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Rh of calumny, his talent for fulsome flattery to obtain money and presents, matched only by his malignant spite against adversaries, destroyed all proportions between his literary achievements and his character. The leaders among the younger humanists who, when not fighting the theologians, devoted their energies to the composition of vapid verses and lewd poems, were Conrad Celtes, Eobanus Hessus, Crotus Rubianus, Conrad Rufus, Mutian, the dissolute Ulric of Hutten, the knight-errant of humanism, and a host of minor scribblers. In their school work they read the most profligate pagan poetry with their young pupils, and introduced a reign of unrestrained license at Erfurt and other universities and schools.

In Germany, as well as in Italy, this reaction in the renaissance took a special coloring from the circumstances of the melancholy period in which it occurred. From the beginning of the fourteenth century deplorable effects had been manifesting themselves in the Church. The authority of the Pope had been weakened, a great part of the clergy was steeped in worldliness; scholastic philosophy and theology had declined and terrible disorders were rife in political and civil life. The dangerous elements, which no doubt ancient literature contained, were presented to a generation intellectually and physically overwrought and in many ways unhealthy. It is no wonder, therefore, that some of the adherents of the new tendency

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56 turned aside into perilous paths. In particular the nepotism, worldly life, unscrupulous state policy, and scandalous appointments to high places, for which some of the Popes were responsible, and the scandals connected with the name of Alexander VI., furnished welcome weapons to diets, to princes and agitators, who, under the guise of "reform in head and members," pursued their own selfish ends and aimed at nothing less than the secularization of ecclesiastical property and the usurpation of ecclesiastical jurisdiction.

Besides these abuses, affecting the Church at large, there were others threatening Germany in particular. It is true there existed a great love of learning among all classes, and piety and active charity were found among a great number of clergy and laity. As we have seen, in the lower elementary and the advanced middle schools a sound basis of popular education was

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Rh established; the universities attained a height of distinction never dreamt of in former times. And art developed more rapidly than learning. But there were many dangerous symptoms in religious, social and political life. In all departments perplexity and confusion were visible. A mass of inflammable material was ready everywhere, and it needed but a spark to set the whole mass ablaze. This spark came from Wittenberg.

Luther was undoubtedly a man endowed with the highest natural gifts. Still he was not what Protestant tradition has made him. "On the part of the Protestants," writes one of Germany's historians, the Protestant K. A. Menzel, "it is an accepted maxim to represent to oneself the Reformers as lords and half saints. This prejudice is indeed broken in circles that are conversant with history, but among the large mass of the evangelical population it is still maintained, not, however, to the preservation of truth. It passes current as 'cultured', and is paraded as a mark of 'scientific investigation' to undermine with criticism and negation even the fundamental doctrines of Christianity. But woe to him who with the torch of science invades the vestibule of the temple in which prejudice

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58 and tradition have erected the throne of the 'heroes of the Reformation' and their works. The historical investigator who possesses such a foolhardiness is sure to be decried as a Crypto-Catholic." Not a few Protestant historians frankly confess that the whole structure of Reformation history must undergo a change from its very foundation. One of them says: "Too great is the rubbish and garbage which, intentionally or unintentionally, the prevailing theological standpoint concerning the Reformation period has inaugurated." From original documents a picture of the Reformers, very different from the traditional one, has been presented by the "fear-inspiring book of Döllinger" and by "Janssen's crushing examination of the Luther myth which produced a tremendous uproar in Germany." A great deal of "rubbish and garbage" has also hidden the truth in regard to the influence of Luther and the Reformation on education.

It is a fact of no little significance that Luther's first confederates were the radical humanists. In their hatred against scholastic learning and ecclesiastical authority they welcomed Luther's audacious attacks on the Church. Luther himself had tried at an early date to ingratiate himself with the humanistic confederacy. After the example of Luther the younger humanists, these inveterate enemies of all religion, now accustomed themselves to a Biblical style of lan-

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Rh guage; they even became of a sudden scholars of divinity and delivered lectures on theological subjects. Luther did not shrink from a formal alliance with the most violent of these enemies of the existing order, the gifted but utterly corrupt Ulrich von Hutten, who at that time together with Franz von Sickingen planned a revolution against the Emperor.

This was indeed a remarkable alliance. Prof. Paulsen's comment on it is worth quoting: "The humanists offered their assistance to the monk whose controversies they had shortly before despised as a monkish quarrel. 'Evangelical liberty' became their war-cry instead of 'learning and humanity'. It is only through this alliance that Luther's cause, which had begun as a 'monkish quarrel', became that tremendous revolutionary movement which unhinged the gates of the Church. A reminder of humanism is that naturalism contained in the pure gospel, that addition which appears so strange in Luther's writings, when now and then he represents the works of the flesh as divine commandments and continence as well nigh a rebellion against God's word and will: almost as if the emancipation of the flesh was to be realized through the gospel of Christ. Of course this must not be understood as though these elements had not existed in Luther's nature, in his views and sentiments, but it was only under the influence of humanism that they developed. Under different circumstances they might have remained latent." Luther and Loyola have often been contrasted, the one as the leader of the Protestant Revolution, the other as prominent in the

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60. Luther tried to reform by a revolution, by a complete break with the past ; Loyola by a real reformation. Luther changed the doctrine, Loyola saw, as his first companion, Peter Faber, has it, that "not the head, but the heart, not the doctrine, but the life needed a change." Luther allied himself with the radical humanists, Loyola imitated the earlier conservative humanists.

That a Christian reformer followed the earlier humanists, who were thoroughly imbued with the spirit of Christianity, as Vittorino da Feltre, Hegius, Agricola, Wimpheling, is natural. But, as Paulsen remarks, "it is a strange phenomenon that a man (Luther) who seemed to be made to fight with Savonarola against the worldliness of the Church introduced by humanism, had to unite himself with Hutten for the extirpation of monasticism. True, it is stranger still that Hutten could make common cause with Luther against the Papacy whose representative was a Medici, against a Church which raised such patrons of learning as Cardinal Albrecht of Mentz to the highest dignities. Well might one have warned Hutten not to cut the branch on which he was sitting."

The humanists had, indeed, cut the branch. – Humanism was ruined by its alliance with the Reformation, and as early as 1524 the eyes of the humanists were opened. The universities and schools were almost annihilated in the storms of religious strife. Professor Paulsen shows this in detail in regard to the

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Rh various German universities, as Wittenberg, Erfurt, Leipsic, Frankfurt, Rostock, Greifswald, Cologne, Vienna, Heidelberg, etc. Ingolstadt, of all German universities, was least affected by the Reformation. Under the leadership of Dr. Eck the Lutheran invasion was energetically combated. The number of students declined somewhat, but not considerably, so that this university shows the most favorable conditions of all universities. The same decline was visible in the lower schools. Döllinger has collected a long list of complaints that could be easily enlarged, about the ruin of the schools consequent upon the religious revolution.

The humanist Eobanus Hessus writes from Erfurt in the year 1523: "Under the cloak of the Gospel the escaped monks here are suppressing all liberal studies. Our university is quite deserted; we are utterly despised." In the same year the Dean of the Erfurt philosophical faculty complains: "Nobody would have believed it, if it had been predicted that in a short time our university would have fallen so low that scarcely a shadow of its former lustre would remain." In the same strain lament Melanchthon from Wittenberg, and others from all seats of learning throughout Germany.

Erasmus, an eye-witness of the first scenes in the great drama of the Reformation, the intimate friend of Melanchthon and other Reformers, writes in 1528: "Wherever Lutheranism reigns, there literature per-

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62 ishes. I dislike these gospellers on many accounts, but chiefly, because through their agency literature everywhere languishes, disappears, lies drooping and perishes: and yet, without learning, what is a man's life? They love good cheer and a wife; for other things they care not a straw." In a letter to Melanchthon he states that at Strasburg the Protestant party had publicly taught, in 1524, that it was not right to cultivate any science, and that no language should be studied except the Hebrew. In fact, who was to be blamed for this rapid decay of schools but the Reformers themselves? Carlstadt was not only a fanatic in his hatred of Catholic doctrines and customs, but also spoke with contempt of all human learning. He advised the students to return to their homes and resume the spade or follow the plough, and cultivate the earth, because man was to eat bread in the sweat of his brow. George Mohr, master of the boys' school at Wittenberg, carried away by a similar madness, called from his window to the burghers outside to come and remove their children. Where, indeed, was the use of continuing their studies, since a mechanic was just as well, nay, perhaps better qualified than all the divines in the world, to preach the Gospel.

The Anabaptists in Münster decided that there was only one book necessary to salvation, the Bible, all others should be burned as useless or dangerous.

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Rh This decision was carried out, and whole libraries with numerous precious manuscripts of Latin and Greek authors perished in the flames. Popes, bishops, and councils during the Middle Ages, had enforced the obligation of establishing schools throughout Christendom. The vandalism of some Reformers destroyed innumerable monasteries and with them schools without number. The funds for the support of these schools had been accumulated by the piety, zeal and liberality of previous ages.

