do not share his political or religious creed,
but Italy must preserve the memory of the benefit he has conferred
upon her on this point, and I, in particular, have to confess myself
grateful to him for the advice and encouragement he has kindly given
me in the compilation of this work.
t Gesuita Moderno, vol. iii. p. 226. Ed. di Losanna.
224 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
world into which he introduces the pupiL" In fact,
the Jesuits gave all their attention merely to the
external form of their compositions. Purity of lan-
guage, elegance of style, correctness of expression, are,
generally speaking, the distinctive characteristics of the
writings of the Jesuits and their pupils. But their
writings are devoid of invention, of bold and luxuriant
images, of earnest and passionate expressions, and the
care they take to pubhsh their style renders them
affected and often ridiculous. Ko doubt there are
honourable exceptions ; and Bartoli, for example, Seg-
neri, and Bourdaloue, may be classed among the first
Italian and French writers. The Jesuits exercised
rather the memory than the intelligence of the pupil,
who not seldom was able to recite volumes of which he
hardly understood a word. Their greatest merit con-
sisted in rendering study pleasing ; and many of their
pupils owe their fame and greatness, not to the inform-
ation, but to the love of learning, they had acquired in
their schools.
The Ratio Studiorum regulated with great pre-
cision the method of instruction in its most minute
details, and has ever since been the code followed by
the Jesuits to our day.
Meanwhile a great change had taken place in the
general policy of the Society. Through Acquaviva's
influence, the order, at least as represented by its
officials in Rome, and by the young generation of
Jesuits who were devoted to the General, had passed
from the Spanish into the French camp ; and ever
after, the Jesuits were in a great measure opposed by
the Spanish and supported by the French court. Let
us see how it happened.
The Jesuits had only partially obeyed the arret
of the Parliament of Paris which expelled them
from France. They resided publicly in many pro-
vinces : secretly and in disguise everywhere. Fol-
lowing the suggestions of their General, they had
COMMOTION AMONG THE JESUITS. 225
changed their language and their conduct, and,
from beino; furious Leao;uers, were hccomo zealous
partisans of Henry IV. " Cardinal Tolet has done
wonders, and has shewn himself a good French-
man," wrote the French ambassador, Cardinal du
Perron, to the minister Villeroy.* In fact, he,
more than any other person, had contributed to obtain
Henry's absohition. Acquaviva refused to accept,
without Henry's consent, two new colleges which were
offered to the order by some town of Languedoc,
where the Jesuits had been maintained by the local
parliament. He, the General, and the Pope, the
king's best friends, as they called themselves, pressed
him hard to restore the Jesuits, who, on their part,
promised him the same obedience, the same devotion,
they had till then shewn to the King of Spain. Above
all, they offered to uphold his royal authority in all
its extent, which was then impugned by the Huguenots.
Henry was in a very perplexing position. He stood
in need of the Pope's support against the rival house
of Austria. He felt the necessity of shewing himself
a zealous Catholic, and he wished to secure, if possible,
the support of such men as the Jesuits. On the other
hand, he knew what dangerous and perfidious guests
they were ; and the parHament, the greatest part of
the clergy, and all his ministers, were adverse to the
Society. Sully, the great minister and faithful friend
of Henry, has handed down to us the sentiments of
his royal master on this subject. " I do not doubt,"
said the prince to Sully, " that you can easily combat
this first reason, but I do not think that you will even
attempt to refute the second, namely, that by neces-
sity I am compelled to do one of these two things —
either simply to recall the Jesuits, free them froni the
infamy and disgrace with which they are covered, and
put to the test the sincerity of their oaths and of their
splendid promises ; or to expel them in a more absolute
* Ranke, vol. ii. p. 92, in a note.
226 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
manner, using against them all the rigour and severity
that can be thought of to prevent them from ever
approaching either my person or my estates ; on which
supposition there is no doubt but that we shall drive
them to despair, and to the resolution of attempting
my hfe, which would render it so miserable to me,
being always under the apprehension of being poi-
soned or murdered (for those people have correspond-
ents everywhere, and are very dexterous in disposing
the minds of men to whatever they wish), that I think
it would be better to be abeady dead, being of Caesar's
opinion, that the sweetest death is that which is least
expected and foreseen." * In conformity with this opi-
nion, Henry, in 1603, issued letters-patent for the
re-establishment of the Jesuits, and forced the reluc-
tant parliament to register them. To Acquaviva he
wrote a warm letter, assuring him of his friendship,
and expressing to the then convened congregation his
wishes that the original Constitutions should not be
altered, and this letter in great part checked the in-
fluence of the Spanish party, w4io asked for a reform,
and were supported by the Spanish court.j
In the affair of Venice, the two courts shewed the
same dispositions. It does not enter into the plan of
this work to narrate the particulars of this famous
contest, except in so far as the Jesuits were concerned
in it, and it belongs to their history ; and this we pro-
ceed to do as shortly as possible.
Long had the difference lasted between the Roman
See and the Venetian government, the first asserting
many privileges of the Church over state affairs, the
latter denying them. The Jesuits upheld the exorbi-
tant pretensions of Rome with the utmost pertinacity.
Now, it happened, while both parties were exasperated
against each other, two priests, accused of infamous
crimes, were, by order of the Venetian government,
arrested, and delivered up to the ordinary tribunals.
* Memoircs de Sully, torn. ii. cli. 3. f See Ranke, vol. ii. p. 132.
COMMOTION AMONG THE JESUITS. 227
The Pope was highly incensed at this proceeding, and
contended that tlie repubhc had no right to arrest
any ecclesiastic, who was subject to none but ecclesi-
astical authority. The Jesuits were the most zealous
of the clergy in maintaining this principle. The famous
Bellarmine asserted, that " the priesthood has its princes
who govern, not only in spiritual, but also in temporal
matters. It could not possibly acknowledge any par-
ticular temporal superior. No man can serve two
masters. It is for the priest to judge the emperor,
not the emperor the priest. It would be absurd for
the sheep to pretend to judge the shepherd."* The
republic, on the other hand, asserted her sovereign
rights. Paul Y. was in the Papal chair, a man who
considered the canonical laAV as the word of God, and
was ready to excommunicate whosoever dared to dis-
regard its authority. He laid Venice under an inter-
dict, which, as most of our readers are aware, would
have shut up all the churches, and prevented the per-
formance of all religious services within its bounds.
The government, however, that the public tranquillity
might not be disturbed, summoned before them all the
clergy, both regular and secular, and offered them the
alternative, either to officiate, as in ordinary times, or to
leave the territory of the republic immediately. They
did not hesitate for an instant ; not a single copy of the
Papal brief was fixed up, and public worship was every-
where conducted as before. The Jesuits, however, in obe-
dience to the Pope's command, transmitted by their Ge-
neral, departed from the Venetian States, ostentatiously
carrying with them the consecrated host, as if they
would shew, says Giobcrti, that God went into exile
along with them. When the dispute between Pome
and the republic was afterwards settled, the senate
refused, though requested, to re-admit the Jesuits. In
vain the Pope, and above all, Henry IV., who sent the
Cardinal Joyeuse to Venice on purpose, used all their
* See Bellarmine in Eauke, vol. ii. pp. 116, 117.
228 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
influence to procure the re-establishment of the fathers.
The repubUc, encouraged in her resolution by the
court of Spain, would in no way yield on this point,
and it was onl^^ in 1657 that, in exchange for pecu-
niary advantages and the support of the Pope in the
war of Candia, the Jesuits were allowed, under many
restrictions, to re-enter the Venetian states.*
By this time Acquaviva had established his autho-
rity more firmly than ever. The congregations had
supported him ; the revolt had been quelled; the rioters
punished ; and peace for the moment restored to the
Society, " Acquaviva, so to speak, had gone through
the iron age of the company — his successor was des-
tined to govern in the golden age All, during
a century, bestowed smiles upon the Company of Jesus.
She became the favourite of the Popes and the kings
— the confidant of their ministers — the director of the
public spirit. All took inspiration from her— all re-
turned to her as to its source." | But, notwithstanding
this flattering and in part true picture, the order had
received a shock, the effect of which was soon to be
made manifest. To govern the revolted province of
Spain, Acquaviva, violating the fundamental law of the
order, had appointed professed members as adminis-
trators of colleges, while, to meet the necessity of the
moment, coadjutors fulfilled the duties assigned by the
Constitution to the professed. This ultimately proved
the ruin of the order. Besides this, Mariana J and
Henriquez,two influential Spanish Jesuits, out of hatred
to Acquaviva, had pointed out many abuses which had
crept into the community, and bitterly inveighed
* Seel'Abbe Racine, yl®re del' Histoire EccUsiastique, torn. x. p. 40.
See also Fra Paolo Sarpi, who has immortalised his name as theologian
of the Venetian Government, and historian of the contest.
t Cret. vol. iii. p. 180.
X Mariana was one of the most learned Spanish Jesuits, the personal
enemy and the most fiery opponent of Acquaviva. He opposed to his
utmost Molina's doctrine on grace and free will, and propounded, as we
have in part seen, the principle of the sovereignty of the people. He was
held in great veneration among the Spaniards,
COMMOTION AMONG TUE JESUITS. 229
ai^alnst the tyranny of tlic General and a few of the
hio'lier functionaries. This had an hnmcdiatc result
most injurious to the order. Under the successors of
Acquaviva, these seeds of revolt and disobedience
spread so fast, that when, towards the year 1560, the
General, Goswin Nickel, attempted to enforce obedi-
ence to the primitive rules, he was solemnly deprived
b}^ his disciples of all authority.
230 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
CHAPTEK XI.
lGOO-1700.
DOCTRINES AND MORAL CODE OF THE JESUITS.
Let not our readers imagine that we shall enter into
a profound theological discussion about the doctrines
of the Jesuits. The thing has been repeatedly done,
and we confess ourselves too deficient scholars in
divinity, to throw any new light upon it. We shall
briefly touch the theological question, and shall rather
enlarge on those principles and maxims by which the
Jesuits perverted the morals of their votaries, the
better to domineer over them.
Acquaviva, in the Ratio Studiorum, had introduced
a clause which threw the Roman Catholic world into
confusion and alarm. Lainez, as we have observed,
had already inserted a note in the Constitution regard-
ing the study of scholastic learning, to this effect, that,
" if any book of theology could be found more adapted
to the times, it should be taught." Acquaviva went
a step further, and declared, " that St Thomas was
indeed an author deserving of the highest approbation,
but that it would be an insufferable yoke to be com-
pelled to follow his footsteps in all things, and on no
point to be allowed a free opinion ; that many im-
portant doctrines had been more firmly established and
better elucidated by recent theologians than by the
holy doctor himself." * This declaration produced a
great commotion in the Roman Catholic world, and
* See Ratio Studiorum. See also Ranke, vol. ii. p. 88.
MORAL CODE OF THE JESUITS. 231
the Tnqnisition declared '* that the Eatio Studiorinn
^vas tlic most dangerous, rasli, and arrogant book that
had ever appeared, and calculated to produce many
disturbances in the Christian commonwealth." * But
a greater scandal and more violent tempest was
awakened by Molina, who in 1588 published at Evora
a work on grace and free-will, | which inculcated a
doctrine quite at variance with that taught by St
Thomas and received by the Church. He maintained
that free-will, even without the help of gi*ace, can pro-
duce morally good works, that it can resist tempta-
tion, and can elevate itself to various acts of hope,
faith, love, and repentance. When a man has ad-
vanced thus far, God tJien bestows grace upon him on
account of Christ's merits, by means of which grace
he experiences the supernatural eifects of sanctifica-
tion ; yet, as before this grace had been received, in
like manner, free-will is continually in action ; and as
cverythino; depends on it, it rests with us to make the
help of God effectual or ineffectual. Molina, in con-
sequence, rejected the doctrine of Thomas and Augus-
tine on predestination, and refused to admit it, as
too stern and cruel. This is the substance of Molina's
doctrine. %
The Dominicans, a great part of the theologians,
and some of the Jesuits, loudly exclaimed against it,
and the Inquisition was on the point of condemning it,
when, by the influence of Acquaviva, who sided with
Molina, the affair was called up to Rome. Sixty-five
meetings and thirty-seven disputations were held in
presence of the Pope Clement VI 11., who took a hvely
interest in the subject, wrote much upon it him-
self, and who was resolved to condemn the Jesuits'
doctrine. But when it was reported to him that the
fathers spoke of calling a general council, and that in
* Serry, in Ranke, vol. ii. p. 88.
't' Arbitrii cum gratixc donis concordia.
$ See it exposed more at length in Kanke, vol. ii. p. 90.
232 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
one of their public discussions the thesis to be proved
was to this effect, that " it is not an article of faith
that such and such a Pope (Clement VIIL, for example)
is really Pope;"* the poor Pope exclaimed, "They
dare everything, everything ! " paused, and died without
having given any decision. The disputations were
resumed under Paul V., who also held the doctrine of
the Thomists. The Jesuits, however, had given him
such proofs of their devotion in the aifair of Venice,
and were so powerful in the Church, that he had
neither the heart nor the courage to condemn them.
In consequence, in 1607 he imposed silence on both
parties till he should pronounce a decision which
would set the matter at rest, j As this decision never
<?ame, and as the doctrine of the Jesuits was not con-
demned, they chanted victory, and lost no time in
having Molina's book circulated and taught every-
where.
But a formidable antagonist arose a little later to
oppose its progress. This was the sect of the
Jansenists, so celebrated for its labours and suffer-
ings, which form so interesting a chapter in the history
of the Romish Church. Jansenius, the founder, was
born in 1585, in Holland — studied at Louvain — was
ordained a priest — and, in 1636, consecrated Bishop
of Ypres. Shocked at the doctrine of the Jesuits, he
and Du Verger de Hauranne (afterwards Abbot of St
Cyran, by which name he is better known) plunged
themselves into the study of the ancient fathers of the
Church, and especially of Augustine; and, after six years
of labour, Jansenius composed a book, in which the
ancient doctrine of the Thomists was again pro-
pounded, advancing, however, a step towards Luther's
doctrine on grace and justification. Being smitten by
the plague, Jansenius, on his death-bed, submitted his
manuscript to the judgment of the Roman See; but
St Cyran, without waiting for the oracle of the Vati-
* Serry. t Eanke, vol. ii. p. 131.
MORAL CODE OF THE JESUITS. 233
can, published the Augustimis (such was the title of
Jansenius' work), which produced a great sensation.
St Cyran became the chief of a school, in which were
grouped scores of young ecclesiastics, and some of the
most eminent men in France. The nuns of Port-
Royal, amongst whom were almost the whole of the
Arnauld family, under the guidance of the venerable
Mere Angelique, the sister of the famous Arnauld,
followed the doctrine of St Cyran. Cardinal Richelieu,
jealous that any other person than himself should exer-
cise influence or power, sent St Cyran to the dungeon
of Vinccnnes. On the death of his persecutor, tlie noble
suiferer being set at liberty, returned to his duties,
and was received, and almost worshipped as a saint,
by the increased number of his disciples. The Jesuits,
alarmed at the favour with which the doctrine of
Jansenius was received, bestirred themselves in every
quarter to impugn it, and filled the world with their
clamours and imprecations against the book, as if the
Bishop of Ypres had denied the very existence of God.
The Pope was applied to to anathematise the impious
work; and, when he hesitated, they directed his
attention to a passage, in which his infallibility was
indirectly called in question. Of course this was
a heresy not to be overlooked. Urban VIII. ex-
pressed his disapprobation . of the book ; but this
had no effect in checking its popularity. Such men
as Arnauld, Le Maitre, JDe Sacy, Pascal, supported
Jansenius' doctrine, and their many followers disre-
garded the denunciations of its opponents. The
Jesuits became furious. They embodied, in their own
peculiar way, the essential doctrines of Jansenius in
five propositions, and asked Innocent X. solemnly to
condemn them. The Pope was a man who abhorred
theological controversy, and would not wiUingly have
engaged in this ; but it was no longer in the power of
the Court of Pome to resist the influence of the
Jesuits. The five propositions were condemned, as
234 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
tainted with heresy. The Jansenists indignantly
denied that such propositions were to be found in the
Augiistinus, and that they expressed the sense attri-
buted to them ; but Alexander VII., who was now the
reigning Pope, declared, by a bull, tliat the proposi-
tions were really to be found in Jansenius' book.
Of all the extravagant pretensions of the Roman See,
this was assuredly the greatest. The Jansenists, in
their defence, while they declared themselves good
and devout Catholics, asserted, nevertheless, that the
Pope's infallibility did not extend to matters of fact.
" Why make such a noise?" they said to their oppo-
nents — " we acknowledge that these propositions are
heterodox. Shew us them in Aiigustmus, and we
will unite with you in condemning them." '' We
need not take the trouble to shew them to you," was
the answer; " the Pope has declared them to be in
the book — and the Pope is infallible." So, if the Pope
affirms that a magnificent castle is to be found in the
middle of the ocean, according to a doctrine to which
the Papist sticks even in the present day, one must
believe it, or be excommunicated ! The Jansenists
endured all sorts of persecution rather than submit to
so unjust a decree; and it is a striking instance of
human inconsistency, that men so noble and upright,
who had approached so near the Protestant doctrine,
at least in its most essential part, should continue
within the pale of the Roman Church. The fact, we
believe, may be partly explained by that pertinacity
which men of all parties display in maintaining a posi-
tion they have once taken up in any controversy, that
they may not incur the ignominy of defeat. " The
supporters of the Augustinus are heretics," the
Jesuits had said from the beginning ; and the Jansen-
ists, in order that the book might be declared ortho-
dox, had indignantly repelled the accusation, and de-
clared themselves good and devout Roman Catholics —
and they maintained to the end their first declaration.
MORAL CODE OF THE JESUITS. 235
Alas ! liow many eloquent pages Arnauld, Nicole, and
Pascal have Avritten, to prove themselves the votaries
and slaves of the idol of Home !
Not to interrupt our narrative, we have brought
the reader far beyond the epoch we are considering.
We must now look a little back, and see how the
Jesuits had become so powerful a brotherhood. We
have already seen what arts they used, and what doc-
trines tliey propounded, to get a footing in different
countries, acquire an influence over persons of their
own persuasion, and a preponderance in the Court of
Rome. But as the doctrines and practices by which
they had obtained their ends were no longer suited,
or, at least, were not the most eflicient, for the times,
they now changed both doctrines and practices with
wonderful promptitude.
When the order was established, the Court of Rome
had itself to struggle for existence, and was on the
verge of being stripped of its ill-gotten and ill-used
authority. The politic Charles V. lent it soldiers —
the Jesuits, theologians for the contest. Lainez,
Salmeron, Lejay, and Canisius, rendered it as good
and unequivocal services as the imperial armies. But
such men as those were no longer needed. Not only
had the flood of the Reformation been stayed, but
Rome was in the utmost exultation at having recon-
quered many lost provinces ; and, as theological con-
troversies were now raging in the camp of her
adversary, the Papacy, though emboldened to assert
pretensions Avhich, a century before, she would never
have dreamt of mentioning, relaxed that activity
which she had for a moment displayed, and returned
to her former life of intrigues and indolence. How-
ever, the great contest with the Protestants had left
among the Roman Catholics a tendency, a wish, we
do not say to become better Christians, but to make a
greater display of their religion. All the external
practices of devotion which, in their eyes, constituted
236 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
the true believer, were more eagerly resorted to ; and,
above all, the confessional was frequented with unpre-
cedented assiduity. To have a confessor exclusively
for one's self was the surest sign of orthodoxy, and
became as fashionable as it is now to have a box at
the opera. Sovereigns, ministers, courtiers, noble-
men — every man, in short, who had a certain position
in society, had his own acknowledged confessor. Even
the mistresses of princes pretended to the privilege —
and Madame de Pompadour will prove to her spiritual
guide that it is dangerous to oppose the caprices of a
favourite. The Jesuits saw at once the immense
advantage they would derive if they could enlarge
the number of their chents, especially among the
higher classes. They were already, in this particu-
lar, far advanced in the public favour ; they were
known to be very indulgent; had long since obtained
the privilege of absolving from those sins which only
the Pope himself could pardon ; and Suarez, their
great theologian, had even attempted to introduce
confession by letter, as a more easy and expeditious
way of reaching all penitents. *
But by this time they had made fearful progress in
the art of flattering the bad passions, and winking at
the vices, of those who had recourse to their ministry
in order to make, as they believed, their peace with
God. Escobar collected in six large volumes the
doctrines of different Jesuit casuists, those preceptors
of immorality and prevarication; and his book was
for a time the only code followed by the generality of
the Jesuits.f However, I will not assert that they
taught downright immorality, to corrupt mankind
* Cret. vol. ii. p. 176.
f Escobar compiled his work o." Moral Theology from twenty-four
Jesuit authors, and in his preface he finds an analogy betwixt his book
and " that in the Apocalypse which was sealed with seven seals," and
states that " Jesus presented it thus sealed to the lour living creatures,"
Suarez, Vasqucz, Molina, and Valencia (four celebrated casuists), in
presence of the four-and- twenty Jesuits, who represent the four-and-
twenty elders.
MORAL CODE OP THE JESUITS. 237
merely for tlio sake of corrupting tliem. No; if tlii.s
lias sometimes been tlic case with individuals, it was
never so with a sect. They had another end in view.
As we said, they aspired to be the general confessor^,
for their own private purposes; concealing their de-
signs under the mask of piety, they gave out that it
was essential for the good of religion that they should
have the direction of all consciences; and, as an
inducement to penitents to resort to them, they
offered doctrines in conformity to the wishes of persons
of all sorts. Hence all their casuists were not licen-
tious and indulgent to vice. A few of them were strict,
severe, and indeed teachers of evangelical precepts,
and those they held out to the few penitents who were
of a more rigid morality, and quoted them when accused
of teaching relaxed doctrines ; while for the multitude,
who are generally more loose in their morals, they
had the bulk of their casuists. Father Petau calls this
"an obliging and accommodating conduct." So, for
example, if the Jesuit confessor perceives that a peni-
tent feels inclined to make restitution of ill-gotten
money, he will certainly encourage him to do so,
praise him for his holy resolution, insist to be himself
the instrument of the restitution, taking care, how-
ever, that it should be known again. But if another
person accuse himself of theft, but shew no disposition
to make restitution, be sure that the Jesuit confessor
will find in some book or other of his brother Jesuits
some sophistry to set his conscience at rest, and per-
suade him that he may safely retain what he has stolen
from his neighbour.
The existence of books to which those pernicious
maxims have been consigned, having put it out of the
power of the Jesuits to impugn their genuineness ; in
order to exculpate their Society, they have cast a
reproach upon the teachers of their own Church, and
even blasphemed Christianity. " The probabihsm,"
says their historian, '' was not born with the Jesuits ; at
238 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
the moment of their establishment probabilism reigned
in the schools." * And again, " Ever since the origin of
Christianitj, the world had complained of the austerity
of certain precepts ; the Jesuits came to bring relief
from these grievances."!
But, that our readers may judge for themselves of
the character of Jesuitical morality, we shall lay before
them some of their doctrines ; and in doing so (be it
observed), we shall quote as our authorities none but
Jesuit authors, and such as have been approved and are
held in veneration by the Society.
It is evident that, in the confessional, everything
depends upon the conception formed of transgression
and sin. Now, according to the Jesuitical doctrines,
we do not sin, unless we have a clear perception and
understanding of the sin as sin, and unless our will
freely consent to it.| The following are the conse-
quences which the Jesuit casuists have deduced from
that principle : —
*' A confessor perceives that his penitent is in in-
vincible ignorance, or at least in innocent ignorance,
and he does not hope that any benefit will be derived
from his advice, but rather anxiety of mind, strife, or
scandal. Should he dissemble 'i Suarez affirms that
he ought; because, since his admonition ivill be fruit-
less, ignorance tvill excuse his 'penitent from sin."§
" Altluugh he who, through inveterate habit, in-
advertently swears a falsehood, may seem bound to
confess the propensity, yet be is commonly excused.
The reason is, that no one commonly reflects upon the
obligation by which he is bound to extirpate the habit ;
.... and, therefore, since he is excused from the sin, he
* Cret. vol. iv. p. 58.
+ Le monde s'etait plaint depuis rorigine du Christian ism e de
i'aufcterite de certains precepts ; les Jesuites venaient au secour de ces
doleaiices, &c. — Cret. vol. iv. p. 50.
X Busembaum, apud Ranke, vol. ii. p. 394.
§ Antony Escobar. L. Theol. moralis rigenti-qxiatuor Societatis Jesu
Doctoribus rescratus. Ex. de pasnitenti^, ch. vii. N. 155. (Lugdiiui,
1656. Ed. JVIus. Brit.) ,
MORAL CODE OF THE JESUITS. 239
will jilso be excused from confession. Some maintain
that the same may be said of blasphemy, heresy, and
of the aforesaid oath ; . . . . and, consequently, that such
things, committed inadvertently, are neither sins in
t/ieinselves, nor the cause of sins, and therefore 7ieed
not necessarily be confessed." *
'•' Wherever there is no knowledge of wickedness,
there is also of necessity no sin. It is sufficient to
have at least a confused notion of the heinousness of a
sin, without which knowledge there would never be a
flagrant crime. For instance, one man kills another,
believing it indeed to be wrong, but conceiving it to
be nothing more than a trifling fault. Such a man
does not greatly sin, because it is knowledge only
which points out the wickedness or the grossness of it
to the will. Therefore, criminality is only imputed
according to the measure of knowledge."
"If a man commit adultery or suicide, reflecting
indeed, but still very imperfectly and superflcially,
upon the wickedness and great sinfulness of those
crimes ; however heinous may be the matter, he still
sins but slightly. The reason is, that as a knowledge
of the wickedness is necessary to \onstltute the sin, so
is a full clear knowledge and reflection necessary to
constitute a heinous sin. And thus I reason with
Vasquez : In order that a man may freely sin, it is
necessary to deliberate whether he sins or not. But
lie fails to deliberate iqjon the moral tuickedness of
it, if he does not reflect, at least by doubting, upon it
during the act. Therefore he does not sin, unless he
reflects upon the ivickedness of it. It is also certain
that a full knowledge of such wickedness is required
to constitute a mortal sin. For it ivould be umuorthy
the goodness of God to exclude a man from glory, and
to reject him for ever, for a sin on which he had not
fully deliberated; but if reflection upon the ivickedness
* Thomas Tambourin. Methodus Expedited Confcssionis, L. ii. ch.
iii. § 3, N. 23. (Lugduai, 1059. AutVerpiae, 1(J5G. Ed. Coil. Sicn.)
240 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
of it lias only been partial, deliberation has not been
complete; and therefore the sin is not a mortal sin."*
The practical consequences of this doctrine have
been admh'ably represented by Pascal in his happiest
vein of irony. " Oh, my dear sir," says he to the
Jesuit who had exposed to him the afore-mentioned,
doctrine, " what a blessing this will be to some persons
of my acquaintance I I must positively introduce them
to you. You have never, perhaps, in all your life,
met with people who had fewer sins to account for !
In the first place, they never think of God at all ;
their vices have got the better of their reason ; they
have never known either their weakness or the physi-
cian who can cure it ; they have never thought of
* desiring the health of their soul,' and still less of
' praying to God to bestow it ; ' so that, according to
M. le Moine, they are still in the state of baptismal
innocence. They have 'never had a thought of
loving God, or of being contrite for their sins;' so
that, according to Father Annat, they have never
committed sin through the want of charity and peni-
tence. Their life is spent in a perpetual round of all
sorts of pleasures, in the course of which they have not
been interrupted by the slightest remorse. These
excesses had led me to imagine that their perdition
was inevitable ; but you, father, inform me tliat these
same excesses secure their salvation. Blessings on
you, my good father, for this new way of justifying
people I Others prescribe painful austerities for heal-
ing the soul ; but you shew tliat souls which may be
thought desperately diseased are in quite good health.
What an excellent device for being happy both in this
world and in the next ! I had always supposed that
the less a man thought of God, the more he sinned ;
but, from what I see now, if one could only succeed in
bringing himself not to think upon God at all, every-
"* George de Rhodes. Dlsput. Theologice Scholastica', torn. i. Dis.
xi. qutes. xi. sec. 1 aaid 2, and Dis. i. q. iii. sec. 2, § 3. (Lugduni, 1671.)
MORAL CODE OP THE JESUITS. 241
tliinii; ■would be piiro ivith lilni in all time cominf^.
Away Avitli your lialf-and-halt' sinners, who retain
some sneaking affection for virtue ! They will bo
damned, every soul of them. But commend me to
your arrant sinners — hardened, unalloyed, out-and-
out, thorouo'h-bred sinners. Hell is no place for
them ; they have cheated the devil, by sheer devotion
to his service." *
But if you arc not such an arrant hardened sinner
but that your conscience warns you of your guilt, then
come to the doctrine of probability, the A B C of the
Jesuitical code of morality, which will set your trouble-
some conscience at rest. Listen !
" The true opinion is, that it is not only lawful to
follow the mo7'e probable but less safe opinion . . . . '
but also that the less safe may be followed when there
is an equality of probability."
" I agree in the opinion of Henriquez, Yasquez, and
Perez, who maintain that it is sufficient for an inexpe-
rienced and unlearned man to follow the opinion which
he thinks to be probable, because it is maintained by
good men ivho are versed in the art ; although that
opinion may be neither the more safe, nor the more
common, nor the more probable.
" Sotus thinks that it would be very troublesome to a
penitent, if the priest, after having heard his confession,
should send him back without absolution, to confess,
himself again to another priest, if he could absolve
him with a safe conscience against his own {the
priesfs) opinion ; especially ivhen another priest
7night not perhaps be readily found luho ivould be-
lieve the op>inion of tlie p>enitent to be probable.
" It may be asked whether a confessor may give
advice to a penitent in opposition to his oiun opinion ;
or, if he should think in any case that restitution
ought to be made, whether he may advise that the
* In quoting Pascal, we make use of the translation of Dr M'Crie, to
render the author's meaning better than we could do. P. 107.
242 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
opinion of others may be followed, who maintain that
it need not be made? / answer, that he lawfully
may, . . . because he may follow the opinion of an-
other in his own practice, and therefore he may advise
another person to follow it. Still it is better, in giving
advice, always to follow the more probable opinion to
which a man is ever accustomed to adhere, especially
ivhen the advice is given in ivriting, lest contradic-
tion he discovered. It is also sometimes expedient to
send the consulting person to another doctor or con-
fessor who is known to hold an opinion favourable to
the inquirer, provided it be probable."*
" Without respect of persons may a judge, in order
to favour his friend, decide according to any probable
opinion, while the question of right remains unde-
cided 1
" If the judge should think each opinion equally
probable, for the sake of his friend he may laivfidly
pronounce sentence according to the opinion which is
more favourable to the interests of that friend. He
may, moreover, with the intent to serve his friend, at
one time judge according to one opinion, and at an-
other time according to the contrary opinion, pro-
vided only that no scandal result from the decision." f
" An unbeliever who is persuaded that his sect is
probable, although the opposite sect may be more pro-
bable, would certainly be obliged, at the point of
death, to embrace the true faith, which he thinks to
be the more probable. . . . But, except under such
circumstances, he ivould not. . . . Add to this, that
the mysteries of faith are so sublime, and the Chris-
tian morals so rejmgnant to the laivs of flesh aiid
blood, that no greater probability whatever may be
* John of Salas. Dispufafionum R. P. Joannis de SaJa^, e Soc. Jesu,
in primam secundce D. Thomce, torn. i. tr. 8, sec. 7, 9, N. 74, S3. (Bar-
cinone, 1607. E<1. Bibl Arch. Cant. Lamb.)
•j- Gregory of Valentia. Coinmentariorum Tlieologicortim, torn. iii.
dis. v, quaes. 7, punct. iv. (Lutetiae Parisionmi; 1609. £d. Coll. Sion),
MORAL CODE OF THE JESUITS. 243
accounted sufficient to enforce the obligation of be-
lieving*
" Indeed, while I perceive so many different opi-
nions maintained upon points connected with morahty,
I think tliat the Divine providence is apparent ; for, hi
diversity of ojnnions, the yoke of Christ is easily
borne.'' \
" A confessor may ahsolve penitents, according to
the probable opinion of the penitent, in opposition to
his own, and is even bound to do so."j:
" Again, it is probable that pecuniary compensation
may be made for defomation ; it is also probable that
it cannot be made. May 1, the defamed, exact to-day
pecuniary compensation from my defamer, and to-
m.orrow, and even on the same day, may I, the defamer
of another, refuse to compensate with money for the
reputation of which I have deprived him '!....!
affirm that it is laiifitl to do at pleasure sometimes
the one and sometimes the other.
'' Those ignorant confessors are to be blamed who
always think that they do luell in obliging their 2^€ni-
tents to make ^restitution, because it is at all times
more safe."^
By this abominable doctrine the confessors were made
to answer yes or no, as might be most agreeable to
their penitents ; and these might obhge the confessor
to absolve them of their sins, if they only themselves
believed that they were not sins. Imagine what an
arrant knave the person inclined to do evil must have
become, when, to the firm belief that the absolution of
the confessor cleanses from all crimes, was superadded
* Thomas Sancliez. Opus Morale in prcerepta Decalogi. L. ii. c. i.
N. 6. (Venetiis, 1614. Autverpia;, 1624. Ed. Coll. Sion.)
+ Antony Escobar. Unirersce Theologice -.. oralis JRecejjtiores absque
lite Sentential, necnon ProUematicoi Disquisitiones, torn. i. L. ii. sect. i.
de consc. c. 2. N. 18. (Lugduni, 1652. Ed. Bibl. Acad. Cant.)
X Simon de Lessau. Propositions dictees dans le College des Jesuites
d' Amiens Dn praecppt. Decal. c. i. art. 4.
§ Thumas Tambiirin. Explicatio Decalogi. L. i. c. iii. § 4. N. 15.
(Lugduni, 1659. Lugduni, 1665. Ed. Coll. Sion.)
244 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
the certainty that this confessor must absolve him ahnost
according to his own wishes. We shudder to think of it!
The doctrine of equivocation came in aid of that of
probabihsm. By the former, accorcUng to Sanchez,
*' it is permitted to use ambiguous terms, leachng people
to understand them in a diiferent sense from that in
which we understand them."* "A man may swear,"
according to tlie same author, " that he never did such
a thing (though he actually did it), meaning within
himself that he did not do so on such a day, or before
he was born, or understanding any other such circum-
stances, while the w^ords which he employs have no
such sense as would discover his meaning."! And
Filiutius proves that in so speaking one does not even
lie, because, says he, " it is the intention that deter-
mines the quaUty of the action ; and one may avoid
falsehood if, after saying aloud / swear that I have
not done that, he add in a low voice, to-day ; or after
saying aloud, / swear, he interpose in a whisper, that
I say, and then continue aloud, that I have done that,
and this is telhng^ the truth."
With mental reservation and probabihsm, they have
sanctioned all sorts of crimes. The varlet might
help his master to commit rape or adultery, provided
he do not think of the sin, but of the 2^rofit he may
reap from it — so says father Bauny. If a servant
think his salary is not an adequate compensation for
services, he may help himself to some of his master's
property to make it equal to his pretensions — so
teaches the same father. You may kill your enemy
for a box on the ear, as Escobar asserts in the follow-
ing w^ords : — *' It is perfectly right to kill a person
"who has given us a box on the ear, although he
should run away, provided it is not done through
hatred or revenge, and there is no danger of giving
occasion thereby to murders of a gross kind and hurt-
ful to society. And the reason is, that it is as law^ful
* Op. Mor. p. 2. + Ibid.
MORAL CODE OF THE JESUITS. 245
to pursue tlic thief that has stolen our honour, as hira \
that has run away with our property. For, altliough |
your honour cannot be said to be in the hands of your
enemy in the same sense as your goods and chattels
are in the hands of the thief, still it may be recovered
in the same Avay — by shewing proofs of greatness and
authority, and thus acquiring the esteem of men.
And, in point of fact, is it not certain that the man
who has received a buffet on the ear is held to be
under disgrace, until he has wiped off the insult with,
the blood of his enemy?"
In short, you may be a fraudulent bankrupt, thief,
assassin, proHigate, impious atheist even, with a safe
conscience, provided always you confess to a Jesuit
confessor. It is doubtless in this that we are to see
the efficacy of that miraculous gift, wdiich w^e read at
2^age 13 Loyola had received from heaven, and trans-
mitted to his successors — tlie gift of healing troubled
consciences; and this is even boldly asserted by them-
selves. In the Imago j^rinii Soeculi, S. 3, ch. 8, are
words to this effect : — " With the aid of pious finesse
and holy artifice of devotion, crimes may be expiated
now-a-days alacrius, with more joy and alacrity,
than they were committed in former days; and a
great many people may be washed from their stains
almost as cleverly as they contracted them." After
this quotation, we need not trouble the reader with
any more regarding the doctrine of the Jesuits on
social duties. " We only beg of him, in order that he
may well understand all the enormity of these doc-
trines, to look at them from the point of view of the
Papists, who consider the confessional as the only way
of salvation, and who blindly obey their spiritual
fathers, especially if they flatter their passions, and
promise them paradise as the reward of their vices.
It is also of importance that our readers should be
made acquainted with the doctrine of the Jesuits
regarding rehgious duties, and the love which is due
246 HISTORY OP THE JESUITS.
to God, that they may the better judge of the cha-
racter of those champions of Romanism, those monks
who are hibouring liard to make proselytes to their
rehgion — the only true one, as they pretend, out of
which there is no salvation.
Father Antony Sirmond, in his book on The Defence
of Virtue, has the following passage : — " St Thomas
says that we are obliged to love God as soon as we
come to the use of reason ; that is rather too soon !
Scotus says, every Sunday ; pray, for ivhat reason ?
Others say, when we are sorely tempted; yes, if
there he no other way of escaping the temptation.
Sotus says, when we have received a boneiit from
God ; good, in the way of thanking him for it. Others
say, at death — ratJier late I As little do I think it
binding at the reception of any sacrament ; attrition,
in such a case, is quite enough, along with confession —
if convenient. Suarez says, that it is binding at some
time or another ; hut at what time ? He does not
know ; and what that doctor does not know, 1 know not
who should know." *
And father Pinter can crown those execrable doc-
trines by the impious assertion, that the dispensation
from the painful obligation to love God is purchased
for us through the merits of Christ's blood. " It was
reasonable," says that sacrilegious Jesuit, " that
under the law of grace in the New Testament, God
should relieve us from that troublesome and arduous
obligation which existed under the law of bondage, to
exercise an act of perfect contrition, in order to be
justified ; and that the place of this should be sup-
plied by the sacraments instituted in aid of an easier
exercise; otherwise, indeed. Christians, who are the
children, would have no greater facility in gaining
the good graces of their Father than the Jews, who
were the slaves, had in obtaining the mercy of their
Lord and Master." f
* Tr. 1. et. 2. n. 21. f Pintereau in Pascal, pp. 205, 206.
MORAL CODE OF THE JESUITS. 247
And men gnilty of all sorts of crimes — men who
pretend tluit no love is due to God, that not even
attrition is necessary for the remission of sins — such
men shall be made worthy of the eternal blessedness
tlirough some idolatrous practices ! Such is the doc-
trine taught by Jesuits, and, Ave must add, by most of
the Roman Catholic clergy, some of whom we arc going
to brino; under our reader's eye. We beg permission to
quote Pascal again. Our readers will certainly prefer
the trenchant, sarcastic style of the celebrated Janscn-
ist to our imperfect manner of narration. In a dia-
logue which he pretends to have had with a Jesuit,
the father addresses him in the following words : —
" ' AVould you not be infinitely obliged to any one
who should open to you the gates of paradise ? Would
you not give millions of gold to have a key by which
you might gain admittance whenever you pleased ?
You need not be at such expense ; here is one — here
are a hundred for much less money.'
** At first I was at a loss to know whether the good
father was reading or talking to me, but he soon put
the matter beyond doubt by adding : —
" ' These, sir, are the opening words of a fine book,
written by Father Barry of our Society ; for I never
give you anything of my own.'
*' ' What book is it 't ' asked I.
*' * Here is its title,' he replied — ' Paradise Opened
to Philagio, in a Hundred Devotions to the Mother
of God, easily practised.'
** ' Indeed, father ! and is each of these easy devo-
tions a sufficient passport to heaven ? '
*' ' It is,' returned he, * Listen to what follows :
*' The devotions to the mother of God, which you will
find in this book, are so many celestial keys, which will
open wide to you the gates of paradise, provided you
practise them ; " and accordingly, he says at the con-
clusion, " that he is satisfied it' you practise only one
of them." '
248 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
" ' Pray, then, father, do teach me one of the easiest
of them.'
" ' They are all easy,' he replied ; ' for example —
" Saluting the Holy Virgin when you happen to meet
her huage — saying the little chaplet of the pleasures of
the Virgin — fervently pronouncing the name of Mary —
commissioning the angels to bow to her for us — wish-
mg to huild her as many churches as all the monarchs
on earth have done — bidding her good-morrow every
morning, and good-night in the evening — saying the
Ave Maria every day in honour of the heart of Mary"
— Avhich last devotion, he says, possesses the additional
virtue of securing us the heart of the Virgin.'
" ' But, father,' said I, ' only provided we give her
our own in return, I presume ? '
" ' That,' he rej)lied, ' is not absolutely necessary,
when a person is too much attached to the world.
Hear Father Barry : " Heart for heart would, no doubt,
be highly proper ; but yours is rather too much at-
tached to the world, too much bound up in the crea-
ture, so that I dare not advise you to offer, at present,
that 2^00'^^ little slave which you call your heart."
And so he contents himself with the Ave Maria which
he had prescribed.'*
" ' Why, this is extremely ea,sy w^ork,' said I, ' and
I should really think that nobody w^ill be damned after
that.'
" * Alas! ' said the monk, ' I see you have no idea of
the hardness of some people's hearts. There are some,
sir, who would never engage to repeat, every day,
even these simple w^ords. Good clay, Good eveniny,]\\^t
because such a practice w^ould require some exertion
of memory. And, accordingly, it became necessary for
Father Barry to furnish them with expedients still
easier, such as wearing a c.iaplet night and day on
the arm, in the form of a bracelet, or carrying about
* " These ai-e the devotions presented at pp. 33, 59, 145 15u, 172,
258, 420 of the first edition."
MORAL CODE OF THE JESUITS. 249
one's person a rosary, or an image of the Virgin.
" And, tell me now," as Father Barry says, " if I
have not provided you with easy devotions to obtain
the good graces of Mary?" '
" ' Extremely easy, indeed, father,' I observed.
'' ' Yes,' he said, ' it is as much as could possibly be
done, and I think should be quite satisfactory. For
lie must be a wretched creature indeed, who would not
spare a single moment in all his hfctime to put a chap-
let on his arm, or a rosary in his pocket, and thus
secure his salvation ; and that, too, with so much cer-
tainty, that none who have tried the experiment have
ever found it to fail, in whatever way they may have
lived ; though, let me add, we exhort people not to
omit holy living. Let me refer you to the example of
this, given at page 34; it is that of a female who,
while she practised daily the devotion of saluting the
images of the Virgin, spent all her days in mortal sin,
and yet was saved after all, by the merit of that single
devotion.'
'' ' And how so ? ' cried I.
" ' Our Saviour,' he replied, ' raised her up again,
for the very purpose of shewing it. So certain it is,
that none can perish who practise any one of these
devotions.' " *
We may, perhaps, mention here also, the greatest
of all the Jesuitical devotions to Mary, the one which,
according to them, is the sovereign specific for
obtaining salvation — namely, the month of Mary.
The month which they have chosen to consecrate
to the Virgin is the month of May. I dare not say
for Avhat reason. During its long thirty-one days,
nothing is to be heard but songs and h^^nns in honour
of the Virgin. Altars are dressed before every niche
in which stands a Madonna. Sundry other images
are placed around it — as smaller divinities, we may
suppose — and, among images and burning lamps,
* Pascal, pp. 176-178.
250 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
a profusion of flowers of all colours send up tlieir
frac^rant perfume as an offering to the Virgin. At
different hours the devotees prostrate themselves
before these altars, and offer their vows and their
prayers to the Madonna. The most extravagant
language is addressed to her, and she is represented
as possessing the most extraordinary attributes " Any
person performing the month of Mary, should he die
within the month, will be saved, even if he had
murdered his parents." In the churches and schools
of the Jesuits are performed the same ceremonies as
in the streets. God for this month is still more
forgotten than He generally is.
We could fill volumes with such extracts, but must
be content with those Ave have given, referring such of
our readers as wish to know more of the Jesuitical
doctrines to Pascal, to the Morale Pratique des Jesuites
by Arnauld, and to the Principles of the Jesuits, de-
veloped in a Collection of Extracts from their own
Authors (London, 1839).
We have also shrunk from polluting these pages by
extracts from Lacrois, Sanchez, and such like, whose
obscene and revolting lucubrations, the inevitable
fruits of the celibacy of the cloister, have left far
behind all that has been conceived by the most wanton
and depraved imagination. We have omitted, more-
over, to extract from the Secreta Monita, and for the
following reason : — The Secreta Monita are a collection
of precepts and instructions the most nefarious and
diabolical, given, it is supposed, by the General of the
order to his subalterns, as if to shew them the way
how to proceed in all their perfidious plots for the
aggrandisement of the Company. The book in which
those precepts are collected, came out for the first time
in Cracow in 1612, and was reprinted in Paris in
1761. The Jesuits assert that it owes its origin to
an expelled Jesuit, Zaorowski, while their opponents
contend that the Secreta Monita had been found by
MORAL CODE OP THE JESUITS. 251
Christian of Brunswick in the Jesuit college of Prague
or elsewhere. The Secreta Afonita were condemned at
Home. But, to confess the trutli, our opinion is, that
the book is at best apocry])hal. The Jesuits were too
cunning foxes to expose their secrets to the risk of
being discovered, by leaving copies of such a book
here and there. They were not yet so firmly esta-
blished as to risk the very existence of their order, if
one of those copies were discovered, or if a member
should be tempted to betray the Society. Besides,
from the knowledge we have of the Jesuitical cha-
racter, we feel assured that no superior would ever
have inculcated with such barefaced impudence such
abominable and execrable rules of roguery. So much
are the Jesuits accustomed to dissemble and deceive,
that even their conduct towards each other is one con-
tinued act of deceit. For instance, if the superior
wishes to ruin the fair fame of a man adverse to the
order, he will say to his subalterns, '' What a pity it
is that Mr N. should be guilty of such and such faults
(and, generally speaking, he invents some calumny) ! it
would be well that, for the greater glory of God, others
should be apprised that it is unbecoming a Christian to
act so. Should you chance to meet any of his or your
acquaintance, you may warn them of that, but take
care not to slander your neighbour's reputation."
Again, if a Jesuit chief should covet the wealthy of
some family, he would say to his subordinates, " It is a
pity that so much w^ealth should pass into the hands of
his son or nephew, who w^ill spend it in ofiending God
and gratifying their own evil passions. It would be a
pious w^ork if he could be induced to leave it to us, that
we might use it to the greater glory of God." And if a
subaltern, less cunning than the rest, should openly and
frankly propose to slander the reputation of the honest
man, or to make an attempt to snatch the princely
fortune of the wealthy, he would be reprimanded, as
guilty of an action unworthy of a son of the holy Father
252 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
Loyola. And, while the superior speaks in this man-
ner, he not only knows tliat he cants, but he is also per-
fectly convinced that his hearers know it, and yet he
■will never speak otherwise. And it is to us altogether
inconceivable, that men who are thus mutually conscious
that they are playing a part — who, in their common
intercourse, and even when forming the basest designs,
are careful always to speak in the character of the
pious devotee — should so far forget their cue as to give
a ijroad unvarnished statement of their whole system
of roguery. For these, and many other reasons which
we might\adduce, we believe that the book is apocr}^-
phal ; but, though apocryphal, it certainly gives a true
representation of the horrible arts and practices of the
Jesuits; and we are inclined to credit the Jesuits
when they assert that the book is the work of a dis-
carded brother, so deeply does it initiate us in the secret
arts of the Society. However, as we have thousands
of unimpugnable testimonies to their impious and in-
fernal doctrines, we shall not weaken the authority of
our narrative by adducing contested proofs.
OVERGROWING INFLUENCE OP THE SOCIETY. 253
CHAPTER XII.
1608-1700. I
OVERGROWING INFLUENCE OF THE SOCIETY.
We now enter on a new pliaso of our lilstory. Up to
the period at which we are arrived (the beginning of
the seventeenth century), the Jesuits have been obhged ~>
more or less to struggle for existence. Noav they contend /
for supremacy and a domineering power in those same ^
countries into which they had been at first refused
admittance. Vagrant monks, who had but an hospital
for a place of refuge, tliey now possess all over the
surface of the earth hundreds of magnificent establish-
ments, endowed with princely revenues, and in the
West Indies are laying the foundations of a kingdom
of their own. Cherished by the populace, in league
with the nobility, they are become so powerful, that
great monarchs themselves are obliged to put the fate
of the Jesuits in the same balance in which are weighed
the destinies of nations. Two of Ignatius' disciples
have a seat in the College of Cardinals, and the order,
by the many exorbitant privileges it has obtained,
forms a sort of separate church within the Church — the
envy of other religious orders, the rival of bishops, and
the dread of the Court of Kome itself. They possess
the supreme swa}^ in Portugal, Poland, Bavaria, have
the utmost influence in Spain, Austria, Italy, and arc
rapidly advancing towards that power which they at
last obtained in France, and which was productive of so
many miseries to the French nation. In fact, the princi-
254 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
pal seatof the Jesuits' power will liencefortlibe in France,
as, of the many sovereigns whom the Jesuits more or
less govern, the Frencli monarch is the most powerful
of them all. Henry lY., as a measure of precaution,
in the letters-patent by which he re-established the
Jesuits, had enacted that a man of authority in the
order should always be near the king's person, as
preacher, and as a warranty for the conduct of his
brethren ; and the Jesuits made of this offensive clause
the very pivot of their fortunes. The preacher became
the confessor of the kings, and France will but too soon
feel the persecuting power of Fathers Lachaise and Le-
teUier. Before, however, they had attained the height
of their power, they had to endure a passing storm.
In 1610, Henry IV., while proceeding in his coach to
visit his faithful Sully, who was dangerously ill, was
stabbed to the heart. The Jesuits were accused by
the parhament and the university, and even by some
curates from the pulpit, of being the accomplices and
the instigators of Ravaillac the assassin ; but no proof
v/hatever was adduced in support of this accusation.
Public opinion absolved them from any participation
In the crime, and to that judgment we ourselves
subscribe ; unless, indeed, we charge them with being
morally accessory to the murder by their doctrines, and
the abominable writings commending the murder of
Sovening, with which they had covered France at
the time of the League, the Jesuits liad too great
ascendancy over Henry's mind, they derived from
him too many benefits, to render credible the supposi-
tion of their connivance in the parricide. Some
authors, too eager to fmd the Jesuits guilty of every
crime, and not reflecting that by asserting controvert-
ible facts they diminish the credit of their other asser-
tions, have suggested that, as Henry was preparing
to send an army to succour the German Protestants,
the Jesuits contrived to have him murdered. But
those authors are quite ignorant of the true spirit of
OVERGROWING INFLUENCE OF THE SOCIETY. 255
Jesuitism. The great end which the Jesuits have
ever in their view, the criterion by which alone we
are able to judge of the probability of their acting in
any particular way, is their own interest, and in no
way the advantage of religion or the glory of God;
and, as in this instance the interest of the Jesuits, and
especially of those of France, was to preserve rather
than destroy Henry's life, we repeat our assertion —
we do not believe them guilty. We do not think it
necessary to fill our pages even with an analysis of
the writings poured forth by both parties on this
tragic event. The Anti-Cotton, a virulent pamphlet
against the Jesuits, and, above all, against some asser-
tions of Father Cotton, the late king's confessor, who
had addressed some apologetic letters to the queen on
the subject, and who had now gone, according to
Henry's testamentary disposition, to deposit that
prince's heart in the Jesuits' college of La Fleche, was
and has continued to be fomous in France, more for
the sarcastic wit with which it is written than because
it gives any proofs of the Jesuits' guilt ; and, therefore,
we need not give any account of it.
^ The Jesuits, protected by the Court and the Arch-
bishop of Paris, after the first commotion had passed
away, reassumed their former position ; and Father
Cotton was appointed to hear the juvenile sins of
Louis XHL, as he had formerly heard those of his
gallant and profligate father.
But a real though inevitable calamity awaited the
Society some few years after. On the 31st January
1615, expired one of their greatest men, Claude
Acquaviva, the fifth General of the order. He had
been in oflfice thirty-four years, and may be accounted
the second founder of the Society, as he has been, un-
doubtedly, its ablest legislator. " During his govern-
ment, external tempests and internal discord had
menaced the very existence of the Society, but he
had dissipated and appeased them all with admirable
256 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
courage and prudence. Ilis death was to the Com-
pany an irreparable loss. With him ended the
prestige through which the Generals exercised such
extraordinary authority over its members. For the
future they will still be entitled by the Constitutions
to the same blind obedience as before ; but their man-
dates will be implicitly obeyed by none but some
simple-hearted Jesuits, or by those far away in dis-
tant lands, wdio venerate their superior in proportion
to the distance that separates them from him. And
this it may be said is the case with all earthly
powers. But the members who have some authority
in the order, the provincials, the confessors or favour-
rites of princes, will, generally speaking, act indepen-
dently and according to their own views, without, how-
ever, losing sight of the Society, whose aggrandisement
and glory is always the ultimate end which they all
keep in view. The consequence w^ill be that their con-
duct will in many respects be less uniform, and even their
solemn assemblies will be wanting in that unanimity
of purpose which had marked their former operations.
A striking proof of this appeared in the election of
Acquaviva's successor itself. The old Spanish party
revived after the General's death, and hoping to re-
gain the influence and power it had exercised under
the first three Generals of the order, made a great
stir ; and, foreseeing that Yitelleschi, a Eoman Jesuit,
"would be elected, they first intrigued with the French
and Spanish ambassadors, and afterwards accused
Vitelleschi to the Pope of being guilty of many vices
and crimes, which was far from being true, he being,
on the contrary, a simple, inoft'ensive, unpretending
man. The contest for the election was very keen,
and of seventy-five members who composed the
congregation, Vitelleschi obtained only thirty-nine
suftVages, being only one more than was necessary
for the validity of his election. He assumed the
office, but exercised very little influence in the afl'airs
OVERGROWING INFLUI•:^X'E OF THE SOCIETY. 257
of the Company. It was, however, in the hcginning
of Vitcllcschi's gcncralatc that measures were taken
to get Loyola and Xavier enroUed in the Calendar of
Saints. It is true that, even under Acquaviva's life-
time, Henry IV., to please his father confessor, and
render him still more indulgent to his immoralities,
had, by an autograph letter, asked the reigning Pope
to find a place in heaven for the two founders of the
order ; but Paul V., thinking, perhaps, that the recom-
mendation of the ex-Huguenot Henry would be rather
a suspicious passport for opening the gates of heaven,
did not feel inclined to comply. There were, how-
ever, other sovereigns, as those of Bavaria, Poland,
Spain, &c., who had Jesuits for their confessors ; and
now that those monarchs united in begging from the
Holy See the canonisation of the two Jesuits, Gregory
XV., who had been educated in the fathers' schools,
could no longer refuse to comply with their wishes.
He accordingly solemnly pronounced them to be saints,
but being surprised by death, the glory of having
issued the bull for their apotheosis belongs to his suc-
cessor. Urban VHL*
As the Jesuits, in the short space of less than a
century, have furnished eight or ten saints to the
calendar, perhaps it will not be extraneous to our
work to devote a few pages to shew in what manner,
mortals such as we are, and who but yesterday were
mere loathsome corpses, are, by the pretended power
of another mortal man, transformed into privileged
and divine beino-s, to whom is attributed a power
almost equal to that of the Almighty. A word of any
Pope, even of an Alexander VL, will change every
fragment of those corrupted remains into sacred relics,
possessing such miraculous powers, that the worship
* Gregory XV. and his nephew Cardinal Ludivisi, have two magnifi-
cent monuments in the Church of St Ignatius of the CoUegio Romano,
which church they had built and richly embellished for the Jesuits, and
■where they axe buried.
