THE LIFE OF St. Ignatius, FOUNDER OF THE Society of jesus.  
Written in French by the Reverend Father DOMINICK BOUHOURS of the same Society.  
Translated into English by a Person of Quality.  
Published by His Majesty's Command.  
LONDON, Printed by Henry Hills, Printer to the King's most Excellent Majesty, for his Household and Chapel. 1686.   

THE CONTENTS.  

The Contents of the First Book, Page 1.  
THe Birth of St. Ignatius, and his Natural Parts. His Life in the World. He is wounded at the Siege of Pampelona. His Conversion. He goes to Montserrat. He goes to Manreze. His Penitential Life. He retires into a Cave. He is tempted, and resists the Temptation. He is afflicted with interior Pains, and above all with Scruples. He is comforted, and enlightened from above. He trusts not his own Light. He is called by God to the Service of his Neighbour. He writes the Book of Spiritual Exercises. The Scheme and Order of the Exercises. He leaves Manreze to go to the Holy Land.   

The Contents of the Second Book, Page 51.  
WHat happened to him at Barcelona. The Sentiments which he had in the Holy Land. How he is obliged to leave Palestine. He raises a dead Man to life. He goes to Alcala to continue his Studies there. He doth many good Works. He is suspected of Sorcery, and Heresy. He is declared innocent. He is again accused and put in Prison. What he doth, and what he suffereth at Salamanca. He leaves Spain to go into France. He is informed against to the Inquisitor. He helps him who had robbed him. He makes choice of new Companions. He Converts many Persons. He proposes to his Companions his Design of gaining Souls. Ignatius and his Companions make their first Vow at Montmartyr. He applieth himself to form his Companions. He is again informed against to the Inquisitor. He returns into his own Country. The Life which he leads in his own Country. The number of his Companions is increased. He cures the Sick. What passed between Ignatius and a Carthusian. He Embarks for Venice. He is Employed in the Service of his Neighbour. He is decried in Venice, and afterwards cried up again. His Companions go to meet him at Venice. Ignatius and his Companions are Employed in the Hospitals. He sends his Companions to Rome. He receives the Order of Priesthood with his Companions. He prepares himself for his first Mass. He goes to the Relief of one of his Companions.   

The Contents of the Third Book, Page 146.  
HE goes to Rome, to offer his Service to the Pope. He gives to his Company the Name of The Society of Jesus. He goes to Mont-Cassm. He sees the Soul of Hozez enter into Heaven. He gets a new Companion. He proposes to his Companions the Founding a new Order. He continues his Works of Piety. He confers with his Companions about his Institute. He opposes an Heretical Preacher. A Persecution raised against him in Rome. The Persecution is appeased by degrees. He solicits to have a Sentence pass to justify him, and at last obtains it. He helps the People during a Famine. He Presents to the Pope the Project of his Institute. Some of his Companions are Employed by the Pope. He appoints two of his Companions for the Indies. He persists to have his Institute approved by the Holy See. The Society of Jesus is approved by the Pope. Ignatius is chosen General of the Society. He refuses the Charge of General. Ignatius and his Companions make their Profession. He Catechizes with great Fruit. The first Rules which he prescribed to his new Society. Ignatius and his Companions Employed in the Service of the Church. He makes the Establishments for the Jews and Courtesans Converted. He doth other Works of Charity. He begins to write the Constitutions of his Order. The End of the Society of Jesus. The Means which the Society makes use of to obtain their End. The Society has no particular Habit. The Society has no Austerities of Obligation. Why the Society does not keep Quire. How Persons are to be chosen, and what hinders from being received into the Society. In what manner the Novices are to be trained and tried. The Order of Studies for those who have ended their Noviceship. The Care of St. Ignatius for the Health and Progress of Students. Piety joined with Study in the Society. The different Degrees in the Society. The General of the Society perpetual and absolute. How the Authority of the General is tempered. The Union of the Members with their Head, and among themselves. Means found out by St. Ignatius to preserve the Society. The Constitutions of the Society divided into Ten Parts.   

The Contents of the Fourth Book, Page 210.  
THe Society begins to spread in Europe. The General receives, and dismisseth William Postel. He chooseth Laynez and Salmeron for the Council of Trent. The Advertisements which he gives to Laynez and Salmeron. He reconciles the King of Portugal and the Pope. His Domestical Government. His Conduct toward the Novices. His Care for the Sick. His Zeal for Regular Discipline. Le Jay, Laynez, and Salmeron at the Council of Trent. Le Jay nominated to the Bishopric of Trieste. Le Jay refuses the Bishopric of Trieste. St. Ignatius opposes the Promotion of Le Jay. He declares his Reasons to the Pope, of refusing Ecclesiastical Dignities. The Society begins to Instruct Youth in Learning. The General's Directions for good Order in the Colleges. He delivers the Society from the Government of Religious Women. His Proceeding with Hercules d' Este Duke of Ferara. The Spiritual Exercise is approved by the Holy See. He goes out of Rome upon a Work of Charity. He tries the Obedience of his Subjects. The Society enters into Africa and America. The Society ill used in Germany. Melchior Cano declares himself against the Society. Note upon the Letter 29. Art. 12. The Conduct of Ignatius in the Persecution raised by Cano. Oviedo inclined to a Solitary Life. Oviedo set right again. Francis de Borgia called to the Society. He moderates the Fervour of Borgia, and others. His Confidence in God recompensed. His Application to make Learning flourish in the Society. He sends three Divines to Ingolstadt. The Society makes small Progress in France. Avila and Granada favourable to the Society. The Order of the Carthusians Affectionated to the Society. Julius the Third grants many Favours to the General of the Society. He submits the Constitutions to the Censure of the principal Fathers. He endeavours to lay down the Generalship of his Order. He Treats at Rome with the Duke of Gandia. The Society ill treated at Paris. The General endeavours to Establish the Society in France. He causes a House of Catechumen to be Established in the Indies. Artifices of the Heretics to pervert the Jesuits of Rome. The Archbishop of Toledo opposite to the Society. The General hinders the Promotion of Borgia. Don Antonio de Cordova received into the Society.   

The Contents of the Fifth Book, Page 280.  
THe Foundation of the Germane College. He supports the Germane College in troublesome Times. He makes a Reconciliation, and doth other good Works. He hinders the Incorporating the Barnabites, the Somasques, and the Theatines with the Society. He condemns the Conduct of Miron and Gonzales. He reprehends Laynez, and how Laynez receives the Reprimand. He keeps up Regular Discipline in the College of Naples. Troubles in the Province of Portugal, and the General's Conduct in quieting them. The General overcomes great Oppositions. He sends a Visitor into Portugal. He gives Advice to the Provincial. He moderates the Fervour of the Portuguez. The Epistle of Obedience. Two Missioners accused, and justified. A new Persecution in Spain. A Testimony in favour of the Exercises of Father Ignatius. The King of Portugal demands of Father Ignatius a Patriarch and Bishop for Aethiopia. The Fathers proposed by the General, oppose their Promotion. The General engageth the three Fathers to submit. The Geneal's Letter to the King of the Abyssins'. How the General treats Rodriguez. He makes a Regulation for the Visits of Women. He caused Rules of Behaviour to be published. The Pope incensed against the Society. The General appeases the Pope. The Affection of Popes for the Society. He hinders Laynez's being made a Cardinal. The Confidence of Father Ignatius in the Providence of God. The Society Persecuted in France. The Decree of the Faculty of Divinity at Paris against the Jesuits. The General will have no Answer made to the Decree. He Confers with some Doctors of the Sorbon. His Care for the Advancement of Learning in the Roman College. His Infirmities oblige him to give over Business. He reserves to himself the Care of the Sick. He Institutes the Prayers of Forty hours, during the three last days of Carnival. He disposes himself to die.   

The Contents of the Sixth Book, Page 347.  
THe Effect which his Death produced. The Judgement of the first Fathers of the Society concerning St. Ignatius. He is honoured as a Saint in Rome. A Miracle wrought upon the Day of his Interment. The Place where his Body lies, and his Epitaph. Testimonies of several Persons in Praise of St. Ignatius. He is Reverenced by the People as a Saint. The Prediction, and the Apparition of St. Ignatius. A miraculous Cure. The Saint Religiously Reverenced by Cardinal Baronius. The Pope orders Informations to be taken of Ignatius' Life. His Gift of Prayer. His Love towards God. His Charity towards his Neighbour. His Humility. His Disengagement from the World. His Command over his Passions. His Reservedness in Speaking, and how weighty her Words. His Constancy in what he undertook for God, and his Greatness of Soul. His Confidence in God. His Prudence in Spiritual Matters. His Beatification. His Cononization.    


THE LIFE OF St. IGNATIUS. The First BOOK.  
THE providence of God never appeared more visibly in the preservation of his Church, then in the last Century; so fatal to Germany, to England, and to France; by the Apostasy of Luther, by the Schism of Henry the Eighth, and by the pretended Reformation of Calvin: As the manners of Men generally grow corrupt, by the same degrees that they lose their Faith; so were these new Heresies followed by a general licentiousness. The People, after they had revolted from the common Pastor of the Faithful, Rebelled also against their Lawful Princes; and having shaken off the Yoke of Ecclesiastical Obedience, and of Allegiance to their Sovereigns, they abandoned themselves to all those disorders, which Men are capable of, when they are governed by the Spirit of Lying. Thus did Impiety ravage the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, and in those places, where Religion had been most flourishing, Altars were profaned, the use of Sacraments abolished, the Evangelical Councils contemned, and all Laws, both Humane, and Divine, trampled under foot.  
Then it was, that Heaven raised up Ignatius of Loyola, to serve, and relieve the pressing necessities of the Christian World; and it looks, as if the Divine wisdom had intended specially to declare that very purpose, by a concourse of Accidents then happening, which could not be the product of mere chance: For in the same year, that Luther publicly maintained his Apostasy in the Diet of Worms, and retiring himself into his solitude of Alstat, wrote a Book against Monastical Vows, which made an infinity of Apostates, Did Ignatius consecrate himself to God, in the Church of Montserrat, and in his retreat of Manreze, write his spiritual Exercises, which served to form, and model his own, and to repeople all other Religious Orders.  
At the very time that Calvin began to Dogmatise, and gather Disciples in Paris; Ignatius, who was come thither to Study, did in like manner assemble his company, to declare War against the Enemies of the Catholic Faith. And Lastly, When Henry the Eighth first assumed the Title of Head of the Church, and Commanded all his Subjects under pain of Death, to raze out the Name of the Pope from all their Papers and Books: Did our new Patriarch (whose life I now write) lay the Foundation of a Society, devoted to the service of the Holy See.  
Ignatius was born in the year 1491. in the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabel, 
His Birth and his Natural parts.  and in that part of the Spanish Biscay, which reacheth towards the Pyreneans, and is at this day called Guipuscoa; Don Bertram his Father, Lord of Ognez, and Loyola, was of the Ancient Nobility in that Country, and Head of a Family, which had always enjoyed the first charges, and had produced many eminent Persons. His Mother Marina Saez de Balde, was of no less Illustrious an Extraction. He was the last born of three Daughters, and Eight Sons; well shaped, of a temper inclining to choler, his Air and his Genius lofty, and above all he had an ardent passion for Glory: Tho he seemed outwardly something violent, and haughty, he was nevertheless in his conversation affable, and obliging. He was naturally Wise; and in his first years a certain discretion was observed in him, which had nothing of Childishness.  
His Father, 
His Life in the World.  who judged him proper for the Court, sent him thither betimes, and made him Page to the Catholic King. Ferdinand took pleasure to see a Child so lively and rational, and upon occasions gave him Marks of his good liking. But young Ignatius was not of a humour to lead so unactive a life; the Love of Glory, and the Example of his Brothers, who had signalised themselves in the Army of Naples, soon gave him a disgust of the Court, and put thoughts of War in his head, at an Age, in which others only mind the plays of Children. He declared his intentions to the Duke of Naiare, Don Antonio Manrique, Grandee of Spain, his Kinsman, and a particular friend to his Family; The Duke, who had a Martial Soul, and was esteemed one of the most accomplished Gentlemen of his time, did not oppose the design of Ignatius. He took care to have him well taught his Exercises, and delighted himself in forming and instructing him in them. Ignatius under so good a Master, became in a short time capable of serving his Prince; He passed through all the degrees of Soldiery; In all occasions he showed great Bravery, and was extremely intent, and sedulous in the Service, whether he Obeyed or Commanded.  
He was not so exact in the Duties of Christianity, as in the Discipline of War; those ill habits he had contracted at Court, were increased in him by the Licentiousness of the Camp; nor did the toils of War lessen in him his propension to Love and Pleasure. Perhaps there never was a Cavalier more hardened to Labour, and at the same time so polite, and addicted to Gallantry; and yet as Worldly as Ignatius then was, he had in him those principles of Morality and Religion, which made him keep a kind of decency even in his Irregularities. He was never heard to utter any thing, that was impious or immodest; he had a Reverence for Holy Places, and Sacred Persons. Although he were very nice in the point of Honour, and his Natural promptness incited him to revenge the least Injury, yet he easily Pardoned, and was perfectly reconciled, upon the least submission, and acknowledgement. He had a particular Talon to accommodate, and reconcile quarrels amongst Soldiers, and also to appease popular commotions; in so much, that he has been seen more than once, with a word only to make incensed Parties lay down their Arms, when they were upon the point of falling on.  
How generous and disinteressed he was, appeared at the taking of Naiare, a Town situated upon the Frontiers of Biscay, which being left to the pillage of the Soldiers, Ignatius (who had the greatest part in the Victory, and therefore aught to have no little share in the booty) was content to have for his portion, only the glory of the Action: For he judged, that a Man of Honour ought not to Enrich himself with the spoils of miserable people. He wanted not dexterity in the management of Affairs; and as young as he then was, he very well understood, how to humour both Men, and Occasions; He hated Gaming, but loved Poetry, and though he had no tincture of Learning, he made very good Verses in Spanish, and sometimes upon pious Subjects, among which, one Poem is particularly mentioned, composed by him in the praise of St. Peter.  
This notwithstanding, his conduct was never the more Christian, or regular, his fancy was wholly filled with Gallantry and Vanity, and in all his Actions he only followed the false maxims of the World. In this sort he lived to the Age of Nine and twenty, at which time God was pleased to open his Eyes, in the way and manner, I am now to relate.  
Charles the Fifth, who succeeded Ferdinand, and was newly elected Emperor, being gone into Germany, to take possession of the Imperial Crown, the people of Spain, irritated by the exactions of the Lord des Cheures, made an Insurrection in Castille, and the greatest part of the Castilean Lords, jealous of the Authority of the Flemings, who Governed all in Spain, put themselves at the head of the Rebels.  
Don Frederick Henriques, Viceroy and Admiral of Castille, being faithful to his Prince, made it his business to secure and fortify the strong Holds, and to that end, drew out of Navarre into Castille, both Troops and Ammunition.  
Francis the First of France, who having been a pretender to the Empire, was now become an Enemy to the Emperor, understanding that Navarre was unprovided, resolved to make use of the occasion to recover that Kingdom, of which Ferdinand had lately Dispossessed John d'Albert, and which Charles the Fifth still held, contrary to the treaty of Noyon, which obliged him to restore it in Six Months. Francis therefore sent a great Army thither in the year 1521, under the Conduct of Andrew de Foix, Lord of Esparre, and Brother to the Famous Lautrec.  
