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.” [Sidenote: 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:— [Sidenote: Course of instruction]