258 HISTORY OP THE JESUITS.
of them is deemed sufficient to insure eternal salva-
tion.
The practice of investing certain persons with the
honours of saintship originated with the people. In
the early ages of Christianity, when an individual,
whether a truly holy Christian or a consummate hy-
pocrite, had struck the impressible imaginations of the
multitude by a pious and extraordinary course of life,
he Avas regarded by them as a supernatural being, and
was addressed and vrorshipped as such. A little later,
persons of this description began, with the help of the
priests, to work miracles ; and when the renown of
their holiness and of the prodigies they had performed
had spread far and wide, the Court of Rome interfered
and gave them a regular patent for saintship.
If they had been extraordinary persons of their own
class, their canonisation took place almost immediately
on their decease, as was the case with St Francis,
the founder of the ragged and beggarly order of monks
which bears his name, and St Antony, the great miracle
worker,* both of whom were ranked among the saints
only a year after their death. The trade of saint-
making proving very lucrative, from the many offer-
ings presented at their shrines, the priests encouraged
the multitude, always ready to believe in the marvel-
lous, to credit extraordinary legends and to find saints
everywhere. Above all, as we have said elsewhere,
after the Reformation, the priests were creating saints
* This man is famous for working miracles. He is said to have re-
stored to life his dear companion, a pig, which had been stolen from him,
after it had been killed and eaten, and its bones thrown into a furnace ;
just as Thor, the great Scandinavian god, restored to life his ram. Ano-
ther great miracle is recorded of him by his panegyrist. Having been
forbidden by his superior (St Antony was a monk) to work too many
miracles, he one day found himself ini a great perplexity. As he was
passing through a street, he heard a poor mason, in the act of falling
from a lufty building, call upon him by name for a miracle. The poor-
saint, not knowing what to do, had recourse to an expedient. " Stop a
moment," said he, to the falling man, " till I go for the permission of
the Father Superior ;" and the man waited suspended in the air till ho
returned with permission to work the miracle !
OVERGROWING INFLUENCE OF THE SOCIETY. 259
in such alarming numbers, that Urban YIII. fearing,
it would seem, that lieavcn would not be large enough
to admit the whole of them, by two bulls, of 1625
and l(io4, put a check upon the mania of saint-
making, and swept away from churches, convents, and
public places, the images of those poor blessed ones
who had been patiently waiting in their niches for
the supreme oracle of the Vatican to send them up to
heaven ; and who, doubtless, were now much annoyed
at being removed from their places of adoration and
worship. The bull ordained that no offering, no burn-
ing lamp, nor any sort of worship whatever, should be
rendered to any one, no matter how great might have
been the fame of his saintship, if he had not been re-
cognised as a saint, either from immemorial time, im-
memoixibilem temporis cursum, or by the unanimous
consent of the Church, per coimnunem Ecclesice con-
sensum, or by a sort of tolerance of the apostolic see,
tolerantid sedis apostolicce. By immemorial time, the
Pope says in his bull of 1634 that he means more than
a hundred years. In consequence, all those persons who
had been called saints, and worshipped as such for only
ninety-nine years and some months, were to be dis-
carded, and their images or statues removed from the
place of worship;* unless, indeed, some money were
spent, and a privilege or dispensation obtained from the
all-powerful Pope. Alas ! how many sinners, who had
perhaps chosen those very saints as mediators between
them and an oifended God, must have been driven to
despair by the unmerciful bull 1
However, a regular canonisation may be obtained
from Rome, and in two diiferent ways. The first is
the more simple : — Whosoever is interested in obtaining
a canonisation must prove before the Congregation of
* This was the case with many, and, to mention one, with Father
Zaccheria, the founder of the Barnabites, who had been a heatifice for
eighty-four years, had mass and prayers offered to him, but is at present
merely Father Zaccheria.
260 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
the Rites,* that, for more than a hundred years, the
man who is proposed as a candidate for saintship had
been worshipped either by a burning lamp before his
image or his sepulchre, or by a person praying before
it, &c. ; and that these signs of veneration had been
repeated before they had been prohibited at no greater
distance of time than ten years. If the congregation de-
liver their opinion in a dubious form, that the immemo-
rial worship seems to them to be proved, videtur con-
stare de cultu immemorahili ; and, if the 'omniscient
and infalUble Pope affirm, constare, " it has been
proved," then the man becomes a heatifice, and mass,
prayers, and offerings may be addressed to him with a
perfectly safe conscience. This was the mode of canon-
isation resorted to after the famous bull of 1634.
More difficult is the other way, now generally fol-
lowed, to obtain a canonisation. The man must pass
through many stages — as it were, serve an apprentice-
ship before he become a saint ; first, the name of Servus
Dei, servant of God, must be obtained for the candi-
date ; and that is neither difficult nor expensive. Then, if
the Congregation of Rites find, on examining his printed
life, that his virtues seem to be proved, videtur con-
stare de virtutihus, and the Pope says, constare, the
JServus Dei is to be called venerahilis Servus Dei,
venerable servant of God. Again, if the authenticity
of the life, and of the virtues and miracles, is proved in
another congregation, in the same way, then the vene-
rahilis servus Dei assumes the title of blessed, heatus;
a feast, mass, prayers, &c., are voted to him, and
the Pope goes to St Peter's Church, to be the first of
all to worship that same man who, had he pronounced
* This congregation, as well as all tte others, such as those of indul-
gences, of inquisition, &c., is compose^ of cardinals, bishops, prelates,
and some few advocates. They form a sort of committee. Tliere is a
prefect and secretary ; the others are called consultori, counsellors —
the Pope is de jure prefect of them all. Those of the Congregation of
Hites are very glad when there is a canonisation. They are entitled, be-
sides, to a portrait of the saint, which, if the samt take, they sell verj
dear, and to I know not how many pounds of chocolate.
OVERGROWma INFLUENCE OF THE SOCIETY. 2G1
only those tAvo words, non constare, would liavc been
a Pagan, or little better. That the blessed (beato)
should become a saint, nothing more is necessary than
that he should have worked three iirst-class miracles *
(such as those performed by St Anthony, I suppose),
and that there should be paid (not by tlic blessed — ■
heato — for the oiferings are only shewn to him, but by
whosoever would make a saint of him) twenty thousand
pounds sterling for the diploma. As may be perceived,
the degree is somewhat dearer than in any other uni-
versity ; but only consider the difference betwixt a doctor
and a saint If However, as the expenses are too great,
families or religious communities who wish for a saint,
now unite together, each proposing a candidate for
saintship, and a single proceeding serves to decide the
fate of live or six saints, and the expenses are paid in
conmion. Under the last Pope, Rome witnessed two
or three of those wholesale canonisations.
We Itahans call the proceeding, /are znia infornata
di Santi, making an ovcnful of saints. But under the
reign of Leo XIL, in 1826, a much more scandalous
profanation took place. Saints being wanted by some
town or other (almost every Italian borough has got
one), and the Congregation of Relics, who dispense
those Beati, having none at hand, one of the counsel-
lors, we suppose, thought of a very expeditious way
of making saints, and supply what was wanted. A
sort of catacomb having been discovered at the church
S. Lorenzo fuor delle nnira, in which some skulls were
found, live of them Avere extracted, and declared to be
* For Loyola's sake we should have liked that one of the three first-class
Tniracles, recorded in tlie bull of canonisation, should have been a little
more supernatural, and a little more decent, perhaps. It is said in the
bull, that a woman of Gandia, being dropsical, applied to the part af-
fected the image of the saint, and was cured, imagine dicti beati ventri
at/mota, &c.
t The saying of one of the descendants of Charles Borromeo has remained
famous m Italy. After having paid all the expenses of the canonisation,
Jie turned to his fomily and said, " Ee always good Christians, my dear
children, but never saints ; one other saint, and we are ruined for ever."
S
262 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
the skulls of martyrs. The Pope, with the advice of
the Congregation of Rites, by his apostolic authority
and certain knowledge, Apostolicd auctoritate ac certd
scientid, declared that they were martyrs; and, two
or three months after, they vrere exposed to the public
worship in the Aj)ollinare, the ancient Collegio Ger-
manico, which had belonged to the Jesuits, and where
now met the Congregation of the Relics. I have my-
self seen them thus exposed. Those having been dis-
posed of, other skulls were dug up, and other martyrs
made ; till, at last, a learned antiquarian (I do not
remember whether French or German) proved almost
to a certainty that the place where these skulls were
found had been a Pagan burial-place. The noise was
great, and so great the scandal, that the Pope ordered
the catacomb to be shut, and no more martyrs to be
made. One may still see the excavation, and some
bones may be seen through an iron grating, but they
are called martyrs no more. If these were not facts
which happened in our own days, and of which all
Rome is witness, I would hardly have dared to men-
tion them, so incredible do they appear.
We hope we shall be excused for this digression.
The canonisation of Loyola and Xavier took place in
1623. AVe shall spare the recital of all the feasts, all
the gorgeous ceremonies, all the pagan pageantry
exhibited on the occasion. At Douay, above all, the
whole of this theatrical representation was on a great
and magnificent scale. Two galleries, supported by a
hundred columns adorned with tapestry, and with no
less than four hundred and forty-five paintings, were
erected in the two streets leading to their college.
The panegyrics in honour of the saints were not only
ridiculous, but impious in the highest degree. In one
of them it was said that " Ignatius," by his name
written upon paper, " performed more miracles than
Moses, and as many as the apostles!" And again,
*' The hfe of Ignatius was so holy and exalted, even in
OVERGROWING INFLUENCE OF THE SOCIETY. 2G3
the opinion of heaven, that only Popes like St Peter,
empresses like the Mother of God, some other
sovereign monarchs, as God the Father and his holy I
Son, enjoyed the bliss of seeing him." We do not
comment on these words ; even the Sorbonne, now in
league with tlie Jesuits, condemned them.
Some years after, another extraordinary and fan-
tastic solemnity came to rejoice the Jesuitic world.
From the year 1636, Vitelleschi had ordered that
preparations should be made to solemnise, in 1640,
the secular year of the establishment of the Society.
We shall not give any description of it, but must
mention a strange publication, which has given to this j
feast an historical celebrity ; we mean the Imago \
Primi Scecnli Societatis Jesu. It is a huge folio of i
952 pages, richly and superbly printed, embellished |
by hundreds of fantastic and extravagant emblems,
and filled with absurd and ridiculous praises of the
Society. Many were the contributors to this work,
which was printed at Antwerp. " Many young
Jesuits," says Cretineau,* " found in the aspirations of i
their hearts poetical inspiration, accents of love, and i
words of enthusiasm ! " The book is modestly dedica- ]
ted to — God the Father ; and among the poetical inspira-
tions, we read as follows : — " The Society of Jesus is
not of man's invention, but it proceeded from Him
tvJiose name it bears, for Jesus himself described
that rule of life which the Society follows, first by
his example, and afterwards by his AVord."f And
further on, — " The Company is Israel's chariot of
fire, whose loss Elisha mourned, and which now, by
a special grace of God, both worlds rejoice to see
brought back fi'om heaven to earth, in the desperate
condition of the Church. In this chariot, if you seek
the armies and soldiers by which she daily multiplies
her triumphs with new victories, you will find — (and I
ho23e you will take it in good part) — you will find a I
* Vol. Hi. p. 471. t S. i. c. iii. p. 64.
264 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
cTiosen troop of angds who exhibit under the form of
animals all that the Supreme Ruler desires in this
chivalry." *
"As the angels, enlightened by the splendours of
God, purge our minds of ignorance, suffuse them with
light, and give them perfection, — thus the companions
of Jesus, copying the purity of angels, and all attached
to their origin which is God, from whom they derive
those fiery and flaming movements of virtue, with
rays the most refulgent, putting off the impurities of
lust in that furnace of supreme and chastest love in
which they are cooked {excoquuntur), until being
illuminated and made perfect, they can impart to
others their light mingled with ardour — being not
less illustrious for the splendour of their virtue than
the fervour of charity with which they are divinely
inflamed.
" They are angels like Michael in their most eloquent
•battles with heretics — like Gabriel in the conversion
of the infidels in India, Ethiopia, Japan, and the
Chinese hedged in by terrible ramparts, — they are
like Raphael in the consolation of souls, and the con-
version of sinners by sermons and the confessional.
All rush with promptitude and ardour to hear confes-
sions, to catechise the poor and children, as well as to
govern the consciences of the great and princes; all
are not less illustrious for their doctrine and wisdom :
so that we may say of the Company what Seneca ob-
serves in his 33d epistle, namely, that there is an in-
equality in which eminent thii\gs become remarkable,
but that we do not admire a tifee when all the others
of the same forest are equally high. Truly, in what-
ever direction you cast your eyes, you will discover
some object that would be supereminent if the same
were not surrounded by equals in eminence." f
These quotations may suffice to give the reader an
idea of the book. It will, however, be instructive to
* S. iii. p. 401. t ILid. 402.
OYERGROWIXG INFLUENCE OP THE SOCIETY. 2G5
give the opinion of Cretlncau upon it. lie calls the
-work, indeed, a dithyrambic, and admits that there
are some exaggerations in those academical exercises
(he might as well have said that even the Court of
Kome condemned the book); "but," adds he, "the
critics would not recollect the extravagances, the im-
pieties even, of the book entitled Conformity of the
Life of St Francis ivith that of Christ, by brother
Bartholomew of Tisa, nor the Or'ujo Seraficoi Faniillce
Franciscance by the Capuchin Gonzalez;" and so
on. Indeed we know that other monks are as boast-
ful, as impudent, as impious as the Jesuits ; yet it
seems a very poor a})ology to exculpate one's own faults
by proving that our neighbour has committed similar
ones. But so it is, w^e repeat it again, the Jesuits
would inculpate God himself to justify their order.
All we can say of the book is, that it is a most in-
genuous and sincere exposition of the feelings of the
Jesuits at such epochs, and of the opinion they had of
themselves. They were at the height of their pro-
sperity. The ditficulties they had encountered — the
battles they had fought — the victories they had ob-
tained — the consciousness of their own strength and
power, all combined to make them believe that their
ambition had to recognise no limits short of the
absolute dominion of the world. This idea is clearly-
expressed in every page of the Imayo ; and they
struggled hard to reahse it. Had the Jesuits united
to this consciousness, and to the superlative force of
will and perseverance which is characteristic of their
order, the conception of some great and magnani-
mous object, which drew upon itself the interest and
admiration of the multitude ; and had they by bold
and unequivocal conduct contrived to carry into exe-
cution the lofty design, — who knows what might have
not been accomplished by a society so strongly and so
admirably constituted 1 Such as they were, however,
their influence became greater and greater every day.
266 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
As when of two royal pretenders to a noble kingdom,
the conqueror sees the crowd of his courtiers increased,
not only by all those prudent persons who had waited
for the result of the contest, but by a part of his
former adversaries, now the most submissive and
humble of all his flatterers ; so the Jesuits, after they
had mastered all opposition, and were in possession of
power, saw themselves surrounded by a multitude
of adherents and courtiers, eager to obtain their all-
powerful influence. When to be a Jesuit became an
honour, and the shortest way to ecclesiastical and
secular dignities, persons of every sort, and especially
such as were ambitious, resorted to the Society, to
find the means of satisfying their several aspirations.
Before Vitelleschi, the nobility had protected the
Jesuits, but few of them had embraced the institute ;
but afterwards, the highest famihes in Europe, princely
houses not excepted, had a representative in the Com-
pany, who gave to the order a new prestige, and im-
parted to it the love and veneration with which his
name was regarded by the people. The houses of
Lorraine, Montmorency, those of Gonzaga and
Orsini, Medina-Sidonia and Abouquerque, Limberg,
and Cassimir of Poland, and a thousand other great
and illustrious families, respectively contributed mem-
bers to the order of the Jesuits.
Our space will not allow us to enter into details,
and to follow the Jesuits step by step in their pros-
perous course. Let it suffice that we have shewn how
the Society developed itself by degrees, and by what
means it arrived at the pinnacle of power and great-
ness. We shall now proceed to shew, in its principal
facts, what use the Jesuits made of their ill-gotten
influence.
As we have already said, France was now the chief
seat of their power, and the field where they reaped
their laurels. Under Louis XIIL, or, to speak more
correctly, under liichelieu, they could not pretend to a
OVERGROWING INFLUENCE OF THE SOCIETY. 267
great sliaro of aiitliority. The despotic cardinal will
only have them as his tools. He will protect them ;
he will go with his royal slave to lay the lirst stone
of a Jesuit edifice in a faubourg of Paris (St An-
toine), but he will cause to bo condemned and burnt
by the hands of the hangman, the books of Keller and
Santarelli, that exalt the papal above the royal autho-
rity, wdiich liichelieu considered his OAvn. Cardinal
Mazzarini was as little disposed as his predecessor to
tolerate any rival domineering influence ; and durino*
his administration, the Jesuits had no considerable
part in the public affairs. If Mazzarini shewed them
some kindness, and afforded them his protection, it
was because he wanted their support in opposition to
the Jansenists, the partisans of the Cardinal of Metz,
Archbishop of Paris, and Mazzarini's rival in power
and in gallant intrigues. But when Louis XIY., on
reaching his twentieth year, assumed the government
of his kingdom, then really began the reign of the
Jesuits. Not that the man who entered the Par-
liament in his hunting apparel, with his whip in his
hand, and was accustomed to say, L'etat c'est moi,
.was much disposed to act by the advice and under
the influence of other persons ; yet the Jesuits had a
great share in all the great events of his reign.
Louis had a Jesuit confessor from his childhood,*
who, by insidious and daily-repeated insinuations, had
rendered him a fanatical bigot, and made him believe
that the greatest glory he could achieve would be the
upholding of the Popish religion. In this point, as in-
deed in many others, Louis bears a resemblance to
Philip II. of Spain. Both gloried in the appellation of
champions of Poper}^, both had its persecuting spirit,
both sacrificed the love of their people to the w^ish to
appear most zealous Pomanists; yet both, despotic and
*_ Roman Catholics consider it their duty to send children to the con-
fessional at the early age of seven years ; and nine out of ten hear for the
first time, from the confessor, words which awaken in their young aud
innocent minds lascivious and till then unknown desires.
268 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
jealous of their royal prerogative, waged war against
their god on earth when he attempted to impugn it.
Philip sent Alva, who, having conquered the Papal
troops, entered Rome, and ohliged the Pope to sub-
scribe his master's conditions ; Avhile Louis took posses-
sion of Avignon, threw the Papal nuncio into prison,
and obliged every member of the French clergy to
subscribe the four articles of the Gallican Church,
expressly got up against the pretensions of Rome.
"With such a man as Louis, the Jesuits could not succeed
in gaining their ends but by the most complete sub-
jection to his orders or caprices. So, accommodating
themselves at once to the prince's character, there was
no mark of devotion and servility which they did not
shew to him. They supported him in his schism
against the Pope, subscribed the articles of the Galli-
can Church, and refused to publish the bull of excom-
munication the former had fulminated against the first-
horn of the Church of Rome,^ persuading him, how-
ever, that he would always remain a good Roman
Catholic while they confessed and absolved him. They
praised him for his military achievements, and en-
couraged him in his profligacy, taking great care to
abandon the former mistress the moment they saw the
inclination of the prince directed towards a new one.
For these criminal compliances, they obtained, in
exchange, full liberty to persecute the Jansenists and
Protestants to their hearts' content.
The Jansenists were the first w)io experienced the
vindictive hatred of the progeny of Loyola ; not
because they were considered more dangerous heretics
than the Huguenots, but because they had dared to
attack the Order openly ; because the Provincial
Letters had covered it with shame and confusion, and
because the most considerable among them were re-
lated to that Arnauld who first opposed its establish-
ment in France, and declared its members to be the
* Cret. vol. iv. p. 366.
OVERGROWING INFLUENCE OF THE SOCIETY. 2GD
accomplices of the crime of Jacques Clement. We
insist upon tliat point, because it shews one of the most
prominent characteristics of Jesuitism, never to forgive
an injury, and to persecute the remotest descendants
for the oifences they may have received from their
ancestors.
It would require volumes to relate all the persecu-
tions to which the inhabitants of Port-lloyal were
subjected. Hardly had Louis assumed the reins of
government than, at the instigation of the Jesuits, he
convened an assembly of bishops, and declared his in-
tention to extirpate the Jansenists. The crafty and
unscrupulous Do Marca, Archbishop of Toulouse, pre-
pared a formula to the following effect : —
" I sincerely submit to the Constitution of Pope
Innocent X., of May 31, 1653, according to its
true sense, as defined by the Constitution of our holy
Father, Pope Alexander VII., of October IG, 1656.*
I acknowledge myself bound in conscience to obey this
Constitution, and I condemn, from my heart and with
my mouth, the doctrine of the five propositions of
Cornelius Jansenius, which are contained in the book
of Augustinus, which both the popes and the bishops
have condemned : and the doctrine of St Augustine is
not that which Jansenius has falsely set forth, and
contrary to the true sense of the holy doctor." All
the clergy, and all persons who were in any way
engaged in the tuition of youth, were required to
subscribe this formula, and the most severe perse-
cution awaited those Avho refused to do so. Neither
the pure and uncontaminatcd life of those nuns of
Avhom Bossuet himself said that they were " as pure as
angels," nor the learning, the piety, the austere and
exemplary conduct of De Lacy, Arnauld, iS'icole, and
a hundred others, were a suflScient protection against
This is the hull by which tlie Pope dedared that the five proposi-
tions were to be found in Jansenius ; and this gave rise to the celebrated
distinction oifact and right.
270 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
the persecuting spirit of the Jesuits. Those noble and
magnanimous men were dragged from their peaceable
retreat, and sent to pine away their lives either in
foreign lands or in the dungeons of the Bastille, of
which the very passages were crowded with prisoners.
Yet the noble resistance of the nuns could not be
overcome, and the persecutors could only have amends
of Port-Royal by levelling it to th« ground.
Fiercer and more sanguinary was the persecution
exercised upon the Huguenots, who were very numer-
ous in France at this epoch. Henry TV., after his
cowardly apostasy, in order to pacify and calm his
Calvinist subjects, had, in 1598, by an edict dated
from Nantes, the principal town of Brittany, insured
to them the free exercise of their religion ; leaving in
their hands some strong places as a warranty. This
edict had afterwards been disregarded by the French
Government on many occasions, and Richelieu almost
hazarded the throne in reducing Rochelle, the strong-
hold of the Calvinists; yet no sanguinary measures
were resorted to, from purely religious motives, and
the Huguenots hved, we may say, almost unmolested.
But after 1660, numberless and incessant petty perse-
cutions, or tracasseries, must have made those Protes-
tants aware of their impending ruin. The Jesuit La-
chaise w^as the principal instrument of all the cruelties
exercised afterwards upon them. This Lachaise was
a relation of the famous Father Cotton, and confessor
to the king. He was the very personification of
Jesuitism — handsome, polite, courteous, pleasing in his
manners, it seemed as if his whole care were directed
to captivate the love of all sorts of persons ; he was
never heard to utter a word of dissatisfaction against any
one. S. Simon says of him, " II eta\t fort Jesuite — but
pohte, and without rage ; " and Duclos affirms that " he
knew how to irritate or calm the conscience of bis peni-
tents always with a view to his own interests;" and that,
" though he had been a fierce persecutor of every
OVERGROWING INFLUENCE OF TUE SOCIETY. 271
party opposed to his own, he always spoke of them
with great moderation." lie became the king's con-
fessor in 1G75, and, by the most skilful and adroit
flattery, acquired a great ascendancy over him. But
do not imagine that he forgot his Jesuitical cunning.
The profligacy and the continual state of adultery in
which Louis lived w^as too great a scandal to be over-
looked by such a pious man as Lachaise pretended to
be. Sometimes he got angry v/ith his royal penitent,
and denied him absolution. " The solemnity of
Easter" (the time in wdiicli tlie confession is obliga-
tory), says S. Simon, "gave him the political colic dur-
ing the king's passion for Madame de Montespan;" and
Cretineau says that '' he would not absolve the king,
but sent him another Jesuit, who bravely absolved
him." Such was the man who undertook to extirpate
the Huguenots.
In 1685 appeared the proclamation which recalled
the Edict of Nantes, La 7'evocation de Vedit de
Nantes, and from that moment the poor Calvinists
were consigned to the tender mercies of the ferocious
Jesuits, who, with the help of the dragoons and the
low^est of the populace, renewed the horrible scenes
of St Bartholomew, carrying the rage of fanaticism
and revenge so far as to exhume the buried bodies of
the murdered victims, and throw them into the
common sewers. How many thousand industrious
families were driven naked and penniless into foreign
lands ! how many children were made orphans ! how
many decrepid old men were left without a child or
descendant to close their eyes ! Alas ! let us draw a
veil over the infernal saturnalia.
Lachaise became now a most important personage
of the court of Louis. The king had built for this
monk — who, though he made a vow of poverty, never
travelled but in a coach and six — a magnificent house
surrounded by a garden,* where the humble disciple of
•* The place was called Mont Louis, but was afterwards converted into
272 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
Lovola received his courtiers and flatterers, and
where he freely distributed lettres cle cachet.^ He
was the arbiter between Fenelon and Bossuet, be-
tween Montespan and Maintenon, between the sove-
reign and his clergy. It was Lachaise who united
by a secret marriage the great king and the gover-
ness of his illegitimate children ; but Madame de
Maintenon never forgave him that he had not obliged
his royal penitent to acknowledge her publicly as his
wedded queen. But all the influence he exercised
was nothing compared to the exorbitant and almost
royal power which he possessed as king's confessor,
Lafeuille des benefices, that is, the right of disposing
of all the livings of all the bishoprics in the kingdom,
was attached to the oflice.| One may well imagine
that Lachaise, who, as St Simon says, was/or^ Jesiiite,
was not very sparing in conferring rich benefices upon
his own order. But a still greater advantage re-
sulted to the Society from the subjection in which
they held the French clergy, who, depending exclu-
sively on a Jesuit for favours and advancement, re-
nounced the opposition they had formerly shewn to
the Compan}^, and became the most humble and flatter-
ing adherents of the lathers. Even the Sorbonne,
that fiery opponent, became the supporter of the
Society.
To the pleasing and polite Lachaise, in 1709, suc-
a magnificent and beautiful cemetery, v/liicli now bears tlie name of La-
chaise.
* A leitre de cachet was an order bearing the king's signature,
generally requiring the arrest or exile of the person specified. Under
the reign of the despotic Louis, lettres de cachet were issued with
scandalous profusion. The courtiers, the ministers, the king's mistresses,
asked, in exchange for a flattery or a caress, a lettre de cachet. Often
the letter was blank, having only the king's signature, and left to the
person who had obtained it to fill it up with any name and any sort of
punishment he pleased. Father Lachaise had always by him a quantity
of letters of this last sort.
+ In the first years of Louis's reign that right resided in a commission
composed of two prelates and a Jesuit ; but Ferrier, Lachaise's prede-
cessor, possessed himself of the exclusive right, which ever after belonged
to the king's confessor.
OVERGROWINa INFLUENCE OF THE SOCIETY. 273
cccdcd as confessor the gloomy Lctcllicr. He was
CTiicl, ardent, and inficxible in Jiis enmities, reserved,
mysterious, and cunnini^ in his dark projects," conceal-
ing always the violence of his passions under a cold
and impassive exterior. His predecessor had left
him little to do in the way of wholesale persecution
and massacre. The Huguenots had been murdered
by thousands, and three hundred thousand Calvinist
fjimilics had Hcd from their unrelenting enemies. The
Jansenists had been in part disbanded, and death had
removed from the contest the Pascals, the Nicoles, the
* Letellier was accused of being the contriver of the following shame-
ful deception. In 1690, during a dispute, M. de Ligny, Professor of
Moral Philosophy at the Royal College of Douay, fell out with Father
Beckman, a Jesuit professor. Drawn to extremities in the argument, he
menaced his opponent with revenge, saying, Ego te flcujellabo — " I will
give you a whipping." Fifteen days after, Ligny received a letter under
the false signature of Antoine A ; that is, Antoine Arnauld, the famous
Jansenist, with an address for the expected answer. Now, the professor,
flattered by the honour of receiving a letter from so famous a man as
Arnauld, replied to the letter, and continued the correspondence — so that
at last the impostor, under the name of Arnauld, drev.^ from Ligny the
names of those who opposed the Jesuits, all of them doctors and pro-
fessors in theology. The impostor thereupon began and continued a
correspondence with these doctoi'S, who supposed they were writing to the
true Arnauld, the staunch opponent of Jesuit doctrine. Lignyeven begged
the invisible Arnauld to be his spiritual director, and sent him a general
confession of the state of his conscience. Thereupon he was induced to
leave his chair, his benefice, and to send all his papers to the impostor,
whilst he set out by the same command to a place appointed, which was
Paris. He went to St Magloire, but found no Arnauld ; proceeded from
place to place, until at last the simple Fleming found that he was duped.
JVIeanwliile, however, all the professors before alluded to were denounced by
the Jesuit Letellier, and exiled to various towns in France ; and Ligny him-
self was sent to Tours. Meanwhile, the Jesuit publislied a letterdirected
to a doctor of Douay, under the title oi Secrets of the -partij of M. Arnauld
lately discovered. Then Arnauld, in his place of exile, discovering the
cheat, published a first and second complaint, and a tliird, concluding
one in answer to the Jesuit who had replied to his second. Every one
was indignant, and even Louis XIV. himself. But the Jesuits assured
him that they were innocent of the plot; and having obtained forgiveness
for a supposed contriver, Tournelay, a doctor whom the Jesuits had
named professor in the place of the expelled Gilbert, confessed that he
had himself played the ixart of the false Arnauld, and the J esuits were
by this imposture exculpated from this act of perfidy, Lx the Gazette of
Rotterdam, 1692, it is said, "But little esteem v/as felt for him
(Tournelay) since it was discovered that he consented to pass for the
iather of the false Arnauld, to exculpate the Jesuits, and above all,
author de Vaudripont, the man who had answered Arnauld's complaint,
and who was supposed to act by Letellier's inspiration."
274 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
De Lacys, and the whole of the Arnauld family. Only
a few nuns, who could no more receive novices or pupils,
and with whom, therefore, their order must necessarily
be extinguished, remained in the monastery of Port-
Royal for the ferocious Letellier. He sent thither a
troop of rough and licentious soldiers, who dragged
those delicate and feeble women from their abode, and
conducted them prisoners as obstinate heretics, to be
confined in different monasteries. Yet the dwelhng
which those sainted nuns had occupied, the church
where they had worshipped the Lord, the tombs where
many of them lay, and which they had sought in the
hope to be delivered from their persecutors, and there
to rest their wearied bodies in peace, still remained
imtouched. Letellier, to glut his revenge, turned his
rage against their glorious monuments, had the mo-
nastery and church pulled down ; and, violating with
Vandalic ferocity the asylum of the dead, he caused
the bodies to be exhumed and thrown together in a
heap, to be devoured by the dogs, and had the plough
driven over the sacred edifice.*
After such examples as these, it is unnecessary to
add more to shew the influence the Jesuits possessed
in France, and the abominable use they made of it.
We have gone beyond the epoch we have prefixed to
this chapter, the facts we have last reported having
occurred in 1709, 1711, and 1713. And we have
done so, because these events mark the time from
which the power of the Jesuits began in France to
decline from its ascendancy.
Let us now see what was the conduct and the
influence of the Jesuits in other countries.
In Spain, the affairs of the Order were in the most
flourishing condition. Their revenues amounted to a
very considerable sum. The authority they possessed
was almost unlimited. Philip III., who had loaded
them with benefices, expired on the arm of a Jesuit;
* See Edinburgh Review, vol. Ixxiii. p. 361.
OVERGROWING INFLUENCE OF THE SOCIETY. 275
and hardly had Philip IV. taken the government into
his OAvn hands than he showered down upon the
Society still greater fiivours than his predecessor.*
He encouraged his subjects to build colleges for them;
and many bishops and noblemen, to please the sove-
reign, vied with each other in endowing the Society
with richly provided establishments, and in investing
them with all power and influence. But it seems that
when the haughty and imperious Olivarez possessed
himself of the supreme power, he ruled with such a
despotic hand both king and kingdom, that very little
share of authority or influence was left to the reverend
fathers. Inde irce. The affront must be resented, and,
although it was rather difficult to attack openly in
Spain either the premier or the monarch, surrounded
as he was by the devotion and the love of his subjects,
yet the Jesuits were not the men to suffer patiently
what they considered an injury. They then thought
of snatching from the hands of Philip that same
sceptre of Portugal which they had placed in the
hands of his grandfather. They accordingly set
themselves to work, and formed a conspiracy to
transfer the crown to the head of the Duke of
Braganza. The pulpit, the confessional, the congre-
gations, were all made to subserve their designs ;
and the minds of the people being sufficiently pre-
pared, they caused the duke to repair to Evora. He
took up his abode in the Jesuit college ; and when he
descended into the church, thronged with people,
Corea, a Jesuit father, addressing the duke from the
pulpit, exclaimed, " I shall yet see upon your head
the crown of glory, to which may the Lord call
us all !"t The church rung with plaudits at this well-
managed reticence; and the mysterious prediction
passed from the church to the street, and from thence
throughout Portugal, to strengthen the hopes and in-
flame the courage of the Portuguese, already impatient
* Cret. vol. ui. p. 356. f Ibid. p. 363.
276 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
to shake off the Spanish yoke. From that moment
the conspiracy made rapid progress. The fathers pub-
licly preached the revolt, without, however, altogether
forgetting their Jesuitical duplicity. The provincial
forbade all his subordinates to mix in political matters,
and even imprisoned one of them for having from the
pulpit too openly exhorted the citizens to rebel. But
the greatest part of the fathers disregarded the order of
their superior, who, nevertheless, except in the instance
just mentioned, left them unpunished, and in the even-
ing sat down with them at the same table as friendly
as ever — a policy which, we must observe, was adopted
by the fathers in all doubtful emergencies, in order
that, on whichever side the scales declined, there might
be a portion of the .Jesuits claiming the merit of
fidelity, and screening the others from the conqueror's
resentment.
Cretineau confesses frankly that the Jesuits had
been the soul of the revolution, and says, '^ The
Duchess of Braganza hoped to make her duke king,
even against his own will ; but it was necessary to
obtain the co-operation, or at least the neutrality, of
the Jesuits." * The efforts of the Jesuits were
crowned with success. In 1640 a revolution broke
out at Lisbon, and was successful. " The house of
Braganza did not forget what it owed to the Jesuits
for the past and tlie present ; and wishing, through
them, to make sure of the future, it awarded to them
unlimited influence. The Jesuits were the first ambas-
sadors of John IV." t After those very explicit
words, let the Jesuits assert that they are a religious
community, detached entirely from worldly interest,
and merely occupied in the salvation of souls. It has
been asserted that the Jesuits, besides being animated
by hatred to Olivarcz, were induced to co-operate in
the revolution by the instigation and perhaps by the
liberal promises of Ilichelieu, who, as everybody
* Crct. vol. iii. p. 362. + Ibid. p. 3C3,
OVERGROWING INFLUENCE OF TUE SOCIETY'. 277
knoTVS, was anxious by every possible means to liarass
and enfeeble tlie rival house of Austria. However this
was, the Jesuits became the almost absolute masters
of Tortugal. Nothing was done without their consent.
No minister would take any important step with-
out first consulting the Jesuits and obtaining their
permission. Lisbon became the seat of their extensive
conmiercial operations, and the centre of their trade
between Europe and the Indies ; and Eankc says that
the Portuguese ambassadors Avere empowered to draw
upon the Jesuits of Portugal for considerable sums.
And, strange to say, they at the same time enjoyed
some influence in Spain under Philip IV.; and this
appears to have increased to such an extent under
Charles II., that the testament by which this monarch
named a grandson of Louis XIV. to the throne of
Spain, was dictated, it is asserted, by the Jesuits.
Here we are led to make a remark which will serve
to illustrate the true spirit of Jesuitism. In the fifth
general congregation was passed a decree forbidding
all Jesuits to mix in any way in political or secular
matters ; and by the eighty-fourth decree of the sixth
general congregation, all operations which have any
appearance of being commercial are strictly forbidden
to the members of the Society. Notwithstanding
these decrees, the Jesuits dispose of the destinies of
kingdoms almost at their pleasure, and are the earliest
bankers in Europe. The General, who is armed by
the Constitution with almost unlimited powers to punish
the infraction of his orders, and who can dismiss the
delinquent at any time he chooses, not only remains-
silent when such transgressions are committed, but con-
nives at, and even encourages them, by raising those
members who are the most skilful in political affairs
to the most important offices in the Society, and by
himself using and disposing of that money which has
been acquired by a manifest breach of the Constitution.
For what purpose, then, those decrees, if they are
278 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
not to be observed ? What was the purpose contem-
plated by theh^ framers, ^^e cannot say, but the use the
Society makes of them is a very simple one. When
they are accused of mixing in political matters or
commercial speculations, they answer : " This cannot
be ; the Constitutions or the decrees expressly forbid
such things." Thus, for example, Cretineau, after
mentioning the decree which forbids any sort of
operation of a commercial nature, adds, •' This is the
answer to the partial criticisms and interested injustice
of those who will endeavour to attribute to the great
work of the missions a sordid cupidity of lucre." *
We admire the boldness, not to say the impudence, of
this panegyrist of the Order.
All throughout Germany the Jesuits spread desola-
tion and misery whenever the cause of truth and free-
dom was overcome by the superior material force of
despotism and bigotry. " They were the most able
auxiharies of Ferdinand in destroying the Protestants;
they were in the imperial cabinet, in his armies, among
the defeated sectarians, and they even dared to pene-
trate into the camp of the Lirfherans "f (as spies, no
doubt). The Jesuits had formed Tilly, Wallenstein,
and Piccolomini, the three champions of the Cathohc
cause in the Thirty Years' War.
" They (the Jesuits) accompanied the armies in their
march, they followed them to the battle-field; and after
the victory, they disputed with the Croats the fate of
the prisoners of the day." J Such is the version of
their historian. How far from the truth ! It is un-
questionable that they had formed the three champions,
and worthy of their masters did they prove by their
spirit of revenge and persecution. But it is an impu-
dent falsehood that the Jesuits interposed (as their
calling made it their duty) betwixt the executioner and
the victim, betwixt the sacred laws of humanity and
the barbarous laws of war. No. On the contrary,
* Cret. vol. iii. p. 179. f Ibid. p. 3S8. ll: Ibid. pp. 371, 372.
OVERGROWma INFLUENCE OF THE SOCIETY. 279
tlicy prcaclicd the extermination of tlie Protestants,
and gave out that no work was so meritorious in tho
eyes of God as to kill those accursed heretics. They
did not calm, but rather excited, the ferocious passions
of their pupils the generals, and, above all, of Tilly,
over whom they possessed a very great influence.
Once, after the battle of Strato, in Munster, I believe
the voice of the Jesuits was added to that of the citizens
in imploring mercy for some hundreds of unfortunate
prisoners on the point of being mercilessly put to the
SAVord; and this single and exceptional instance,
whether the act of some human and compassionate
persons, or of cunning rogues eager to win for tho
Order an unmerited reputation for clemency, is re-
ported by the Jesuits as a general practice : while the
many acts of brutal Vandalism and revenge perpetrated
under their very eyes, and at their instigation, when
they cannot be denied, are laid to the account of
others. This is a historical truth.
Nor were they disinterested persecutors. They
fought here, as elsewhere, not for their faith or their
Church, but for their idol — the Order. Let them
speak for themselves : — " Corvin Gosiewsky, Palatine
of Smolensk, met Gustavus Adolphus near the Duna-
munde, defeated him, and, to consecrate the remem-
brance of this day, he founded a Jesuit house in the
town he had dchvered. Every victory of that Pala-
tine was for the Jesuits a new mission," * which means
the erection of a new house or college. The greatest
part of the properties of which the Protestants were
iniquitously divested went to enrich the covetous and
insatiable disciples of Loyola. The Pope, usurping
the right of disposing of those properties, only because
they had once belonged to the clergy, by a decree,
ordered '' that a part of the property which had been
recovered be employed in erecting seminaries, board-
ing-schools, and colleges, as well for the Jesuits who
* Crct. vol. iii. p. 375.
280 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
have been the principal authors of the imperial pro-
clamation,* as for other religious orders;" | which last
clause was of course rendered illusory, the Jesuits pos-
sessing themselves of whatever portion of those pro-
perties was set apart for the aforesaid purpose of
building houses and colleges.
We have already seen what Influence the Jesuits-
had acquired in Poland, under Sigismund III., in whose
reign " a systematic war of popular riots, excited by
the Jesuits or their tools, was begun against the Pro-
testants."J In fact, their temples were overthrown,
their burial-grounds jDrofaned, their properties de-
stroyed, their persons injured, and no redress what-
ever was given or could be expected from judges and
magistrates appointed at the recommendation of the
Jesuits. Their pupils not unfrequently celebrated
Ascension-day by assaulting those of the evangelical
persuasion, breaking into their houses, plundering
and destroying their property. Woe to the Protes-
tant whom they could seize in his house, or whom they
even met on the streets on these^ccasions !
The evangelical church of Cracow was attacked in
the year 1606, and in the following year the church
was furiously stormed, the dead being torn from their
graves ; in 1611, the church of the Protestants in
Wilna shared the same fate, and its ministers were
maltreated or murdered. In 1615, a book appeared
in Posen, which maintained that the Protestants
had no right to dwell in that city. In the follow-
ing year, the pupils of the Jesuits destroyed the
Bohemian church so completely, that they left
* This proclamation was the decree b}- wliicli the bigoted Ferdinand
II., with revolting injustice, dispossessed legitimate holders of property
which had belonged to religious communities, but which in great part had
been allotted more than a hundred years before to those monks and
priests who had embraced Protestantism, and which, passing through
many hands to the persons then in possession, constituted the most
legitimate property.
+ Cret. vol. iii. p. 390.
J Krasiuski's Lectures on Slavonia, p. 321.
OVERGROWING INFLUENCE OF THE SOCIETY. 281
no stone rcmaliiino- upon another, and tlie Lntlicran
church Avas burnt. The same things occurred
in other places; and in some instances the Pro-
testants were compelled by continual attacks to
give up their churclies. Nor did they long confine
their assaults to the towns ; the students of Cracow
proceeded to burn the churclies of the neighbouring
districts. In Podlachia, an aged evangelical minister
named Barkow was walking before his carriage, lean-
ing on his staff, when a Polish nobleman approaching
from the opposite direction, commanded his coachman
to drive directly over him ; before the old man could
move out of the way, he was struck down, and died
from the injuries he received.*
The University of Cracow, writing to that of Louvain,
and referring to one of those expeditions against the
Protestants, headed by Jesuits, in 1621, expresses it-
self as follows : '* The Jesuits are very cunning, expert
in a thousand artifices, and clever at feigning sim-
plicity ; but they were the cause of much innocent
blood being slied. The town (Cracow) was deluged
with it. The fathers were never satiated with mur-
ders, only the arms of those ruffians whom they em-
ployed for their crimes were tired ; they were moved
with compassion, and refused at last to proceed in the
inassacre."t Indeed, the fiery spirit of intolerance and
bigotry which the Jesuits had difi:\ised was so strong
and universal, that even Wladislau, Sigisnumd's suc-
cessor, notwithstanding all his efforts, could not arrest
the religious persecution and protect his Protestant
subjects from the sanguinary fury of the Papists. It
is true that Sigismund, in following the Jesuits' direc-
tions, and in attempting to re-introduce Romanism
into all his dominions, had lost his hereditary kingdom
of Sweden and the magnificent province of Livonia ;
* Ranke's Ilistori/ of the Popes, vol. ii. p. 161.
t Literte Academise Cracoviensis ad Academiaiu Lovaniensem, 2 July
1627.
282 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
but that was nothing to the fathers. Protestantism
was broken, their opponents were despised or sacri-
ficed, their houses and colleges had received great
additional revenues — what did they care for the losses
of others?
On the premature death of Wladislau, his brother
Cassimir ascended the throne of Poland. He had
been a Jesuit, and had sat in the College of Cardinals.
The Pope, that he might assume the sceptre, had
granted him a dispensation from all his vows. This
Jesuit king, by his bad conduct and cowardice, very
nigh lost his kingdom ; and when his subjects recovered
it from the hand of the imperious Charles Gustavus,
king of Sweden, he, in gratitude for that fidelity and
gallantry, " committed himself and the kingdom to
the care of the Virgin Mary, and vowed to convert
the heretics ; " which meant, says Krasinski, to disperse
and extirpate them.
The Jesuits triumphed. We shall not follow those
pitiless and relentless monks in all the iniquities they
committed, in all the miseries they inflicted on poor
Poland, which owes in great part to them the_loss of
her literature, of her glory, and, in part, of her
national existence.
Much has been said and written about the conver-
sion to Romanism, by the Jesuits, of Christina, the
daughter of the heroic Gustavus Adolphus, king of
Sweden. But as this event did not produce any ma-
terial change on that country, we shall be very brief
in our account of it. No doubt, the Jesuits had a
great share in bringing that capricious and haughty
woman into the pale of the Roman Church. The sad
glory belongs to Macedo, confessor to the Portuguese
ambassador at the court of Sweden. He persuaded
her to seek rest to her disquieted mind in the un-
changed and unchangeable doctrines of Rome. By her
order, Macedo went to Rome to ask the General of
the Jesuits to send her some of the most trusted mem-
OVERGROTnNG INFLUENCE OF THE SOCIETY. 283
bers of the order.* Some time after, two very liand-
somc and young Italian noblemen, travellino;, as they
gave out, for their improvement, arrived at the Swed-
ish court, and were introduced to the queen, and ad-
mitted to the royal table. In these two very pleasing
young men were to be recognised two Jesuits, sent by
the General ; and these, being admitted to secret in-
terviews with the princess, achieved the work begun
by Macedo. Christina, on her conversion, renounced
the crown, and wxnt to Rome to worship on his own
pedestal of pride the idol which the bigoted Papists
adore in the place of God the I^ord.
AVe must now return to examine the conduct of the
Jesuits in England, and we could wish that w^e were
spared the task ; for, in connexion with their plots
and crimes, we shall have to speak of the shameful and
unchristian proceedings of their opponents, which were
such as we cannot think of withoujt sadness, and which
convey but a poor idea of the goodness of human na-
ture when acting under the influence of exciting pas-
sions. By the one party, the conception of a most
abominable and infernal crime is extolled as a merito-
rious and heroic action ; while the other, to punish the
intended crime, violates the most sacred laws of justice
and humanity.
There is no event in the annals of any nation, the
memory of which has been so carefully perpetuated
as has been in England the gunpoAvder plot. It is
the first page of the national history which is taught
to children by its annual commemoration every fifth
of November. We therefore shall relate of it only
so much as is necessary to demonstrate the part in it
that may be attributed to the Jesuits. Here, as in the
affair of Campion, it is rather difficult, amidst the many
contradictory versions and documents, to arrive at a
clear and satisfactory conclusion regarding the degree
of culpability of the accused. We shall neither credit
* Rauke, vol. ii, p, 3C2.
284 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
the apologists of the Jesuits, Eudemon and Bellarmine,*
nor Ahhott's Antologia, and the assertions of James YI.
himself, who, forgetting the dignity of a king, entered
the hsts to shew his pedantic learning and love of con-
troversy. Instead of filhng hundreds of pages with
contradictory quotations, we shall frankly state the
conclusions to which we have come after a careful
examination of what has been written on the subject, j
That the Jesuits Avere from first to last the con-
trivers of all the machinations against Elizabeth and
James, is an incontestable fact, and we have in part
proved it. The notorious and unrelenting Parson,
who, after he fled from England, became rector of the
Enghsh college in Rome, and possessed very great
influence at the Papal court, was the chief instigator
of these plots. During EUzabeth's lifetime, he had
had the idea of unceremoniously disposing of the
English crown in. favour of the Duke of Parma,
or of Cardinal Farnese, his brother ; _ a ridiculous
and absurd project of a fanatic conspirator, which
was ridiculed at the time, by Pasquino,! in these
w^ords : "If any man will buy the kingdom of
England, let him repair to a merchant with a black
square cap, in the city, and he shall have a very good
pennyworth of it." § "^It was Parson, and his brethren
the Jesuits, who obtained from Paul V., against the
representation of Henry IV. of France, the bull which
* This Bellarmine, as is known to many of our readers, was a famous
Jesuit, a cardinal, and one of the most fanatic and bigoted in the order,
celebrated above all for exalting the Papal authority above every other
earthly power. He is the author of a catechism, which is still tau-ht
over all Italy, under the name of Za Dottrina Cristiana de Bellarmino.
He was very learned, and appears not to have been a bad man, as regards
his outward conduct.
'i' Jardine is, perhaps, the most impartial guide to follow in inquiring
into this tragical event.
X Pasquino and Marforio are, or at least were (only one of them_ being
now in existence), two statues placed at the corners of two contiguous
streets in Rome, on which the Komans affix those libels in which they,
generally speaking, express their hatred of the Roman court and its
abominable vices. The statues are supposed to address one another.
§ Butler, Jlem. ii. 51.
OVERO ROWING INFLUENCE OF THE .SOCIETY. 285
forbade all tlic lloman Catholics to take tlic oath of
allco'iancc, and which produced so many miseries. It
was he, too, Avho constrained the Pope to disgrace the
arch -priest ]>lackwell for having taken it, and who
compelled the secular priests to become rebels and
victims against their own will ; which circumstance
elicited from them the memorial to the Pope which
we have reported at p. 163. But, that no doubt may
remain about it, listen to the ingenuous Cretincau, who,
enumerating the benefits rendered by the Jesuits to
liomanism, says, *' Have they not preserved in Eng-
land the germ (of Popery) which is now developunj
itself with such vicjour, and which in Ireland, after
three hundred years of martyrdom, became a legiti-
mate REVOLUTION?"* No words can prove better than
these that the Jesuits were constantly and actively
employed in Great Britain in propagating Romanism,
a doctrine which, according to them, confers upon the
Pope the right of supremacy, of disposing of the crown
at his pleasure, and of releasing the subjects from their
allegiance to a heretic sovereign, and which, conse-
quently, amounts to high treason. In this aspect alone
can be in part excused those sanguinary laws of perse-
cution and tyranny enacted in the reigns of Elizabeth
and James against the lioman Catholics. We insist
upon this consideration.
Now, in the particular case which we are examin-
ing — the gunpowder plot — we believe that Catesby
and Percy, at first, contrived the plot without the
knowledge or participation of the Jesuits, as it is not
denied that afterwards Gerard, Tezmund alias Green-
wall, and Garnet, were made acquainted with it in all
its horrid details. The whole question regarding
Garnet, who alone suffered for the conspiracy, has
hitherto amounted to this — whether he knew of it in
* " N'ont ils pas conserve en Angleterre le p;erme qui se dcveloppe avec
tant de vi.^ueur, et qui en Irlande, apres trois cents ans de martyre, devient
une revolution legitime V Vol. iii. 510.
286 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
any other way than as it was revealed to him by
Father Gerard, under the seal of confession. And the
Jesuits and Papists insist upon this point, pretending
that, in such a case, Garnet could not reveal the con-
spiracy without committing sacrilege. To speak the
truth, we arc inclined to believe that he, literally
speaking, did not know of it otherwise ; and these are
the reasons why we believe so. Garnet was not, like
Parson, a bold and daring partisan, capable of braving
any danger, of attempting an^^ enterprise. He was a
very poor conspirator, in no way disposed to earn the
palm of martyrdom. Catesby, who had been his asso-
ciate in the plots during the reign of Elizabeth, must
have known him well, so that he and the other conspira-
tors did not trust him at first even with their confession.
It was Greenway who, in our opinion, violated the seal
of confession by apprising his superior of what was
going on. It is not improbable, then, that when after-
wards Catesby proposed to disclose to him the whole
plan of the plot. Garnet, who had nothing to learn,
refused to listen to him, in order that, in case of ill-
success, he might not be accused of being an accom-
plice. That all the Jesuits approved of the plot and
wished it success, there is very little doubt, and we
even behove that, without speaking openly to the point,
Garnet must have indirectly, by cunning, adroit in-
sinuations, encouraged the conspirators to consummate
the horrible crime. It is a fact deponed by Bates,
and indubitably proved, that Garnet and the other
two Jesuits had frequent interviews with Catesby and
the other conspirators some few days before that
which had been fixed upon for the execution of the
plot ; and we do not hesitate to say, that had Garnet
wished to deter the conspirators from their infernal
projects, he might have found a thousand ways of
doing so without at all betraying the secrets of the
confessional. But suppose that, as we have said,
Garnet and Greenway did not know of the conspiracy
OYERG ROWING INFLUENCE OF THE SOCIETY. 287
except under tlic seal of confession, and that they In
no way cncourngcd and ahetted it, yet we cannot
acquit them of the charge of being accomphccs in tlic
crime.
We have related at p. 140 that at Grenada the
Jesuits liad propounded a doctrine that there arc cir-
cumstances in which the confessor may obHge his
penitent to discover his accomphces or permit him to
inform the competent authorities of the crime. It is
true that the crime specified was heresy, but we think
that the same may be said of murder or any other
crime, and that that doctrine which is good at Grenada
must be equally good in England. But let that pass,
and let us proceed. The conspirators, at least five of
them, declared to the confessor, that they were medi-
tating a horrible crime, that they were taking mea-
sures to accomplish it, and that they were sure of
success. The confessor granted them absolution, and
another Jesuit administered to them the communion.
Now, the indispensable condition of the validity of ab-
solution from a sin, is, that the penitent feel repentance
or contrition for havino- committed it. How then could
Father Greenway absolve the conspirators from a crime
of which they not only did not repent, but which they
were proceeding at all hazards to perpetrate? The
evil spirit himself expounds this doctrine to the unfor-
tunate Guide, to whom he proves that the absolution
he had received from the Pope from a sin he \iad not
yet committed was null.
" No power can the impenitent absolve.
Nor to repent and ■will at once consist.
By contradiction absolute furbid."*
Wc conclude from this, that either your confession
is merely a snare to entrap fools, or that Greenway
considered the conspiracy not a hellish crime, but a
meritorious deed !
* " Che assolver non si puo chi non si pente,
Ne pentere e vulere insienie puossi
Per la contradizion che nol consente." — D ante's Inferno.
288 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
But we have a still more stringent argument.
Suppose that, following some of their pro6a5/e opinions f
the Jesuits thought that they were obliged to absolve
the miscreants, and that their ministry obliged them
faithfully to keep the secret, had they not the Pope,
the omnipotent Pope to apply to, to absolve them from
that obligation ? Is there any precept, any sacrament,
any law Imman or divine, from the fulfihnent of which,
according to their doctrine, the Pope cannot grant a
dispensation ? If there is any, let it be pointed out, and
we shall absolve them. But if they cannot deny that
the Pope could have released them from the secrecy
of confession, and if they cannot prove that they
asked such dispensation, it is evident that they did not
wish to prevent the crmie. And if this was connivance,
and if this connivance was a capital crime, then their
condemnation was undoubtedly a legal and just sen-
tence, and they met with nothing but deserved punish-
ment. We wonder that James, who was so well versed
in theological controversies, did not find out any of
these arguments, which would certainly have furnished
more plausible grounds for a condemnation than the
equivocal confession wrung from the Jesuits by the
contrivance of ignoble and disgraceful snares. For
if we unreservedly condemn the Jesuits, we exclaim
with equal energy against the proceedings of their
adversaries. All the forms of justice, all the laws of
humanity, were scandalously violated. Garnet is con-
fined in a prison, repeatedly interrogated, and, in
order that he may betray himself, assured that his
accomplice Father Grcenway has been arrested, and
that he has confessed everything. Then, after he
has been long in a dungeon alone, a jailor, pretending
to be touched with compassion, tells the desolate
man, that another Jesuit is close by, and that lie can
converse with, and even see him ; and opens a door
through which the two friends can see each other.
