first came to Rome with Faber and Laynez For going one day with them to see the Marquess d' Aquilar then Embassador of Charles the Fifth with Paul the Third and their Discourse falling upon the reports which were then spread against the new Society the Marquess told him that he was suspected to cover a great Ambition under an exterior Humility and that it was publickly said a Cap or a Miter was the motive of his Journey The Father was so surpriz'd at this Discourse that at first he only answer'd it by making the sign of the Cross Afterwards as if he had been inspir'd on the sudden by God he made a Vow before the Marquess never to accept any Ecclesiastical Dignity unless he were oblig'd to it under pain of Sin by the Vicar of Christ and some time after he renew'd this Vow in the presence of a Cardinal The affairs of the Society were in this Posture when Father Ignatius thought it seasonable that it should be imploy'd in the instruction of Youth The Zeal of Francis de Borgia Duke of Gandia to whom the sight of the dead Body of the Empress had given a disgust of the things of this World and who after the death of his Dutchess gave himself wholly to God was the first rise and occasion of beginning so profitable a work There being within his Lordships a great number of Baptized Moors of which the greatest part had renounced Mahometanism only in appearance he judged that to secure the Souls of the younger Brood and wholly to extirpate that pernicious Sect he ought to provide for the Education of their youth and in order thereunto to Found a Colledge of the Society in his Town of Gandia where the Children of all his Vassals should be Educated in Vertue and Learning This design he communicated to Father Ignatius and asked his advice and assistance for the Execution of it Who immediately gave order to Father Faber then at Valladolid to wait upon the Duke and to serve him in the Establishment of this Colledge before he came to Trent whither Paul the Third had call'd him to be joyn'd with Salmeron and Laynez As soon as the Duke and Father Faber had regulated matters according to the Instructions of the General there were presently sent thither Professors out of five or six different Nations all able Men and chosen by Father Ignatius himself and each of them open'd his School with a Latin Harangue before the Duke and all his Court. It was therefore in the year 1546 and six years after the Confirmation of the Institute that the Jesuits first open'd their Schools in Europe I say in Europe because in the year preceding those of the Society whom Father Ignatius had sent out of Italy and out of Portugal to Father Xaverius having been put into possession of the Seminary of Goa Founded some few years before by King John the Third for Educating the Indian youth Nicholas Lancillotti an Italian had begun to teach the Children the Principles of the Latin Tongue But at Gandia they did not only teach these first Elements of Sciences for besides Grammar there were Schools of Poetry Rhetorick Philosophy and Divinity and to give the greater Credit to the Colledge the Duke obtain'd from the Pope and from the Emperor to have it Erected into an University and that the Scholars who there took Degrees should have all the Priviledges which are injoy'd by the Graduats of Alcala and of Salamanca Father Ignatius Ordain'd for the good order of the Colledge that the Professors should be very careful in their Method of teaching that in each faculty they should follow the most received Authors as in Philosophy Aristotle and in Divinity St. Thomas He recommended that they should often exercise the memories of those young Scholars who were not yet come to ripeness of judgment and that in making them recite what they had got without book they should accustom them betimes to pronounce well That they should stir up young Wits by frequent Disputations quickening them with emulation and sometimes setting the more forward and capable against those who were behind them that so both one and the other might either be animated with Glory or excited by Shame that the Slothful and the Libertines should be punish'd but that the Masters themselves should not Chastize their Scholars This last Order he made both to observe the Decency of a Religious state and to prevent all passion in Corrections Besides this insomuch as it was his principal Design to form the Manners of Youth he expresly forbad the reading any Author either Latin or Greek that might corrupt their Innocence unless such Authors be first purg'd of all that is obscene He order'd that the Scholars should every Day hear Mass That every Month they should go to Confession That when they begin School they should all together say some short Prayer to ask God's assistance in their Studies And that once a Week by Catechisms and Exhortations they should be Instructed in the Verities of Faith and in the Rules of good Life He also prescrib'd to the Masters that upon every fit occasion both in School and out of School in their familiar Discourses they should speak to them of Heavenly things These Rules observ'd made Doctrine and Piety flourish at Gandia under the Conduct of Father Andrew Oviedo Rector of the Colledge About this time it was that Isabella Rosella coming to Rome to see Father Ignatius took a Resolution of leaving the World and of