THE JESUITS AND THEIR EDUCATION
=Literature.=--_Draper_, Intellectual Development of Europe; _Durrell_,
A New Life in Education; _Dyer_, Modern Europe; _Fisher_, History of the
Reformation; _Guizot_, History of Civilization; _Ferris_, Great Leaders;
_Lord_, Beacon Lights; _Parkman_, The Jesuits in North America; _White_,
Eighteen Christian Centuries; _Quick_, Educational Reformers; _Symonds_,
Renaissance in Italy; _Hughes_, Loyola; _Larned_, History for Ready
Reference; _Schwickerath_, Jesuit Education; _Chateaubriand_, The Genius
of Christianity.
=The Order.=--The remarkable spread of Protestantism, however, was not
to go on unchallenged. Already before the rupture of the Church, the
need of a better-educated clergy had been acknowledged. We have seen
that Luther and the Reformers laid great stress upon the education of
the young as a means of propagating the new faith, and they had employed
this means with great success. It is not to be gathered from this that
the Roman Church had been unmindful of her duty in the training of the
young. It has already been shown that the Church maintained education
from the beginning of the Christian era down through the Middle Ages,
that she never slackened in her zeal for this work, and that she held it
to be her right and duty, as she does to this day, to train the young.
At this very time she was maintaining many schools. But the "Order of
Jesus" was destined to systematize education in such a degree as the
Church had never witnessed.
It has been claimed that the founding of the "Society of Jesus" was a
"Counter-Reformation," the purpose of which was to check the growth of
Protestantism. Whatever may have been the effect of its work in this
direction, it seems clear that such was not the purpose for which it was
organized. Schwickerath shows that it is doubtful if the founder of the
Jesuit order had ever heard the name of the German Reformer. He
says,[63] "The Papal Letters and the Constitutions assign as the special
object of the Society: 'The progress of souls in a good life and
knowledge of religion; the propagation of faith by public preaching, the
Spiritual Exercises and works of charity, and particularly the
instruction of youth and ignorant persons in the Christian religion.'"
It cannot be denied, whatever the original purpose of the Society, that
it not only checked the onward march of Protestantism, but it even
restored many provinces and communities to their fealty to the Mother
Church. How well the last clause of the admonition above quoted was
carried out will be seen when we remember that the Jesuits originated
the most successful educational system of the sixteenth, seventeenth,
and eighteenth centuries, a system having a definite end in view, and
whose adherents by indomitable energy, by self-sacrifice, by oneness of
purpose, secured remarkable success. Let us turn our attention to the
founding of the "Order."
=Loyola= (1491-1556), the originator of the order, was a Spanish
nobleman. While recovering from a severe wound received in battle, he
read some religious books which made such a profound impression upon him
that he resolved to consecrate himself to religious work. Not being an
educated man, he devoted some years to study, and while at the
university of Paris he gathered around him other young men who also were
ready to consecrate themselves to the service of God. They formed
themselves into the "Order of Jesus," with the avowed purpose at first
of rescuing Jerusalem from the hands of the infidels. This was not to
be done by force of arms, as in case of the crusaders, but by peaceful
means. This purpose was abandoned, but the zealous missionary spirit of
the Jesuits endured. In 1540 Pope Paul III. recognized the new order and
gave it the sanction of the Church. The organization was military in
character, Loyola becoming its first general.
=The Growth of the Society= was remarkable from the outset. In 1600 it
had 200 schools; in 1710, 612 colleges, 157 boarding or normal schools,
59 houses for novitiates, 340 residences, 200 missions, and 24
universities. The college at Clermont had, in 1651, 2000 students, and
in 1675, 3000 students. These institutions controlled the education of
the Catholic Church in all Europe, and many Protestant young men also
were attracted to the Jesuit schools by their superior teachers and
their thorough training.