The manner in which his secrets were surprised ; the
OVElvGROWING INFLUENCE OF THE SOCIETV. 28D
misconstruction of his words; the interception of
letters, which he was assured he might in safety write
to his bosom friends; the strange hnputation of roguery,
because he did not consent to accuse himself, in clear
and precise words ; the promises which were held out
to him and never kept ; and, above all, the protracted,
cruel, and inhuman moral torture which was intiicted
upon him on the scaffold ; * all deserve our severe
and unconditional censure. Thank God! in England
at least we are now far from those cruel times of in-
justice and fanaticism, and we sincerely hope we shall
never see tliem back again.
The Jesuits were not appalled nor discouraged by
the execution of Garnet, nor by that of Oldcorne, who
had suffered at AVorccstcr some days before.f AVe
lind them in almost all the conspiracies which were got
up to impede the regular march of the government,
and we find from time to time severe and inquisitorial
laws enacted against them, some of which forbade
thera to set foot in England, under penalty of death.
It is an incontestable fact, that the Jesuits, by their
turbulent and treacherous conduct, were the cause of
most of the rigorous measures taken by the govern-
ment against the lloman Catholics, who ought there-
fore to consider those crafty monks as their most
bitter enemies. Another inference may be drawn
from what we have related, namely — that no danger,
not even that of death, can deter a Jesuit from follow-
ing out his projects, wlicn once they are considered
to be profitable to the Order, or necessary to avenge
it of its enemies. The moment they could return
from exile, the instant they were set free from
* Tbe Kecorder of London, the Dean of St Paul's, and that of West-
minster, acompanied him to the fatal scaffold, and at that awful moment,
when the wretched man had need to prepare himself for the presence
of the supreme infallible Judge, they, for tks space of an hour, obliged
him to discuss tlie lawfulness of equivocation, and the criminality of the
Plot, and thus subjected him to another trial !
t Oldcorne Avas executed on the 17th of April 1G06, Garnet on the
3d of May of the same year.
290 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS,
dangers or untied from the rack, tliey returned to tlieir
plots and intrigues with unabated ardour and most
wonderful obstinacy. A striking instance of this was
furnished by the Jesuit Fischer, who, the moment he
was liberated from the tower, undertook to convert to
Catholicism the mother of the brilliant Buckingham,
who did in fact abjure Protestantism, and, in union
with France and Spain, contrived to render less cruel
the laws of proscription against the Catholics.*
During the fatal struggle which Charles I. main-
tained against the Parliament, the Jesuits pubhcly
and openly took part with the cavaliers, because
Charles was evidently much better disposed towards
them than were the Puritans. It is evident that, by
shewing their devotedness to the king, if the contest
had ended in his favour, they might not only have hoped
for the free exercise of their religion, but for a consider-
able share of influence over him. But a very grave
accusation was brought against them, which, if true,
would shew them guilty of the most diabolical iniquity.
We have no proofs to establish this accusation, which
was produced some years after the event; but, if we
are to declare our own conviction, we firmly believe
them guilty ; not because we credit in all its parts the
narrative of Jurieu, but for the reasons we are about
to give. Jurieu relates that the Jesuits, to re-establish
the Poman Catholic religion, thought that it would
be necessary that Charles, then prisoner, should fall,
and the monarchy along w^ith him. In consequence,
eighteen of them, headed by a lord of the realm, went
to Pome to consult the Pope. The matter was dis-
cussed in secret assemblies, and it was decided that it
was lawful that Charles should die. The deputies,
on their return from Rome, shewed to the Sorbonne
* Cret. vol. iii. p. 476.— He might have said that Fischer was the
author of many paltry contrivances, and that his endeavours were not
so much directed to alleviate the misery of the persons of his persua-
sion as to resuscitate enemies to the established government^ in con-
formity with the wishes of Spain and France.
OVEIIGROWING INFLUENCE OF THE SOCIETY. 291
tlic response of the Pope, ofivhich many copies ivere
distributed. The Sorbonne approved. On their
return to England, the Jesuits set themselves to work,
and sent many of the most ardent Catholics among the
Independents, dissembling their religion, to inflame
still more their passions, and push things to extremities.
Their scheme having failed, they wished to have back
the copies of the considtation of the Pope and the
Sorbonne; but the priest who before abjuring Protes-
tantism liad been Charles's confessor, and who was
intimate with the Jesuits, w^ould not give up his
copy, and, after the return of the Stuarts, shewed
it to many persons who were still living, and could
afford actual evidence of the reality of what he nar-
rated.*
This statement, literally taken, does not stand exa-
mination, and Cretineau, who reports it, triumphantly
exclaims, that this manner of writing history renders
all discussion impossible.! JN'o, certainly not \ such m-
fernal projects as to drive the king to extremities, and
make the king's head fall for the fulfilment of their
designs, if formed, were neither publicly nor secretly
discussed at the Court of Rome in the presence of
eighteen Jesuits and a lord, and much less was the
conclusion they came to, and their approval of the
project, put in writing and freely distributed : we
readily acquit them of such foohsh contrivances. But,
knowing as we do the arts of the Loyolan brother-
hood, we repeat that we firmly believe that it is more
than probable that the Jesuits did mix among the
lloundheads and excite their fanaticism to frenzy. I
have recorded (page 171) an almost similar fact which
appeared under our own eyes in Rome. And I must
further add, that all the more virulent men who, in
the beginning of Pius IX.'s reign, were proposing
* Politique dii clerge de France, ou entretiens curieux ; deuxieme
entretien : par Pierre Jurieu la Haye^ 1(382.
+ Cret. vol. iii. p. 489.
292 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
the most darino- and extravao-ant measures, were
afterwards discovered to be either in the pay of the
fathers, or to he the unconscious tools of their secret
agency.
Discouraged a Httle under Cromwell, the Jesuits
took heart again after the restoration of Charles II.,
and resorted to their usual arts and machinations. If
we are to believe what they boast of, it seems that
they had plunged into a more dangerous and extensive
conspiracy against the Protestant religion and the
English liberties than we are aware of. '' A secret
treaty," says Cretineau, "had been signed between
Louis XIY. and Charles IL, to re-establish the CathoUc
religion in Great Britain. Fathers Annat and Terrier,
successively confessors to the French kino-, and the
English Jesuits, had not been strangers to this nego-
tiation; Colraan did not ignore those details, and he
spoke of them in his letters to Father Lachaise."*
We do not know how far we may credit this assertion ;
vre know that Charles debased himself by asking and
receiving money from the French monarch, to whom,
he betrayed the interests of his allies and of his own
kingdom ; but, as to having stipulated for the re-
establishment of the Komish religion, we would not be
bold enough to assert that it was so. However it be,
this statement is connected with the famous Popish plot
which, in 1678, threw Great Britain into such a state
of alarm and excitement, and which, although it was at
first the cause of many innocent victims beings sacri-
ficed, ultimately produced an immense and glorious
result — the Habeas Corpus Act.
Gates and Bedloe are two names which have come
down to posterity abhorred and execrated by every
honest man. These infamous and abandoned men
accused the Jesuits, the Pope, the Kings of France
and Spain, many English noblemen, and some scores
of thousands of the Enghsh citizens, of a plot so
* Crct. vol. iv. p. 197.
OVERGROWING INFLUENCE OF THE SOCIETY. 203
absurd, as to make, in our "days, every one ashamed
of rc})cating it. And yet the generality of the com-
mon people, and the greater part of the higher classes,
at the time believed in its reality. Nothing else was
talked of, and all the cares of the government,
the activity of the parliament, and the energy of the
citizens, were exerted to protect the nation from an
imaginary impending ruin. This ought to teach
us how the passions and spirit of party deprive us of
our right feeling and judgment, and how dangerous it
is to give way to the impulse of the moment in times
of great commotion. Many noblemen and citizens
were arrested upon the deposition of these scoundrels.
Many suffered the extreme penalty of the law.
Father Ireland, on the deposition of Gates, for which
the latter was afterwards condemned for perjury, was
sentenced to death and executed ; and soon after, the
provincial and four other Jesuits met with the same
fate upon the same absurd and unjust accusation.
AYe do not pretend to say, however, that the Jesuits
at such an epoch had quite renounced their intrigues
and treacherous projects, and were not to be looked
after. No ; their restless and enterprising spirit ren-
dered, and does still render, them very dangerous, and
their conduct in Protestant countries may be said,
with justice, to be a permanent conspiracy against the
welfiire and the interests of all other communities ; and
tliey themselves, as we said, confess as much. But
they Avere guiltless of the crime of which they were
accused, and for which they suffered. How much
more mischief they were the cause of in the reign of
the despotic and bigoted James II. ! It was at their
instigation that this bigoted monarch annulled the
test act, imprisoned many Protestant bishops, had as
many as four Roman Catholic priests consecrated
bishops at a time, and had formed a plan for converting
England to the Popish idolatry. Yet all these arbitrary
and foohsh acts resulted also at last in the great advan-
u
294 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
tage of the English nation. The Jesuits' influence had
grown so powerful under James's reio;n, that Father
Peter was admitted Into the privy council, and we do not
hesitate to say, that the favour James shewed to the
members of the Company and to the Catholics in
general, and the authority they exercised over him,
was one of the most efficient causes of raising up the
people of England's feelings of indignation, and to
bring them to resolve upon and achieve the glorious
Revolution of 1688
AMERICAN MISSIONS. 295
CHAPTER XIII.
1600-1753.
AMERICAN MISSIONS.
When we reflect that the Jesuits are our fellow-men,
that their crimes and iniquities which we are compelled
to stigmatise, are in some measure a stain upon the
human species, we sincerely rejoice when we find some
noble action to record, and when we may write a page
of praise and eulogium. We think we have shewn
this impartiahty in our account of the Indian missions,
when, while condemning with all our might the
idolatrous practice of later times, we awarded to the
first missionaries the praise that was due to their pure
and generous intentions, and to their prodigious and
unremitting activity. We are placed in much the
same predicament in speaking of the American
missions, when we find the evil inherent in the spirit
of the sect, and in the religion they profess, united
with noble and generous endeavours to make the
happiness of a barbarous and savage population, by
reducing it under benignant and humane laws, and by
imparting to it the benefit of Christianity, at least
in its effects upon the external conduct and mode of
living. ]S^o doubt, a Christian Protestant — a man
deeply imbued with the true spirit of the gospel, and
who abhors any form of worship which consists in
mere bodily service — will find much to blame in these
missions. No doubt the Jesuits here, as in India,
296 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
preached and taught superstitious practices and ex-
ternal observances, rather than the sincere devotion
of the heart, and the feith to be reposed on the merits
of Christ's blood. No doubt they converted the
spiritual and mystic religion of Christ into a sensual
worship of material symbols. But, to be just, we
think that these reproaches are due to Popery, to
the Roman Cathohc religion in general, and not to
the Jesuits alone, and that we ought not to withhold
from them the praise they deserve for any good
quality or merits they possess, merely because they
are Papists. This would be too invidious, and would
render us guilty of capital injustice towards those
Romanists or Jesuits who sincerely believe that theirs
is the only true religion ; and be assured that in all
rehgions, there are some who think thus of their own.
On the other hand, the Jesuits are accused of having
undertaken these missions solely with a view to their
private ends, to aggrandise and enrich the order, and
not to advance the interests of religion and the glory
of God. This we freely admit, and we have re-
peatedly said that the Order has always been the
ultimate end of their conduct; but to refuse them the
merit of having brought a savage population into the
pale of civilisation, because they did so for their own
private interest, would be the same as to apply the
epithet of rogue to a landlord or manufacturer, who
treats his dependants with unwonted kindness and
humanity, because, by treating them in this manner,
he himself receives immense advantage.
Our readers must not infer from what we have just
said, that we do not find anything with which to re-
proach the Jesuits in their American missions. We
shall have many things to censure in them, but, on the
whole, their proceedings appear to us to be deserving
of the greatest praise, and we feel obliged to defend
them from the gross abuse which has been indiscri-
minately poured upon them on this score.
AMERICAN MISSIONS. 297
The character of the AYestcrn and Eastern missions
(lifter widely, both in the means employed and the
results obtained. In East India and China, the
principal feature of the missions is the idolatry -with
which the Jesuits polhited the Christian religion.
Having to deal with populations in possession already
of more or less civilisation, and deeply imbued with
the prejudices of their religion, the Jesuits thought of
humouring them in their belief, and sometimes shewed
themselves more inchned to idolatry than the pagans
they were labouring to convert. Besides, having on
one side to contend with the pagan priests, who
wanted themselves to work the ignorance and pre-
judices of the Indians to their own account, and being
harassed on the other by the chief of their own
rehgion, who would not admit of any other idolatry
than that which was approved by himself, the Jesuits
could not obtain in the East Indies any great and
permanent result.
Of a quite diftcrent character are the missions of
America. The Jesuits found there a barbarous
and savage population, zealous of their vagabond inde-
pendence, fierce in their enmities, without any positive
notion of a peculiar religion, and, consequently, easy to
be subjected to any superior intelligence who should
undertake to inculcate upon them no matter what new
creed. The chief difficulty there lay in the im-
possibility of having any intercourse with the persons
whose conversion was desired. The Indians, simple and
kind when first discovered, had now become ferocious
and excessively cunning, having been driven to extre-
mities by the cruel and merciless treatment they had
experienced from the rapacious Spaniards, a treat-
ment which had inspired them with mortal hatred
against all Christians, and against the very name of
Christ, which had been sacrilegiously employed in the
massacre of their kinsmen. Yet it was among the same
savages, who avoided Europeans more than a ferocious
298 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
beast, tliat the Jesuits, without arms or any com-
pulsory means, simply by persuasion and kindness,
succeeded in erecting an empire, all the laws of
which were based upon the first principles of
Christianity. Let us see how they performed such
real prodigies.
The Spanish adventurers had brought into con-
quered America all the vices and the ferocious
passions of their Inquisition. It might be said that
South America had been transformed into a large
inquisitorial tribunal, and that every soldier was an
inquisitor and an executioner at the same time. The
adventurers, to palhate their crimes, when they mur-
dered the poor, inoffensive Indians, gave out that
they did so to honour Christ, whom these obdurate
pagans refused to worship. It is not our intention to
detail all the crimes of those most Christian assassins,
and we shall be contented with saying, that while they
butchered tens of thousands of inoffensive people, in
endeavouring to convert them to their religion, they
succeeded with but very few ; and those who, to avoid
tortures and death, submitted to be haj^tized, hated
still more than their pagan brethren the very name of
Christians.
Ranke gives a very prosperous picture of the state of
rehgion in America, and says, " In the beginning of the
sixteenth century we find the proud fabric of the
Catholic Church completely erected in South America.
It possessed five archbishoprics, twenty-seven bishop-
rics, four hundred monasteries, and doctrines in-
numerable." * Now, with all deference to so great a
liistorian, we venture to say, that we admit the
veracity of the statement as to the number of monks
and monasteries, archbishoprics and bishoprics ;
but we believe that these establishments were in
proportion to the extent of the country, not to the
number of Christian inhabitants. Indeed, in every
* Ranke, quoting Herrara, vol. ii. p. 228.
AMERICAN MISSIONS. 299
tract of land of which the Europeans had taken pos-
session, there Avas erected a church, if not for the
accommodation of these same Europeans, at least to
furnish priests and monks with a pretext to claim a
share in the spoils and wcaltli of the country ; but we
doubt much that many Indians frequented these
churches. The swarms of monks who had flocked to
America, finding in the climate a still greater stimulus to
their usual propensity to indolence and luxury, indulged
in all their vices, and thought only of making converts
as far as was necessary to procure some subjects who
might enrich their patrons, the soldiers, as well as
their monasteries.* Such, however, was not the con-
duct of the .Jesuits. There, as in Europe, they wished
to be distinguished from other brotherhoods, and
affected a more saintly and pious course of life. Con-
cealing their ultimate purposes under the cloak of
rehgion and piety, they spoke of nothing else but of
converting infidels, and opposed, in the name of Christ,
the sanguinary measures adopted by the conquerors,
and approved by other religious communities. Per-
haps we are not far from the truth when we assert
that the Jesuits adopted a more humane and Christian
pohcy, as well for their private purpose, as to set
themselves in opposition to other rehgious communi-
ties. Because, it is a remarkable fact in the history
of the Church of Rome, that while every other brother-
hood has both friends and foes in the other bodies, the
Jesuits alone have none but enemies. However it
w^as, they set themselves to work; and, overlooking
for a moment the greater or less hohness of the end
they proposed, we repeat, that the means they made
use of to acquire a standing among the savages of
South America are deserving of the highest enco-
* "We need hardly remind our readers^ that when we speak of the idle,
luxurious, and seltish life of the monks, we sj^eak of the generality, for
we are not so illiberal as to say, that among them was to be found no
one really animated by a true zeal, and by the desire of converting infidels
to that religion which they thought the true one.
300 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
miura. The conquerors of this unfortunate part of
the globe, as Robertson remarks, had no other object
in view than to rob, to enslave, to exterminate, while
the Jesuits estabhshed themselves there in the view
of humanity. They overran the country to a great
extent, and wherever they could find an Indian, they
overwhelmed him with so much kindness, shewed him
so much affection, spoke so indignantly of the cruelty
and avarice of the ferocious conquerors, with so much
unction of the mercies of God. that these injured men
yielded by degrees to the fascination, and accustomed
themselves to look upon a Jesuit as a protector from
the oj)pressions of the other Europeans. And pro-
tectors they were, and proved to be. Father Valdiva
"went purposely to Madrid to obtain from Philip III.
orders enjoining officers to treat the poor Indians with a
little more humanity, and brought back a decree, that
those Indians who had settled within certain precincts
ruled by the Jesuits, should neither be reduced to
servitude, nor be forced to embrace the Christian
religion.* In the Tucuman, in Paraguay, in Chili, the
Jesuits in their wanderings were making many and
devout proselytes, but v»'itli no other material advan-
tage to the order except the envy of the other
brotherhoods, and the hatred of tlie Spaniards, whose
interests they were damaging. The sagacious and
politic Acquaviva perceived at once that this state of
things must be mended ; and, in consequence, he sent
to America, in 1602, a commissioner, who, re-uniting
in Salta all the Jesuits dispersed in difl'ercnt countries,
apprised them that the General thought it expedient
to trace a plan to moderate the eccentricities {ecarts)
of zeal, and to direct its impetuosity ; j in other words,
to turn such zeal to account. In consequence, it was
determined to concentrate all, or at least their greatest
efforts, upon a point, and fix there the seat of
their power in the Kew World. After having pro-
^ Crct. vol. iii. p. 292. f Ibid. p. 2S9.
A^IERICAN MISSIONS. 301
Tided tliat a sufficient number of the order sliould
remain at the stations throughout all South America,
to keep up their schools and colleges, and their com-
mercial establishments, Acquaviva wished that his
disciples should employ all their energies in creating a
ncAV kingdom Avliich they could call their own.
Paraguay, an immense and most fertile region, was
chosen for a site on which to erect this principality,
far from any rivalry, and with the view that the
subject sliould know no other master, no other reli-
gion, no other God, than those presented to them by
the fathers. The undertaking was difficult, and
required a great deal of courage, patience, and intre-
pidity ; but the Jesuits proved equal to the task. By
degrees, they succeeded in bringing some tribes to
listen to them. The Guaranis were the first who had
friendly intercourse with the Jesuits, and who were
persuaded by them to renounce their wandering and
adventurous life, and to taste the sweets of a well-
regulated society. Some houses were built under the
direction of the fathers. The lay brothers, or tem-
poral coadjutors, were the artisans who supplied them
with what was most essential to render life pleasant
and comfortable. Above all, the power of music was
brought to bear on the vivid mind of those savages,
who were charm.ed by the melody of the sacred songs
repeated by the fathers.
The knowledge the Jesuits had of the art of heahng
wounds and bodily diseases, contributed also in great
measure to procure them friends and admirers. Curi-
osity further favoured their efforts, while it brought
the Indians to view what appeared to them such
strange things in the Jesuit settlements, after they
were sure that they should meet with nothing but
kindness and presents. AVhere at first stood a foAV
isolated houses, soon sprung up a village, which subse-
quently became a neat and regular little town. The
plan traced for these towns w^as uniform, and very
302 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS,
simple. The streets, of one breadth, extended in
straight lines, and met in a central square. The
church was built in the most conspicuous situation of
the village, and was by far the most handsome and
decorated building in the town. Near the church
were the house of the fathers, the arsenal, and the
storehouses. In every village there was also a work-
house, or a sort of penitentiary for bad women.
These A'illages were known under the general
appellation of Reductions, but each of them was distin-
guished by a proper name. The first which was
established was dedicated to the Madonna of Loretto ;
the second, to St Ignatius ; and others to other saints
and Madonnas. As early as the year 1632, the
Jesuits possessed twenty deductions, each containing
a thousand faraiUes. Two Jesuits, the curate and
the vicar, were appointed to the management of each
Reduction, which they governed with absolute and
unquestioned authority. They were the sovereigns,
the friends, the physicians, the gods, of those barba-
rians who consented to live in the Reductions. They
partook of their labours, of their amusements, of their
joys, of their sorrows. They visited daily every
house in which lay a sick person, whom they served
as the kindest nurse, and to whom they seemed to be
ministering genii. By such conduct they brought
this primitive population to idolise them.
It must not be supposed, however, that the Jesuits
obtained at once over the ferocious adult Indians a
general and absolute power. Even those who had con-
sented to receive baptism, and to hve for some time in
the Reduction, often deserted it, and disdaining to live
that peaceful and comparatively effeminate life, return-
ed to their forests, and to their former life of constant
warfiire, in search of their enemies, in order to gratify
their cannibal appetites. Often they rebelled against
the Jesuits' authority, and not seldom menaced them
with utter destruction. But the second generation —
AMERICAN MISSIONS. 303
those chflclrcn "wlio -were born within the Reduction,
and had been brought up by the latliers — shewed
themselves the most submissive and devoted of all
subjects. Gratitude for the kindness they had ex-
perienced, admiration for the superior intelligence and
acquirements of their masters, awe for the religion
they w^ere taught, fear of punishment and disgrace —
all combined to render them faithful and submissive
to the fathers.
When once the Jesuits had raised up a generation
so devoted and obedient, they tlien brought into
operation their system of government, and made a
successful attempt to realise that repubhc preconceived
of old by Plato, and which, wath perhaps more inte-
rested views, is held out to us by the Socialists of our
own day. In fact, their form of a republic was nothing
else than that Communism which the famous Cabet is
now trying to establish in nearly the same regions ;
the only difference being, that the Jesuits substituted
themselves for the state or community.
The most perfect equahty reigned in the Reductions.
No mark of distinction, no difference of dress, of house
accommodation, or of food, rendered one envious of the
lot of another. In every Reduction there were work-
shops in which were exercised the most useful arts.
The moment the boys were able to work, they were
sent there to learn the trade to which they felt most
strongly inclined, according to a principle to which
the Jesuits invariably adhered — " that the art must
be guided by nature." The Jesuit lay brothers, or
temporal coadjutors, were the artisans who instructed
the youth, and they and the professed members them-
selves put their hand to the plough, to encourage the
Indians in conquering their repugnance to labour the
soil. Every family w^as assigned a portion of ground,
which they were obliged to cultivate ; and 04, severe
vigilance insured a good cultivation. The women
had also their occupations. Every Monday morning
304 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
tliey received a certain quantity of wool or cotton,
and every Saturday they were required to bring it
back ready for the loom. All the produce, of what-
ever sort, was deposited in large storehouses, and
distributed, by the Jesuits, in equal portions to every
individual. Even meat was portioned from the pubhc
slaughter-houses in the same manner. In the distri-
bution, the greatest attention was paid to tlie orphan,
the helpless, and the superannuated. The surplus of
the produce was exported, and partly exchanged for
European wares which were wanted in the Reduction ;
and the remainder, after having paid a piastra (four
shillings) for each individual from eighteen to fifty
years of age, as a sort of tribute to the King of Spain,
remained at the disposal of the fathers. No coin of
wdiatever sort was permitted or known at the Reduc-
tion. A spot of ground attached to every house may
be said to have constituted the only property belong-
ing to the individual ; and this was done to encourage
and recompense industry: for, if he made it pro-
ductive, he reaped all the profits himself, without
diminishing the portion he received from the common
store. The daily occupations were minutely regu-
lated. There were fixed hours for work, for amuse-
ment, for prayers, and an hour was even fixed in the
evening after which every person was obliged to
return within the wall of his own habitation. Any
transgression of any of the established rules met with
public corporal punishment ; but, in general, the trans-
gressor feared more the anger of the father, than the
castigation that awaited him. General suffrage was
exercised in its fullest extent ; and it was the people
wdio elected their magistrates, and their civil and
military officers. All these public functionaries were
invariaDly chosen from the Indians ; but, to flatter the
pride, qv lull the jealousy, of the Spanish king, they
were distinguished by the Spanish appellations, Cor-
regidor, Alcalde, &c. The choice of the people was
AMERICAN MISSIONS. 305
anhmiticd, pro forma at least, to the approval of tlio
Spanisli authorities, -who, not knowing either electors
or candidates, could not but approve of it; but, in
reality, the sanction of the Jesuits was indispensable
to the validity of the election.
To keep these people in such a state of dependence
and submission, the Jesuits had secluded them from
the rest of the world. No individual could leave the
Eeduction without permission, and no European was
allowed to visit these Reductions unaccompanied, or
to have free intercourse with the inhabitants. The
knowledge of any other than the native language was
altogether banished, and aversion and prejudices
against the Europeans as carefully cherished as in
ancient Egypt.
Nor were the Reductions left unprotected against
the possible attacks of foreign enemies. All able-
bodied men were drilled to arms, and formed into a
mihtia, having its regulations, its officers, its arsenal,
its artillery, its ammunition. The officers were chosen
by the soldiers ; the arms and ammunition, not except-
ing the cannon, were manufactured in the Reduction,
always by, and under the direction of, the Jesuits.
On the afternoon of every Sunday, and other holidays,
the militia assembled and executed military exercises
and evolutions. When that militia was called forth
for the service of the Spanish king, " they had always
at their head and among their ranks, Jesuits, who pre-
vented all contact with other Indians or with Euro-
peans, and who ansAvered for their virtue before God,
as the Indians answered for their courage before
men."* Nor, indeed, did they fail in their duty when
an occasion presented itself. Tribes of savages often
attacked the Reductions, but were met with undoubted
courage, and, generally speaking, were repulsed after
sustaining severe loss.
But if, on the one hand, the Jesuits cherished among
* Cret. vol. iii. p. 312.
306 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
the people distrust and aversion towards strangers,
they, on the other hand, diHgently inculcated the
exercise of hospitality and friendship among the dif-
ferent Reductions. On the great festival days, and
especially on the day of the patron saint of any Ile-
duction, the neighbouring ones went thither in solemn
procession, and were received with all possible marks
of love and friendship.
Such is a sketch of the civil government of the
Eeductions, and of the kind of life led by the inhabi-
tants. Objections and reproaches, and perhaps not
always unfounded, have been raised against such a
system. It has been said that the inhabitants of the
Reductions were low and abject slaves, led on by the
scourge, deprived even of the faculty of thinking, and
confined in a perpetual imprisonment, though within a
large space. Quinet, with perhaps more eloquence than
reason, exclaims, "Are we sure that it (Paraguay)
contains the germ of a great empire ? Where is the
sign of life ? Everywhere else, indeed, one hears at
least the squalhng of the child in the cradle; here, I
greatly fear, I confess, that so much silence prevail-
ing in the same place for three ages, is but a bad sign,
and that the regime which can so quietly enervate
virgin nature, cannot be any other than that which
develops Guatmozen and Montezuma." All this is very
well said, and may be in part true. Doubtless, these
people were kept in perpetual infancy. Doubtless,
nothing great, nothing of a creating stamp, must be
expected from them. Doubtless, they did not develop
and expand the new element of life imparted to them,
as other nations have done who were more left to
themselves; nor did they exercise the noblest part of
their nature — the inteUigence — in that pursuit for which
we think man was created — the search after truth.
But surely there are nations who have been placed
in worse circumstances, and subjected to more dis-
astrous influences, and more deserving our pity and
AMERICAN MISSIONS. 307
commiseration. Thus, if a nation, that has. through tlic
free exercise of all its faculties and activities, arrived
at a hio-h state of civilisation and refinement, should be
at once crushed, as France is at the present moment,
under the iron hand of despotism, that people would be
really miserable, and such doleful lamentations as those
of the eloquent ex-professor of the College of France
would not in this case be misplaced. But these
Americans, who knew nothing of the pleasures of moral
and intellectual refinement but what was presented to
them by their instructors, and found therein content-
ment, we do not know how far they deserve to be
pitied. AVere these people, we ask in our turn, less
happy or more miserable than those tens of thousands
who wallow in vices of all sorts in the free and civil-
ised towns of Paris and London ? Are, then, squalid
poverty, the groans of the oppressed, and reckless
sensuality, necessary elements of national happiness?
These are questions which in our opinion deserve some
consideration ; and although we think the human race
has been destined by the Creator to greater and
nobler purposes than the mere enjoyment of a mate-
rial life ; and although we know that humanity must
progress in its career, and that this progress cannot
be attained without great commotion and great evil,
nevertheless, when we contemplate all the miseries
which surround our state of civihsation, we freely
forgive the Jesuits for having, in one part of the globe,
let civilisation and progress sleep a while, to render
these poor Indians happy.
Better founded are the charges brought by the
pious and zealous against the Jesuits, with respect to
the kind of religion they taught to their neophytes.
In fact, though we cannot trace any such permanent
system of gross idolatry as was practised by the
order in the East Indies, nevertheless it is an undeni-
able fact, that what was taught by them under the
name of the pure religion of Christ, was little else
308 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
than a series of emjity forms and superstitious ob-
servances, and tliat the worship which was rendered
to God was httle better than a continual and motley-
masquerade, if we may be allowed the expression.
"We shall not enter into details, the following passage
from Cretineau sufficiently shewing what sort of
Christians, if they can be called so at all, were those
converted by the Jesuits. *' Those Indians had a very
limited intelligence; they only understood what fell
under their senses ; and the missionaries were so
alarmed at their stupidity, that they asked themselves
whether it was possible to admit them to the participa-
tion of the sacraments. They consulted, upon this
point, the bishops of Peru assembled at Lima, who
came to the decision that, baptism excepted, no act of
Christian devotion shoidd be imjwsed upon them,
without infinite p>recautions''* It is true that the
panegyrist of the order adds, that the patience of the
Jesuits was not discouraged for all this, and that they
endeavoured to render them better Christians, and,
we even believe, if the man who fulfilled all the im-
posed external ceremonies may be called a Christian,
that they succeeded in their attempt.
However, it seems that the Jesuits had so com-
pletely perverted the true spirit of the Christian
religion, that even Roman Catholic bishops, who, as
every one knows, are not very scrupulous in these
matters, were shocked and indignant at their conduct,
and made an attempt to put a stop to it. Bernardin
of Cardenas, Bishop of Paraguay, and John Palafox,
Bishop of Angelopolis, were the most prominent in
their efforts to put a stop to the Jesuitical supersti-
tions ; but both were unsuccessful ; both were worsted
in the contest ; both w^ere obliged to wander as poor
exiles out of their dioceses; and both were at last
compelled to give up their bishoprics. The history
of Palafox in particular deserves to be briefly told.
* Cret. vol. iii. p. 502.
AMERICAN MISSIONS. 309
Palafox was a man of tlic greatest piety, of a pure
and uncontanilnatcd life, and, after his death, was even
proposed for canonisation, lie bore no ill-will to the
Jesuits; on the contrary, as a good Papist which he was,
he even overrated their merits. In his letter to the
King of Spain, he says of them, " The Company of the
holy name of Jesus is an admirable institution, learned,
useful, sainted, worthy not only of the protection of
your majesty, but of all the Catholic prelates."* A
man who thus speaks of the order cannot be sus-
pected of enmity ; and it must be inferred that ho
would not have attacked the Society, unless constrained
by duty or necessity. He attempted at first to bring
them to reason by rem ons trance. f He afterwards
wrote a strong letter to Pope Innocent X., and
asked for a reform of the Society, indispensable,
he said, for the good of the Christian community.
The result was. that the Jesuits raised such a storm,
and excited so many bad passions against the virtuous
prelate, that he, " not to be imprisoned or murdered,
was obliged to fly, and to wander," as he wrote to
the Pope, " through inhospitable mountains and forests ;
to appease his hunger with the bread of affliction ; to
quench his thirst with the water of his eyes ; to have
no other house than caverns and the hard ground;
and to pass his life with serpents and scorpions." :j:
Such was the life to which the Jesuits had reduced
the poor bishop. But even this did not satisfy them.
To satiate their spirit of revenge, they did not scruple
* See this and "other letters of this preLate in ArnaulJ, torn, xxxii.
and xxxiii.
f PaUxfox, wishing to see the authorisation, which the fathers pre-
tended to have, to confess without tlie diocesan's order, in opposition
to a decree of the Council of Trent, asked them to shew him such an
authorisation ; they answered that they had the privilege not to shew it.
" Let me see that privilege," said the bishop. " We have the privi-
lege to keep secret our privileges." " Shew me at least this last
privilege." " \A''e are authorised to keep secret even this other privilege."
See the letter in which the prelate relates the fact in Aruauld, torn,
xxxiii. pp. 486-534.
X Letter to Innocent X., An. 1G49, ss. 14-18.
X
310 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
to profane the episcopal dignity, and the most sacred
mysteries of that rehgion which they professed to
uphold. In 1647, on the day of the festival of their
founder Loyola, the pupils of the college got up a
procession, of which the following were the principal
features. One of the scholars had the crozier hanging
from the tail of his horse, and the mitre at the stir-
rup. Another carried an image of the bishop in
caricature ; others carried indecent images of highly
respectable priests. This one gave a blessing with the
horns of a bullock, saying, '' Such are the true
armorial of the Christians." That others held iqy
with one hand the image of the Saviour , and with
the other an infamous thing vjhich decency forbids
us to name. All of them shouted out the Lord's
Prayer, at the end of which they repeated with
thundering shouts, " Libera nos a Palafox — Deliver
us from Palafox." *
At last, the Court of Rome, in order to protect him,
transferred him to the see of Osma in Spain, where
he gave such proofs of virtue and piety, that he died
in the odour of sanctity, received subsequently the
title of Servus Dei and Venerahilis, and, about
-sixty years after, was proposed for canonisation, t
But can it be believed — would any one imagine — that
Jesuits of the third generation would step forward
to renew their attack against the ancient opponent
of the order, and oppose his canonisation? And yet
such was the case. The General of the Company
* Letter of Palafox to Father Rada, Provincial of the Jesuits, 1649.
See Arnauld, torn, xxxiii. p. 643. Some Jesuits have denied the
authenticity of this letter, others the truth of the accusation, and have
called the prelate a calumniator. As to the authenticity of the letter, it
cannot be denied, since the bishop himself published it in his Defensa
Canonica, dedicated to the King of Spain ; and the well-known character
of Palafox puts his veracity beyond question ; nor would he have dared
to bring before the royal throne a false accusation.
+ I forgot to mention, in speaking of the canonisation of saints, that,
in general, many years are allowed to pass after obtaining a title of
Servus Dei, for example, before the other title, Venerabilis, is asked for,
and so on.
AMERICA]!?' MISSIONS. 311
actiually interfered, and by the mouth of the promo-
ter of the faith — promotore delict fede,* calumniated
his doctrines, his conduct, his Hfe ; and succeeded in
postponing the canonisation till the storm which was
gathering broke forth, and dispersed for a while the
hated Company of Jesus.f This example goes far
to shew how deeply is rooted in the heart of the
Jesuit the spirit of hatred and revenge !
We have reported at some length the incidents
connected with Palafox, as peculiarly exemplifying
both the character of that individual, and the nature
of the facts and the scandal they produced among the
Papists themselves, and which is not yet alleged.
But this is merely one example, amongst tliousands, of
the domineering and persecuting spirit of Jesuitism.
" The innumerable and continual proceedings that
were brought against you at the Court of Rome," says
Gioberti, addressing the order, ''bear witness of the
kind of concord and good friendship which the Com-
pany maintained with their companions in the priest-
hood and apostolate. The first cause of the quarrel
has always been, that your missionaries wanted to be
alone, and to exclude the other orders from any
participation in the missions; and for this they first of
all applied to the Holy See ; and when they did not
succeed there, they had recourse to all sorts of tricks,
insidious calumnies, persecutions, and acts of violence/'^
So speaks a man who glories in being a truly good
* The office of this personage in the canonisation is to raise, pro forma,
ohjections to its accomplishment, by questioning the virtue of the man,
the reality of his miracles, and so on. In Italy he is called the advocate
of the devil ; and our Gioberti, with perhaps more wit than Christian
charity, says, " In the case of Palafox, the name (advocate of the deAil)
may have well become him, as he was the advocate of the fathers."
t Owing to the French Revolution of seventeen hundred and eighty-
nine, the proceedings for the canonisation of Palafox, which had lasted
fifty-five years, were never resumed, till lately an attempt was made to
make a saint of him ; but the Jesuits were again too powerful to allow it,
and the case is yet pending, so that it may be said that the good Palafox
is in a sort suspended between earth and heaven.
X Gioberti, ut supra, vol. iii. p. 151.
312 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
Eoman Catholic, and who enumerates many bishops,
vicar-generals, popes, legates, &:c., who had been
sorely persecuted by the fathers. In fact, here is
the policy adopted by the Jesuits towards the supe-
rior ecclesiastical authorities everywhere, and more
especially in the East and West Indies. We beg the
especial attention of our readers to the following state-
ment, because it serves to explain the apparent
anomaly existing among Popish bishops and other
functionaries, in respect to the favour or hatred shevrn
by them to the Jesuits.
The bishop, or legate, or cardinal, or whoever
possesses any authority, must be either friendly
or adverse to the Company, and this especially in
foreign and distant lands far from the control of
Rome. In the former case, the Jesuits will load him
-with praises, whether deserved or not. They will
pronounce him a saint, a luminary of the Church, a
model of Christian virtue ; and leaving to him all the
external pomp and ostensible authority of his office,
they will command and direct everything in his
name. To such men they give the utmost outward
respect, and make the most humble protestations of
devotion, repeating at every word that they are the
most obedient servants of the Holy See, and of its
representative. And this same conduct of theirs, and
the testimony which those same persons are ready to
give to their dutiful behaviour, is held out by the
fathers as an answer to those who reproach them
with disobedience and irrehgion. But if these eccle-
siastical dignitaries refuse to submit to the guidance
of the fathers, and pretend to exercise their own au-
thority independently, they become profligate heretics,
monsters of iniquity; and they may consider them-
selves fortunate if they escape with treatment short of
that bestowed upon Palafox and De Tournon. Indeed,
even the very Popes have been treated in nearly the
same manner, and have been extolled or slandered,
americ.\:n missions. 313
according as tlicy were fi\voiiral)lc or adverse to the
►Society. There arc to be found in the Bu liar Iidu a quan-
tity of briefs against the Jesuits for their disobedience
to the representatives of the Holy See, and for the
persecutions these liad suffered from them.* Their
disobedience, and spirit of revolt against the Court
of Rome, -with respect to their conduct in the missions,
in Avhich they persisted, had become so offensive and
provoking, that tirst Innocent X., and then Innocent
XIII., had resolved to abolish the Society, not by a bold
and decisive measure, as did afterwards Clement XIV.,
but by forbidding the reception of any more novices.
Innocent XIII., after having ordered the Inquisition
to collect full evidence of the almost traitorous actions
of the Jesuits, in answer to an apologetic letter of the
General, who declared the Society to be innocent, or,
at least, excused their insubordination and rebellion,
issued a bull by which it was expressly forbidden to
the General, and the Society, to give the habit to any
novice, or to admit any to take vows, whether
simple or solemn.f But while Innocent was deter-
mining to act with extreme vigour against the Society,
he died, and by a death which awakened no unnatural
suspicion of foul play.j:
Such are the broad features of the American
missions. We may as well add, that the Jesuits
thought it prudent to refuse admittance into the
Company to all the aborigines, in order that they
might not lose the prestige which they exercised
over them. We must also Avarn our readers not to
imagine that the Jesuits had confined their cstabHsh-
* For the persecutions to -whicli all those ecclesiastics, regular or
secular, were subjected, because they -would not submit to the domineer-
ing spirit of the Jesuits, see the preface of torn, xxxii. of Arnauld's work,
M ith documents.
+ Inhibendum est Patri Gencrali, totique societate ne in posterum
recipiant novicios ad habitum societatis, neque admittant ad vota sive
siniplicia sive solemnia.
X See tlie Memoires Ilistorique de Xorhcrt, already quoted. See also
Anecdotes sur Le Chine, t. vi. p. 408.
314 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
ment to the Reductions of Paraguay. Paraguay was
their own private kingdom, we may say, but they had
also magnificent estabhshments of all kinds through-
out all South America. Particular incidents, minute
details, miracles, wonders, as related by the Jesuits in
their histories, and in their letters, annucel or edifi-
antes, we shall not repeat ; nor shall we record some
partial acts of cruelty and wickedness with which some
of the Jesuits have been reproached. We think we
have given as fair an idea as possible of the general
character of the missions, and this is all that can be
done in a general history of the order. As we shall
afterwards have occasion to speak at some length of
the commercial operations of the Jesuits, and of the
ultimate fate of the Reductions, we shall now bring
this chapter to an end.
INTERNAL CAUSES OF DECLINE. 315
CHAPTER XIV.
1617-1700.
INTERNAL CAUSES OF DECLINE.
We have seen in one of our former chapters, that
during Acquaviva's generalate, there broke out several
partial insurrections against the exorbitant power of the
General, and that, although they were quelled, they
had left in the community seeds of disobedience and a
spirit of independence, which it was to be feared would
manifest itself again at the first favourable moment. In
fact, the instant it was no more restrained by the iron
hand of the inflexible Acquaviva, it pervaded all the
classes of the order, especially the highest, that of the
professed, and a turbulent and haughty aristocracy
took, in the management of the Society, the place
reserved by Loyola for the all-powerful General. The
character of the immediate successors of Acquaviva
greatly facilitated such an innovation, which ultimately
produced the ruin of the order. Vitelleschi, Caraifa,
Piccolomini, Gottifredi, were not the proper men to
govern this brotherhood, noAV ascended to the height
of its power and pride. They were neither saints nor
rogues enough to succeed in the undertaking. They
did not inspire veneration enough by their pious and
saintly life as did Borgia, nor respect and admiration
by their superior genius in governing the community,
as Lainez and Acquaviva had done, and the conscious-
ness of their own insufficiency rendered them still less
suited to the task.
316 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
Vitelleschi, Acquaviva's immediate successor, was a
■well-intentioned man, mild and conciliatory. He was
called by his friends the angel of 'peace, and on his
deathbed he found consolation from the conviction that
he had never injured any one.* But it is evident that
.such a' kind and indulgent man could not oppose any
effectual resistance to the fast-spreading corruption of
the order, nor to the demands of determined ambition.
What under Acquaviva had only been the expedient
of the moment, became under Vitelleschi a rule. The
professed members became, if not exclusively, at least
simultaneously with the coadjutors, the administrators
of the temporal concerns of the Society ; and the con-
trol which the two classes had exercised, the one over
the other, according to the wise enactments of Igna-
tius, was for ever annihilated. While the number of
the coadjutors decreased, that of the professed became
out of all proportion numerous, but lost some of that
veneration which they had earned in former times by
a life, in appearance at least, wholly spiritual and
ascetic. Besides, as we have said, persons of the high-
est famiUes, eager for ecclesiastical dignities or tem-
poral power, now sought admission into the order, and
Vitelleschi had neither the intention nor perhaps the
power to refuse them, whether they were qualified or
not. The strict and searching scrutiny to which the
candidate ought to have submitted, and to which in
fact he had been subjected under Loyola and the
two following Generals, had become gradually less
severe ; but under Vitelleschi it was altogether ne-
glected, and the novices were absolved from many
obhgations to which the Constitution rightfully sub-
jected them. The abuses resulting from the non-
observance of the most essential rules increased so
greatly, that Vitelleschi himself was much aft'ected by
it, and poured forth his affliction in a most eloquent
and deprecatory letter, which he addressed to the
* Eauke, vol. ii. p. 388.
INTERNAL CAUSES OF DECLINE. 317
members of the order. From this letter we extract
the following passage : — '' But whence can we suspect
our disinclination to Divine things — our feeling of
laborious irksomeness in recollection — in checking the
wanderings of our vagrant imaginations, frequently
tending in that direction which is least to be desired,
because we have not repressed them when wo could ?
What is that tenacious and entanghng love of the low-
est objects — the world, honour, parents, and worldly-
comforts? — that greater authority conceded to the
rebellious flesh and blood rather than to the spirit m
action, for I care not for words ; — that enervated ex-
hausted weakness in resisting the solicitations of tho
adversary in our conflicts with the domestic enemy,
perhaps not entirely yielding, but still not evincing
that alacrity and exaltation of mind to which only
victory is granted ? These are the fruits of timidity
and of a dissolute spirit, which, unless it is raised
betimes, and warmed anew, is clearly approaching o,
tall and destruction." And the letter concludes with
these remarkable words — '' I eagerly call all to witness
and proclaim to them, that with Bernard I expect an
answer to this epistle, but an answer of deeds, not
words." * " So that," says Gioberti, " during Vitel-
Icschi's government, the spirit of the Constitution was
quite changed : the politicians prevailed over the
saints, and a worldly spirit over that of mysticism." f
The evil increased under Caraffa, who succeeded
Vitelleschi in 1646, and wlio was still less able than
liis predecessor to govern the Society. Carafta was a
simple and innocent bigot, not altogether unworthy of
commendation. He was remarkable for his humility:
lie would have no carriage, no servant, no mark of
distinction, as to food or raiment, from the humblest
of the brethren.^ He repeatedly begged his disciples
* Epist. Mcutii Vitelleschi, kc. (Antwerp, 1GG5.)
+ Gioberti/^ Gcsuita Modcrno, vol. iii. p. 2D9.
X Diario Deone apud llanke, vul. ii. p. oS9.
318 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
to lay aside all political and temporal concerns, and to
live a religious and pious life. He was shocked and
grieved at heart on account of the pervading spirit of
licentiousness and avarice, and predicted that it would
be the ruin of the order. In fact, the Society was
continually departing more and more from the prin-
ciples on which Loyola had estabhshed it. The rule,
that all who entered the order should abandon every
temporal possession, had been strictly enforced in
former times, but now the act of renunciation was
either delayed, or performed under conditions, and
that under different pretences, and especially on the
ground that any Jesuit was liable at any time to be
expelled from the Society. So when a novice now
made the transfer of his property to the order, he
clearly specified that it was in favour of such and such
a college to which he was attached, and often with the
reservation of himself administering the property he
bequeathed ; so that, even when the property remained
in the order, it was no more unconditionally at the
disposal of the General representing the entire
community, but of an individual, who, in a certain
measure, still considered it as his own. Nay, many
of the Jesuits, having more leisure and skill than
their relations, undertook the management of their
affairs.
Against those evils Caraffa could do nothing but
write letters filled with complaints, and prescribing
remedies which were never to be resorted to. Thus,
speaking of those Jesuits who wished to retain their
property, he says, *' Having settled in their own minds
in what houses or colleges they are to fix their abode,
they labour strenuously to obtain for them-
selves the administration of wdiat they have resigned
to the Society." And again, " Our procurators should
be more cautious, for, although they seek what is just
by lawful right, still they seem to seek it with avarice
and cupidity, and exhibit too much avidity, which
INTERNAL CAUSES OF DECLINE. 319
smells of the world." * And as to profane conversation
and licentiousness, CarafFa says, " Nor can I possibly
pass over in silence that these errors are in a great
measure the result of the error of the superiors." f
What a poor idea these two generals give of the
authority, the prestige exercised by them over the
Community ! what a contrast with their predecessors !
How different would Loyola, Lainez, or even Acquaviva
have acted ! When a General of the Order, aware of
the evils which have invaded the Society, can find no
remedy but in complaints, the Society must inevitably
perish ; and so it happened to the Jesuits.
Piccolomini, who succeeded Caraffa in 1649, and
Gottifredi, who succeeded this last in 1652, were men
without any energy or capacity, perhaps less jealous
than the two former Generals of the purity and
morality of the order ; and, in their short administra-
tions, they could do nothing but witness its increasing
corruption.
Here it is to be remarked, that in the election of
the General, the choice of the congregation now in-
variably fell upon a person without character or
authority, that the fathers might have no master
over them; and when the next General, Goswin Nickel,
attempted to assert, in part, his authority, he was
soon made aware that the times of Loyola and
Acquaviva were gone by.
Nickel, elected General in 1652, was a rude and
obstinate man. He did not, indeed, contemplate any
very deep or searching reforms ; he suffered things
to proceed, on the whole, as they had previously
done ; but it was his habit to insist on the observance
' of his orders with peculiar obstinacy, without having
any regard to the feelings of others, and he offended
so grievously the self-love of the aristocratic part of
* Vincentii Caraf^se EpisfoJe deModis conscrrandi prima'vum spirit uvt
Socictads. Part of it apud Ranke, in a note, vol. ii. p. 391.
t Ibid.
820 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
the Society, that the General Congregation of 1661
adopted measures against him, such as, from the
monarchical character of the institution, could hardly
liave been supposed possible.* The Congregation,
desu^ous of setting Nickel aside, and yet unwilling to
pronounce a deposition, applied to the Pope for
permission to elect a vicar- general, and Innocent X.
not only granted their request, but pointed out for
the office his friend Oliva, who was accordingly elected.
Then the Congregation, having decided that the vicar-
general should possess a ^^rwrnYzVe power, independent
of the General, the authority of the latter was wholly
superseded, and entirely transferred to the vicar; so
that, when some Jesuits went to pay their respects to
Nickel, he, in a lamentable tone, said to them, " I find
myself here entirely abandoned, and have no longer
power to do anything." t
It is curious, if not instructive (the veracity of the
Jesuit historians being very well known), to listen to
Cretineau's account of this transaction. " Nickel," says
the French historian, " felt that he was growing old,
that his infirmities no longer permitted him to govern
"with the required vigour ; lie begged of the Jesuits to
discharge him from a responsibility too great for him,
by giving him an assistant ; and they acceded to his
prayers." % Nickel survived his disgrace three years,
and Oliva became General.
Oliva was descended from a noble family of Genoa,
where his grandfather and his uncle had respectively
been Doge of the republic. In Oliva the Jesuits found
at last a chief according to their hearts. He worshipped.
a repose interrupted only by political intrigues, and the
pleasures of the table. § He spent a great part of his
time in the delicious villa near Albano, where he
* Ranke, vol. ii. p. 3S9.
'h Circumstantial uairation in the contemporary discorso, apud Hanke,
vol. ii. p. 396.
X Cret. vol. iv. p. 96.
g Gioberti, vol. iii. p. 299.
INTERNAL CAUSES OF DECLINE. 321
occupied himself with the cultivation of the rarest
exotics. AVhen in Uonie, he retired to the noviciate
of St Andrea, "vvhere he seldom condescended to ^ivo
audience. lie never went out on foot, lie lived in a
most sumptuously and elegantly adorned apartment,
enjoying the pleasures of a table furnished with the most
select delicacies, such as would have tempted the appe-
tite of a Vitellius.* lie was only studious of enjoying
the position he held, and the power he had obtained.
Keserving for his particular attention matters of political
huportance, he left the affairs of the Society to the
entire management of subordinate officials ; and from
that moment it may be said that every individual (wo
speak of persons of some consequence, for in every
society there are simpletons always ready for obe-
dience) became, in a great measure, his own master.
Not that the interests of the Society were neglected ;
on the contrary, they were never so prosperous.
The members of every religious community are
individually great in proportion to the greatness of
the society to which they belong, and the esteem
in which it is held by the public. This of itself
induces every individual member to seek with all his
powers the aggrandisement and the splendour of his
order ; and if this is true of any other association, it is
l^re-eminently so of the Society of Jesus. The Jesuits
of the seventeenth century worshipped the Order with
as much idolatry as their predecessors, and, to servo
it, were always ready to act the part of hypocrites,
deceivers, perjurers, miscreants ; but every one served
it (except in great general emergencies, in which they
all acted in union) according to his oAvn views and his
own affections, some of them assuming even an
absolute independence; as, for example, Annat, La-
chaise, Letellier, &c.
Under Oliva's government, the Society acquired
an immense political importance. Some years before
* Gioberti, vul. iii. p. 299.
322 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
his death, Ohva pubhshed his correspondence, which
extended to almost all the monarchs of Europe,
in which, indeed, he shews himself a consummate
politician, and deeply engaged in most serious and
important affairs. This already awakened some in-
terest, and made people look upon the Order as a
good auxiliary in political intrigues. Besides, the
fact that the Jesuits were confessors to all the Roman
Cathohc sovereigns, and that through them the General
had it in his power to become acquainted with the most
secret dispositions and plans of these sovereigns, ren-
dered his friendship of inestimable value, and an object
to be eagerly sought for by the most potent princes.
Again, the confessor, having less or more, but al-
ways a great influence over his royal penitent,
became also a great personage in the country where
he exercised his functions. Annat was a mediator
between the great king and the Pope; and Alex-
ander VII. thanked him for his good offices by a
brief.* Lachaise and Letelher were possessed of
still more power than Annat. The Court of Rome
itself, at such an epoch, was obliged to succumb to the
influence of the Order ; and if any Pope, in an unlucky
moment, ventured to oppose them in any of their
contrivances, he was soon obliged to retract his orders,
and to confess implicitly that he had done wrong. The
Jesuits call this epoch the golden age of their Society;
but we should rather caU it the iron one, since it was dur-
ing this epoch of splendour and glory that they departed
furthest from the principles of their institution, and so
prepared their own ruin. Possessed of very great
wealth, enjoying an immense credit and influence with
* The tone in which Annat wrote to his general deserves to be re-
marked, and to be compared with the letters that Lainez and Borgia
used to write to Loyola — " I cannot omit to communicate," he writes,
*' to your paternity my grief on seeing that the hope which I had con-
ceived of a speedy conclusion of the peace between the sovereign pontiff
and the most Christian king has vanished. ... I do not know what
malignant coincidence of events destroys all my plans," &c.
INTERNAL CAUSES OP DECLINE. 323
all classes of society, tlicy yielded to the temptations
peculiar to such a situation ; and, disregarding every
rule of prudence, and the restraints of public opinion,
they gave themselves up to the lust of power and
riches — prosecuting their ambitious projects by the
most questionable means, and thinking of nothing else
but reaping the advantage of the position they had
attained. As few dared now to oppose them, and as
the people were silent on their vices, they thought
that these vices were now overlooked; and this en-
couraged them still more to persist in their reprehen-
sible conduct. It was during the seventeenth century
that the Jesuits, lifting up for a while the thick veil of
hypocrisy under which they had perpetrated their
crimes, allowed the world to penetrate into the heart
of their conduct, and to discover what they really were.
In vain, when they perceived they were known, did
they pull down the veil again. Their faces had been
observed, and ever after they were to be recognised,
under whatever mask they attempted to conceal them-
selves. It was during the seventeenth century that
they gave to their traffic a scandalous development,
and that they set themselves up as dangerous rivals to
the largest establishments. It was during the seven-
teenth century that they set all the other religious
orders at defiance, and awakened in them sentiments
of hatred and jealousy, which are not yet extinguished.
It was during the seventeenth century that they
abused, more scandalously than ever, the credulity of
their votaries. The example which we are going to
quote in this particular will serve for many.
