Part 618

"Experience had shown that the old monastic orders were no longer sufficient. … About 1540, therefore, an idea began to be entertained at Rome that a new order was needed; the plan was not to abolish the old ones, but to found new ones which should better answer the required ends. The most important of them was the Society of Jesus. But in this case the moving cause did not proceed from Rome. Among the wars of Charles V. we must recur to the first contest at Navarra, in 1521. It was on this occasion, in defending Pamplona against the French, that Loyola received the wound which was to cause the monkish tendency to prevail over the chivalrous element in his nature. A kind of Catholicism still prevailed in Spain which no longer existed anywhere else. Its vigour may be traced to the fact that during the whole of the Middle Ages it was always in hostile contact with Islam, with the Mohammedan infidels. The crusades here had never come to an end. … As yet untainted by heresy, and suffering from no decline, in Spain, Catholicism was as eager for conquest as it had been in all the West in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. It was from the nation possessing this temperament that the founder of the order of the Jesuits sprang. Ignatius Loyola (born 1491) was a Spanish knight, possessing the two-fold tendencies which distinguish the knighthood of the Middle Ages. He was a gallant swordsman, delighting in martial feats and romantic love adventures; but he was at the same time animated by a glowing enthusiasm for the Church and her supremacy, even during the early period of his life. These two tendencies were striving together in his character, until the event took place which threw him upon a bed of suffering. No sooner was he compelled to renounce his worldly knighthood, than he was sure that he was called upon to found a new order of spiritual knighthood, like that of which he had read in the chivalrous romance, 'Amadis.' Entirely unaffected by the Reformation, what he understood by this was a spiritual brotherhood in the true mediæval sense, which should convert the heathen in the newly-discovered countries of the world. With all the zeal of a Spaniard he decided to live to the Catholic Church alone; he chastised his body with penances and all kinds of privations, made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and, in order to complete his defective education, he visited the university of Paris; it was among his comrades there that he formed the first associations out of which the order was afterwards formed. Among these was Jacob Lainez; he was Loyola's fellow-countryman, the organizing head who was to stamp his impress upon the order. … Then came the spread of the new doctrines, the mighty progress of Protestantism. No one who was heartily attached to the old Church could doubt that there was work for such an association, for the object now in hand was not to make Christians of the aboriginal inhabitants of Central America, but to reconquer the apostate members of the Romish Church. About 1539 Loyola came with his fraternity to Rome. He did not find favour in all circles; the old orders regarded the new one with jealousy and mistrust; but Pope Paul III. (1534-49) did not allow himself to be misled, and in 1540 gave the fraternity his confirmation, thus constituting Loyola's followers an order, which, on its part, engaged 'to obey in all things the reigning Pope—to go into any country, to Turks, heathen, or heretics, or to whomsoever he might send them, at once, unconditionally, without question or reward.' It is from this time that the special history of the order begins. {1888} During the next year Loyola was chosen the first general of the order, an office which he held until his death (1541-56). He was succeeded by Lainez. He was less enthusiastic than his predecessor, had a cooler head, and was more reasonable; he was the man for diplomatic projects and complete and systematic organization. The new order differed in several respects from any previously existing one, but it entirely corresponded to the new era which had begun for the Romish Church. … The construction of the new order was based and carried out on a monarchical-military system. The territories of the Church were divided into provinces; at the head of each of these was a provincial; over the provincials, and chosen by them, the general, who commanded the soldiers of Christ, and was entrusted with dictatorial power, limited only by the opinions of three judges, assistants or admonitors. The general has no superior but the Pope, with whom he communicates directly; he appoints and dismisses all officials, issues orders as to the administration of the order, and rules with undisputed sway. The absolute monarchy which was assigned to the Pope by the Council of Trent, was conferred by him on the general of the Jesuits. Among the four vows of poverty, chastity, obedience, and subjection to the Pope, obedience was the soul of all. To learn and practise this physically and mentally, up to the point where, according to the Jesuit expression, a man becomes 'tanquam lignum et cadaver,' was the ruling principle of the institution. … Entire renunciation of the will and judgment in relation to everything commanded by the superior, blind obedience, unconditional subjection, constitute their ideal. There was but one exception, but even in this there was a reservation. It was expressly stated that there can be no obligation 'ad peccatum mortale vel veniale,' to sinful acts of greater or less importance, 'except when enjoined by the superior, in the name of Jesus Christ,' 'vel in virtute obedientiæ,'—an elastic doctrine which may well be summed up in the dictum that 'the end justifies the means.' Of course, all the members of this order had to renounce all ties of family, home, and country, and it was expressly enjoined. … Of the vow of poverty it is said, in the 'Summarium' of the constitution of the order, that it must be maintained as a 'murus religionis. No one shall have any property; everyone must be content with the meanest furniture and fare, and, if necessity or command require it, he must be ready to beg his bread from door to door ('ostiatim mendicare'). The external aspect of members of the order, their speech and silence, gestures, gait, garb, and bearing shall indicate the prescribed purity of soul. … On all these and many other points, the new order only laid greater stress on the precepts which were to be found among the rules of other orders, though in the universal demoralisation of the monastic life they had fallen into disuse. But it decidedly differed from all the others in the manner in which it aimed at obtaining sway in every sphere and every aspect of life. Himself without home or country, and not holding the doctrines of any political party, the disciple of Jesus renounced everything which might alienate him among varying nationalities, pursuing various political aims. Then he did not confine his labours to the pulpit and the confessional; he gained an influence over the rising generation by a systematic attention to education, which had been shamefully neglected by the other orders. He devoted himself to education from the national schools up to the academic chair, and by no means confined himself to the sphere of theology. This was a principle of immense importance. … It is a true saying, that 'he who gains the youth possesses the future'; and by devoting themselves to the education of youth, the Jesuits secured a future to the Church more surely than by any other scheme that could have been devised. What the schoolmasters were for the youth, the confessors were for those of riper years; what the clerical teachers were for the common people, the spiritual directors and confidants were for great lords and rulers—for the Jesuits aspired to a place at the side of the great, and at gaining the confidence of kings. It was not long before they could boast of astonishing success."