At the noise of this March, Don Manrique, Viceroy of Navarre, went in person to demand succours from Don Frederick, who had newly routed the party of the Rebels; but in this while, the French Army passed the Pyreneans, and were entered into Navarre, through the Province of Guypuscoa, and having taken several places of less Importance, laid Siege to Pampelona, the Capital of that Kingdom. The Viceroy had left behind Don Ignatius of Loyola, not to Command, but to Encourage the Garrison, and keep the people in their Duty, under the Authority of an old Officer.  
The Soldiers and Inhabitants, affrighted at the sight of the Enemy, were resolved to open their Gates, notwithstanding all the Remonstrances of Ignatius. He promised them Relief, he threatened them with the Indignation of the Viceroy, and of the Emperor. He reproached them for their Cowardice, and perfidiousness; but he gained nothing upon a sort of people, possessed with a Panic fright, and who gave themselves for lost. To revenge himself of them, and to save his own Honour, he left them to their fears, and retired into the Citadel, with one only Soldier, who had the heart to follow him.  
The Governor of the Citadel himself, was in no very good assurance, being ill provided with Victuals, and Men; his Spirit began to fail him, when he saw the French, Masters of the Town. But he was somewhat recovered, when they offered him an Interview to Capitulate. The Ancient Officers were of opinion, that they should accept the offer, made by the Enemy: Ignatius opposed it, but without success: Not being able therefore to hinder this Interview, he would at least be of it, so to hinder (if possible) the shameful consequence it might have. The Besiegers confident of their Forces, and Success, proposed very hard conditions to the Besieged. Ignatius with disdain rejected them; and finding that his companions were upon the point of making a dishonourable composition, on set purpose he fell into sharp, and provoking Language with the Enemy, whereupon the conference broke off. And then raising the Courage of the Officers, who were come forth to Capitulate, he shut himself up with them, resolved to defend the place to the last drop of his Blood, at least to die like a Man of Honor. The French incensed at the transport, and fierceness of the young Spaniard, Attacked the Castle with great Fury. They planted all their Artillery against it, and where the breach was widest, they made their Approaches, and in conclusion their Assault. Ignatius appeared upon the breach, at the head of the bravest, and received the Enemy with his Sword in his hand. On both sides it was obstinately Fought, and in a little time a great Slaughter was made. In the heat of the Combat Ignatius was wounded with a Splinter in his left Leg, and almost in the same instant, 
He is wounded at the Siege of Pampelona.  his right was broken with a Cannon bullet. The Soldiers, who had been animated by his Courage, lost Heart when they saw him thus disabled, and rendered upon discretion.  
But the French used their Victory with moderation, they carried off Ignatius to the General's quarter, treated him very civilly, and had all the care of him that was due to his Valour and Quality. When his Leg was set, and the condition of his wound would permit his removal, they caused him to be carried in a Litter to the Castle of Loyola, which is not far distant from Pampelona.  
Where he was scarce arrived, but he felt extraordinary pain. The Surgeons were of opinion, that some of the Bones were out of their places, either through the ignorance of him, who first set them, or by reason of the moving, and jogging too soon after the setting: And that to replace the Bones in their Natural situation, they must break the Leg again. Ignatius readily believed them, and being under their hand, he suffered the painful operation without the least concern. But in these occasion's Courage cannot always support Nature, and he was forced to yield to a violent Fever, which seizing him with dangerous symptoms, cast him down into a languishing weakness. The Physicians declared to him his danger, and that he had not many days to live. He received the Sacraments upon the Eve of the Apostles St. Peter and St. Paul, and then grew so much weaker and weaker, that it was not believed he would pass that night.  
But God, who had his designs upon him, preserved him, contrary to all humane appearance; and so ordered it, that he should be cured by the means, and intercession of St. Peter; either because Ignatius had from his youth a special veneration for the Prince of the Apostles, or in regard that St. Peter had an Interest in the cure of a Man destined by Heaven, to maintain against Heretics the Authority of the Holy See. However it were, the sick Man saw in his dream the Blessed Apostle, who touched him, and cured him, and the event did show, that this dream was no illusion; for Ignatius, as soon as he awaked, found himself out of danger; his pains left him, and his strength suddenly returned. Tho he recovered Miraculously his health, he did not lose the spirit of the World; his Leg, which had been ill set at first, was not so well re-set the second time but that there remained a visible deformity, caused by the standing out of a Bone under the Knee, which hindered the Cavalier from wearing a Boot with a good Grace; He passionately affecting to appear every way complete, without the least blemish, resolved to have this Bone cut off. The Surgeons told him, the operation would be extremely dolorous: He reckoned pain for nothing, and would neither be bound nor held; The Bone was cut off, and Ignatius, whilst it was doing, hardly changed his countenance.  
This was not the only torment, which he endured, that he might have nothing of deformity in his person; one of his Thighs being shrunk, by reason of his wound, he was in mighty apprehension, lest any lameness should appear in his Gate, which to prevent, he put himself for many days together upon a kind of Rack, and with an Engine of Iron he violently stretched, and drew out his Leg: But with all his pains and endeavours, he could never extend it, but that ever after his right Leg remained shorter than his left.  
The Posture Ignatius was now in, did not very well agree with his Active and Ardent nature; he was restrained from Walking, and confined to his Bed. Having nothing to do, it appeared the more irksome to him, in regard he found himself perfectly in health, bating only the cure of his Knee, which required time; He therefore to divert himself, called for a Romance; Amadis de Gaul, and such Books of Knight Errantry, were at that time in great vogue with all Persons of Quality; and he above the rest, was most particularly affected with the Adventures, and feats of Arms, in such Books related. Although the Castle of Loyola did not use to be unprovided of such Fabulous Histories, yet, at that time, they could not light upon any; so that instead of a Romance, they brought him the Life of our Saviour, and of the Saints.  
These Books he read with no other design, 
His Conversion.  but to wear away the time, and at first, without any gust, or pleasure; But after a while, he began insensibly to relish them, and by degrees took such delight in them, that he passed whole days in reading. The first effect which this produced in him, was to admire in the Saints their love for Solitude, and for the Cross. He considered with Astonishment, among the Anchorets of Palestine and Egypt, Men that had been of quality, and condition in the World, covered with Hair-shirts, macerated with Fast, and buried alive in Caves and Dens: He thereupon said within himself, These Men, so much at enmity with their own flesh, and so dead to the vanities of the Earth, were of the same nature that I am of: Why therefore should not I do, what they have done? Hereupon he took a resolution to imitate them, and thought nothing too great for his courage, nor too hard for his undertaking. He proposed to himself, to visit the Holy Sepulchre, and to shut himself up in an Hermitage: But these good motions lasted but for a while, and he quickly relapsed into his former weakness. Besides his innate passion for Glory, he had a secret inclination for a certain Lady of great Quality in the Court of Castille, and now instead of thinking upon his Retreat, his head was full of I know not what, Military exploits, to make himself worthy of the Lady's favour, as he himself has afterwards confessed to Father Lewis Gonzales, giving him an account of his Conversion. He was possessed to that degree with these fond Ideas, that it would not enter into him, how any Man of Honour could be happy without a strong passion for Glory, and the softer entertainments of Love. When his thoughts were tired with thus tumbling about, for his diversion he set himself again to read; and falling into fresh admiration of the virtues he found in the Saints, there did appear to him something more wonderful in their Actions, then in all the exploits of those Romantic Heroes, which had formerly filled his imagination. And by reading on, and reflecting upon what he read, he came at length to understand, that nothing was more frivolous than that Worldly Glory, which had so possessed his fancy; that God only was capable to content the Soul of Man, and that he ought to renounce all things, to make his Salvation sure.  
These considerations did by degrees re-kindle in him the desire of solitude, and that, which formerly appeared impossible to him, consulting his nature and inclinations, now seemed feasible and easy, having the example of the Saints before his Eyes. But still when he was just upon the point of taking a good Resolution, the World with all its Charms so powerfully assaulted him, that he fell back, and soon became the old Man again.  
Many days he spent in this fluctuation of mind, unresolved which way to determine himself; still attracted by God, and still held fast by the World. But these his various thoughts, as they were very Heterogeneous in their origine, so were they no less different in their effects. Those, which came from God, filled him with consolation, and caused within him a profound peace and tranquillity of mind; But the others, though at first they brought with them a more sensible delight, yet after some continuance, he found, they left behind them a certain bitterness, and heaviness at Heart. He reflected upon it, and (as Carnal and Worldly as he then was) he began to reason and discourse with himself upon the nature of spiritual things; for God Almighty, who had resolved to settle in him a great fund of Sanctity, and to show in his person, how far Christian Wisdom can advance, when accompanied with great Natural parts, would not have his conversion too easily, or suddenly made.  
He observed that there were two kinds of Spirits, diametrically opposite, the one of God, the other of the World; He took notice by what he found within himself, that a solid joy which penetrates the Soul, does infinitely surpass that light and flashy pleasure, which only gratifies the senses: Whereupon it was easy for him to conclude, what advantage the things of Heaven have over those of the Earth, in order to the contenting and satiating the Heart of Man. These first Rudiments, which Ignatius had of interior motions, were the Ground and Foundation of those Rules, which he gives us in the Book of his Exercises, for the discernment of those Spirits, which are in us the principles of Good and Evil.  
These great Truth's having taken full possession of his Soul, and being fortified with Divine Grace against all the suggestion of Hell; He made now a final Resolution to change his Life, and quite to break off with the World. His first purpose was, to use his Body with all the rigour it was able to bear; and this he did, either through a lively apprehension of the torments of Hell, with intent to appease the Divine justice, or else, as being yet but of small experience in a Spiritual life, he imagined that all Christian perfection consisted in the maceration of the Body.  
He resolved therefore to go barefoot to the Holy Land, to clothe himself with Sackcloth, to fast with Bread and Water, not to sleep but on the bare Ground, and to choose a wild Desert for his abode; But whereas his Leg was not yet perfectly cured, he could not immediately execute what his love of Pennance inspired him to do.  
So that for the present, to satisfy in some measure his fervour, he constantly rose up at midnight, and being throughly touched with a Remorse of his sins, he spent that time, which was free from the disturbance of company, in weeping for them. One night among the rest, being up according to his custom, and prostrating himself before an Image of the Blessed Virgin, with extraordinary sentiments of Piety, he offered up himself to Jesus Christ, by her means, and intercession, and Consecrated himself to the Service of the Son and the Mother, vowing to them both an inviolable fidelity. When he had ended his Prayer, he heard a mighty noise, the House trembled, all the windows of his Chamber were broken, and there was made a great rent in the Wall, which remains at this day to be seen. It is probable, that God did thereby make it appear, that the Sacrifice of his new Servant was agreeable to him; for Heaven sometimes declares itself by such surprising signs in favour of the Saints; witness, what we read in the Acts of the Apostles, of the place where the Faithful were Congregated to make their Prayers; and of the Prison where St. Paul and Silas sung Hymns together. It may also be, that this Earthquake was caused by the Devils, who enraged to see their prey ravished from them, and foreseeing, what Ignatius would one day become, did their endeavour, by the fall of the Castle of Loyola, to put a Period to his life, and to his future progress.  
Thus, whilst his Leg was still in cure, he continued reading the lives of our Saviour and the Saints; not as formerly, for amuzement sake, and to pass away the time, but to the end of forming his own life according to those great Models, and of corroborating his Holy Resolutions. Nor did he only read them, but he made them the subject of his Meditation, and wrote down what he found most sensibly to affect him.  
It is farther said of him, that having Learned in his Youth to design, he took delight with Crayons of several Colours to draw the most signal Actions of the Saints, and to write down their remarkable sayings; to the intent of Printing them deeper in his memory.  
Whilst he was thus employed, the great Truths of Christianity took such deep root in him, that he himself was astonished at his own transformation into another Man, so that the conversion of Ignatius was finished, and brought to perfection, by the same means, which first gave the rise, and entrance to it. And the reading of good Books worked that in him, which neither a mortal Disease, nor the terrors of Death, nor an apparition from Heaven, with a miraculous cure could effect: So much it imports Worldly persons, and even the most obdurate sinners, some times to read Books of Piety.  
The Favours he received from Heaven, did not a little serve him to forget the Vanities of the World: The blessed Virgin all environed with light appeared to him one Night, holding little Jesus in her Arms. At this Vision Ignatius felt his Soul replenished with such a spiritual Unction, as ever after rendered all pleasures of the Senses insipid to him. During this Apparition, which lasted a considerable time, it seemed to him that his Heart was purified within him, and that all images of sensual Delights were quite razed out of his Mind. These happy effects did not end with the Apparition; for from that time forward he was never subject to the rebellion of carnal concupiscence, nor even to those thoughts with which sometimes the most chaste Persons use to be tormented. But the disappearing of Jesus and Mary left him in great trouble: Wherefore to comfort himself, he often with flaming Aspirations looked up to Heaven; and when he did so, all that was charming and tempting in the World, he beheld with horror. His Leg being throughly cured, he prepared himself in good earnest to follow the Voice of Heaven, but did it with all possible secrecy; being even then persuaded, that the Affairs of God are to be carried on without noise; and that no ostentation should be used in leaving the World. And yet, to see him so different from himself, plunged in profound Meditations, speaking little, and speaking only of the vanity of worldly things, always Reading, and Writing; it was easy to imagine, that he was disgusted with the World, and that he projected something very extraordinary. Don Martino Garsias, his eldest Brother, who since the death of Don Bertram was become Lord of the Castle of Loyola, one who did not live overmuch according to the Maxims of the Gospel, did all that he could to discover and break his Design. Taking him one Day aside, he began to praise the good Qualities that Nature had bestowed upon him, and above all, his Warlike Genius, which from his Childhood had made him embrace the Profession of Arms; and the maturity of his Judgement, which appeared so early in his Conduct: After this he conjured him not to give way to his Melancholy Distemper, nor rashly to run upon any extravagant Courses. He said to him, You have gained no little Glory at the Siege of Pampelona, and you are now reckoned among the most illustrious Warriors of Spain, do not destroy your own Reputation, nor dishonour your Family by a Folly unworthy of your Name; at least hide not from me those Thoughts, with which of late you are so filled, and altered; and put confidence in a Brother, who tenderly loves you.  
When God speaks efficaciously to the Heart, the words of Men, be they never so flattering, make little impression. Ignatius, who thought nothing so truly Great, as the contempt of worldly Greatness, and apprehending the danger which a Conference with his Brother might expose him to, answered him in two words; That he was very far from doing any foolish thing, and that he would endeavour always to live like a Man of Honor. Although so short and general an Answer did not content Don Garsias, however it made him hope, that Ignatius would make sober Reflections upon what he had said, and so in time would come again to himself.  