Among the manuscripts in the British Museum,
there is a passport given by the Jesuits in 1650, for
the consideration of 200,000 florins (£10,000), to
Hij^polite Braem of Ghent, promising to defend him
against all infernal powers that might make attempts
upon his person, soul, or goods. Here is a translation
of this strange document : —
324 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
" The undersigned protest and promise, on the faith
of priests and true rehgious m the name of our Com-
pany, sufficiently authorised for that effect, that
our Company, takes Master Hippohte Braeni, LL.D.,
under its protection, and promises to defend him
ao-ainst all infernal powers which may make attempts
upon his person, his soul, his goods, or his means ; that
we conjure and shall conjure for this effect (to prevent
attempts upon his person, &c.), the most serene Prince
our Founder, making use in this case of his autho-
rity and his credit, in order that the above-named
Braem may be presented by him to the blessed chief
of Apostles with much fidelity and carefulness, since
our Company is infinitely obhged to him. In faith
of which we have signed the present, and authenticated
it with the seal of the Society. Given at Ghent, March
29, 1650, and signed by the Rector, SecHn, and two
Jesuit priests." *
It seems that in India the Jesuits made a great
traffic of such passports. In those distant regions,
the impudence of the fathers must have been still
greater than it was in Europe. The Father Marcello
Mastrilli, when in Japan, boasted that many times a-
day he sent his guardian angel to pay reverence- and
deliver messages to St Francis in heaven, and that he
received answers.f We are not surprised at the
ridiculous and barefaced impudence of Mastrilli, who
is celebrated for his ridiculous impostures ; but we
are surprised that Bartoh, such an accomplished
w^riter, and not altogether despicable historian, should
relate with imperturbable gravity such puerile absur-
dities.
In 1681, Noyelle, " who had not the same brihiant
qualities as his predecessors," f succeeded 01iva,and was
himself succeeded, in 1687, by Gonzales, a harsh theo-
* MS. Bill. Harl. v. 895, f. 143.
■f Bartoli Oiappone, t. 22.
J Cret. vol. iv. p. 417.
INTERNAL CAUSES OF DECLINE, 325
logian, who died in 1705, and had for his successor
Father Tambourini. Nothing remarkable happened
during the rule of these generals; at least nothing
that presents us with any new feature in the history
we are writing. The Company followed the course ifc
had entered upon, and marched with steady step to-
wards its proper ruin. Not that there was any appa-
rent sign of decay. The Society was, on the contrary,
more powerful, more courted than ever. But its
power did not lie any longer in its intrinsic merits, or
its adaptation to the wants of humanity ; and the in-
terest and respect by which it seemed to be surrounded
w^as ephemeral, and in some degree compulsory. AVith
a few sincere devotees there was a crowd of courtiers
who flattered for their own interest. The Company
resembled an all-powerful minister, hated for his per-
sonal qualities, but worshipped and extolled to the
skies by the crowd of those who fear his power or
await his favour, impatient till the sovereign frown
upon him, that they may manifest their real senti-
ments. Such was the state of the Society of Jesus
durino; the seventeenth century.
326 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
CHAPTER XV.
1700-1772.
DOWNFALL OF THE JESUITS.
"We have brouglit down our history to the beginning
of the eighteenth century, an epoch in which the power
and greatness of the Society of Jesus had, by a gra-
dual march, ascended to a point from which, following
the law inherent in all human things, it could not but
decline ; for institutions, empires, and nations, have,
as well as man himself, their successive periods of
infancy, youth, manhood, old age, and decrepitude ;
and if institutions, doctrines, or nations, revive after
their moral death, they never regain the same degree
of force and vitality which they possessed when rising
to the maturity of their poAver. According to this
constant rule, it was evident to any profound observer
that the Jesuits had attained that height from which
they must inevitably descend ; but, as always happens,
they never dreamed of their impending fate, and
scorned the sinister forebodings of some of their number
who foresaw and predicted it. Then, when these pre-
dictions proved true, they laid the blame of their fall
upon every one but its real authors — themselves ; for
it is to them that must be attributed the ruin of their
institution. To the causes of decay which we have
stated, we must add that which was perhaps the prin-
cipal one — namely, that the Jesuits, once in posses-
sion of power, remitted their prodigious activity, for
DOWNFALL OF THE JESUITS. 327
whicli they had been so reraarkahle at the commence-
ment of their institution, and even disregarded those
arts by which they had obtained that power. Even
the Instruction, that all-powerful engine which had so
admirably served their purposes, was neglected, and
had lost its orio-inal character. It was no lono-er either
gratuitous or universal ; children of families known to
be adverse to the Order, were, on one pretence or
another, refused admittance, or sorely annoyed if ad-
mitted. Twice a year, at Christmas, and on their
patron saint's (Loyola's) day, the pupils were obliged to
bring presents to the masters ; and rewards and marks
of distinction were given in preference to the children
of wealthy families, or to those who brought the
richest present. This naturally produced in these
young persons a consciousness of independence, so
that they would no longer endure the severity of
the ancient discipline.* Some of them even went so
far as to stab their masters, and the revolts of the
pupils of the CoUegio Romano became provei^bial.
Besides, the zeal which the fathers had shewn at lirst
to promote study, had not only cooled away, but was
directed to oppose any sort of progress.
To those primary and internal causes which ac-
celerated the downfall of the order, must be added
also many external ones, all militating against them.
In those countries in which the Jesuits had had the
greatest influence, as Spain, Portugal, and Poland,
although they preserved, as yet, the favour of the court,
they had lost that of all the other classes of society, who,
at least in secret, accused them of being the cause of
the abasement and the ruin of their respective coun-
tries. On the other hand, those sovereigns of Germany
who had sought the Jesuits' help to oppose their Pro-
testant subjects, after the peace of Westphalia, wishing
to calm rather than inflame religious quarrels, though
they did not withdraw from the Jesuits that protection
* Hanke, vol. ii. p. 293.
328 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
they had granted them, at least refused to give them
that almost unlimited authority they had for-
merly enjoyed. But the surest, perhaps, of all the
symptoms of their approaching ruin was, that the
Court of Rome itself began to frown upon them, and
to shew a determination to lower their pride, and to
bring them to some sense of their duty. We have
already seen (pp. 127, 128) many bulls condemnatory
of their conduct in China and India, and that Benedict
XIV. had applied to them the very harsh and oifensive
appellations of " disobedient, contumacious, crafty, and
reprobate men." The same Pope, at this period also
accepted the dedication of Father Norbert's Memoires
Historiques, of which we have already spoken; and
encouraged the publication of many other books, all
adverse to the Society. All this was ominous to the
Jesuits.
It was, however, in France, the former seat of their
power and glory during the seventeenth century, that
the ruin of the order was most effectually prepared. The
overthrow of Port-Royal, the revocation of the Edict
of Nantes, the massacre of the Huguenots, and all the
persecutions exercised in that country in the name of
religion, w^ere justly attributed to the Jesuits. Nor
was this all ; the exclusion from every office, civil or
ecclesiastical, of every person who was not entirely
devoted to the Order, had made their tyrannic yoke
to be detested and abhorred in the highest degree.
While the despotic Louis XIV. ruled France with an
iron hand, and Lachaise and Letelher had a full dis-
posal of lettres cle cachet, few dared openly to give
vent to the hatred they bore to the Society ; but hardly
had the bigoted prince expired, wdien the long-re-
strained animosity broke forth, and the Jesuits were
assailed on every side. The Jansenists, the other re-
ligious orders, the curates, the bishops, all now attacked
the monks, who, some months before, had kept them
in such awe, and had been masters of their fortmies.
DOWNFALL OF THE JESUITS. 329
It lias also been asserted — and the Jesuits repeat
it every day — that the abolition of their order was due
to the then fast spreading subversive doctrines of the
Encyclupoedists, and that Ganganelli suppressed this bul-
wark of the Christian religion to please the atheist Vol-
taire and his disciples. But this, in the exclusive sense in
which the Jesuit takes it, is by no means true. The
Encyclopcedists were not the Jesuits' particular enemies,
nor the auxiliaries of the Jansenists. They were, per-
haps, more opposed to the strict and ascetic character
of the recluses of Port-Royal, than to the worldly
and accommodating morality of the progeny of Loyola.
But the Jesuits had identiticd themselves with the
Roman Catholic religion, and all its bigoted and super-
stitious practices, and the philosophers were happy
that they had introduced into it so many ridiculous
superstitions and ceremonies, upon which they could
exercise their sarcastic and trenchant wit. Voltaire
and his school could not have awakened in the hearts
of their contemporaries such dislike, nay, contempt
and abhorrence, for the religion of Christ, had not the
Jesuits furnished them the means, by having intro-
duced into it contemptible and idolatrous superstitions.
The Encyclopaedists' principal aim was to destroy the
Christian religion ; and for this purpose, coupling with
malignant sagacity the sublime doctrines and pure
morality of Christ with the ridiculous practices and
impure doctrines of the Papists, and especially of the
Jesuits, held up the whole to the derision and profa-
nation of a superficial public ; Avho, unwiUing to make
any distinction, boldly asserted that nothing Avas true,
nothing was holy, nothing respectable, in the Christian
code. Again, the philosophers, in their praiseworthy
endeavours to introduce the principles of civil and reli-
gious liberty, attacked the Jesuits, now become the
unconditional supporters of all despotism and tyranny.
In this sense, and in this sense alone, it is true that the
Encyclopaedists largely contributed to the overthrow
330 HISTOEY OF THE JESUITS.
of the order. The pamphlets and books printed and
widely circulated at that time against the reverend
fathers were mainly a mass of evidence exposing their
iniquity, and tending to effect their ruin in the opinion
of Europe.
Nor did the Jesuits, blinded as they were by past
success, oppose any efficacious resistance to the tor-
rent which threatened to sweep them away. Without
changing their conduct in the least, they had re-
course to expedients, and thought that a little pa-
tience and cunning would suffice to shelter them from
the passing hurricane. This was their general prac-
tice. However, not to be altogether passive spectators
in the contest, they made an attempt to ingratiate
themselves Avith the sceptical and profligate Philip of
Orleans, regent of France, not, indeed, by granting
him absolution, which he cared very little for, but by
negotiating for him with the Papal Court, by dis-
covering to him the secrets of Philip V. of Spain,
who had intrusted to his confessor his intention of
abdicating, and by procuring for the libertine and
ignoble Dubois an episcopal seat and a cardinal's
hat. But if D'Orleans, for political ends, seemed
to be the Jesuits' friend, he was not assuredly the
man to use his authority to defend them ; and
they were, from 1716 to 1729, deprived of the exer-
cise of every ecclesiastical function, having been inter-
dicted by Cardinal de Noaille. Under the sensual and
voluptuous Louis XV., the Jesuits attempted again to
regain their lost influence, and, as far as the favourable
hearing of the sovereign was concerned, they in part
succeeded. They contrived to insinuate to him that
their cause was the cause of religion and of the throne,
both menaced by the philosophers ; and, to a certain
extent, they persuaded many that such was the case,
and their enemies did not remain unmolested. But
while the parliament and the court, in their official
capacities, condemned the Encyclopaedists to the Bas-
DOWNFALL OF THE JESUITS. 331
tile, and tlieir works to be burnt, they individually
read with avidity whatever epigram was aimed at the
Jesuits and the Christian religion, and Louis XV. was
not the last to participate in the sneer.
Meanwhile, the new doctrines of political reform and
civil liberty had spread so fast, and were so eagerly
embraced by the populations of different kingdoms,
that their sovereigns thought proper to give some
satisfaction to public opinion, and call to their
councils reforming ministers. In France, Choiseul ;
in Spain, Wah and Squillace ; in Portugal, Carvalho ;
in Naples, Tanucci — were placed at the helm of the
state, and began to attack the most obnoxious abuses
against which people had set their minds. Now, in
this disposition of the public opinion, it was evident
that, at the first favourable circumstance, the ruin of
the Jesuits, who had been so greatly damaged in popu-
lar favour, would be actually consummated ; because
it was to be expected that in this case would happen
what generally takes place in political movements, that
when once the moral revolution is accomphshed, the
smallest pretext suffices to achieve the triumph of the
material one also.
Either the Jesuits furnished this pretext to Car-
valho, prime minister of the King of Portugal ; or, at
any rate, imagining that he had himself discovered
it, he attempted the overthrow of the Order.
But the causes of this overthrow were not, as is
asserted by the able historian of the fall of the
Jesuits, wholly local, and of a private and personal
nature.* Any other occurrence would have served
the purpose as well. It may be that Carvalho ac-
celerated their ruin ; but even without him the
Jesuits must have fallen. We shall brietiy trace the
order of events which issued in their expulsion from
Portu2:al.
St Priest's History of the Fall of the Jesuits, English Trans, p. 3.
332 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
The Jesuits, from their first entrance into the
kingdom, had exercised a great influence over the
destinies of Portugal. This influence, which they had
in part lost during the interval that Portugal was
under the sway of the Spanish monarch, became para-
mount under the new dynasty. The Jesuits governed
in the name of the two queens, the widow of John IV.
and the wife of Alphonso YL, who had married her
brother-in-law during the lifetime of her first husband,
whom she dethroned, and chained to a rock.* Under
John v., their power reached its climax, and it was
while they ruled the nation that " Portugal fell ex-
hausted under the protecting power of England,
never again to recover her position." "f At the com-
mencement of Joseph I.'s reign, which w^e are now
considering, they possessed an equal and again un-
limited power ; but at that juncture a man arose to
arrest their progress. This man was Carvalho. He
w^as born in 1699, of a family of the middle class, or at
the most of the lowest grade of the nobility. He was
endowed with many rare qualities, w^ith a great apti-
tude for business and administration, with unequalled
energy and courage, and with a mind vast and capable
of great designs; but he was proud, vindictive, cruel,
and not seldom unjust. To arrive at power, Carvalho
(subsequently Count of Oeyras, and Marquis of Pom-
bal, under which last name he is better known to his-
tory, and by which we shall henceforth designate him)
had courted the friendship of the Jesuits, and was by
them brought into favour. He soon became tlie
favourite, and then the master, of the weak and con-
temptible Joseph I. Pombal, in appearance, shewed
himself grateful to the Jesuits, and to the last moment
assured them of his friendship. But whether, in his
capacity of statesman, he thought them to be prejudi-
cial to the welfare of the Portuo-uese nation, or whether
* A Jesuit was the confessor of that faithful wife !
+ St Priest's Histovy of the Fall of the Jesuits, English Trans, p. 4.
DOWNFALL OF THE JESUITS. 333
he began to hate them, because the fathers, pcrcelvinu;
that they could in no way govern such a man as
Pombal, had leagued with the nobility a class of
citizens whom the vindictive minister wished to anni-
hilate, it is unquestionable that at a certain period
Pombal resolved, if possible, to rid Portugal of these
dangerous monks. But, prudent and crafty, he dis-
sembled his sentiments till a pretext or a favourable
moment should arrive.
A first unjust pretext he thought he had found
in the conduct of the Jesuits in 1753. At this epoch
a treaty between the Kings of Spain and Portugal
effected a mutual exchange of provinces in America ;
and, in order that the inhabitants might remain under
their former sovereigns, it was stipulated that they
should respectively quit the ceded territories. These
people resisted such an unjust and tyrannical order;
and the population of the Reductions took up arms
and fought bravely for their own country, although in
vain. The Jesuits were accused by the minister of
having excited them t j revolt, which they have denied,
even affirming that the General wrote to his subordi-
nate of Paraguay to prepare the neophytes for such a
change, and warning them that, if difficulties should
arise, he would transport himself to the place, to see
that the orders of the kings were obeyed.* But, from
what we know of the power exercised by the Jesuits
in the Reductions, it is evident that these submissive
beings would never have dared to stir without the
consent and the encouragement of the fathers — encou-
ragement which possibly they may have given them
underhand, while preaching, in public, obedience to the
sovereign's orders. By resorting to this duplicity,
they incurred the blame of both parties, while, if they
had boldly asserted their interference in vindicating
the inalienable right of men not to be bartered as
cattle at the caprice of every despot, they Avould
* Cret. vol. V. p. 158.
334 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
have earned the applause and the eulogy of every
noble and generous soul.
However, Pombal had not as yet acquired that un-
limited power which he afterwards attained, and did
not dare, or was not able, to strike the blow he was
meditating against the Society, and was obliged to be
contented to prepare the way for their ruin. But
an event soon occurred wdiich rendered him absolute
master of the destinies of Portugal, and left him at
liberty to deal with the Jesuits as he pleased.
On the 1st of ^N'ovember 1755, an earthquake de-
stroyed three-fourths of Lisbon. A conflagration added
to the desolation, and, that nothing might be w^anting
in this scene of horrors, an armed band of brigands
preyed in open day on the unfortunate victims of the
direful calamity. Discouragement anddespair had seized
on the boldest. The courtiers insisted that the court
should emigrate to Oporto, and the king and the royal
family ardently desired to leave the desolate Lisbon
Pombal alone refused to let them depart. " The king's
place," said he to Joseph, " is in the midst of his people;
let us bury the dead, and take thought for the living." *
Under appalling and difficult circumstances, the power
belongs to the most energetic. Pombal seized on the
helm of the state as his right, declared himself prime
minister, and, unaided and alone, prepared to conquer
all the difficulties with which Portugal was at this moment
threatened. There was something of antique greatness
in the courage which Pombal displayed that excited
general astonishment. f In fact, he was everywhere;
he thought about ever3^thing ; he provided for every
emergency ; and soon, by his unequalled energy, a
new town sprung up on the ruins of the ancient
capital.
And now Pombal, having attained a position which
permitted him to attempt everything, thought of
putting in execution the two great projects he had
* St Priest, p. 9. t Ibid.
DOWNFALL OF THE JESUITS. 335
conceived — the subjection of tlic aristocracy, and tlio
expulsion of tlic Jesuits from Portuo-al. He had
already published a number of edicts to restrain the
power and humiliate the pride of the nobility, against
whom he had conceived a great hatred, for the scorn
they had offered him in refusing to admit him among
them. And noAv the turn of the Jesuits had come.
On the morning of the 19tli September 1757, without
any new motive or circumstance having determined
the proceeding, he removed from the court the three
Jesuit confessors, and assigned to the royal penitents
three ordinary priests. This first act of enmity was
immediately followed by manifestoes which soon inun-
dated Europe, in which the premier brought against
the Jesuits several terrible accusations. Then, to coun-
tenance his accusations, Pombal applied to the Pope, as
ecclesiastical chief of these monks, and in his com-
plaint he gave especial prominence to that which was
most calculated to displease and provoke the censure
of the Court of Pome. He represented to the Holy
See that the great mercantile operations of the Society
impeded the accomplishment of his commercial plans
and the promotion of the national prosperity, and
asked for a prompt and efficient measure to put a stop
to it. The chair of St Peter was at that time occu-
pied by the amiable, learned, and upright Lambertinl.
Benedict XIV. did not hesitate a moment to comply
with Pombal's desires, and committed the visitation of
the Order to Cardinal Saldanha, a very intimate friend
of the minister.
Before we proceed further, we think it necessary in
this place to give our readers some general idea of the
commercial operations of the Society.
The large donations which, at the commencement of
the institution, had enriched the Society, having be-
come less frequent, the Jesuits thought of increasing
their wealth by applying themselves to trade. They
pretended that there was no material difference be-
336 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
tween tlic practice of agriculture, which had formed
the principal occupation of the first monastic orders,
and the hibour of commerce in which they were en-
gaged. The Collcgio Romano possessed a manufac-
tory of cloth at ]\iacerata, and though at first they
produced it only for their own use, yet they soon pro-
ceeded to supply all the other colleges in the provinces,
and ultimately the public in general, for which last
purpose they attended the fairs. From the close con-
nexion existing between the different colleges, there
resulted a system of banking business; and the Portu-
guese ambassador at Rome w^as empowered to draw on
the Jesuits of Portugal. Their commercial transactions
were particularly prosperous in the colonies. The
trading connexion of the order extended, as it were, a
network over both continents, having Lisbon for its
central point.* Such is the account given by our con-
temporary historian. We shall now quote the opinion
of an eye-witness, a man high in power in India, and
wdio could certainly have had the best information
regarding the facts. M. Martin, general commander
of Pondicherry, expresses himself thus : —
" It is certain that, after the Dutch, the Jesuits are
the largest and the richest traders in India, richer even
than the English, than the Portuguese themselves, who
have brought them there Those disguised Jesuits
intrigue everywhere. The secret correspondence they
keep up amongst themselves, apprises them of the
merchandises that ought to be bought or sold, and to
what nation, in order to make a more considerable
profit ; so that those disguised Jesuits are of immense
axivantage to the Society, and are only responsible to
the Order represented by other Jesuits, who overrun
the world under the true habit of St Ignatius, and who
possess the confidence, the secrets, and the orders of
their chiefs in Europe. Those Jesuits, disguised and
dispersed all over the earth, know each other by sig-
* Ranke, vol. ii. p. 392.
DOWNFALL OF THE JESUITS. 337
nnls, like the freemasons, and act all upon the samo
plan. They send merchandise to other diso-uised Je-
suits, -who, having the goods from tirst hand, realise
considerable profits for the order. However, this
traffic is highly prejudicial to the interest of France.
I have often written about it to the Company (of
India), but under Louis XIV. I have received orders
very precise, and often repeated, to grant and advance
to those fathers all that they may ask. And Father
Tashard alone owes at this moment more than 450,000
fi-anes to the Company (of India)."* AYe have reported
this document, because it was considered at the time,
even in Rome, and by the Papal Court, as of great
importance, and as representing the real state of
things.
In the West Indies, Jesuits were to be found in all
the markets with different kinds of produce ; and this
they do not even attempt to deny, but excuse them-
selves by saying that " the ecclesiastical law has never
forbidden the sale of the produce of one's own domains.
The Jesuits were the guardians of the Christians, whom
they had reunited in society in Paraguay ; and in con-
sideration of the inabihty of these savages to manage
their own affairs, many Spanish kings granted to the
missionaries the right of selling the produce of the
ground cultivated by the neophytes, as well as that of
their own industry."! The Jesuits had so well used
this liberty of trading, that the largest banking houses
in South America belonged to the Company, and one
of them ^ alone became bankrupt for more than two
millions and a half of francs, an enormous sum at the
epoch.
Nor had they been less busy and active speculators
in Europe. In j\lalta, in the year 1639, during a
famine, the Jesuits, who had five thousand sacks of
* Voriagc de Diiquesne Chef (Tescadrc, torn. xxxv. p. 15.
•f* Cr6t. vol. V. p. 171. + Lavallette.
OOO HISTORY OP THE JESUITS.
corn in their granaries, in order that they might not
be obhgecl to give it up to the government at a lower
price than they expected for it, apphed to the Grand
Master Lascaris for succour to their actual necessities,
and were relieved, on account of their supposed poverty,
from the public storehouse. But the trick was at last
discovered, and they were expelled from the island.
But we could not adduce stronger proofs of their
eagerness to accumulate wealth than the letters of
Vitelleschi, CaraiFa, and Nickel, some passages of
which we have reported, in which they bitterly com-
plain of that spirit of avarice and speculation which
had pervaded all the classes of Jesuits, and which they
vainly deprecated.
To return to our narrative; Saldanha, either to
satisfy the impatience of Pombal, or because the proofs
of the Jesuits' guilt were too numerous and too clear,
soon published a decree severely reprobating the com-
mercial pursuits of the order, and empowering the
roval authorities to confiscate all merchandise belono--
ing to those ecclesiastics.*
But, in the meanwhile, the man who had ordered
the visitation, and to whom belonged the ultimate de-
cision, Lambertini (Benedict XIV.), had departed from
this world. Had God granted him a longer life, he
would probably have taken energetic and decisive
measures against the order; and any other pontiff
than the one who succeeded him, would in all likeli-
hood, in one way or another, have given satisfaction
to the public opinion. But, unfortunately perhaps
for the Jesuits, Benedict XIV. was succeeded by a
man wholly blinded in their favour, who declared
that, to the last, he would be the protector and the
friend of " the holy Company of Jesus." This man
was l\ago;onico, who assumed the name of Clement
XIII. He was pure in soul, and upright in purpose.
He was constantly engaged in fervent prayer, and his
* Kanke, vol. vii. p. 443.
DOWNFALL OF THE JESUITS. 339
highest amhition was to obtain a canonisation. But
]ie was a bigoted fanatic — was convinced that the
power of the Papac}^ should be unhmited ; and in the
Jesuits he behekl the most faithful defenders of the
Papal See and of rehgion. But, besides the disposi-
tion of the Pope in their fixvour, the Jesuits had, in
the Court of Borne, a still more efficient supporter in
the person of Cardinal Torrigiani, in whose hand
actually resided all the power. " He had the reputa-
tion," says Banke, " of taking a personal interest in
the farming of the papal revenues, and was said to be
generally fond of powder for its own sake." * It is, then,
easy to be conceived that the Jesuits, in order to pre-
serve the bulk of their wealth, did not hesitate to
sacrifice a part to satiate the avidity of the cardinal ;
and that to this is to be attributed the partiality, we
should say the servility, evinced by Torrigiani towards
the order. But this partiality of the Pope and his
minister proved fatal to the Company. Had they
consented to effect some substantial reforms, the So-
ciety might yet have existed for some time longer, or
at least have only perished in the general shipwreck
produced by the French Bevolution, and they would
not have had pronounced upon them the terrible and
crushing sentence of Clement XIV.
Pombal perceived at once that no hope could be
entertained that such a Pope w^ould co-operate in the
suppression, or even in the reform and abasement of
the Jesuits, but did not, for that reason, renounce his
projects ; he only waited for a more fitting moment to
effect his purpose by his own authority.
Circumstances served Pombal's designs better than
he could have expected. Joseph I. had an intimacy
with Dona Theresa, the young wife of the Marquis of
Tavora, one of the noblest families in Portugal, and
one which, having scorned Pombal's alliance, w^as par-
ticularly hated by him. Now it happened, on the
* Ranke, vol. ii. p. 444.
340 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
night of the 3d of September 1758, that the king,
returning to the palace from a visit to Dona Theresa,
was wounded in the arm by a pistol-shot fired upon
him. Next morning the court presented an unusual
aspect. The gates of the palace were shut ; the king
did not make his appearance, and nobody knew ex-
actly wdiat was the cause of these strange measures.
It was indeed whispered that an attempt had been
made upon the king's person ; but nobody dared to
speak it aloud, or knew to what extent it was true.
The courtiers were all taciturn and in consternation.
Pombal alone appeared calm and serene. This state
of things lasted for some days. At last this anxiety
w^as by degrees dispelled, and, a few weeks after,
nobody thought any more about the attempt, and
many doubted whether it had ever occurred. But
on the 12th of September, the Duke of Averio, of the
family of Mascarenhas, who, with Tavora, was at the
head of the Portuguese aristocracy, the Marquis of
Tavora, Dona Eleanor, his mother, and many of their
relations and servants, were suddenly arrested and
thrown into prison. Our limits Avill not admit of our ex-
amining Avhether or not the prisoners were culpable, or
in what degree. It seems most probable that the young
Marquis of Tavora may have attempted to avenge his
injured honour ; and indeed there is every reason to
believe that some of the prisoners arrested were really
accomplices of the crime ; but, as the trial was not
public, as it was conducted by an exceptional tribunal
la inconfidenza, and as Pombal has never substan-
tiated, by valid proofs, the accusation brought against
them, it would be harsh to form any decided judgment.
What is incontestable is, that all forms of justice were
violated in the trial, and that the cruel and inhuman
way in which the unfortunate prisoners were tortured
and executed, would induce us to believe that this
sacrifice of lunnan life was offered rather to revenge
than to justice. In the night of 12th of January 1759,
DOWNFALL OF THE JESUITS. 341
a scaffold, ciglitecn feet high, was erected on the
square of Belem, fronting the Tagus. At daybreak,
this open space was filled with soldiers and the popu-
lace, and even the river was covered with spectators.
The servants of the Duke of Averio appeared first
upon the platform, and were fastened to one of the
corners to be burned alive. The Marchioness of
Tavora then ascended the scaffold with a rope
around her neck, and a crucifix in her hand. She was
scantily clad in some tattered clothes, but her whole
figure and demeanour were stamped with firmness and
dignity. The executioner, in attempting to bind her
feet, accidentally raised the hem of her robe. "Stop!"
cried she, " forget not who I am ; touch me only to
kill me." The executioner fell on his knees before
Dona Eleanor, and begged her to pardon him, where-
upon she drew a ring from her finger, and said,
" Here ; I have nothing but this in the world ; take it,
and do your duty." This courageous woman then laid
her head upon the block, and received her death-blow.
Her husband, her sons, the youngest of whom was not
twenty years of age, her son-in-laAv, and several
servants, perished after her in frightful torments.
The Duke of Averio was led forward the last ; he was
fiistened to the wheel, his body covered with rags,
and his arms and thighs naked. Thus was he broken
alive, not expiring till after he had endured protract-
ed tortures, making the square and the neighbourhood
re-echo with frightful cries. At length the machine
was set on fire, and presently wheel, scaffold, bodies,
all, were burned and cast into the Tagus.* Even if
the sentence had been just, the merciless cruelty
which Pombal shewed in accomplishing its execution
has greatly tarnished his fame, and diminished the
admiration due to his other eminent services ren-
dered to Portugal.
Meanwhile, on the night vrhich preceded the exe-
* St Priest, p. 12.
z
342 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
cutlon of the prisoners, the house of the Jesuits was
invested, their chiefs were cast into prison, and three
of them. Mattes, Alexander, and Malagrida, accused of
having fomented the conspiracy. With what degree
of truth this accusation was brought against them, it is
also difficult to say. According to the sentence passed
upon them, the suspicions of their having participated
therein were confirmed by their arrogance previous to
the attempt, and their desponding after its failure; by
their intimate connexion with the chief of the accused
(D'Averio), with whom they had formerly been at
variance; by a conversation reported of Father Conta,
who, it seems, had declared that a man who should
murder the king would not be guilty of even a venial
sin. Their intercourse with the conspirators was
indeed unquestionable. They had been their friends
and advisers, and had taken a decided part in the
discontent, murmurs, and open opposition of the Fidal-
goes.* But no other material proof was brought to
confirm the charge, and although the three accused
were condemned to suffer the highest punishment, the
sentence was not executed. Malagrida, who some time
after was burned, suffered for the crime of heresy,
not for that of regicide. Whatever opinion our
readers may form of the Jesuits' guilt or innocence,
Pombal, in his manifestoes, represented them as guilty,
and called for the animadversion of Europe upon
them, while he himself Avas taking more decisive
measures to destroy the order.
As in Portugal, up to that moment, to the nuncio
alone belonged the right of pronouncing judgment
upon ecclesiastics, Pombal, although he had already
resolved to transfer that right to a commission named
by the sovereign, thought proper to solicit the Pope
for a nominal authorisation ; and as Clement's answer
did not come quick enough for the minister's impatience,
he, on 1st of September 1759, issued a decree for the
* St Priest, p. 13.
DOWNFALL OF TUE JESUITS. 343
expulsion of the Jesuits from all the states of his most
fixithful majesty. All the hishops of Portiioal received
a command to take the office of instruction out of the
hands of the Jesuits, and supersede them instantly in
the universities of Coimhra and elsewhere ; and imme-
diately after, all the Jesuits residing in Portugal were
put on board royal and merchant vessels, and shipped
over into Italy ; * similar orders were given to the
governors of all the Portuguese colonies, and imme-
diately executed.
This was the first blow dealt to the Society of Jesus;
and, as if it had been a signal, it was followed by a
succession, till Ganganelli dealt it the last and mortal
one. It seemed as if before no one had dared to attack
such a powerful colossus : but when once the people
saw with what facility it could be attacked, and even
conquered, every one wished to break a spear upon it.
France, as was to be expected, struck the second blow.
When the minds of men were once bent upon it, any
pretext would have been sufficient to expel the Jesuits ;
and it requires no great insight to perceive that the
apparent causes Avhich led to this step were only
secondary. It is true that Madame de Pompadour,
the king's mistress, had resolved upon their de-
struction ; but, although it is well known that she
harassed the king to obtain it, it is by no means cer-
tain that Louis yielded to her influence alone, and we
doubt much that she would have been able to effect
it at all, had she lived a hundred years before. It
seems that the Jesuit confessors of the marchioness
and the king refused, we do not know for what rea-
sons, to absolve them, unless the lady should quit
the com't. She herself has transmitted to us a long
_ * Fifteen hundred of these monks lauded at Civita Vecehia. It was a
pitiful sight to behold some of those very old priests torn from the phice
where they had spent tlieir lives, and thrown upon a foreign land. Even
the Dominicans, their constant opponents, were touched with compassion,
and received tliem kindly ; and they have perpetuated the memory of
this act of generosity by an inscription on stone.
344 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
recital of her negotiations with the confessor;* and
when she could not bring him to her wishes, she
TOwed a mortal hatred against the Society, which,
however, remained for some years without result.
But in 1761 a more decisive occasion was offered to
the enemies of the order to ask for their expulsion.
Father Lavallette, the Superior General of Martinique
— a bold and unscrupulous speculator, a priest who, by
their own confession, began to operate not only on the
produce of the goods belonging to the house, but who
purchased large properties, and bought tivo thousand
slaves to work them — was the means of creating this
occasion.! He entered into vast and compUcated
speculations with different maritime towns of Europe;
and as some of these speculations failed, he stopped
payment — a measure which caused the ruin of several
houses, among Avhich were one of L3^ons and another
of Marseilles.
The house of Marseilles, Leoncy, held the Society
responsible for the debt of its member, and applied to
the General for payment. Ricci, the then chief of
the order,:!: committed the irreparable error of refusing
to recognise the debt. The Widow Grou & Son, of
JS'antez, then commenced a process before the consular
tribunal of Paris. Leoncy followed the example. The
Jesuits having been condemned, were blind enough to
bring the cause before the parliament. This supreme
court of judicature, the better to estimate the merit of
the cause, ordered that the Constitutions of the Society
should be brought before the tribunal. The Jesuits
consented, arid this decided their ruin. After prolonged
examination, the parliament gave its judgment, by
which the Society was condemned to pay all the en-
gagements incurred by Lavallette, for which, accord-
* See it reported in St Priest, p. 21, and following.
+ Cret. vol. V. p. 236.
J Three generals, Retz, Visconti, and Centurioni, had, after Tam-
■bouriui, governed the Society ; and the 19th General Congregation, named
Lorenzo Ricci, who was the 18th Greneral before the suppression.
DOWNFALL OF THE JESUITS. 345
ino" to the tenor of their Constitution, the whole order
was answerable.*
]\Iany authors, speaking of this affair, have expressed
their astonishment that the Jesuits, who were accounted
so cunning, could have committed such bhniders. AVe
have nothing to answer to this, except that they may
be compared to those generals who, having lost their
presence of mind in a difficult and critical moment, have
suffered defeat by committing errors that a simple non-
commissioned officer would never have been guilty of;
or they may be compared perhaps to those consummate
criminals who, having long eluded the vigilance of the
police with extraordinary dexterity, at last commit
such blunders, that one could almost swear they con-
spired for their own capture. Or it would be more
correct to say that God had numbered their days,
and their hour was come. Quern Dens vult 2^erd€re
prius dementat.
From the moment when the Constitutions of this
mysterious and dread Society were brought to light.
Constitutions which had been kept jealously secret,
all minor questions disappeared. Father Lavallette,
the bankrupt, the bankers (who were never paid), all
were forgotten in the great question affecting the
Society itself. " Dogmatic disputes, which had so
long been forgotten, now resumed all the force of pre-
sent interest, and all the attraction of novelty. There
vras a universal eagerness to discover and apply those
mysterious Constitiitions. Women, and even children,
were animated with the ardour of old practised law-
yers. Pascal became the idol of the day, and La
Chalatois its licro."t Innumerable writings were daily
printed and read with the greatest avidity by all
* The debts of Lavallette amounted to 2,400,000 francs ; but Cretineau
assures us that the houses aud lands belonging to the Company were
bought by English capitalists for the sum of four millions of francs ! Did
aot'the Jesuits well observe the vows of poverty, this huUvavk of veil'
gionl
+ St Priest, p. 27.
346 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
classes of persons ; and for a while notliing else was
spoken of but the Society of Jesuits.
In these circumstances, fifty-one French bishops,
under the presidency of the Cardinal of Luynes, as-
sembled, and, after a prolonged examination of the
Constitutions, declared that the unlimited obedience
that the General residing in Rome was empowered
to exact from every member, was incompatible with
the laws of the kingdom, and with the general duties
of the subject to his sovereign. Now the opponents
of the Jesuits, and Madame de Pompadour at their
head, pressed upon the king to take a decisive mea-
sure. Louis XV. was an indolent profligate, whose
chief characteristic was the love and veneration of
himself. Provided royalty did not perish in his
own person, he cared little what should become of
it after his death. He had no liking for any person
but those who could amuse him — a thing in his old
age by no means easy. He cared nothing for the
Jesuits, but he feared them. He was persuaded that
they had been accom:)lices in the assassination of
Henry HI. and Henry IV.; he had always before his
eyes the poniard of Damiens, and attributed to the
fathers both the will and the power to murder him.
Por this all-important reason, he resisted long all soli-
citations to expel them from France, but he consented
to address a request to the Pope to grant a reform,
but to grant it immediately, and without hesitation or
subterfuge. Choiseul himself prepared a plan of re-
form, which, it may be said, centred in this prin-
cipal point, namely, to propose to the General
the appointment of a vicar-general for France, wdio
w^as to fix his residence in that country, and pledge
himself to render obedience* to its laws — a measure
which was in conformity with the statutes, since these
authorised the General, in case of a great emergency,
to name a vicar-general.* The fact of this most rea-
* Ranke, vol. u. p 4i7 ; St Priest, p. 29.
DOWNFALL OF THE JESUITS. 347
sonablc demand liavino; bcrn made, would of itself be a
sufficient answer to the Jesuits and their partisans, who
pretend that the destruction of the order was not the
consequence of any of these misdemeanours, but that
it had been planned long before between the Encyclo-
pc^dists Choiseul and rombal. Yet we shall adduce
some further proofs to shew how unfounded their
assertions arc.
Pombal, although he was executing some of the
reforms called for by the Encyclopajdists, was no Avay
connected with them, and he is perhaps the only man
of mark of this epoch whom Voltaire has not I'avoured
w^ith a word of his inexhaustible correspondence. On
the contrary, the Patriarch of Forney often blames the
marquis for his affected deference to the Pope and
respect for religion, as wxll as for his cruelty, so dis-
pleasing to the naturally humane heart of Voltaire.
Choiseul was indeed for a time the friend of Pombal,
and acted in concert with him in affairs of general
policy. But Pombal was too haughty, he had too
exaggerated an opinion of his own capacity, to act
under or by the direction of any man whatever. Be-
sides, the w^ell-known character of Choiseul renders it
altogether incredible that he could have been long and
deeply engaged in a plot to expel the Jesuits from
Europe. The duke was the type of the French gen-
tilhommes of the eighteenth century. He possessed
the incredulity, the grace, the vanity, the courage,
and that levity which woukl have sacrificed the dear-
est interests to the pleasure of an epigram, and which
was so characteristic of the French noblesse in the
former part of Louis XV.'s reign. He was too frivo-
lous to be capable of nourishing in his heart for years
a deep scheme of malice ; nor did he honour or value
the Jesuits enough to make them the object of a
mortal enmity. On the contrary, with the Count of
Kaunitz, the Austrian minister, he ridiculed the sort
of passion with which the Marquis of Pombal perse-
348 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
cuted the sons of Loyola. *' Co, Monsieur," they
would say, " a done toujours un Jesuite a cheval sur
le ncz."*
However, it is evident that Choiseul could not be
the man to protect the Jesuits : it is evident that, to
please Madame de Pompadour, and to court public
opinion, he must have shewn himself unfavourable to
the fathers, and must have pursued them with his sar-
casms. It is also certain that afterwards he became their
enemy, not out of hatred, but rather to comply with
Charles III.'s wishes, and in order to get rid of them,
and that he used all his influence to have them expelled
from France, and ultimately abolished. The duke ren-
ders our assertions incontestable, when, in a memorial
addressed to the kino^, after havino- reminded him that
he had not been the man who had commenced the
great measure of the expulsion of the Jesuits, he adds,
" Your Majesty knows well that, although it has been
said tliat I have laboured at the expulsion of the
Jesuits, .... I have in no way, either at a distance
or on the spot, either in public or in private, taken
any step with this intent." And he finishes by saying,
that only at a later period, after he had known them,
he had become their enemy. When, then, the duke
made application to Rome to obtain the nomination of
a vicar-general who should reside in France, with
authority independent of the General, he was person-
ally indifferent in the question.
It is well known what answer the General, Ricci,
made to this application — " Sint ut sunt aut non sint,"
Let them be as they are, or be no longer.
The parhament first abolished and suppressed all
the congregations, those powerful engines of the
order ; then, on the 6th of August 1762, it declared
that the Institute of the Jesuits was opposed to all
authority, spiritual and temporal, ecclesiastical and
* state Papers and Manuscripts of the DuJce of Choiseul. See Sfc
Priest, p. 18.
DOWNFALL OF THE JESUITS. 349
civil, and was calculated to render them entirely
independent of such authority by all sort of means,
and even to favour their usurpation of the f^overn-
ment; it therefore declared that the order should
be irrevocably and for ever expelled from the king-
dom.* In consequence of this decree, the eighty-
four colleges of the Jesuits were shut up. The fathers
were expelled from all their houses, their properties
were confiscated ; f each individual, hoAvever, being al-
lowed a small income from the public treasury, and
being permitted for the moment to reside in France,
separately, and as secular clergymen. This permis-
sion was withdrawn two years after, and in 17(34, the
repugnance of Louis XV. having been overcome, the
Jesuits were ordered to quit the French territories.
But a more serious and unexpected calamity befel
the Company only three years after. Till the present
moment, the Jesuits and their partisans had boasted
of their defeats and persecution, and had haughtily
proclaimed in the face of the world that they were
only persecuted by the philosophic spirit which had
pervaded Europe, and which, its principal aim being
the destruction of the Catholic religion, had begun by
attacking its firmest bulwark — the Society of Jesus.
Pombal and Choiseul were but the emissaries of Vol-
taire ; Joseph and Louis, indolent and voluptuous
monarchs, entirely under the guidance and yoke of the
two ministers. But what had they to say, now that
they were going to be expelled from the dominions of
a king not only adverse to the philosophers, not only
a bigoted Roman Catholic, but, till the present moment,
the friend and the protector of the Order ? What had
they to say against this exemplary Christian, Charles
III. of Spain, loyal, frank, virtuous, chaste, and irre-
* See Ranke, vol. ii. p. 447 ; Cret. vol. v. p. 274.
+ The property which the Jesuits possessed in France was estimated
at fifty-eight millions of francs ; but in that sum, says Cretineau, must
not be included the alms M-hicli were given to the Mentions Professes.
They possess fifty-eight millions, and ask for alms / Oh ! holy povei-ty !
350 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
proacliable, as he was ? Narrow-minded, indeed, he
may have been, but no less clear-sighted, active, and
considerate ; self-willed rather than disposed to
succumb to the influence of any person ; and if he can
be reproached with anything, it were with the fiiult of
having been rather partial to that nursery of monks
and nuns which infested Spain, and for one or other
of whom he was continually petitioning Rome for a
canonisation. Yet this man, more than any other,
contributed to the abolition of the order.
The motives which induced Charles to take such a
decided part in the destruction of the Society are not
very well ascertained, and the two parties attribute it
to different causes. We will try to throw some new
light on this obscure affair. As every one, in the
absence of proofs, has been obliged to have recourse
to conjectures, we beg leave to give our own also. We
begin by relating the facts.
The long and ample cloaks, and the low, large-
brimrned hats, worn at this epoch in Spain, served to
facilitate the perpetration of many crimes, and to
conceal the criminals. Squillace, the king's prime
minister, by Charles's order, issued a proclamation
prohibiting the use of them ; but the populace of
Madrid broke out in insurrection, beseiged the minis-
ter in his house, pulled it down, repulsed the Walloon
guards which had marched against them, and obliged
the king, whose exhortation they despised, to retire
for the moment from Madrid. The revolt lasted for
several days, when the Jesuits, mingling amongst the
rioters, appeased them in a moment with the greatest
facihty. This revolt, Avhich happened in 1766, is
known in history as the Emeute des Chapeaux.
This outbreak, which had no result, was entirely
forgotten, when, on the 2d of April 1767, appeared a
royal proclamation abolishing the Society of the Jesuits
in the peninsula, and expelling them from the Spanish
monarchy. Let the reader imagine the astonishment
DOWNFALL OP THE JESUITS. 351
wliicli the proclamation produced tlirougliout Europe,
and the consternation and despair into which it threw
the Jesuits. AVhat had happened that could furnish a
motive for such a harsh and most severe measure?
No sign of change had been the precursor of the
storm ; no warning had been given to the Jesuits ; no
signs of enmity had been shewn to them. The pro-
clamation not only was silent as to the motives which
had elicited it, but forbade every man to appreciate
and discuss either the measure or its causes ; and this
redoubled the astonishment and the curiosity. Let us
try to penetrate this mystery. First of all we shall
give the reasons which, according to the Marquis
d'Ossun, French ambassador at the court of Madrid,
were adduced to him by Charles himself, as having
induced him to the suppression of the order.
"Charles pledged his honour to the Marquis d'Ossun
that he had never entertained any personal animosity
against the Jesuits ; that, before the last conspiracy, he
had even repeatedly refused to sanction any measures
inimical to them. Notwithstanding that he had been
warned by confidential advisers, on whose word he
could rely, that, ever since 1759, the Jesuits had inces-
santly traduced his government, his character, and
even his faith ; his reply to these ministers had uni-
formly been that he believed them to be either
prejudiced or ill-informed. But the insurrection of
1766 had opened the king's eyes ; Charles was con-
vinced that several members of the Society had been-
arrested in the act of distributing money among the
populace. After they had prepared the way by
poisoning the minds of the citizens with insinuations
against the government, the Jesuits only awaited the
signal to spring the mine. The first opportunity was
sufficient, and they were content with the most frivolous
pretexts ; — in one instance, the form of a hat or cloak ;
in another, the misconduct of an intendant, or the
knavery of a corregidor. The attempt (the aneute of
352 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
1766) failed, as the tumult had broken out on Palm
Sunday. The time fixed upon had been Holy Thurs^
day, during the ceremonies of visiting the churches,
■when the king was to be surprised and surrounded at
the foot of the cross. Such is the substance of the
motives stated by the King of Spain to the Marquis
d'Ossun, accompanied by a reiterated protest of the
truth of what he had said, and, in proof of this, he
appealed to judges and magistrates of the most incor-
ruptible integrity; he even reproached himself with
having been too lenient to such a dangerous body, and
then drawing a deep sigh, added, ' I have learned to
know them too well.' " *
These are the motives assigned for this conduct by
the opponents of the Jesuits, and they rest, as may
be seen, on very high authority. On the other hand,
the Jesuits and their friends assert that the whole
affair w^as an abominable and dishonourable plot of
Choiseul. They pretend that the duke had managed
to put into the hands of Charles an autograph letter
supposed to be written by the General of the order to
a provincial in Spain, in which it w^as asserted that
Charles was an illegitimate son of Cardinal Alberoni,
and that the throne belonged to Don Louis, the king's
younger brotlier, and that it w^as this letter that excited
the resentment of Charles. Cretineau affirms that
such was the case. " Charles, who remained a fervent
Christian, would not have destroyed the institute,
but that they affixed upon his royal escutcheon
the stigma of illegitimacy. . . . This fact is certified
by other contemporary testimonies, and by the docu-
ments of the Company." f Ranke, without accusing
either party, seems to incline to this supposition, and
says, " Charles III. became persuaded that it was one
of the purposes of the Jesuits to raise his brother Don
* Despatches of the Marquis d'Ossun to the Duke of Choiseul. See
St Priest, p. 34. '
i Crtt. vol. V. p. 293.
DOWNFALL OF THE JESUITS. 353
Louis to the throne in liis place."* Noav, rejecting
the absurd accusation of the forgery of this letter,
which many reasons render altogether impossible, and
which is by no means consistent with the character of
Choiseul, and adopting the version of Eanke or of
Ossun, there still remains to be explained the enmity
of the Jesuits against such a o-ood lioman Catholic as
Charles; and this enmity, no historian, iter far as we
know, has ever attempted to explain. Yet this is the
point most necessary to be examined ; because, unless
we suppose that such a sagacious and clear-sighted
man as Charles III., after a year of strict and severe
investigation, came to the serious decision of con-
demning the Jesuits solely on the authority of a
forged letter, without any other proof of their ill-
will to him, it remains certain that the Jesuits
were guilty, and adverse to his person and govern-
ment. Whence, we repeat, this enmity ? By consider-
mg a little the well-known character of the Jesuits, we
may perhaps be able to answer the query.
Every one who directly, or indirectly even, opposes
the wishes or the designs of the Society, is regarded as
its mortal enemy, and every enemy must, by whatever
means, be broken down. Charles, from the beginning
of his reign, had constantly insisted upon the canonisa-
tion of Palafox, the abhorred opponent of the Society —
first grief. Charles did not show the Jesuits any par-
ticular aifection, and had protected and befriended
them only as he did all other monastic orders — second
grief. Charles would not submit as his predecessors
had done to the influence of the fathers, and his con-
fessor was of the order of the Dominicans, the ancient
and implacable enemy of the Company — third and
most serious grief. Now, if once it is admitted that
the Jesuits had reason to dislike Charles, all is easily
explained. Then no act of enmity on their part
ought to surprise us. They would not have hesitated
* Eanke, vol. ii. p. US.
354 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
a moment to spread the report that Charles was a
bastard, to raise a conspiracy, to excite the people to
revolt, and to endeavour to supplant the king by his
younger brother. Tiius it becomes clear how Charles,
after obtaining the proofs of their machinations, be-
came furious against them ; and it may easily be con-
ceived that, from pride and delicacy, he did not men-
tion to the French ambassador, among the other
causes of resentment against the Jesuits, that of their
having slandered him as a bastard liable to be de-
throned. This is the view we take of the matter, and
we doubt if the conduct of Charles can be explained
in any other plausible way.
Such, in our opinion, were the .motives which induced
the pious King of Spain to expel the Jesuits from all
his estates. The way in which this was accomplished
was also most remarkable, and deserves to be men-
tioned. Immediately after Vemente des chapeaux,
which seems to have awakened Charles's suspicions,
the proceedings ag?anst the Jesuits commenced,
and were continued for a year with the greatest
secrecy. D'Aranda, now the principal minister, con-
ducted them. He neglected no precautions to insure
the success of his plan. He took great care, above
all, that the Court of Rome should have no suspicion
of his projects. The king and his ministers admitted
into their confidence only Don Manuel de Roda, an
able jurist, and previously an agent of Spain in Rome.
D'Aranda conferred with ^loniiio and Campomanes,
two very influential magistrates, in a singular and
romantic manner. They repaired separately and
unknown to one another, to a kind of ruined house,
worked alone, communicating afterwards only with
the prime minister, who either transcribed himself
their informations or intrusted them to his page, who
was too young to be mistrusted. Those informations
the minister carried himself to the king.* Notwith-
•^ St Priest, p. 35.
DOWNFALL OF THE JESUITS. 355
standino'' these precautions, it seems tlic Jesuits were
not altogether ignorant that some strange measures
were coutemphited against them. In fact, it would
have been ahnost incredible that a judicial investiga-
tion, although surrounded with mystery and secrecy,
in which many persons, no matter of what measure of
discretion, were interrogated, could have been so con-
ducted that not a word should have come to the ears
of the fathers. They certainly were ignorant of the
real state of things, and were perhaps far from sus-
pecting the calamity impending over their heads.
But what proves that they must have had some inti-
mation of what was going on, is, that some short time
before their expulsion they had requested of the king
the confirmation of their privileges, and had removed
tlieir papers and their money.*
When all measures were ready, despatches were
sent from Madrid to all the governors of all the
Spanish possessions of Africa, Asia, America, and
throughout all the peninsula. These despatches,
signed by the king, and counter-signed by D'Aranda,
were sealed with tliree seals. On the second envelop
was written, '' Under pain of death, you shall not open
this despatch but on the 2d April 1767, towards the
closing of the day."t The orders to be executed in
the diiferent places, on the 2d of April, were all of the
same tenor. The alcaldes were enjoined, on the severest
penalties (Cretineau says on pain of death), immediately
to enter the establishments of the Jesuits armed, to
take possession of them, to expel the Jesuits from their
convents, and to transport them within twenty-four
hours as prisoners to such ports as were designated.
The fathers were to embark instantly, leaving their
papers under seal, and carrying away with them only
a breviary, a purse, and some apparel. | The orders
* See in Ranke, vol. ii. p. 447, a note, where he quotes a passage of a
MS.
t Cret. vol. V. p. 29C.
J St Priest, p. 3<j; Cret. vol. v. p. 29^.
356 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
were executed everywhere with the utmost rigour, and
six thousand Jesuits were very soon floatino- at the
same time on the waste ocean on tlieir way to the
coast of Italy.
Charles had not notified his intentions either to the
French Court, the indiscretion of whose minister he
feared, or to the Court of Home, which he knew would
thwart the measure with all its might. Neither of
these courts was informed of the fact till after it was
accomplished. When the news reached Rome, the old
and infirm Clement XIII. shed a flood of tears. His
spirits were broken down by the misfortunes that had
befallen his Jesuits. Already, after their expulsion
from France, he had declared that the decree which
banished them was null and void, adding, *' We repel
the grave injury offered to the Church and to the Holy
See, and we declare in the plenitude of our certain
knowledge, certa scientia, that the institution of the
Jesuits is in the highest degree pious and holy."* In
the present circumstances he again attempted to shel-
ter the children of his predilection under the mantle
of his infallibility, and addressed to the King of Spain
a brief, in which we read as follows : *' Of all the mis-
fortunes that have afilicted us during the nine ^^ears of
our unhappy pontificate, the most sensible to our
paternal heart has been that inflicted by the hand of
your Majesty. So you, too, my son, tu qiioque fill mi,
so the Catholic King Charles III., who is so dear to our
heart, fills up the chalice of our suff*ering, condemns
our old age to a torrent of tears, and precipitates us
into the grave. The pious Spanish king .... thinks
of destroying an institution so useful, so meritorious
for the Church, and which owes its origin and its
splendour to those saints and heroes whom God chose
in the Spanish nation for His greater glory " (this
rather savours of Jesuit composition) "We call
God and men to witness, that the Society is not only
* Cret. vol. V. p. 284.
DOWNFALL OF THE JESUITS. 357
innocent of all crime, but that it h pious, useful, holy,
in its pursuits, in its laws, in its maxims.'"^ Charles
answered that he alone knew the crimes of the Society,
and that he would keep tliem concealed in his own
breast, to spare Christendom a great scandal, t Cle-
ment returned to his tears, and this was all that was
left him to do in favour of his children.
However, there was a man in Rome who would not
witness the ruin of the Company of Jesus without
attempting a desperate effort to save it. This man
was Kicci,"tlie General. Ricci was a morose, obstinate,
and narrow-minded bigot, extremely jealous of his
authority, and altogether incapable of appreciating
either circumstances or persons. Unlike Acquaviva,
he placed all his glory in never yielding an inch of
ground; and to partial loss, he preferred an entire
ruin. Acquaviva would have by some timely conces-
sion deferred for a while the impending storm. Ricci
accelerated its march by his intractabihty. " Let
them be as they are, or not at all" — these words
shew the man. And now that his disciples were
expelled from a part of Europe, he, to save the So-
ciety, if possible, decided upon sacrificing some thou-
sands of individuals. Either the persecution, which he
studied to render more cruel, and in some measure
effective, would bring the Pope; the other sovereigns,'
or the different populations, to some acts of energy, to
retrieve the affan^s of the order, or it must incur the
last distressful consequences. He would submit to
every extremity rather than to humiliation. In con-
sequence, he obliged Torrigiani, whom he seems to have
kept under a severe yoke (if the Cardinal received,
or had received money, we can understand it), to
write to the Spanish minister that his Holiness would
not permit the Jesuits to land on his estates. Charles
paid little attention to the letter, and gave orders to
* See it in Cretineau, vol. v. p. 301.
t Ibid.