No one is more responsible for this sad change than Luther himself. If, with the aid of the Holy Ghost, Scripture could be interpreted by "a miller's maid and a boy of nine years better than by all the popes and cardinals," – these are Luther's words, – of what value could human learning be in religion? Nay more, according to Luther's early teaching higher, learning was not only useless, but positively dangerous. He spoke with a fierce hatred against higher schools and human learning. Professor Paulsen admits that the vehemence of tone in which Luther spoke of the universities as the real bulwarks of the devil on earth, has perhaps never been rivalled before or after by any attack on these institutions. A few specimens of these invectives may suffice.

According to Luther, everything instituted by the papacy was only intended to augment sin and error, so also were the universities. It is the devil himself who has introduced study; there reigns the damned, haughty and wicked Aristotle, from whose works Christian youth is instructed. And yet "a man who

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64 boasts the title of philosopher cannot be called a Christian." "The Moloch to which the Jews offered up their children, are the higher schools (hohen Schulen = universities), in which the best part of youth is sacrificed as a burnt offering. There they are instructed in false heathen art and godless human knowledge: this is the fire of Moloch which no one can weep over enough, through which the most pious and most clever boys are miserably ruined." "The higher schools all deserve to be ground to dust; nothing more hellish, nothing more devilish has appeared on earth, nor will ever appear. These schools have been invented by no one else than the devil." Luther hated the universities because they exalted reason, "the light of nature", too much. To Luther reason is only "the devil's bride, a beautiful prostitute of the devil." "Human reason is sheer darkness." The faithful strangle reason and say: "Hearest thou, a mad blind fool thou art, understandest not a bit of the things that are God's. Thus the believers throttle this beast."

It is surprising to see that Melanchthon fell in with the tone of Luther. He denounced universities, philosophy, and ethics, almost as violently as his master, but only for a time; he soon abated the violence of his sentiments, whereas Luther to the end

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Rh of his life preserved his bitterness against natural reason. Innumerable other preachers began to vie with each other in pouring forth virulent abuse against all enlightened knowledge and secular learning.

Can we then wonder that the parents, prejudiced by such inflammatory declamations, became averse not only to higher learning, as it had existed before the religious disturbances, but to schools in general? No wonder that the lower schools also began to be neglected, so that contemporary writers say: "About the year 1525 schools began to decline, and no one wanted to send his children to school, as people had heard so much from Luther's writings of how the priests and the learned had so pitiably seduced mankind." The official report of the inspectors of the district of Wittenberg, the centre and starting point of Luther's "reform", informs us in the year 1533: "The city schools which, in addition to the instruction they imparted, had given the children a material maintenance, are alarmingly decreasing."

Luther himself was appalled at this desolation, for he knew full well the importance of the school. With bitter invective and reproach he lashes the indifference of the people and the avarice of the princes who, after having squandered the property of the Church and the funds of the schools, refused to do anything for establishing new schools or even for maintaining those in existence. "Formerly", he says, "when we were the slaves of Satan, and profaned the blood of Christ,

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66 all purses were open; then nothing was spared to put children in the cloister or to send them to school. But now when we must establish good schools (rechte Schulen) – establish, did I say, no, but only preserve the buildings in good condition – the purses are closed with iron chains. The children are neglected, no one teaches them to serve God, while they are joyfully immolated to Mammon." But herein Luther was inconsistent. Had he not taught people again and again that good works were useless? Why should they make any sacrifice of money for a pious work like that of education? And was it a good and pious work at all? This might have been asked by those who remembered Luther's reckless invectives against higher schools.

Luther was absolutely powerless to remedy the evil which grew worse daily. Therefore he appealed earnestly to the Protestant princes and magistrates to found and support schools. He told them that it was their right, nay, their duty to oblige their subjects to send their children to school. As is evident, Luther had been forced to this step because his voice, always "omnipotent when it preached destruction and spoliation, now fell powerless when it was at length raised to enforce the necessity of liberal contribution for the rearing of institutions to replace those which had been wantonly destroyed." Compulsory education, accordingly, is a child of the Reformation; so is also the state-monopoly which gradually developed in European countries.

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Rh The princes and magistrates to whom Luther appealed for establishing new schools, were slow in following these admonitions, whereas they had been most docile when told to confiscate the rich abbeys and monasteries which had maintained many educational institutions. Luther himself complained that so little heed was paid to his words. In 1528 a new "Order" for the cities of Saxony was prepared by Melanchthon. In 1559 appeared the "Church and School Order of Württemberg." Very different from the attitude of Luther was that of Melanchthon towards higher studies. Luther saw in humanistic studies only a weapon for theological purposes; but Melanchthon was himself a humanist and believed that study of the ancient languages and literature offered immediate educational benefit to the student. Melanchthon has been called Praeceptor Germaniae, and this he was for the Protestant part of that country. His system was an adaptation of the humanistic principles of Erasmus, and especially of Rudolph Agricola, who was prominent among the earlier conservative humanists.

It is evident that Luther's merits in regard to education have been exaggerated. The words of the Protestant Hallam deserve to be more universally

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68 known: "Whatever may be the ideas of our minds as to the truth of Luther's doctrines, we should be careful .... not to be misled by the superficial and ungrounded representations which we sometimes find in modern writers. Such is this that Luther, struck by the absurdity of the prevailing superstitions, was desirous of introducing a more rational system of religion, or, what others have been pleased to suggest, that his zeal for learning and ancient philosophy led him to attack the ignorance of the monks and the crafty policy of the Church, which withstood all liberal studies. These notions are merely fallacious refinements, as every man of plain understanding who is acquainted with the writings of the early reformers, or has considered their history, must acknowledge. The doctrines of Luther, taken altogether, are not more rational than those of the Church of Rome; nor did he even pretend that they were so ... nor, again, is there any foundation for imagining that Luther was concerned for the interests of literature. None had he himself, save theological; nor are there, as I apprehend, many allusions to profane studies, or any proof of his regard to them, in all his works. "On the contrary", it is probable that both the principles of this great founder of the Reformation, and the natural tendency of so intense an application to theological controversy, checked for a. time the progress of philological and philosophical literature on this side of the Alps." As regards the much vaunted intellectual

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Rh and religious liberty of the Reformers, it is well known that they very soon exercised an unbearable tyranny. Hallam was honest enough to admit this, however reluctantly.

On the eve of the Reformation, England possessed a great number of secondary schools. Both these and the universities suffered greatly from the Reformation and the events connected with it. When by the order of Henry VIII. the monasteries were suppressed, numberless precious manuscripts and other contents of monastic libraries disappeared, and are now lost to the world beyond recovery. Grocers and soap-sellers bought them for their business purposes. Learning, both secular and religious, rapidly declined, and deterioration was felt in all grades of education. Most of the schools at this time were closed, without provision for a substitute. Moreover, the monasteries and convents had supported scholars at the universities, or provided for young clerics until their ordination, when they supplied them with a title. This change was felt immediately. From 1506 to 1535 the average number of yearly degrees granted at Oxford had been 127. In 1535 the number was 108. In that year the operations against the monasteries were commenced. In the following year the number of graduates fell to only 44; the average number till 1548 was less than 57, from 1548 till 1553 not more than 33, but it rose again under Queen Mary to 70. The University of Cambridge suffered not less than Oxford.

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70 The scholars of Cambridge, in 1545, petitioned King Henry for privileges, as they feared the destruction of the monasteries would altogether annihilate learning. For a time these great homes of learning were threatened with nothing less than ruin. Thus it is undeniable that the dissolution of monasteries, in 1536 and the next two years, gave a great temporary check to the general state of letters in England.

Hallam attempts to palliate this charge, but in vain. Let us contemplate the picture which Latimer, the fanatic opponent of Catholicism, drew in 1550 of the state of education in England. His words are almost identical with those of Luther. "In those days (before the suppression of monasteries), what did they when they helped the scholars? Marry! They maintained and gave them livings that were very Papists and professed the Pope's doctrine; and now that the knowledge of God's word is brought to light, and many earnestly study and labour to set it forth, now almost no man helpeth to maintain them." ... "Truly it is a pitiable thing to see schools so neglected; every true Christian ought to lament the same; to consider what has been plucked from abbeys, colleges and chantries, it is a marvel no more to be bestowed upon this holy office of salvation. Schools are not maintained, scholars have no exhibitions. ... I think there be at this day twenty thousand students less than within these twenty years and fewer preachers." Anthony Wood, in his History and Antiquities of the University of Oxford, writes: "Most of the halls and

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Rh hostels in Oxford were left empty. Arts declined and ignorance began to take place again."

This sketch of the status of education previous to the foundation of the Society of Jesus warrants us to draw the following conclusions. First, a reform was urgently needed, not only in the religious and moral sphere but also in education. There was a great literary activity all over Christendom. In the countries most affected by the Reformation, this activity was checked for a time, in Germany almost annihilated. In those countries which were less affected by the religious revolution, the educational work was not formed into a well balanced system of instruction and discipline. Further, the teaching of the classics was in many cases carried on in a pagan spirit. The Catholic reform centres around the Council of Trent. The members of a Commission preparatory to this Council, mostly refined humanists and university scholars, pointed out as one of the great abuses in the Church, that "in the public schools, especially of Italy, many teach impiety." This was stated in 1538, two years before the approbation of the Society of Jesus. In this Society "the Church of Rome, deeply shaken by open schism and lurking disaffection, was to find an unexpected strength. The Jesuits were speedily to acquire a vast influence by the control of education." In fact, the Jesuits were to give to Catholic countries a uniform system of education, which was so sadly needed at the time. They were to purify and elevate the teaching of the classics, so as

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72 to make it a useful means of Christian education as well as of mental training.