Soon after this, 
He goes to Montserrat.  Ignatius, who had taken his measures for his departure from Loyola, got on Horseback, without any other design in appearance, then to visit the Duke of Naiare, who lived at Navarret, a small neighbouring Town, and who during his Sickness had often sent to see him. From this Place he took some occasion to send home his two Servants which attended him; and having ended his Visit, he went without any Company onwards in the way to Montserrat, a Monastery of St. Bennets Order, distant a days Journey from Barcelona. This Place is famous for the Devotion of Pilgrims, who come thither from all parts of the World, to implore the succour, and to honour a miraculous Image of the Virgin Mary. At his coming out of Navarret, he made a Vow of perpetual Chastity; and this he did, not only to render himself more agreeable to the high pattern of Purity, the Holy Virgin, before whom he was shortly to present himself, but also, as it were, to put a Seal (never to be broken) upon the grace and gift of Chastity, which he had received in the Apparition we formerly mentioned. For although he found himself free from all the assaults of concupiscence, yet he thought he could never be too severe, and therefore resolved always to be upon his guard, lest those extinguished flames should kindle again.  
The Zeal which he then conceived for the honour of the Mother of God, had almost transported him too far, for want of light and experience in spiritual matters, in which he was yet but a Novice. Ferdinand, who had conquered the Moors, and endeavoured to root them out of Spain, so to abolish Mahometism, of which they made profession, could not so wholly purge them out of his Kingdom, but that many remained after the Conquest of Granada: That Prince being deceased, some Relics of those Infidels were scattered even in the Kingdoms of Valentia and Arragon.  
One of these Mahometan Moors happened to join Ignatius on the Road, and as Travellers commonly ask Questions of the Places from whence, and whither they come, and go; Montserrat being named, they fell into Argument about the immaculate Purity of the Blessed Virgin. The Moor agreed, that till the Birth of Christ, Mary preserved her Virginity; but he maintained, that when she became a Mother, she ceased to be a Virgin. Ignatius could not hear this Blasphemy without horror; he took great pains to disabuse the Moor, and his Devotion instructed him with Reasons far surpassing the capacity of a Soldier; but his Arguments were lost upon the Infidel, whose Understanding was poisoned, and prepossessed against Christian Truth. The Moor slighted his Reasons, and fell to railly his Religion; but perceiving that his Raileries began to stir the choler of Ignatius, and judging by his Physiognomy that he would take his Satisfaction, not in words only, the Infidel very wisely set Spurs to his Horse, and made his way with all the speed he could. Ignatius transported both with anger and zeal, was in doubt with himself, whether his Faith did not oblige him to revenge the Honour of the Blessed Virgin, by the death of the Mahometan: Nor are we much to wonder, that such a Doubt should come into the Head of a Man brought up in Arms, accustomed to Combats, and but little instructed in the Rules of Conscience.  
Not being able to resolve his Doubt, and fearing on the other side to be wanting in his Duty, he resolved at least to follow the Moor, and then to do what God should inspire him. Thus riding on, he came where the Road parted, one Way leading to Montserrat, and the other to a Village, whither the Moor was gone; he stopped short with his Horse, and resolved on the sudden to leave himself to the guidance of his Beast, which of the Ways to take, purposing to kill the Moor, if Providence directed his Horse that Way which leads to the Village; consequently he slackened his Reins, and although the Road to the Village was very plain and wide, the Horse of his own accord took the other leading to Montserrat, which was both narrow and rugged; Whereupon Ignatius concluded, that God did not require at his hands, that he should revenge the Blasphemies of the Moor.  
Being come to the Village, lying at the foot of a Mountain, on which stands the Monastery of Montserrat, he bought for his Voyage of Jerusalem a long Coat of course Cloth, a Girdle, a pair of Sandals, with a Pilgrim's Staff, and a Wallet: This Equipage of a Pilgrim he took along with him up to the Monastery, where his first thoughts were, to begin the Reformation of his Life, by a general Confession of all his Sins, though at that time such Confessions were not much in use. For the well performing so important an Action, he made it his business to find out some very able spiritual Director, to instruct him in the Duties of a Penitent, and to set him right in the way of saving his Soul.  
There was in the Monastery a Religious Man of eminent Sanctity, called Don John Chanones, of the French Nation, a Man of great Sense, and who before his retreat had sometime been Grand Vicar of Mirapoix. Ignatius had the good fortune to light into the hands of this good Religious Man, who was chief Confessor of the Pilgrims. He wrote down his Sins with all possible exactness: but he confessed them with so lively a Sorrow, and such abundance of Tears, that he was forced several times to interrupt his Confession; so that it lasted three days. He discovered to his Confessor all his Intentions, and chiefly that Form of an austere Life which he was resolved to lead. The good Father, who was himself a very mortified Person, confirmed Ignatius in his Design; and withal gave him Rules for his conduct, discovering to him those snares which the evil Spirit might possibly lay for him in his first Fervours.  
The Sentiments of Penance which Ignatius then had, went farther than bare Sighs and Tears. In the Evening he went forth to find out a poor Man, to whom, stripping himself to his Shirt, he privately gave all his Clothes; then putting on his long Weed, and girt with a Cord, which he had bought by the way, he returned back to the Church of the Monastery: Entering in, there came into his thoughts what he had formerly read in Amadis, and such other Books of Chivalry, that those Knights, before they were received into the Order, did watch a whole Night in their Arms. He to convert into a holy usage this profane Ceremony, in like manner made his Vigil before the Altar of our Lady, sometimes standing, sometimes kneeling, but always praying and devoting himself to Jesus and Mary, in quality of their Knight, according to those Warlike Ideas which were still in him, and by which he represented to himself the things of God.  
He hung up his Sword upon a Pillar near the Altar, in testimony of his renouncing secular Warfare. Very early in the Morning he Received the Communion, and then departed from Montserrat, fearing lest he should be discovered by some of those persons who came from Biscay and Navarr: For that Day happened to be the Feast of the Annunciation, which is Celebrated in that holy Place with much Solemnity, and great concourse of Pilgrims from all Spain. He left his Horse to the Monastery, and carried away nothing with him but some penitential Instruments, which (at his request) were bestowed upon him by his Ghostly Father.  
He marched with his Staff in his Hand, 
He goes to Manreze.  his Scrip by his Side, bareheaded, one Foot bare, for the other, which had still a weakness since his hurt, and swelled every Night, he thought necessary to be shod; but he marched with such vigour and speed, as well showed what Spirit moved him; mightily comforted, in having cast off the Liveries of the World, and put on those of Jesus Christ.  
He was scarce advanced a League, when he heard the noise of a Horseman riding with full speed after him: He was an Officer of the Justice, belonging to Montserrat. Is it true (says he being come up to him) that you have bestowed rich Clothes upon a Beggar? Notwithstanding the poor Man's protesting the contrary, he is not believed; he is suspected of theft, and clapped in Prison. At these words Ignatius was sensibly grieved, and could not refrain tears. To deliver the innocent he confessed the truth; but would not declare (though pressed to it) neither his Quality, nor his Name. He pursued his Journey with some trouble of mind, for the Misfortune of the poor Man, which he reckoned his own, in that he could not assist his Neighbour, without bringing him into trouble. With these thoughts he went on towards Manreze, where he resolved to conceal himself, and to wait till the Plague did cease at Barcelona, and till the Port was open, that he might proceed in his Journey to the Holy Land.  
Manreze is a little Town, three Leagues distant from Montserrat; a Place famous at this day, for the exemplary Penance of the Saint, whose History I write, and for Devotion of the People, who resort thither in Pilgrimage from all Parts; but at that time hardly taken notice of, having nothing in it considerable, but a Monastery of Dominicans, and an Hospital for Pilgrims, and sick Persons. Ignatius went strait to the Hospital, which stood without the Walls of the Town, and was called the Hospital of St. Lucius. He took great content, to see himself in the number of the Poor, and in a condition of doing Penance without being known.  
Which he began by Fasting the whole Week with Bread and Water, 
His penitential Life.  excepting the Sunday, when he eat a few boiled Herbs, but sprinkled over with Ashes; he girded his Reins with an iron Chain; under his course Habit he wore a Hair Shirt; thrice a day he Disciplined himself, slept little, and lay upon the Ground.  
In this ill treatment of himself, he had at first no other aim, but to imitate those holy Penitents, whose Lives he had read, and to expiate the Disorders of his Life past. Afterwards he conceived an ardent desire of pursuing the Glory of God in all his Actions; and this desire rendered the Motive of his Penance more pure and noble. The truth is, he had always his sins before his eyes, and always he had a horror of them: But after some time his own concern did not touch him, and in those rigours which he used upon his Person, instead of minding to satisfy for the pains which his sins deserved, he only thought of revenging the injury, and repairing the Honour of the Divine Majesty.  
He was every day present at the whole Service of the Church, and spent seven hours in Prayer upon his Knees; and though he had not as yet the Rules of Mental Prayer, yet he was so recollected, that he many times continued several hours together without any motion. He often visited the Church of our Lady at Villa Dordis, which is but half a League from Manreze, and when he performed these little Pilgrimages, he commonly added to his Hair Shirt and his Chain, a Girdle of certain Herbs, full of little Thorns and Prickles.  
Reflecting upon his own conduct, he rightly judged, that the macerations of the Flesh would little advance him in the ways of Heaven, if he did not make it his business to stifle in himself all motions of pride and self-love. To this end he begged his Bread from Door to Door, endeavouring to appear a real Beggar; and lest any should guests at his Quality, either by his Countenance or by his Behaviour, he affected clownishness in his Carriage, so to liken himself to the meanest sort of People. And the better to disguise himself, he entirely neglected his Person, and studied how to deform himself; he, who formerly made it his chief happiness to appear graceful and comely in the eyes of the World. His Face all covered with Dirt, his Hair clodded and uncombed, his Beard and his Nails grown out to a fearful length, made such a Figure of him, as seemed at once both frightful and ridiculous; so that whenever he appeared in the Town of Manreze, the Children pointed at him, threw Stones at him, and followed him in the Streets with shouts and outcries. Most part of the People of whom he asked Alms, instead of giving him any thing, laughed at him; and one there was more brutal than the rest, who not content to abuse him only when he met him in the Street, would often go on purpose to the Hospital to revile him, and to insult over him. Ignatius suffered all these outrages and scorns without saying a word, as if he had been a stupid Idiot, but rejoiced in his heart that he had his share in the reproaches of the Cross.  
The Devil could not endure these Christian Sentiments, in a Man naturally haughty, and who was but a beginner in the Service of God; therefore he took his time to tempt him with such thoughts as these; What do you do in an Hospital? Heaven, who has bestowed upon you a noble Extraction, and generous Inclinations, would have you to be a holy Cavalier, not a counterfeit Beggar. Were you at Court, or in the Army, your Example alone would reform all the Couriers and the Soldiers.  
At the same time the nastiness of the Hospital grew strangely noisome and disgustful to him; and he felt an inward shame to see himself in the company of Beggars. But he soon discovered the suggestion of the malignant Spirit, who under the pretence of a specious and plausible Good, would have drawn him out of that way in which God had placed him. To vanquish the Enemy, and to overcome himself, he now used more familiarity than before with his poor Companions, and applied himself to the tending of those sick Persons whose Diseases were most loathsome.  
In the mean time a report was spread in Manreze, That the poor Beggar, whom no body knew what he was, or whence he came, and who was mocked and scorned by every body, was a Man of Quality, disguised upon the score of Penance. The abovementioned Adventure of the Beggar of Montserrat was the ground of this suspicion: It had made a noise in the Country, and by the circumstances of the Face, and the marks of the Person, they judged that this unknown Pilgrim might well be the same Cavalier who stripped himself to his Shirt. The Modesty, the Patience, and the Devotion of Ignatius, made this conjecture very probable: so that the Inhabitants of Manreze began to look upon him with other eyes; and by how much they were conscious of their Indignities against him, by so much more they now did reverence and admire him. He perceived it, and to avoid this new snare, which he imagined the Devil had laid for him, he sought out a Retreat, where he might be more concealed then in the Hospital.  
At the foot of a Hill, 
He retires into a Cave.  about half a mile from the Town, he found a Place fit for his purpose; it was a dark and deep Cave, in the hollow of a Rock, which opened into a solitary Valley, commonly called, The Vale of Paradise. This Cave was known to few, and it appeared so hideous, that none would ever venture into it. Ignatius made his way through the overgrown Bushes and Brambles, which stopped up the passage and entrance into it. And in this gloomy Cavern, which had no light but what came in by a small cleft in the Rock, he fixed his abode.  
The horror of the Place inspired him with a new spirit of Penance, and the liberty he had in so great solitude, gave scope to his fervour, to proceed therein without restraint. He chastised his Body four or five times a day with an iron Chain; three or four Days together he remained without taking any Nourishment; and when he could hold out no longer, he relieved himself with a few Roots which he found in the Valley, and some Bread which he brought from the Hospital. The seven hours of Prayer, which was his former stint, did not now satisfy him; he did nothing but Pray, or rather he employed both Night and Day to lament the Transgressions of his Youth, and to praise the Mercies of our Lord. Sometimes he went out of his Cave, and whatever his Eyes beheld, served to entertain his penitential Sentiments. When he beheld a rapid Torrent running at the foot of a Hill, he considered with pleasure, that all the things of this World pass and perish, and are unworthy the care and esteem of an immortal Soul.  
Tho Ignatius were of a very strong Constitution, yet these Excesses had mightily ruined his Health; he had great pains in his Stomach, accompanied with continual faintings; and some who had made search after him, and had discovered the Place of his Retreat, found him one Day in a Swoon at the entrance of the Cave; When he was brought to himself, and had recovered a little strength by the Nourishment which his Friends made him take, he would have retired again to his dark Cell; but they would not suffer it, and carried him against his will to the Hospital of Manreze.  
The malignant Spirit took hold of this occasion to assault Ignatius with a temptation of Despondency; 
He is tempted, and resists the temptation.  How will you be able to endure so austere a Life for fifty years together, which you are yet to live? said the Tempter to him. Ignatius, who well understood whence this suggestion came, answered within his soul, You that talk at this rate, can you insure me only one day of life? Is not God the Master of our days? And were I yet to live fifty years, what are so many years to Eternity?  
But in the mean time Ignatius was seized with a violent Fever; which finding a Body so wasted and broken, soon got the upper hand of Nature; so that his life was despaired of. Lying in this extremity, he heard another inward voice often repeating to him, That he need not be troubled to die, because he died a Saint; and that, being arrived to so high a degree of perfection in so short a time, he had no reason to fear either the temptation of the Devil, or the Judgement of God. After this, there appeared (as it were) placed before his Eyes, his Sackcloth, his Chains of iron, his Hairshirt, and all the Instruments of his Penance. There also was represented to him, on one side his Cave, bedewed with his tears, and sprinkled with his blood; on the other, Heaven open, where the Angels with Palms and Crowns in their Hands, invited him to come in. Tho these imaginations caused horror in him (as well knowing whence they came) yet so strongly were they impressed in his Fancy, that he had great difficulty to put them by: For a preservative against them, he called into his memory the most shameful and enormous sins of his life; he made to himself a lively representation of the pains of Hell, which he had so often merited, and then asked himself this Question, Whether there were any proportion between one Month of Penance, and an Eternity of Torments? These Considerations humbled him in the sight of God, and made him clearly to understand that he ought to fear, and not to presume. In conclusion, he vanquished the temptation; but he remained so terrified with it, that when he came to be a little recovered, he desired some devout Persons who tended him in his Sickness, often to tell him in his Ear, Remember your sins, and think not that Heaven was made for such Sinners as you.  