The society became so strong that various attempts were made to check
its power. It spread, however, to China and Hindustan, to the Indian
tribes of North America, and to South America. Its spirit and its
practices aroused the suspicion of princes and people, of many Catholics
as well as Protestants. In 1773 the Jesuits were in possession of 41
provinces, and had 22,589 members, of whom 11,295 were priests. Since
that time popes have suppressed them, rulers have expelled them from
their countries, their property and power have been taken from them,
until their influence has been greatly lessened and their progress
checked.
=Jesuit Education.=--Unlike the monastics, the Jesuits mingled with the
world; they assumed no peculiarities of dress, and held themselves ready
to act as missionaries to the most remote parts of the world, as agents
of the Church to which they so fully consecrated themselves, and as
teachers of youth. They established schools everywhere, and placed them
in charge of teachers of remarkable skill and pedagogical training.[64]
We have seen that their efforts were chiefly directed to higher
education, their schools being designed for boys not less than fourteen
years of age. In general, primary education did not enter into their
scheme. Schwickerath thinks that the "Jesuits could not undertake
elementary education" because "they had never men enough to supply the
demands for higher education."[65] This shows that they held higher
education as of the greater importance, and the same author further
adds: "Besides, the whole intellectual training of the Jesuits fitted
them better for the higher branches." They reached sons of princes,
noblemen, and others who constituted the influential classes,[66] but
"the Constitutions expressly laid down that poverty and mean extraction
were never to be any hindrance to a pupil's admission."[67] Instruction
was free.
Their schools became the most efficient and the most popular means of
education furnished throughout Europe,--and justly so, for their work
was thorough, their teachers were competent and well trained, and their
course of study comprehensive. It is worthy of especial note that all
teachers of the Jesuit schools were carefully trained before they were
allowed to give instruction. This is the first time in history that the
necessity of special preparation for the work of teaching was recognized
as an essential element in the work of education.
Every Jesuit school was divided into two departments, the lower,
_studia inferiora_, consisting of five classes, and the higher, _studia
superiora_, requiring two or three years. Boys were admitted to the
lower course at the age of fourteen, and the work consisted chiefly of
the study of the humanities, while that of the advanced course embraced
philosophy and theology.[68] With reference to these courses of study,
Quick says, "The Jesuit system stands out in the history of education as
a remarkable instance of a school system elaborately thought out and
worked as a whole." Again, he says of the _Ratio Studiorum_:[69] "It
points out a perfectly attainable goal, and carefully defines the road
by which that goal is to be approached. For each class was prescribed
not only the work to be done, but also the end to be kept in view."
Surely these are most commendable features of any course of study. The
work was remarkably thorough in every detail.
After the society had been in existence some forty years, Claudius
Aquaviva became its General Superior. He at once began the study of the
educational problem, using all the resources of his office in obtaining
information, and employing his executive ability in producing an
improved method of study. A committee of twelve most eminent churchmen
was appointed in 1581 to study the question, and three years later a
commission of six, representing different countries, began the labor of
preparing a course of study. Their work, called the _Ratio
Studiorum_,[70] completed in 1599, has remained, with some
modifications, the guide of Jesuit institutions of learning.
=Emulation=.--Emulation was employed to stimulate pupils to work and to
secure good conduct. Prizes, decorations, rewards, titles, were offered
as a means of attaining desired ends. Emulation is a natural instinct in
mankind, and it may be utilized to stimulate endeavor and "foster
ambition." The principle ever to be kept in mind should be _excellency
without degrading others_. Schwickerath thinks that such was the spirit
in which the Jesuits employed this incentive.[71] He admits, however,
that there are dangers connected with prizes, and, on the whole, that
certain methods of fostering emulation recommended by the _Ratio
Studiorum_ are less suitable to northern countries and less in
accordance with modern taste.
While corporal punishment was allowed, it was generally administered by
an official disciplinarian. It was seldom used, however, the discipline
being mild and humane.
=Criticism of Jesuit Education.=--As to the efficiency of the
instruction in the Jesuit schools, opinions widely differ. Bacon and
Descartes indorse it in highest terms, while Leibnitz, Voltaire, and
others are equally strong in its condemnation. Bacon remarks, "As to
whatever relates to the instruction of the young, we must consult the
schools of the Jesuits, for there can be nothing that is better done."
