"My answer," I replied, "is ready this moment, if you will permit me to give it; I have no need of ruminating on the matter to come to a decision. It is not the office of Principal that is the difficulty with me; on the contrary, that is the very one in which I feel I could do some good. But I find it impossible to live in this Roman monastery, where there is nothing but opposition, contrariety, and dissension. Suppose, for a moment, I should wish to reform any abuses that might exist in the college, I should be sure to encounter a war of persecution, as has ever been the case. My predecessor has not yet recovered from the effects of his attempt in that way. Above all, there is one thing in which I feel the great necessity of alteration, and that is, in the course of study. We are barbarians with our scholastic theology; it is that of the middle ages; it is horrible! Aristotle is taken as the expositor of the Bible; his works, with those of Pietro Lombardo, are the two text books of Thomas Aquinas. In Christian schools the apostle should explain the philosopher. The famous motto of the Platonists, '_Ipse dixit_,' has its counterpart in the motto of the Thomasines, '_Ut ait philosophus et Magister sententiarum_.' Now, Father General, does this appear to you to be the proper way to explain theology, which is the science of reasoning upon, and drawing conclusions from, the principles of Divine Revelation,--that is to say, from the Holy Scriptures, since there is no other revelation than what they set forth?" "But our Order has always held this system of instruction; our theology has always been that of St. Thomas Aquinas, which is authorized by the Church; and whoso has ever deviated from his doctrine, said Pope John XXII., has always been suspected as to his faith (_fuit semper de fide suspectus_). How would you think then of introducing any reform in such matters? Certainly, all the lecturers and masters would to a man rise against it. For my part, I cannot see why the system hitherto adopted should not be still pursued: our Order has been always distinguished for its theologians, and this distinction they derive from the study of the 'Summa Theologiæ' of St. Thomas Aquinas. Take this from them, and it would be like taking the sun from the universe; all would be darkness."