But this was not the rudest assault which Ignatius sustained in his Retreat of Manreze; 
He is afflicted with interior pains, and above all, with Scruples.  Since he first gave himself up to God, he for a while enjoyed a perfect tranquillity, he often tasted that healing joy which the Holy Ghost doth usually pour into the Souls of newly converted Sinners, so to give them a disgust of the Pleasures of the World, and to sweeten to them the labour of Penance. This interior calm, and these spiritual joys were now taken from him, insomuch that in the times of his Prayer, and in his Mortifications, he found nothing but anxiety and dryness; sometimes ('tis true) serenity of mind all on the sudden would return, and with such a flood of consolations, that he was even overwhelmed and transported out of himself. But these delicious moments had no continuance; and he found himself often, as it were, precipitated from an illuminated state, into desolation and darkness. Having not had any experience of these different states, and not knowing that Souls at their entrance into a Christian Life are often treated after that manner, lest they should attribute the fervour they feel, to their own forces, and should more adhere to the Favours of God, then to God himself. In these sudden changes he used to cry out, What new war is this? Into what unknown Lists do we enter?  
God Almighty also put him upon other trials; Tho Ignatius had made a very exact Confession, and was none of those weak Heads that are troubled with vain appearances, yet was he now cruelly infested with the torment of Scruples. Sometimes he doubted whether he had duly explicated all the Circumstances of such and such Sins; sometimes he was afraid that some he had concealed, or at least had not clearly expressed them, to cover his shame. To clear himself of these doubts, and to dissipate his fears, he had recourse to Prayer; but the more he prayed, the more his doubts and fears grew upon him. Every step he made he thought he stumbled and offended God, imagining there to be sin where there was not the least shadow of it, and always disputing with himself about the state of his Conscience, not being able to decide what was sin, and what was not. In these continual conflicts and agitations of Mind, sometimes he broke out into sighs, into outcries, and threw himself upon the Ground, like a Man tormented with pain; but for the most part he kept a mournful silence, as if the sadness which oppressed him, had made him insensible and stupid.  
Amidst all these spiritual convulsions, he had no relief but from the Holy Sacrament of the Altar, which he received every Sunday: It happened also to him more than once, that being ready to Communicate, his troubles of Mind so redoubled upon him, that fearing to commit a Sacrilege, he retired from the Holy Table full of confusion and desolation. After a great many unprofitable debates within himself, in which his Understanding was lost, and could see no day, it entered into his thoughts, that Obedience only could cure him, and that his pains would cease, if his Confessor did command him entirely to forget what was passed. But he had a difficulty to propose to his Confessor an Expedient of his own finding out. True it is, he had been forbid to hearken to Scruples; but he had no certain Rule whereby to know what was a Scruple, and what not; And to decide this matter, was to him a new subject of disquiet.  
He did not fail to continue his practices of Piety and Penance, judging that the more he was in trouble, the more exact and sedulous he ought to be. But finding no relief, neither from Earth nor from Heaven, he believed that God had forsaken him, and that his damnation was certain. No body can tell the torment which he then suffered; and none but those Persons who are afflicted with this sort of Crosses, are able to conceive how heavy they are.  
The Religious of St. Dominick in the Monastery of Manreze, who governed his Conscience, had pity of him, and out of charity took him into their House. Instead of having there any comfort, he was more tormented then at the Hospital. He fell into a dark Melancholy, and being one day in his Cell, he had the thought of throwing himself out of the Window, to end his misery: But he was withheld from yielding to this motion of Despair, by the same Hand which struck him. Tho Heaven seemed wholly shut upon him, he notwithstanding with an ardent Faith raised up his Eyes thither, and with a flood of tears, cried out, Secure me, O Lord, my support and my strength, secure me; 'Tis in you only that I hope, nor do I seek comfort but in you. Hide not your face from me; and since you are my God, show me the way by which you will have me come to you.  
Soon after he remembered to have read, that an ancient Hermit not being able to obtain a favour from God which he had long prayed for, set himself to Fasting, and resolved to eat nothing till God had heard him. By this Example of the Hermit, he purposed to take no Nourishment till he had recovered the peace of his Soul; He purposed (I say) to Fast in this manner, as far as he could go without danger of death. Accordingly he Fasted seven whole days without eating or drinking, but not without continuing his accustomed Exercise of Devotion. But his trouble of Mind still continuing; and whereas by a kind of miracle his strength was not much impaired, he would have still held on his Fast, if his Confessor had not absolutely commanded him to break it. Heaven did accept both of the fervour which made him undertake so extraordinary a thing, and of the obedience which made him lay it down again; for his former tranquillity was restored to him, and his interior crosses were changed into such spiritual delights, as hitherto he had not tasted. But a new tempest was raised in his Heart three days after: His Scruples, his Dejections, his Despairing took him again with so much violence, that he would certainly have sunk under them, if he had not been in his hands whose Trials are Favours: And it was not without great meaning, that he was tried in so many different manners: For being designed by the Providence of God for the direction of Souls, it was necessary that his own experience should teach him the several ways by which God doth lead them.  
Here ended all his troubles of this kind; 
He is comforted and enlightened from above.  and Ignatius was not only delivered from all his scruples, but had the gift bestowed upon him of curing scrupulous Consciences. And as God doth usually bestow comforts on pious Souls, in proportion to their sufferings, and fidelity, so now, having freed his Servant out of his desolate state, he rewarded him with many singular graces.  
One day, as he was saying the Office of our Lady upon the Stairs of the Dominicans Church, he was elevated in Spirit, and in a most lively manner there was represented to him the Mystery of the Holy Trinity. This vision so sensibly affected him, and filled him with such inward consolation, that going afterwards in a solemn Procession, he could not hold back his Tears before all the company. All his thoughts were fixed upon that Mystery, he could not speak but of the Trinity; but he spoke with so much unction, and light, and in such proper, and sublime expressions, that the most Learned admired him, and the most ignorant were instructed by him. He wrote down the conceptions he had of that Adorable Mystery, and his writing (which since) by, I know not by what misfortune has been lost, contained no less, than fourscore Leaves; if notwithstanding we may call that his writing, which had something in it of the Language of the Prophets, and wherein the Spirit of God had a greater share, than the Spirit of Man. For Ignatius could only Read, and Write; and an ignorant Cavalier, without being inspired, could not possibly treat of so high a subject. From hence he conceived a most tender devotion to the Trinity, and had a custom many times in the day, to make his Prayers to the Three Divine Persons, sometimes to them altogether, sometimes to each in particular, according to the different dispositions he felt within himself.  
A little after this, by another illumination was represented to him the order, which God held in the Creation of the World, and the motives which induced the Divine wisdom to that outward communication of himself. Once, in time of Mass at the Elevation he had an intuitive knowledge, that the Body and Blood of the Son of God were truly under the Elements; and in what manner they were there. One day, as he went to visit the Church of St. Paul, lying a quarter of a Mile out of the Town, setting himself down on the banks of the Cardenero, which runs along the plain of Manreze, he had a profound knowledge of all the Mysteries together; and at another time, when he prayed before a Cross, upon the way to Barcelona, all that he had formerly learned, was set before his Eyes, in so full a light, that the verities of Faith seemed to him to have nothing obscure in them: And he remained so enlightened, and so convinced of them, that he has been heard to say, that had they never been Recorded in the Scriptures, he should still have maintained them to the last drop of his Blood; and that, had the Scriptures been lost, no part of his Faith had been diminished.  
But of all the favours, he at that time received, the most remarkable was an Ecstasy, which lasted Eight days; A thing hardly to be believed, if many Persons of credit, had not been witnesses of it. This began upon a Saturday about the Evening, in the Hospital of St. Lucy, where Ignatius had again taken up his Lodging, and it ended upon the Saturday following, just at the same hour: He had no use of his senses all that time; they thought him dead, and would have buried him, if those who came to visit his Body, had not perceived something of motion about his Heart. He came to himself, as out of a sweet sleep, and opening his Eyes, he said with a tender and devout voice, Ah Jesus! No body ever knew the secrets, which were revealed to him in this long Rapture, for he would never discover them to any body. And all that they could draw out of him was, that the graces with which God Almighty favoured him, could not be expressed.  
These divine illustrations did not hinder him from consulting the Religious of St. Dominick, 
He trusts not his own light.  and of St. Benet, about the state of his Soul, nor from punctually following their directions. Many times he went to his Confessor of Montserrat, to render him an account of his interior, and to ask advice for his Spiritual advancement. Although this holy old Man did the office of an instructor to Ignatius, yet he looked upon his Disciple with great veneration, and said to the Religious of his Monastery, That this Penitent of Manreza would one day be the Support, and Ornament of the Church; that he should be a Reformer of the Christian World, a successor of St. Paul, an Apostle, who should transmit the light of Faith into Idolatrous Nations.  
But Ignatius opened himself only to his Directors, and no farther to them then was necessary for his conduct; otherwise he kept a profound silence, and shut up all his secret favours from Heaven within himself. Yet notwithstanding his care to be concealed from the Eyes of Men, he missed of his aim, either because God would recompense the humility of his Servant, or in regard, that virtue has marks, which discover her against her will. His Austerities, and his Extacies grew famous round the Country; And that, which added Luster to them, was, that no body doubted of his being a Person of Quality, who had disguised himself upon the account of doing Penance. A certain Religious Woman, esteemed a Saint in those parts, spoke of him with great Admiration, and pronounced him a Saint; This is the same person, who at that time was Celebrated all over Spain, and who was often consulted by the Catholic King in matters of Conscience, and was called the Beata of Manreza.  
They had in fine so great an opinion of Ignatius, that falling sick again, and being removed to the House of a rich Burgess, who was a good Man, and would not suffer the Servant of God to continue in the Hospital, the people hereupon commonly called this Burgess by the Name of Simon, and his Wife by the Name of Martha, as if, in receiving Ignatius within their walls, they had received Jesus Christ.  
His reputation drew every body to him, some only to behold him, others to hear him; And when he went to Pray before the Crosses, which are set up about Manreza, or when he went in Pilgrimage to our Lady at Villa-Dordis, and to other places of Devotion, the people usually crowded after him.  
Hitherto in all his practices of Piety, 
He is called by God to the Service of his Neighbour.  he only proposed to himself his own perfection. But providence, which designed him for the Evangelical Ministry, and had already prepared him for it, without his knowledge, by contempt of the World, by retirement, and mortification, gave him now other lights, and measures. He began to consider, that Souls having cost our Saviour so dear, nothing could be done more acceptable to him, then to hinder their loss; He comprehended that the glory of God's Majesty did most shine in the Salvation of Souls, purchased with the Blood of his Son. These were the notions which kindled in him his Zeal for Souls. It is not enough (said he) that I serve our Lord; all Hearts must love him, and all Tongues must praise him.  
As soon as he had turned his thoughts towards his Neighbour, how dear soever solitude was to him, he gave it over, and lest he should fright those from him, whom he designed to bring to God, he changed his austere penitential Dress, into a more decent Attire. Moreover, knowing that the Ministry, to which he was called, required health and vigour, he moderated his Austerites, and put on a Garment of course Cloth, because the Winter was very sharp, and the pains of his Stomach still continued.  
He spoke in public of the things of Heaven; and to be better heard by the people, which came about him, he got up upon a Stone (which is at this day exposed to view) before the Ancient Hospital of St. Lucy. His mortified Countenance, his modest Air, his words animated with the Spirit of Truth, inspired into his Auditors the love of Virtue, and a horror of Vice. But his private entertainments produced wonderful effects: He converted the most obstinate sinners, by laying before them the Maxims and Duties of Christianity, and by causing them to meditate upon them in retirement. Some were so touched, that they renounced the World, and changed at the same time both manners and state.  
The many reflections, which Ignatius made upon the force and power of these Evangelical Maxims, and the many trials of their Operation both in himself, and others, moved him to write a Book of Spiritual Exercises, for the good of their Souls that live in the World. This Book has so great a part in the life, which I now write, and is so little known in the World, that it will not be unprofitable in this place to give an account of it.  
The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius are something more than a bare collection of Meditations and of Christian considerations; if they were that, and no more, there would be nothing in them particular, and new.  
St. Ignatius is not the first, 
He writes the Book of Spiritual Exercises.  who has taught us the way of raising our minds to God, and of looking down into our own infirmities, by the means of mental Prayer. Before him, were known the several heads of Meditation; concerning the end for which we were Created, the Enormity of Sin, the Pains of Hell, the Life and Death of our Saviour; but this we may say, that, before him, there was not a certain, and prefixed method for the reformation of manners. To him we owe this method; and he it was, who enlightened by God, after a manner, altogether new, in a methodical way reduced (as it were) into a holy Art, the conversion of a sinner. Knowing of one side the perverse inclinations of the Heart of Man, and on the other, the power and virtue which such particular truths of Christianity duly applied, have to rectify them, he has set down a way, by which Man, with the succour of grace, may recover out of his sin, and climb to the highest degree of perfection. In effect, if we look near into the matter, there is as much difference between the common Meditations, and these Exercises, as between the knowledge only of simples, and the entire Art of Physic; which has its principles, and aphorisms for the cure of Diseases, according to the constitution of Bodies, the nature of the Distempers, and the quality of the Remedies. But to the end, the reality of what I say, may appear, I will here set down the whole Order and Scheme of St. Ignatius his Spiritual Exercises.  
They begin by a very important Meditation, 
The Scheme and Order of the Exercises.  which is the ground work, on which the whole Frame is built, and therefore is called the Beginning or Foundation of the Exercises. The scope of this Fundamental Meditation, is to weigh and duly consider, the end for which we are born and placed here upon Earth; Whether it be, to enjoy the pleasure of our Senses, to grow Rich, to acquire Glory, learn unprofitable Sciences; or whether it be, to Serve and Obey our Lord and God, whose Creatures we are: And when our understanding is fully possessed of this Truth, that our Eternal Salvation wholly and solely depends upon loving and serving him, we must then draw this consequence, That the things of this World, are no otherwise to be sought or enjoyed, then as they conduce to the honouring and serving God.  
Moreover, whereas such things, as are only means to some end, are to be considered and valued, not by their own intrinsic worth, but for their fitness and tendency to such End: It necessarily follows, that we ought to judge of Riches and Poverty, of a High and a Low Condition, of Health and Sickness, not according to the Good or Evil, which they bring us in this present Life, but according to the Advantages, or Hindrances we receive from them, in order to Eternity.  
Hence again it will follow, That we ought to be perfectly indifferent, in reference to these things; so that we are not to desire Health more than Sickness, to prefer Riches above Poverty, Honour above Contempt, nor a long Life above a short one.  
And in the Last place, we are to conclude, That if we must determine our Choice, on the one side more than on the other, we must choose that, which most directly leads to our End.  
It is hardly credible, how much this grand verity well weighed, and comprehended, doth enlighten and stir up the Soul of a sinner, be he never so blind and obstinate: For, provided he be a little removed out of the noise and hurry of company and business, it makes him look upon the World with other Eyes than he did, and shows him the fatal mistake of Worldlings, who place their happiness in Creatures; and thereby throughly awakes him out of his former Lethargy.  
Being possessed and convinced, of this Essential Principle, we are next to consider, what it is, that puts us out of the way to our End: In order to this, St. Ignatius proposeth to us Meditations upon sin; And first, of the fall of the Angels, who were cast down from Heaven, into the bottom of Hell, for one sin of Pride; next, of the Transgression of the first Man, who was banished out of Paradise, He and his Posterity condemned to so many Evils, for his Disobedience; and Lastly, of so many Millions, that are Eternally lost, and doomed to the Torments of Hell, for sins, less Enormous than our own.  