living according to the Evangelical Counsels under the Obedience of the Society Two Roman Ladies of great Vertue joyn'd with her in this Design and they obtain'd leave of the Pope to embrace this kind of Life Tho' F. Ignatius well saw that this sort of Directions was not very agreeable to his Institute yet his Gratitude towards his Benefactrix and the small number of these new Religious prevail'd with him to take upon him the care of them But he soon repented of it and was heard to say That the Government of three Devotes was more troublesom then that of the whole Society For in fine there was no end with them at all hours their Doubts must be resolv'd their Scruples must be cur'd their Grievances must be heard and even their Quarrels must be reconcil'd This oblig'd him to represent to the Pope how incongruous such an Employment would be to the Society and how necessary it was that his Holiness should deliver them from it For he judg'd that this small Community of Jesuitesses which yet consisted but of three Persons would in time become numerous and multiply in other Towns but the Consideration which he had of the Catalonian Lady from whom he had receiv'd so many good Offices and who so earnestly requested him not to abandon her made him manage the Matter with all possible fairness and condescendency Here is the Copy of a Letter which he writ to her upon this Subject Right Venerable
altho our first Ingagement were made upon Humane and Worldly Motives What we have then to do is to use our endeavour to acquire all that Perfection which such a state requires Nor are we to relinquish the second when we are once ingaged in such state I say we are not to relinquish it unless it contains in its self or obligeth us to any thing against the duties of Christianity or unless we leave it to put our selves in a more perfect state As to the Times and Seasons that are proper for the making such Election the most apposite are these First When God touches the Heart in such a manner that there is no possibility of a doubt that the Call comes not from Heaven as in the case of St. Matthew St. Paul and some others Secondly When the Impression of Grace is at least so strong in us as to give us a kind of assurance that our Vocation comes from the Holy Ghost And Thirdly when the Soul Illuminated by Faith and undistracted by outward objects which may mislead her into false judgements is in a fit disposition to elect what is most conducible to her Salvation As for the Manner of the Choice thus it ought to proceed First the Condition the Office the Imployment the form of life whatever it be is laid before us Secondly we are to recall into our Consideration the End for which we were Created and according to the Rules of the Fundamental Meditation we must Endeavour to put our selves into an absolute Indifferency towards all the things of the World and to make no reckoning of them any otherwise then as they Serve to our End Thirdly we are humbly to beg of God that he will enlighten our understanding and not suffer us to deviate from that way by which he would conduct us After this we are to find out all the Reasons for or against such a Course and to weigh them one against the other and those must preponderate which in our Aym to Eternity and our last End seem to tend most directly thither When it appears evidently to us upon Examination so made that one calling has the Advantage over the other there we must fix and firmly resolve to embrace it with out delay If afterwards we should find any wavering and irresoluteness in our selves and should desire to be confirm'd and settled in our choice we are then to use the same Reasons to our selves as we should do to our best Friend upon the like occasion Moreover we ought to do that which we shall wish were done at the hour of Death and at the day of Judgement when we are to render an Account of all our Actions Lastly we ought to choose that way which shall seem best to us according to these Solide and evident Principles This in short is the whole Oeconomy of this matter of Choice and the Conclusion of this Important affair makes an End of the Second week It will be hard for a Soul to tread all those steps we have now markt out without much labour and pain and it is natural that a new state and form of life should find great contradictions either because the world doth usually rise in opposition against those who embrace a true Christian life or for that God doth commonly try the fidelity of his new Servants The Soul therefore hath great need of strength and of Love to be supported and where can she find more powerful Succour then in the wounds of Jesus Christ Crucify'd who has Consummated by his sufferings the work of our Redemption and so lov'd us as to dye for us upon the Cross 'T is in the Contemplating the Passion and Death of our Saviour that the Soul enflam'd with his Love takes Resolution to Suffer all things to please him and constantly to persist in the Practice of Christian vertues in defyance of the world and the Devil The Soul being now in such a Scituation what she has more to do is to elevate her Thoughts and her desires towards Heaven And this she doth in the Fourth week which represents to her the Glorious Mysteries of the Resurrection of the Apparitions and of the Ascention of the Son of God as being most proper