To understand better the educational methods of the jesuits, it is preferable to consult their _Ratio studiorum_, published in 1599. This _Ratio_ states that a punishment should only be given in a last extremity. ‘Let not the master be in haste to punish: let him not push his inquisition too far: let him pretend that he does not see all the faults committed, if he can do so without compromising the interests of the pupils.’ In another passage they are recommended to avoid corporal punishment as much as possible, and in any case they are not to use the rod themselves. A special corrector, attached to the establishment but not a member of the order, was detailed for flogging. The corrector was a servant, either the cook or the doorman; sometimes recourse was had to a penniless workman of the district, who was given a few coppers for fulfilling the office. In the Toulouse province, at Rodez College for example, another plan was used. The jesuits picked out a hefty scholar and educated him gratis, on condition that he flogged his fellow-pupils when necessary. The victim was fastened to the back of a chair, and the punishment took place before the teacher and all the class. The number of strokes given was usually from seventy to eighty, never less than forty; sometimes as many as three hundred were given. The victim was forbidden to cry out, and the flogger was ordered to pause for a few seconds between each stroke so that the pain might be greater. During the reign of Louis XIV, public opinion pronounced in favour of corporal punishment so vigorously that elected bodies thought it not beneath their dignity to pick up the rods which had fallen from the hands of too-indulgent teachers. And yet as a general thing, there was little consideration shown for either age or condition, as the following episode related by Saint Simon of the oldest son of the Marquis de Boufflers will show. This boy was fourteen years old, almost a young man, handsome, well-built, clever, and very promising. He was a boarder with the jesuits, along with the two sons of d’Argenson. The fathers wished to show that they feared and favoured nobody, so they flogged the boy, though as a matter of fact they had nothing to fear from the Marquis. They were careful however not to touch the other two, for they were liable to be called to account any day by d’Argenson, lieutenant of police. Boufflers was so dismayed and oppressed that he fell sick, and died in four days. There was a universal outcry, but nothing happened.