To those who have not investigated the history of the Jesuits, as written by themselves, these accusations may seem harsh and unmerited; not so, however, to those who have. No matter where they went, the obligation of being "all things to all men" was held to be obligatory upon every member of the society. Obedience to the Superior was the highest virtue, notwithstanding it may have involved violations of the laws of God, of morality, and of society. How else could professed Christians pretend to be engaged in the practice of virtue by denying Christ, disavowing his worship, and habitually practicing the debasing rites of the Hindoo religion, for more than a century, as Nobili and his Jesuit followers and imitators did? And what other possible pretext can be offered for the Jesuit worship of Confucius in China, in religious confraternity with the natives, who made their public ceremonies and festivities special testimonials of their adoration of him as the founder of their national religion and the chief among the gods of their idolatry? We shall see how these things were by the proceedings which led to their condemnation by the popes, although the Jesuit historians, who are forced to acknowledge them, try hard to show that the pontifical censure was not deserved. Daurignac--the ablest of the Jesuit defenders--referring to the course of Nobili and others who practiced idolatrous rites, says: "Some Europeans had been scandalized by this method of appearing _all things to all men, in order to win all to Christ_." This sentence is misleading in this, that instead of there being merely "some" who felt scandalized, there were multitudes throughout Europe. The ecclesiastical authorities at Goa, in India, were also of this number; and when the complaint reached there that Nobili "had become a Brahmin, and given himself up to idolatry and superstition," he was summoned to Goa to explain his conduct. He could not disobey this summons, and when he reached there, "the sight of his singular costume elicited a general expression of indignation" among the Christians. When required to explain, by the Archbishop of Goa, as the official representative of the Church--appointed by the pope for that purpose--the only defense he could make was that his motives were good; that is, that the prostitution of himself and his sacred calling was well meant because his object was to promote "the greater glory of God!" The Jesuits at Goa accepted his reasons "as sufficient," says Daurignac. There are two methods of accounting for this: First, they were Jesuits; and second, because Nobili's method of falsehood and deception opened to them new and extensive fields of operation, which, if recognized, they could occupy with great success in extending the power of their society. But the archbishop thought otherwise, and "absolutely refused" to accept Nobili's reasons as satisfactory. Accordingly--speaking for the Church