But in regard, our main business is to remedy our own disorders, it is necessary for us, to have a sufficient knowledge of them; Wherefore the Saint leads us, from the general consideration of sin, to a particular Discussion and Examination of our own Conscience; To the End, that looking throughly into the state of our whole Life, we may find out all our enormities and deviations, which have set us at distance and at enmity with God; but further, because the knowledge of our Transgressions would have no great effect upon us, if we did not rightly apprehend, how shameful and criminal they are; St. Ignatius directs, that in the Second Meditation of Sins, we should consider how ugly and infamous in their own Nature they are, and would be, although they were not forbid: And to the end, this consideration may have its full force, to show us, how infinitely Heinous they are; He bids us set before our Eyes the Immense distance between the Greatness and Glory of God, and our Wretchedness and Lowness.  
These past Considerations (though Powerful and Weighty) are not yet sufficient to inspire into a worldly Soul, all the Compunction that is necessary; There must be something used, more Corrosive and Penetrating: And because her adhering to the World was that, which made her leave and forget God, she must be made sensible how Vain and Transitory, are all those objects of her Passions; and also of the certain and speedy end, of the Pleasures, Riches and Greatness of this present Life; She must also have before her Eyes the severe Account, which will be one day taken of the bad use of the Creatures; and what those pains are, which are reserved for Impenitent sinners: Hence follow in order those Meditations, which expose the frightful Images of Death, Judgement, and Hell. The contemplation of Hell, which is very useful to make us comprehend the deplorable effects of sin, is best made by an application of our interior senses, to draw lively Images of the Torments of the Damned, Howl, Blasphemies, etc.  
These First Exercises tend (as may be seen) to purge the Heart of those corrupt Passions, which make it incapable of conceiving an efficatious desire of Salvation, but in regard that these vicious affections are ordinarily very deeply rooted; and are of no less difficulty to be removed, than the bad humours, which have been long settled and habituated in the Body, we must therefore more than once use the same Medicine, by repeating the same Meditation. In the repetition of them are added some fervent Prayers, which the Saint calls Colloquies, and are addressed to the Eternal Father, to our Saviour, and to the Blessed Virgin: These Prayers which close the Repeated Meditations, redouble their virtue and efficacy. Thus ends the First week; for St. Ignatius divides the whole Body of his Exercises into Four weeks, or rather Parts, which he calls weeks, and which are not so well distinguished by the number of the days, as by the diversity of the Matters.  
The Soul when she is thus purged, and her Corrupt Passions carried off, will now be in a temper and disposition to receive and follow the motions of Grace, which lead her into the ways of Heaven; And for this reason, the Second week begins with the Contemplation of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. This contemplation represents to us our Saviour, as a King most Perfect and Amiable, who invites his Subjects to accompany him in a Military Expedition, in which he designs to make himself Master of the whole Earth, and who invites them upon these most advantageous Conditions; that they shall be every way Treated like himself; That in his Service they shall do and suffer nothing, but what he in person shall First give them an Example of; And in conclusion, that they shall have a share in the Booty and Glory of his Conquest, in proportion to the Fatigues they endure in the War.  
So engaging an invitation makes her take the Resolution of marching after Jesus Christ, in the observation of the Divine Law, and in the Exercise of Evangelical Virtues. But in regard, that it doth not suffice to form in general the design of a Christian Life, but that we must come to particulars; the following Meditations, which are of the Incarnation, the Nativity, the Circumcision, the Presentation in the Temple, the Flight into Egypt, the concealed Life of the Son of God, represent him to us in these several States and Conditions, as a Pattern and Model of Humility, of Poverty, of Mortification, of Piety, of Retirement, according to which we are to regulate our conduct.  
It is not enough to be the Disciples and followers of Jesus Christ, unless we make a public profession of it, which may Edify our Neighbour, and induce him to Imitate us, according to the word of St. Paul, Be you Imitators of me, as I am of Jesus Christ. And this is the Aim and Design of the Meditation of the two Standards, which was composed by St. Ignatius according to his Military Ideas, but very congruous to the expressions of the Holy Ghost, who calls our life a warfare, and by consequence makes all Christians to be Soldiers.  
Here is represented the Son of God, coming forth from his retreat and concealment, to Preach his Doctrine to the World; but he is Represented with the Devil standing in front before him, and both under the semblance of Generals, who raise Troops, spread their Ensigns, take the Field, and Exhort their Men to follow them.  
At the sight of so many Generous Souls, who in all Ages have ranged themselves under the Standard of Jesus Christ, a penitent sinner declares himself for Virtue, and far from being ashamed of the Gospel, He makes it his Glory, to Combat the Maxims and the Practices of the World.  
Being once engaged on the right side, he is not content with a bare desire of Christian Perfection, he seeks, and embraces all the means which are capable to bring him to it, and renounces all things that may hinder him from it, and desires nothing, but what may contribute to his perfection. From this disposition he goes on to another, and so wholly submits himself to the Orders of God, that he would rather lose all the Goods of the World, then deliberately commit, I will not say a Sin that wholly deprives him of Divine Grace, but the least fault, that should make him less acceptable in the Eyes of God.  
His submission goes farther yet; and not only content to avoid the lightest sins, he will also in a manner express in himself a perfect Image of our Saviour, so that in case it were equal to the Interest of God's Glory, whether he be placed in a state of Honour, or of Contempt, of Riches or of Poverty, he would prefer Contempt before Honour, Poverty before Riches, without any other motive, but of resembling the Son of God. These generous Sentiments are to be learned in two Meditations, of which one is Entitled Of the Three Classes, or Three sorts of Persons; and the other, Of the Three Degrees of Humility. And for the well Rooting and Establishing these Sentiments, are the Meditations upon the Baptism, the Tempting in the Desert, and upon the other Mysteries of our Saviour's Life to his Passion.  
All these Premises are necessary Preparatives for the last Meditation of the Second week, which is that of the choice of a State and Form of Life. This being a matter equally important and difficult, on which our Salvation doth much depend, and in which we may be easily deceived. St. Ignatius therefore useth all the precautions Imaginable, so to direct us in it, that we may never repent of the choice we make.  
First he consider the Matter, next the Time, and lastly the manner of this Election. As to the Matter of our Choice, it is certain, that it must be good, or at least there must be nothing ill or sinful in it. Moreover it is evident, that of those things to be chosen, some are fixed and immutable, as Priesthood and Marriage, others may be changed, as Offices and Employments Ecclesiastical or Secular. If we be already engaged in the former conditions of Life, there is no more room for deliberation and choice, although our first Engagement were made upon Humane and Worldly Motives; What we have then to do, is to use our endeavour to acquire all that Perfection, which such a state requires: Nor are we to relinquish the second, when we are once engaged in such state; I say we are not to relinquish it, unless it contains in its self, or obligeth us to, any thing against the duties of Christianity; or unless we leave it to put ourselves in a more perfect state.  
As to the Times and Seasons, that are proper for the making such Election, the most apposite are these; First, When God touches the Heart in such a manner, that there is no possibility of a doubt, that the Call comes not from Heaven; as in the case of St. Matthew, St. Paul, and some others. Secondly, When the Impression of Grace is at least so strong in us, as to give us a kind of assurance that our Vocation comes from the Holy Ghost; And Thirdly, when the Soul Illuminated by Faith and undistracted by outward objects, which may misled her into false judgements, is in a fit disposition to elect, what is most conducible to her Salvation.  
As for the Manner of the Choice, thus it ought to proceed. First, the Condition, the Office, the Employment, the form of life, whatever it be, is laid before us. Secondly we are to recall into our Consideration the End, for which we were Created, and according to the Rules of the Fundamental Meditation, we must Endeavour to put ourselves into an absolute Indifferency towards all the things of the World, and to make no reckoning of them any otherwise, then as they Serve to our End. Thirdly we are humbly to beg of God, that he will enlighten our understanding, and not suffer us to deviate from that way, by which he would conduct us. After this, we are to find out all the Reasons, for, or against such a Course, and to weigh them, one against the other, and those must preponderate, which in our Aim to Eternity, and our last End seem to tend most directly thither. When it appears evidently to us, upon Examination so made, that one calling has the Advantage over the other, there we must fix, and firmly resolve to embrace it with out delay. If afterwards we should find any wavering and irresoluteness in ourselves, and should desire to be confirmed and settled in our choice, we are then to use the same Reasons to ourselves, as we should do to our best Friend, upon the like occasion. Moreover, we ought to do that, which we shall wish were done at the hour of Death, and at the day of Judgement, when we are to render an Account of all our Actions. Lastly, we ought to choose that way, which shall seem best to us, according to these solid, and evident Principles. This in short is the whole Oeconomy of this matter of Choice; and the Conclusion of this Important affair makes an End of the Second week.  
It will be hard for a Soul to tread all those steps, we have now marked out, without much labour and pain; and it is natural, that a new state, and form of life should find great contradictions, either because the world doth usually rise in opposition against those, who embrace a true Christian life; or for that God doth commonly try the fidelity of his new Servants. The Soul therefore hath great need of strength and of Love to be supported; and where can she find more powerful Succour, then in the wounds of Jesus Christ Crucified, who has Consummated by his sufferings the work of our Redemption, and so loved us, as to die for us upon the Cross? 'Tis in the Contemplating the Passion and Death of our Saviour, that the Soul inflamed with his Love, taketh Resolution to Suffer all things to please him, and constantly to persist in the Practice of Christian virtues, in defiance of the world and the Devil.  
The Soul being now in such a Situation, what she has more to do, is to elevate her Thoughts and her desires towards Heaven; And this she doth in the Fourth week, which represents to her, the Glorious Mysteries of the Resurrection, of the Apparitions, and of the Ascension of the Son of God, as being most proper to enliven her Faith, to strengthen her Hope, and to purify her Love. In conclusion, the contemplation of Spiritual Love, or of the Benefits and perfections of the God, consummates the whole work, by closely uniting her to God, and making her taste the sweetness of Divine Union. Thus ends our Saint his spiritual Exercises, with a Prayer full of Unction and fervour, in which after having entirely given himself up to Jesus Christ, he asks nothing of him, but his Grace and his Love, protesting that there is nothing in the world besides, that he desires; and that he is rich enough, if he can but Love, and be Loved.  
It is easy to perceive the Connection of the four parts, and how all the Meditations have such a dependence one on the other, that the First is still the foundation of the Second, the former still supporting and giving strength to the latter, and all of them together work the intended effect, which is, to raise a Soul into a State of perfect charity, after having disengaged her from the Love of the world.  
Here you have the Character and the Spirit of the Exercises which Ignatius composed at Manreza, and which in process of time he digested into that order and form in which now we see them, then adding to them divers Rules concerning Catholic Faith, Prayer, Alms deeds, Temperance, Scruples, and Discernment of spirits; Besides those, which he sets down under the Title of Annotations and Additions, to make the exercises, both easily and profitably; and which are so Essential, according to the Judgement of one of the most Eminent Sons of our Saint that we can expect no fruit from our Retirement, if we neglect them.  
For, amongst other things, they Import, that he, who desires profitably to make the Exercises, must enter into them with great Courage, and with a Resolution, to give himself up wholly to the Dictates and Conduct of the Holy Ghost, and be ready to go what way soever the voice of Heaven shall call him; That being so disposed at his entrance into them, he must not only forget for a time, all the affairs of the World, but also must apply himself singly and Solely to the Meditation of each Present day; not permitting his thoughts to make any excursion into the Meditations, that are to follow; That it is not Sufficient to read Holy and Good Books, but the matter of them must be agreeable to the Subject of his Meditations, lest the understanding being dissipated and scattered upon divers Objects, should have less force to Penetrate those Truths, of which it is to be convinced; That the way of Living, the Solitude, the Silence, the Austerities, aught to be applied and directed to the matter and Subject of the Meditations of each week, as much as prudence may require; That if he feels Devotion upon any Article, he should not pass on to another, till such time, as that Pious affection be fully satisfied; That if he falls into a dryness and Irksomeness, far from shortening the time prefixed for his Prayer, he should somewhat lengthen it beyond the usual bounds: So to master his Reluctancy, and to overcome himself, waiting with silence and Humility the comfortable visit of the Holy Spirit. That if on the contrary, he be filled with Spiritual Gusts and consolations, at that moment he should not engage himself in any vow, especially if the vow be Perpetual, and such as obligeth to a change of State of life: That in conclusion, he should open himself to his director in these Exercises, and give him an exact Account of all that passes in his Interior, to the end, that such Director may treat the Penitent conformably to his dispositions, and necessity; and that he may not instil too much fear into a pusillanimous soul nor too much Confidence into a Soul inclining to presumption; and lest he should mistake, and aim to bring a Sinner to the height of perfection, before he is Purged of his vicious habits.  
It follows from all, that I have now set down, that the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius exactly perform, what they promise in the beginning of the Book; which is to conduct a Soul in such manner, that she may overcome herself, and choose a state of Life, tending best to her Salvation; after she has cleansed herself from those depraved inclinations, which may corrupt her Judgement in making her Choice.  
In this Book, which I now speak of, St. Ignatius has also inserted the particular Examen of the Conscience, not to say any thing of the General Examen with the five points so common at present, and so little used before him; This particular Examen, which he has invented, and which he reckoned among the surest means, to reform a worldly Soul, consists in taming that Vice, which most reigns in us, and in setting upon it singly by its self, and in continual fight against it by a Constant watch upon ourselves, that we may at no time yield to it; by a contrite returning to God, as often as we fall by it; By an exact computation of our Falls, even to the setting them down, by making little Marks upon so many Lines, which are drawn to Correspond with every day in the week (as may be seen in the Book itself) to the end, that comparing day to day, and week to week, we may easily see the Progress we have made. We are not to discontinue this practice, till the bad Habit, which we propose to overcome, be quite destroyed, and when we have compassed it, we are then to undertake another Vice in the same way.  
I will not stop here, to confute the Imaginations of a certain unknown Writer, who fancying that the Founder of the Jesuits had taken his Exercises, out of a Book of Don Garcias de Cisneros, Religious of St. Benet's Order, and Abbot of Montserrat, has Printed on the Subject a Libel, under the Name of Don Constantine Cayetan, Abbot of Mont Cassin. For besides that the Congregation of Mont Cassin has disavowed the Author and the writing, in a General Chapter of the Order, held at Ravenna in the Year 1644, and that the same was done, in the Year following by the Benedictines of Portugal; the two Books themselves are every where to be seen, and they will best decide the Point, that Bating the Titles, there is no resemblance at all of one with the other.  
But to return to our History, the Fruits of Ignatius his Apostolical Discourses, and of his Spiritual Exercises, were so great in Manreza that they more and more drew upon him the praises and admiration of the People. He could not endure, that they should so esteem him in a place, whither he had retired only to avoid the esteem of men; Wherefore he resolved to Leave Manreza, after more than a ten months' continuance there: Besides, the Plague being now abated at Barcelona and the Commerce of the Sea beginning to be open, he had an extreme Impatience to proceed towards the Holy Land. At the beginning of his Conversion, he only intended by this Pilgrimage, to honour those places, consecrated by the Presence, and Blood of Jesus Christ; But now he undertook it with an ardent desire, to procure, according to his ability, the conversion of the schismatics and Infidels.  