to enliven her Faith to strengthen her Hope and to purify her Love In conclusion the contemplation of Spiritual Love or of the Benefits and perfections of the God consummates the whole work by closely uniting her to God and making her taste the sweetness of Divine Union Thus ends our Saint his spiritual Exercises with a Prayer full of Unction and fervour in which after having intirely given himself up to Jesus Christ he asks nothing of him but his Grace and his Love protesting that there is nothing in the world besides that he desires and that he is rich enough if he can but Love and be Loved It is easie to perceive the Connection of the four parts and how all the Meditations have such a dependance one on the other that the First is still the foundation of the Second the former still supporting and giving strength to the latter and all of them together work the intended effect which is to raise a Soul into a State of perfect charity after having disingaged her from the Love of the world Here you have the Character and the Spirit of the Exercises which Ignatius compos'd at Manreza and which in process of time he digested into that order and form in which now we see them then adding to them divers Rules concerning Catholick Faith Prayer Alms deeds Temperance Scruples and Discernment of spirits Besides those which he sets down under the Title of Annotations and Additions to make the exercises both easily and profitably and which are so Essential according to the Judgement of one of the most Eminent Sons of our Saint that we can expect no fruit from our Retirement if we neglect them For amongst other things they Import that he who desires profitably to make the Exercises must enter into them with great Courage and with a Resolution to give himself up wholly to the Dictates and Conduct of the Holy Ghost and be ready to go what way soever the voice of Heaven shall call him That being so dispos'd at his entrance into them he must not only forget for a time all the affairs of the World but also must apply himself singly and Solely to the Meditation of each Present day not permitting his thoughts to make any excursion into the Meditations that are to follow That it is not Sufficient to read Holy and Good Books but the matter of them must be agreeable to the Subject of his Meditations least the understanding being dissipated and scatter'd upon divers Objects should have less force to Penetrate those Truths of which it is to be convinc'd That the way of Living the Solitude the Silence the Austerities ought to be apply'd and directed to the matter and Subject of the Meditations of each week as much as prudence may
require That if he feels Devotion upon any Article he should not pass on to another till such time as that Pious affection be fully satisfyed That if he falls into a dryness and Irksomness far from shortning the time prefixt for his Prayer he should somewhat lengthen it beyond the usual bounds So to master his Reluctancy and to overcome himself waiting with silence and Humility the comfortable visit of the Holy Spirit That if on the contrary he be fill'd with Spiritual Gusts and consolations at that moment he should not engage himself in any vow especially if the vow be Perpetual and such as obligeth to a change of State of life That in conclusion he should open himself to his director in these Exercises and give him an exact Account of all that passes in his Interior to the end that such Director may treat the Penitent conformably to his dispositions and necessity and that he may not instil too much fear into a pusillanimous soul nor too much Confidence into a Soul inclining to presumption and least he should mistake and aim to bring a Sinner to the height of perfection before he is Purg'd of his vicious habits It follows from all that I have now set down that the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius exactly perform what they promise in the beginning of the Book which is to conduct a Soul in such manner that she may overcome her self and choose a state of Life tending best to her Salvation after she has cleans'd her self from those deprav'd inclinations which may corrupt her Judgement in making her Choice In this Book which I now speak of St. Ignatius has also inserted the particular Examen of the Conscience not to say any thing of the General Examen with the five points so common at present and so little us'd before him This particular Examen which he has invented and which he reckon'd among the surest means to reform a worldly Soul consists in taming that Vice which most raigns in us and in setting upon it singly by its self and in continual fighting against it by a Constant watch upon our selves that we may at no time yeild to it by a contrite returning to God as often as we fall by it By an exact computation of our Falls even to the setting them down by making little Marks upon so many Lines which are drawn to Correspond with every day in the week as may be seen in the Book it self to the end that comparing day to day and week to week we may easily see the Progress we have made We are not to discontinue this practise till the bad Habit which we propose to overcome be quite destroy'd and when we have compass'd it we are then to undertake another Vice in the same way I will not stop here to confute the Imaginations of