_L. Häusser, The Period of the Reformation, chapter 20._

"The Society, in 1556, only 16 years after its commencement, counted as many as twelve provinces, 100 houses, and upwards of 1,000 members, dispersed over the whole known world. Their two most conspicuous and important establishments were the Collegio Romano and the German College. They already were in possession of many chairs, and soon monopolised the right of teaching, which gave them a most overwhelming influence."

_G. B. Nicolini, History of the Jesuits, page 90._

ALSO IN: _I. Taylor, Loyola and Jesuitism in its Rudiments._

S_. Rose, Ignatius Loyola and the Early Jesuits._

_T. Hughes, Loyola and the Educational System of the Jesuits._

See, also, EDUCATION, RENAISSANCE.

JESUITS: A. D. 1542-1649. The early Jesuit Missionaries and their labors.

"In 1542, Xavier landed at Goa, the capital of the Portuguese colony, on the western coast of Hindostan. He took lodgings at the hospital, and mingled with the poor. He associated also with the rich, and even played with them at cards, acting piously upon the motto of the order, 'Ad majorem Dei gloriam.' Having thus won good-will to himself, he went into the streets, with his hand-bell and crucifix, and, having rung the one, he held up the other, exhorting the multitudes to accept that religion of which it was the emblem. His great facility in acquiring foreign languages helped him much. He visited several times the pearl-fisheries on the Malabar coast, remaining at one time thirteen months, and planting forty-five churches. Cape Comorin, Travancore, Meliapore, the Moluccas, Malacca, and other ports of India, and finally the distant island of Japan—where Christianity was [accepted—see JAPAN: A. D. 1540-1686] … —received his successive visits. Leaving two Jesuits on the island, he returned to settle some matters at Goa, which done, he sailed for China, but died at the island of Sancian, a few leagues from the city of Canton, in 1552—ten years only after his arrival in India. He had in this time established an inquisition and a college at Goa. Numbers of the society, whom he had wisely distributed, had been sent to his aid; and the Christians in India were numbered by hundreds of thousands before the death of this 'Apostle of the Indies.' It has even been said, that he was the means of converting more persons in Asia than the church had lost by the Reformation in Europe. {1889} The empire of China, which Xavier was not allowed to enter, was visited, half a century later, by the Jesuit Matthew Ricci, who introduced his religion by means of his great skill in science and art, especially mathematics and drawing [see CHINA: A. D. 1294-1882]. He assumed the garb of a mandarin —associated with the higher classes—dined with the Emperor—allowed those who received Christianity to retain any rites of their own religion to which they were attached—and died in 1610, bequeathing and recommending his policy to others. This plan of accommodation was far more elaborately carried out by Robert Nobili, who went to Madura, in southern Hindostan, as a missionary of the order in 1606. He had observed the obstacle which caste threw in the way of missionary labor, and resolved to remove it. He presented himself as a foreign Brahmin, and attached himself to that class. They had a tradition, that there once had been four roads to truth in India, one of which they had lost. This he professed to restore. He did no violence to their existing ideas or institutions, but simply gave them other interpretations, and in three years he had seventy converted Brahmins about him. From this time he went on gathering crowds of converts, soon numbering 150,000. This facile policy, however, attracted the notice of the other religious orders, was loudly complained of at Rome, and, after almost an entire century of agitation, was condemned in 1704 by a special legation, appointed by Clement XI. to inquire into the matter of complaint. … The attention of the society was early directed to our own continent, and its missions everywhere anticipated the settlements. The most remarkable missions were in South America. Missionaries had been scattered over the whole continent, everywhere making converts, but doing nothing for the progress of the order. Aquaviva was general. This shrewd man saw the disadvantage of the policy, and at once applied the remedy. He directed, that, leaving only so many missionaries scattered over the continent as should be absolutely necessary, the main force should be concentrated upon a point. Paraguay was chosen. The missionaries formed what were called reductions—that is, villages into which the Indians were collected from their roving life, taught the ruder arts of civilization, and some of the rites and duties of the Christian religion. These villages were regularly laid out with streets, running each way from a public square, having a Church, work-shops and dwellings. Each family had a small piece of land assigned for cultivation, and all were reduced to the most systematic habits of industry and good order. … The men were trained to arms, and all the elements of an independent empire were fast coming into being. In 1632, thirty years after the starting of this system, Paraguay had twenty reductions, averaging 1,000 families each, which at a moderate estimate, would give a population of 100,000, and they still went on prospering until three times this number are, by some, said to have been reached. The Jesuits started, in California, in 1642, the same system, which they fully entered upon in 1679. This, next to Paraguay, became their most successful mission."

