It was this decline on her own part, caused by the insidious workings of the Jesuits, which made possible the great victories of this order in later years. It was when Rome saw her youth slipping from her hands into the Protestant schools, and as a result, a few years later, found whole nations refusing obedience, and building for themselves new forms of government, that, in her distress, she grasped the offer made by Loyola. And while the power he represented in its organization, placed itself above the pope, becoming, as it were, a papacy of the papacy, still she accepted his offer, and the counter educational move began. The Jesuits organized to combat reformation in educational lines. In speaking of the Jesuits, Painter says: “This order, established by Ignatius Loyola [in 1534], found its special mission in combating the Reformation. As the most effective means of arresting the progress of Protestantism, it aimed at controlling education, particularly among the wealthy and the noble. In rivalry with the schools of Protestant countries, it developed an immense educational activity, and earned for its schools a great reputation.” Again, the same writer says: “More than any other agency it stayed the progress of the Reformation, and it even succeeded in winning back territory already conquered by Protestantism. Although employing the pulpit and the confessional, it worked chiefly through its schools, of which it established and controlled large numbers. Education in all Catholic countries gradually passed into its hands.”
Jesuit schools
In order to understand the reason for the success of the Jesuits as teachers it is necessary to glance at the plan of studies prepared in 1588 from a draft made by Loyola himself. “Every member of the order,” says Painter, “became a competent and practical teacher. He received a thorough course in the ancient classics, philosophy, and theology. During the progress of his later studies he was required to teach.” Jesuit schools contained two courses, the lower corresponding very closely to the work of Sturm. Rosenkranz gives an excellent description of the educational system of the Jesuits. He says:—
Course of instruction
“In instruction they developed so exact a mechanism that they gained the reputation of having model school regulations, and even Protestants sent their children to them. From the close of the sixteenth century to the present time they have based their teaching upon the Ratio et institutio studiorum Societatis Jesu of Claudius of Aquaviva. Following that, they distinguished two courses of teaching, a higher and a lower. The lower included nothing but an external knowledge of the Latin language, and some fortuitous knowledge of history, of antiquities, and of mythology. The memory was cultivated as a means of keeping down free activity of thought and clearness of judgment. The higher course comprehended dialectics, rhetoric, physics, and morals. Dialectics was expounded as the art of sophistry. In rhetoric, they favored the polemical and emphatic style of the African Fathers of the church and their gorgeous phraseology; in physics, they followed Aristotle closely, and especially encouraged reading of the books ‘De Generatione et Corruptione’ and ‘De Coelo,’ on which they commented after their fashion; finally, in morals, casuistic skepticism was their central point. They made much of rhetoric, on account of their sermons, giving to it careful attention. They laid stress on declamation, and introduced it into their showy public examinations through the performance of Latin school comedies, and thus amused the public, disposed them to approval, and at the same time quite innocently practiced the pupil in the art of assuming a feigned character.
“Diplomatic conduct was made necessary to the pupils of the Jesuits, as well by their strict military discipline as by their system of mutual distrust, espionage, and informing. Implicit obedience relieved the pupils from all responsibility as to the moral justification of their deeds. This exact following out of all commands and refraining from any criticism as to principles, created a moral indifference; and, from the necessity of having consideration for the peculiarities and caprices of the superior on whom all others were dependent, arose eye service. The coolness of mutual distrust sprang from the necessity which each felt of being on his guard against every other as a talebearer. The most deliberate hypocrisy and pleasure in intrigue merely for the sake of intrigue—this subtilest poison of moral corruption—were the result. Jesuitism had not only an interest in the material profit, which, when it had corrupted souls, fell to its share, but it also had an interest in the educative process of corruption. With absolute indifference as to the idea of morality ... or the moral quality of the means used to attain its end, it rejoiced in the efficacy of secrecy, and the accomplished and calculating understanding, and in deceiving the credulous by means of its graceful, seemingly scrupulous, moral language.”[140]
Spread of Catholicism by schools
Here is a picture of this papacy of the papacy. Again I say, had Protestantism remained true to principle, even this system could not have accomplished its overthrow; but since truth was neglected by Protestant schools, this system of the Jesuits easily carried every country into which it was introduced. “The Jesuit system of education ... was intended to meet the active influence of Protestantism in education. It was remarkably successful, and for a century [following 1584] nearly all the foremost men of Christendom came from Jesuit schools. In 1710 they had six hundred and twelve colleges, one hundred and fifty-seven normal schools, twenty-four universities, and an immense number of lower schools. These schools laid very great stress on emulation. Their experiments in this principle are so extensive and long-continued that they furnish a most valuable phase in the history of pedagogy in this respect alone. In the matter of supervision they are also worthy of study. They had a fivefold system, each subordinate being obedient to his superior. Besides this, there was a complete system of espionage on the part of the teachers and pupil monitors.”[141]