Secondly: The foregoing sketch proves that it is false to say: the Jesuits availed themselves, in the interest of the Catholic Church, of the zeal for learning which the Protestants had awakened. It can be proved over and above that a great zeal for learning had existed before the Reformation, and that this zeal was well-nigh extinguished by this movement. Melanchthon, Sturm and other reformers who worked for the establishment of schools, had received their literary education, their zeal for learning, and the greater part of their educational principles from the schools flourishing before the outbreak of the religious revolution. Their efforts were directed towards reestablishing what the religious disturbances had destroyed. Of course, we are far from denying that the Reformers introduced many improvements into the Protestant schools; but they and the Jesuits drew from the same sources.

The preceding sketch of the condition of education previous to the foundation of the Society of Jesus may seem disproportionately long. However, it was necessary to dwell on this point at some length, in order to expose one of the fundamental errors concerning the origin of the educational system of the Jesuits. It would not have sufficed to make a few general assertions – as has been done by some non-Catholic writers on the history of education – but it was necessary to quote details, in order to refute this erroneous view.

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 in war leave their scars for all time and are irretrievable.

Little more than a hundred years ago, Prussia was a wreck. Until then it had a paid army. Napoleon compelled her to reduce the army to 42,000. Furthermore, he stood by and saw to it that the limit was not exceeded. But Prussia threw th old army into the scrap heap and erected a military school with 40,000 students and 20,000 graduated reserved annually. Apparently Napoleon sat by and allowed himself to be circumvented. Seven years after Jena the Prussian army was larger than ever before and it delivered probably the first and certainly the second real blow against Napoleon. That was the beginning of Germany's modern army. Scharnhorst, Stein and Clausewitz erected it and put the breath of life into it when they surrounded the continuing instruction personnel with War College, General Staff, and above all, prestige and incentives to work.

Germany by no means enjoys exclusive possession of the military virtues. There is probably nothign that Germany has accomplished in the matter of making her fighting force efficient that cannot be accomplished by us; but it would require wise and unselfish legislation, coupled with wise and inflexible War Department policies. This legislation and these policies are such as the army, the militia and the public, in their present benighted state, probably would not listen to. In other words, w can have it if we want it, but there are other things, perhaps less creditable to us, individually and nationally, which we seem to want more.


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74 correct to style him a "religious enthusiast." This appellation could, at the most, be applied to him only for the first few years after his conversion. During that period, in a few instances, as in the famous meeting with the Saracen, Ignatius displays indeed a conduct singularly contrasting with his conduct in after-life and with those wonderfully wise rules which he laid down on the discernment of the good spirit from the evil one. In his Autobiography the Saint insists particularly on the mistakes into which he had fallen on the road to mature judgment in spiritual matters. During these first few years following his conversion, Ignatius gave manifestation of the chivalrous spirit which he had imbibed from his early military training, when, for instance, in the Monastery of the Montserrat he hung up his sword beside our Lady's image, in token that henceforth his life was to be one of spiritual warfare and spiritual knighthood.

The Society, however, was not founded in this period of the Saint's life, but when the youthful fervor was completely mastered by the calmest discretion. At the time when he drew up the Constitutions of the Society, all his actions and sentiments were so entirely under his control that, although by nature of an ardent temper, he was commonly thought cold and phlegmatic. In framing the Constitutions he proceeded with the utmost care and circumspection. On points which might appear unimportant, he deliberated for days, nay for weeks and months. It was a common

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Rh practice of his to write down the reasons for and against in parallel columns, then to weigh their force and importance. After this he consulted the fathers who lived with him in Rome, in order to take their advice as to changes or additions which they thought necessary or useful. Moreover, he submitted the results of his painstaking labors to the judgment of those Fathers who lived in various parts of Europe. Surely in this cautiousness we see anything but the traits of a visionary or enthusiast.

As early as 1523 Ignatius had conceived the idea of his future life-work, although only in general outlines. We find this idea embodied in his Spiritual Exercises, particularly in the contemplation on the "Kingdom of Christ." The generous knight, who has renounced all worldly ambition, is resolved to become a soldier of Christ. In Him he sees his King and General and, in order to defend and propagate Christianity, the Kingdom of Christ, he plans a spiritual crusade. Those who wish to become his companions in this noble enterprise must be determined to distinguish themselves in the service of their heavenly King. They are not to be satisfied with being ordinary soldiers in this army, but they are to constitute, as it were, Christ's bodyguard, hence the name of the Society: "La Compañia de Jesus," the Company of Jesus. A distinguished Protestant writer, Professor Harnack of Berlin, has recently made the following comparison which in some points is not inappropriate: "If we assert and mean the assertion to hold good even of the present time, that the Roman Church is the old Roman Empire consecrated by the Gospel, that is no mere 'clever remark,' but the recognition of the

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 true state of the matter historically, and the most appropriate and fruitful way of describing the character of this Church. It still governs the nations; its Popes rule like Trajan and Marcus Aurelius; Peter and Paul have taken the place of Romulus and Remus; the bishops and archbishops, of the pro-consuls; the troops of priests and monks correspond to the legions; the Jesuits to the imperial body-guard."

Ignatius' first intention was to convert the Turks in Palestine. So he went to Jerusalem, there to establish a society of apostolic men who, in the midst of the children of Mahomet, should open a way to new triumphs of the Church. This was without doubt a noble conception, one which the swords of Christian chivalry had not been able to realize by the efforts and enthusiasm of centuries. It was only after his endeavors to gain a foothold near Our Lord's Sepulchre had been frustrated, that Ignatius gave his new Society the more general character of defending the "Kingdom of Christ" among all classes, in all countries, and by all legitimate means. As the object of the Society was purely spiritual, not temporal or political, so also the means employed were to be of spiritual order, above all preaching and teaching.

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Rh It has often been said that the prime object of the Society was and is the crushing of Protestantism. This assertion is proved to be false by the life of Ignatius, and this proof is strengthened by the Constitutions, the Papal Approbations, and the whole history of the Order. The Papal letters and the Constitutions assign as the special object of the Society: "The progress of souls in a good life and knowledge of religion; the propagation of faith by public preaching, the Spiritual Exercises and works of charity, and particularly the instruction of youth and ignorant persons in the Christian religion." The Protestants are not as much as mentioned in this Papal document which states the end and the means of the Society. Pius V., in 1571, highly praised the educational work of Jesuit schools and granted them ample privileges. Here again it is not said that these schools or the Society are directed against Protestantism.

The evidence is so strong that Professor Huber, one of the bitterest opponents of the Order, declares: "At the time when Ignatius conceived the idea of founding a new order, he had not heard as much as the name of the German Reformer. Even more than a decade later he seems to have paid little heed to the

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78 religious movement in Europe, especially in Germany." As we said, it was the intention of Ignatius to convert Palestine. Frustrated in this plan, he chose Italy, Spain and Portugal as the field of labor for himself and his companions. There he endeavored to reform the morals of the people and to encourage the practice of works of charity. His most powerful co-worker, Francis Xavier, he sent to East India; to Germany, he sent the first Jesuit in 1540, and that only at the urgent request of the Imperial Ambassador. In 1555, one year before the death of Ignatius, the Society comprised eight provinces: Italy had two; Spain, three; Portugal, one; Brazil, one; India and Japan, one. There was none in Germany, the cradle of Protestantism. Of the sixty-five residences of the Order in that year, there were only two in Germany: those of Cologne and Vienna. The first colleges of the Society were founded in Catholic countries: at Gandia in Spain, Messina in Sicily, Goa in the East Indies. Protestant pupils were received only by exception, and in many colleges they were not admitted at all. How, then, can all this be explained, if the main object of the Society was the destruction of Protestantism and proselytism among Protestant students?

When Ignatius had decided to devote his life "to the greater glory of God" and the salvation of souls, he understood the necessity of higher learning. So, at the age of thirty-three, the former gallant officer and hero of Pampeluna, was not ashamed to sit with

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Rh children on the school-bench at Barcelona, where he began to study the rudiments of Latin. After two years he went to the university of Alcala, thence to Salamanca, and last to the university of Paris, at that time the greatest centre of philosophical and theological learning.

He arrived in the French capital in 1528. There he studied philosophy and theology, and in 1534, by a successful examination, became a Master of Arts. At the University he had won six young men: Peter Lefèvre, a Savoyard; Francis Xavier, a Navarrese; the three Spaniards, James Lainez, Alphonsus Salmeron, and Nicholas Bobadilla, and Simon Rodriguez, a Portuguese. On August 15, 1534, the little band repaired to the church of the Blessed Virgin at Montmartre in Paris, and bound themselves by a vow to the service of God. This was the birthday of the Society of Jesus. The new Order received the papal sanction from Paul III., on September 27, 1540.