_A Historical Sketch of the Jesuits (Putnam's Magazine, September, 1856)._

In 1632 the Jesuits entered on their mission work in Canada, or New France, where they supplanted the Récollet friars. "In 1640 Montreal, the site of which had been already indicated by Champlain in 1611, was founded, that there might be a nearer rendezvous than Quebec for the converted Indians. At its occupation a solemn mass was celebrated under a tent, and in France itself the following February a general supplication was offered up that the Queen of Angels would take the Island of Montreal under her protection. In the August of this year a general meeting of French settlers and Indians took place at Montreal, and the festival of the Assumption was solemnised at the island. The new crusading spirit took full possession of the enthusiastic French people, and the niece of Cardinal Richelieu founded a hospital for the natives between the Kennebec and Lake Superior, to which young and nobly-born hospital nuns from Dieppe offered their services. Plans were made for establishing mission posts, not only on the north amongst the Algonkins, but to the south of Luke Huron, in Michigan and at Green Bay, and so on as far as the regions to the west. The maps of the Jesuits prove that before 1660 they had traced the waters of Lake Erie and Lake Superior and had seen Lake Michigan. The Huron mission embraced principally the country lying between Lake Simcoe and Georgian Bay, building its stations on the rivers and shores. But the French missionaries, however much they might desire it, could not keep outside the intertribal strifes of the natives around them. Succeeding to Champlain's policy, they continued to aid the Algonkins and Hurons against their inveterate enemies the Iroquois. The Iroquois retaliated by the most horrible cruelty and revenge. There was no peace along the borders of this wild country, and missionaries and colonists carried their lives in their hands. In 1648 St. Joseph, a Huron mission town on the shores of Lake Simcoe, was burned down and destroyed by the Iroquois, and Père Daniel, the Jesuit leader, killed under circumstances of great atrocity. In 1649 St. Ignace, a station at the corner of Georgian Bay, was sacked, and there the pious Brebeuf met his end, after having suffered the most horrible tortures the Indians could invent. Brebeuf, after being hacked in the face and burnt all over the body with torches and red-hot iron, was scalped alive, and died after three hours' suffering. His companion, the gentle Gabriel Lallemand, endured terrible tortures for seventeen hours."

_W. P. Greswell, History of the Dominion of Canada, chapter 6. _

The Hurons were dispersed and their nation destroyed by these attacks of the Iroquois. "With the fall of the Hurons fell the best hope of the Canadian mission. They, and the stable and populous communities around them, had been the rude material from which the Jesuit would have formed his Christian empire in the wilderness; but, one by one, these kindred peoples were uprooted and swept away, while the neighboring Algonquins, to whom they had been a bulwark, were involved with them in a common ruin. The land of promise was turned to a solitude and a desolation. There was still work in hand, it is true,—vast regions to explore, and countless heathens to snatch from perdition; but these, for the most part, were remote and scattered hordes, from whose conversion it was vain to look for the same solid and decisive results. In a measure, the occupation of the Jesuits was gone. {1890} Some of them went home, 'well resolved,' writes the Father Superior, 'to return to the combat at the first sound of the trumpet'; while of those who remained, about twenty in number, several soon fell victims to famine, hardship, and the Iroquois. A few years more, and Canada ceased to be a mission; political and commercial interests gradually became ascendant, and the story of Jesuit propagandism was interwoven with her civil and military annals."

_F. Parkman, The Jesuits in North America, chapter 34._

See, also, CANADA: A. D. 1634-1652.

JESUITS: A. D. 1558. Mission founded in Abyssinia.

See ABYSSINIA: A. D. 15TH-19TH CENTURIES.

JESUITS: A. D. 1572-1603. Persecution in England under Elizabeth.

See ENGLAND: A. D. 1572-1603.

JESUITS: A. D. 1573-1592. Change in the statutes of the Order on demands from Spain.