He did not leave Manreza with so much Privacy, 
He Leaves Manreza to go to the Holy Land  as he did Montserrat, he declared his journey to his Friends, but did not tell them what he designed to do in Palestine. It cannot be Imagined, how much this news did trouble them: They conjured him with tears in their Eyes, not to abandon them; They represented to him the Fatigue and the danger of so long a journey: But neither their Entreaties, nor their reasons could stop him a moment. Many offered to accompany him; all presented him their Purse; He would take neither Companion, nor money; that he might have no comfort, but from God, and no dependence but on Providence: And he said to those, who were instant with him to make some Provision of necessaries for his Journey, that a perfect reliance upon Heaven was all things; that we are not Christians only by Faith and by Charity, but also by Hope; which virtue could not be perfectly exercised but in the want of all things.   

THE LIFE OF St. IGNATIUS. The Second BOOK.  
IGnatius being come to Barcelona, 
What happened to him at Barcelona.  found in the Haven a Brigantine, and a great Ship, both which prepared for their Voyage into Italy. He was upon the point of Embarking in the Brigantine, because that Vessel was likely to part soon: but God, who had a care of his Servant, changed his Design; which happened in this manner.  
A very virtuous Lady, called Isabel Rosella, hearing one day a Sermon, chanced to cast her eyes upon Ignatius, who was placed at the foot of the Altar amongst the Children; she thought she saw his Countenance environed with light, and heard a Voice, which cried; Call him, call him. However she contained herself at that time from saying any thing, fearing it might be an Illusion. But when she came home, she spoke to her Husband of it: both of them were of opinion to examine what it might be; wherefore they immediately sent to find out the Pilgrim, who was still in the Church. In design of honouring our Saviour in the person of a poor Man, they obliged him to eat with them at their Table; and to sound him, they put him upon a Discourse of Piety. Ignatius, who was ignorant of their Design, spoke of the things of Heaven so feelingly, and so sublimely, that they were convinced he was a Man of God. Feign they would have had him make his abode with them; but he declared, that he was called by Heaven to another Place, and that he only waited the departure of the Vessels, to leave Spain. The Lady, who understood by him, that he had taken a Place in the Brigantine, conjured him not to go in that Vessel, and told him more than once, by some secret instinct, that his life would be in danger if he went in the Brigantine. The same Spirit that moved her so to speak, moved him to believe her.  
He would not engage in the Ship, but upon condition that the Master would give him free Passage for Charity sake. In the interim the Brigantine put forth to Sea, and she was hardly out of the Haven, but there rose a furious Tempest, in which she was cast away, and all the Passengers and Mariners drowned.  
The Master of the Ship gave Ignatius his Passage free, but withal obliged him to make his own Provision for the Voyage. This Condition appeared very hard to him; for having thrown himself wholly upon Providence, he thought it would be a kind of retracting, and diffiding, to provide for himself; and whereas he should only want a little Bread, which he might beg in the Ship, he was afraid he should deviate from Evangelical Poverty, in carrying any thing along with him. To ease himself of this scruple, he had recourse to his Confessor, and being ordered by him to accept of the Condition as it was proposed by the Master, he boldly did that out of Obedience, which he durst not do of himself: He would not accept of any thing from the Lady, that by her counsel had saved his life, who offered him all Necessaries for his Journey; but he would beg from Door to Door for what might suffice him; whereupon an Adventure befell him very remarkable.  
There was in the Town a Woman of Quality, called Zepiglia, who had a Son extravagantly lewd, and a Libertine, that lately had thrown himself into a Troop of wand'ring Beggars, with whom he ran up and down the World. Ignatius saw this Woman coming out of her House, and prayed her for God's sake to give him a piece of Bread. Looking upon him, she presently thought of her Son; and judging by his Carriage, and the Air of his Countenance, that he who asked the Alms was a Counterfeit, and not truly poor, she began to rate him, and treat him as an idle Vagabond, threatening withal to have him punished. Ignatius very peaceably heard all she said, and at last told her, That indeed he was a great deal worse than she had made him, and so went away. She remained surprised at his Patience and his Answer: But understanding afterwards, that the Pilgrim she had so ill treated, was a holy Man, she was extremely confounded at what she had done: she employed some persons to ask his pardon, and upon the Day of his departure sent him a good provision of Bread. He would not carry with him the Money which some devout people had forced him to take against his will, nor would he give it to the Seamen, who would have used him the better for it in his Voyage; and being to enter the Ship, not finding any Poor to bestow it upon, he laid it down upon the Shore, for the first Comer to take.  
The Voyage was dangerous, but short; a violent wind carried the Ship in Five days to Gayeta in the year 1523. Ignatius being Landed, took up his Lodging at night in the Stable of an Inn, when he began to sleep, he heard a great cry, as it were of a person who called for help, in some extremity. He presently ran towards the place from whence the noise came; and finding a young Woman in the hands of Soldiers, who would have forced her, he spoke to them with so much Courage and Resolution, that they left her; For upon this occasion his Zeal stirred in him his Natural fierceness, and made him speak in that Imperious tone, which Officers of War commonly use to stop the Insolence of the Soldiers; He took his way towards Rome, alone, and a Foot, Fasting the whole Day, and Begging according to his Custom. He arrived there on Palm Sunday, and Eight days after Easter, he parted for Venice, having first received the Benediction of the Pope (who was Adrian the Sixth) and obtained leave of his Holiness to make the Pilgrimage of Jerusalem. Some Spaniards gave him Seven or Eight Crowns, and told him, it would be madness to go without Money, or Language, into a Country, which was infected with the Plague. But afterwards he had a trouble upon his Conscience, for having taken this Money, and he accused himself of it to God in his Prayer; And often said to himself, that it was better to pass for a Fool in the judgement of Men, then in the least to distrust the Care and Providence of God.  
To make amends for his fault, he gave to the first poor that he met, all the Money he had. By this means he was brought to extreme necessity, not finding almost any thing to live upon in the Villages, and not being able to enter into the Towns; For by reason of the Plague then raging, and of his pale and extenuated Countenance, the Guards at the Gates denied him entrance: So that he was often necessitated to lie whole Nights abroad in the open Air. But these great hardships, which his Body endured, were abundantly recompensed by Divine Consolations in his Soul. Being one Day quite spent, and not able to keep company with those, that Traveled with him, he was left alone, in an open Desert. The solitude invited him to Pray, in which Jesus Christ appeared to him, gave him inward strength, and promised him, that he should have entrance into Milan, and Venice.  
The event confirmed the Apparition. His Company, that had left him, and were gone before, could not with their Tickets of health gain admission into the Town; but he coming after, went quietly in without the least questioning of the Guards. It was late when he came to Venice▪ and not knowing where to lodge, he laid himself under a porch in the great square of St. Mark, to take a little rest: But God would not have his Servant pass the Night in that place.  
There was amongst the Senators of the Republic, a Man of extraordinary Merit, called Marc Antonio Trevisani. Of that wise Senate, he was one of the best heads, and moreover a perfect Christian, disengaged from the World, in the midst of the World, and such an enemy to Luxury, that he always wore a Hair shirt. His tenderness for the poor had in a manner changed his House into an Hospital; and indeed he himself would have been a poor Man, if the Marcelli his Nephews had not obliged him to regulate his Charities. He acquitted himself in his Employments after such a Christian manner, that they called him the Saint of Cyprus, where he had Exercised the charge of Proveditor. His Virtue afterwards raised him to the Dignity of Doge, which he would absolutely have refused, and renounced, if Lorenzo Massa, and Antonio Milledonne, both Secretaries of the Republic, had not diverted him from it, for reasons which he could not oppose. Having lived to a great Age, one day being present at the Divine Mysteries, with a lively and ardent Faith, which even shined in his Countenance, he fell into a sound, and expired at the foot of the Altar.  
This Senator, who lived in the Square of St. Mark, whither Ignatius was retired, heard in his sleep a voice, which seemed to say, that whilst he slept at ease in his Bed, the Servant of God lay upon the Stones in the Porch: He waked, and immediately went himself to find out the person signified by the Voice. He sound him, and with great humanity brought him into his House, and there paid him all the Charitable respects, due to a Pilgrim sent by God.  
Ignatius, who thought himself very unworthy to be so treated, left the Palace of the Senator, upon pretence of Lodging with a Biscay Merchant of his Acquaintance. Both the Senator, and the Merchant, offered him all manner of supplies for his Voyage of the Holy Land. But the only Courtesy he asked of them, was, to be introduced by their means to the Doge Andrea Gristi, one of the Sagest Politicians, and greatest Men of his time. The Ship being gone some days before, which carried the Jerusalem Pilgrims, Ignatius had no means left of proceeding in his Journey, but by getting a Passage in the Admiral, which was ready to set Sail for the Island of Cyprus, whither the Commonwealth was sending a new Governor. This was his business with the Doge which he effected at the Audience procured him.  
Notwithstanding all the Instances of the Spanish Merchant, he would not be brought to see the Ambassador of Charles the Fifth. He had renounced all Interests in the Courts of Princes, and his Ambition and Desires were now Converted to Holy Places. It made no Impression upon him when they told him, that since the taking of Rhodes (of which Solyman made himself Master the year before) the Turkish Rovers infested the Coasts of Syria, and that the danger of being made Salves had obliged the greatest part of the Pilgrims to return back to Venice. All this did not Discourage him, and the reliance which he had on God, made him tell those, who endeavoured to fright him from the Journey, that if he could not get a Ship, he would pass the Sea upon a Plank, with the succour of Heaven. He had a burning Fever a little before his departure, and though he had been purged that very day, when they put to Sea, he would not be hindered from going, against the advice of his Physicians who thought it would cost his Life, if he than went: But far from dying by doing so, he found himself very much amended, and the Sea-sickness perfectly cured him.  
There was on board the Vessel, a profligate crew, which almost in open view, committed the most enormous Sins: There was nothing of Prayer, nothing of Religion among the Mariners, But all, that came from them, was Impious, or Obscene. These Disorders highly afflicted, and irritated Ignatius: He endeavoured to remedy them by Christian instructions, and Charitable advertisments; But finding that the ways of Mildness were unprofitable, he fell to severe reprehensions, and menaced the guilty with the vengeance of Divine Justice: This liberty of the Spanish Pilgrim did not please the Italians. To be rid of so incommodious a Reprover, they Conspired together to touch upon a Desert Island, and there to leave him: The notice, which was given him of it by a Passenger, who had something more of humanity than the rest, did not at all abate his Zeal. But the design of the Italians took no effect: For coming near the Coast, where they meant to Land him, a sudden gust of Wind came from the Land, with so much violence that it carried them off in spite of their teeth, and brought them in a few hours to the Island of Cyprus.  
They found in the Port, the Ship, which carried the Pilgrims, quite ready to hoist Sail, as if they had only stayed for Ignatius. He immediately went on Board, and after Forty days Sail since his departure from Venice, he arrived at the Port of Jaffa, on the last day of August in the year 1523. He took the way of Jerusalem by Land, and came thither the Fourth of September, with the rest of the Pilgrims.  
Seeing the Town at a distance, 
The sentiments which he had in the Holy Land.  he wept for Joy, and was seized with a certain Religious horror, which has nothing in it, but sweet and comfortable. He visited the Holy places several times, and always with a profound Reverence, and most sensible Piety; for he did lively represent to himself, what had passed in each place for the Redemption of Man; even to the imagining, that he saw Jesus Christ, Born in the Grotte of Bethlem, Teaching in the Temple of Jerusalem, Praying in the Garden of Olives, and dying upon Mount Calvary.  
Upon this Mountain it was, that his Heart was touched with the most tender Devotion; He kissed ten thousand times over the Earth which had been died with the Blood of our Crucify'd Saviour, and bathed it with his tears; making most fervent Acts of Love. The Sentiments he then had, we receive from his own Relation, and he set them down in a short Memoire, which he writ concerning the Particulars of his Journey.  
But in regard, that according to the best manner of meditating upon the Mysteries of our Religion, we should frame a lively Image of the place, where the Mystery was performed, by so applying our Interior senses, as if we heard and saw what was said, and done; He therefore filled his Imagination as much as he could, with the Scheme, and Situation of those Holy Places.  
He came with a design into Palestine, to labour in the Conversion of those Eastern People, and it seemed to him, that God almighty had called him to it. In truth, it was made known to him in his Contemplations of Manreza, that Providence had Ordained him for the service of his Neighbour, and there was showed to him a rough draught of his Institute, in the Meditation of the two Standards; But he did not precisely know, in what Country, or in what manner, that was to be executed, so that, being guided by the light of his natural Reason, where that of the Holy Ghost did not evidently appear, he imagined, that his Vocation did lead to Palestine, because upon his first Conversion he had an inward motion, which prompted him to the voyage of Jerusalem, which motion always continued in him.  
To proceed orderly, 
He is obliged to leave Palestine.  he went to the Guardian of the Franciscans, who reside in Jerusalem, and look to the Holy Sepulchre, having delivered to him his Letters of Recommendation, which he brought out of Italy, he declared to him his thoughts of remaining in the Holy Land, but he did not open himself to him concerning his intended Employment there; He only said, that he did not intend to put them to any Charge, and that all the Charity he asked of them, was to direct his Conscience. The Guardian treated him Civilly, but for his Answer he remitted him to the Father Provincial, who was then at Bethlem, and daily looked for.  
The Provincial being come, he Counceled Ignatius to return into Europe, not only because Alms were very scarce in those parts, for they themselves had much ado to Subsist; but also, because there was no security for Pilgrims in a Country, where the Grand Signior was Master; And that, not long since, some had been made Slaves and some killed that were found walking in the Neighbourhood of the Town.  
Ignatius, who as yet thought of nothing, but of Converting the Barbarous people, did not relish this Council; He answered, that he neither feared Slavery nor Death; and that nothing, but the fear of displeasing God, should make him leave the Holy Land. Why then says the Provincial, with an Air and tone of Authority, you shall be gone to Morrow; for you cannot resist me without offending God: I have Power from the Holy See, to send back what Pilgrims I please, and moreover to Excommunicate those, who will not Obey. As St▪ Ignatius insisted upon his Staying, for fear of going against his Conscience, so he no sooner heard the power of the Holy See enjoining his Return, but he instantly submitted; taking the words of the Provinical, as of an Oracle from Heaven, without so much as staying to see the Pope's Bull, which the Religious man offered to show him.  
At the same moment an extreme desire took him, once more to see the Print of our Saviour's feet, which he left upon the stone, when he Ascended into Heaven. To this end he Privately slipped out, and went alone to Mount Olivet, and for want of Money, giving his Pen knife to the Turk, that kept the Mosque, where the Footsteps are to be seen, he entered in, and fully satisfied his Devotion. When he was come back as far as Betfage, it came into his mind, that he had not observed, to what quarter of the Heaven the impression of those Sacred Feet was directed, he therefore comes back again (so much Curiosity there is sometimes in Piety itself!) and to procure his Entrance the second time, he presented the keeper with a little pair of Sizzers, and having made his Observations and finished his Devotions, he returned.  
