exalted notion of the Papal supremacy, which was the prominent feature in the madness of Ignatius, was still further exaggerated, if that was possible. Submission to the Pope became thenceforward the one end of his life, and to promote it the one object of his projected Society.

The bull which established this new order bestowed abundant praise upon Ignatius, adopted the whole of his suggestions, without one alteration, and created him Grand Master, or General of the Company of Jesus. In plain indication, also, of the Pope's designs, it selected for special commendation that clause of the vow on admission which bound the members to uncontrolled obedience to the will of the Pope, as eminently calculated to promote humility, the destruction of the body of sin, and the total subjection of the will. Moreover the bull hinted pretty openly at the great extent and delicate nature of the services to be performed by them; and enlarged upon the necessity which would be imposed upon every member of the order not to express or even to harbour a wish, or an opinion, as to the particular mission to which he may be appointed, but to leave everything to God, the Pope, and his superior*.

It had long been the policy of the Romish pontiffs to control, to defend, and to enlarge their empire, by

*Bulla Regimini militantes Ecclesiæ; in magno Bullario Romano, tom. i., pp. 778 seq.

means of the religious orders, whom interest joined more closely to them than the regular clergy; it therefore became necessary, after the unsuccessful contest with Luther, that some new society, free from the open vices and profligacy which disgraced the old ones, should be established, wholly devoted to the interests of Rome, to enable them to recover, if possible, what was lost, and to fortify and guard what still remained entire.

The Dominicans and Franciscans, by which especially the Popes had governed Christendom for some centuries, had now lost much of their reputation and their influence, and could no longer serve the interests of Papacy, either as efficiently or as effectually as in former times. A society, therefore, like that of Jesus, with a General at its head so fanatically devoted to the Popes as Ignatius-bigoted, uncompromising, and ready to go all lengths; fiercely cruel, perfidious, and dead to all the common feelings of humanity, yet uniting in its bosom all the arts and sciences, and all the varied talent and learning of that period, was the one above all others that the necessities of the Papal Church then required.

The advantage to be derived from these new auxiliaries in the warfare with heretics was soon perceived by the sovereigns of other countries, as well as by the hierarchy. Honours and endowments flowed in rapidly; the number of applicants for

admission as novices of the Society, from men of all nations, ranks, and professions, was incredibly great; and three years after its foundation, the Pope, at the request of Ignatius, annulled the clause which had limited the number to threescore, leaving it with no other restriction than the discretion of its General. Sixteen years after the establishment of this order Loyola, its founder, expired; but not before he had seen his followers spread over the whole surface of the globe, and giving laws, under him, to all nations.

That the religion of the Romish Church was neither increased in the chastity of its morals, nor in the purity of its doctrines since the Jesuits were added to the various other orders, we have the testimony alike of both Catholic and Protestant authors of the highest authority; neither was it formed to the only standard of truth, the "Holy Scriptures." As to doctrines of faith, the Jesuits, with at least the connivance of the Romish prelates, entirely subverted such of the first principles of Christianity as the Council of Trent had left untouched. They lowered the dignity and the utility of the sacred Scriptures; detracted so much from the greatness of Christ's merits as almost to make the Pope his equal; and, in fine, by their sophistical reasonings and fallacious impiety, had almost succeeded in extinguishing in

C

men the light of Divine knowledge, and the belief in any practical Christianity.

It is very probable the Jesuits would have taught otherwise, if the Romish pontiffs had wished them to use their efforts to render the church more holy, and more approaching to that of Christ; but they could not teach otherwise then, neither can they now, so long as they are instructed to make it their first care that the Popes may hold what they have gotten, and recover, by any means, what they have lost, and that the prelates and priests of Rome may once more become rich and powerful. Hence, notwithstanding their glaring impieties, the blasphemy of their doctrine, and the infamous, though well-concealed profligacy of their lives, the Papal power could never be persuaded, though pressed by the strongest arguments and exhortations, to pass any severe censures upon the Jesuits, who, like certain weeds, spring up the stronger the oftener they have been cut down, and apparently crushed beneath the foot.

That the Jesuits did not so much corrupt and vitiate the doctrine of morals in all its parts as destroy morality altogether, is the universal complaint of innumerable writers of every class and society of men in the Romish Church, since they adduce from their books (which will form the succeeding chapters of this work) that professedly treat of the right

mode of living, and especially from the writings of those called Casuists, principles alike opposed to religion, to honour, and to virtue.

The Jesuits hold an intermediate place between the monks and the secular clergy, and approach nearest to the order of regular canons. For while they live like monks, secluded from the multitude and bound by Vows, yet they are exempted from the most onerous duties of monks, as stated hours of prayer. They are divided into three classes: namely, the professed, who live in the houses of the professed; the scholastics, who teach, and often reside in colleges; and the novices, who reside in houses specially appointed for them. The professed are few in number; of much experience, prudent, learned, and skilful in business, in a word, true Jesuits. The mysteries of the Society are only imparted to a few even of the professed, aged men, of long experience, and of the most tried character. The other classes are rather associates of the Jesuits than real Jesuits. The General of the order holds his office for life, and has a select council to advise him and to execute his orders. His authority over the whole order, and every person, business, and thing connected with it is absolute; nor is he accountable to any other earthly superior, except the Pope. Over each province there is a provincial, whose power is equally despotic over his portion of the Society. He visits