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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 