The aim of the Society is expressed by its motto: Omnia ad majorem Dei gloriam – All for God's greater glory. Hence it is the duty of the members to labor with the same zeal for the salvation of others as for their own perfection. The salvation of their neighbor they accomplish by conducting the spiritual exercises, preaching missions to the faithful, and evangelizing the heathen; by hearing confessions; by defending the faith against heretics and infidels through their writings; by teaching catechism to children and the ignorant; by lecturing on philosophy and theology in the universities; by instructing youth in grammar schools and colleges. Although various occupations are here mentioned, yet, as Professor Paulsen rightly observes,

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80 "education so largely prevails in the activity of the Order that it can be called in a special sense a teaching or school order." "Evidently these university men, who were engaged in drawing up the Institute, considered that, if the greatest Professor's talents are well spent in the exposition of the greatest doctrines in theology, philosophy, and science, neither he, nor any one else, is too great to be a school master, a tutor, and a father to the boy passing from childhood to the state of manhood, – that boyhood which, as Clement of Alexandria says, furnishes the very milk of age, and from which the constitution of the man receives its temper and complexion."

Ignatius, then, had founded a religious order which made the education of youth one of its primary objects. It will be well to speak here of a much discussed and most important question, namely, the educational work of religious orders in general, a work not favorably viewed by the majority of non-Catholics, to whom "monasticism" is one of the features in the

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Rh Catholic Church which they hold in special abhorrence. This antipathy is largely due to the unscrupulous slanders of the later humanists and the fierce invectives of the fathers of the Reformation. It is known what language Luther used against religious vows, which he called an "abomination, unnatural and impossible to keep, a slavery of Egypt, a sacrifice to Moloch," etc. The monks he styled "lazy drones, cowled hypocrites," etc.

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82 However, there are many enlightened and scholarly non-Catholics who do not share these opinions. Careful historical research revealed that the monks were not lazy drones, but that they were the civilizers of Europe and the preservers of ancient literature. Then it was admitted that they were not all hypocritical debauchees. Thus, in a recent work of an American scholar, we find, after the description of the monastic principles and ideals, the following statement: "The ideal monastic character was that which corresponded to these principles. And in hundreds of instances a personality with such a character did result; a personality when directing faultless in humility and obedience to God, faultless in humility and obedience when obeying; knowing neither pride nor vanity, nor covetousness nor lust, nor slothful depression; grave and silent with bent head, yet with an inner peace, even an inner passionate joy; meditative, mystic, an otherworld personality; one that dwells in spiritual facts,

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Rh for whom this world has passed away and the lusts thereof; one that is centered in God and in eternal life, and yet capable of intense activities; a man who will not swerve from orders received, as he swerves not from his great aim, the love of God and eternal life." And the Protestant Professor Harnack declares that even to-day the Roman Church "possesses in its orders of monkhood and its religious societies, a deep element of life in its midst. In all ages it has produced saints, so far as men can be so called, and it still produces them to-day. Trust in God, unaffected humility, the assurance of redemption, the devotion of one's life to the service of one's brethren, are to be found in it; many brethren take up the cross of Christ and exercise at one and the same time that self-judgment and that joy in God which Paul and Augustine achieved. The Imitatio Christi kindles independent religious life and a fire which burns with a flame of its own."

A still more remarkable reaction seems of late to take place in the minds of Protestant writers, concerning the origin and nature of "monasticism". After various attempts had been made to explain the rise of monasticism from Essene, Brahman, or Buddhist influence, not a few Protestants admit now that it logically, and, as it were, naturally, arose from Christianity. "Monasticism", says Mr. Taylor, "arose from within Christianity, not from without." Professor Harnack even regrets it that the Reformation has abolished monasticism within the Evangelical Church. The words of this leader among rationalistic Protestants deserve to be quoted. After having pictured the

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84 achievements of the Protestant Reformation, he asks what it has cost. Among other "high prices" which the Reformation had to pay, he enumerates monasticism. When the Reformation abolished monasticism, "something happened which Luther neither foresaw nor desired: monasticism, of the kind that is conceivable and necessary in the evangelical sense of the word, disappeared altogether. But every community stands in need of personalities living exclusively for its ends. The Church, for instance, needs volunteers who will abandon every other pursuit, renounce the 'world', and devote themselves entirely to the service of their neighbor; not because such a vocation is a 'higher one', but because it is a necessary one, and because no church can live without also giving rise to such a desire. But in the evangelical churches the desire has been checked by the decided attitude which they have been compelled to adopt towards Catholicism. It is a high price that we have paid; nor can the price be reduced by considering, on the other hand, how much simple and unaffected religious fervor has been kindled in home and family life. We may rejoice, however, that in the past century a beginning has been made in the direction of recouping this loss. In the institution of deaconesses and many cognate phenomena the evangelical churches are getting back what they once ejected through their inability to recognize it in the form which it then took. But it must undergo a much ampler and more varied development."

One of the "ends" of the Church is education. It is natural, then, that there should be personalities who

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Rh live exclusively for this end, or, at least, devote themselves in a special manner to this work. In fact, from the earliest ages of Christianity, we find that religious took a special interest in the education of youth. The celebrated historian Dr. Neander of Berlin, who can not be accused of any undue leaning towards Catholicism, praises the early monks for their labor in this direction. He points out that the duties of education were particularly recommended to the monks of St. Basil. They were enjoined to take upon themselves voluntarily the education of orphans, and the education of other youths when entrusted to them by their parents. It was by no means necessary that these children should become monks; they were early instructed in some trade or art, and were afterwards at liberty to make a free choice of their vocation.

St. John Chrysostom most earnestly recommended to parents to employ the monks as instructors to their sons; to have their sons educated in monasteries, at a distance from the corruption of the world, where they might early be made acquainted with the Holy Scriptures, be brought up in Christian habits, and where the foundation of a true Christian character might be laid, the fruits of which would afterwards manifest themselves in every station and circumstance of life. Dr. Neander thus comments on the appeals of St. Chrysostom: "Where men truly enlightened were to be found among the monks, as was often the case, the advice of St. Chrysostom was undoubtedly correct; and even where too great attention to outward forms,

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86 and too little of an evangelical spirit prevailed, education among them was more desirable than in corrupted families, or the schools of the sophists, in which vanity and ostentation were in every way encouraged."

It is scarcely necessary to state that other religious orders before the foundation of the Society of Jesus, especially the Benedictines and the Dominicans, had rendered inestimable service to the cause of Christian education. Cardinal Newman compares the educational work of these three orders in the following terms: "As the physical universe is sustained and carried on in dependence on certain centres of power and laws of operation, so the course of the social and political world, and of that great religious organization called the Catholic Church, is found to proceed for the most part from the presence or action of definite persons, places, events, and institutions, as the visible cause of the whole. ... Education follows the same law: it has its history in Christianity, and its doctors or masters in that history. It has had three periods: the ancient, the medieval, and the modern; and there are three religious orders in those periods respectively which succeed, one the other, on its public stage, and represent the teaching given by the Catholic Church during the time of their ascendancy. The first period is that long series of centuries, during which society was breaking, or had broken up, and then slowly attempted its own reconstruction; the second may be called the period of reconstruction; and the third dates from the Reformation, when that peculiar movement of mind commenced, the issue of which is still to come. Now, St. Benedict has had the training of

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Rh the ancient intellect, St. Dominic of the medieval, and St. Ignatius of the modern. ... Ignatius, a man of the world before his conversion, transmitted as a legacy to his disciples that knowledge of mankind which cannot be learned in cloisters."

However, none of the religious orders of the Middle Ages had taken the education of youth formally and expressly into its constitution. As regards the Benedictines, Cardinal Newman maintains that their occupation with literary and historical studies was, in a way, a compromise with the primary end of their institute. The monastic institute, as the great Benedictine scholar Mabillon says, demands summa quies, the most perfect quietness. Hence the studies which they pursued with special predilection, were such as did not excite the mind: the study of Holy Scripture and the Fathers, the examination of ancient manuscripts, editions and biographies of the Fathers, studies which can be undergone in silence and quietness. So was also the educational work which they undertook accidental to the primary object of their institute. The Order of St. Dominic had a much closer, a more direct and explicit connection with studies and teaching. But it was chiefly the teaching of the highest branches, of theology, the "science of sciences", and of philosophy, which this order undertook. What we now understand by "education" was only remotely included in the object of the Order of St. Dominic.

St. Ignatius was the first to assume the education of youth as a special part of the work of a religious order, as a special ministry, a special means of ob-

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88 taining the end of his Society: the glory of God and the salvation of souls. "We can," says Cicero, "do no greater or better service to the commonwealth than to teach and instruct youth." St. Ignatius knew this full well, he also knew that it applied to the supernatural commonwealth, the City of God, the Church of Christ.