2 A
358 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
the commander of tlie fleet to land them, if necessary,
by force of arms.
Torrio-iani obeyed Ricci's injunction to the letter.
When after some days' sailing the first vessels arrived
before Civita Vecchia, they were received by cannon
shot. The poor Jesuits, who thought they were near
the end of their sufferings, and had smiled at the
sight of the promised land, were furious when they
saw themselves rejected from a country in which they
knew that their General had the utmost influence,
and loudly accused him of being the autlior of all
their miseries. The Spanish commander, not wishing
to employ violence, and to land by force of arms,
coasted away towards Leghorn and Genoa, but there
too they were refused a landing. A similar fiite was
reserved for them on their first approach to Corsica;
and only after having been for six long months at the
mercy of the winds and waves, were those unfortu-
nate monks, decimated by illness, fatigue, and old age,
permitted to disembark in Corsica, lately ceded by
Genoa to France, and where Paoli at that same
moment had begun to fight for independence.
The King of Naples and the Duke of Parma, both
of the house of Bourbon, the former in the month of
November 17G7, the latter in the beginning of 1768,
resorted to the same measures as France and Spain,
and the Jesuits were expelled from their estates.
At the news of these repeated outrages, as he con-
sidered them, the old Pope, driven to extremities,
and instigated by the Jesuits, resolved on an act of
vigour, to test what the Supreme Pontiff could do for
the sons of his predilection. It seems that he could not
summon courage enough to strike the blow against
France, Spain, or Naples, but he thought he could
dare anything against the Duke of Parma. He did
not view him in the light of a grandson of France and
infant of Sjiain, but as a Farncso, over whose dukedom
the Roman See had always, if not exercised, at least
DOYTNPALL OF THE JESUITS. 359
claimed, the rio;l»t of suzerainty. In this persuasion,
lie i)nl)lislie(l a " moiiltoriuin," Avliereiii he pronounced
ecclesiastical censures against his vassal, and de-
clared that he had forfeited his estates. Charles and
Louis were aohast at the boldness of the old Pope,
and although the indolent Louis shewed no great re-
solution to resent the insult, Choiseul and Charles
contrived to stir up his indignation, representing to
him the scorn which Avould fVill on the house of Bour-
bon, if a son of a Venetian merchant (Clement) should
insult "with impunity a grandson of 8t Louis.* In con-
sequence, the ambassadors of the three courts, France,
Spain, and Naples, had orders to present to the Pope
a memorial, asking him to revoke the " monitorium,"
or to expect to see some of his estates confiscated.
Torrigiani and the Jesuit partisans, who knew the
demand that was going to be addressed to the Pope,
fearing lest the old man should yield, represented to
him how glorious it would be to uprear again the
tiara, humbled by Benedict XIV., before the secular
powers, and made him even descry in the distance
the crown of martyrdom, an honour which the enthu-
siastic and pious Pope would have wished above all
things. Clement accordingly, when the ambassadors
presented themselves for the appointed audience, would
hardly deign to look at the memorial ; and when they
spoke of reprisals, his whole frame trembled, and he
exclaimed, in a broken voice — " The Vicar of Jesus
Christ is treated like the lowest of mankind. Truo
that he has neither armies nor cannon, and it is an
easy matter to despoil him of all his possessions ; but it
is beyond the power of man to compel him to act
against his conscience." f
The moment this answer was made known to the
monarchs, the troops of the French king seized on
Avignon, those of the King of Naples on Pontccorvo
* St Priest, p. 43.
+ See Si Priest, p. 45 ; Cret. vol. v. p. 312.
360 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
and Benevento, all possessions belonging to the
Roman states.
At sucli distressful news the poor Pope was over-
come by grief, and perceiving that he was unable to
offer any material resistance, resolved to endure
patiently those injuries, but not to yield to threaten-
ing ; and he remained firm in his determination, al-
though the Romans loudly murmured against him,
and menaced and offered insult to the Jesuit party
as the sole cause of the public calamities. The Pope's
position became more and more desperate every day,
and he did not know that he had a single friend
left. To whom could he now turn for aid ? Genoa,
Modena, Venice, nay, all the Italian states, took part
against him. Once more he directed his eyes towards
Austria. He wrote to the Empress Maria Theresa,
that she was his only consolation on earth ; she would
surely not permit that his old age should be oppressed
by acts of violence.* But the empress answered him
that the affair was one concerning not religion, but
state policy, and that she could not in];erfere without
injustice.
Nor was this the greatest affliction reserved for the
old pontiff. While Clement v/as so overwhelmed by
grief, in the beginning of 1769 the ambassadors of
France, Spain, and Naples presented themselves, one
after the other, before him, and demanded the irrevo-
cable suppression of the whole Order of the Jesuits.
The Pope, on hearing the proposal, was stupitied, and
remained for some time speechless. When he had
recovered some composure, he answered, in a broken
and faltering voice, that he would soon make known
his intentions, and called a consistory for the 3d of
February. But on the evening preceding the day on
which that consistory was to assemble, he was seized
with a convulsion, in which he expired.! The Jesuits
have extolled the virtues and the hohness of this Pope
* Kanke, vol. ii. r. 448. + Ibid.
DOWNFALL OF THE JESUITS. 361
to the skies, and consider him as the best friend the
order ever had ; while the philosopliers, in their spe-
culations, have attributed to him the ultimate ruin of
the Society, on account of his obstinate resistance to
the demands of reform.
Canova has immortalised the memory of Iiizzonico
by the most beautiful of all the monuments which have
a place in St Peter's. Strangers go there to admire
the chaste and pure figure of religion weeping over
his tomb, the majestic dignity of the vigilant lion,
the imposing calmness of the sleeping one, and the
admirable execution of the whole group.
With Clement XIII. the Popes lost all independence
as secular princes, and, as such, have been ever after
at the mercy of the strongest secular power that has
wished to domineer over them.
362 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
CHAPTER XVL
1773.
ABOLITION OF THE ORDER.
After the death of Clement XIII., all the influence
of the house of Bourbon was employed to secure that
the choice of the College of Cardinals should fall on a
man adverse to the Company of Jesus, as all the efforts
of the members of that body were directed to bring
about the contrary result. While D'Aubeterre, the
French ambassador, speaking also in the name of
Spain and Naples, was reiterating that an election con-
trary to the wishes of the house of Bourbon would
lead to the ruin of the lloman See, thus endeavouring
to intimidate the more pusillanimous of the cardinals,
Ricci was hurrying about from place to place, implor-
ing the one, threatening the others Avith the wrath of
God, and freely distributing presents and money when
necessary. At daybreak he was on foot, traversing
every quarter of the city, and mixing with all classes of
the people. He visited their eminences, their confessors,
their varlets, not omitting some of the fashionable
ladies, the spiritual friends of the Emminen-
tissimi! He and Torrigiani gave out, and repeated
with great indignation and affected dignity, that it would
be to the eternal shame and confusion of the Sacred
College to renounce their independence, and submit to
the demands of the imperious sovereigns.
The Court of Rome was divided at the time
AnOLTTION OF THE ORDER. 363
into two parties; — the Zclanti, who laboured to main-
tain all the privileges of the Church in their integrity
and full extent ; and the Kegalisti, or the adherents of
the crowns, who considered that the welfare of the
Church must be sought in wise conciliation. Thirteen
days after Clement's demise, the Conclave assembled,
and the Zelanti, notwithstanding D'Aubeterre's in-
sinuations and menaces, attempted to electa Pope before
the arrival of the French and Spanish cardinals. They
nearly succeeded in their attempt, Cardinal Ghigi,
one of them, having missed his nomination only
by two votes. Then the struggle for the nomi-
nation began again more seriously. Choiseul, and still
more than he, Charles III., being determined on the
abolition of the Jesuits, were resolved not to give their
assent to the election of a Pope, unless they should
have a good assurance that he would abolish the
Society. The French and Spanish ambassadors in
Rome, and above all, the French and Spanish cardi-
nals, were ordered to endeavour to effect this result.
But the person to whom -was assigned, by the Bour-
bons, the most prominent part in the Conclave, was
Cardinal de Bernis. Bernis was a man endowed with
many noble qualities, but vain, ostentatious, and de-
voured above all with the desire of playing a conspi-
cuous part. lie had been first minister of Louis XV.,
had been supplanted by his protege Choiseul, who
sent him back to his Bishopric of Alby, and who now
intrusted to him the delicate mission of choosing a
successor to St Peter. We say choosing, because, to
flatter his vanity, Choiseul told him that such would
certainly be his mission, and the cardinal entered the
Conclave fully convinced that on him alone rested the
choice of the future pontiff. He was confident that
the authority of the monarchs of the house of Bour-
bon, and his own pleasing and insinuating manner,
w^ould be irresistible. •' His affability," says St Priest.
*' which was a little theatrical, but always winning,
3G4 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS,
seemed to transport the Court of Louis XV, into the
midst of the gloomy apartments of the Vatican." On
entering the Conclave, Bernis, in the most courteous and
modest manner, and without shewing any pretension of
a desire to exercise any empire over the holy College,
said to his colleagues, " France has only the desire of
seeing raised to tlie papal throne a wise and temperate
prince, who may entertain the respect due to the great
powers. The choice of the Sacred College can only
rest upon virtue, since it shines forth in each one of its
memhers. But virtue alone is not sufficient. Who
could surpass Clement XIII. in rehgion and purity of
doctrine? .His intentions were excellent; neverthe-
less, during his reign, the Church was disturbed and
shaken to its centre. Let your eminences restore
concord betv/een the Holy See and the Catholic States,
and bring back peace to Christendom, and France will
be content." * As an inducement to the cardinals to
comply with the wishes of the sovereigns, Bernis had
permission to promise in their names the restitution of
Avignon, Pontecorvo, and Benevento ; and it may be
well supposed that he made the most of the permis-
sion. To this, the Zelanti and the Jesuit party an-
swered, that in the election of the supreme chief of the
Church, no considerations should be regarded but the
good of religion, and that the electors ought to listen
to no advice, but implore fervently the Holy Ghost,
and follow his inspiration. De Bernis' position became
rather embarrassing. Charles III., it seems, proposed
to bind the future Pope by a ivritten promise to abolish
the order of the Jesuits. But when D'Aubeterre pro-
posed to Bernis this arrangement, the cardinal drew
back ; his conscience would not allow him to be an ac-
compUce in lowering so much the Tiara. He refused
to make any such proposals, adding, with justice, that
nothing could secure the execution of the contract, and
■^' Instructions to tlie Cardinals De Luynes and De Bernis, Febru.'iry
19, 1769. See St Priest, p. 54.
ABOLITION OP THE ORDER. 365
tlifit a cardinal avIio was capable of plodi!;ing himself
belbreliaiid to such a contract, would dishonour his
future pontiiicate, as cverythino- must ultimately come
to light ;* and although the ambassadors insisted anew
with more pressing instances, Bernls remained firm in
his opinion, that such conduct was disgraceful and ille-
gal. Aubeterre endeavoured to overcome his repug-
nance by all sorts of arguments, and in a letter
addressetl to him on the 11th of April, we find the
followino- passao'e : " I know well that I am unable to
be the casuist of your ennncnce ; but let your emi-
nence consult Cardinal Ganganelli, one of the most cele-
brated theologians of this country, and who has never
been accused of professing a lax morality." f
While the cardinals w^erc thus engaged in the
supreme and all-important aft'air of choosing the chief
of their Church, they, the Jesuits, the ambassadors,
and all Home, w^ere on a sudden thrown into a state
of anxiety and expectation. Joseph II., Emperor of
Germany, accompanied by his brotlier Leopold, Grand
Duke of Tuscany, arrived in Rome. Possessed of
real personal merit, Joseph disdained ostentation, and
appeared among the citizens of the eternal city with
all the studied and striking contrast of an incognito, of
which he was the inventor, under the modest title of
Count of Falkestein. He mixed among the Romans
without a suite, wearing no decoration, and without any
pomp. Yet his presence in Rome produced a great
sensation.
There are in almost every nation certain tradi-
tions, which are transmitted from generation to gene-
ration, tacitly without any apparent eftort by any
person to transmit them, which, however, pass to the
* St Priest, p. 58.
f Crct. vol. V. p. 326. He quotes the No. 14 of the Leitres ineditcs D'A u-
heterre. "We have not an o])portuuity of verifying these letters, and must
rest on his authority. St Priest says that it was, on the contrary, De
Bernis wlio promised to the ambassadors to consult Ganganelli; but
however it is, Avhat appears incontestable is, that Ganganelli was con-
sulted.
366 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
remotest posterity as if by intuition, and form part
of the moral life of a people. Such is in Rome the
tradition, more or less correct, of a republic, and of
emperors, which is at the bottom of the heart of every
inhabitant of the metropolis of the world. Very few
people are recorded in history to have fought as we
Romans lately did. But I doubt much that we would
have so fought even for the same prize — liberty and
independence — in the name of prince or king, or any
title in Christendom, or, indeed, in any name except
that of the republic, and it may be that of an emperor.*
Joseph, although a Roman Catholic, and anxious to
respect the scruples of his mother, Maria Theresa,
was a philosopher, meditating already part of those
reforms he shortly after effected ; and the moment he
came within sight of Rome, he decided upon humbhng
her pride, and putting some restraint upon her immo-
derate pretensions. When in Rome, as may be ima-
gined, he was courted by all parties, and his support
was eagerly sought by every one, and especially by
the Zelanti and the Jesuits. Every one waited with
impatience to see the part he would take in the con-
test. But the young prince was, or affected to be, in-
different to the paltry question of the Jesuits, which
was then paramount ; and in speaking of it, he often
repeated that he wondered that the fate of some thou-
sand monks should cause so much uneasiness to such
powerful sovereigns. Although he spoke of the Je-
suits with the greatest contempt, nevertheless the
fathers hoped that they might claim him as their par-
tisan ; an opinion which Joseph took care soon to dis-
sipate. While visiting the different monuments of
Rome, he went also to the Gesu, the principal and most
magnificent establishment of the order. The fathers
soon gathered round him in the most respectful and
* In the time of our short republic, we were once moved to tears by-
seeing some Trasteverini throw off their hats, and spontaneously, with-
out being told or tauglit, go and kiss these magical and once respected
letters, S.P.Q.R. Indeed I even feel moved in writing them.
ABOLITION OF THE ORDER. 367
liumblc attitude ; and the General, approachlno- liim,
and prostrating himself at the emperor's feet with the
most profound humility, was going to address him,
when Joseph, without allowing him to go on, abruptly
asked him when he was going to relinquish his habit.
Ivicci turned pale, and muttered some marticulato
words ; he confessed that the times were very hard
for him and for his brethren, but that they trusted in
God and in the future holy Father, whose infallibility
would be for ever compromised if he destroyed an
order which had received the sanction of so many of
his predecessors. The emperor smiled; and being
then in the church, and chancing at the moment to fix
liis regards on a statue of Ignatius of massive silver,
and glittering with precious stones, exclaimed against
the prodigious sum it must have cost. " Sire," stam-
mered the Father General, "this statue has been
erected with the money of the friends of the Society."
'' Say rather," replied Joseph, " with the profit of the
Indies," and departed, leaving the fathers in the
utmost grief and dejection.* Joseph, assuming, on the
other hand, a marked tone of superiority over the
sovereigns of the house of Bourbon, aifected the same
indifierence as to the election of a Pope, which he con-
sidered, as he said, of little moment, and unworthy of
occupying the attention of a monarch of the eighteenth
century; and, to prove by deeds the sincerity of his
words, he gave orders to the Cardinal Pozzo-Bonelh,
his minister, neither to support nor oppose any can-
chdate.
The cardinals were distressed at this marked indif-
ference of the only Catholic sovereign of rank who
was then on good terms with Rome ; and wishing to
try whether they could not attract the young prmce
to the Holy See, by shcAving him some extraordinary
mark of respect and devotion, in general so flattering
to the youthful mind, they, violating all their rules
* St Priest, p. 55.
368 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
and regulations, invited the emperor to do them the
honour of visiting tlie Conclave. Joseph went thither,
and was met by all the cardinals in a bod}^ one of
whom took him by the hand, and introduced him
within those precincts which no man can enter or leave
from the commencement of the meeting till a Pope has
been elected. The emperor received all those extra-
ordinary advances with cold dignity. He addressed
Bernis with rather condescending affability, which
much flattered the vanity of the cardinal. But when
Torrigiani v/as presented to him, he merely observed,
*' I have heard much of you," and inquired imme-
diately for the Cardinal of York. '' Le voici," an-
swered the grandson of James II. Joseph saluted the
last of the Stuarts with a marked expression of fea-
ture, and requested to be admitted to his cell. *' It is
very small for your highness," said the emperor, after
having visited it.*
When the emperor was on the point of leaving the
Conclave, the demonstrations of the cardiucils increased.
" Sire," cried they, " we trust that your imperial
majesty will protect the new Pope, that he may put
an end*^ to the troubles of the Church." The emperor
replied, that the power to accomplish this rested with
their eminences, b}^ choosing a Pope who should imi-
tate Benedict XIV., and not require too much ; that
the spiritual authority of the Pope was incontestable,
but that he ought to be satisfied with this ; and that,
above all, in treating with sovereigns, he ought never
to forget himself so far as to violate the rules of policy
and good-breeding.f So saying, he left the Conclave,
* St Priest, p. 56.
+ See St Priest, p. 57, wlio reports all these details, as given by the
emperor himself to D'Aubetei-re. Joseph enlarged complacently on his
contemptuous policy toward the Holy See, and declared, in plain terms,
that he knew the Court of Home too well not to despise it, and thought
very little of his admission to the Conclave. " Those people," said he,
speaking of the cardinals, " tried to impress upon me the value of this
distinction, but I am not their dupe."
ABOLITION OF THE ORDER. oG9
and even abandoned llonio the same cvcnini:^, and set
out for Na])les to avoid the fetes prepared for him.
The cardinals, when the agitation produced by the
visit of the emperor was a httlc subdued, returned to
their j^arty intrio-ucs, and vainly endeavoured, during
three long months, to give a successor to St Peter.
At last the Spanish cardinals, who seem to have pur-
posely delayed their voyage till that moment, in order
to decide by their votes and their influence a contest
w hich must have by this time tried both parties, arrived
in liome, and entered the Conclave. La Ceda and De
Solis, the latter Archbishop of Seville, and possessing
Charles Ill.'s confidence, began at once to explore the
ground, and to take all the necessary measures to
succeed in their purpose, Bernis still pretending to
be the negotiator of the Conclave. The Spaniards,
leaving him to rejoice in this opinion, set themselves
quietly to work, and soon succeeded in bringing the
matter to a conclusion, by the choice of a candidate
who was accepted by both par-ties. This candidate
was Cardinal Ganganelli, of whom we must give some
account before proceeding further.
Lorenzo Ganganelli was born in the town of St
Arcangelo, on the 30th of October 1705, of a plebeian
family, his father being a labourer. Like his prede-
cessor, the goatherd of Montalto, Lorenzo entered at
a very early age the order of St Francis (the Corde-
liers),* and distinguished himself by a constant appli-
cation, by the love of solitude, and by a calm, equal,
* 111 Italy, tlie monasteries of the orders called mendicant are the refuge
of three peculiar classes of persons. The first class of those who repair
thither are idle, unthinking fellows, who disdain to do any sort of work ;
the second are those who have but the convent to escape the prison; and
the third, those youth who, feeling within themselves the power, the
capacity, or the ambition of achieving some gi-eat deeds, and seeing no
possibility of emerging from the crowd, have recourse to the cloister as
tiie only way left them of arriving a*- eminence. Almost all the men
of mark among the Italian clergy have been monks, born of poor and
humble parentage ; and many Popes were of the same. It is known that
not a peony is requisite to enter into those monasteries, while, to become
a secular priest, one requires to possess some little property.
370 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
and placid conduct. His principal occupation was the
study of theology, in which he became a proficient and
able professor. But his long meditation upon this
science did not inspire him with a spirit of fanaticism
and persecution, but, on the contrary, with a spirit of
tolerance and love for his fellow-men ; and, what ap-
pears still more rare, he did not in the least alter his
jovial and agreeable manners. Nor did he, plunged
as he was in the study of divinity, become insensible to
the cliarms of nature, or to the attractions of the fine
arts. He delighted in natural history, and spent many
of his leisure hours in dissecting insects, or in collect-
ing plants. He cultivated literature with some success ;
and if he was not a judicious connoisseur, he certainly
was a warm protector of the fine arts, and was passion-
ately fond of music* One of his masters had once
said of him in this particular, "No wonder he loves
music, seeing that everything in his mind is in har-
mony." f From his earliest youth, Lorenzo conceived
hopes of rising to an extraordinary station in life ; and
his ambition, which was ardent and persevering, per-
suaded him that he was destined by Providence to per-
form extraordinary deeds ; which persuasion gave to
all his conduct the characteristic turn of a mysterious
reliance on the future. AVhen his parents dissuaded
him from entering the cloister, Lorenzo, although he
was then very young, answered that a monk's frock
had often preceded the purple, and that the two last
Sistuses had issued from the convents of St Francis,
Indeed, he cherished the memory of Padre Felice, of
that Sistus who, even in our own day, is remembered
by all the Itahans, but, above all, by the lowest classes,
with a loving veneration. Like Sistus, Ganganelli
shewed little inclination for the aristocracy, and courted
* It Wcos he who began that magnificent miaseum in tlie Vatican, in-
creased afterwards by Pins VI., which bears the name of Museo Pio-Cle-
raentino, and which is the admiration of all Europe.
+ See Ranke, vol. ii. p. 4-19, in a note quoting " Aneddoti riguardanti
la famiglia e Ic opere di Clemente,"
ABOLITION OF THE ORDER. 371
tlic favour of tlic inultltude. Gani^anclli, even after
ho had ascended to the liighcst dignity, remained an
unpretending and popular monk. lie was amhitious,
and extremely jealous of real authority, but disdained
the shows iiiid appearance of it. " jN'otwithstanding
his elevation, Ganganelli preserved his former simple
habits. Pomp and ceremony were less to his taste
than a frugal meal, long rides into the carapagna of
Home, the friendship of Francesco,* the visit of a few
well-informed strangers, and, above all, the conversation,
of the fathers of the convent of the Holy Apostles." f
These were, indeed, very amiable and noble qualities,
and assm-edly Clement XIV. proved one of the most
enlightened "and well-intentioned Popes that ever
ascended the pontifical chair. But almost all the his-
torians, many of them influenced no doubt by the fact
that he Avas the suppressor of the order of the Jesuits,
have exao-p-erated the virtues and merits of Ganganehi,
and made of him, either as monk or as rope, an n-re-
proachable and unexceptionable personage, gifted with
almost supernatural qualities.^: We are not quite so
partial to him, and, while we give him credit for his
many superior good qualities, we cannot overlook his
faults, nor declare his conduct free from reproach.
Thus, for example, it is evident that Ganganelli, as a tho-
rough good Franciscan (an order from the first to the
* Francesco was a lay brother, for whom Ganganelli preserved to the
last the most sincere friendship and aflFection.
t St Priest, p. tiO. It was in this convent that Ganganelli resided
before his exaltation to the pontificate, and he often went thither after-
wards to spend some hours.
X Ranke (vol. iii. p. 449) exaggerates Ganganelli's virtues, and repre-
sents him as faultless and holy, which brings us to make a re}nark on the
celebrated German historian. His indefatigable industry in searching
archives and public and private libraries, and inspecting unpublished
manuscripts, has enabled him to throw light on many obscure questions;
but we think that often, on the simple authoi-ity of some ambassador's
relation, or private letters, or of wrilings without name, which only
express the private opinion of the writei-, he has established principles,
and deduced consequences, that are not in accordance with what is known
or may be ascertained by an accurate examination of the facts. We
covild give many instances of what we assert.
372 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
last inimical to the Company), and as a tolerant and
conciliating man, could not be the friend, or have any
regard for the Jesuits ; and 3^et, perceiving how influ-
ential the fathers were under Rezzonico, Padre Lor-
enzo courted their favour, obtained the protection of
Ricci, who presented him to the Pope's nephew, and
by their joint interest the poor monk was made an
eminentissimo. This certainly does not prove much in
favour of his straightforwardness ; and his whole con-
duct during the Conclave proves also that Ganganelli
was not over-scrupulous as to the means he adopted to
satisfy his deeply-rooted ambition. Gioberti, his warm
apologist, seeing that it would be rather difficult to
exonerate him from the reproach of ambition, admits
that he was indeed an ambitious man, but he says, " If
it is true, according to St Paul, that the man who de-
sires the office of a bishop desires a good work,* why
will it not be permitted in certain cases to wish to ob-
tain the Popedom, which is the supreme priesthood ? "f
And he (Gioberti) proceeds to prove that such ambition
is permitted when the man seeks not his own but the
public welfare, when he is sure that he is qualified for
the task, and when he does not make use of any un-
worthy means to obtain tlie object of his ambition ; and
he pretends that Ganganelli fulfilled all these condi-
tions. We, too, give credit to the poor cordelier fcr
having fulfilled the two first, and we believe that, in
aspiring to the supreme See, he had in view the public
advantage, the welfare of the Church, and that, more-
over, he thought himself perfectly qualified to be a
Pope ; but we shall leave our readers to judge whether
all the means he resorted to were unexceptionable and
honest.
During the Conclave of all the cardinals, Cardinal
Ganganelli appeared the most unconcerned and indif-
ferent as to the supremely important matter they were
* 1 Tim. iii. 1. ,
+ Gioberti, vol. iii. p. 347.
ABOLITION OF THE ORDKR. 373
engaged in. He kept aloof from the intrigues of all
parties, so that each might liavc considered him as one
of its adherents, lie ingratiated himself ^vith the
party of the sovereigns, by repeating often in public,
but with the utmost timidity, just -as an observation to
be taken into consideration, '•' Their arms arc very
long, they reach beyond the Alps and the Pyrenees ; "
while to the partisans of the Jesuits he repeated, " We
must no more think of destroying the Society of Jesus
than of pulling down the dome of St Peter's.''* It has
been insinuated, and even asserted, by many histo-
rians, that while Ganganelii was speaking so ambi-
guously in public, he had secretly assured the French
minister of his adverse disposition toAvards the Jesuits,
and that France, from the beginning, had chosen him
as her candidate. St Priest positively denies that this
was the case, and affirms that Ganganelii was by no
means the man upon whom France rested her confi-
dence. '' The cardinal was indeed mentioned in the list
of bons SKJets, that is to say, of persons who w^ould not
be unacceptable to the Bourbons ; but his name, as v/ell
as that of many others, was accompanied with notes
of reservation." t And the French historian proceeds
to say that France, far from preferring him to the
rest of the candidates, suspected him of intrigues and
duplicity ; and Ganganelli's conduct might have well
given cause for such suspicion. lie had been pre-
viously intimate with the French cardinals, and shewed
himself rather favourable to their interests, but during
the sitting of the Conclave had affected to shun them,
evidently with the intention of not giving offence to
the other party. lie lived alone, shut up in his cell,
and seemed as if what was going on did not concern
him in the least.
How, then, did it happen tliat he was chosen to the
vacant throne ? The Jesuits have accused him of
simony, and have asserted that, in exchange for a
'* Cret. vol. V. p. 332. f St Priest, p. 61.
2 B
374 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
written promise to suppress their order, the Spanish
cardinals gave him all the votes that were at the dis-
posal of the house of Bourbon* The admirers of
Clement have, on the other hand, indignantly denied
the ignominious traffic, and affirm that he was chosen
as the most moderate, tolerant, and virtuous of all the
cardinals, and as one who could alone heal the wounds
of the Church ; and the fact is, that neither party may
be said to be altogether wrong in their assertion. It
rests on many good authorities ; and in our eyes the
fact admits of no doubt, that Ganganelli, two or three
days before the scrutiny for the nomination of a Pope,
gave a written note to De Solis, conceived in the fol-
lowing terms: — " I admit that the Sovereign Pontiff
may in conscience abolish the Society of the Jesuits,
without violating the canonical regulations."! Now,
how far this proceeding may constitute the sin of
simony, we do not pretend to decide. Evidently, in
the strictest sense of the word, here is no specified
contract constituting simony. In this note Cardinal
Ganganelli expresses his opinion, as a theologian, that
the Supreme Pontiff may, in perfect safety of con-
science, abolish the Order of Jesus ; and this opinion is
perfectly sound and orthodox. But, as plain matter
of fact, it may be asked, was this answer intended to
win for the adviser the support of Spain, who was
firmly resolved not to consent to any nomination with-
out having obtained from the future Pope a written
promise to suppress the Society of Jesus ? It seems
that the Spanish cardinals, with whatever intention
Ganganelli may have given the note, took it not as the
opinion of the theologian, but as the solemn engage-
ment of the future Pope, so that, soon after the note
was written, as if the Holy Ghost had of a sudden
* It is to be remarked, that now that the most perfect concord reigns
between the Court of Home and the fathei'S, and that they support each
other, the latter have changed their language in regard to this affair, and
that same Cretineau assures us that he disbelieves this imputation.
t See St Priest, p. 63.
ABOLITION OF THE ORDER. 375
decided on the choice, and snggcstcd to tlio electors
the same name, Ganganelli was elected to the chair of
the apostles.
However, between the negotiation of the Spanish
ministers with Ganganelli and the scrutiny for the nomi-
nation, Bernis, who saw that all opinions were growing
warm in favour of the l^ranciscan, and perceived that he
liad been played upon by liis Castilian colleagues, since
all had been done without his participation, to save at
least appearances, hastened to the probable candidate,
and boasted to him that his election would be due to the
influence of France. The Spaniards wilhngly allowed
him to play this specious part, so suited to his osten-
tatious character, and Ganganelli, who perhaps felt
embarrassed as to how he should express his pretended
p'ratitude, answered in these stranire words, " I bear
Louis XV. in my heart, and the Cardinal de Bernis
in my right hand."* Bernis then, with a sort of
diplomatic importance, requested distinctly to know
Ganganelli's opinions with respect to the Jesuits, and
the affair of the Infant of Parma. On the latter
point the future Pope answered in the most satisfac-
tory manner, and promised not only to recall the
monitoriiim, but to consecrate himself, in the Basilica
of St Peter, the duke's approaching marriage. But on
the Jesuit question he was not so explicit ; he admitted
that their suppression appeared to be necessary, and
that most likely the future Pope would not be satisfied
with mere words ; and, " in short," says St Priest,
" GanganelU promised De Bernis all that he desired." f
This being so arranged, and the Austrian party, to
which also adhered that of the Jesuits, having ac-
cepted tlie candidature of Ganganelli, he was, as we
have said, elected Sovereign Pontiff, and assumed the
name of Clement XLY.
Ganganelli having at last attained the summit of
his ambition, enjoyed for a short moment with rap-
* St Priest, p. 63. t Ibid. p. 6i.
376 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
tiire his good fortune, and tlie immense popularity
which immediately surrounded him, and gave way to
all the naturally good impulses of his heart. On the
day of his coronation, upon entering the Basilica of
the Vatican, his eye fell upon a stone on which he had
once stood when a simple monk, to see the cortege of
Pope Rezzonico pass by. " Look," said he, pointing
it out to one of his suite, " from that stone I was
driven ten years ago."* The very commencement of
his pontificate gave great satisfaction to the sove-
reigns, and to all the friends of a liberal and tolerant
policy. He began by prohibiting the reading of the
Bull in coena Domini, so offensive to all monarchs ;
he suspended the effect of the monitorium against the
Duke of Parma ; he declared that he would send a
nuncio to Portugal ; and he extended some conces-
sions made by Benedict XIV. to the King of Sardinia,
and which his predecessor had refused to recognise.
Had not the question of the Jesuits been at issue,
there is no doubt that Ganganelli would have given
general satisfaction, and he himself have lived and
died a happy and honoured Pope. But this unfortu-
nate affair poisoned all his joy from the commence-
ment of his reign. To whatever side he turned himself,
he saw nothing but almost insurmountable obstacles.
On the one hand, the sovereigns demanded impera-
tively the abolition of the order, and Clement had to
fear that his refusal to comply would divest Pome
not only of the valuable possessions of Avignon and
Bcnevento, but also of the filial obedience of Spain,
France, and Portugal. On the other hand, how could
he, the supreme chief of the Poman Catholic Church,
abolish an order which had been considered the firmest
bulwark of this same Church, and, as such, recognised
and approved by many of his predecessors? What
would be the judgment of posterity and of the fol-
lowers of his creed ? Would they ratify his sentence,
* St Priest, p. 65.
ABOLITION OF THE ORDER. 377
and ascribe to him the gift of infallibility at tlic
expense of the other mistaken pontiffs? or ^vould
lie be accounted peccable, and his predecessors in-
fallible 'i In both cases the Papal infallibility would Ijc
greatly damaged, and the authority it gave to the
decisions of the Holy See greatly diminished, which
neither Ganganelli nor any other Pope ever wished
that it should be ; because it is a remarkable fact,
that the Popes, elective sovereigns, and avIio alone of
such have no hope whatever of transmitting- to their
issue or their relatives any portion of their power,
have always been, and still are, scrupulously careful
not to diminish the splendour and glory of the Papal
chair, although they may sometimes foresee that after
their death it will be" occupied by their bitterest
enemy. What then could the poor Pope do in these
critical circumstances ? Although he liked to be com-
pared to Sistus v., whose memory he dearly wor-
shipped, he was far from possessing the firmness of
character and the indomitable energy of the quondam
goatherd of the Abruzzi. He did not act as Sistus
would have done; hke all persons without energy,
in perilous and difficult emergencies, he took no deci-
sive measure, but directed all his efforts and artifices
to gain time, incessantly promising to the sovereigns
to come to a determination, and always evading the
fulfilment of his promises at the decisive moment.
To obtain some delay from France, he thought that
the best he could do was to flatter the vanity of De
Bernis, now the accredited ambassador of the court of
Versailles, and to render him an unwilling accomplice
in his dilatory system ; and Bernis, although an
intelligent and shrewd man, Avas so blinded by his
vanity, as to be easily duped by his arts. St
Priest has given, from Bernis' letters to Choiseul, a
relation of some interviews which took place between
the Pope and the cardinal. " When the cardinal
went to pay his respects to the Pope, the latter would
378 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
not accept the customary homage ; he forbade his
genuflexion, repeatedly he oiFered him his snuff-box,
and even compelled him to be seated in his presence.
Bernis retired with every mark of profound respect,
but Clement said, in a familiar tone, ' We are alone,
and no person sees us ; let us dispense with etiquette,
and resume the old equality of the cardinalate.' "* A
few days afterwards, when Bernis presented a letter
from Louis XV., Clement seized and kissed it with
transport, exclaiming, " I owe all to France. Provi-
dence has chosen me among the people like St Peter,
and the house of Bourbon has, under Providence, been
the means of raising me to the chair of the prince of
the Apostles. ProVidence, too, has permitted," he
added, embracing Bernis, " that you should be the
minister of the king at the Papal court. I place unli-
mited confidence in you, my dear cardinal ; let there
be no indirect intercourse, no mystery, between us." f
These assurances flattered the vanity of Bernis, who
w^as continually asking his court to sanction the delays
which the dignity of the Pope rendered necessary, and
which he represented to be inevitable in matters affect-
ing ecclesiastical discipline. These representations had
some influence upon the mind of Louis XV., who in
his profligacy was often assailed by transitory fits of
remorse ; and he prevailed upon the King of Spain,
though with some difiiculty, to be a little more patient,
and to grant to the Pope some reasonable delay for
the settlement of the question.
Clement's joy at the good success of his policy was
irrepressible. Not only did he feel proud of his own
cleverness, but he hoped to be able to find fresh pre-
texts for an indefinite delay. This brief moment of
illusion was the happiest in all his pontificate ; indeed
it was the only happy one. His countenance beamed
with contentment, his manner became still more ami-
able, and nothing could exceed his good-humour. To
* St Priest, p. 66. * Ibid.
ABOLITION OF THE ORDER. 379
Ivrap himself in his happiness, lie went to the enchant-
ini^ residence of Castel-Gandolfo, and spent many
happy liours on the charming shore of the Lake of
Albano, with no otlicr witness or suite than the old
friend of his youth, the poor lay brother, Francesco.
But the felicity was of short duration. Scarcely
had Ganganelli returned to Rome, wdien all his illusion
vanished. Ardent and restless in the furtherance of
his projects, Charles III. was impatient to see the de-
struction of the Jesuits accomplished ; and seeing that
no progress was made towards this end, he accused
Bernis to Choiseul either of incapacity, or of conniv-
ance with Clement. Choiseul, to whom Charles left
all liberty to act as he pleased in the general policy
of Europe, was very anxious to comply with his wishes
in this affair. He had already, some time before,
written to Bernis a letter full of remonstrances, and
ending thus : — " And if I was ambassador at Rome, I
should be ashamed to see Father Riccithe antagonist
of my master." * But now he pressed the cardinal
more and more strongly to bring the Pope to a speedy
decision. The Spanish king, on his part, not content
with stimulating Choiseul, was pressing the Pope harder
and harder. First he held out a menace against the
Court of Rome ; then, when Clement represented that
there was some danger that the measure of suppression
would cause an outl3reak, or the interference of other
monarchs, or of the pious friends of the Jesuits, he
proposed to land at Civita Vecchia 6000 men to de-
fend the Pope against his enemies ; and, to frighten
Ganganelli still more, he publicly and explicitly de-
nounced Cardinal de Bernis to the Court of France,
and asked for his recall.
Bernis was stunned by the shock, and felt as if his
embassy, the thing of all things dearest to his heart,
for the pomp and power which it imparted, had already
* Letter of Choiseul to the Cardinal de Bernis, August 10, 1709.
See it, Crct. vol. v. p. 342, flf.
oSO HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
been torn from him. The sympathy which he had
for Clement, the desire to be agreeable to him, and to
repay the Pope for the confidence which he thought
his Holiness placed in him, vanished at once, and all
his thoughts were directed to find out how he could
constrain the Sovereign Pontifi*, his spiritual and im-
mediate chief, to obey his temporal masters, and thus
maintain himself in his embassy. Instead of his pre-
vious easy acquiescence, he now became stern and
exacting; and not seeing any more efiicient step to
take to calm Charles III.'s impatience, he urged the
Pope to write to the king, and to make peace with
him.* GanganeUi, overjoyed to escape tlie present
evil, consented inconsiderately to what was asked of
him, without reflecting that, by pledging himself in
wi'iting, he rendered his position still more dilSicult
and perilous for the future. In his letter to the
Spanish king, declining the assistance offered by his
Catholic majesty, he requested time to accomplish tlie
suppression of the Jesuits, admitting, at the same time,
that this measure was indispensable, and announcing,
in plain terms, that " the members of the Society had
merited their fall from the restlessness of their spirit,
and the audacity of their j^roceedings" f This letter,
which Avas written in 1770, has been denied by some,
and by others confounded with the more vague noto
which, as we have seen, it was asserted that Ganga-
neUi had written previous to his ascension to the pon-
tificate. This is a grave error; and, to dispel any
doubt, we shall quote the words of Cardinal Bernis
himself, in his despatch of April 29, 1770. They are,
as will be seen, of the gravest importance : — " The
question is not whether the Pope would wish to sup-
press the Jesuits ; but whether, after the formal pro-
mises he has given in writing to the King of Spain,
his Holiness can for a moment hesitate to fulfil them ?
This letter, which I have induced him to write to his
'' St Priest, p. 73. + Ibid.
ABOLITION OF THE ORDER. 381
Catliolic mnjosty, binds him so firmly, that, unless the
com't ol' Spain should alter its opinions, the Pope will
be obliged to complete the undertaking. _ By gaining
liim, it is true, he might effect something, but the
power of delay is limited. His Holiness is a man of
too much clear-sightedness not to perceive that, should
the King of Spam cause his letter to be printed, he
would lose his chai-acter as a man of honour, if he
hesitated to fultil his promise, and suppress the Society,
a plan for whose destruction he had promised to com-
municate, and whose members ho considered as dan-
gerous, discontented, and turbulent."*
On the existence of this letter, to which they wrongly
assign, as we have said, a date anterior to the election
of Ganganelli, the Jesuits have founded their system
of defence. They have asserted that the Pope w^as
compelled to the act of abolishing their Society, which
act Clement personally did not consider either just or
necessary ; and it cannot be denied that the sove-
reio-ns exercised a kind of constraint upon him. But
was, then, Ganganelli favourable to the order, and
woukl he, if left to himself, have let the Jesuits live
in peace, and protected them against a great part of
Europe conspiring for their destruction? No! un-
doubtedly no. We have already observed that Gan-
ganelli could not be the friend of the Jesuits. The
man who took Sistus V. and Benedict XIV. for his
models, and with whom he had so many points of
resemblance, could only have wished what these his
predecessors wished and attempted to do, namely, to
put a stop to the Jesuits' pride and arrogance. But
w^e say more. Had not Clement been pressed too
hard by the sovereigns, we are convinced that he
would have acted more energetically and with more
decision. AVc must remember that Ganganelli, though
little exacting in regard to outward shows of pomp
and power, had the highest opinion of the dignity with
* Sec it iu St Priest; p. 70,. in a uote.
382 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
wliicli he was invested, and was by no means disposed
to see the tiara lowered or dishonoured in his person.
Once, when Florida Blanca, the Spanish ambassador,
in order to support his argument, suggested to the
Pope that immediately after the publication of the
Brief of Suppression, Avignon and Benevento would be
restored to the Holy See, Clement answered with
majestic dignity, " Remember that a Pope governs the
Church, but does not traffic in his authority,"* and,
breaking short the conference, retired in indignation.
Besides, Ganganelli, though wanting in energy, and
though he may be reproached with somewhat equivo-
cal conduct in order to satisfy his ambition, was a man
too rehgious and too noble-hearted, of too sound prin-
ciples of morality and honesty, to subscribe to a
measure which he considered unjust. He would have
preferred every inconvenience, martyrdom itself, to
such iniquitous and dishonourable conduct. Why,
then, did he hesitate so long to accomplish a measure
which he considered useful and ^ust? Let Clement
answer for himself first, and we shall give our reasons
afterwards. In the Brief of Suppression the Pope
says : " We have omitted no care, no pains, in order
to arrive at a thorough knowledge of the origin, the
progress, and the actual state of that regular order
commonly called the Company of Jesus." f And
Kanke, whom the Jesuits often quote as authority, and
who seems to be rather partial to them, says, " Clement
applied himself with the utmost attention to the affairs
of the Jesuits. A commission of cardinals was formed,
the archives of the Propaganda were examined, and
the arguments of both sides were deliberately consi-
dered." I It is evident, then, that Clement wished to
give a judgment with a perfect knowledge of the affair.
It must be remembered that there is a wide distance
between the opinion that Ganganelli might have en-
* St Priest, p. 86. + Brief Dominus ac Redemptor.
X Vol. ii, p. 450.
ABOLITION OF THE ORDER. 383
tertaincd of the Jesuits, and the fact of the Supremo
rontitf, tlic chief of the rehgion, condemning, by a
solemn irrevocable act, a religious order approved and
protected by thirteen former Popes. It must be re-
membered that Clement was himself a monk, and that,
at the very beginning of the Brief of Suppression, he
informs us what his sentiments were towards the
monastic communities. " It is beyond doubt," says
the Brief, " that among the things luhich contrihute
to the good and happiness of the Christian Republic^
the religious orders hold the first j^lcice. It was for
this reason that the Apostolic See, tchich oiues its
ivel/are and support to these orders, has not only
approved, but endowed them with many exemptions,
privileges, and faculties."* Besides these powerful
and principal reasons, many other secondary ones
must have induced Clement to defer the all-important
act. It was repugnant to his mild, benevolent, and
conciliating character to have recourse to harsh and
severe measures. The nobleness and generosity of
his heart, on another side, sugoested to him, that to
the Jesuits, perhaps, he was indebted for the supreme
dignity he had obtained, since it was by their influence
that he had been named cardinal ; and this leads us to
believe that, had the measure been less urgent and
indispensable to the welfare of the Church and
Christianity, he, in memory of past benefits, would
never have suppressed the order. As a last, not
least reason, for Ganganelli's hesitation, it may be
adduced that the Roman Catholic world would have
received it with astonishment, and not without mur-
murs, if he had abolished a society for which his bene-
factor, Rezzonico, whose ashes were yet warm, had
nourished such a particular affection, and which he
had taken under the protection of his infallibility —
an infallibility which, though Clement never spoke,
he no doubt would not have hked that others should
* St Priest, p. 86.
384 HISTORY OP THE JESUITS.
have called in question. In one word, in judging of
Ganganelli's conduct, the different parties have too
often forgotten that he was a Pope and a monk.
All the motives we have adduced to explain and
excuse Clement's delay in suppressing the order, were
nohle and praiseworthy ; but it must be confessed that
with them was mingled one that was less noble, and
not so creditable to the Pope's character. He was
afraid lest the Jesuits should assassinate or poison
him ; and his fears were not, as we shall see, without
foundation.
The Jesuits, it may be imagined, had spared no pains
to influence Clemenf'^s mind, and to deprecate the scheme
of their destruction. At first they set at work all the
influences they stih possessed. In Rome, above all, they
were as yet all-powerful among the nobility. They
were the\agents of the husbands, the confessors of the
wives, the^ tutors of the children ; and by means of
these nobles they endeavoured to influence the Pope in
their favour. But as GanganeUi received few persons
of that rank, and listened to none, this expedient of the
fathers proved abortive. They obtained afterwards
from the sovereigns of Austria, Bavaria, Poland, and
Sardinia, letters of recommendation to the Holy
Father ; and when they perceived that even these
proved ineffectual, they had recourse to threats, and,
by many ingenious and sly contrivances, conveyed to
Clement's mind the persuasion that they would take
away his life, whatever precautions he should take.
To make a still stronger impression upon his mind,
they had his death predicted by a set of impostors,
whose predictions were, as is generally the case,
readily believed by the people ; and the Jesuits took
good care to strengthen this belief. Bernardina Renzi,
a peasant of Valentano, giving herself out as a pro-
phetess, predicted the vacancy of the Holy See by the
mysterious initials P. S. S. V. (presto sara sede vacante).
Another Pythoness of Monteliascone also put forth simi-
ABOLITION OF TUE ORDER. 385
lar stranoc and mysterious predictions.* The Pope
■was too cnlii:'litened, too religious, to believe in such
impostures; but, just because he did not believe in
them, he feared tiiem the more, knowino- that those
who had put them forth would find the means to
accomplish them. Tavo Jesuits, Fathers Coltraro and
A^enizza, along with the confessor of Bernardina, were
thrown into prison, as having been suspected of being
the advisers of the prophetess. In the various circles
of society, almost publicly and aloud, the Jesuits and
their partisans accused and cursed Clement, heaping
reproaches on his name, and even insinuating the pos-
sibility of a deposition. Insulting images and hideous
figures were put forth, announcing an approaching
catastrophe, under the form of vengeance of Provi-
dence. Father Kicci, far from feeling any repugnance
to the support of such shameless deception, did not
even shrink from an interview with the sorceress of
Valentino.f
Surrounded as he was by treachery, Ganganelli
could not long resist the impressions which such a state
of things was calculated to make upon him. His
natural gaiety gave way ; his health became impaired ;
and evident signs of weariness Avere stamped on the
whole of his countenance. He lived more secluded
than ever, and would not taste of any dishes but those
prepared by his faithful Francesco, or by his own
hands.
On the other hand, the sovereigns became more and
more urgent. To Anzpuru succeeded, as Spanish am-
bassador, that same Muniiiio who, in his capacity of
magistrate, had assisted D'Aranda in the mysterious
examination of the Jesuits' conduct, after the emeute
of 1766, and who was now the Count of Florida
Blanca. He was stern and inflexible, and pressed hard
* St Priest, p. 28.
+ St Priest, ^lhi sup. He has extracted all those details from a letter
of Florida 13 lauca; addressed to Pope Pius YI.
386 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
tlie poor Pope to take the dangerous leap. The
transitory, delusive hope which the Jesuits had en-
joyed, of escaping ruin, after the disgrace of Choiseul,
and the paramount influence which had been acquired
over the king by their friend Madame Dubarry, the
successor of Madame de Pompadour, soon vanished.
D'Aiguillon, to deprecate the anger of Charles III.
for the fall of his friend Choiseul, seconded the
Spanish king vigorously in his cherished project of
obtaining the Suppression ; and, as Austria had aban-
doned the cause of the order,* the ruin of the Jesuits
became inevitable. Yet Clement resisted all those
importunities and menaces, and held firm, till, after a
long and protracted investigation, his conscience
was satisfied that the act he was called upon to per-
form was an act of supreme justice and of immense
advantage to Christianity. Then, although he felt
sure that he should forfeit his hfe, he decided upon
sacrificing it to the fulfilment of a duty, which gives
to the act a more imposing and solemn gravity. On
the 23d July 1773, he affixed his signature to the
Brief, saying, in the very act of writing his name, ^' We
sign our death " — Sottoscriviamo la nostra morte.f
We shall now lay before our readers a great part
of this Brief, wliich we should wish them to attentively
read and consider, because, as a Roman Catholic priest
observes, " It is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful
and honourable of the Roman Church ; and so much
* It is differently reported by what means the consent of Austria to
the destruction of the Jesuits was obtained. The report most current
at the time was, that Charles III. obtained it from Maria Theresa, by
sending to the empress her own confession, which her Jesuit director had.
sent to the General, and which the king had had the means of obtain-
ing. St Priest, in contradicting this opinion, says that Maria Theresa's
resistance was conquered by her son Joseph, who, although he took
little interest in the affair as it affected the Jesuits, yet coveted their
possei=sions. I
+ These are the words attributed to the Pope by the popular tradition. ;
However, St Priest, following Caraccioli, makes "the Pope exclaim, after ]
haying signed the brief, " Questa suppressione mi dara la morte" — ;
This suppression will be my death.
ABOLITION OF THE ORDER. 387 i
SO, that I dare assort tliat tlicrc is no ecclesiastical
ordinance where shines more brightly the ^Yisdonl, the
holiness, the moderation, and the true philosophy of
the apostolic chair. The idea ^Yhich is predominant
in the Brief is, that of the unity and peace which i
the Man-God brought to mortals, by establishing his 1
rehgion," &c.* In fact, the Brief is extremely remark-
able in all its parts, and shews with what accuracy, with
what patience, Clement had examined the question.
It begins by pronouncing a high eulogium on the
monastic orders, and on the good intentions of Loyola
in founding that of the Jesuits. It then points
out many of these orders which were abolished by
different Popes. It recapitulates all the favours that
the Holy See had bestowed on the Jesuits. Then, in '
a rapid sketch of the history of the order, it shews in
it the principle of discord, of schism; of a continual
war waged by it against all other religious communi-
ties; the dissensions it excited in various Catholic
countries ; the obstinacy of the Jesuits in persisting in
their reprehensible conduct, notwithstanding a number
of briefs and admonitions of the Supreme Pontiff; and, '
finally, concludes by declaring it to be impossible that
THE Church could recover a firm and durable peace,
so long as the said Society subsisted. Here follows
this memorable document,! which we give at length, as j
the most correct epitome of the history of the Com- j
pany, written by the most high and competent autho- |
rity :— 1
'' Brief for the effectual Suppression of the Order of
Jesuits.
*' Clement XIV., Pope, &c.
" Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Redeemer, was
foretold by the prophets as the Prince of Peace: the j
* Gioberti, vol. iii. p. 374. I
t It is here given as translated in the Protestant A dvocate, 1815, vol.
ui. p. 153, &c.
388 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
angels proclaimed liim under the same title to the
shepherds at his first appearance upon earth; he after-
^-ards made himself knoAvn repeatedly as the sovereign
pacificator; and he recommended peace to his dis-
ciples before his ascension to heaven.
'•Having reconciled all things to God his Father,
havino- pacified by his blood and by his cross every-
thing which is contained in heaven and in earth,^ he
recommended to his apostles the ministry of reconcilia-
tion, and bestowed on them the gift of tongues, that
they might publish it ; that they might become minis-
ters and envoys of Christ, vrho is not the God of dis-
cord, but of peace and love ; that they might announce
this peace to all the earth, and direct their efforts to
this chief point, that all men, being regenerated in
Christ, might preserve the unity of the Spirit in the
bond of peace ; might consider themselves as one body
and one soul, as called to one and the same hope, to
one and the same vocation, at which, according to St
Gregory, we can never arrive, unless we run in concert
with our brethren. The same word of reconcihation,
this same ministry, is recommended to us by God in a
particular manner. Ever since we were raised (with-
out any personal merit) to the chair of St Peter, we
have called these duties to mind day and night ; we
have had them without ceasing before our eyes ; they
are deeply engraven on our heart ; and we labour to
the utmost of our power to satisfy and to fulfil them.
To this cftect we implore without ceasing the protec-
tion and the aid of God, that he would inspire us and
all his flock with counsels of peace, and open to us the
road which leads to it. We know, besides, that ive are
established by the Divine Providence over kingdoms
euiel nations, in order to pluck up, destroy, disperse,
dissipate, plant, or nourish, as may best conduce to
the right cultivation of the vineyard of Sabaoth, and
to i\\Q preservation of the edifice of the Christian
relio'ion, of which Christ is the chief corner-stone. In
ABOLITION OF THE ORDER. 389
consequence hereof, we have ever thought, and been
constantly of opinion, tliat, as it is our duty carefully
to plant and nourish whatever may conduce in any
manner to the repose and tranquillity of the Christian
republic, so the bond of mutual charity requires that
we be equally ready and disposed to pluck up and
destroy even the things which are most agreeable to
us, and of which we cannot deprive ourselves without
the highest regret and the most pungent sorrow.
" It is beyond a doubt, that among the things ivhich
contribute to the good and happiness of the Christian
republic, the religious orders hold, as it were, the first
2')lace. It was for this reason that the Apostolic See,
which owes its lustre and support to these orders, has
not only approved, but endoiued them with inany ex-
emptio7is, privileges, and faculties, in order that they
might be so much the more excited to the cultivation
of piety and religion ; to the direction of the manners
of the people, both by their instructions and their
examples ; to the preservation and confirmation of the
unity of the faith among the believers. But if, at any
time, any of these religious orders did not cause these
abundant fruits to prosper among the Christian people,
did not produce those advantages which were hoped
for at their institution ; if at any time they seemed
disposed rather to trouble than maintain tlie public
tranquillity ; the same Apostolic See, which had availed
itself of its own authority to establish these orders, did
not hesitate to reform them by new laws, to recall
them to their primitive institution, or even totally to
abolish them where it has seemed necessary."
[Here follows a long hst of religious orders sup-
pressed by different Popes, without giving them the
opportunity of clearing themselves from the accusa-
tions brought against them. It then proceeds as
follows : — ]
" We, therefore, having these and other such ex-
amples before our eyes, examples of great weight and
2 c
390 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
high authority — animated, besides, with a hvely desire
of walking with a safe conscience and a firm step in
the dehberations of which we shall speak hereafter — •
have omitted no care, no jyains, in order to arrive
at a tliorough knoivledge of the origin, the pi^ogress,
and the actual state of that regular order commonly
called ' The Company of Jesus.' In the course of
these investigations, we have seen that the holy
founder of the order did institute it for the salvation
of souls, the conversion of heretics and infidels, and,
in short, for the greater advancement of piety and
religion. And, in order to attain more surely and
happily so laudable a design, he consecrated himself
rigorously to God, by an absolute vow of evangelical
poverty, with which to bind the Society in general,
and each individual in particular, except only the
colleges in which polite literature and other branches
of knowledge were to be taught, and which were
allowed to possess property, but so that no part of
their revenues could ever be applied to the use of the
said Society in general. It was under these and other
holy restrictions that the Company of Jesus was ap-
proved by the Pope Paul III., our predecessor of
blessed memory, by his letter sub plumbo, dated 27th
September 1540."
