Loyola and the Educational System of the JesuitsHughes, Thomas
History
Loyola and the Educational System of the Jesuits
Hughes, Thomas
Education -- History; Ignatius, of Loyola, Saint, 1491-1556; Jesuits
Another sequel, not heard of before in history, affected the Society
itself. Europe, having gone through the violent commotions which
changed the old order of things into the new, reached the beginning
of this nineteenth century, and found the Society alive again. This
was in defiance of a political maxim, which we may admit with Baron
von Hübner, that in politics, in the affairs of states, in the life of
all great social institutions, when once death supervenes, there is no
resurrection.
And now, at the end of the nineteenth century, the same forces of
repulsion and attraction, of devoted love on the part of friends,
of intense hatred on the part of enemies, have been seen operating
as always before. It has become a commonplace in the philosophy of
history,--this hatred which has been sworn against the Order of Jesus,
and the multitude of enemies whom it has made. One explanation suggests
itself to the Viscount de Bonald,--the presence in it, he thinks, of
something good; of that good which, as it alone is the object of the
most ardent love, can alone become the object of the intensest hate;
and therefore has always made persecutors and martyrs.
The purpose of this book is to give an historical sketch, with a
proportionate analysis, of the educational development effected through
the Society of Jesus. Others have taken different fields of Jesuit
history to survey, either general and comprehending all the paths of
external and internal activity, or particular and comprising only parts
of the history. Some of these particular views, especially in later
years, are in the line of studies, and are most valuable contributions
to the history of pedagogic development. None of them, however,
happens to coincide with the scope, purpose, and form which have been
designated for this; as the Series to which it belongs, the Editor in
charge, and the country for which it is intended, sufficiently indicate.
The subject then is the educational system of the Jesuits, that system
which technically is called the _Ratio Studiorum_. It requires no
literary nor historical ingenuity to centre all that has to be said
about it in the personality and character of St. Ignatius of Loyola.
I shall draw upon Jesuit sources of information, except when it
will be necessary to state results, or give estimates, which imply
commendation. Then I shall quote freely from sources outside of the
Order. Otherwise, for the purpose of explaining and analyzing domestic
matters, these extraneous references would be imperfect indeed.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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