In opposition to the pagan ideas of the radical school of the humanists, he deemed it absolutely necessary that all efforts should be made to instil the principles of the true religion, together with useful knowledge, into the minds of boys; for as the Wise Man says: "A young man, according to his way, even when he is old, he will not depart from it." (Prov., 22, 6.) "Hence", as the Jesuit theologian Suarez says: "God raised up St. Ignatius, and gave to him this mind and counsel, without the motive and example of other religious orders, and it has been approved by the authority of His Vicar."

This measure of St. Ignatius in taking the education of youth as a fundamental part into his order, marks an important epoch in the history of Catholic education. After the time of St. Ignatius other religious congregations were founded with the special object of undertaking the education of the young; we mention only the Christian Brothers, founded by Saint de La Salle, and the Piarists. For the education of women there are numerous congregations of sisters, which exclusively or primarily are engaged in imparting a refined and thoroughly Christian education.

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Rh Of late the educational work of religious orders has frequently been objected to, even by some who call themselves Catholics. But in spite of all that has been said to the contrary, the care which religious orders take of education is a source of blessings for the pupils, the family, and the whole community. Religious, above all, try to impart a religious, a Christian education. How useful, how absolutely necessary this is for society as well as for the individual pupil, need not be discussed. Further, in the case of religious teachers a guarantee is given that persons of noble character and high aspirations devote their whole lives to the cause of education. Must we not expect that such teachers will obtain most satisfactory results in their work? At all events, it cannot be denied that the educational labors of the Society were crowned with success.

Protestant historians, as Ranke, Paulsen, and others, admit that the Jesuit schools of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries were far more successful than their Protestant rivals. Whence the difference? Ranke finds it in the exactness and nicety of the methods of the Society. This was undoubtedly one cause of their greater success. Still it is more probable that the chief reason is to be sought in the teachers themselves. The teachers in the Jesuit colleges were, on the whole, better fitted for their work than were most other teachers. It is not difficult to prove this assertion. The social position of teachers was, during these centuries, a most undesirable one. The salaries

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90 were so miserable that the teachers, to support themselves and their families, had to practise some other profession or trade. Professor Paulsen states that in Saxony, towards the close of the sixteenth century, the one schoolmaster of a small town was regularly organist, town-clerk and sexton. The village schoolmasters were mostly sextons, field-guards, or tailors. As late as 1738, an order was issued in Prussia to the effect that in the country there should be no other tailors besides the sextons and schoolmasters, and later on Frederick the Great declared: "tailors are bad schoolmasters," and so he preferred to make teachers out of old soldiers, invalid corporals, and sergeants. The position of teachers in the higher schools was not much more enticing. They had to obtain some addition to their scanty salaries by a sort of genteel beggary: by dedicating books or orations to influential persons, by writing poems for weddings or similar occasions. Teachers were always far worse off than lawyers or physicians. It was always a true saying, but especially in those times:

which may be freely rendered:

The famous rector of the school of Ilfeld, Neander,

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Rh was told one day by his former colleague of Schulpforta, Gigas, who had retired to a parish: "You should have had yourself flayed alive rather than stay so many years with the wicked and devilish youths of to-day." And Schekkius, who died in 1704, had the following inscription painted on the wall of the Gymnasium in Hildesheim:

The schoolmasters have horses' and asses' labor; they have to swallow much dust, stench and smoke to boot; discomfort, calumnies, and sundry troubles, with ingratitude in fine laborum."

We cannot wonder that the desudare in pulvere scholastico was not considered a desirable profession, and that the school career was sought only as a transitory occupation, which was abandoned as soon as a good parsonage was offered. Others again entered upon this career because, for lack of talent or other qualities, they could not expect to succeed in the ministry. The changes among the teachers, in Saxony and elsewhere, were exceedingly frequent. It was very common among Protestant theologians to teach for one year, or at the most two years, and then to retire to a parish.

What do we find among the Jesuits? The most talented youths entered their ranks, and after a long and solid training many taught in the colleges their whole lives, others for at least five or more years. They had not to worry about their livelihood, as the Order provided all they needed. So they could devote

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92 themselves, all their time and strength, to the work of education. But this was possible only because they had joined a religious order, which had taken up the education of youth as one of its special ministries. I have never found that any writers who discuss the causes of the superiority of the Jesuit schools have taken this fact into account. And yet it was undoubtedly one of the most important reasons of the great success of the colleges of the Society.

But may not even at the present day religious most beneficially be employed as educators of Catholic youth? Will not their state of life secure some advantages for the work of education? It has repeatedly been stated by non-Catholic writers that the schools of the teaching congregations in France were far more successful than the lay schools. What is the explanation of this fact, so unwelcome to those who have to admit it? A recent article in an American magazine may help us to find a very plausible explanation. Professor Münsterberg of Harvard writes : "The

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Rh greater number of those who devote themselves to higher teaching in America are young men without means, too often without breeding; and yet that would be easily compensated for, if they were men of the best minds, but they are not. They are mostly men of a passive, almost indifferent sort of mind, without intellectual energy, men who see in the academic career a modest safe path of life ... while our best young men must rush to law, and banking, and what not," and all this because the salaries are not high enough. It is not our task to investigate or

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94 defend the correctness of these statements, which unquestionably contain a great deal of truth.

What do we find in religious orders? No doubt, the type of mind described in the preceding lines is to be met with among them ; but in schools, conducted by religious, men are teaching who are "of the best minds", sometimes also men who belong to the best Catholic families in the land. The Jesuits, in particular, have even been charged with drawing the finest talents and the sons of the most distinguished families to their Order. If this were true, these talents would not be lost to society. For they are working for the noblest cause, the education of the young. Their state of life made firm and lasting by sacred vows, frees them from family cares and family troubles, and permits them to devote all their time and energy to education. The Jesuit is prevented from seeking earthly remuneration, consequently, no "better chance", no higher salary offered by other occupations, will entice him to forsake his arduous but sublime task.

In the year 1879, at the time of violent agitations against the Jesuit colleges in France, a writer in the Paris Figaro called attention to the fact how little a Jesuit teacher needed. In the provinces, a Jesuit teacher costs one thousand francs, in Paris, a little more, and this is for board, clothes, etc. Going from one college to another, he takes with him his crucifix, his breviary, and the clothes which he wears on his body, his manuscripts, if he has any, and that is all. And yet, as the same writer points out, among these truly poor men, among these volunteers to the noble cause of education, are men who are the sons of millionaires, others who have received the badge of the

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Rh "Legion of Honor", others who had been awarded this distinction before they became Jesuits; there are among them men who had been able officers in the army or navy. Indeed, these men must see in the education of youth something more than an occupation for gaining a livelihood.

In this country the instability of teachers has more than once formed the subject of complaints. "In Maine, some time ago, four years was found to be the average time of service. The report of 1892 on the high schools of Washington (D. C.) remarks that, with few exceptions, all professionally prepared teachers who had occupied their positions four years ago had resigned to enter more lucrative positions. Better opportunities are offered not only to male but to female teachers, who also give up their positions to enter upon married life. Even well-to-do American women, generally highly educated, well informed, and at the same time enterprising, prefer to spend a few years in teaching rather than await their future inactively. The official report condenses all this in the mournful remark: 'In the United States the profession of teaching seems to be a kind of waiting-room in which the young girl awaits a congenial, ulterior support, and the young man a more advantageous position.'"

It is evident that teaching must suffer from such instability. No professional skill is possible in the majority of teachers; experience and steadfastness, two

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96 important elements in education, are lacking. This latter point may be illustrated by a comparison drawn between the Catholic Sister and the Protestant Deaconess. The comparison has been drawn by a Protestant lady in Germany, Frau Elisabeth Gnauck-Kühne, who for many years was prominent in works of Christian charity. She says: "The Catholic Sister has made a binding vow, she has burnt the ships behind her; earthly cares, earthly pleasures she knows no more, her conversation is in heaven. It is the same to her whither she goes, whom she attends, poor or rich, old or young, high or low, all these circumstances are immaterial; for she has balanced her account with the life on this side of the grave, she does nothing by halves. The Evangelical Deaconess in theory stands in a different position. Her church demands of her no oath of renunciation, she has not destroyed the bridge, she may at any moment return to the flesh-pots of Egypt, especially when a man wants her for his wife. Then the motives which have led her to the service of the sick will hold no longer; then the needs, which, as far as lay in her, she wished to remedy, must continue to exist, she doffs the severe garb and decks herself with the orange-blossoms. Such being the case, is it not most natural that she yields more easily to the temptation of having one eye on her vocation, the other on the world? What is excluded in the case of the Catholic Sister, the desertion of her vocation and marriage, are possible for her, and why should she not find the possibility desirable? If, in addition, the wish is father to the thought, there arises

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 consciously or unconsciously, that disposition which has been felt as a 'tinge of worldliness.' But it would be unfair to blame the Deaconess. Protestantism with irresistible consistency must produce the described disposition and half-heartedness, for it esteems married life more highly than voluntary virginity, and under all circumstances it is lawful and laudable to strive after that which is higher and better. The Catholic Church, on the other hand, while considering married life a sacred state, gives a higher rank to life-long virginity consecrated to God."