In the mean time the good Religious of the Franciscan Convent, understanding that the Spanish Pilgrim was gone towards Mount Olivet, and fearing lest he should be ill treated by the Turks, sent after him a Servant of the Convent, an Armenian, who was known to the Guards. The Armenian met Ignatius coming down the Hill, and with great Choler held up his stick at him, and taking him by the Arm drew him along with him to the Monastery. But Ignatius did not feel, nor scarce know, what he did to him. He was wholly rapt with an interior joy, caused in him by the Presence of our Saviour, who appeared to him in the Air, shining with Glory, and marching, as a Guide before him.  
He parted the day following from Jerusalem, and embarked in a ship, which carried him to the Isle of Cyprus: Coming there, he found three Vessels in the Port ready to set Sail for Italy, one was a Turkish Gallion, the other a great ship of Venice, and the third a little Bark very weak, and ill Equipped. They who came with Ignatius, desired the Venetian Captain to receive him on board upon the Score of Charity, telling him, that he was a Saint. The Captain who being very Covetous, but not very Religious, did not care for the Company of a poor Saint, answered in raillery, that if the Pilgrim were so great a Saint, as they said, he had no need of a Ship, he might go into the Sea, and the waves would carry him whither he pleased. The Master of the little Bark was more Civil and Charitable, he received him Gratis. The three Vessels made Sail together, and had at first a favourable wind; but the weather changing all on a sudden, there rose a furious Tempest: The Turkish Gallion sunk with all her company; the Venetian ship endeavouring to get to land, and to recover the Island, was dashed in pieces upon the Rocks: The little Bark, which carried Ignatius, was very ill treated, but all in disorder as she was, she saved herself by the favour of a good wind, which seemed to rise on purpose, to bring her on the Coast of the Kingdom of Naples, where having gained a Port, she refitted: And thence she put again to sea, and happily arrived at Venice, about the end of January in the year 1524, after a voyage of more than two months. Whence may be seen, that Saints are under the Protection of Heaven, and that Providence doth Conduct them, even when to outward appearance it seems to abandon them.  
During this Voyage, Ignatius had leisure to make a great many refflections. He considered, that to work Profitably in the Conversion of Souls, some parts were required, which were wanting in him, and that without the foundation of humane Learning, nothing could be solidly performed. He was every day more and more convinced of this Truth; which made him resolve to return to Barcelona, where he had acquaintance with the Master of the School, and where he hoped to find wherewithal to subsist during his Studies. So that, without making any stay at Venice he began his Journey in the deep of Winter, and very ill clad for the season. The Spanish Merchant, who knew him, would have clothed him; but he could not make him accept of any more, than a little Piece of Course cloth to cover his stomach, which the Air of the Sea had extremely weakened: The Merchant also forced him to take fifteen or sixteen Reales, but he took them only to part with them again; of doing which, he soon had the opportunity.  
Being come to Ferrara, he went to pray in the great Church. A poor man immediately came to him, and held out his hand; He gave him a Real; another came after, and he gave him as much: These Liberalities drew all the Beggars to him, and he refused none of them, as long as his money lasted. When he had done his Prayers, they followed him out of the Church, and seeing him beg there himself, they all cried out a Saint a Saint.  
He needed no more, to make him leave the place, he continued his Journey through Lombardy, and took the way of Genova. There being War at that time between the French and the Spaniard, and the two Armies spreading all over the Country, made the ways exceeding dangerous: Every body advised him not to venture forwards: But being under the Protection of God, he conceived, he ought not to fear any thing: He moreover believed, that if he did not go the straight Road, he should go out of the way in which Providence designed to Conduct him. He took up his Lodging every night in some Cottage, where he could hardly lie dry, in a season of Rain, and Snow. He travelled all the day in the bad weather, both through the French and Spanish Armies; coming near a Village, where the Spaniards were entrenched, some of the out Guards took him: His Habit and Figure made them believe, he was a Spy. They examined him, but not being able to draw a word out of him, they stripped him, and carried him in his shirt to their Captain.  
The Remembrance of Jesus Christ, exposed naked to the Eyes of the Jews, fortified Ignatius in an exigence of so great Humiliation: But the fear of being tortured did a little terrify him. He began to think that if he did make himself known, he could get clearly off; at least, that by speaking fairly and rationally to the officers, they might hear reason, and not treat him as a Spy. But upon Reflection, Judging these thoughts to be suggestions of a bad Spirit, and Illusions of self Love, he affected and imitated more than before, the Stupidity of an Idiot. He remained without motion in presence of the Captain, casting down his Eyes, and answering nothing to the Questions, which the Officers put to him: He never spoke, but when they asked him, if he were a Spy; then he readily answered, No, the Officer taking him to be a silly Poor Wretch, was angry with the Soldiers, that they could not distinguish a Spy from a natural Fool; and Commanded them to give him his clothes again. So that the semblance of an Idiot, which out of the Love of Suffering and humiliation, he took upon him, was that which saved him, and brought him off.  
But the Soldiers, before they parted with him, used him very roughly both in words and blows, being enraged for having had a Reprimand from the Captain, upon his account. The joy which Ignatius had, in being used in the Camp of the Spaniards, much after the same rate of Jesus Christ his usage, in the Court of Herod, hindered him almost from feeling the rude treatment of the Soldiers. Yet among them, there was one less Barbarous than the rest, who out of Compassion lodged him that night, and gave him meat.  
Following on his way, he fell into the Quarters of the French; the officer, to whom he was brought was a Basque, a neighbour to the Province of Gypuscoa, and a very Gallant Man: He judged favourably of the Pilgrim, by his Physiognomy: And having learned his Country, he treated him very Civilly. This diversity of entertainment confirmed Ignatius in his reliance upon the Providence of God, and in his resolution, to receive from the hands of God, with the same Equality, comforts, and Crosses.  
At Genova he met Roderigues Portundo, General of the Spanish Galleys, who knew him. They had seen one another at the Court of the Catholic King, and were both of the same Country: That which pleased Ignatius most, was to meet a Ship ready to go for Spain, in which he easily procured his passage, by the Favour of Portundo. The Pirates, which haunt the Coasts of Genova, gave chase to the Vessel; and the Galleys of Andrea Doria, who had embraced the French Interest, did also pursue her; but she scaped both the one, and the other, and happily gained the Port of Barcelona.  
Ignatius went immediately to see Jeronimo Ardebale, who taught in the Grammar School, and he Communicated to him his new design: He imparted it also to Isabel Rosella, who was infinitely glad to see him again, and promised to supply him with all necessaries. He was then thirty years old, and had no natural propension for study; for he had been trained to Military Exercises from his Childhood, as we have already seen; and the love of Arms, which before his Conversion had wholly possessed him, gave him a disgust to Latin, in an Age, when People of quality took Pride in their Ignorance. There was little appearance of Success, in beginning to Learn at that time of day a Language, which is only well learned in the years of Childhood. On the other side, a man wholly applied to the Practice of an interior life, must find a great deal of difficulty to interrupt it, with beating his brains about the Rules of Grammar. However, Ignatius fell to study the first Rudiments of the Latin Tongue, and went every day to School with the little Children. The desire he had of making himself useful to his Neighbour, and the aim he took of God's greater glory, which he now Proposed to himself for his only Rule, made easy to him that Crabbed Task, and overcame in him all his disgusts and repugnances. But the enemy of the salvation of Mankind, who foresaw where the Science of Ignatius would one day end, used his Artifice to defeat the Pious design.  
That Spirit of darkness, which is sometimes transformed into an Angel of Light, continually instigated our new Scholar to Practices of Piety, filled him with Consolations, raised in him such tender sentiments for God, that all the time of his study was spent in devout Aspirations: Instead of conjugating the Verb Amo he made Acts of Love, I Love thee my God (said he), you Love me; to Love, to be Loved, and nothing more. When he was in the School his thoughts flew up to Heaven, and while his Master explicated the Rules of Grammar, he was attentive to another Master within him, who opened to him the difficulties of Scripture, and the Mysteries of Faith.  
So that he learned nothing; or the little which he did learn, was soon rubbed out of his Memory by other more lively and strong Ideas, which he could not be rid of; Had he stopped at appearances, or followed the motions of self love, he would have believed, that God had only called him to the repose of a contemplative life, and that study had been an Obstacle to perfection. But considering the Matter according to that light, which he had for the discernment of Spirits, and regulating all things by the greater glory of God, he had no difficulty to comprehend, that the Malignant Spirit deceived him.  
He discovered the temptation to Ardebale, and carrying him one day along with him to the Church of St Mary of the Sea, he fell down upon his knees, asked him Pardon for his negligence, and made a vow at the foot of the Altar, to continue his studies with greater application. He also entreated his Master to use him with severity, when he did not perform his Task, and to spare him no more, than the least of his Scholars. 'tis very marvilous, that after Ignatius had in this manner combated the illusions of Hell, they so absolutely vanished, that they never returned more.  
Some Learned men counselled him to read the books of Erasmus (Famous at that time over all Europe) and amongst the rest the Christian Soldier, as most proper for Piety, and for the Purity of the Latin tongue. He read him, and also marked the Phrases, and best ways of expression: but he perceived, that the Reading this Author diminished in him his Devotion, and that the more he read, the less fervour he had in his Exercises of Piety. By often experience finding this to be so, he threw away the Book, and conceived so much horror of it, that he would never read it more; and when he came to be General of the Society, he ordered, that they should not read the Books of Erasmus, or at least, not without great precaution. To keep alive his first fervour, he often read the Imitation of Christ, Looking upon it to be a book, next to the Gospel, most full of the Spirit of God.  
But if sometimes divine Consolations, with which God often favoured him, were lessened in him, he comforted himself with the fruit which he expected from his studies; and well distinguishing between Dryness, and Tepidity, he was wont to say, that the loss of spiritual gusts, caused by study, purely followed for the Glory of God, was better worth, than all the delights of sensible Devotion; provided the heart be replenished with the Love of God. In this manner, it 'twas his Principle care, to maintain the interior Spirit, which grows slack, and is dissipated by study, when it is not established upon solid virtue.  
For this reason, his health being now mended, since his return from the Holy Land, he renewed his Austerities, which the weakness of his stomach, and the hardships of the Journey had caused him to intermit. But he did nothing without the advice of his Confessor; and far from permitting himself to be transported by his Devotion, he retrencht part of his seven hours of prayer, to have more leisure for his study; Following the light, which he then had, that we may, and aught in some occasions leave God for God.  
Whereas he had now formed a Model of outward Conversation, conformable to that of Jesus Christ, not to scare or estrange the People from him, nor to distinguish himself by any extraordinary Habit, he would not take to his Sackcloth again, nor to his Iron chain, but was contented to wear a hair shirt, under a very poor Cassock; of the Alms, which Isabel Rosella, and other devout persons bestowed upon him, he reserved to himself no more, than was precisely necessary to live, and parted the rest among the poor, to whom he always gave the best of every thing: Insomuch, that Agnes Pascal a devout woman, with whom he lodged, and where probably he was placed by Isabel Rosella, astonished at the little Care, which Ignatius took of himself, reprehended him one day for keeping still the worst for his own use. And what would you do (Replied Ignatius) If Jesus Christ should ask of you an Alms? Could you find in your heart to give him the worst?  
The Son of Agnes, called John Pascal, a Sober and devout Youth, would rise sometimes in the night to observe what Ignatius did in his chamber; and sometimes he saw him upon his knees, sometimes prostrate upon the ground, his Countenance always inflamed, and often in tears; He thought once, that he saw him elevated from the ground, and surrounded with Light. He often heard him deeply to sigh, and in the heat of his Prayer, these words usually came from him, O God, my Love, and the delight of my Soul, if men did know thee, they would never offend thee! my God, how good art thou, to bear with such a sinner, as I am!  
This is that Pascal, who being afterwards Married, told his Children, that if they knew what he had seen of Ignatius, they would never leave kissing the Floor and the Walls of the Chamber where the Servant of God did Lodge. And in saying this, Tears would come from his Eyes; he would knock his Breast, and accuse himself for having so little profited by the Company of so holy a Man.  
Ignatius, while he endeavoured his own perfection, did not neglect that of his Neighbour. At those hours which were not employed in Study, he made it his Business to withdraw Souls from Vice, by Examples, or by edifying Discourses: This his Zeal did very much appear upon an important Occasion. There was out of the Town, between the new Gate, and the Gate of St. Daniel, a famous Monastery of Nuns, called The Monastery of the Angels; this Name did not very well agree with those Religious: They lived in a great libertinage, and abating their Habit, were perfect Courtesans. Ignatius could not without horror see such abomination in a holy Place; notwithstanding he judged, that how violent soever the Disease was, violent Remedies would have no good effect; and that whereas Religious Persons who have forsaken God, are more difficult to be Converted then those of the World, they are to be managed with greater caution and tenderness.  
In order hereunto he frequented the Church of the Monastery of the Angels, making it the constant Place of his Devotions, where he every day made his four or five hours of Prayer upon his Knees, and received the Sacrament of the Priest who Served that Church, called Puygalte, who was a Man of good life, and to whom he communicated his Design. The regular and constant Devotions of Ignatius, with his great modesty and recollection, raised a curiosity in the Nuns to know who he was: Wherefore they desired to speak with him; and after many idle Questions concerning his Country, his Condition, and the like, which Ignatius endeavoured to elude by general Answers, as well as he could. He at last turned his Discourse upon the Excellency and the Duties of a Religious state of Life. He much insisted upon the Purity which Jesus Christ requires in his Spouses, and represented to them the dishonour done him by their Infidelity. But he spoke to them with such energy and sweetness together, and gained upon them so much in this first Conference, that they desired to hear him again. He came to them many days together, and finding them disposed to follow his Advice, he engaged them by degrees to meditate upon the first Verities of his spiritual Exercises. In process of time they were so touched with Compunction, that changing their Conduct, they shut up their Doors, and quite broke off the scandalous Commerce which they formerly had with the Men of the Town.  
This change enraged some of the Youngsters who most used to haunt the Monastery, and they resolved to revenge themselves on him whom they found out to be the Author of it. One day, when Ignatius returned from the Monastery with the Priest Puygalte, two Moorish Slaves set upon them near the Gate of St. Daniel, and Bastinadoed them almost to death. In effect, Puygalte died few days after, and Ignatius was left in a manner dead upon the place: But coming a little to himself, after the Assassins' were gone, and not being able to stand upon his Legs, he was relieved by a charitable Passenger, who set him upon his Horse.  
His Bruises and Pains had so weakened him, that his Friends despaired of his life. Many Persons of Quality, who honoured him as the Apostle of Barcelona (according to the Testimony of John Pascal) came to see him as soon as they heard of his Disaster, and among the rest a Daughter of the Conde de Palamos, who was Wife to Don John de Riquesens. This Lady, no less illustrious for her Piety then for her Birth, who had a particular affection for the Servant of God, was afflicted in the highest manner to see him in that condition; at all times, and in all places she wept for him. But Ignatius, who esteemed himself happy in suffering upon such an account, blamed her Tears, telling her, that she ought to rejoice, and not to grieve for him.  
He had his Hairshirt upon him when he was assaulted by the Slaves, and he could not be induced to leave it off in the height of his Pains, but by the Command of his Confessor, Diego d' Alcantara, of the Order of St. Francis. John Pascal locked up the Hairshirt, and would not let him have it any more; he charily kept it all his life, and left it to his Children as a precious Legacy, with a Writing under his Hand to attest the truth of it: But in the Year 1606, the Duke of Mont-Leon, Viceroy of Catalonia, with great entreaty got it of the Family, who had kept it as a Relic.  
