History of the Jesuits

From the Book "THE HISTORY OF GERMANY" by Wolfgang Menzel [In four volumes. This quote is From Volume 3 pg 1072. Book not dated but was written in mid to late 1800's. Menzel, Wolfgang, 1798-1873]

"The Society of Jesus was founded by Ignatius Loyola, an enthusiastic Spaniard, for penitents, who, in those heretical times, ere long made it their business to confirm the faith of the wavering, and, consequently, became the tools of Rome. Benedict XIV, named them St. Peter's Janissaries.

Their object was the restoration of unlimited hierarchical power, and they despised no means, however base, that might conduce to success, according to their celebrated maxim, "The end justifies the means."

The society was intended to form an aristocracy of talent, whose office it was to guard the avenues of knowledge against the rest of mankind; and, as a precaution against individual treachery, no member was permitted to quit the order except to take the vows of a Carthusian, by which he bound himself to silence and solitude for the rest of his days.

The heads of the society had unlimited power to remove, punish, and assassinate the members. The first vow taken by the initiated was that of unconditional obedience. A system of secret espionage pervaded the whole society; suspicion was condemnation; and the victim was sentenced to die in seclusion of starvation, as it expressly directed by Suarez, the great Jesuitical casuist.

The members were divided into classes, the highest of which, the professors, elected the head or general of the whole order, who resided at Rome. Every province of the order was under the superintendence of a pater provincialis. The higher grades were kept strictly secret from the lower classes, who were merely the blind tools of the former. The pope conferred the most extensive privileges upon the order, which was empowered to interfere everywhere with the clergy and with all other orders. -- And, in order to renew the times of the first apostles, the Jesuits sent out missionaries, who visited the most distant parts of the globe, for the purpose of converting the heathen and --- of taking possession of the New World. They brought countless treasure into Europe, by means of which they placed themselves on a firm footing and acquired immense influence at a period when money was power.

The most celebrated of these missionaries was St. Xavier, who met with a martyr's death in India. Numbers of the Jesuits shared the same fate; many, in particular Germans, were distinguished for piety and learning and by their exploration of unknown countries. Among the European Jesuits were many fervent spirits actuated by the purest zeal; many simple and poetical minds unstained by hypocrisy, for instance, Balde; many deeply learned men, sincere lovers of truth.

It would be unjust to pass a sweeping condemnation upon all the Jesuits. But the ruling spirit and the political effect of the order were immoral.

The manner in which they denied the truths brought to light during the Reformation, sought to veil them by bringing to view the weaknesses and errors of Protestantism, or to suppress them by force, cannot be justified.

The sophistry with which they still defended undeniable and long-sensible abuses was revolting to reason. The means by which they bent the powerful and wealthy to their purposes were often the most unholy.

pg1074 One of the principle objects of the Jesuits was to replace the sale of dispensations, which had fallen into bad repute since the Reformation, and which was, moreover, almost indispensable to the church. This was done by means of the lax morality of the confessional. The more luxurious court life became, the more easily did the Jesuits forgive the sins committed by the aristocracy; in order to pacify the new conscientious scruples awakened by the Reformation, they became the advocates instead of the judges of sins, from every description of which they, by their casuistry, exculpated the offender.

The Spanish Jesuits went furthest. The book of Escobar, the confessor's manual, passed through thirty-six editions, which were printed under the direction of the society and of the church. The church closed her eyes to any measures taken by the confessors, provided they made proselytes and gathered the stray sheep into the fold.

According to their casuistical system, all sins were exculpated: First, by the doctrine of probabilismus, that is, by the mildest of all possible interpretations.

A says, "Such a sin is too horrible to be forgiven." B says, "Certainly; still it might thus be exculpated, " etc. etc. Upon this C says, "According to A's opinion it cannot be forgiven; but it can be according to B's; and as an authority is all that is requisite, and the mildest point of view is admissible, I agree with B." Secondly, By the directio intentionis, that is, by the thoughts being occupied during the performance of a bad action with an innocent object. Thus, for instance, one might bribe another or accept of a bribe and, at the same time, be merely thinking of civility or gratitude.

Thirdly, By the reservatio mentalis. It was allowable to take a false oath by voluntarily adding a mental reservation, as, for instance, a man might swear he had no money, although he had some, provided he mentally added "none to lend," etc. One might take an oath thus, "I swear (that I say here, although it is untrue) that I, " etc. or "I swear that I did not do that (a hundred years ago or a hundred miles hence), " or " I swear to do so (if I cannot think of something else)."

pg1075 ... and it continues

This is getting long. Someone can let me know if they want me to type up the rest.

this volume has not been scanned into archives.org yet. volume 4 has - but I did not see anything about the jesuits in that volume. https://archive.org/details/germanyfromtheea08401gut