In the beginning of the twelfth century a secret order was formed, "for the defence of the Holy Sepulchre, and the protection of Christian Pilgrims." They were first called "The poor of the Holy City," and afterward assumed the appellation of "Templars," because their house was near the Temple. The order was founded by Baldwin II., then king of Jerusalem, with the concurrence of the pope.
Many of the noblest knights connected themselves therewith, and they became known, then, as the Knights Templars.
But the order degenerated, became faithless to their vows, and used the wealth and power they had attained in such manner as to occasion their public condemnation.
In the beginning of the fourteenth century a sect of soi-disant philosophers appeared, known as the Rosicrucians. They bound themselves together by a solemn secret, which they all swore inviolably to preserve; and obliged themselves, at their admission into the order, to a strict observance of certain established rules. They pretended chiefly to devote themselves to medicine, but above all that, to be masters of important secrets, and among others, that of the philosopher's stone; all which they affirmed to have received by tradition from the ancient Egyptians,
Chaldeans, the Magi, and the Gymnosophists. By their pretences that they could restore youth, they received the name of Immortelles. Their pretension to all knowledge, acquired for them the title of Illuminati. For years they were lost sight of. Consequently, when in later years they once more appeared under their original organization, they have been recognised as "The invisible brothers." Their name is not, as generally supposed, derived from rosa and crux: but it is from ros (dew), the then supposed solvent of gold, and crux (the cross). To see, perhaps, a badge of this order, mark the arms of Luther! a cross placed upon a rose. True, a mistake as to the definition, yet does it not indicate the reason of its use politically and otherwise?
Passing by, then, the middle ages, we commence a new era with the rise and progress of a religious secret order, without a parallel in the history of the world; one which has risen in influence and power far above all the other orders of the church, prohibiting its members to accept office in the church, yet which, in the art of ruling, has excelled the governments of the world hitherto, no less than any of its ecclesiastical rivals of any age or country.
The Society of Jesus—known as the Jesuits—early raised itself to a degree of historical importance unparalleled in its kind. This order was founded (1539) by Ignatius Loyola, who called it the Society of Jesus, in consequence of a vision, and bound the
members, in addition to the usual vows of poverty, chastity, and implicit obedience to their superiors, to a fourth, viz: to go, unhesitatingly, and without recompense, whithersoever they should be sent, as missionaries for the conversion of infidels and heretics, or for the service of the church in any other way, and to devote all their powers and means to the accomplishment of the work. The intention of Ignatius Loyola was originally directed rather to mystic and ascetic contemplations; but the order, from the nature of its fourth vow, soon took a shape adapted to the wants of the church.
The origin of this society seems to have been a vision to the over-wrought mind of Loyola: may we call it a temporary inflammation of the brain? He was a Spaniard of very warm imagination, and a man of great sensibility. He declared he saw Mary, the mother of Jesus, in a vision: that she gave him the power of chastity: that Jesus and Satan appeared to him in the form of military officers enlisting men for service; whereupon he followed Christ. The society designated their object by Loyola's motto—Omnia ad majorem Dei gloriam. The intimate union of this society has been insured by severe trials, constant inspection, and unconditional obedience. Thoroughly organized by past experience, it now quietly pursues a policy deep, powerful, and difficult to be met on account of its mysticism. After Loyola's death the society was farther developed by Lainez,
and after him, by Aquaviva, men of deep knowledge of mankind, and steadfast purpose, who became the real authors of the present society. The seat of the society was, in so far, in Rome, as the general of the order resided there, with the committee of the society, and the monitor, who, totally independent of him, controlled the general as if he were his conscience. The order was divided into provinces, each of which was superintended by a provincial. Under the care of these officers were the professed-houses, with each a præpositus at its head, and the colleges, with each a rector. In the latter there were also novices. The mutual dependence of all parts of the system resemble the structure of a well-built fabric. The relations of subordination are so well ordered that the society is simplex duntaxat unum, without interrupting the free will of the individual, as is said, who only had to obey in permitted things.