[Here Clement enumerates the other Popes who
had either confirmed the privileges already granted to
the Society, or had explained and augmented them.]
" Notwithstanding so many and so great favours, ifc
appears from the apostolical Constitutions, that, almost
at the very moment of its institution, their arose in
the bosom of this Society divers seeds of discord and
dissension, not only among the companions themselves,
but with other regular orders, the secular clergy, the
academies, the universities, the public schools, and
lastly, even with the princes of the states in which the
Society was received.
"These dissensions and disputes arose sometimes
ABOLITION OF THE ORDEE. 391
concerning the nature of their vows, the time of ad-
mission to them, the power of expulsion, the right of
admission to holy orders without a sufficient title, and
without having taken the solemn vows, contrary to the
tenor of the decrees of the Council of Trent, and of
Pius v., our predecessor ; sometimes concerning the
ahsi^lute authority assumed by the General of the said
order, and on matters relating to the good govern-
ment and discipline of the order ; sometimes concern-
ing different points of doctrine concerning their schools,
or such of their exemptions and privileges as the ordi-
naries and other civil or ecclesiastical officers declared to
be contrary to their rights and jurisdiction. In short,
accusations of the greatest nature, and very detriment
tal to the peace and tranquillity of the Christian re-
public, have been continually received against the said
order. Hence the origin of that Infinity of appeals
and protests against this Society, which so many so-
vereigns have laid at the foot of the throne of our pre-
decessors Paul IV., Pius v., and Sixtus V.
"Among the princes who have thus appealed, is
Philip 11. , King of Spain, of glorious memory, who
laid before Sixtus V. not only the reasons of complaint
which he had, but also those alleged by the inquisi-
tors of his kingdom, against the excessive j^rivileyes
of the Society, and the form of their government. He
desired likewise that the Pope should be acquainted
with the heads of accusation laid against the Society,
and confirmed by some of Its own members remarkable
for their learning and piety, and demanded that the
Society should undergo an apostolic visitation. Sixtus
v., convinced that these demands and solicitations of
Philip were just and well-founded, did, luithout hesi-
tation, comply thereivith; and, in consequence, named
a bishop of distinguished prudence, virtue, and learnr
ing, to be apostolical visitor, and at the same time
deputed a congregation of cardinals to examine this
matter.
392 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
" But this pontiff having been carried off by a pre-
mature death, this wise undertaking remained without
effect. Gregory XIV. being raised to the supreme
apostoUc chair, approved, in its utmost extent, the in-
stitution of the Society, by his letter, siih plumbOf
dated the 28th of July 1591. He confirmed all the
privileges which had been granted by any of his pre-
decessors to the Society, and particularly the power
of expelling and dismissing any of its members, with-
out any previous form of process, information, act, or
delay ; upon the sole view of the truth of the fact, and
-the nature of the crime, from a sufficient motive, and
a due regard of persons and circumstances. He or-
dained, and that under pain of excommunication, that
all proceedings against the Society should be quashed,
and that no person whatever should presume, directly
or indirectly, to attack the institution, constitutions, or
decrees of the said Society, or attempt in any manner
whatever to make any changes therein. To each and
every of the members only of the said Society, he per-
mitted to expose and propose, either by themselves or
by the legates and nuncios of the Holy See, to himself
only, or the Popes his successors, whatever they should
think proper to be added, modified, or changed in their
institution.
" Who would have thought that even these disposi-
tions should prove ineffectual towards appeasing the
cries and appeals against the Society ? On the con-
trary, very violent disputes arose on all sides concern-
ing the doctrine of the Society, which many represented
as contrary to the orthodox faith and to sound morals.
The dissensions among themselves, and with others,
grew every day more animated ; the accusations
against the Society were multiplied without number,
and especially wdth that insatiable avidity of tern-
poral possessions with which it was reproached.
Hence the rise not only of those well-known troubles
which brought so much care and solicitude upon the
ABOLITION OF THE ORDER. 303
Holy Sec, but also of the resolutions which certain
sovereigns took against the said order.
" It resulted that, instead ot obtaining from Paul V.,
of blessed memory, a fresh confirmation of its institute
and privileges, the Society was reduced to ask of him
that he would condescend to ratify and confirm, by
his authority, certain decrees formed in the Fifth
General Congregation of the Company, and trans-
cribed word for word in the Brief of the said Pope,
bearing date September 4, 1606. In these decrees,
it is plainly acknowledged that the dissensions and
internal revolts of the said companions, together
with the demands and appeals of strangers, had obliged
the said companions assembled in congregation to
enact the following statute, namely :
" ' The Divine Providence having raised up our
Society for the propagation of the Faith, and the
gaining of souls, the said Society can, by the rules of
its own institute, which are its spiritual arms, arrive
happily, under the standard of the Cross, at the end
which it has proposed for tlie good of the Church and
the edification of our neighbours. But the said
Society would prevent the eft'ect of these precious
goods, and expose them to the most imminent dangers,
if it concerned itself ivith temj)oral matters, and
ivhich relate to jyolitical affairs and the administra-
tion of (jovernment; in consequence whereof, it has
been wisely ordained by our superiors and ancients,
that, confining ourselves to combat for the glory of
God, we should not concern ourselves Avith matters
foreign to our profession: but whereas, in these times
of difiiculty and danger, it has happened, through the
fault perhaps of certain individuals, through ambition
and intemperate zeal, that our institute has been ill
spoken of in divers places, and before divers sovereigns,
whose afi'ection and good-will the Father Ignatius, of
holy memory, thought we should preserve for the good
of the service of God ; and whereas a good reputation
894 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
is indispensably necessary to make the vineyard of
Christ bring forth fruits ; in consequence hereof, our
congregation has resolved that we shall abstain from
all appearance of evil, and remedy, as far as in our
power, the evils arisen from false suspicions. To this
end, and by the authority of the present decree of the
said congregation, it is severely and strictly forbidden
to all the members of the Society to interfere in any
manner luhatever in jniblic affairs, even though they
be thereto invited, or to deviate from the institute,
through entreaty, persuasion, or any other motive
whatever. The congregation recommends to the
fathers-coadjutors, that they do propose and deter-
mine, with all dihgence and speed, such further means
as they may think necessary for remedying this abuse.'
" We have seen, in the grief of our heart, that neither
these remedies, nor an infinity of others, since em-
ployed, have produced their due effect, or silenced
the accusations and complaints against the said
Society. Our other predecessors, Urban VIL, Clement
IX., X., XL, and XII., and Alexander VII. and
VIIL, Innocent X., XII., and XIII., and Benedict
XIV., employed, without effect, all their efforts to the
same purpose. In vain did they endeavour, by salu-
tary constitutions, to restore peace to the Church ; as
well with respect to secular affairs, with which the
Company ouglit not to have interfered, as with regard
to the missions ; which gave rise to great disputes
and oppositions on the part of the Company with the
ordinaries, with other religious orders, about the holy
places, and communities of all sorts in Europe,
Africa, and America, to the great loss of souls, and
great scandal of the people ; as likewise concerning
the meaning and practice of certain idolatrous cere-
monies, adopted m certain places, in contempt of those
justly approved by the Catholic Church ; and further,
concerning the use and explanation of certain maxims,
which the Holy See has with reason j^'i^oscribed as
ABOLITION OF THE ORDER. 395
scandalous, and manifestli/ contrary to good morals;
and, lastly, concerning other matters of great import-
ance and prime necessity, towards preserving the in-
tegrity and purity of the doctrines of the gospel; from
•vviiich maxims have resulted very great inconveniences
and great detriment both in our days and in past
ages; such as the revolts and intestine troubles in
some of the Catholic states, persecutions against the
Church in some countries of Asia and Europe, not to
mention the vexation and grating sohcitude which
these melancholy affairs brought on our predecessors,
principally upon Innocent XI., of blessed memory, who
found liiniself reduced lo the necessity of forbidding
the Comj)amj to receive any more novices ; and after-
wards upon Innocent XIII. , who was obliged to
threaten the Company with the same punishment;
and, lastly, upon Benedict XIV., who took the resolu-
tion of ordaining a general visitation of all the houses
and colleges of the Company in the kingdom of our
dearly beloved son in Jesus Christ, the most faithful
King of Portugal.
" The late apostolic letter of Clement XIIL, of blessed
memory, our immediate predecessor, by which the in-
stitute of the Company of Jesus was again approved
and recommended, y^^i^ far from bringing any comfort
to the Holy See, or any advantage to the Christian
republic. Indeed this letter was rather extorted than
granted, to use the expression of Gregory X. in the
above-named General Council of Lyons.
*' After so many storms, ti'oubles, and divisions, every
good man looked forward with impatience to the happy
day which was to restore peace and tranquillity. But
under the reign of this same Clement XIII. the times
became more dil!icult and tempestuous; complaints
and quarrels xuere multiplied on every side; in some
places dangerous seditions arose, tumults, discords,
dissensions, scandals, tuhich, iveakening or entirely
breaking the bonds of Christian charity, excited the
396 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
faithful to all the rage of party hatreds and enmities.
Desolation and danger grew to such a height, that the
very sovereigns, whose piety and hberahty towards the
Company were so well known as to be looked upon as
hereditary in their families — we mean our dearly-be-
loved sons in Christ, the Kings of France, Spain,
Portugal, and Sicily — found themselves reduced to
the necessity of expelling and driving from Hheir
states, kingdoms, and jjrovinces, these very Com-
panions of Jesus ; persuaded that there remained no
other remedy to so great evils ; and that this step was
necessary in order to prevent the Christians from
rising one against another, and from massacring each
other in the very bosom of our common mother the
Holy Church. The said our dear sons in Jesus
Christ having since considered that even this remedy
would not be sufficient towards reconcihng the whole
Christian world, unless the said Society was absolutely
abolished and suppy^essed, made known their demands
and wills in this matter to our said predecessor Clement
XIII. They united their common prayers and autho-
rity to obtain that this last method might be put in
practice, as the only one capable of assuring the con-
stant repose of their subjects, and the good of the Ca-
thoUc Church in general. But the unexpected death
of the aforesaid pontiff rendered this project abortive..
" As soon as by the divine mercy and providence we
were raised to the chair of St Peter, the same
prayers, demands, and wislies were laid before us,
and strengthened by the pressing solicitations of many
bishops, and other persons of distinguished rank,
learning, and piety. But, that we might choose the
wisest course in an affair of so much importance, we
determined not to be 2yrecip>itate, but to take due time ;
not only to examine attentively, weigh carefully, and.
wisely debate, but also, by unceasing prayers, to ask
of the Father of Lights his particular assistance under,
these circumstances ; exhorting at the same time the
ABOLITION OP THE ORDER. 397
faithful to co-operate with us by their prayers and
good Avorks in obtaining this needful succour.
" And lirst of all we proposed to examine upon what
grounds rested the common opinion, that the institute
of the Clerks of the Company of Jesus had been ap-
proved and confirmed in an especial manner by the
Council of Trent. And we found that in the said
Council nothing more was done with regard to the said
Society, only to except it from the general decree,
which ordained that in the other regular orders, those
who had finished their novitiate, and were judged
worthy of being admitted to the profession, should be
admitted thereto ; and that such as were not found
worthy should be sent back from the monastery. The
same Council declared, that it meant not to make any
change or innovation in the government of the clerks
of the Company of Jesus, that they might not be hin-
dered from being useful to God and his Church, ac-
cording to the intent of the pious institute approved
by the Holy See.
''Actuated by so many and important considerations,
and, as we hope, aided by the presence and inspira-
tion of the Holy Spirit; compelled, besides, by the
necessity of our ministry, which strictly obliges us to
conciliate, maintain, and confirm the peace and tran-
quillity of the Christian republic, and remove every
obstacle which may tend to trouble it ; having further
considered that the said Company of Jesus can no
longer produce those abundant fruits, and those great
advantages, Avith a view to which it was instituted,
approved by so many of our predecessors, and endowed
w^ith so many and extensive privileges; that, on the
contrary, it was very diflicult, not to say impossible,
that the Church could recover a firm and durable
'peace so long as the said Society subsisted ; in conse-
quence hereof, and determined by the particular reasons
we have here alleged, and forced by other motives which
prudence and the good government of the Church
398 HISTORY OP THE JESUITS,
have dictated, the knowledge of which we reserve to
ourselves, conforming ourselves to the examples of our,
predecessors, and particularly to that of Gregory X.
in the general Council of Lyons; the rather as, ia
the present case, we are determining upon the fate of
a society classed among the mendicant orders, both by
its institute and by its j^trivileges ; — after a mature
deliberation, ive do, out of our certain knowledge,
and the fulness of our apostolical power, suppress
AND ABOLISH THE SAID COMPANY : WO dopHve it of
all activity whatever, of its houses, schools, colleges,
hospitals, lands, and, in short, every other place what-
soever, in whatever kingdom or province they may
be situated; we abrogate and anmd its statutes,
rules, customs, decrees, and constitutions, even though
confirmed by oath, and approved by the Holy See or
otherwise ; in like manner we annul all and every its
privileges, indults, general or particular, the tenor
whereof is, and is taken to be, as fully and as amply
expressed in the present Brief as if the same were
inserted word for word, in whatever clauses, form,
or decree, or under whatever sanction their privileges
may have been conceived. We declare all, and all
kind of authority, the General, the provincials, the
visitors, and other superiors of the said Society to be
FOR EVER ANNULLED AND EXTINGUISHED, of what nature
soever the said authority may be, as well in things
spiritual as temporal. We do likewise order that
the said jurisdiction and authority be transferred to
the respective ordinaries, fully and in the same
manner as the said generals, &c. exercised it, accord-
ing to the form, places, and circumstances with respect
to the persons and under the conditions hereafter
determined ; forbidding, as we do hereby forbid,
the reception of any person to the said Society, the
novitiate or habit thereof. And with regard to
those who have already been admitted, our will is,
that they be not received to make profession of the
ABOLITION OF THE ORDER. 399
simple, solemn, absolute vows, under penalty of nul-
lity, and such other penalties as we shall ordain.
Further, we do wnll, command, and ordain, that those
who are now performinf^ their novitiate be speedily,
immediately, and actually sent back to their own
homes; we do further forbid that those who have
made profession of the first simple vows, but w^ho are
not yet admitted to either of the holy orders, be ad-
mitted thereto under any pretext or title whatever ;
whether on account of the profession they have already
made in the said Society, or by virtue of any privi-
leges the said Society has obtained, contrary to the
tenor of the decrees of the Council of Trent.
" And whereas all our endeavours are directed to
the great end of procuring the good of the Church
and the tranquillity of nations ; and it being at the
same time our intention to provide all necessary aid,
consolation, and assistance to the individuals or com-
panions of the said Society, every one of which, in his
individual capacity, we love in the Lord wdth a truly
parental affection ; and to the end that they being de-
livered on their part from the persecutions, dissensions,
and troubles with which they have for a long time been
agitated, may be able to labour with more success in
the vineyard of the Lord, and contribute to the salva-
tion of souls ; therefore, and for these motives, we do
decree and determine that such of the companions as
have yet made professions only of the first vows, and
are not yet promoted to lioly orders, being absolved,
as in fact they are absolved, from the first simple
vows, do, y^ithout fail, quit the houses and colleges of
the said Society, and be at full liberty to choose such
course of life as each shall judge most conformable to
his vocation, strength, and conscience, and that within
a space of time to be prescribed by tlie ordinary of
the diocese ; wdiich time shall be sufficient for each to
provide himself some employment or benefice, or at
least some patron who will receive him into his house,
400 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
always provided that the time thus allowed do not
exceed the space of one year, to be counted from the
day of the date hereof. And this the rather, as,
according to the privileges of the said Company, those
who have only taken these first vows may be expelled
the order upon motives left entirely to the prudence of
the superiors, as circumstances require, and without
any previous form of process. As to such of the
companions as are already promoted to holy orders,
we grant them permission to quit the houses and col-
leges of the Company, and to enter into any other
regular order already approved by the Holy See.
In which case, and supposing they have already
professed the first vows, they are to perform the
accustomed novitiate in the order into which they are
to enter according to the prescription of the Council
of Trent; but if they have taken all the vows, then
they shall perform only a novitiate of six months, we
graciously dispensing with the rest. Or otherwise,
wc do permit them to live at large as secular j)yiests
and clerks, always under a perfect and absolute
obedience to the jurisdiction of the ordinary of the
diocese where they shall establish themselves. We
do likewise ordain, that to such as shall embrace this
last expedient, a convenient stipend be paid out of the
revenues of the house or college where they reside ;
regard being paid, in assigning the same, to the ex-
penses to which the said house shall be exposed, as
w^ell as to the revenues it enjoyed. AVith regard to
those who have made the last vows, and are promoted
to holy orders, and who, either through fear of not
being able to subsist for want of a pension, or from
the smallncss thereof, or because they know not where
to fix themselves, or, on account of age, infirmities, or
other grave and lawful reasons, do not choose to quit
the said colleges or houses, they shall be permitted to
dv/ell therein, provided always that they exercise no
ministry whatsoever in the said houses or colleges.
ABOLITION OF THE ORDER. 401
wid he entirely subject to the ordinary of the diocese;
that tJiey make no acquisitions ivhatever, according
to the decree of the Council of Lyons, that they do not
ahcnate the houses, possessions, or funds which they
actually possess. It shall be lawful to unite in one or
more houses the number of individuals that remain,
nor shall others be substituted in the room of those
who may die ; so that the houses which become vacant
may be converted to such pious uses as the circum-
stances of time and place shall require, in conformity
to the holy canons, and the intention of the founders,
so as may best promote the divine worship, the salva-
tion of souls, and the public good. And to this end a
member of the regular clergy, recommendable for his
prudence and sound morals, shall be chosen to preside
over and govern the said houses ; so that the name of
the Company shall he, and is, for ever extinguished
and sujypressed.
" In like manner we declare, that in this general
suppression of the Company shall be comprehended the
individuals thereof in all the provinces from whence
they have already been expelled; and to this effect
our will is, that the said individuals, even though they
have been promoted to holy orders, be ipso facto
reduced to the state of secular priests and clerks, and
remain in absolute subjection to the ordinary of the
diocese, supposing always that they are not entered
into any other regular order.
*' If, among the subjects heretofore of the Company
of Jesus, but who shall become secular priests or
clerks, the ordinaries shall find any qualified by their
virtues, learning, and purity of morals, they may, as
they see fit, grant or refuse them power of confessing
and preaching; but none of them shall exercise the
said holy function without a permission in writing;
nor shall the bishops or ordinaries grant such permis-
sion to such of the Society who shall remain in the
colleges or houses heretofore belonging to the Society,
402 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
to whom we expressly and for ever prohibit the
administration of the sacrament of penance, and the
function of preachino- ; as Gregory X. did prohibit it
in the Council already cited. And we leave it to the
consciences of the bishops to see that this last article
be strictly observed ; exhorting them to have before
their eyes the severe account which they must render
to God of the flock committed to their charge, and
the tremendous judgment with which the great Judge
of the hvino" and the dead doth threaten those who are
invested with so high a character.
"Further, we will, that if any of those who have here-
tofore professed the institute of the Company, shall be
desirous of dedicating themselves to the instruction of
youth in any college or school, care he taken that
they have no part in the government or direction of
the same, and that the hberty of teaching be granted
to such only whose labours promise a happy issue, and
who shall shew themselves averse to all spirit of
dispute, and untainted with any doctrines which may
occasion or stir up frivolous and dangerous quarrels.
In a word, the faculty of teaching youth shall neither
be granted nor preserved hut to those ivho seem in^
dined to maintain j?eace in the schools and tran-*
quillity in the world,
" Our intention and pleasure is, that the dispositions
which we have thus made known for the suppression
of this Society shall be extended to the members
thereof employed in missions, reserving to ourselves
the right of fixing upon such methods as to us shall
appear most sure and convenient for the conversion of
infidels and the conciliation of controverted points.
" All and singular the privileges and statutes of the
Baid Company being thus annulled and entirely abro-
gated, we declare that as soon as the individuals
thereof shall have quitted their houses and colleges,
and taken the habit of secular clerks, they shall be
qualified to obtain, in conformity to the decrees of tlie
ABOLITION OP THE ORDER. 403
lioly canons and apostolic constitutions, cures, benefices
without cure, ofHces, charges, dignities, and all em-
ployments whatever, ivhicli they could not obtain so
long as they ivere members of the said Society, accord-
ing to the will of Gregory XIIL, of blessed memory,
expressed in his bull bearing date September 10th,
1548, which Brief begins with these words — Satus
super que, &c. Likewise we grant them the power
which they had not before, of receiving alms for the
celebration of the mass, and the full enjoyment of all
the graces and favours from idiich they ivere hereto-
fore precluded as regular clerks of the Company of
Jesus.
" We likewise abrogate all the prerogatives which
had been granted to them by their General and other
superiors in virtue of the privileges obtained from the
Sovereign Pontiffs, and by which they were permitted
to read heretical and impious books proscribed by the
Holy See ; likewise the power they enjoyed of not ob-
serving the stated fasts, and of eating flesh on fast
days ; likewise the faculty of reciting the prayers called
the canonical hours, and all other like privileges ; our
firm intention being, that they do conform themselves
in all thino's to the manner of livino- of the secular
priests, and to the general rules of the Church.
*' Further, we do ordain, that after the publication of
this our letter, no person do presume to suspend the
execution thereof, under colour, title, or pretence of
any action, appeal, relief, explanation of doubts which
may arise, or any other pretext wliatever, foreseen or
not foreseen. Our will and meaning is, that the sup-
pression and destruction of the said Society, and of all
its parts, shall -have an immediate and instantaneous
effect in the manner here above set forth ; and that
under pain of the greater excommunication, to be im-
mediately incurred by whosoever shall presume to
create the least impediment or obstacle, or delay in
the execution of this our will : the said excommunica-
404 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
tion not to be taken ofF but by ourselves, or our suc-
cessors, the Roman Pontiffs.
" Further, we ordain and command, by virtue of the
holy obedience to all and every ecclesiastical person,
regular and secular, of whatever rank, dignity, and
condition, and especially those who have been hereto-
fore of the said Company, that no one of them do carry
their audacity so far as to impugn, combat, or even
w^rite or speak about the said suppression, or the rea-
sons and motives of it, or about the institute of the
Company, its form of government, or other circum-
stance thereto relating, without an express permission
from the Roman Pontiff, and that under the same
pain of excommunication.
" We forbid all and every one to offend any person
whatever on account of the said suppression, and espe-
cially those who have been members of the said Society,
or to make use of any injurious, malevolent, reproachful,
or contemptuous language towards them, whether
verbally or by writing.
'' We exhort all the Christian princes to exert all that
force, authority, and power which God has given them
for the defence of the holy Roman Church, so that, in
consequence of the respect and veneration which they
owe to the Apostohc See, things may be so ordered,
that these our letters have their full effect, and that
they attentively heeding all the articles therein con-
tained, do pubhsh such ordonnances and regulations as
may prevent all excesses, disputes, and dissensions
among the faithful, whilst they carry this our will into
execution.
*' Finally, we exhort all Christians, and entreat them
by the bowels of our Saviour Jesus Christ, to remember
that we have one Master, who is in heaven, one Saviour,
who has purchased us by his blood ; that we have all
been again born in the water of baptism, through the
w^ord of eternal life ; that we have all been declared
sons of God, and co-heirs with Jesus Christ ; all fed
ABOLITION OF THE ORDER. 405
■with the same bread of the CathoHc doctrine, and of
i\\o Divine Word ; that we are all one body in Jesus
Christ, of which we are members, consequently it is
absolutely necessary that, united by the common bond
of charity, they should live in peace with all men, and
consider it as their first duty to love one another,
remembering that he who lovetli his neighbour ful-
filleth the law, avoiding studiously all occasion of
scandal, enmity, division, and such-like evils, which
w^ere invented and promoted by the ancient enemy of
mankind, in order to disturb the Church of God, and
prevent the eternal happiness of the faithful, under
the false title of schools, opinions, and even of the per-
fection of Christianity. On the contrary, every one
should exert his utmost endeavours to acquire that true
and sincere wisdom of which St James speaks in his
canonical epistle, ch. iii. v. 13.
" Further, our will and pleasure Is, that though the
superiors and other members of the Society, and
others interested therein, have not consented to this
disposition, .have not been cited or heard, still it shall
not at any time be alloAved them to make any observa-
tions on our present letter, to attack or invalidate it,
to demand a further examination of it, to appeal from
it. make it a matter of dispute, to reduce it to the
terms of law, to proceed against it by the means of
restitutionis ad integrum, to open their mouth against
it, to reduce it ad viam et terminos juris, or, in short>
to impugn it by any way whatever, of right or fact,
favour or justice ; and even though these means may
be granted them, and though they should have obtained
them, still they may not make use of them in court or
out of court ; nor shall they plead any flaw, subrep-
tion, obreption, nullity, or invahdity in this letter, or
any other plea, how great, unforeseen, or substantial
it may be, nor the neglect of any form in the above
proceedings, or in any part thereof, nor the neglect of
any point founded on any law or custom, and com-
2 D
406 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
prised in the body of laws, nor even the plea of enormis
enormissimce et totalis Icesionis, nor, in short, any pre-
text or motive, however just, reasonable, or privileged,
not even though the omission of such form or point
should be of such nature as, without the same being
expressly guarded against, would render every other
act invalid. For all this notwithstanding, our will and
pleasure is, that these our letters should for ever and
to all eternity he valid, permanent, and efficacious,
have and obtain their full force and effect, and be in-
violably observed by all and every whom they do or may
concern, now or hereafter, in any manner whatever.
" In like manner, and not otherwise, we ordain that
all the matters here above specified, and every of
them, shall be carried into execution by the ordinary
judge and delegate, whether by the auditor, cardinal,
legate a latere, nuncio, or any other person who has,
or ought to have, authority or jurisdiction in any
matter or suits, taking from all and every of them all
power of interpreting these our letters. And this to
be executed, notwithstanding all constitutions, pri-
vileges, apostolic commands, &c. &c. &c. And though
to render the abolition of these privileges legal they
should have been cited word for word, and not com-
prised only in general clauses, yet for this time, and
of our special motion, we do derogate from this usage
and custom, declaring that all the tenor of the said
privileges is, and is to be supposed, as fully expressed
and abrogated as if they were cited word for word,
and as if the usual form had been observed.
" Lastly, our will and pleasure is, that to all copies of
the present Brief, signed by a notary public, and
sealed by some dignitary of the Church, the same
force and credit shall be given as to this original.
** Given at Rome, at St Mary the Greater,
under the seal of the Fisherman, the
y. 21st day of July 1773, in the fifth year
t of our Pontificate."
ABOLITION OF THE ORDER. 407
Immediately after the promulgation of tliis Brief,
tlie prelates Maccdonio and Alfani, accompanied by
the Corsican soldiers, presented themselves at the
Gesii, called together all the members of the Society,
read to them the Brief of Suppression, and dispersed
them, for the moment, in different ecclesiastical esta-
blishments ; the General Kicci being confined to the
English College. The two prelates, who were mem-
bers of a commission appointed to examine and pro-
ceed in all this important matter, then took possession
of the building, put the seal on all papers and other
valuable things, and left the house in the keeping of
the soldiers. Other commissioners resorted to the
same proceedings in the thirty-one establishments
which the Jesuits possessed in Kome ; while in the
provinces, the bishops received and executed the same
orders. Next morning, the Collegio Romano, and all
the other different schools of the Jesuits, were taken
possession of, and served by the Capuchins. But we
must here observe, that even before the Brief was
published, the Jesuits had been brought before divers
tribunals in Home, and in other parts of the Papal
States, accused and found guilty of various misdemean-
ours ; that several of their houses, as in Bologna
Mecerata Frascati, had been, by the bishops, subjected
to visitation, and some of them shut up ; and that even
the possessions, and all the valuable things of the Col-
legio Romano, had been confiscated to pay creditors.
So that it may be said that even had Ganganelli
wished to preserve the Jesuits, he would have found
it difficult to resist public opinion, which, even in his
own dominions, was so decidedly against the order.
It will be perhaps well to take here a retrospective
glance, and rapidly examine the progressive march of
the famous Society.
As we have seen, ten homeless and penniless enthu-
siasts, under the guidance of a remarkable and supe-
rior intelligence, had decided upon estabhshing a new
408 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
religious order in a country already so infested by
such leprosy, that the Holy See itself had forbidden
the establishment of any new brotherhood. They
were without friends, without supporters; they met
■with many obstacles, which nothing but the courage
and indomitable energy of their chief could enable
them to overcome. They were obliged to beg, from
door to door, a hard piece of bread, and had nothing
to shelter their wearied heads but the roofs of hospi-
tals. Yet all difficulties were vanquished, the Society
was established, and sixteen years after, in 1556, when
Ignatius died, the order numbered more than a thou-
sand members, was estabhshed in thirteen provinces,
and was in possession of many valuable establishments.
A hundred years afterwards, the members of the
Society had increased to twelve thousand, the pro-
vinces to thirty -four, their w^ealth and the number of
their establishments to a very considerable extent.
Already, at this epoch, they boasted of having three
saints, eight or ten martyrs, and ten or twelve of
Loyola's disciples had sat in the College of Cardinals.
At the time of the Suppression, the Society numbered
thh^ty-nine houses of professed members, 669 colleges,
61 novitiates, 196 seminaries, 335 residences, 223 mis-
sions, and 22,782 members, dispersed all over the
surface of the earth. The order then reckoned, as
its chief glory, in the register of its members, 24 car-
dinals, 6 electors of the empire, 19 princes, 21 arch-
bishops, 121 titular bishops (so much for the article in
the Constitutions which forbids the member to accept of
any dignity), 11 martyrs, and 9 saints.
- We wish we could give, with an equal degree of
exactness, the amount of their fortune, raised by some
to a fabulous amount, and by others represented as
very insignificant. Kevcrthcless, we shall try to come
to a fair estimate of the whole, from what we know,
from their own confession, to have been a part of it.
Cretincau gives a very minute detail of the fortune
ABOLITION OP THE ORDER.
40J>
possessed by tlio Jesuits in France; and the total sum,
according to his calcuhxtions, amounted to 58 millions
of francs.* In the same vohnnc, at page 303, the
same historian says that the fortune tlie fathers pos-
sessed in Spain was much more considerable — heau-
conpplus considerable — than that they had in France;
let us, then, say 80 millions ; while that which they
possessed in Austria, according to the same authority,
amounted to 125 millions.f So that the total sum of
their fortunes in those three estates amounted, by their
OAvn account, to 263 millions of francs. We, who know
almost all the establishments they had in Italy, do not
hesitate to say that what they possessed there amounted
to an equal sum, 2G3. Now, let us add to these 526
millions their otlier possessions in Belgium, Poland, in
the remainder of Germany, in Portugal, in other small
states, and in those rich mercantile estabhshments in
both Indies, and we think it may be boldly asserted
that their fortune amounted, in the whole, to a sura
certainly not short of 40 miUions sterling. So much
for the article of the Constitution recommending hohj
2^overty as the huhuarh of religion. To this prodigious
and almost incredible amount of property — which, how-
ever, was not all productive, part of it consisting in:
houses and colleges — the reverend fathers added the
annual income arising from pensions, or incomes
assigned by princes, towns, or chapters for the main-
tenance of divers colleges, some of which assignments
-were so considerable as to amount to £3000 yearly.
Besides this, they had the annual revenues arising from
the presents which twice a year they received from
two or three hundred thousand pupils; the emoluments
received by some of them as private tutors, agents, or
stewards of great families; and, lastly, the alms ! ! !
Is not that a wonderful and astonishing fact, which
proves forcibly the cunning and cleverness of those
monks, wdio, to appearance, had nothing at heart but
* Cret. vol. V. p. 275. t Ibid. p. 390.
410 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS,
the conversion of souls and the gratuitous education
of children, and who were able, in the space of 230
years, to accumulate the immense sum of forty millions
sterling ?
However, when RiccI was examined, he swore that
he had no hidden treasures nor money laid out at
interest; and we suppose that the good father, not
to tell an untruth, must have added secretly after the
words, we have no hidden treasures, " in the places
where you have looked for them, or where you sup-
posed them to exist." We know, however, that after
the Jesuits had been driven from France, Spain,
Naples, and Parma, " they were so terrified, that
Father Delci started instantly for Leghorn, carrying
off the treasures of the order, with the intention of
transporting them to England ; but the General, who
was less pusillanimous, stopped him in his flight."*
What then became of all the moneys and valuable
things which the Jesuits possessed, since little or
nothing was found in their establishments? This is
a mystery which we are not able to explain. AVe
can conceive, and every one may easily imagine, that
the Jesuits, who, during the last twelve years of their
existence, expected to be suppressed from day to day,
were not so simple as to leave their transportable
wealth at the mercy of their enemies ; but we would
not hesitate to affirm that the Society must have pos-
sessed a large treasure at the time, though, what
became of it, we cannot say. Indeed they were so
cautious, and so eager to accumulate specie, that for
many years the revenues of the CoUeglo Romano were
not employed for its maintenance, and the fathers pre-
ferred having their immovable possessions confiscated
to pay its debts, in heu of disbursing money. We know-
also, that when they were re-established in 1814, they
at once got up their establishments in the most
splendid style, and soon after made many acquisitions,
* St Priest, p. 50.
ABOLITION OF THE ORDER. 411
How did tlicy come by the means by whicli all tliis
was eftected ? Was it the ancient treasure ? and who
had it in charge during all the forty years of their
legal suppression ? This rather resembles a romance
than pure historical truth, and we have no means
whatever of elucidating it.
Meanwhile a commission was named to commence
proceedings against Kicci and some others of his
brethren. The old General, when interrogated, an-
swered with sufficient simplicity, and without any
apparent resentment. lie enlarged on the innocence
of the Society, and protested that he had neither con-
cealed nor lent out at interest any money ; and of all
the accusations that were brought against him, he only
admitted that he had a correspondence with the King
of Prussia ; we shall see afterwards for what purpose.
About two months after, Ricci, the assistants, the
secretary of the order, the Fathers Favre, Forrestier,
Gautier, and some others, were sent to the Castel St
Angelo, the state prison. The crimes of which they
were accused and convicted were, that they had at-
tempted, both by insinuations, and by more open
eiforts, to stir up a revolt in their own favour against the
Apostolic See; that they had published and circulated
throughout all Europe libels against the Pope, one
of which had for its title, De Simoniaca electione fra-
tris Ganganellii in Suinmum Pontificem — Simonia-
cal electicii of brother Ganganelli to the office of Chief
Pontiff; while Favre, Forrestier, and Gautier were
loudly repeating everywhere that the Pope was the
Antichrist, and that the live cardinals of the com-
mission were to be compared to the five propositions
of Jansenius.* And in the follo^Ying chapter, we shall
see that they did not confine their anger to threaten-
ings and imprecations.
* Botta Storia cCItalia cont. da quella del Guic. 4S. See also Gio-
berti, vol. iii. p. 391, and fl".
412 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
CHAPTER XYIL
1774.
DEATH OF CLEMENT XIV.
DuRiNa the struggle which Clement had to undergo
before the suppression of the order, his health, as
we have seen, had been injured, and his gay, placid
humour much altered. But the moment he had af-
fixed his signature to the document, after pronouncing
those foreboding prophetic words, " This suppression
will cause our death" — wrung from his heart by
the knowledge he had of the enemies he was going
to offend, as if those words were the last doleful
thought he was going to give to the subject — he be-
came an altered man, or, to speak more correctly, he
again became the saaie good-humoured, mild, and
affable monk he had ever been. Tlie facility with
which his orders were executed filled him also with
extraordinary joy. '*' His health is perfect, and his
gaiety more remarkable than usual," wrote Bernis on
the 3d of November 1773. Whatever discontent the
nobles and the cardinals may have felt, they remained
silent spectators of the event; and the generality of
the citizens of Bome, and, in particular, the Transtevc-
rini, hailed the Pope with loud acclamations. In vain
did the conquering party foment a revolt; Rome re-
mained tranquil; Clement was dehghted; and, as if to
compensate for the sad moments he had passed, and
the irascible humour he had shewn, his character
7l^?-2^^i^.
DEATH OF CLEMENT XIV. 413
became still more joyful, and almost infantine. Ono
day, followed by the Sacred College and all the ]io-
man prelates, lie went on horseback to the Church
La Minerva. Suddenly a heavy rain came on ; Por-
porati Monsignori all vanished, and the light horse-
nTcn themselves sought shelter. The Pope, left alone,
and laughing at the terrors of his escort, proceeded
bravely on his way amidst the storm, and the people
were delighted at the sight, and loud in their ap-
plause.*
All the authors are unanimous on this point, and
agree in representing Ganganelli as full of vigour,
and enjoying the most perfect health. " The Pope,"
says Botta, " enjoyed rather good health, because he
was of a strong constitution, and his natural strength
had not been wasted by an intemperate and licentious
life ; for, on the contrary, he had always lived with
frugality and moderation, according to his own natural
inclination."t And the ex- Jesuit Georgel, who cer-
tainly can be accused of anything but partiality to
the suppressor of his order, says " that Ganganelli's
strong constitution seemed to promise him a long
career."! Nevertheless, in spite of appearances, sinis-
ter rumours were afloat not only in Pome, but
throughout all Italy. At the very time that the
Pope was seen in the public ceremonies, in all the
churches and everywhere else, enjoying the most per-
fect health and strength, the rumour of his death was
widely circulated. The Pythoness of Valentano an-
nounced it with a characteristic obstinacy ; and a
Jesuit, writing to a brother of the order, and relating
such impious predictions, says, Aj^lica ut fiat sys-
tema.§
Nor was it long before the ominous predictions
were reahsed. This man, represented by everybody
* St Priest, p. 89. f Botta, ubi supra.
X Georgel, Mcmoircs, vol. i. p. 160. Apx^d St Priest, i?. 90.
§ Gioberti, quoting Florida Blanca, vol, iii. p. 394.
414 HISTORY OP THE JESUITS.
as strong and healthy, suddenly, on the approach of
the holy week of 1774, some eight months after the
signature of the Brief, was taken ill, confined to his
palace, and unable to grant any audience, even to the
diplomatic body. What had happened to Clement,
who, when on the 17th of August the ambassadors of
the great powers were admitted into his presence,
appeared a mere skeleton? Whence such strange
and fatal change? The answer to these questions
will appear from the following statement of facts.
One day, on rising from table, the Pope felt an in-
ternal shock, followed by a great cold ; and although
he was for a moment alarmed, he soon recovered from
his fright, and attributed his indisposition to indigestion.
But soon after, the voice of the Pope, which had always
been full and sonorous, was lost in a singular hoarse-
ness ; an inflammation in his throat compelled him to
keep his mouth continually open. He had repeated
attacks of vomiting, and felt such feebleness in his
limbs, that he was obliged to discontinue his long habi-
tual walks. His step became interrupted by sharp
pains, and at length he could not find any rest at all.
An entire prostration of strength suddenly succeeded a
degree of even youthful activity and vigour ; and the
sad conviction that his fears were realised, and that
his life had been attempted, seized upon Clement, and
rendered him strange even to his own eyes. His cha-
racter was changed as by magic. The equability of
his temper gave place to caprice, his gentleness to
passion, and his natural easy confidence to continual
distrust and suspicion. He saw poison and poniards
everywhere. Sometimes, under the conviction that he
had been poisoned, he increased his malady by ineffi-
cacious antidotes; at other moments, in the hope of
escaping an evil which he imagined not yet accom-
plished, he would feed upon dishes prepared by his
own hands. His blood became corrupted, and the
close atmosphere of his apartments, which he would
DEATH OP CLEMENT XIV. 415
not quit, agi^ravated the effects of an unwliolesonic
diet. In this disorder of his ph^^sical system his
moral strength gave way ; all trace of the former
Ganganelli disappeared ; and even his reason became
disordered. He was haunted by phantoms in his short
moments of rest ; and, in the silence of night, he started
up continually, as if dreams of horror had struck his
imagination. Often he ran from one place to another
as if ho was pursued, exclaiming, as in the act of
asking mere}'', *' Compulsus feci ! compidsus feci /" — I
have been compelled !* Indeed, that his reason had
abandoned him, is generally believed ; and Pius VII.,
when prisoner at Fontainebleau in 1814, exclaimed
that he should die mad, as Clement XIV. These words
are reported by Cardinal Pacca, a fellow- prisoner of
Pius.f Ganganelli passed seven months in this dread-
ful state ; at last his reason resumed its sway. For a •
while he shewed himself superior to his terrors and
infirmities. " He resumed some tranquillity," says
Botta, -"as generally happens some moments before
man arrives at the last moment of his life, as a warning
of God to mortals to think of their own affairs in that
last moment. Already the attendants were rejoicing
as if their master was returning to life ; but the calm
was the forerunner of death. The fatal signs soon
re-appeared, and on the 22d September Ganganelli
breathed his last — giving back his courageous soul to
Him from whom he had received it.":j:
The Pomans heard of the Pope's demise with indif-
ference, as of an event daily expected ; but the Jesuits
* St Priest, p, 91, and following. All these details of the illness and
death of Ganganelli we have taken from St Priest, adding now and then
some particulars which we have found in other writers. Bat St Priest
is the best authority on the subject. He has drawn from original
sources — the Letters of Bernis, of Florida Blanca, the History of Botta
Gorani Caraccioli — and has condensed his materials into a most accurate
and impartial narrative. It would be useless, then, either to send back
our readers to those authors, or to endeavour to analyse them ourselves.
We shall, then, be contented with some reflections or deductions at the
proper place.
t Ibid. X Botta, uhi supra.
416 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
and their partisans gave an indecent and unblushing ex-
pression to their joy, conveyed in the most infamous and
sacrilegious satires, which they carried themselves from
place t^ place ; and this circumstance, together with
what was known of GanganelU's illness, left no doubts
whatever in the people's minds that the unfortunate
Clement had died by poison. " The human mind,"
says Gioberti, *• is reluctant to believe in certain atro-
cious crimes, and I confess that I have hesitated to
believe the sect guilty of the death of Ganganelli; nor
have I consented to beheve it till forced by the evi-
dence of the facts."* Although our opinion exactly
coincides with that of our illustrious countryman, yet
we shall put the facts and documents under the eyes
of our readers, and let them form a judgment for
themselves.
What was Clement's illness? How did his strong
and healthy constitution undergo such an instantaneous
and fatal change? And what complaint brought him
to his grave ? The partisans of the Jesuits, and some
not very well informed historians, as Gorani, for ex-
ample, Schoel, and others, deny that GanganelU met
with foul play. Georgel pretends that he died of re-
morse — that he made a full retractation ; and, in proof
of this, he points to his habitual exclamation, " Com-
jnilsusfeci /" Of his retractation we shall not speak.
It is contested by every historian ; no mention is made
of it except in the writings of the ex-Jesuit Georgel and
his followers, who cannot produce a single proof or
witness of their assertion. But is it true, at least,^ that
the remorse, which had rendered him mad, asCretineau
affirms, brought him to the grave? AVe question
whether the Jesuits can make good this other as-
sertion. How can it be affirmed that Clement died
of remorse, since, during eight long months after
he had signed the Brief, he enjoyed not only his
ordinary health and calmness, but was, on the con-
* Gioberti, vol iii. p. 392. .
DEATH OF CLEMENT XIV. 417
trary, more playful than ever? How came the re-
morse at such a late hour? What new crime had
lie committed in the interval? Does remorse admit
of postponement? Docs remorse produce all tlic
physical diseases with Avhich Ganganclli was suddenly
affected ? Tlie extinction of voice, the inllannnation
of tlie throat, vomiting, complete prostration of
strength — are these the symptoms of remorse? It is
true that he often exclaimed '■ Comjmlsiis feci!" and
asked for mercy ; but the unfortunate man asked for
mercy from his assassins, not from the Supreme Judge.
In his delirium, he supplicated his murderers to spare
him ; not to repeat the dose ; or to administer to him
some antidote, that his sufferings might cease. " Spare
me ! spare me !" he repeated; " I have been forced to
the act, not so much, indeed, by the sovereigns, as by
your own iniquities. Spare me, spare me these hor-
rible sufferings!" he cried to everybody, and called
upon his cherished Madonna to entreat for him, and
to put an end to his tortures. Are dehrium and in-
sanity consequences of remorse, or rather the effects
of several poisons — the belladonna, for example ?
But let us see what other symptoms preceded and
accompanied his death, and we shall be better able to
judge of the equality of the illness which brought him
to his grave.
" Several days before his death, his bones were
exfoliated and withered — to use the forcible expression
of Caraccioli — like a tree which, struck at the root,
dies away, and sheds its bark. The scientific men who
were called in to embalm his body, found the features
livid, the lips black, the abdomen intlated, the limbs
emaciated, and covered with violet spots ; the size of the
heart was much diminished, and all the muscles de-
tached and decomposed in the spine. They filled the
body with perfumes and aromatic substances; but
nothing would dispel the mephitic exhalations. The
entrails burst the vessels in which they were deposited;
418 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
and when his pontifical robes were taken from his body,
a great portion of the skin adhered to them. The
hair of his head remained entire upon the velvet pil-
lows upon which he rested, and w4th the slightest
friction his nails fell off."* The sight of Ganganelli's
dead body was quite sufficient to satisfy every one as
to the sort of death he had met with. It chd not even
retain those lineaments which nature leaves to our
remains at the moment when death seizes upon them,
and the funeral obsequies convinced all Rome that
Clement XIV. had perished by the acqua to/ana of
Perugia.f
However, Dr Sallcetti, the apostolic physician, and
Adinolfi, Clement's ordinary doctor, on the II th of
December, three months after Ganganelli's death, gave
in a long joroce.5 verbal, declaring that it was false that
the Pope had been poisoned ; but they adduced no
proofs wdiatever, and explained the fact of the body's
corruption by such strange and suspicious reasons, as
rather to strengthen than diminish the opinion of those
who thought differently. The fact is, that in Rome,
after the doctors' statement was made public, even the
few who had some doubts as to the cause of this
mysterious death, were now firmly of opinion that the
Jesuits had poisoned the poor Pope. Gioberti, among
other proofs which he adduces of the poisoning of
Ganganelli, names a Dr Bonelli, famous for learning
and probity, almost an ocular witness of the facts, who
had often asserted to many persons still living that
there was no doubt that Ganganelli had been poisoned.
But there is a witness far more respectable and
trustworthy, who puts the question beyond doubt:
* St Priest, p. 92.
+ It is a popular tradition, and, indeed, not at all unfounded, that in
Perugia some persons liad the secret of composing a sort of water which,
when drunk, produced certain death, although life was prolonged for
more or less space of time, according to the quantity and strength of the
dose given. The nuns, in particular, had a sad celebrity for composing
this drug.
DEATH OP CLEMENT XIV. 419
that witness is Bernls ; and no one that knows any-
thins: of the loyalty and nnbleness of his character,
would ever dare to impugn his testimony in an atl'air
of such mairnitude, when he, as ambassador, gives an
account to his court of facts of which he was an eye-
witness. Bernis, during the illness of the Pope, while
every other person believed that Clement had met
with foul play, alone had doubts ; and his very hesita-
tion, which proves his candour, leads him more surely
to the discovery of the truth, which he attains step
by step.*
"^ On the 28th of August, twenty-four days before
Ganganelli's death, he wrote to the French minister :
" Those who judge imprudently, or with malice, see
nothing natural in the condition of the Pope ; reason-
ings and suspicions are hazarded with the greater fa-
cility, as certain atrocities are less rare in this country
than in many others." Six days after the Pope's
demise, on the 28tli of September, he wrote : " The
nature of the Pope's malady, and, above all, the cir-
cumstances attending his death, give rise to a common
belief that it has not been from natural causes. . . .
Thy physicians who assisted at the opening of the
body are cautious in their remarks, and the surgeons
speak with less circumspection. It is better to credit
the account of the former than to pry into a truth of
too afflicting a nature, and which it would perhaps be
distressing to discover." A month after, Bernis'
doubts are vanished, and on the 26th of October he
writes : " When others shall come to know as much
as I do, from certain documents which the late Pope
communicated to me, the suppression will be deemed
very just and very necessary. The circumstances
which have preceded, accompanied, and followed
the death of the late Pope, excite equal horror
and compassion. . . , I am now collecting together
the true circumstances attending the malady and
* St Priest, p. 93.
420 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
death of Clement XIV.,* who, the Vicar of Jesus
Christ, prayed, hke the Redeemer, for his most im-
placable enemies ; and who carried his conscientious-
ness so far, as scarcely to let escape him the cruel
suspicions which preyed upon his mind since the close
of the holy week, the period when his malady seized
him. The truth cannot be concealed from the king,
sad as it may be, which will be recorded in history."
But there is another and a more imposing testimony
to the fact — that of Pope Pius VI., the successor of
Clement XIV. ; it is transmitted to us also by Bernis,
who speaks in the following cool and dispassionate
terms, more than three years after the death of Gan-
ganelh. He wrote on the 26th of October 1777, sm
follows : — " I know better than any one how far the
affection of Pius VI. for the ex-Jesuits extends ; but
he keeps on terms with them rather than love them,
because fear has greater influence on his mind and
heart than friendship. . . . The Pope has certain
moments of franlcness, in which his true sentiments
shew themselves. I shall never forget three or four
effusions of his heart which he betrayed when with
me, by which I can judge that he was well aware of
the unhappy end of his predecessor, and that he was
anxious not to run the same risks." f
Such was the end of a man born with the best pos-
sible dispositions, and endowed with truly noble and
amiable qualities. His spirit of tolerance, above all,
deserves the highest euloo-ium. He tolerated all sorts
of opinions, provided they were expressed in decorous
lano-uao-e : and althouo-h he condemned the doctrines
of the philosophers, he kept on good terms with them.
He would not, as Benedict XIV. had done, write to
Voltaire ; but, in answer to some sporting jests made
upon his person, which were reported to him, he inti-
mated to the Patriarch of Ferney, through his old
* St Priest could not find those documents anywlicre.
t See all those letters iu St Priest, p. 93, aud ibllowiug.
DEATH OF CLEMENT XIV. 421
friend De Bcrnls, tliat lie ''would willingly take him
to his heart, provided he would end by becoming a
good Capuchin." *
GangancUi was, no doubt, a man incapable of
governing under difficult circumstances. He had
neither energy nor skill enough in handling diffi-
culties, and he placed all his merits in evading them.
But his moderation, his genuine spirit of tolerance,
the purity of his morals, his modesty, his benevolence,
deserve tlie sincerest respect, and his deplorable death
n lasting compassion. f
* Sfc Priest, p. 78.
+ It is commonly reported in Italy, and it is also believed in France,
that on the day commemorating Ganganelli's death, every year, the
Jesuits, at least those who are deep in the secrets of the order, assemble
in a room, and, after one of them has addressed a volley of curses and
imprecations against Clement's memory, every person present pierces his
image with a poniard. We repeat the popular belief, without, however,
warrantuig its correctness.
2 B
420 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
death of Clement XIV.,* who, the Vicar of Jesus
Christ, prayed, hke the Redeemer, for his most im-
placable enemies ; and who carried his conscientious-
ness so far, as scarcely to let escape him the cruel
suspicions which preyed upon his mind since the close
of the holy week, the period when his malady seized
him. The truth cannot be concealed from the king,
sad as it may be, which will be recorded in history."
But there is another and a more imposing testimony
to the fact — that of Pope Pius VI., the successor of
Clement XIV. ; it is transmitted to us also by Bernis,
who speaks in the fohowing cool and dispassionate
terms, more than three years after the death of Gan-
gancUi. He wrote on the 26th of October 1777, as
follows : — " I know better than any one how far the
affection of Pius VI. for the ex- Jesuits extends ; but
he keeps on terms with them rather than love them,
because fear has greater influence on his mind and
heart than friendship. . . . The Pope has certain
moments of frankness, in which his true sentiments
shew themselves. I shall never forget three or four
effusions of his heart which he betrayed when with
me, by which I can judge that he was well aware of
the unhappy end of his predecessor, and that he was
anxious not to run the same risks." f
Such was the end of a man born with the best pos-
sible dispositions, and endowed with truly noble and
amiable qualities. His spirit of tolerance, above all,
deserves the highest eulogium. He tolerated all sorts
of opinions, provided they were expressed in decorous
language ; and although he condemned the doctrines
of the philosophers, he kept on good terms with them.
He would not, as Benedict XIV. had done, write to
Voltaire ; but, in answer to some sporting jests made
upon his person, which were reported to him, he inti-
mated to the Patriarch of Ferney, through his old
* St Priest could not find those documents anywhere.
t See all those letters iu St Priest, p. 93, aud ibllowiug.
DEATH OF CLEMENT XIV. 421
friend De Bcrnis, tliat lie '' would willingly take liim
to his heart, provided he would end by becoming a
good Capuchin." *
GangancUi was, no doubt, a man incapable of
governing under difficult circumstances. He had
neitlier energy nor skill enough in handling diffi-
culties, and he placed all his merits in evading them.
But his moderation, his genuine spirit of tolerance,
the purity of his morals, his modesty, his benevolence,
deserve tlie sincerest respect, and his deplorable death
a lasting compassion.f
* St Priest, p. 78.
+ It is cciuimonly reported in Italy^, and it is also believed in Fnince,
tliat on the day commemorating Ganganelli's death, every year, the
Jesuits, at least those -who are deep in the secrets of tlie order, assemble
in a room, and, after one of them has addressed a volley of curses and
imprecations against Clement's memory, every person present pierces his
image with a poniard. We repeat the popular belief, v^ithout, however,
warranting its correctness.
2 B
424 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
me that this treaty resembles miicli that of the wolves
with the sheep, which were obliged, as a principal
condition, to give up their dogs. Every one knows
liow they fared for this. However, it will be singular,
sire, that while their most Christian, most Catholic,
most Apostolic, and most Faithful majesties endeavour
to destroy the grenadiers of the most Holy See, your
most heretic majesty should be the only one who
wishes to preserve them."
This letter was written, as may be seen, before the
suppression, and many other missives were addressed
to Berlin b}^ D'Alembert after the Brief was issued.
When the Jesuits of Silesia, refusing to obey the
Papal orders, remained in their convents and houses
as before, and acted as if nothing had happened,
D'Alembert, on the 10th of December 1773, wrote to
Frederick, telling him that he " wished that neither
he nor his successors might ever have cause to repent
of granting an asylum to intriguers, and that these
men might prove more faithful than they had been in
the last war of Silesia." Another time, sneering at
Frederick's condescension, he says, that " he much
doubted whether the Jesuits would ever pay his majesty
the honour of admitting him to their order, as they
did the great Louis XIV., though he could well have
dispensed with it, and the poor, miserable James H.,
who was much more fit to be a Jesuit than a king."