a certain unknown Writer who fancying that the Founder of the Jesuits had taken his Exercises out of a Book of Don Garcias de Cisneros Religious of St. Benets Order and Abbot of Montserrat has Printed on the Subject a Libel under the Name of Don Constantine Cayetan Abbot of Mont Cassin For besides that the Congregation of Mont Cassin has disavow'd the Author and the writing in a General Chapter of the Order held at Ravenna in the Year 1644 and that the same was done in the Year following by the Benedictines of Portugal the two Books themselves are every where to be seen and they will best decide the Point that Bating the Titles there is no resemblance at all of one with the other But to return to our History the Fruits of Ignatius his Apostolical Discourses and of his Spiritual Exercises were so great in Manreza that they more and more drew upon him the praises and admiration of the People He could not endure that they should so esteem him in a place whither he had retir'd only to avoid the esteem of men Wherefore he resolv'd to Leave Manreza after more then a ten months continuance there Besides the Plague being now abated at Barcelona and the Commerce of the Sea beginning to be open he had an extreme Impatience to proceed towards the Holy Land At the beginning of his Conversion he only intended by this Pilgrimage to honor those places consecrated by the Presence and Blood of Jesus Christ But now he undertook it with an ardent desire to procure according to his ability the conversion of the Scismaticks and Infidels He did not leave Manreza with so much Privacy as he did Montserrat he declar'd his journey to his Friends but did not tell them what he design'd to do in Palestine It cannot be Imagin'd how much this news did trouble them They conjur'd him with tears in their Eyes not to abandon them They represented to him the Fatigue and the danger of so long a journey But neither their Intreaties nor their reasons could stop him a moment Many offer'd to accompany him all presented him their Purse He would take neither Companion nor money that he might have no comfort but from God and no dependance but on Providence And he said to those who were instant with him to make some Provision of necessaries for his Journey that a perfect relyance upon Heaven was all things that we are not Christians only by Faith and by Charity but also by Hope which vertue could not be perfectly exercis'd but in the want of all things THE LIFE OF St. IGNATIVS The Second BOOK IGnatius being come to Barcelona found in the Haven a Brigantine and a great Ship both which prepared for their Voyage into Italy He was upon the point of Imbarquing in the Brigantine because that Vessel was likely to part soonest but God who had a care of his Servant chang'd his Design which happen'd in this manner A very vertuous Lady call'd Isabella Rosella hearing one day a Sermon chanc'd to cast her eyes upon Ignatius who was placed at the foot of the Altar amongst the Children she thought she saw his Countenance inviron'd with light and heard a Voice which cry'd Call him call him However she contain'd her self at that time from saying any thing fearing it might be an Illusion But when she came home she spake to her Husband of it both of them were of opinion to examine what it might be wherefore they immediately sent to find out the Pilgrim who was still in the Church In design of honoring our Saviour in the person of a poor Man they oblig'd him to eat with them at their Table and to sound him they put him upon a Discourse of Piety Ignatius who was ignorant of their Design spoke of the things of Heaven so feelingly and so sublimely that they were convinc'd he was a Man of God Fain they would have had him make his abode with them but he declar'd that he was call'd by Heaven to another Place and that he only waited the departure of the Vessels to leave Spain The Lady who understood by him that he had
himself whom Manar had preacquainted with the Matter and so Michel left a Paper of the Propositions in their hands that they might Examine them at leisure But instead of Examining them they carry'd the Papers to Father Ignatius whereupon the Father doubting no longer neither of the Doctrine nor of the Intentions of Michel inform'd the Grand Inquisitor John Peter Caraffa who was afterwards Pope of the whole Matter and at the same time Expell'd the Impostor The Inquisitor caus'd him to be Arrested and after he had been kept some Months in close Prison which oblig'd him tho' unwillingly to confess the truth he was condemn'd to the Galleys This Artifice not having succeeded with the Protestants they had recourse to another which was to send to the Fathers at Rome two great Chests of Books of which the greatest part were very proper to poison Youth Oliver Manar who open'd the Chests found that those at the top were Catholick Books and all the rest Heretical he presently advertis'd Father Ignatius of it The Father at the very first divin'd whence such an Alms should come and order'd that all the Books should be burnt and their Ashes to be thrown into the Wind as if he were afraid they should infect the House nor could he according to his own Maxims otherwise do being perswaded that all that comes from Hereticks ought to be suspected and not permitting that any of their Books should be read in the Society