The Jesuits, 1534-1921: A History of the Society of Jesus from Its Foundation to the Present TimeCampbell, Thomas J. (Thomas Joseph)
History
The Jesuits, 1534-1921: A History of the Society of Jesus from Its Foundation to the Present Time
Campbell, Thomas J. (Thomas Joseph)
Jesuits -- History
To achieve all this the Jesuits were to wear outwardly an appearance of
poverty in their houses; the sources of revenue were to be concealed;
purchases of property were always to be made by dummies; rich widows
were to be provided with adroit confessors; their family physicians were
to be the friends of the Fathers; their daughters were to be sent to
convents, their sons to the Society, etc. The vices of prominent
personages were to be indulged; quarrels were to be entered into, so as
to get the credit of reconciliation; the servants of the rich were to be
bribed; confessors were to be very sweet; distinguished personages were
never to be publicly reprehended, etc., etc. As the phraseology of these
"Monita secreta" was a clever imitation of the official document of the
Society known as the "Monita generalia," the forgery scored a perfect
success in being accepted as genuine. It was such a cleverly devised
instrument of warfare in a country like Poland, for instance, with its
mixed Protestant and Catholic population, that it would be sure to
strengthen the Protestants, and, at the same time, shame the Catholics,
by discrediting the Jesuits, who were then in great favor. It was
anonymous, but was finally traced to Jerome Zahorowski, who had been
dismissed from the Society. When charged by the Inquisition with being
the author, he denied it, and said he had no complaint against his
former associates. The book was put on the Index, and Zahorowski's
declaration that he was not the author was believed. Later, however, it
was publicly declared by those who had the means of knowing the facts
that he was really the guilty man. Indeed, just before he died, he
confessed the authorship and bitterly regretted the crime he had
committed. He recanted all that he had said in the book, but it was too
late; the mischief had been done and the evil work has continued. There
were twenty-two editions of it, issued during the seventeenth century,
and it was translated into many languages. Its title was changed from
time to time and it was called: "The Mysteries of the Jesuits;" "Arcana
of the Society;" "Jesuit Machiavelism;" "The Jesuit Cabinet;" "Jesuit
Wolves;" "Jesuit Intrigues," and so on. There appeared also a huge
publication of six or seven bulky volumes entitled "Annales des
soi-disants Jésuites," which is an encyclopedia of all the accusations
ever made against the Society.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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