This surprising tribute to the usefulness and dignity of the religious life as practised in the Catholic Church, may be applied with equal force to the religious teachers. They, too, do nothing by halves; "their hearts are not divided." "For the kingdom of heaven's sake" they have renounced the joys of family life. All their affections purified, ennobled and made supernatural, are to be bestowed on those entrusted to their care. It is Christ whom they have to see in the little ones, according to the words of the Divine Master: "He that receiveth one such little child in my name receiveth me." We do not mean to imply that married men may not be excellent teachers,—thousands have been such,—nor that all religious on account of their state are good teachers. We merely wish to prove that the religious state in itself affords many advantages for the cause of education. The difficulties connected with education will be borne more patiently, sometimes even heroically, by one who has bound himself to a life of perfect obedience and self-sacrifice.

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98 Besides, in a teaching order, a continuity of aim and effort is effected which is and must be wanting in individuals. Mr. Quick has well emphasized this fact: "By corporate life you secure continuity of effort. There is to me something very attractive in the idea of a teaching society. How such a society might capitalize its discoveries. The Roman Church has shown a genius for such societies, witness the Jesuits and the Christian Brothers. The experience of centuries must have taught them much that we could learn of them." For this reason a change of Professors in a Jesuit College is attended by fewer inconveniences, as all have been trained under the same system, and thus have imbibed the pedagogical traditions of the Order.

A French writer has spoken of another advantage, the moral influence, which the religious exercises owing to his state. "The Jesuit teacher" – the same may be said of all religious teachers – "is not a paid official. The pupils look up to him as a loved and venerated friend. Perhaps they know that he is the scion of an illustrious family, who could have followed a splendid career in life, who could have succeeded in the world of finances and industry. But he preferred to take the black gown and to devote himself to education."

The source of the growing antipathy against the educational labors of religious is either hatred of the Catholic religion or religious indifferentism. When people do not care any more for the supernatural, the education based professedly on supernatural views, seems to them out of date, antiquated, a remnant of

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Rh medieval priestcraft and clerical tyranny. Be it remarked, however, that this opposition is not new to our age. The very Middle Ages witnessed a violent opposition to the teaching of religious orders. This was especially the case in the University of Paris, where, in the thirteenth century, a strong rationalistic party, headed by William of Saint-Amour, endeavored to expel the Dominicans and Franciscans from the professorial chair. William's contention was that the religious should not be allowed to teach, but should employ themselves in manual labors, as did the monks in olden times. Then it was that three able pens were employed to defend the religious orders and their work: those of Bonaventure, of Albertus Magnus, and of Thomas Aquinas. St. Thomas wrote his little work: "Against those who attack Religion and the Worship of God", of which Fleury said that it had always been regarded as the most perfect apology for religious orders. In the second chapter, headed "Whether Religious may teach", and the third, "Whether Religious may be a corporate body of secular teachers", the Saint refutes the objections of William in a most lucid and powerful manner, and sets forth the advantages which the Church and society may derive from teaching by religious orders. He contends that a religious order may be instituted for any work of mercy. As teaching is a work of mercy, a religious order may be founded with the special end of teaching. And as the common good is to be preferred

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100 to private utility a monk may leave his solitude with permission of Superiors, to minister to the general good by teaching as well as by writing.

We see from this fact that history repeats itself, and that the modern attacks on the educational labors of religious communities are by no means new. The tactics of the enemies of the religious change, the pretexts of attacks on them will vary, but the nature of the warfare is ever the same. It is conscious or unconscious opposition to the principles of Christianity. Therefore, we find that those who have the interest of religion at heart, are not among the opponents of "clerical" education.

Even Protestants frankly admit that the union of the clerical office with that of the teacher offers great advantages. Sir Joshua Fitch, the distinguished English educator, thinks that the "parents in parting with the moral supervision of their sons are not unreasonably disposed to place increased confidence in a headmaster who combines the scholarship and the skill of teaching with the dignity and the weight of the clergyman's office." And Professor Paulsen, certainly not theologically biased, says that it was not without disadvantages that the theologians were replaced in the Gymnasia by philologians and mathematicians, a change which for a long time was wished, undoubtedly not without good reasons. The theologian, owing to his whole training, had an inclination towards the care of the souls; the interest in the whole man was the centre of his calling.

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Rh What we have said so far undoubtedly justifies us in maintaining that the measure adopted by Ignatius, in making education a special ministry of a religious order, marks an epoch of prime importance in the history of Catholic pedagogy.

The character and object of the Society, the means it applies for obtaining its object, and its system of administration are laid down in the Constitutions of the Society. These Constitutions are the work of St. Ignatius, not, as has been asserted, of his successor Lainez, although the latter was one of those Fathers whom Ignatius consulted very frequently whilst drawing up the Constitutions. St. Ignatius died in 1556; in 1558 the representatives of the Order met together and elected James Lainez second General of the Society. They examined the Constitution which Father Ignatius had left at his death, and received it with unanimity, just as it stood. They presented it to the Sovereign Pontiff Paul IV., who committed the code to four Cardinals for accurate revision. The commission returned it, without having altered a word.

We must explain a few details of the organization of the Order, as certain terms will be used again and again in this work. The Order is divided into Provinces, which comprise all the colleges and other houses in a certain country or district. The Superior of a Province is called Provincial; he is appointed by the General for a number of years. Several Provinces form a so-called Assistancy. The head of the Order is the General, elected for lifetime by the General Congregation. He possesses full jurisdiction and administrative power in the Order. Five assistants form, as

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102 it were, his council. They are elected by the General Congregation, from the various assistancies. They are now five: those of Italy, Germany (with Austria, Galicia, Belgium and Holland), France, England and North America, Spain (with Portugal). The legislative body of the Order is the General Congregation. It alone can add to the Constitutions, change or abrogate. It consists of the General (after his death, his Vicar), the Assistants, the Provincials, and two special deputies, elected by each province. It assembles only after the death of a General, or in extraordinary cases at the command of the General. As was said, it elects a new General and his assistants, and it may depose the General for grave reasons. It is clear, then, that the General's power is not so absolute as it is sometimes represented to be, but is wisely limited.

In this way the greatest possible centralization is secured in the hands of the General, and yet the danger of abusing so great a power is excluded by the institution of the Assistants. Ribadeneira has well remarked that this form of government borders closely upon monarchy, but has still more in common with an oligarchy, for it avoids everything faulty in each of the two systems and borrows the best points of both. From the monarchy it takes its unity and stability; from the oligarchy the existence of a council, so that the General may command every one, and at the same time, be subject to every one (praesit et subsit).

In connection with the Constitutions we must mention a book which is said to exhibit the "true" character of the Society, namely the so-called Monita

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Rh Secreta, or code of secret instructions, supposed to have been drawn up by Aquaviva, the fifth General, for the benefit of Superiors and others who are considered fit to be initiated in the full mystery of the schemes of the Society. It imputes to the Society the most crooked designs to achieve the aggrandizement of the Order. It has been reprinted again and again, in England as late as 1850 (London), in France 1870 and 1876, in Germany 1886 and 1901. The work has repeatedly been proved to be an infamous libel, written by one Zahorowski, who had been discharged from the Society in 1611 or 1612. Even such enemies of the Society as the Jansenist Arnauld, the "Old-Catholics" Döllinger, Huber, Reusch, and Friedrich, declare it "spurious and a lampoon on the Order." Dr. Littledale calls it "an ingenious forgery", it has been recently called a fraudulent squib by Protestants like Professor Harnack (1891), Tschackert (1891), and others. And still, in spite of all this adverse authority, recent Protestant publications have referred to this forgery as to an authentic document. No, not the Monita Secreta, but the Constitutions, available to any one, contain the spirit of the Society.

The Constitutions are divided into ten parts, the fourth of which treats of studies. This part is the longest of all, and its perfect arrangement met with especial admiration. After the promulgation of the Constitutions successive General Congregations issued

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 decrees, emphasizing the vast importance of the education of youth, and the great esteem to be had for the teaching of grammar and the classics. It is called "a special and characteristic ministry of the Society" (Congr. 8., Dec. 8.), "one of the most desirable occupations and most beneficial to many" (C. 7., D. 26.). In the Ratio Studiorum, the very first Rule reads: "As it is one of the principal ministries of our Society to teach all the branches of knowledge, which according to our institute may be taught, in such a manner that thereby men may be led to the knowledge and love of our Creator and Redeemer, the Provincial should consider it his duty to see with all diligence, that the fruit which the grace of our vocation requires, corresponds with the manifold labors of our schools." This work of teaching boys is considered so important in the Society that in the last vows it is expressly mentioned: "I vow according to obedience a special concern for the education of boys."

The branches which "according to the Institute may be taught," are chiefly those that are connected with higher education. The Society has been blamed for neglecting elementary education. Professor Huber thinks that the Jesuits did so, "first, because this task seemed to them to be more subordinate, since the hold on the people was assured to them any way by their ecclesiastical influence; secondly, because on the whole they were no friends of popular education, however insignificant; for the complete ignorance of the masses did but fortify their control of them." This is a

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Rh flagrant injustice and sheer calumny. The Order never opposed popular education. On the contrary, the Constitutions expressly declare it to be a laudable work: "Moreover it would be a work of charity to teach reading and writing, if the Society had a sufficient number of men. But on account of dearth of men we are not ordinarily used for this purpose." – This is the proper reason, and the only one why the Jesuits could not undertake elementary education. They had never men enough to supply the demands for higher education. Actually hundreds of applications from bishops and princes for erecting colleges had to be refused. As early as 1565, the Second General Congregation had to decree that "existing colleges should rather be strengthened than new ones admitted. The latter should be done only if there was a sufficient endowment and a sufficient number of teachers available."