how good soever they might be For said he when we read a good Book writ by a bad Man after having taken pleasure in the Book we grow insensibly affected to the Author even sometimes to believe that all that such an Author writes is reasonable This he particularly apply'd to Erasmus and to such like Authors a great while before their Works were condemn'd And he grounded his Opinion upon the Authority of S. Basil who says in express terms That a Religious Person ought not only to have in horror the Doctrine of Hereticks but also not to read any Books but such as come from an Orthodox Pen and are approv'd by the Church because the Words of the Impious according to the Sentiment of the Apostle are like a Gangrene which taints and corrupts by degrees all that is sound But Father Ignatius had yet more troublesom Rencounters even with Catholicks and with a principal Prelate of the Church The Archbishop of Toledo newly declar'd himself again against the Society notwithstanding the Bulls which Approv'd the Institute and Exercises His pretence was that the Jesuits whom they call'd Theatines did intrench upon the Rights of Episcopacy by the liberty which they took of Administring the Sacraments in all Places under colour of their pretended Priviledges There was but one Colledge of the Fathers in his Diocess which was that of Alcala He one day Interdicted them all and thunder'd out a Sentence of Excommunication against all Persons that should Confess to them He commanded at the same time all the Religious and Curates within his Diocess not to suffer any of the Society either to Preach or to say Mass in their Churches and that which exceeds Imagination he suspended all the Priests in Toledo from hearing Confessions who had made the Spiritual Exercise The General far from being afflicted at this violent Persecution did in some manner rejoyce at it This new Tempest said he to Ribadeneyra is a good Omen If I am not mistaken it is an evident sign that God will be serv'd by us in Toledo For Experience has taught us that to our Society Contradictions and Persecutions always prepare the way and that the more it is oppos'd in any Place the more fruit it there produceth In the mean time he writ into Spain that all Endeavors should be us'd to satisfie the Archbishop Villanova who was Rector of the Colledge of Alcala a moderate and prudent Man made to him all manner of Submission but the Archbishop grew more inflexible by how much the Rector was more submiss All means were us'd to mollifie and appease him The Friends of the Society and especially Cardinal Francisco Menâ—za who design'd to Erect a Colledge in the Town of Burgos of which he was Bishop left no means untry'd to procure their Peace When Father Ignatius understood that nothing could prevail with the Archbishop he at last inform'd Julius the Third with what had pass'd at Toledo and also order'd the Fathers of Alcala to â—â—â—sake their Complaints to the Privy-Council of Spain The Pope caus'd a Letter to be writ to the Archbishop by Cardinal Matheo Secretary of State which imported That it was much wonder'd at in Rome that the Society of Jesus should be so ill treated at Toledo since it was in so good Esteem and so well receiv'd in all other Parts of the World On the other side the King's Council having examin'd the Bulls and the Priviledges of the order and judging that the Conduct of the Archbishop did directly oppose the Holy See they made a Declaration in favour of the Fathers The â—â—â—ter from Rome and the Declaration of the Counâ—â— brought the Prelate to reason He presently annull'd his former Acts and re-establish'd the Jesuits in all their Rights As soon as Father Ignatius had news of it he sent him his most humble thanks in a Letter full of Acknowledgment and submission and the more to gain him he promis'd that the Fathers of Alcala should make no use of their Priviledges nor receive any Person among them without his Approbation At this time the Society had two great Losses Claude le Jay dy'd at Vienna in Austria and Francis Xaverius in the Island of Sancian near China They were also in danger the same year of losing Father Francis de Borgia but after another manner and they would certainly have lost him if Father Ignatius had not preserv'd him by such means as I shall now relate Borgia upon his return out of Italy retir'd himself into Biscay and made choice of the Colledge of Ogniate to consummate his Sacrifice by renouncing the Dutchy of Gandia and all the remainders of his Greatness He chose that Place in regard of its Neighborhood to Loyola whether his Devotion led him before he came to Ogniate And it is said that entring into the Chamber where Father Ignatius was born he fell down upon his Knees and kiss'd the Ground with a Religious respect and after having given thanks to the Divine Goodness for having brought such a Man into the World he made it his Prayer that since he had taken Ignatius for his Guide and his Master he might have the Grace exactly to follow his Counsels and his Example He departed from Loyola animated with a new Spirit and he liv'd so holily that all admir'd to see in him at his very entrance into Religion consummated Sanctity When the Emperor Charles the Fifth understood that Don Francisco de Borgia of a Grandee of Spain was thus transform'd into a Jesuit he sent to