— January 1774. And passing from personal argu-
ments to more general considerations, he says : " It is
not on your majesty's account that I dread the re-
establishmcnt of these formerly self-styled Jesuits, as
the late Parliament of Paris called them. What harm,
indeed, could they do to a prince whom the Austrians,
the Imperialists, the French, and the Swedes united,
have been unable to deprive of a single village ? But
I am alarmed, sire, lest other princes, who have not
the same power as you have to make head against all
Europe, and who have weeded out this poisonous hem-
THE JESUITS DURING THEIR SUPrRESSION. 425
lock from their gardens, sliould one day take a fancy
to come to you and borrow seed to scatter their ground
anew. I earnestly hope your majesty will issue an
edict to forbid for ever the exportation of Jesuitic
grain, which can thrive nowhere but in your do-
minions."*
Frederick remained unmoved ; and when the Roman
Catholic Archbishop of Breslau, thinking it was his
duty to see the orders of the Holy See obeyed, at-
tempted to interdict the Jesuits, the king interfered,
contiscated the bishopric, and haughtily proclaimed
that the fathers were under his protection. Then
all throughout Silesia sprung up a great number of
houses and colleges, and Jesuits assembled here from
all quarters. It was on this occasion that the old Vol-
taire, laughing at his quondam disciple's strange con-
duct, exclaimed that " it would divert him beyond
measure to think of Frederick as General of the
Jesuits, and that he hoped that this would inspire the
Pope with the idea of becoming mufti." |
Meanwhile, the courts of France and Spain were
pressing Ganganelli's successor to execute rigorously
the Brief of Suppression, pointing out all the diiferent
places, and especially Prussia, where the Jesuits were
still in existence and prospering, and asking, not
without a certain arrogance, the Pope to comply with
their wishes. But the reigning Pontiff was not a man
to be easily frightened. To the humble, plain, unpre-
tending monk had succeeded, on the chair of St Peter,
Ange Braschi, a prince in the best acceptance of the
word. In the Conclave, he, after a long struggle be-
tween the two parties, had re-united the votes of both,
as a man really indifferent to all political intrigues,
but possessing in the highest degree qualities which
commanded esteem and admiration, and as one who
could restore to the low-fallen tiara some of its ancient
* D'Alembert to Frederick. April 2i, 177^.
t St Priest, p. Ui,
426 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
splendour ; and if any man could accomplish such a
miracle, Braschi was indeed the man. In all his per-
sonal qualities shone forth something royal and great.
Tall, handsome, with a slightly bald forehead, his
features were impressed with majesty, tempered by a
sweet and serene expression. His expenditure was
royal, his magnificence such as Rome had not witnessed
since the time of Leo X. His ideas were lofty and
great, his love for the arts enlightened and persever-
ino'. Many are the monuments which he has left to
posterity of his love for the arts and for useful enter-
prises. He formed and enriched the museum begun
under his directions in the Pontificate of Clement,
which, as we said, bears the name of Museo Pio-Cle-
mentino, and which is the greatest wonder of modern
times. He spent an immense sum of money to prevent
the entire fall of the Coliseum. He attempted, though
with little success, to drain the Pontine Marshes, and
was a generous friend and protector of all literary per-
sons. In his capacity of Pope, Pius VI. — such was
the name he assumed — was also extraordinary.
While he opposed every reform, even the most neces-
sary and urgent, and decided upon taking the
singular step of going himself — the Pope — to Vienna
to dissuade Joseph II. from accomplishing them, in
Rome, the churches and his own chapel were filled
with persons of all religions, to whom Pius granted the
same protection and favour as to his own subjects.
In regard to the Jesuits, in which we are
more particularly interested, Braschi, according to
Bernis, neither loved nor hated them. He was per-
suaded that they had poisoned Ganganelli ; and as he
set an immense value on his own life, he would not
endanger it by following the example of his prede-
cessor. It seems that Pius, naturally of a benevolent
disposition, pitied them ; and, if he had not feared to
irritate the Bourbons, would perhaps have bettered
their condition. Under him the Jesuits made Titanic
THE JESUITS DURING THEIIl SUPPRESSION. 42?
efforts to rcf^ain the position they had lost. They as-
sembled in Rome, and set at work every engine which
was still at their disposal, to attain their desired ob-
ject ; but in vain. Florida Blanca was implacable in his
hatred toward the disciples of Loyola, and, as we have
said, made the strongest remonstrances against the
favour which he pretended was shewn to the Jesuits by
the Court of Rome. Braschia,as we say, was not so pusil-
lanimous as Ganganelli, and those intrigues or diplomatic
negotiations were not able to affect him so much as to dis-
turb his constant placid serenity ; yet he thought proper
to do something to appease the Bourbons, and live on
good terms with everybody. He accordingly sent a
copy of the remonstrances he had received from Spain
and France to Frederick, asking him to withdraw his
protection from those monks whom the Holy See had
condemned. Frederick's satiric spirit must have re-
joiced to see the Pope implore him to disperse Roman
Catholic votaries; but he answered scornfully, as a
great monarch aware of his rights and dignity. The
Pope insisted anew with infinite management, till at
last Frederick, while maintaining the Jesuits in all
their revenues and charges, consented that they should
change their garb. The Pope, satisfied perhaps with
this solution, wrote to the King of Spain : " I have
done all in my power; but the King of Prussia is
master in his own dominions."
The accurate and impartial historian of the fall of
the Jesuits, in an admirably well written chapter, ex-
plains the conduct of Frederick, in supporting the
Jesuits, by the fact, that the Prussian monarch
had got angry with the philosophers, when the
latter, not content with attacking the Christian
religion, set to work to destroy monarchy, and
ridicule every noble sentiment which had till then
been held sacred. He says that not only Frederick,
but almost all the ministers of other princes, if not
the princes themselves, and the aristocracy, far from
428 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
restraining the audacity of the philosophers, had, to
follow the fashion, made it a point of honour to
encourage and protect it while attacking religion and
priestcraft ; but when they, leaving the churches and
cloisters, penetrated into the antechambers and state-
rooms, and their attacks became personal, then the
great of the world, who had treated Christ and the
Apostles with irreverence, would not endure the like
towards themselves. lie says, moreover, that when
the school of D'Holbach produced the too famous work,
the Systhne de la Nature, Frederick's indignation
knew no bounds. In this book, in fact, written by
thirty clever, daring, and excited individuals, nothing
"was left standing : " each of them found something to
take to pieces ; one began upon the soul ; another, the
body ; one attacked paternal love, gratitude, con-
science ; all subjects were examined, dissected, dis-
puted, denied, condemned loudly without appeal. It
was a kind of Old Testament, which prefigured the
new by types and symbols. . . . Frederick read
this hideous but prophetic book ; a fatal light gleamed
across his mind, and made him dread the future." *
All this is admirably w^ell said ; and by the answer
which the King of Prussia made to the Sijsteme de la
Nature, it clearly appears that Frederick would not
go the length of the new school, and wished to have
nothing more to do with them.
But, with all deference to the noble writer, we can-
not see what connexion existed between the King of
Prussia fearing the downfal of monarchical government
and the protection he granted to the Jesuits. Does
the French historian pretend to affirm that Frederick,
the clear-sighted and remarkably sensible Frederick,
considered the Jesuits in the light in wliich they them-
selves desired to be viewed, namely, as the foremost
defenders of the throne and the altar ? We scarcely
should have believed St Priest capable of attributing
* St Priest, p. 155.
THE JESUITS DURING THEIR SUPPRESSION. 429
to such a man as Frederick so erroneous a notion, yet
Ills -words leave little doubt that this is the opinion ho
attributed to his majesty. But, it may bo asked, if
this is not the case, how, then, shall we account for
the favour bestowed by the Prussian monarch on
those detested monks? We believe that, by assignino:,
as the efficient and principal causes, those which St
Priest, in a dubitable tone, esteems only as secondary,
we should be nearer the truth. The first of those
reasons is to be found in what the king wrote
himself to D'Alembert : "I did not offer," said he,
" my protection to the Jesuits while they were power-
ful, 'but in their adversity: I consider them as learned
men, whom it would be extremely difficult to replace
to educate youth. This most important object ren-
ders them most valuable in my eyes ; for, among all
the Cathohc clergy in my kingdom, the Jesuits alone
are given to letters ; " and this was true as regarded
the newly-acquired province of Silesia. The other
all-powerful and efficient reason, which the French
writer little insists upon, is, that Frederick wished,
through the agency of the Jesuits, to gain the good-
will of those Poles whom he had so sliamefuUy be-
trayed. We have seen what immense influence the
Jesuits possessed over the Poles. It is known what
authority they exercised everywhere over ignorant
and bigoted Papists. Frederick knew this, and was
very well aware that the Jesuits, who had no other
asylum but his estates, would, without being asked, of
their own free-will, do their utmost to persuade the
unfortunate Poles who had been despoiled of their
nationality, and who had been set up in lots as the booty
of a conquered town, to endure patiently the yoke of
the new master /or their own personal interest and
the greater glory of God. This was the all-powerful
motive which induced Frederick to stand forth as the
protector of a brotherhood for which he could not have
any sort of esteem, but which he in no way feared.
430 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
The same motive induced Catherine 11. to gra-nt
them a refuge and protection in her estates, and espe-
cially in White Russia, formerly a province of Poland,
but which, in the partition, had fallen to the lot of the
Russian sovereign.
Nor was Catherine deceived in her expectation.
The Jesuits at first proved of immense service to her.
Before the first partition of the unfortunate Poland in
1772, the fathers resided at Polotsk, in a magnificent
college, surrounded by an immense tract of land, cul-
tivated for the fathers' benefit by more than ten
thousand serfs, partly on the right and partly on the
left bank of the river Dwina. After the Brief of Sup-
pression, the Jesuits found themselves either obhged
to submit to the sentence of the Holy See, and cease
to exist as a body, or to accept the offered protection
of Catherine. They embraced the latter alternative,
abandoned the left bank of the Dwina, which was
still Polish, for the right bank, which was now Russian,
and there not only preserved their garb and their
name, but obtained the favour that the Brief of Suppres-
sion should not be published in all the Russian states.
From that moment, setting at defiance the Papal autho-
rity, those monks, who, as a religious community,
could have no existence without the consent of Rome,
estabhshed in Russia a sort of patriarchate, a supreme
seat of the Roman Catholic religion, represented by
individuals who, by a solemn decision of the supreme
chief of this same religion, were excommunicated and
out of its pale.
Meanwhile, Ricci was dying in the state prison of
Castel St Angelo. Pius VI. had not dared to set him
at liberty, but had rendered his captivity as support-
able as possible. Yet the old man expired in Novem-
ber 1775. making an insignificant testament, exculpat-
ing the Society from every charge which had been
brought against it.*
* See this Testament in Cr^tineau, vol. v. p. 401, and ff.
THE JESUITS DimiNG THEIR SUPPRESSIOX. 431
The Jesuits in Russia, some time after they had
heard of tlie death of llicci, convened a general
conoTcgation to elect a vicar-general, with fall au-
thority over all those members who should consider
themselves as Jesuits. This being accomplished, they
pitched upon a man worthy of their protection, Sies-
trencewiecz, formerly a Calvinist, now a priest of equi-
vocal orthodoxy, as are all those converts who have left
their former religion from motives of personal interest
or consideration ; and through his agency they trusted to
revive the Society. This is the method they adopted :
They prevailed upon Catherine to nominate him
Bishop of Mohilow, and have one of their number,
Benislawski, appointed his coadjutor. The latter,
supported by the authority of the empress, proceeded
to Home, boldly presented himself at the Vatican, and
required the Pope to grant the Pallium to Siestrence-
wiecz, the man whom they had chosen as bishop ; and
as he could not at first get admittance to the Pope's
presence, he firmly declared, that, should he spend his
whole life in the antechamber, he would not quit it until
he was satisfied on every point. And he succeeded in
his mission. Now, this Siestrencewiecz, who was after-
wards named Legate for White Russia, at once per-
mitted the Jesuits to erect a novitiate, and to receive
candidates for the Society, regardless of any other
consideration but that of pleasing his protectors. The
Nuncio of Warsaw, and the Court of Rome, on hear-
ing of such an abuse of authority, reproached him
with this violation of the Papal decrees, and menaced
him with interdiction ; but Catherine took him under
her protection, and upheld him with all her power.
And thus was presented the singular spectacle of a
Popish prelate denounced by the Holy See for uphold-
ing a sect of priests accounted the most fervent Roman
Catholics, while he was defended by a princess for
affording protection to these same priests, who, as
devotees of Rome, were the bitter enemies of her own
432 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
faith. The Jesuits, emboldened by the favour they
obtained in Russia, acted entirely at their own discre-
tion, conferred upon the Vicar- General the title and
the absolute authority of General, named an assistant
and an admonitor, received novices and scholastics,
and nothing seemed changed in the Society excepting
the residence of the General.
To exculpate them from these continued acts of
rebellion against the Papal authority, Cretineau, and
after him Curci, a Neapolitan Jesuit, assert, that
although Pope Pius VI. had not, by any public act,
re-established the Society, yet that he had, in the pre-
sence of Benislawski (mark !), pronounced the words,
" Approbo Societatem Jesu in Alba Russia degentem ;
approbo, approbo," — T approve of the Society of Jesus
residing in White Russia ; I approve, I approve. We
suppose we must rely upon the veracity of Father
Benislawski for this revelation of the sentiments of the
Holy Father.
Three or four obscure and insignificant names* suc-
ceeded one another as Generals of the Order, while it
still laboured under the anathema launched by
Clement. At last, Pius VII., who had succeeded
Braschi in 1800, authorised the Society to establish
itself in White Russia, and to live according to the
Constitution of Loyola. This brief bears the date of
1801, and was the forerunner of their re-estabhsh-
ment.
Meanwhile, the Society made wonderful progress in
Russia ; and, as if all conspired to favour them, there
chanced to be among them at the epoch a man whom
they had the tact to choose for their General, and
Avho was little inferior to the Lainez and Accjuavivas.
This man was Groubcr, a learned and very able in-
dividual, who had long been at the court of St Peters-
burg, a welcomed guest of Catherine, much esteemed
by Paul, and employed by Alexander on some deli-
* Czerniwiecz, Leukeawiecz, and Korell.
THE JESUITS DURING THEIR SUPPRESSIOX. 433
cato missions. Groubcr was a man wlio had an exact
and just idea of tlie times in Avliicli he lived, and
repressed the immoderate zeal of proselytism disphiyed
by his subordinates, who ah^eady spoke of working
miracles, and establishing new missions in the East.
Grouber received the congratulations of all the par-
tisans of the Jesuits, and, with admirable dexterity, he
made use of the influence and resources the Society
still possessed, to obtain the re-estabhshment of the
order in various parts. They had already re-en-
tered Parma, though only on toleration, and in 1804,
the Pope granted to the Jesuits of the two Sicilies the
same favours he had granted to those of White Russia.
lie re-established them in Sicily, of course under the
authority of the General residing in Russia.
Unfortunately for the Society, Grouber perished in a
conflagration in 1805. After his death, the Jesuits,
renouncing the wise policy adopted by their late
General, and encouraged by partial success, returned
to the inveterate policy of the order, and attempted
to domineer over a country which had sheltered them
during their days of trouble and misci'y.
^0 pages of ours could convey to our readers a
more accurate idea of the conduct of the Jesuits in
Russia, than a passage of the imperial decree by
which Alexander expelled them from his capital. We
consider this expulsion, and the motives alleged by
the sovereign as having impelled him to adopt the
measure, as most significant, and as stigmatising more
forcibly than any pamphlet or declamation the
abominable arts and practices of the incorrigible
progeny of Loyola.
Alexander, after having recorded, that while the
Jesuits were persecuted in the rest of Europe, Russia
alone, from a spirit of humanity and tolerance, had pro-
tected them, had showered favours upon them, had put
no constraint on the free exercise of their religion, and
had confided to their care the education of youth;
434 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
thus continued in the imperial document: " It has been,
however, proved that they have not relished the duties
imposed on them by gratitude, and that humility com-
manded by the Christian religion. Instead of remaining
peaceable inhabitants of a foreign land, they have
endeavoured to disturb the Greek religion, which,
from time immemorial, has been the predominant
religion in this country. They began by abusing the
confidence they had obtained, and have turned away
from our rehgion young men who had been intrusted
to them, and some weak and ignorant women whom
they have converted to their own Church. To induce
a man to abjure his faith, the faith of his ancestors, to
extinguish in him the love of those who profess the
same belief, to render him a stranger to his country^
to sow tares and animosity among families, to tear
the son from the father, the daughter from the mother,
to stir up division among the children of the same
Church, — is that the voice and the will of God, and of
his holy Son Jesus Christ? . . . After such
actions, we are no more surprised that these monks
are expelled from all countries and nowhere tolerated.
Where, in fact, is the state that would tolerate in
its bosom those ivho sow in it hatred and discord ? '*
For all these reasons, the emperor, in 1815, expelled
the Jesuits from St Petersburg, and forbade them to
re-enter either that capital or Warsaw. And mark,
that to prove that he did not expel them because
they were Catholic priests, the emperor, in the same
decree, adds, that he has already oont for monks of
other orders for the benefit of his Roman Catholic
subjects!
But let no one imagine that this severe admonition
from a sovereio-n to whom and to whose ancestors the
Jesmts were so deeply indebted, had the effect of
bringing them to some sense of their duty. On the
contrary, they redoubled their intrigues and their ma-
lignant practices ; and as their numbers increased, ra-
THE JESUITS DURING THEIR SUPPRESSION. 485
pidly rlsino- in 1820 to 674,* and tlicy might liavo be-
come dano-crous, Alexander, by another decree, of 13th
March 1820, expelled them from all his dominions.
In the statement of motives which the Minister of
Worship presented to Alexander in asking for the
expulsion, we read : " The expulsion of the Jesuits
from St Petersburg has not made them change their
conduct ; " and it then goes on to enumerate all the
mischiefs caused by the fathers in Russia and Poland.
We can hardly imagine what the Jesuits can have to
answer to these accusations. It is also to be remarked
that their own creature, Siestrencewiecz, Archbishop of
Mohilow, was one of the most ardent in procuring
their expulsion.
No Jesuits are now in Russia or Poland, except
those who, in Galicia, assist the Austrian sovereign to
govern that province — every one knows how.
* Cret. vol. vi. p. 33.
d-.^G HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
CHAPTER XIX.
1814.
RE-ESTABLISHMENT.
The events which took place in Europe In 1814 are
known to every one. Napoleon, who represented
abroad that same French Revolution which his mihtary
despotism had smothered at home, fell under the
united efforts of Europe, favoured by the elements
and by the treachery of his former companions in
arms, to whom he had given either the staff of the
lield-marshal or the sceptre of the king. The restora-
tion of all the dethroned sovereigns followed, and on
re-entering their dominions, these monarchs directed
all their cares to obliterate even the remembrance
(foolish and useless attempt !) of all that had been done,
said, and published, in the past time of hurricane and
revolution, and hurried back with inconsiderate earnest-
ness to their old and primitive system of governing.
The Jesuits, skilful in profiting by every circum-
stance, then stepped forward, and offered to those
sovereigns their unconditional services. Already,
after their suppression, and during the ascendant
march of the French Revolution, they, with infinite
address, had persuaded the different sovereigns, either
menaced on their thrones or already hurled from
them, that their overthrow — the crimes which, it is
unfortunately true, in a moment of delirium, had been
committed in the name of liberty—the impious and
RE-ESTABLISHMENT. . . 437
suDvcrsIvc doctrines -svlilch liad invaded Europe, and
extinguished every sense of morality and religion — ■
all were to be attributed to the suppression of the
order. They asserted that the Encyciopa)dists, after
the destruction of the Society, the surest bulwark of
the throne and the altar, finding no more opposition,
and passing from theory to practice, had caused the
revolution, and set the ^vhole of Europe in a blazing
conflagration ; and this is even now repeated by the
fathers and their partisans. Wc must, before pro-
ceeding any farther, give the answer Gioberti
makes to their assertions. He grants that the
Encyclopaedists did make the revolution. '' But," says
lie, " the Society, by altering and disfiguring, in the
opinion of many, the Catholic faith, the morality
of the gospel, the authority of princes, and all those
fundamental laws which form the basis of all states
and governments — in fact, by substituting for religion
their own sect — had shaken all principles of
morality, religion, and good government, and had
indeed brought the Encyclopaedists into existence ; the
most conspicuous of whom, in fact, as Voltaire, Dide-
rot, Helvetius, Marmontcl, St Lambert, Lametrie, and
many others, had issued from Jesuitical colleges, or
had had Jesuits as their tutors." *
HoAvever, these monks, who, as we have seen, had
conspired against the life and independence of
almost all the sovereigns of Europe, now had the art
to persuade the reigning monarchs that they would
be always insecure on their thrones without the as-
sistance and the support of the Company ; and, strange
to say, some actually believed them, while others
feigned to do so. From that moment to our days, in the
eyes of such bigoted and short-sighted despots as the
Ferdinands of Is'aples, tlie Leopolds of Tuscany, the
Francis Josephs of Austria, and all the supporters of
absolutism, the Jesuits have been considered as the
* Vol. iii. p. 30.
2 P
438 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
best pillars and supporters of despotism and tyranny.
Nor is this belief destitute of foundation so far as
the intentions of the fathers are concerned. The
Liberals in our time are in their eyes what the Re-
formers were two centuries back. Against them are
now directed all their efforts ; the Liberals are now
the accursed of God, the impious whom all the courage
and ability of the sons of Ignatius can hardly keep at
bay. Nor is this the first time that these mendacious
and impudent monks have contrived to impose them-
selves on different states, representing their interfer-
ence as indispensable to the welfare of society and to
the repression of its enemies. Thus they had imposed
themselves as necessary to combat the Reformers in
the sixteenth century, the Jansenists and Calvinists in
the seventeeth, and again, in the eighteenth, the philo-
sophers and the approaching revolution ; although it
was not till very late, and when the first persecutions
had awakened them from their state of beatitude,
that they proclaimed themselves the opponents of the
Encyclopaedists. In the nineteenth century, the adver-
saries with whom they are wont to contend are, as
we said, the Liberals; and the fathers must, indeed, be
skilful and powerful instruments for suppressing all
ideas of liberty, all free aspiration, all generous senti-
ments, all personal dignity, and for keeping the
people in servitude, since the supremely cunning
Louis Napoleon has chosen them as his most useful
auxiliaries, and lavished on them all sorts of favours.
Among the sovereigns who, in 1814, re-ascended
the thrones from which a daring and unscrupulous
conqueror had hurled them, was the old Pontiff", who,
after his captivity at Fontainebleau, had, on the 24th
of May, re-entered Rome amidst unfeigned marks of
love and veneration from his people. Indeed, the man
who at this epoch occupied the pontifical chair w^as, for
many reasons, w^orthy of the greatest admiration and
respect. This person was Barnaba Chiaramonti, a
RE-ESTABLISHMENT. 439
Benedictine monk, who assumed the name of Pius VII.
His hfe was pure and uncontaminated ; his intentions
were good ; his character was mild and benevolent ;
and before his misfortunes, he had shewn some readi-
ness to make concessions required by the times and
the circumstances ; but after his captivity, after the
series of direct miseries which had befallen him and
the Sacred College, miseries which he attributed to tho
spirit of irreligion then prevalent in Europe, Pius
VII... now a feeble old man, gave way to all the pro-
pensities of a fonatical, bigoted monk, which in his
better days he had subdued and restrained by reason-
ing. His first care, therefore, was to re-establish all
the monastic orders he could, and among the first was
that of the Jesuits, who had already flocked to Rome
from every part, with the certainty of soon re-acquiring
their former position and splendour. Nor were they
disappointed in their expectations. On Sunday, the
7th of August 1814, Pius Yll. went in state to the
church of the Gesu, celebrated himself the mass before
the altar consecrated to Loyola; heard a second
mass, immediately after which he caused to be read
and promulgated the bull by which the Society of
Jesus was re-established according to the ancient
rules.
Party writers, too eager to find Popes in contra-
diction with each other, and to hold up their pre-
tended infallibihty to the ridicule of their readers,
have taken up these two acts, and asked, " Who
was infallible — Clement XIV., who abohshed the
Society, or Pius VII., who re-established it ? " We
do not aspire to so easy a triumph, and we shall
consider Chiaramonti's bull in a somewhat more seri-
ous manner.
In our opinion, the bull of Pius VII. is less in con-
tradiction than may be supposed with the brief of
Clement. Pius does not in the least condemn either
the brief or its author ; nor does he say that it had
440 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
been extorted, as Ganganelli said of the bull of Rez-
zonnico. On the contrary, he speaks of it as of a
legal and perfectly authoritative act by which the
Company had ceased to exist ; and when he is obliged
in some sort to annul it, he does not annul it, ex-
cept in that part which is contrary to his own bull,
namely, that which affects the existence of the Society.
In the whole bull there is not a word, not a syllable,
to contradict or to weaken the long list of terrible
accusations brought against them by Clement. If it
was an injustice done to the Jesuits, which Pius wished
to repair, he ought at least to have mentioned that
they had been wronged, 9.nd that it was the duty of
the Supreme Chief of the Church to reinstate them
in the good estimation of Europe. But the bull is
silent as to any such wrongs, and is very chary of its
commendations of the sons of Ignatius. Why, then,
one may ask, did Pius VII. re-establish the Company
of Jesus ? First, as I have stated, because he was a
bigoted monk, and thought that it might be in the
power of the fanatical and idle brotherhoods of all
kinds to extinguish the light spread by the new doc-
trines, and to bring humanity back to the blessed
darkness of the middle ages. In other words, he
thought, and many of the sovereigns, some of them
not Ivoman Catholics, thouo-ht with him, that the
priests and monks would be able to arrest the pro-
gress of civilisation ; for it must be remembered that
the horrors and acts of barbarity which were com-
mitted during the last ten years of the eighteenth
century, and which were the consequences of a forced
and exaggerated application of the new theories on
government and religion, could in no way be laid to
the charge of the doctrines themselves, which are cal-
culated to promote the real and beneficent progress
of society. Besides Chiaramonti's predilection for all
monks, to whose re-establishment, as he says in the
bull, " all his care and all his solicitude are given,'^
RE-ESTABLISHMENT. 441
Pius was requested by all tlic sovercio-ns to rc-csta-
blisli the Company ; and lie says that he should con-
sider himself as wanting in his duty if, while the
bark of Peter was tossed to and fro amidst dangerous
rocks, he should disdain the help of those vigorous
and experienced roivers.
Such were the motives, of a purely political nature
on the part of the sovereigns, and of a mixed nature
on the part of the Pope, which induced the former to
ix^quest, and the latter to grant, a new existence to the
Society of Jesus. But observe, that in the act itself,
by which he reinstated the order, Pius reserved to
the Holy Sec the power of modifying it if its provi-
sions were abused. He subjects the members of tho
Company, in the exercise of all their spiritual functions,
to the jurisdiction of the ordinaries, thus despoiling it
of the most precious of its privileges, the whole of
which he expressly recalls. And the bull is still more
significant, when it conjures all the members of the
Society to return to the primitive rules of Ignatius,
and to take him as their model. The Pontiff does not
say, return to your occupation, to those exercises in
which you were engaged before the Suppression. But
he tells them to return to the primitive spirit of their
institution, from which they had so far departed.
The noble and virtuous Pontiff hoped that their past
misfortunes would have instructed those inconsiderate
and wicked monks, and warned them not to incur
again the hatred of Christendom, Vain hopes ! use-
less admonitions ! Before fifteen years shall pass, the
whole of Europe, except, perhaps, some despots and
their supporters, will look anxiously for the happy
day when the troublesome progeny of Ignatius shall
be irrevocably banished from its bosom !
However, as the bull is very short, we shall submit
it to the calm and serious consideration of our readers,
and vre feel confident tliat they will form the same
opinion of it that wc have done, namely, that in the
442 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
act itself, in which Pius re-establishes the Jesuits, he
modifies their institutions and condemns their past
conduct.
" Bull for the Re-estahlishment of the Order of the
Jesuits.*
"Pits, Bishop, Servant of the servants of God (ad
perpetuam rei memoriam).
*' The care of all the Churches confided to our humi-
hty by the Divine will, notwithstanding the lowness
of our deserts and abilities, makes it our duty to
employ all the aids in our power, and which are
furnished to us by the mercy of Divine Providence,
in order that w-e may be able, as far as the changes
of times and places will allow, to relieve the spiritual
"wants of the Catholic luorld, without any distinction
oi 2^<^ople and nations.
" Wishing to fulfil this duty of our apostolic ministry,
as soon as Francis Karew (then living) and other
secular priests, resident for many years in the vast
empire of Eussia, and who had been members of the
Company of Jesus, suppressed by Clement XIV., of
happy memory, had supplicated our permission to
unite in a body, for the purpose of being able to apply
themselves more easily, in conformity with their
institutions, to the instruction of youth in rehgion and
good morals, to devote themselves to preaching, to
confession, and to the administration of the other
sacraments, we felt it our duty the more willingly to
comply with their prayer, inasmuch as the reigning
emperor, Paul I., had recommended the said priests,
in his gracious despatch, dated 11th August 1800, in
w^hich, after setting forth his special regard for them,
he declared to us that it would be agreeable to him to
see the Company of Jesus established in his empire
* The translation here given is from the Protestant Advocate, vol.
iii. p. 13, &c.
RE-ESTABLISHMENT. 443
under our authority ; and we, on our side, considering
attcntivcl}^ the great advantage -which these vast
regions might thence derive, considering how useful
those ecclesiastics, whose morals and learning were
equally tried, would be to the Catholic religion,
thought fit to second the wish of so great and benefi-
cent a prince.
" In consequence, by our brief, dated 7th March
1801, we granted to the said Francis Karew, and his
colleagues, residing in Russia, or who should repair
thither from other countries, power to form them-
selves into a body or congregation of the Company of
Jesus; they are at Uberty to unite in one or more
houses, to be pointed out by their superior, provided
these houses are situated within the Russian empire.
We named the said Francis Karew General of the
said congregation ; we authorised tliem to resume and
follow the rule of St Ignatius of Loyola, approved
and confirmed by the Constitutions of Paul III., our
predecessor, of happy memory, in order that the
companions, in a religious union, might freely engage
in the instruction of youth in religion and good
letters, direct seminaries and colleges, and, with the
consent of the ordinary, confess, preach the Word of
God, and administer the sacraments. By the same
brief, we received the congregation of the Company
of Jesus under our immediate protection and depend-
ence, reserving to ourselves and our successors the
prescription of everything that might appear to us
proper to consolidate, to defend it, and to purge it
from the abuses and corruptions that might be therein
introduced ; and for this purpose we expressly abro-
gated such apostolical constitutions, statutes, privi-
leges, and indulgences, granted in contradiction to
these concessions, especially the apostolic letters of
Clement XIV., our predecessor, which begun with the
words Dominus ac RedemjJtor Nostra, only in so far
as they are contrary to our brief, beginning Catho-
444 HISTORY OP THE JESIHTS.
licce, and T>-liich was given only for the Russian
empire,
" A short time after we had ordained the restoration
of the order of Jesuits in llussia, we thought it our
duty to grant the same favour to the kingdom of
Sicily, on the warm request of our dear son in Jesus
Christ, King Ferdinand, who begged that th^e
Company of Jesus might be re-estabhshed in his
kingdom and states as it was in Russia, from a con-
Tiction that, in these deplorable times, the Jesuits
were instructors most capable of formiug youth to
Christian piety and the fear of God, which is the
beginning of wisdom, and to instruct them in science
and letters. The duty of our pastoral charge leading
us to second the pious wishes of these illustrious
monarchs, and havino- only in view the o-lorv of God
111- Oe/ Ot,
and the salvation of souls, we, by our brief, begin-
ning Per alias, and dated the'^ 30th July 1804,
extended to the kingdom of the two Sicilies the same
concessions we Imd made for the Russian empire.
" The Catholic tvorld demands with unanimous
voice the re-establishment of the Company of Jesus.
We daily receive to this eifect the most pressing
petitions from our venerable brethren, the archbishops
and bishops, and the most distinguished persons,
especially since the abundant fruits which this
Company has produced in the above countries have
been generally known. The dispersion even of the
stones of the sanctuary in these recent calamities
(which it is better now to deplore than to repeat), the
annihilation of the discipline of the regular orders
(the glory and support of religion and tlie Catholic
Church, to the restoration of which all our thoughts
and cares are at present directed), require that we
should accede to a wish so just and general.
*' We should deem ourselves guiky of a great crime
towards God, if, amidst these dangers of the Christian
repubhc, we neglected the aids which i\iQ special
RE-ESTABLISHMENT. 445
providence of God has put at our disposal, and if,
2)laced in the hark of Peter, tossed and assailed by
continual storms, ive refused to emploi/ the vigorous
AND EXPERIENCED POWERS zvlio voluuteer their ser~
vices, in order to break the waves of a sea ivhich
threaten every moment shipwreck and death. De-
cided bj motives so numerous and powerful, we have
resolved to do now what we could have wished to
have done at the commencement of our pontificate.
After having by fervent prayers implored the Divine
assistance, after having taken the advice and counsel
of a great number of our venerable brothers, the
cardinals of the Holy Eoman Church, we have
decreed, with full knoAvlcdge, in virtue of the pleni-
tude of apostolic power, and with perpetual validity,
that all the concessions and powers granted by us
solely to the Eussian empire and the kingdom of the
Two Sicilies, shall henceforth extend to all our
ecclesiastical states, and also to all other states.
We therefore concede and grant to our vrell-beloved
son, Tadder Barzozowski, at this time General of the
Company of Jesus, and to the other members of that
Company lawfully delegated by him, all suitable and
necessary powers in order that the said states may
freely and lawfully receive all those who shall wish to
be admitted into the regular order of the Company of
Jesus, who, under the authority of the General, ad
interim, shall be admitted and distributed, according
to opportunity, in one or more houses, one or more
colleges, and one or more provinces, where they shall
conform their mode of life to the rules prescribed by
St Ignatius of Loyola, approved and confirmed by
the Constitutions of Paul III. We declare, besides,
and grant power, that they may freely and lawfully
apply to the education of youth in the principles of
the Catholic faith, to form them to good morals, and
to direct colleges and seminaries ; we authorise them
to hear confessions, to preach the Word of God, and
446 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
to administer the sacraments in tlie places of their
residence, with the consent and approbation of the
ordinary. We take under our tutelage, under our
immediate obedience, and that of the Holy See, all
the colleges, houses, proAnnces, and members of this
order, and all those who shall join it ; always reserv-
ing to ourselves and the Koman Pontiffs, our success-
ors, to prescribe and direct all that we may deem it
our duty to prescribe and direct, to consolidate the
said Company more and more, to render it stronger,
and to purge it of abuses, should they ever creep in,
which God avert. It now remains for us to exhort,
with all our heart, and in the name of the Lord, all
superiors, provincials, rectors, companies, and pupils
of this re-established Society, to shew themselves at
all times, and in all places, faithful imitators of their
father ; that they exactly observe the rule prescribed
by their founder; that they obey with an always
increasing zeal the useful advices and salutary
counsels which he has left to his children.
*' In fine, we recommend strongly in the Lord, the
Company and all its members to our dear sons in
Jesus Christ, the illustrious and noble princes and
lords temporal, as well as to our venerable brothers
the archbishops and bishops, and to all those who
are placed in authority ; we exhort, we conjure them,
not only not to suffer that these religions be in any
way molested, but to watch that they be treated with
all due kindness and charity.
'' AVe ordain, that the present letters be inviolably
observed according to their form and tenor, in all
time coming; that they enjoy their full and entire
effect; that they shall never be submitted to the
judgment or revision of any judge, with whatever
power he may be clothed ; declaring null and of no
effect any encroachment on the present regulations,
either knowingly or from ignorance; and this not-
withstanding any apostohcal constitutions and ordi-
RE-ESTABLISHMENT. 447
nances, especially the brief of Clement XIV. of happy
memory, beginning Avith the words Domimis ac Re-
demptor JVoster, issued under the seal of tlie fisher-
man, on the 22d day of July 1773, which we ex-
jDressly abrogate as far as contrary to the present
order.
" It is also our will that the same credit be paid to
copies, whether in manuscript or printed, of our
present brief, as to the original itself, provided they
have the signature of some notary public, and the
seal of some ecclesiastical dignitary ; that no one be
p)ermitted to infringe, or by an audacious temerity to
ojypose, any p)cirt of this ordinance ; and that, should
any one take upon him to attempt it, let him know
that he will thereby incur the indignation of Almighty
God^ and of the holy apostles Peter and Paul.
" Given at Rome, at Sancta Maria Major,
on the 7th of August, in the year of
our Lord 1814, and the 15th of our
Pontificate.
(^' • (\\ " Cardinal Prodataire.
^ ° ^ " Cardinal Braschi."
The moment the bull of 1814 had given to the
Society a new existence, nearly two hundred fathers,
who had survived the calamities of 1773, re-assembled
at the Gesii, and in the novitiate of St Andrea in Home.
Along with the old remains of the Company, many young
Jesuits, who during the suppression had been received
into the order in their houses in Silesia, Russia, and
Palermo, re-entered the abode of their past glory and
splendour, and opened their hearts to new and bril-
liant prospects. Neither were they deceived in their
expectations. In those first moments of violent re-
action in Italy, the priests and monks were considered
as almost saints, and Pius VII. was actually worshipped — \
as God. The overthrow of Napoleon's empire was in
Italy considered as due to the hand of God, who had
448 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
punished liim for laying his mipious hand on the
anointed of the Lord — the Vicar of Jesus Christ. JS^apo-
ieon, "who was considered in France as the restorer of
religion, was in Italy regarded as the greatest heretic
who had ever hved — worse than Luther, Calvin,
Zuingle. As the ignorant and bigoted people of the
peninsula, at such an epoch, made religion consist in
monks, nuns, and processions, so the man who had abo-
lished these was in their eyes the greatest enemy of God
and religion ; and those friars, though held in very-
little consideration as individuals, were, when re-in-
stated in their convents, cheered and worshipped.
Even those whose sentiments were anything but of a
religious character, thinking that the clerical party
would now re-acquire the supreme sway, and would
exercise it in a more absolute and exclusive manner,
feigned to be devoted to the- reigning power, either to
avoid persecution or to obtain favour as devout sup-
porters of the Roman Catholic faith. Thank God,
this is no longer the case.
The Order of the Jesuits, above all, fixed the at-
tention of every one, and admission into it was sought
vrith passionate eagerness, as the surest way to for-
tune and consideration. Many younger brothers of
good families entered the novitiate of St Andrea,
which had the rare honour to see as a postulant
for admission into the brotherhood, a once crowned
head. Charles Emanuel of Savoy, who had already
renounced the crown of Sardinia in favour of his
brother A^ittorio, entered the novitiate, fulfilled with
unfeigned humility all the duties of a novice, and
died some three or four years after, asking, as a last
favour, to be buried in his garb of a Jesuit.
Another fortuitous circumstance soon came to re-
lieve the Jesuits from great difficulties. In 1820, the
death of General Barzozowski, whom Alexander would
never permit to leave Russia, and without whom
nothing definitive could be done, put an end to this
RE-ESTABLISHMENT, 449
anomalous state of tilings. The new election restored
tlic chief of the Company to the metropolis of Chris-
tendom ; and from the Gesu, where Loyola and Iticci
had sat, Fortis, the elected General, now watched over
the interests and the prosperity of the Society, which
he hoped to see again in all its former glory.
In our peninsula their progress was rapid.
' Come di gramigiia,
Vivace terra,"^
so Italy was soon covered with the noxious weed. Most
of their former establishments Avere given back to
them, others they bought; and, in perfect concord
with the Court of Rome, as each stood in need of the
other, they set to work to reduce the unfortunate
country to the lowest possible degree of ignorance
and degradation, to extinguish every noble aspiration,
to suppress every generous sentiment, and to force us
into that mould in which idle, debauched, and corrupt
monks are cast. But their united efforts, thank
Heaven ! proved ineffectual. The genius of ancient
Eome, though clad in sable, watched over us from
the ruins of the Coliseum, and from the summit of
the Capitol, and pointed out to us written on every
stone of our cities, a page of glory, an inscription of
noble and heroic deeds ! Yes ! in the very names
of our monuments, even when they are not present
to our eyes, there is something magical, some mys-
terious power, which thrills all the fibres of the
heart, and makes one long to restore tlie glories of
the past. And in this, we behove, more than in any-
thing else, is to be found the explanation of that his-
torical fact, that while in the middle ages the Popes
were almost supreme umpires of the different king-
doms of Europe, they could never obtain a stable
footing in Home, but were often driven from it, often
beseiged in their castles or made prisoners, while
their court and government were generally held in
* As lively turf witli green herb.— Dante.
450 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
the greatest contempt. So now, though the Jesuits
were supported by all the petty ItaUan despots, and
by their master the Emperor of Austria, and though
they almost had at their disposal the thunderbolts of
the Vatican and the dungeons of the Inquisition,
they could only persuade old women, and feeble and
bigoted men, but none of the thinking and active
population of Italy. The revolution of 1848 proved
once more how deeply rooted was the hatred of the
Italians against the brotherhood of Loyola, the only
religious order among such an immense number which
was forcibly expelled from the whole peninsula.
However, the Jesuits, the moment they were re-
established, lost no time in invading other countries
where they thought they could retrieve their fallen
fortunes. Immediately after the restoration, they
re-entered Spain, France, Belguim, Austria, Switzer-
land, and many countries in the New World. We
shall endeavour, in the little space left to us, to
sketch the history of the fathers in those different
countries.
The Jesuits, to the number of about one hundred,
mostly members of the Society who had been expelled
in 1667, re-entered Spain, and were associated with
Ferdinand VII. in all the acts of revenge which that
cruel and stupidly ferocious prince exercised upon the
unfortunate Spaniards. They increased so rapidly,
that as early as 1820, they numbered already 397
members.* But at that time the Castilians revolted
against the cruelty of the despotic king. Successful
in their revolution, they estabUshed the Constitution of
1812 ; and one of the first acts of the Cortes was to
enact a law which expelled the Jesuits from all the
Spanish dominions. But it was not long before they
re-entered in the rear of the French army, conducted
by the Duke of Angouleme, to replace Ferdinand on
the throne, and became the most efficient instru-
* Crct. vol. vi. p. 323.
BB-BSTABLISHMENT. 451
mcnts of Ills bigoted and cowardly policy. In 1825,
a general military college was established at Segovia,
and, strange to say, the Jesuits were made the pre-
ceptors of those future officers in all that was not
strictly military. In 1827, another college for the
nobility and children of courtiers and chamberlains
was established, and also delivered to the Jesuits' di-
rection. But their prosperity was put a stop to by
the death of Ferdinand. The right of Isabella, the
infant daughter of the late king, was contested by her
uncle Don Carlos, and long and murderous civil war
was the consequence of this contest. The Jesuits
took the part of the Carlists secretly at first, and
acting only as informers when they were able. In
an emeute in 1834, the people of Madrid murdered
some of them, and in 1835 they were legally abo-
lished by a decree of the legislature, sanctioned by the
sovereign. But they did not on that account quit
Spain. They recovered their standing in those pro-
vinces in which the armies of Don Carlos were predo-
minant, and were chosen as tutors to the pretender's
sons. They built a novitiate in Quipuzoa, and seemed
to set at defiance the government of the country.
After the convention of Vergara, Espartero caused
them to be expelled from their new colleges, and
ordered them to leave the Spanish territories ; but
although, since this epoch, they have no legal existence
in the land of Loyola and Xavier, according to the
best information, in 1845, about 250 Jesuits were to
be found there, apparently as single individuals, but
in reality forming part of the order, and being
attached either to the province of Belgium or to that
of South America.
Their history in Portugal may be more summarily
narrated. In 1829, some French Jesuits, invited by
the usurper Don Miguel, arrived in Portugal, and
were honourably received, as they pretend, by the
grand-daughter of Pombal, wdio offered to intrust to
452 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
tliem four of lier children to be educated.* The
authorities also contrived to get up a sort of manifes-
tation, given by the other monks on the Jesuits*
entrance into Coimbra, where they stayed two or three
years. But hardly was Don Pedro master of
Portugal, than, by a decree in 1834, he expelled
the fathers from all the dominions of his daughter
Dona Maria. We are not aware that there are many
Jesuits now in Portugal.
In Germany, the fathers vfere far from regaining
the position they had formerly held. Austria itself
refused to re-admit them. Metternich, brought up in
the school of Joseph II. and Kaunitz, was not disposed
to let the bad seed take root again in the German
soil. However, when, in 1820, the Jesuits, expelled
from Russia, passed through Vienna, they found
means to obtain permission to settle in Galicia, where
they soon opened schools and colleges, the principal of
Avhich were in Tournow and Lemberg, and where they
met with such success, that the latter college, in 1823,
counted 400 pupils. The number of Jesuits in the
province went on increasing, and their influence,
especially over the rural population, who are almost all
Papists, is now all-poAverful and irresistible. Now, our
readers, who remember the atrocious and inhuman
acts which desolated the unfortunate country in 1846,
may form an estimate of the good Avhich their system
of education has produced.
They also attempted to establish themselves in
Styria, though with little success. But in 1838, they
were at last permitted to re-open their former college
at Innspruck, where they are now in the most
prosperous and flourishing state. In no other part of
the German Confederation have they a legal existence;
and the late King of Prussia very wisely forbade any
of his subjects to pass into foreign countries to be
educated by the Jesuits.
* Crct. vol. vi. p. 338.
RE-ESTABLISHMENT. 453
In Holland, the Jesuits acted in very nearly the
same Avay as they did in Russia. It seems as if, at
the time of the Suppression, the Protestant countries,
forgetful of all prudence, merely to shcAV their opposi-
tion to the Papal Court, vied with each other in cheer-
ing and patronising those monks whom Home was
persecuting, Even in England, Jesuits were never so
well treated, nor perhaps so prosperous, as during their
legal suppression. Some of the Jesuits recovered a
standing in Holland, and hved there unmolested and
protected, till the French armies drove them away, or
obliged them to disguise themselves under another
garb ; but they re-appeared in 1814, and with their
wonted activity they began to erect houses and
novitiates. King AVilliam of Nassau tolerated them ;
but it would appear that they were not contented
with being tolerated — they aspired to higher destinies.
Spreading dissatisfaction among the lloman Catholic
population, they encouraged them not to accept of, or
submit quietly to, a constitution so unfavourable to
their interests, and were preparing materials for a
revolution. He Broglio, the Archbishop of Ghent,
entirely devoted to the order, wrote in the same sense
to all his subordinates. Aware of their intrigues and
machinations, the government thought it necessary,
by a decree of 1816, to banish them. The audacious
monks, instead of obeying, repaired to the arch-
bishop's palace, as if to brave the laws. But the
government maintained its rights. A warrant was
issued against De Broglio, who, however, took to flight,
and accompanied into France the Rector of the
College of the Jesuits. The fathers then left the
country, but not all of them. " Some sons of Loyola,
nevertheless, remained on the spot directed by Father
Demeistre, and, enrolled under the standard of the
Church, they fought as volunteers."* In other words,
under different disguises, they kept up their intrigues,
* Crct. vol. vi. p. 105.
2 G
454 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
and breathed the sph-it of revolution into the Popish
population of Belgium. At the first opportunity, this
spirit broke out. " The revolution of 1830 was made
in the name of the Cathohcs and of the Jesuits."*
Very well ! we like this bold and frank language ;
and the Jesuits have our felicitation for having helped
an oppressed people to shake off a yoke which brutal
force had imposed upon them. But then let them
never come again and assert they are a religious
order, entirely occupied in spiritual concerns, and
quite indifferent to political matters.
Since the revolution of 1830, the influence of the
Jesuits has greatly increased in Belgium, and this
country is now one of the most flourishing provinces
of the order, numbering more than 400 members.
The ext}'eme ]3rudence and sagacity of Leopold has
prevented them from doing much mischief; but they
have done their best to acquire a supreme sway in
that country, and to extinguish in it every civil
and religious liberty. At the very moment we are
writing these pages, they are striving hard to prostrate
Belgium at the feet of their worthy protector, Louis
Napoleon.
In France, the fathers have led a much more agi-
tated and unsettled existence since their expulsion in
1765. Portugal and Spain, in expeUing them, had
resorted to such rigorous and universal measures, that
few or no Jesuits were to be found in the two countries
for some time after their banishment. But it was not
so in France. No stringent measures had been taken
to see the decree of expulsion executed. The Jesuits,
it is true, had disappeared from their colleges and
houses, and dropped the long mantle and large-brimmed
hat ; but a great part of them remained in the French
territory, changing residences, and many of them me-
tamorphosing themselves into the Fathers of the Faith,
or the Brethren of the Doctrine C/iretienne, Then,
* Cret. vol. vi. p. 110,
RE-ESTABLISHMENT. 455
"wlien the opportunity presented itself, they rc-appearcd
everywhere in their own garb, and nobody knew
whence they came, or where they had been. We find
few traces of them during the first years of the French
Kcvolution of 1789; but the moment Napoleon, for
his own political ends, re-established the ancient form
of religion, and restored to the clergy some liberty to
fulfil their duties, the Jesuits, under the name of the
Fathers of the Faith, re-appeared, and set themselves
at once to work, endeavouring, by new contrivances, to
re-acquire at least some of their lost influence and
power. In 1800, the sister of Father Barat, under
the direction of her brother, founded the Sisterhood of
the Sacred Heart; while Father Baruffe established
the Congregation of the Sacred Family ; the first to
preside over the education of the daughters of the
aristocracy, the latter to instruct governesses and
servants, whom they distributed especially amongst
families whose secrets they were interested in know-
ing. Father Despuits was still more audacious, and
established the Congregation of the Holy Virgin, in
which he enrolled all sorts of persons, but particularly
those of the upper class of society, and military men as
often as he could. The two first institutions are at the
present moment very flourishing in France, and almost
all the French nobility send their daughters to bQ
educated at the famous convent of Les Oiseaiix, in
Paris. The Congregation of the Virgin decayed after
the revolution of 1830.
However, Napoleon, alarmed at the progress and
the intrigues of the Fathers of the Faith, by a decree
of Messidor, anno XII. (1804), abolished the brother-
hood, and, by another imperial decree of 1810, the
ConoTCo-ation of the Viro-in and for some little time
the Jesuits were obliged to be more prudent and less
meddling.
But, in 1814, those m.onks, who had for a mo-
ment disappeared from the scene, came forth again
456 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
more alive and more intriguing tlian ever. They
dropped the borrowed name of Fathers of the Faith,
and reassumed that of Jesuits. The congregations
received a new impulse, and that of tlie Virgin, above
all, was eminently active in inducing military men to
join it. Kendered wise by past experience, they per-
ceived that they should never succeed in their designs
without the concurrence, or at least the neutrahty, of
the secular clergy. To disarm, then, its animosity,
which had been so ardent in former times, they
spontaneously renounced their privileges, and shewed
the utmost deference to the secular priests of all ranks.
Father Simpson, the Provincial in 1819, writing to
his subordinate, says to him : " Let us remember that
we are only the auxiliaries of the secular priests, that
we, in our quality of monks, must look upon them
^s our superiors, and that St Ignatius has given to our
Society, as its distinctive title. The Little Societij of
Jesus." * We wonder whether Lachaise or Letellier
would have written so. Then, supported by a great
part of the bishops, and encouraged by the govern-
ment, part of the Jesuits went over to France as mis-
sionaries, to try what they could do to restore the
reign of superstition and bigotry, and to bring back
France to the good old times of civil and rehgious
bondage ; part again undertook to monopolise the edu-
cation of youth ; and in both undertakings they were,
with certain classes, prodigiously successful.
But the sacrifices France had made to obtain liberty
were of too fresh date that it should quietly submit
to a priestly domination, which had become now too
visible and threatening. Public opinion declared
itself so strongly and so irresistibly against all priests
in general, and against the Jesuits in particular, that
the bigoted Charles X. himself was forced, in 1828, to
issue an ordinance which deprived the fiithers of the
faculty of instructing youth, and providing, moreover,
* Cret. vol. vi. p. 110.
RE-ESTABLISHMENT. 457
that no person wliatever slioiild be admitted to teach
without taking an oath that he did not belong to any
rchgious community not approved by law. The
Jesuits, liowever, secretly encouraged by the court,
and supported by the aristocracy, eluded these ordi-
nances by a thousand different stratagems; and, al-
though not so openly, they never rested from their
intrigues, and from taking an active part in education.
The llevolution of ISoO, due in a great measure
to the aversion of the French nation to the domi-
nation of the priests and Jesuits, again dispersed
them for a while. I'hey left the scene; nobody
knew when they disappeared, whitlier they went,
and when they returned, till, towards 1836, they
came to be spoken of and pointed out as becoming
numerous, powerful, and dangerous ; they, neverthe-
less, went quietly and prudently on, continually pro-
gressing, till 1845, when an affair of money now,
as in 1761, again brought them into momentary
trouble. A certain Affnaer — an arch-Jesuit, it would
seem, since he cheated his dupes by feigning to be a
converted sinner — became their conlidential agent, and
robbed them of the immense sum of £] 0,000, of which
embezzlement they remained ignorant till he took to
liight — (so poor they are !) The fathers had the im-
prudence to apply to the tribunals. The swindler was
indeed condemned, but at the same time was brought
to light the existence of the Jesuits, not as private
citizens, but as a religious comnmnity, ah'eady possess-
ing immense wealth and establishments of all kinds,
till then almost ignored, or at least overlooked — all this
being contrary to the existing laws. Thiers, courting
popularity, called upon the government to advert to
this subject, and the parliament unanimously declared
that it felt confident that the ministry would see the
laws of the land strictly executed. To avoid an open
rupture with Home, liossi was sent thither, to obtain
from the Pope and the General of the order a
458 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
voluntary" acquiescence in the wlslies of the nation.
Roothaan, the then chief of the Society, more prudent
than Ricci, granted the request, and ordered his bre-
thren to quit their estabhshments. However, not
to renounce all the advantages they were deriving in
educating the rising generation of Frenchmen, the
fathers established a college on the very limits of
the French territory, at BrugeUette, and the French
nobility sent their children either there or to Fribourg,
where a part of the French fathers had emigrated.
Once more the Jesuits were supposed to have left
France. Little Avas seen of them in the last two
years of Louis PhiHppe's reign, and during the event-
ful year of 1848 ; but in '49 they reappeared, hesitat-
ingly at first, but more boldly afterwards ; and now,
in 1852, they possess such an influence, that even the
unscrupulous military usurper is obhged to court their
friendship. In 1845, the number of the Jesuits in
France amounted to 870.
In Switzerland, the bloody and inhuman acts by
which the Jesuits sought to enter Lucerne are of too
recent and terrible recollection to require to be related
by us at length. The expedition of the Corps Franc,
their defeats, 112 dead, 300 wounded, 1500 prisoners,
the Sonderbund, and all the fraternal blood spilt in
Switzerland in 1844, 45, and 46, must be laid to the
charge of the Jesuits, who insisted on entering Lucerne
against the will of half the population. Had they been
true Christians, and religious men, they would have
renounced their projects of installing themselves by
force where they knew that the attempt would cost
the lives of so many of their Christian brethren, and
an Iliad of miseries to the unfortunate country.
Although we find few indications of the presence of
the Jesuits in England, after the accession of the
house of Hanover to the throne, till the last few years
of the past century, Cretineau, who may be relied upon
as having written his apology of the Society upon the
RE-ESTABLISHMENT. 459
rco;istcr of the order, and under the dictation of the
fathers, informs us that, " from the day on which
Hberty was no more a deception, the Jesuits perceived
that they had no more to fear the extraordinary
rigours of past times They then began to hve
in fixed abodes, at first in secret, then a little more
openly, and in community. Such were at first the
missions of Livei'pool, Bristol, Preston, Norwich, and
many other towns. A little chapel was annexed to
the house (which means, that an altar had been con-
structed in a room) ; and without exciting the least
suspicion, the faithful could repair thither and pray."*
This, according to the French historian, was the way
in which they lived till 1795, when the Jesuits of
Liege, flying from the victorious republican armies of
France, sought a refuge in Great Britain which
granted them that hospitality she never refuses to
the unfortunate. Then Mr Weld, a wealthy Koman
Catholic, w4th a liberality for wdiich, whatever grati-
tude the Jesuits may owe to his memory, England
certainly owes him none, presented them with an old
manor and some property in Stoneyhurst, near
Preston, in Lancashire. Thither the worthy fathers
instantly repaired, and at first conducted themselves
with all humility, avowing it to be their intention to
earn a subsistence solely by tuition. As we have
said, the Protestants of that epoch seem to have
taken a sort of pleasure in protecting these rebellious
monks, and the more so, perhaps, because they persist-
ed in being monks against the will of Rome. Hence
the Jesuits quietly settled themselves in Stoneyhurst,
nemine contradicente. By degrees, finding all sorts
of encouragement, they changed the manor into a
college, where, besides the boarders and pupils wdio
paid them regular fees, they gave gratuitous instruc-
tions to every one who would attend their classes.