How, then, could the Society enter so vast a field as that of elementary education? Besides the whole intellectual training of the Jesuits fitted them better for the higher branches. At the present day, when the watchword is "specialization", the Jesuits should

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106 rather find recognition than censure, for having wisely limited their work centuries ago. Moreover, the Jesuits did teach elementary branches, at least in some places, not only in Paraguay, but also in Europe. Father Nadal writes: "In the elementary class (classis abecedariorum), which may be opened with the permission of the General, the boys are taught reading and writing. A brother may be employed to assist the teacher if the class should be too large." – Be it further added that at present, in the foreign missions, v. g. in Syria, the Jesuits conduct hundreds of elementary schools, in which most branches are taught by lay brothers or by sisters of various teaching congregations.

The fourth part of the Constitutions contains only the general principles, not a complete system of education. That this more general legislation was not considered final by St. Ignatius, follows from the passage in which he states that "a number of points will be treated of separately in some document approved by the General Superior." This is the express warrant, contained in the Constitutions, for the future Ratio Studiorum, or System of Studies in the Society of Jesus.

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 of its kind. The recent historical researches of the Spanish Jesuits have shed much new light on this question. These Fathers have published in 1901-1902 many important documents on the educational methods of the Society, drawn up before 1584. Three documents especially exhibit three complete "Plans of Studies." The first was written by Father Jerome Nadal (Latinized Natalis), probably between 1548-1552, during the life-time of St. Ignatius. Nadal was well fitted for drawing up a plan of studies. Possessed of great talent and a singular prudence, he had made excellent studies in the University of Paris. Appointed Rector of the new College at Messina, in 1548, he wrote his treatise De Studiis Societatis Jesu, the first plan of studies of the Society known thus far. The second is an adaptation of Father Nadal 's plan which was sent from Messina to the Roman College. The most important is the third, written by Father Ledesma. This distinguished scholar had studied in the Universities of Alcala, Paris and Louvain. Immediately after his entrance into the Society, in 1557, he taught in the Roman College until his death, in 1575. As Prefect of Studies in this college, he drew up a plan of studies which practically contains, at least in outline, all points which were later on laid down in the Ratio Studiorum concerning classical

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Rh studies. Besides these three documents there are extant fragments of plans of studies of various colleges in Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, and Germany.

With the increase of the colleges, the want of a uniform system for the whole Society was felt more and more. Teachers and superiors of schools and provinces asked more urgently for the plan of studies which St. Ignatius had promised in the Constitutions. The final completion of the educational system was reserved to the fifth General of the Order, Father Claudius Aquaviva, who governed the Society from 1581-1615. His Generalate was a most stormy, but at the same time the most brilliant, epoch in the history of the Order. It was the glorious time of the English and Japanese martyrs; the time when the great missions in Japan, China, and Brazil began to flourish; the time in which learned men like Bellarmine, Suarez, Maldonatus, Toletus, deLugo, Vasquez, Molina, Lessius, a Lapide, Peter Canisius, Clavius, and a host of other writers not only added lustre to the Society, but were held to be the foremost scholars of the age and the most renowned champions of the Catholic Church.

In 1584, Father Aquaviva called to Rome six experienced schoolmen, who had been elected from different nationalities and provinces, in order that the peculiarities of the various nations might be considered in the formation of a system which was destined to be put to practice in so many countries all over the

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110 world. These men worked for about a year, consulting authors on education, examining the regulations and customs of universities and colleges, especially those of the Roman College, and the letters, observations, and other documents sent to Rome from the various provinces. The standard which guided these men in their deliberations was the fourth part of the Constitutions. In 1585 they presented the result of their labor to the General. In 1586, Father Aquaviva sent the report to the provinces; and at the same time ordered that in each province at least five men of eminent learning and experience should examine the report, first in private, then in common, and should send the result of their examination to Rome.

How much liberty was granted in these remarks on the educational methods then prevailing in the Order, may be seen from the verdict given by James Pontanus (his German name was Spanmiller), one of the ablest classic scholars of the Society. He boldly censures some abuses, especially that sometimes young men were employed in teaching who were not sufficiently prepared for the work; men who were not well grounded in Greek; that too frequent changes occurred among teachers, etc. He deplores the fact that too much weight is laid on physics, metaphysics, and dialectics, and that the humanistic studies are not valued as they deserve. "Without classical education," he says, "the other branches of study are cold, dumb and dead; classical learning gives these other studies life, breath, motion, blood and language." Pontanus' memorandum was by no means free from

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Rh exaggerations and unwarranted generalizations of single instances. But it is interesting to see how freely opinions could be uttered on a question of such importance.

The notes and suggestions sent from the different provinces were examined by the most prominent Professors of the Roman College and three members of the committee of 1584-85, and then were used in drawing up a second plan. This new plan, after having been revised by the General and his Assistants, was sent to the provinces in 1591 as Ratio atque Institutio Studiorum, the editio princeps of the Ratio. The Provincials who came to Rome for the fifth General Congregation (1593-94), again reported on the results of the plan as practised during the last years, and demanded some changes. At length, in 1599, when every possible effort had been made, when theory and practice alike had been consulted, and every advisable modification had been added, the final plan of studies appeared under the title: Ratio atque Institutio Studiorum Societatis Jesu (Naples 1599), usually quoted as Ratio Studiorum. Well could it be said that this Ratio was "the fruit of many prayers, of long and patient efforts, and the result of the combined wisdom of the whole Order." It has sometimes been said that the word Ratio Studiorum is a misnomer, as it does not propose any educational principles. However, as Father Eyre, S. J., years ago has pointed out, Ratio, as applied to studies, more naturally means method than principle, and the Ratio Studiorum is essentially

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112 a practical method or system of teaching. Hence the name is altogether appropriate.

How easily an author, even without ill will, may be led into mistakes regarding the Ratio Studiorum, can be inferred from the following passage which is found in a Catholic magazine. "The work which caused the greatest sensation was the Ratio atque Institutio Studiorum Societatis Jesu, published in the College at Rome in 1586. It took nine months to print it. The part bearing on theological opinions raised a storm of opposition among the other religious orders, principally the Dominicans, who denounced it to the Inquisition. The result was that Sixtus V. pronounced against the book, and, in the following editions, the chapter De Opinionum Delectu was omitted." The same mistake is made by Dr. Huber.

The author of the article was betrayed into making these very inaccurate statements by implicitly trusting Debure (Biographie Instructive, Paris, 1764). The historical truth is established by Father Pachtler, and by Father Duhr. The evidence given by Father Pachtler may be summed up as follows:

1. The Ratio of 1586 was in no sense of the word "published", and hence caused no "sensation" whatever. It was only the project or plan of a Ratio, and printed privately for the members of the Order. How it should have taken "nine months to print it," is unintelligible; the error arose probably from misunderstanding the fact, that it took the six fathers who

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Rh formed the committee, nine months to work out the plan of the Ratio.

2. This first draft, written in the form of dissertations, is now very rare. It is known to exist at present in Trier (Treves), Berlin, Milan, and Marseilles. Father Pachtler has for the first time reprinted it entirely from the copy found in the city library at Trier (located in the former Jesuit College).

3. This private document was not "denounced to the Inquisition," but was wrongfully seized by the "Spanish Inquisition," at the instance of the Spanish Dominicans, set on by some disloyal Spanish Jesuits who were soon after expelled from the Society.

4. As soon as the seizure was reported to Rome, Father Aquaviva complained directly to Pope Sixtus V. This energetic Pope, formerly a Franciscan and by no means partial to the Jesuits, far from "pronouncing against the book," became highly incensed at the action of the Spanish Inquisition, and wrote a characteristic dispatch to his nuncio in Spain, inclosing a letter to the Cardinal Grand Inquisitor Quiroga, and bidding the nuncio deliver the letter to the Cardinal only after having read it to him. In this letter the masterful Pontiff commands Quiroga, in virtue of his apostolic power, forthwith to restore to the Society the book of the Institute (which had also been seized), and especially the Ratio Studiorum. And unless he obeyed this command, the Pope threatened to depose him at once from the office of Grand Inquisitor, and strip him of the dignity of Cardinal.

5. The second draft of the Ratio was sent to the

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114 Provinces in 1591. In this draft the chapter De Opinionum Delectu (i. e. catalogue of philosophical and theological questions which were not to be taught in the Society), was omitted, but was sent out separately for examination in the following year. Hence the statement that in the following editions the chapter De Opinionum Delectu was omitted, is again inaccurate.