Leibnitz, on the other hand, says, "In the matter of education, the
Jesuits have remained below mediocrity." Ranke, in speaking of the
success of the Jesuit schools, says, "It was found that young persons
learned more under them in half a year than with others in two years."
Mr. Quick says: "I have said that the object which the Jesuits proposed
in their teaching was not the highest object. They did not aim at
developing _all_ the faculties of their pupils, but merely the receptive
and reproductive faculties. When the young man had acquired a thorough
mastery of the Latin language for all purposes, when he was well versed
in the theological and philosophical opinions of his preceptors, when he
was skillful in dispute, and could make a brilliant display from the
resources of a well-stored memory, he had reached the highest point to
which the Jesuits sought to lead him."[72] Some critics of the Jesuits
claim that they lack in originality of thinking, and that they neglect
training in the power of forming correct judgments. They have produced,
however, many great men.
=Summary.=--Summarizing the educational work of the Jesuits, the
following would appear to us to be just:--
1. Their educational system was by far the most efficient and successful
of any during the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries.
2. This, however, applies only to higher education, as primary education
was not undertaken by them.
3. They made their schools interesting, and learning pleasant. Their
work was thorough, their consecration complete, their success as
teachers marvelous, they being the greatest schoolmasters of their time.
4. They produced a course of study, the _Ratio Studiorum_, which lays
principal stress upon the humanities and religious instruction.
5. They taught the necessity of trained teachers, and developed a
remarkable power and tact in the work of instruction and school
management.
6. They made use of emulation as a means of stimulating ambition,--a
principle that tends to arouse the baser motives, and which is therefore
to be used guardedly.
7. They were indefatigable in missionary enterprise, and zealous in the
propagation of their principles, both religious and educational.
8. They stimulated authorship, advanced learning, and produced many
great men.
9. They exerted a powerful influence upon the intellectual, social, and
political movements of their time.
THE PORT ROYALISTS
Opposed to the Jesuits was another body of Catholics, sometimes called
Jansenists from the organizer of the movement, and sometimes Port
Royalists, because their chief school was at Port Royal near Paris.
Their purpose was to check the progress of the Jesuits, to promote
greater spirituality in the Church, and to revive the pure Catholicism
of St. Augustine. Among their great leaders may be mentioned Pascal,
Nicole, and Launcelot. The purpose of the Jansenists was very different
from that of the Jesuits, and their methods were more modern. They gave
preference to modern languages, while the Jesuits gave chief attention
to the classic tongues. Their discipline, like that of the Jesuits, was
humane, but firm.
Their greatest contribution to education is the _phonic method_ of
spelling. They also laid stress upon the use of objects, the development
of the sense perceptions, especially in early childhood. One of their
axioms was, "The intelligence of childhood always being very dependent
on the senses, we must, as far as possible, address our instruction to
the senses, and cause it to reach the mind, not only through hearing,
but also through seeing." This appears to be the first instance in which
_object teaching_ was taught as a principle, a principle which Bacon,
Comenius, Pestalozzi, and Froebel worked out, and which has been one of
the most important factors of modern educational progress.
FOOTNOTES:
[63] "Jesuit Education," p. 77.
[64] See Hughes, "Loyola," pp. 46, 113, 156, 282. Also Schwickerath,
"Jesuit Education," p. 415.
[65] "Jesuit Education," p. 105. See also Hughes, "Loyola," pp. 4, 14,
43, 46, 68, 72, 82, and 86 (lines 12-23).
[66] See Hughes, "Loyola," pp. 72, 151.
[67] "Educational Reformers" p. 26.
[68] K. Schmidt, Vol. III, p. 230.
[69] "Educational Reformers," p. 34.
[70] See Hughes, "Loyola," p. 141, for full description of this work and
outline of the course. Also Schwickerath, "Jesuit Education," p. 191.
[71] See Hughes, "Loyola," p. 511.
[72] "Educational Reformers," p. 35.