Improvements to a great extent were made upon
* Vol. vi. p. 81.
4G0 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
the house, by which it Avas rendered capable of re-
ceiving at first 150, and subsequently, by additional
buildings, 300 pupils. Weld gave up to them a large
tract of land, and one of his sons entered the order.
'' All the ancient Jesuits flocked to Stoneyhurst.
Amono- the first were Fathers Stanley, O'Brien,
Lawson, Church, Jenkins, Plowden, Howard, and
some others."* All together consecrated their cares
'' to make priests, and to form young men equally
devoted and learned, who should bring into their
families the courage and the faith of which they gave
and received the example in the college."! In a httle
while the college of Stoneyliurst was deemed insuflli-
cient for the number of pupils who repaired thither
from every part ; so that, within a quarter of a mile,
at Greenhurst, was established a seminary for board-
ing and educating boys preparatory to their entering
Stoneyhurst. The most striking characteristic of
Jesuit education, as we have already frequently
remarked, was, and still is, that almost all the
persons educated in their colleges consider themselves
in a certain way attached to the order, and to the end
of their lives work to their utmost for its aggrandise-
ment. And this art of binding to their Society all
their disciples, makes the Jesuits powerful and danger-
ous, especially in those countries where they are
adverse to the government or to a class of citizens.
We insist upon this consideration.
At Stoneyhurst, the ambition of the fathers rose
with their prosperity, and inspired their restless
activity with bolder and more extensive plans. The
exertions of these same young men who were
educated by them, and some of whom had become
priests, spread the seed of Jesuitism in all parts of
England, and, above all, in the surrounding neigh-
bourhood of Stoneyhurst, A\here their large properties
and considerable annual expenditure gave the fathers
* Cret. ^ol. vi. p. S4. t Ibid. p. 83,
RE-ESTABLISHMENT. 461
an additional influence, so tliat soon Roman Catliollc
chapels were to be seen over all the country rouud ;
and a modern author* affirms, that while, before the
establishment of the Jesuits, there were only five
Papists near Stoneyhurst, they were now numbered
by thousands.
"From England, part of the successful colony of
Ignatius passed over into Ireland in the beginning of
the present century, and at once fixed their regards
upon the most important position for acquiring an
extensive influence. Father Kenney, one of the three
first Jesuits who migrated thither, found means to
be appointed vice-president of Maynooth College, of
which he became the leading and influential member,
and in which have ever since been taught the
Jesuitical doctrines both in the matter of theology
and of discipline ; so that it is a notorious fact, that of
all the Roman Catholic clergy, the English are those
who profess the most absolute and unrestricted prin-
ciples of ultramontanism. As to Father Kenney, who
was indefatigable in his vocation, and had already
acquired an immense authority, some scruples now
arose in the morbid consciences of strict Papists,
whether he really was a legitimate Jesuit, since he
had only taken his vows at Stoneyhurst while the
Society had no legal existence. Sensible of the
justness of these observations, Kenney hastened to
Palermo, where the Society was in some sort re-
established. He was there received and recognised
as a genuine son of Loyola, and returned to Ireland
to resume his office. But, as Maynooth College was
established only for the education of priests, Kenney
thought of creating another college for laymen. Clon-
gowes was chosen for the purpose. Kenney was
appointed president of it, and his exertions were so
successful in attracting pupils thither, that, from 1814,
the epoch of its opening, to 1819, it already numbered
* Overbury.
462 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
250 pupils ; while, bj tlie liberality of Mary O'Brien,
a Popish devotee, another college was erected in the
district of King's County.*
The moment the bull of 1814 relieved them from
the interdict under which they laboured, the number
of Jesuits increased so very rapidly, that, accord-
ing to a return printed by order of parliament in
1830, Ireland, at that epoch, possessed 58 fathers,
and 117 were to be found in England. To what
extent their number has increased up to the pre-
sent moment is rather difficult to ascertain. The
clause in the Emancipation Bill, which forbids any
man to make vows or to receive vows in England, or
to come into it after having made them elsewhere,
obliges the Jesuits to observe some moderation and
secrecy. Not, indeed, that they pay any attention, or
submit to the law, because, as Cretineau expressly
says, " the Jesuits felt that such a law (the schedule on
the religious communities in the Emancipation Act)
was enacted against them; but they made little
account of it,'' — lis en tinrent ^^e?* de compte.^
Bat they use some prudence, to avoid trouble, if
possible, and because it is their practice not to oppose
boldly any measure, but to find a certain pleasm^e in
eluding the law, and thus shew themselves more
cunning than their neighbours. Nevertheless, whoever
should inspect the general register kept in the Gesu
in Home, might get at the exact number of the four
avowed classes of the Jesuits — novices, scholastics,
coadjutors, and professed ; but who could tell the
number of persons belonging to the fifth secret class,
who, by the confession of Father Pellico, constitute
the strength and the power of the Society, and who,
we may add, render it also very dangerous 'i Who can
count those innumerable agents who, partly intention-
ally, partly in ignorance, are actively employed in fur-
thering the success of the well-contrived and deeply-
* Cretineau, vol, vi. p» 94. + Vol. vi. p. 89.
EE-ESTABLISHMENT. 463
laid plans of tlie fathers — those secret conspirators
against the civil and religious rights of mankind?
^'obody can; and in this, we repeat, hes the danger.
A Jesuit, when known, is as little dangerous as a
robber who should give you intimation of his intention
to steal your property. Should they present them-
selves boldly and frankly, and say : " Here w^e are
— we, the Jesuits, the most determined adversaries of
the Protestant faith, the most strenuous supporters of
the Court of Rome. Renounce your religion, burn
your Bible, tear your Thirty-nine Articles, and em-
brace the doctrine of Rome, which is the only true one ;
you may believe it on our word." Should they speak
so, they would effect no mischief at all. But the
manner in which the Popish missionaries attempt to
proselytise is a very different one, and shews that
their religion is not in itself forcible, and that it does
not possess such irresistible evidence of truth, that
the simple and unvarnished exposition of its principles
is sufficient to persuade one to embrace it. From the
tiny images distributed by monks to little boys, to the
gorgeous pageant, to the theatrical representation of
the Vatican, all is intended to be the means of
proselytising heretics, or of retaining believers in the
communion of their Church. Then comes the con-
fessional for those who wish to sin in all surety of
conscience; then, again, masses and indulgences for
those whose sins could not be cleansed by the absolu-
tion, but required the excruciating fires of Purgatory.
Formerly, in the good old times of Popery, they re-
sorted to still more persuasive arguments ; w^itness
the unfortunate Albigenses, Huguenots, Indians, and
many others, who were so blind as not to see in Popery
a revelation of Him who is at once the Father of
Mercies and the Father of Lights. Nor does the
agent of Rome, and, above all, the Jesuit, expound at
once the whole system of his religion, such as it is ;
but, with diabolical dexterity, he first insmuates liim-
464 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
self into the confidence of tiie man lie has marked for
a proselyte, captivates his benevolence by all sorts of
arts, and then, step by step, he leads him as a convert
into the fold of the modern Babylon. The same
method is resorted to by those individuals who aim at
v/holesale conversions. They bring one to apostasy
in the name, so to speak, of one's own religion. See,
for example, the Puseyites ; observe their progressive
march from their first tracts, in which loads of abuse
were heaped upon Popery, to the recent attempt to
introduce auricular confession, and you will discover the
same proceeding as that by which the Roman agent
— the Jesuit — endeavours to convert — we should say
seduce — a single individual. And who would take his
oath that Dr Pusey does not belong to that fifth secret
class of the Order of Jesus ? or that my lord Bishop
of Exeter is not one of its members ? We could not
affirm the fact, of com\se, but no more would we deny
it. What we know, and what ought to be well con-
sidered and borne in mind by all English Protestants,
is, that the Jesuits are loud in their praises of the
Puseyites, and that they frankly confess that this
Anglican sect will be the means of bringing back
England to the Roman communion. May God avert
the ill-omened prediction ! Let our readers well
ponder upon the following extract from Cretineau,
who, after having traced the history of the Puseyites
from its origin, and exalted to the skies their princi-
pal leader, says : — " The Puseyites, carried aw\ay
against their wills, by the force of evidence, towards
the Roman faith, pretended, it is true, that they
would never go over to Rome. Nevertheless they,
in fact, embraced one part of her dogmas and even her
practices. A certain number of their disciples went
fi ankly back to Catholicism. From April 1841, the
publication of tracts had been suspended, it is true, but
the party was at no loss for means for propagating its
doctrines. It reio-ncd in manv seminaries and univer-
EE-ESTABLISIIMHNT. 4G5
sities ; it spread in America, and even in India. The
British Critic went on with its quarterly labours ; and
renouncing by degrees its attacks against Rome, it ex-
ercised its learned hostilities against the Jieformation of
the sixteenth century This school (Puseyism),
in its pacific progress, shakes Anglicism /"rom its base.
It exercises an immense influence for the extent of
its reports and its literature, and makes numberless
proselytes. Many Puseyites, carried away by the
truth, were not long in renouncing their theories.
They sought a logical unity : the Church of Eome
offered it to them, and they accepted of it ! "* We add
no comment.
To return to our history, we say that the influence
of the Jesuits in the three kingdoms has increased
since 1814, and its bad effects may be daily traced.
We would almost be bold to assert that every obstacle
which has come in the way to impede the progressive
march of a free and powerful nation, is, to a certain
extent, due to the hidden hand of a Jesuit. It must
be borne in mind that Rome, of all thino-s, desiderates
the ruin of heretic England, and endeavours, to the
utmost of her power, to create troubles and difficulties
to that free country ; and if this be admitted, we shall
remind our readers that all the arduous missions, all
the delicate and secret undertakings for that purpose,
since the times of Salmeron and Brouet, were always
intrusted to the fathers. The secular priest, espe-
cially in countries distant from Rome, looks upon the
Jesuit as his superior in knowledge of the affairs of
religion, as better informed of the intentions of Rome ;
and is always disposed to shew all deference to his
advice, and not seldom to execute his orders. " Al-
ready, from 1829," according to Cretineau, " the
Jesuits were the right arm of the bishops, the living-
models proposed by the prelates to the clergy." f
And this renders the Jesuits more dano-erous than
* Vol. vi. pp. 91, 92, in a note. + Vol, vi. p. 97.
466 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
any other religious community. Indeed, I would
rather see all the various species of those parasite
animals called monks transplanted into the English
soil, than lot one Jesuit live in it a single day ; and it
is not -without good reason that we speak so in this
Protestant country. The order of the Jesuits was
purposely instituted to combat, to extinguish Protest-
antism ; and we have shewn whether the fathers were
scrupulous about the means they employed to effect
their object. The extirpation of heresy is their prin-
cipal occupation, the work which renders them meri-
torious in the eyes of Rome. Deprive the Jesuits of
the vocation of annoying, persecuting, or converting
heretics, and they become the most insignificant of all
corporations, having no end whatever. Every monas-
tic order is distinguished by a peculiar character.
Plots and machinations against Protestants, and
against all civil and religious freedom, are the charac-
teristics of the Jesuits. A Benedictine monk will sit
calmly in his very comfortable room, sip his chocolate,
take a hand at whist, and not even dream of convert-
ing any one. A Franciscan, of any denomination, will
sit jocosely before a succulent dinner, which he has
provided by going from door to door, distributing, in
return for provisions, snuff and images, without uttering
a word about his or your religion, and only relating
some pleasing anecdotes of the holy founder of his
order, St Francis. A Dominican will assuredly report
your conduct to Rome, and will try to convert your
daughter to his principles, but will care very little
about the conversion. The Auto-da-fe, in which ho
formerly delighted, was regarded by him as a means
not so much of converting heretics, as of procuring for
himself a barbarous pastime. He was forbidden to
assist at bull-fighting ! The Jesuit, on the contrary,
has, as we have said, no other occupation or desire
than to make converts ; and this we need not take the
trouble to prove, since they themselves confess it.
RE-ESTABLISHMENT. 467
They p;lory in it, and it forms their title to the grati-
tude of the Holy See, and of all bigoted Papists. We
Avill not say that other Koman Catholic priests Avill not
endeavour to make converts. JMay, they are obliged
by their calling to labour hard at it. In their orisons,
in their anthems, in all the solemn ceremonies of the
Church of Rome, prayers are addressed to the Al-
mighty, not so much for the conversion, as for the ex-
tirpation of heretics ; and every bishop takes an oath
to do his utmost for this purpose ; so that a Roman
Catholic priest must either neglect the principal duty
of his ministry, or become the bitterest enemy of ail
Protestant institutions, if not of every Protestant.
Yet they are not as the Jesuits, prepared to resort to
the most criminal arts to bring about conversion.
The conduct of the Jesuits in Holland, Prussia,
Russia, clearly proves that no benefits can ever make
any impression on that fraternity, or prevent them
from conspiring your ruin ; and if Protestant England
do not soon awake to a sense of her danger, we fear she
will repent, too late, of having fostered in her breast
those poisonous vipers. Behold what is going on !
See whether Romanism has ever been so menacing 1
See the arrogance of the Court of Rome ! Behold the
almost uninterrupted state of rebellion in which the
priests keep the fanatic Papists of Ireland, and be sure
that such Avould not be the case if you had not Jesuits
among them. All our hfe long we have fought for
equality of rights, for civil and religious hberty, and
we w^ould not preach intolerance now. We should like
to see no difference whatever in respect of civil rights
and privileges between Roman Catholic laymen and
Protestants ; but, most assuredly, we would execute to
the letter the clause against the religious fraternities,
and think long before we should grant money to bring
up a set of priests, who, from the very nature of their
caUing, are strictly bound to sue for your destruction.
I beo; to be excused for having indulged in these
468 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
remarks. They are not vain declamations ; I trust to
be believed. I have been born and brought up
among monks and Jesuits ; and it is because I tho-
roughly know them, that, grateful for the hospitality
afforded me, I warn England to beware of all monks,
but especially of Jesuits. They are inauspicious birds,
which cannot but infect with their venomous breath the
pure and free air of Great Britain.
We shall now conclude our history with a chapter
on the present condition of the Company in Europe.
THE JESUITS IN AND AFTER 1848. 4G9
CHAPTER XX.
1848-1852.
THE JESUITS IN AND AFTER 1843.
Before tlie Suppression, tlie Jesuits, with alternate
vicissitudes, possessed less or more influence in all
Roman Catholic countries, in some of which, at
different epochs, they were all-powerful and domineer-
mo-. But since their rc-establisliment, their real
effective power, it may be said, is confined to the
Italian peninsula. It was my unfortunate country
that, from the beginning of their restoration, more
than any other part of Europe, experienced the
pernicious effects of their revival. As from the first
they had stood up as the natural enemy of the liberal
party, the sovereigns of the peninsula, who wished to
reign despotically, without granting any concession
required by the times, countenanced and protected
the Jesuits in the most decided manner. Charles
Felix had delivered up Piedmont to them, and they
had taken possession of it, and governed it, as if they
were its absolute masters. Even Charles Albert vras
unable or unwilling to counteract their influence. In
Jtlodena and Parma they possessed an equal authority;
while in Naples their dominion was still more tyran-
nical, inasmuch as it rested not only on the support
of the court, but also on the superstition and ianati-
cism of the populace, the most blindly bigoted of all
Italy. But the supreme seat of their power, as may
2 H
470 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
be easily conceived, was Rome — Rome, now in per-
fect friendship with the fathers. Odescalchi, a Jesuit,
was Cardinal Vicar of Rome, the highest ecclesiastical
authority in the world after the Pope. The whole of
the public administration was filled with persons
either belonging to the Society, or protected by them.
Public education was entirely in their own hands, or
of those protected by them. The nomination of every
teacher or professor was submitted to the approval of
the bishop. Recommendation from the fathers was
listened to as if it were the orders of a superior ; and
few, if any, of the estabhshed authorities dared to
oppose them in any of their undertakings. Poor
Italy was in a lamentable condition. The diiferent
governments of Italy, encouraged by the fathers in
their tyrannical and intolerant policy, had spread such
dissatisfaction among the higher classes of society,*
that every other year attempts were made at a
revolution, some of which were in part successful, as
those of 1821 and 1831. They were, however,
always crushed by the overAvhelming forces of Austria,
and only served to increase the number of victims, and
the cruelties of the goverments, inflexible in their
despotic policy. Yet the population, driven to despair,
and preferring death to ignominy, were ready to shed
their blood to mend the wretched condition of the
country. In the latter part of Gregory XVI. 's reign,
matters were brought to such a state, that every
moment was expected a new general outbreak through-
out all Italy ; the consequences of which, from the
exasperated state of the popular mind, would have
been incalculable. In these circumstances, Gregory
XVI. died, and Giovanni Mastai was, after only two
days' conclave, raised to the pontifical chair. It was
thought that the meekness of his character, the purity
* Itis to be remembered that all tlie revolutions wliicli have taken
place in Italy since 1814 were prepared and executed by the upper
classes of the nation.
THE JESUITS IN AND AFTER 1848. 471
of his life, his decided aversion to every act of tyran-
ny, mio'ht in part calm the exasperated state of the
po[)ulation of tlie lloman states, the most oppressed of
all the states of Italy, as well as the readiest for a
revolution ; and the beginning of Pins IX. 's reign
promised to the unfortunate peninsula a new era.
Fugitive and deceitful hope ! Alas ! the noAv era is now
such as to make the futm^e generation curse the day
that Mastai ascended the throne !
However, a month after his elevation, Pius IX.
granted an amnesty, reformed some gross abuses, dis-
carded the most obnoxious agents of the past tyrannical
government, and promised to reign according to just
and paternal laws. We extolled his clemency to the
sky, and saAV in him the palladium of freedom ; we
celebrated his virtues in a thousand diiferent ways.
The world was soon filled with the eulogiums of Pius,
and for a brief period Europe prostrated herself at
the feet of the idol raised up by our gratitude.
But while we w^ere loud in the praises of Pius IX,,
hoping that he would prove a reformer and a bene-
factor to Italy, the Jesuits, united with the old des-
potic party, w^hich recognised Austria for its chief,
contrived, by all sorts of means, to oppose his acts of
benevolence, slandered his person, abused his minis-
ters, and openly conspired against him. The Romans
feared that he w^ould meet with the fate of Ganganelli ;
and those fears were not only expressed in all writ-
ings and in all pieces of poetry, but when the Pope
passed through the streets of Kome, the Trasteverini
shouted out, " Holy Father, beware of the Jesuits ! "
A very significant tact, w^iich shews the opinion in
which the fathers are held where they are best know^n.
The good understanding, however, which existed
for some eighteen months betw^een the hberal party
and the Pope, began to be shaken when the Romans,
tired of benisons and insignificant concessions, asked
for liberal organic laws, and wished, above all, U
472 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
snatcli from the hand of the priests and monks their
ill-gotten and ill-used authority, extending* to all
branches of the administration, even to those most in-
consistent with their calling. It is well known that no
office of any importance in the Roman states was
filled by a layman — even the general of the army
was a Monsignore. AVe wished for a radical reform
on this point. Unfortunately, at this time, Grazioli
— a high-minded and tolerant priest, the Pope's con-
fessor — died; and Pius fell into the hands of a confessor
devoted to the Jesuits, and from that moment his
conduct became hypocritical and deceitful, and after-
wards cruel and inhuman. To the Jesuits is certainly
to be attributed the change in the politics of the
Pope. From the beginning, Pius had been displeased
when he heard abuse poured upon the Company ;
but his desire of popularity and applause had modified
the propensities of the priest, nay, of the narrow-
minded, bigoted chief of the priests. But now, divest-
ing himself of the borroAved character of a tolerant
and liberal man, Pius returned to the former error of
all Popes, and would not listen to a w^ord about
reform touching the priesthood. It was this inflexible
opposition to our just and reasonable desires, and not
our petulance, which brought things to extremities,
and the Jesuits were even the apparent cause of the
rupture.
Although the Romans were resolved to be no
longer the vassals of the priesthood, and were deter-
mined not to leave a vestige of authority in civil
matters to any churchman except the Pope, never-
theless, no injury, no abuse, was oifered to any secular
priest or monk, with the exception of the Jesuits.
But against them there was raised a great commotion.
Publications of all sorts were daily poured into the
streets of Rome against the fiithers ; and along with
the shout for Italy, was mingled the cry, ''Down with
the Jesuits ! ''
THE JESUITS IN AND AFTER 1848. 473
Globertl's book, II Gesuita Moderno, was in cvcry-
bodA^'s hands, and when that courageous priest came
to l^ome, the people shouted his name as that of a
benefactor ; a guard of honour was stationed at liis
hotel, and almost royal honours were rendered to him
for having so nnreservedly laid bare the iniquities of
the fathers.* All this irritated the Pope in the
highest degree. From the balcony of the Quirinal he
reproached the Romans with slandering venerable
ecclesiastics; and when the news arrived that the
Neapolitans had expelled the Jesuits from their citj^
he issued a proclamation, in which he threatened us,
if we were tempted to imitate them, ivith his anger,
and ivitli the curse of God's indignation, who would
launch His hohj vengeance against the assailants of
His anointed.^
But the Papal protection was no longer sufficient
to shelter the Jesuits from public hatred. Pius IX.
lost a great part of his popularity, but could not save
them. They were expelled from the whole of the
peninsula — not as a general revolutionary measure,^
since all other religious communities lived unmolested,
but as a manifestation of the public opinion against
the hateful descendants of Ignatius. The Pope's
indignation at this sacrilegious act knew no bounds,
and from that instant he vowed an implacable and
* "We have to lament the decease of this illnstrions Italian, -which has
happened while we were writing these pages. His country has not
forgotten that it is due to him, perhaps more than to anything else, that
Piedmont is without Jesuits. Monuments are to be erected to him, and
his mortal remains will be transported from Paris to Turin at the public
expense. But while all Italy is unanimous in regretting his loss, a
Jesuit newspaper, the Armonia, attributing his sudden death to the
judgment of God, exclaims. "See what it is to wage war against
Heaven ! Gioberti died like Simon the magician, like Anus ! " A Jesuit
in Rome asserted the same thing from the pulpit ; while the Romans
repeat that the Jesuits have poisoned him. He was firm to the end in
his hostility to the fathers, and in the last letter he wrote to the author
of this history, encouraging him to proceed with the work, he adds,
*' You will render a. good service to our country."'
+ See my Hutory of the Pontificate of Fius IX., p. 29 and/.
474 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
intense hatred against tlie liberals of whatever
nation.f
Not only did Pins now refuse to grant any new
concession, but he attempted to recall those which he
had been forced to grant: and when he saw that he
could not effect his purpose, he fled to Gaeta, in the
hope that Rome and Italy would soon fall into a state
of anarchy and confusion, so that the great powers of
Europe would be obliged to interfere, and restore him
to the throne as an absolute master. The wisdom
and moderation of the people again disappointed his
hopes. Never was Rome more true to her duty than
during the absence of the Pope. For a while, even
the government was carried on in the name of a
sovereign who had abandoned the state, and who
refused even to listen to three deputations sent to
Gaeta to come to some understanding. This exaspe-
rated Pius still more than anything else. From
Gaeta he poured forth his curses on his subjects.
And while he was giving these manifestations of his
paternal heart, the Jesuits and Cardinal Antonelli
were laying the plan of that infernal compact between
the Court of Rome and almost all the despots of
Europe, for crushing and annihilating all seeds of civil
and rehgious liberty, and for murdering, with merciless
ferocity, all those who had shouted for reform, in the
name and under the auspices of Pius IX. ; a just re-
tribution, it should seem, for having trusted in a
priest, and thought him capable of being an honest and
+ A month before the Pope fled from Rome to Gaeta, the author had
a conversation with Joseph Mastai, the Pope's brother, who had been an
exile and a political prisoner during the last reign. He, to excuse the
change in his brother's conduct, said, " I warned you not to attack
religion, or you would ruin the cause of liberty. You have not listened
to my advice, and you must abide the consequences." When I asked
him in what respect we had shewn disrespect to religion, he answered,
with great earnestness, "You have driven the Jesuits from Rome, and
attempted to deprive the ecclesiastics of all authority." These words
speak volumes. They express the true sentiments of the Pope, which
were adopted, it seems, by his brother, who had formerly been a
Carbonaro.
THE
JESUITS IN AND AFTER 1848. 475
liberal man. Monsignor do Falloux, a Jesuit, brother
of the tlien all-powerful minister of Louis Napoleon,
was notoriously tlie soul of the negotiation, and it was
he who decided the com^t of liome to accept the
succour of the French. The crusade undertaken
against Rome, by four nations so diiferent in charac-
ter, and having such opposite interests, as Austria and
France, Spain and Naples, was the signal of that fiery
reaction against the liberty of all nations which still
rages, and which, we fear, will not cease till another
general outbreak shall teach the tyrants that it is not
always safe to try too severely the patience of the
people.
Distressful consequences for the people followed the
league. The Roman states were first made to feel the
rage of the allies. Louis Napoleon, who, in 1831,
had fought along with us to overturn the Papal
throne, liow sent an army in support of the Pope.
He thought (I expressed this opinion in my History
of the Pontificate, written two years ago) that
priests and peasants would assist him to grasp the
imperial sceptre, and that he could not better ingra-
tiate himself with them, than by replacing the Pope on
the throne ; an act which would also be very accept-
able to the other despots. In consequence, he
hastened to send his troops to crush the new republic.
The French army landed at Civita Vecchia. The
general chosen to command it was worthy of the end
proposed. Oudinot is the type of Jesuitism : and
Louis Napoleon himself has, more recently, given him
his desert. Hardly had he landed on our shores,^
when many of the fiithers (we here relate facts of
which we ourselves were witnesses) — as an envenomed
brood, sprung by magic from the soil — put them-
selves in communication with him. The very pro-
clamation by which he announced the landing of the
army was a masterpiece of Jesuitical craft. Accord-
ing to its tenor, every party might have considered
470 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
the French expedition as coming to its own support.
Oudinot informed the first deputation sent by the
repubhcan government to inquire about the motives
of this unwelcome visit, that the French came as its
friends; but, some hours after, when pressed by a
second deputation to be more exphcit, he at last con-
fessed that they came to rephice the Pope on the
throne.* It would be to our glory, but not to the pur-
pose, to describe the prodigies of valour performed
by our inexperienced volunteers, in contending for
three months with forty-five thousand of the best troops
of Europe. We fought as only citizens combat for
home and liberty. Men and women were in the melee.
Neither wife nor mother attempted by tears and
entreaties to stay her husband or son, but with a
blessing and a kiss sent him forth against the enemy.
O Rome ! my noble country ! when 1 rem.ember
thy noble deeds, the readiness with which thou didst
sacrifice the noblest of thy children to achieve thy
hberty, hope lends me patience to endure the longing
and miseries of ray exile ! Thou canst not be long
under the yoke of the priests !
But our valour availed us nothing. Left alone, we
could stand no longer. Four nations were leagued
against us, and not a friendly hand was stretched forth
to succour us. England must reproacli herself for
having left us to contend, unaided and alone, against
four Catholic powers, combined together to re-establish
the Pope, wdio is as much her enemy as ours. She
must now feel the consequences of her culpable indif-
ference. The result was — and this is of great import-
ance for Eno'land — that at last, masters of our
* The author was a member of this second deputation. Oudinot was
at first indignant that we should think of oifering opposition to hi^j
troops. "How!" said he, " two armies, the Neapolitans and the
Austrians, are marching against Rome ! We come to succour j'ou, and
you fe-])eak of fighting us ! " And half an hour after this, when we pressed
him hard, forgetting himself, he exclaimed, "Eh bieu ! nom de Dieu
nous venovis pour remettre le Tape sur lo trone."
THE JESUITS IN AND AFTER 1S48. 477
destinies, the Austrians liave established a military-
port at Leghorn, the French one at Civita Vccchia.
Englishmen are cnt down in broad day in the streets
of Florence,* condemned to death by an Inquisi-
torial tribunal at llome,t imprisoned at Verona, i
and insulted and ill-treated throughout all Italy. An
English ambassador sues in vain for the friendly in-
terference of the Pope in English affairs ; lie is
not listened to, and the newspapers of the peninsula,
and of the powers adverse to England, laugh at
his discomfiture. But there is in the looming a stiil
darker and more serious prospect, threatening to
punish England for having abandoned the cause of
civil and religious freedom. Eighteen millions of
Englishmen live, we will not say in perpetual fear —
they are too brave for that — but not without appre-
hension of seeing their shores invaded by the same
army which conquered Rome, and which would carry
with it the blessing and the good wishes of Pius IX.
— God forbid that it should also have the support of
the m.ost fanatical and ignorant portion of the Irish
Papists, led by priests and Jesuits. We hope that
this will not be the case ; yet we must remind our
readers, that every time the French speak of a war
■with England, they count on the Irish as their
natural allies.
We are not of those who, possessed by the fixed
idea that impending dangers threaten the Protestant
religion, believe and aihrm that Louis Napoleon will
be read}^ at the bidding of the Jesuits, to send
an expedition against heretic England. On the con-
trary, we think that, having once possessed himself
of the imperial diadem, and having firmly estab-
lished himself on the throne, through the instrumen-
tality of the priests, and by the magic power which
he seems to possess, of making the electoral urn yield
exactly the amount of votes asked from it, he will
* Mather. f Murray. J Newton.
478 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
soon put a stop to the insolence of the clergy, which,
we are sure, will increase in the direct ratio of the
services they are rendering to the usurper, and of the
favours he has lavished upon them. But at the same
time, we firmly heheve that, should Napoleon, in order
to give employment to his troops, and to gratify the
national animosity, attera])t to invade Great Britain,
or should he succeed in landing his adventurous bat-
tahons on the British shore, then, though England
may not have to lament the treachery of the fanatic
Papists of Ireland, she must expect to find in her bosom
as many spies and allies of her enemy as she has Je-
/euits on her soil. All this is the result of the indiffer-
ence shewn by England to the affairs of the penin-
sula. Had she interfered when the Romans were
bravely struggling for their liberties, the Pope and
Louis Napoleon would not have cemented with our
blood their anomalous alliance, and the before-men-
tioned disastrous results would have been averted with
less difiicultics and sacrifices than are now required to
check the insolence of that monstrous coalition. And
let no one aflirrn that England could not have justly in-
terfered with the internal policy of other nations. What I
shall then intervention only be lawful and commend-
able when employed to oppress a nation awaken-
ed to a sense of its rights, and to extinguish every
spark of freedom and patriotism ? Shall it only be
permitted to outrage humanity, and never to benefit
it ? And to apply the rule to the case now in ques-
tion, we ask, shall the ferocious bands of Croats, and
the degraded soldiers of Louis Napoleon, trample upon
our unfortunate country, ajid dispose of its destinies
at their pleasure, and England remain an indifferent
spectatress of their atrocious proceedings ? These are
considerations which we beg leave to submit to the
meditation not only of the statesmen of Great Britain,
but also of every free and enlightened EngHsh citizen.
To return to our narrative : the French entered
THE JESUITS IN AND AFTER 1848. 479
Rome (3d July 1849), and with tlicm priests cand
Jesuits, wlio luid concealed themselves, or assumed dif-
ferent disguises (not unfrequently that of patriots), re-
appeared, to enjoy their triumph, and the groans of
the unfortunate country. Oudinot, covered with the
blood of the brave Romans, hastened to Gaeta to re-
ceive the Pope's blessing and acknowledgment, and
Avas hailed there as an angel of deliverance. The vin-
dictive priests rejoiced at the recital of the slaughter
of the flock committed to their paternal care, and made
the General repeat the names and the numbers of the
victims. Then, when the hero of St Pancrace * re-
turned to Rome, the priests, to enjoy a barbarous
pleasure, ordered a solemn Te Deimi to be sung in all
the churches of the state ; and those of the unfortu-
nate Italians whose sustenance and liberty were in the
poAver of their relentless enemy, were obliged to assist
at the ceremony, and with their lips, at least, thank
the Almighty for the slaughter of their best friends
and nearest relations, f 131asphemous profanation !
Then began that ceaseless persecution which is still
continued; and the priests gratitied their thirst for
revenge by crowding the dungeons with victims, and
by driving thousands into exile in foreign lands.
I w^ill not prolong the painful history of our mise-
ries. I will not speak of ruined fomiHes — of forlorn and
wandering children. I will not dwell upon the fate of
the ten thousand captives taken by Papal sbirri and
French gens-d'armes, and who fill the prisons of the
state. I will not implore the reader's compassion for
the many victims wlio have been again immured in the
dungeons of the Inquisition, some of whom, for the last
three years, have never seen a friendly face or heard
* OiT^inot ^vas nametl by tlie Pope Duke of St Pancrace, in comme-
moration of his having destroyed a church dedicated to that saint, and
also that part of the wall by which, the French entered, which bears the
same name.
f Many public officers were dismissed or imprisoned for refusing to be
present at the Te Deum.
480 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
a compassionate word. I will not point out the inhu-
man and hypocritical conduct of the so-called Vicar of
Jesus Christ, vfho, while speaking with devout emo-
tion of his clemency, his paternal heart, and the mer-
cies of the Christian religion, ha^ not granted a single
pardon, dried a single tear, shortened for a single day
the torments to which he has condemned thousands of
his suhjects. I shall only give an account of the whole-
sale execution which, in the last month, took place at
Sinigallia and Ancona, and which has tilled Italy and
Europe Avith horror and amazement. As the Jesuits
are notoriously the soul and spirit of Popery, and are
at the present moment th.e recognised advisers and
ministers of the Court at Rome, this short narrative
will not, we hope, be considered extraneous to our
subject.
Those who, in times of calm and tranquillity^ judge
of events that occur in epochs of commotion and revo-
lution, when the passions of men are excited to the
highest paroxysm, and the voice of reason imposes a
feebler restraint upon their actions, leaving them little
liberty to judge of the character of their actions, arc
apt to commit serious injustice ; for they are too prone
to brand as criminal, and deserving the highest repro-
bation, deeds which, although culpable in themselves,
were yet committed under the impulse of heroism and
devotedness. We do not intend by this to approve or
countenance crime, no matter under what pretext it
may have been committed. But assuredly there are
circumstances that ought to be taken into account
which might render it, if not excusable, at least less
heinous and worthy of reprobation ; and whoever
would form a just judgment in such cases, will never
lose sight of these considerations.
The first two years of Pius IX. 's pontificate are re-
markably characteristic of the nobleness and genero-
sity of the liberal party. Though the liberals had
been, for the thirty years previous, so cruelly and mer-
THE JESUITS IN AND AFTER 1848. 481
cilessly treated, and though tliey ^vcrc now the domi-
nant party in the state, they cannot bo reproached
with having offered an insult to tlieir late oppressors,
nor with a single act of revenge. But it is, unibrtun-
ately, true that, latterly, when the Pope had fled to
Gaeta for the very purpose of exciting civil war, when
the priests were plotting against the republic, calling
in sti'angers to tlieir aid, and menacing us with foreign
mvasion, many political assassinations were committed
in Ancona and Sinigallia. This cannot be denied or
palliated; only it is to be remarked, that the crimes
were coniined to these two towns — the latter the
Pope's birthplace ; and both places being the residence
of his family, relations, and friends, a suspicion na-
turally arose in the minds of many that these crimes
•were committed by persons misled by the advice of
some hidden Jesuits and partisans of the Pope, whose
endeavour it was to bring matters to the worst. The
suspicion acquired snength from the circumstance, that
nobody belonging to the Mastai family was injured.
Although, as we have already reported, Ave were wit-
ness of the fact that those who, during the late com-
motion in Rome, proposed the most energetic and
revolutionary measures, were, in the end, discovered
to be the agents or the tools of the Jesuits, neverthe-
less we would not like to affirm that the political mur-
ders committed at Sinigallia were due to the perfidious
instigation of the priests. We do not like to believe
in the reality of such hellish perfidy ; yet why had
Sinigallia and Ancona the sad preference of seeing
their streets stained with fratei'nal blood'/ Were there
not exasperated minds also in other places ? Had no
other populations of the state good grounds for calhng
to a strict and severe account the agents and supporters
of the past tyrannical government ? V\ hy, we repeat,
•was the sad pre-eminence in guilt assigned to the
native town of the Pope?
However it were, after the Papal restoration, about
482 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
150 individuals were thrown into prison, accused of
being the accomplices or the abettors of these crimes.
Some of the accused, perhaps the guilty, were never
taken, having fled from the country. About eighty
were condemned to the galleys for life, the remainder
to death.* Forty of the unfortunates have already
been executed, and the rest will meet the same fate
when the Pope shall find executioners as clement and
humane as himself ; — the garrison of Ancona having to
a man refused to be any longer the accomplices of the
Papal revenge.
What is of more importance than all this, is to place
before the eyes of our readers and civilised Europe the
manner in which political trials are conducted in the
Roman states, in order that they may be aware of the
justice, charity, and humanity which characterise the
acts of him ayIio blasphemously calls himself a god
upon earth, the representative of Christ.
Whoever has the misfortune to incur the displeasure
or the hatred of his Holiness, his ministers, a police-
man, a sbirro, the bishop, the curate, a monk, or any
other of such rabble, which form an integral part of
the biform Papal government, is thrown into a dungeon,
helpless, comfortless, alone, and during several months
hears and sees nothing else than the grating sound of
the rusty bolts, and the inauspicious face of his guar-
dian, who comes to bring his miserable pittance of food,
and to ascertain that the victim cannot make his es-
cape. After a longer or shorter space of time, but
never shorter than three or four months, according to
the hatred or fear the prisoner has inspired, or the
interest possessed by his friends without, he is brought
before a cancelliere o giudice 2>'^ocessante, a sort
of scribe, by whom he is interrogated.! In that exa-
* Murray is of this number,
t When nothing can be invented which may at least have the appear-
ance of criminality, and the man is punished merely for his opinions, he
is not interrogated at all, but is kept a prisoner as long as his persecutors
E lease, and released after five, six, or more years, without ever liaving
een interrogated, or even seeing the face of a judge.
THE JESUITS IN AND AFTER 1848. 483
mination all the care of tlie man of police — tv'c can-
not call him a ma<i,'istr-atc — is directed to elicit from
the victim a confession of his crime, or the name of his
accomplices, if he is supposed to have had any. Pro-
mises of liberty, favour, and recompcnce, are held out
to liim as an inducement to dishonour or perjure him-
self. These examinations are repeated every three or
four months ; and when at last the inan of the law has,
after some years, obtained what he wished, or despairs
of obtaining* it, the process is announced to be closed,
and the judgment is going to be delivered. Then, and
not till then, the accused may confer with a legal adviser,
generally assigned to him,e.i' q^czo, by the tribunal ; and
some httle space of time is granted to him to prepare
his defence. But how can he defend himself? He
knows neither the names of his accusers nor of the
witnesses who have made the accusation good. He is
not allowed to confront and cross-examine them. Even
his answers to the different questions put to him by
the cancelliere are noted down, not as actually given
by him, but as it was desired that they should be
given, in order that he may appear a criminal, the
only result which the judges wish to obtain. When
the advocate has delivered his defence, the secret tri-
bunal pass judgment without even seeing the face of
the prisoner; and this judgment is without appeal.
Such is the general practice observed in political trials.
Kobbers are a httle better treated. In the peculiar
case which we are considering, we have to add, that, as
far as has transpired, all the witnesses who were called
to give evidence against the accused belonged to the
adverse party — the party of the Jesuits, thirsting for
revenge, and eager to shew their devotion to the sect.
It may be easily understood that those witnesses were
not very scru])ulous as to the charges they brought
against the accused, being assured, as they were, that
their names would never be made public, and that they
484 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
would not be confronted with the prisoner, nor be
cross-examined by anybody.
And nevertheless, it was upon such testimony that the
ti-ibunal of the Consulta, composed of cardinals and
prelates, condemned sixty unfortunate young men to
suffer the last punishment of the law. We must
further observe that, had those men who composed
the tribunal, which they call Sacred, been judges,
aud not persecutors, had they had any sentiment of
humanity in passing the sentence, even though the
crime had been proved, they would have borne in
mind the time and the motives which led the culprits
to commit the murder, and would not have added
another red page to the annals of their Church, already
overcharged with innocent blood.*
Sininialiia, in which the executions were the most
numerous, had not yet recovered from the horror in-
spired by such a bloody tragedy, and had not dried
its tears for the cruel fate of its butchered citizens, and
especially for the innocent and unfortunate Simoncelli,!
when, to complete its miseries and insult its grief,
there appeared a Papal ordinance, granting to the
Jesuits £40,000 sterling to erect a college in the
desolate city. Ah ! so they reign in the Papal states !
* Englisli readers must be aware that in France, as v.-ell as in Italy,
murder does not necessarily and inevitably import capital punishment.
Toere aie certain extenuating circumstances admitted. In the Roman
Slates, indeed, very seldom is the common assassin executed.
f The fate of tliis generous and unfortunate young man has excited,
and indeed deserves, the deepest commiseration. He was a merchant, and
in '48 left his business to march with us into Lumbardy ; lie became lieuten-
ant of the battalion commanded by the chevalier Geraldi, one of the Pope's
nephews, and was intimate with Ercole Mastai, who \\ as an officer in the
same battalion. On returning from the war, he was raided, by the esteem
of his fellow-citizens, to the rank of colonel in the national guard. When
the fetal acts of revenge above narrated were perpetrated at Sinigallia,
the author >vrote to Simoncelli from Rome, entreating him to use all
ids influence to repress tliese murders. He answered in a tone which
left no doubt that he entirely condemned them. He said he had been
Jible to save the lives of some, and would I'edouble his exertions to put
a stop to crimes, which he abhorred and detested. I gave the letter to
•Uazzuii. Yet this same man has been shot as an abettor and accomi:)licei
Such is the justice of the priests !
THE JESUITS IN AND AFTER 1848. 485
When the Jesuits re-entered Naples in 1849, the
Superior held a sort of levee, when the generals of
the army, tlie first magistrates of the kingdom, and
all the civil and military authorities, went to pay their
respects to those very humble monks. The addresses
which were delivered on the occasion in praise of
these men of Providence, these messengers of God,
these restorers of all moral and sainted institutions,
were, from their hyperbohcal style, amusing in the
extreme ; and it is curious to find that some of them
were repeated almost literally (plagiarism seems to
become very fashionable now-a-days) by some bishops
to Louis Napoleon, the saviour of society, the man
of Providence, the pearl of chastity and virtue — just
as was done to the fathers themselves.
If in Home the Jesuits must shew deference to the
chair of St Peter, in Naples they are masters of the
situation. St Ignatius has superseded even St Janu-
arius, and both have almost obliterated the name of
Christ. The superstition and bigotry of that part of
the peninsula exclusively under the sway of the
Jesuits is almost incredible ; and the government, con-
ducted on those principles, has reached the highest
point of immorality and corruption, and is held up
by every honest person, no matter of what party,
to the execration and contempt of Europe ; while, to
leave no doubt as to the influence which predomi-
nates there, the Pope, the Jesuits, and the priests,
their abettors, represent Ferdinand II. as a model of
Christian perfection, and the kingdom of the two
Sicilies as the best governed in the world ; the Roman
states being of course excepted.
Unfortunately, the wretched Neapolitans, and the
noblest and best amongst them, have to pay with their
liberties and their lives for the eulogium awarded by
the Jesuits to the merciless Bourbon. The policy of the
Neapolitan governments is a disgrace to civilisation. A
band of ruffians, under the name of police or govern-
2i
488 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
ment, seize upon all persons who have had the misfor-
tune to displease them ; their victims are thrown into
prison, and are accused of imaginary crimes; while
the accusers, changing themselves into witnesses, often
into judges, in order to make good the charge, keep
them chained for three or four years in Ischia, as in
the case of Poerio and Dragonetti, and finally pass
a sentence of death upon them, in order to give
the pious and clement Ferdinand and his Jesuit
confessor the merit of having commuted the infam-
ous sentence into a horrid and perpetual imprison-
ment ; and to all this complication of iniquities they
give the name of a state trial. Such is the Neapolitan
government under the conduct of the sons of Loyola.
But the malignant spirit of the Jesuits, in breaking
forth from Naj)les and Rome, has lately made an in-
road into a province which, till then, had been spared
its pernicious influence. Among all the other provinces
of Italy, Tuscany had been favoured with a compara-
tively just and tolerant government ; and this, it was
openly asserted, was owing to the absence of the Jesuits
from the country. Now, whoever has followed the
march of events there, must have been struck by the
wide difference that exists between the former policy
of the government and the new one introduced after
Leopold IL had been some time at Gaeta, under the
influence of Antonelli and the Jesuits. From that
moment all things changed in Tuscany. The priests
re-acquired an influence which they had never pos-
sessed since the time of Leopold L, and made it sub-
servient to their unworthy ends. Madonnas became
again miraculous. Feasts and processions were got up
with the greatest pomp, and were numerously attended
by all those who had anything to hope or fear from
the government. A furious war was declared against
all doctrines but those harmonising with the strictest
ultra-Popish principles. Books and newspapers were
interdicted, and no efforts were spared to bring the
THE JESUITS IN AXD AFTER 1848. 487
enlightened, lively, and intellectual people of Tuscany
to limit their literary pursuits to the perfect know-
ledge of the Catechisms.
The influence of the too notorious Bocclla, by his
own confession a Jesuit, was, above all, fatal to the
country. While he was the chief adviser of the
Grand Duke, the Grand Duchess went in proces-
sion to worship a miraculous Madonna at Rimini, and
Leopold himself ordered a sumptuous and extra-
ordinary feast for another Madonna in Florence, to
whose church he repaired in state. But at tho same
time, the most respectable citizens of Florence, Count
Guicciardini and others, were prosecuted and exiled for
the heinous crime of reading the Bible ; and two unfor-
tunate and inofl'ensive creatures — the Madiais — have
been condemned to the punishment of malefactors
(hard labour), for having in their possession the sacred
volume, and for discussing and endeavouring to prove
its veracity. Later still, an ordinance of the Grand
Duke re-establishes capital punishment, which had
long since been abolished ; while another ordinance of
the minister of police expels from the hospitable soil
of Tuscany hundreds of unfortunate Italians, who had
sought there a refuge against the ferocious and relent-
less persecution of the Roman Court. Such are the
effects of the influence of the Jesuits.
What will become of Lombardy, already so wretched,
now that Austria has decided on re-establishing the
Jesuits there on an extended scale, it is disheartening
to contemplate ; while, on the other hand, it is cheer-
ing in the extreme for an Italian, and for every
true friend of civil and religious liberty, to see the
conduct of the Piedmontese government towards the
Jesuits and the priesthood.
The Jesuits, after their expulsion, were never per-
mitted to re-enter the kingdom, and the priests are
now subjected, like other citizens, to the laws of the
land, and are obliged to submit to that equality which
488 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
they consider as a disgrace to their privileged caste.
For it must be borne in mind that the priest, and the
conscientious one more than others, considers him-
self a superior being, a man far above any layman,
even thouo^h he were a kino^. He imbibes this idea
from childhood, when he begins to dress in a peculiar
garb, and is accosted by a respectful appellation. Ac-
cording to the canonical law (and in Italy that law is
universally respected and strictly enforced, except,
indeed, in Piedmont), the moment an infant assumes
the garb of a priest, and receives the first order (ton-
sura), he is no more subject to the civil authorities ;
he is henceforth only amenable to the ecclesiastical
court, and whoever strikes him, incurs de facto ex-
communication. After he has been consecrated priest,
he pretends, or in reality believes, that it is in his
power to oblige the Almighty to descend from
heaven into his hands, and that at his bidding the
flesh and blood of the Divine Redeemer is transub-
stantiated into bread and wine, and in that form
goes to sanctify his breast. Again, he believes, or
feigns to believe, that it rests with him to open or shut
the gates of heaven, and that he has the power of be-
stowing everlasting beatitude or dooming to eternal
damnation, according as he absolves from sin or
refuses absolution. In fact, he puts himself in the
place of God, of whom he calls himself the Anointed,
and whose name he often usurps. When we consider
all this, we do not wonder that the priests cannot
endure equality of rights with other citizens. We
are rather astonished that serious and enlightened
people of this country can for a moment entertain the
idea that the Irish Roman Catholic priests are sin-
cere when they ask for equahty of rights. Look to
Piedmont; there the Romish priesthood enjoy this
equality — nay, more than equality. Their religion is
acknowledged to be the religion of the state ; and
many are the writers who have lately been condemned
THE JESUITS IN AND AFTER 1848. 489
for dlsparacrlnf^ it. They possess, also, some other less
considerable privileges over the other citizens ; and yet
they are far from being satisfied. On the contrary,
they accuse the government of tyranny. The bishops
are in open rebellion against the sovereign ; priests
and curates oppose the laws of the country. The
pulpit, the confessional, are made subservient to their
hatred of the new state of things ; and all this because
the legislature attempts, not to deprive them of any
right, or subject them to any incapacity, but to intro-
duce equality, and to subject ecclesiastics of all sorts
to the common law. The rage of the priesthood at
this sacrilegious audacity on the part of the parlia-
ment, in seeldng to assimilate them to other men, is
such, that they have launched a solemn act of excom-
munication against all those who shall read the news-
papers advocating such infamous measures. The Jesuits
are at the bottom of all this, and their intrigues brought
Piedmont but the other day to the brink of ruin.
Fortunately, public opinion declared itself so strongly,
and the king shewed such firmness, that their machi-
nations proved abortive. It must be remarked in all
this, that when the liberal newspapers reproach the
clerical party with their acts or words, they always
stigmatise them with tlie name of Jesuits — so univer-
sally is the abhorred name coupled with all that is
bad, cunning, and criminal !
Appalling and ominous of incalculable consequences
is the influence which the Jesuits have acquired in
France — in that country which has prostrated all its
past glory and its dignity as a nation, at the feet of
an unscrupulous, merciless tyrant; endeavouring, at
the same time, to forget its ignominy in the intoxica-
tion offcasts and champaigne. The Jesuits and priests
are the firmest supporters of Louis Napoleon ; and it
is worthy of remark, that the bishops who are known
for their ultramontane principles and their adherence
to the Jesuitical discipline are those who lavish the
490 HISTOKY OF THE JESUITS.
highest eulogiums on the unprincipled usurper. This
affords us another instance of the worldly spirit of the
Popish clergy, and may be a salutary lesson for the
future. For our own part, indeed, we are inchned to
recognise in it the hand of Providence consummating
the speedy downfall of the Popish religion. The con-
duct of Pius IX. has already extinguished in Italy the
last lingering sentiments of respect and devotion to-
wards the Papal religion. The Itahans had hopes for
a moment that Pius would reconcile them to the religion
of their forefathers, by shewing that it is not a religion
of blood and persecution, but of love and brotherhood,
eminently liberal and national. They had hoped that
Popery, to which Italy owes all its misfortunes, would
now change, and restore to it part of its former glory.
And this idea prevented them from renouncing alto-
gether rehgion such as it is preached to them. But
now that no doubt remains as to the true spirit of
Popery, now that no one can reasonably entertain the
least hope that it will ever change from what it has
been — an institution founded on superstition, ce-
mented with blood, and maintained by the axe of the
executioner — now that the last testing experiment has
shewn to all the world its utter helplessness against free
physical force, it may be truly said that Popery has
been irrevocably doomed in Italy. It may linger yet
a while by the aid of despotic bayonets, but never
again will the Itahans, of their own free will, repose
their faith in the religion of the Popes, f ' ' '■ - ^^
In precisely a similar manner are the priests and
Jesuits now giving the last blow to the Popish rehgion
in France. Let the present transient moment of de-
lirium pass over, and the French nation will reconsider
the servile and ignominious part played by the clergy
in the recent immoral saturnalia. It will remember
that the man who had perjured himself — who had
caused thousands of citizens to be butchered because
they were faithful to the laws — who had been a trai-
THE JESUITS IN AND AFTER 1848. 491
tor to all governments from his youth — who had never
kept his word — who had been distinguished for immo-
rality and debauchery even among the unscrupulous
lions of London and Paris — that this man was ex-
alted by the surpliced emissaries of Rome as the man
of Providence, the messenger' of God, the restorer of
moralitij and religion, and the benefactor of huma-
nity. Who, need it be asked, will once again beheve
them, when speaking of the things of heaven, after
they have lied so impudently and deliberately in
speaking of the things of this world? But till a
reaction take place, the Jesuits triumph in France.
As we have had occasion to speak incidentally, in
various parts of this work, of the arts and practices
employed at the present moment by the Jesuits against
England, and as our readers have daily so many means
of ascertaining the manners of the fathers in the pub-
lic prints, we do not think it necessary to add anything
more in this place. We have also little to say about
the actual missions of the Jesuits in both Indies. They
are neither prosperous nor important, and are only
distinguished by their intrigues and by the war which
they keep up against all other missionaries, whether
Popish or Protestant. The actual wealth of the Jesuits,
though considerable, is far from approaching the fabu-
lous amount it possessed before the suppression. If
our information and calculation are correct, and we be-
heve they are, the total number of the members to he
found on the register of the Order amounts to nearly
six thousand — an enormous increase since 1814, and
such, indeed, as to give to reflective minds serious
apprehensions. But we have nearly exhausted the
space we had allowed ourselves. We must pass to the
conclusion.
CONCLUSION. 493
CONCLUSION.
"We arc now at the end of our labours ; but, before
parting with our readers, we would briefly call their
attention to some of the chief points in our History.
If we mistake not, the perusal of our narrative, imper-
fect as it may be, will convince even an indifferently
attentive reader that Loyola had but one end in view
— one fixed idea — namely, to establish an order which
should domineer over society ; and that his successors
have been arrested by no scruples as to the means
to be employed for obtaining this end. "With the
exception of this fixed rule, to which the Jesuits have
adhered with undeviating constancy, it may be as-
serted that they have no principle whatever. The
dogmas of their creed, the precepts of their moral code,
their political principles, all these they have changed or
modified according to places and circumstances. They
have been against or in favour of the Roman See, ac-
cording as it served or injured the interests of the
order. They have proclaimed the unhmited sove-
reignty of the people, and have been instrumental in
bringing many unfortunate persons to the scaffold, for
resisting the tyrannical power of absolute monarchs.
To accomplish their ends, they have all along thought
that money would be the most efficient instrument ;
hence their insatiable desire of wealth, to accumulate
which, they violated all laws, divine and human. The
riches got by ihicit means have been ever expended
for still more culpable purposes. A Jesuit docs not
desire or spend money for his own personal self; he
is frugal in his habits, and parsimonious in expenditure
as far as regards mere comforts ; but he is no miser.
He does not hide his treasures in the bowels of the
494 HISTORY OF THE JESUITS.
earth, but spends them freely to increase the influence
and power of his order. The secret agent of the
Society is handsomely rewarded ; the spy liberally
paid. Ministers of different sovereigns are bought
over by princely largesses ; and even the ruling
beauties of courts are bribed to serve the order with
costly and suitable presents.
The fathers were also persuaded, from the beginning,
that it would greatly contribute to the grandeur and
power of the order to insinuate themselves into the
susceptible minds of the young, and they left nothing
untried by which this might be effected. Other
schemes — the conversion of heretics, the missions, the
outward exercise of many of the Christian virtues —
were all directed to the attainment of the same identical
end — the ao-o-randisement of the order.
Two other principal facts are deserving of attention.
The first is, that, from the beo-innino; the establish-
ment of the Society was everywhere opposed, and
in all places where it was finally admitted, it was
subsequently, at different epochs, persecuted, and
convicted of iniquitous and abominable crimes. The
second fact is, that the Society of Jesus, though it
may at times have disregarded its rules of internal
policy, has nevertheless maintained its general primi-
tive character ; namely, its relentless domineering
spirit, and the abnegation of every personal feehng
in favour of the community. The Jesuits of the pre-
sent day, unlike all other religious fraternities, which
have invariably undergone so many modifications, are
exactly th 