6. The final Ratio, including, of course, the Catalogus Quaestionum, was, as we have seen before, promulgated in 1599.

This final Ratio did not contain any discussions on the educational value of different subjects, nor any treatises why this or that method had been adopted. Such discussions had preceded, and had been contained in the Ratio of 1585. That of 1599 was a code of laws, a collection of rules for the different officials, in whose hands lies the government of a college, and for the teachers of the various classes. The rules are divided as follows:

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Rh {|
 * width=70px |
 * width=70px |
 * colspan = 3 |III.
 * Regulae
 * colspan = 2 |Professoris Philosophiae.
 * Philosophiae Moralis (Ethics).
 * Physicae (Physics and other natural sciences).
 * Mathematicae.
 * colspan = 3 |IV.
 * Regulae
 * colspan = 2 |Praefecti Studiorum Inferiorum (together with regulations for written examinations and for awarding prizes).
 * Regulae
 * colspan = 2|Communes Professoribus Classium Inferiorum.
 * Professoris
 * Rhetoricae.
 * Humanitatis.
 * Supremae Classis Grammaticae.
 * Mediae
 * Infimae
 * }
 * colspan = 3 |IV.
 * Regulae
 * colspan = 2 |Praefecti Studiorum Inferiorum (together with regulations for written examinations and for awarding prizes).
 * Regulae
 * colspan = 2|Communes Professoribus Classium Inferiorum.
 * Professoris
 * Rhetoricae.
 * Humanitatis.
 * Supremae Classis Grammaticae.
 * Mediae
 * Infimae
 * }
 * Humanitatis.
 * Supremae Classis Grammaticae.
 * Mediae
 * Infimae
 * }
 * Supremae Classis Grammaticae.
 * Mediae
 * Infimae
 * }
 * Mediae
 * Infimae
 * }
 * Infimae
 * }
 * Infimae
 * }
 * }
 * }

Then follow various rules: for the pupils, for the management of academies (literary and debating societies) etc.

The rules under No. I are those of the Superiors. The entire government of a college is in the hands of the Rector (President). He is also the court of appeal in all disputed questions among the teachers, or between the masters and the students. He is to inspect the classes from time to time, in order to inform himself of the progress of the students, and to give advice to the teachers. As far as possible, he is to take an interest in each pupil personally. Nothing of importance can be undertaken in the college without consulting him, nor can any custom of the house be changed without his consent. The subordinate officials have that amount of authority which he gives

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116 them, and they are obliged to report to him frequently on the conditions of affairs in the college. The Rector's power is, however, not absolute; he has to follow the laws laid down for him. Besides he is provided with a Board of Consultors and he is obliged to ask their opinion on all matters of greater moment, although he remains free to follow their advice or to reject it. The teachers have to carry out the decisions of the Rector, but they may always have recourse to the higher Superior, the Provincial. The Provincial visits the colleges at least once a year, and every teacher has to confer with him privately and may lay before him any complaints against the Rector. In this manner, a firm centralized government is ensured, while at the same time any arbitrariness on the part of Superiors is prevented.

Interesting are, in this regard, the words of Father Nadal: "Let the Rector have his ordinary advisers (consultores) and let him hold regular meetings (concilia). One is the meeting of 'languages', in which all teachers of the languages take part; the second of philosophy, and the third of theology. To these meetings the Rector may invite two or three other experienced men, if he thinks it necessary or useful. In order to settle a question concerning languages, or philosophy, or theology, a meeting of the respective professors should be held; if a question concerns the whole institution, a meeting of all professors should be called. However, the Rector is not so bound that he could not do anything without convoking such a meeting. For these meetings are held that he may benefit by their advice. The whole authority and responsibility of the administration rests with him; but every

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Rh year the Rector shall report to the General about the college, and all officials of the college shall inform the General through sealed letters about the administration by the Rector."

The chief assistant of the Rector is the Prefect of Studies. To him belongs the direct supervision of the classes and everything connected with instruction. He must be a man of literary and scientific accomplishments and of experience in teaching, so that both teachers and students can have recourse to him with confidence in all questions pertaining to education. It is his duty to assign the students to their proper classes, to determine the matter of examination, and to appoint the examiners, to select the authors to be read during the following scholastic year, to visit every class at least once in two weeks, to admonish the masters of any defects he notices in their manner of teaching, and to direct them by other useful advice. In all this he is the instrument of the Rector, whom he has to consult in all important matters.

There is another assistant of the Rector, the Prefect of Discipline, who is immediately responsible for all that concerns external order and discipline. From these few details, it will appear that the government of a Jesuit college is, at once, extremely simple and highly efficient.

The regulations contained under No. II are for the theological faculty in universities and seminaries. We have to examine chiefly the last two classes: the regu-

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118 lations for the faculty of Arts or Philosophy, and those for the Studia inferiora or Humanities. These "lower studies" were for the greater part literary and correspond to the classical course of the high school and part of the college. The Ratio Studiorum treated languages, mathematics and sciences not simultaneously, but successively; hence the distinction between Philosophy (Arts) and Studia inferiora.

In the five lower classes – in many places there were six – the classical languages were the staple studies. Other branches, as history and geography, were to be treated as accessories or complements of the literary studies. The task for each grade is expressed in the first rule of the Professor of the respective class.

The aim of this class is a perfect knowledge of the rudiments and elementary knowledge of the syntax. – In Greek: reading, writing, and a certain portion of the grammar. The work used for the prelection, will be some easy selections from Cicero, besides fables of Phaedrus and Lives of Nepos.

The aim is a knowledge, though not entire, of all grammar; and, for the prelection, only the select epistles, narrations, descriptions and the like from Cicero, with the Commentaries of Caesar, and some of the easiest poems of Ovid. – In Greek: the fables of Aesop, select dialogues of Lucian, the Tablet of Cebes.

The aim is a complete know-

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Rh ledge of grammar, including all the exceptions and idioms in syntax, figures and rhetoric, and the art of versification. – In Greek: the eight parts of speech, or all the rudiments. For the lessons: in prose, the most important epistles of Cicero, the books, De Amicitia, De Senectute, and others of the kind, or even some of the easier orations; in poetry, some select elegies and epistles of Ovid, also selection from Catullus, Tibullus, Propertius, and the Eclogues of Virgil, or some of Virgil's easier books, as the fourth book of the Georgics, or the fifth and seventh books of the Aeneid. – In Greek: St. Chrysostom, Aesop, and the like.

The aim is to prepare, as it were, the ground for eloquence, which is done in three ways: by a knowledge of the language, some erudition, and a sketch of the precepts pertaining to rhetoric. For a command of the language, which consists chiefly in acquiring propriety of expression and fluency, the one prose author employed in daily prelections is Cicero; as historical writers, Caesar, Sallust, Livy, Curtius, and others of the kind; the poets used are, first of all, Virgil; also odes of Horace, with the elegies, epigrams and other productions of illustrious poets, expurgated; in like manner orators, historians, and poets, in the vernacular (1832). The erudition conveyed should be slight, and only to stimulate and recreate the mind, not to impede progress in learning the tongue. The precepts will be the general rules of expression and style, and the special rules on the minor kinds of composition, epistles, narrations, descriptions, both in verse and prose. – In Greek: the art of versification, and some notions of the dialects; also a clear understanding of

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120 authors, and some composition in Greek. The Greek prose authors will be Saints Chrysostom and Basil, epistles of Plato and Synesius, and some selections from Plutarch; the poets: Homer, Phocylides, Theognis, St. Gregory Nazianzen, Synesius, and others like them.

The grade of this class cannot be easily defined. For it trains to perfect eloquence, which comprises two great faculties, the oratorical and the poetical, the former chiefly being the object of culture; nor does it regard only the practical, but the beautiful also. For the precepts, Cicero may be supplemented with Quintilian and Aristotle. The style, which may be assisted by drawing on the most approved historians and poets, is to be formed on Cicero; all of his works are most fitted for this purpose, but only his speeches should be made the subject of prelection, that the precepts of the art may be seen in practice. – As to the vernacular, the style should be formed on the best authors (1832). The erudition will be derived from the history and manners of nations, from the authority of writers and all learning; but moderately as befits the capacity of the students. – In Greek: the fuller knowledge of authors and of dialects is to be acquired. The Greek authors, whether orators, historians, or poets, are to be ancient and classic: Demosthenes, Plato, Thucydides, Homer, Hesiod, Pindar, and others of the kind, including Saints Nazianzen, Basil, and Chrysostom.

Let it not be imagined, however, that this plan was followed slavishly. The different provinces of the Order made such adaptations and introduced such changes as they thought best for their respective coun-

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Rh tries. We give here the plan which was followed in the colleges in Upper Germany, in the beginning of the eighteenth century. It is taken from the Ratio et Via of Father Kropf, published in 1736.

Latin. Grammar of Alvarez, elements, and easier rules of construction. – Reading: The easiest letters of Cicero, specially selected and separately printed. Selections from book I and II of Father Pontanus' Progymnasmata.

Greek. Grammar of Father Gretser, or of Father Bayer. Correct reading and writing; accents and declensions.

Religion. Small Catechism of Peter Canisius, part I-II. Explanation of the Latin Gospel.

''History. Rudimenta historica,'' vol. I., treating chiefly of the history of the people of Israel.

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