God in the mean time, who had destined Ignatius to greater Enterprises than this, which cost him so dear, restored his Health after Three and fifty days of Sickness and Pain. As soon as he was able to walk, he visited the Monastery of the Angels, to finish the Work he had begun; and when they told him, that he should take heed of a second Assassination, he answered, How glad should I be to die for so good a Cause? But his Enemies, far from enterprising any thing more upon his Person, repent of their Crime, and the most furious amongst them, called Ribera, came and threw himself at Ignatius' Feet, begging his pardon.  
Two Brothers, 
He raises a dead Man to life.  called Lisani, had a Lawsuit one with the other for a Matter of concern, and there was a mortal hatred between them, as commonly it happens, when nearest Relations go to Law. One of these being overthrown, was in such affliction and rage, that he hanged himself upon one of the Beams of his House. All the Neighbourhood came in at the outcries of the Family, upon finding their Master hanged. Ignatius, who was coming back from the Monastery of the Angels, went into the House with the rest, and made them cut the Rope: they found the unfortunate Man without motion or Pulse, and notwithstanding all they could do to him, he showed no signs of life.  
Ignatius, concerned at the deplorable state of the poor Man, fell upon his Knees close to the Body, and by a strong inspiration begged of God with a loud and distinct voice, so much life for this miserable wretch, as might serve him to make his Confession. He is heard, and in presence of all the Company, who astonished at his Prayer, waited with impatience the success, Lisano immediately came to life. In this manner it is, that the three Auditors of the Rota speak of this matter; 
Cunctis stupentibus, & rei exitum expectantibus, Lysanus ad vitam rediit.  and to the end it may not be doubted, that Heaven did restore life to the dead Man at the Prayer of Ignatius, the resuscitated Person immediately died, after he had Confessed.  
Ignatius had now continued almost two years at Barcelona, in which time he had so well profited in the Latin Tongue, that his Master judged him capable to proceed to the higher Sciences. Though he did not believe that Ardebale would flatter him, yet for greater security, he would be Examined by a Person who was a Doctor of Divinity, and had little acquaintance with him. The Doctor was of the same opinion with Ardebale, and counselled him to Study his Course of Philosophy in the University of Alcala, which had been newly Founded by the Cardinal Ximenes, and was at that time very flourishing.  
Many young Men, 
He goes to Alcala, to continue his Studies there.  whom Ignatius had brought into the way of Virtue, desired to accompany him; but he would take with him only three, of which one was called Caliste, another Artiaga, and the third Cazieres. He also chose a fourth Disciple in the Hospital of Alcala; where Ignatius took up his Quarter at his arrival in that Town. This fourth Disciple was a Frenchman, Page to Don Martin de Cordova, Viceroy of Navarr. The young Frenchman, who had been wounded in a Quarrel, as his Master passed through Alcala, was carried to the Hospital to be cured of his Wounds. While the Surgeons had care of his Body, Ignatius undertook the Cure of his Soul; and he laboured so successfully in it, that the Page resolved to reform his Life, left the Service of the Viceroy, and his Hopes in the World. They were all five Habited alike, wearing a long Garment of grey Cloth, with a Hat of the same colour; and they lived only upon Aims, but they did not reside together in one House: Ferdinando de Para, and Andrea d' Arze, each of them Lodged two out of Charity. As for Ignatius, he had his Lodging in the Hospital of Dantezana, where he had no difficulty to get a Chamber, notwithstanding the great multitude of Poor there; for that which they let him have, had been a long while empty, and no body durst lie in it, having the reputation of being haunted with Spirits; and perhaps not without reason: for the first Night that Ignatius lay there, he heard a terrible noise, and even saw some hideous Spectres, which, as bold as he was, did a little frighten him; but having recourse to Prayer, he never saw nor heard more of them.  
The impatience which he had to give himself entirely to the Conversion of Souls, made him follow his Study with extreme earnestness; and believing that he should make a quick dispatch, by applying himself to several Sciences at once, he had scarce learned his Terms of Logic, but he fell upon Natural Philosophy, and also undertook Scholastical Divinity. They read in the Schools of that University, the Logic of Soto, the Physic of Albertus Magnus, and the Theology of the Master of the Sentences. He took all these three Lessons one after another, and Studied Night and Day without intermission. But so many different Notions so confounded his Understanding, that all his labour ended in learning nothing; as it always happens when one Study's without Method, and would grasp all at once. Thus it was, that Providence, designing Ignatius to teach Jesus Christ in the University of Alcala, instead of learning Aristotle and S. Thomas, gave him not any light to see the disorder in his way of Studying, nor even permitted that his own natural Reason should serve to redress it.  
Wherefore being disheartened with the little progress which he had made in the Sciences, 
He doth many good works.  he, with his four Disciples, applied himself wholly to good Works. All the time which he did not spend in Prayer, he employed in Catechising Children, in serving the Sick of the Hospital, and in procuring Relief for poor People ashamed to beg. But most particularly he applied himself to reform the Manners of dissolute Scholars, for which he had a special Talon from Heaven.  
This zeal for the reformation of Youth, made him undertake the Conversion of a Man much given to liberty, who held one of the first Dignities in the Church of Spain, and who by his ill Example, by his Liberalities, and by his Caresses, corrupted almost all the young Men in the University of Alcala. After having begged of God the Light and Forces which he should have need of in so hard an Enterprise, he goes to the Lodging of the Prelate; and to obtain Audience, he sends up word, that an unknown Person had things of great importance to tell him. When he was brought up to him, he said, It is the greatest Concern you have in the World which obliges me to wait upon you, for it is the Concern of your eternal Salvation. And what? (he added in a Tone of Assurance, and yet of Respect) d'ye think that God has placed you in this World to live as if there were neither Heaven nor Hell? Is a happy Eternity of so little value, that it doth not deserve your care? If at this moment that I speak to you Death should surprise you, where would you be? What Account could you give, I do not say of so much Riches so sinfully employed, but of so many Souls which you have destroyed, and do every day destroy?  
Ignatius would have still continued in the same Tone, but the Prelate took him short, called him an insolent Fool, and a Madman, and in a great rage threatened to have him thrown out of the Window, if he did not presently depart; and in order thereunto, called up his Servants. For all this Ignatius did not cease to follow on his Point with the same liberty as before; and God gave such a Blessing upon his Words, that the incensed Prelate grew suddenly calm, and so much an altered Man, that with great Civility he invited Ignatius to Sup with him. Ignatius would not balk so fair an occasion of going on with his Work; but made such good use of his time, that before he left him, what with his modest Comportment, and with the force of his Reasons, he gained him to that degree, that he wholly changed the loose course of his life.  
This Conversion made a great noise in the Country, and had a very good effect upon the young Students of the University, in order to the reformation of their Manners: The Prelate himself becoming zealous to reclaim those by his good Example, whom his bad had corrupted. But that which most served to reform the Youth of Alcala, was the Assemblies of Devotion which Ignatius held in the Hospital, whither great Crowds of Scholars came to him, and seldom went away, but with a horror and detestation of Vice.  
The common People were struck with these extraordinary Changes, 
He is suspected of Sorcery and Heresy.  and following their natural malignity, they entertained strange Fancies concerning Ignatius. Some said he was a Conjurer, and that without Art-Magick he could not do what he had done: Others, that he was an Heretic, and that under pretence of bringing the young Fry to Piety he instilled false Doctrine into them.  
These Rumours quickly came to the Ears of the Inquisitors at Toledo. They had lately condemned in Spain certain Visionaries, who were called the Illuminated, or Men of new Lights. The Heresy of Luther began to desolate Germany, and there was reason to fear that it would spread itself abroad like the Plague, which seldom doth rage in a Country without infecting the Neighbouring Parts. Wherefore the Inquisitors being very zealous and watchful, were induced to believe, that possibly the Person so much talked of, might either be an Illuminato or a Lutheran; and to be throughly informed of the matter, they came themselves to Alcala, to take Examinations upon the Place.  
After an exact Enquiry into the Manners and Doctrine of Ignatius, 
He is declared innocent.  not finding any thing that might render him suspected, and not judging it expedient to make him appear before them, they were contented to refer the Matter to John Roderiques Figueroa, Grand Vicar of Alcala, and to Delegate to him all their Authority, in case any new Matter should happen. As soon as the Inquisitors were gone, the Grand Vicar called Ignatius before him, and declared to him, that the Juridical Information which had been made, was much in his favour, and that he might continue his Functions for the service of his Neighbour. He only admonished him, that it was not approved of, that he and his Companions, not being Religious, should go in Habits alike. Ignatius, to take away all ground of Complaint, Clothed himself and Artiaga in Black, left his grey Habit to the Frenchman, and made Caliste and Cazeres go into a Russet Colour. But in regard the Grand Vicar had forbidden him to go barefoot, he put on Shoes, and ever after wore them.  
The Testimony of the Inquisition justified Ignatius, and gave him a great deal of Credit among the People. He was no more now an Illuminato or a Lutheran, but a Man filled with the Spirit of God, and a Successor of the Apostles; and Alphonso Sanchez, Canon of St. Just, commonly called him The holy Man. This is the Canon who before he had discovered the true Piety which was in Ignatius, and in his Disciples, did one day publicly refuse them the Communion, upon supposition that they were Hypocrites, if not worse.  
Martin Saez, a rich and principal Man of the Town of Aspetia, which lies near to the Castle of Loyola, being come to Alcala for some Business of Consequence, heard them speak much of Ignatius, which made him desire his Acquaintance. Being showed to him one day in the Street, he followed him to a little House whither he used to go every Morning upon a Charitable account: Having seen him go in, and come out of the House, he went in himself, and there found a poor sick Woman, whom he asked who that Person was that last went from her; She answered, that she did not know the Man, but that he brought her every day something to live upon, and that without his assistance she must have starved. Tell him (says the Man of Aspetia) that you know a Person that will furnish him with Money for all the Charities which he will do. The sick Woman failed not to advertise Ignatius of it, and to tell him the Lodging, the Name, and the Country of this Man, according to the Order she had received from him. The very Name of Aspetia did much affright Ignatius, who feared nothing more than the meeting of any Persons of his own Country: On the other side he was mortified to be so discovered; so that without saying any thing farther to the poor Woman, he only told her, Sister, I have succoured you hitherto, according to my ability; hereafter Providence will assist you by some other means. After which he departed, and came no more.  
In this while the Grand Vicar caused new Informations to be taken of Ignatius and his Disciples; either incited thereunto by ill-minded People, or else imagining with himself, that Men of small Learning might be apt to teach false Doctrine in their Catechisms; and that being young, how virtuous now soever they appeared, they might easily fall into the frailties of Youth. Upon this fresh Enquiry he still found their Doctrine sound, and their Manners irreprehensible. But there fell out an Accident which gave him ill impressions of their Conduct, and even did exasperate him against them.  
Amongst the Persons that followed Ignatius, there were two Women of Quality, the Mother and the Daughter, and both Widows: The Mother was called Maria de Vado, and the Daughter Lovisa Velasquez, They had both been great Worldlings, especially the Daughter, whose Beauty and Youth had drawn more Courtship. From the beginning of their Conversion they resolved to undertake something extraordinary for the love of God. As Women commonly run to Extremes, and the Spanish having more fire than the rest, they imagined that nothing could be finer, nor more edifying, then to Cloth themselves like Beggars, and to travel about begging their Bread, visiting Hospitals, and serving the Sick. However, they would not set forth till they had consulted Ignatius, whom they took for their spiritual Director. He told them the folly of their Design, and that without an evident Inspiration of the Holy Ghost, they must not take such extraordinary Courses to advance in Perfection; That Sanctity did not consist in running about; That Women, who were not too secure even within their own Walls, had a great deal to fear in a wand'ring Life; That in Alcàla there were Hospitals where they might exercise their Charity; That being rich, they should employ themselves in helping the Necessitous, and not counterfeit them by an affected Beggary; In conclusion, That they should either renounce the World for good-and-all, or else live in it like reasonable Persons, regulating their Virtue according to their Condition, and not attempting to be Saints in any other way than God would have them.  
These Devotees, by Profession, do not always believe Counsel, nor have deference to the Judgement of their Directors, unless it jump with their own sense. These its true did lay down the thoughts of rambling every where about, but they could not be hindered from making a Pilgrimage in their own fashion, to our Ladies of Guadeloupe, and to the Holy Syndon of Jaen. These are two Celebrated Devotions in Spain, the one in new Castille, the other in Andalousia.  
They set forwards with great Secrecy, 
He is again accused and put in Prison.  without saying any thing to Ignatius, Habited like penitent Pilgrims, and went all the way on Foot begging Alms. As soon as the thing was known, all the World fell foul upon Ignatius, and among others, Doctor Cirol, who was a particular friend of these Ladies. He complained against the suffering an illiterate Layman to tamper in the Direction of Consciences; He said openly, that a Director, who advised mad things, ought himself to be shut up. Whereas this Doctor was in great Credit with Cardinal Ximenes, who had bestowed on him the first Chair of Divinity in the new University of Alcala, he had no great difficulty to make the Grand Vicar enter into his sentiments. Ignatius is Arrested, and publicly carried to Prison.  
Don Francisco de Borgia, Son to the Duke of Gandia, who at that time was but Seventeen years old, happened then to pass in the Street with a Magnificent Train. The Modesty and Mildness of Ignatius, in the midst of the shouts and clamour of the People, mightily struck the young Lord, and made those impressions in him, of which he did not comprehend the meaning, till afterwards. It is probable, that Heaven, designing Borgia to be one day a Son of Ignatius, purposely exposed him to his view in this suffering condition; and that this sight of him was the first seed of his Vocation.  
The news of Ignatius' Imprisonment was no sooner spread about the Town, but people of all sorts flocked to him: According to his Custom, he spoke to them of Heaven, and the things of God; and he spoke with greater liberty than ever. George Naver, who was the first Professor of Holy Scripture in the University of Alcala, and who passed for a Man of great Sense, was one day so charmed with the Discourse of Ignatius, that he forgot the hour of his Lesson. Going afterwards to the School, and meeting his Scholars, who had waited for him; I have seen St. Paul in Prison (said he) quite transported.  
Some Ladies of Quality, who knew the Innocency of the Prisoner, sent to him, to offer their Mediation for getting him out of Prison. The most considerable were Theresa Henriquez, Mother of the Duke of Maqueda, and Elinor Mascaregnas, at that time Lady of Honour to the Empress, and afterwards Governant to the Prince of Spain, Philip the Second. Both the one, and the other, were of that sort of Virtuous Women, whom the World doth not corrupt, and who have the secret to be Saints at Court. They had never conversed with Ignatius but once, and that only Conference had given them a great opinion of his Sanctity.  
He did not accept of their offers, and would not so much as retain an Advocate; whether it were, that he confided in the goodness of his Cause, or that he believed, he ought to leave himself to Providence, not to lose, through his own fault, so fair an occasion of partaking in the Ignominies of the Cross. And besides, he desired nothing more than to be set right by Eccelesiastical Superiors, in, case he had erred in any thing; and declared, that he was disposed and resolved blindly to obey them.  
Ignatius had been seventeen days in Prison, when the Grand Vicar came thither to examine him. The stress of the Examination was concerning the two Pilgrim Ladies. He confessed that he knew them, but at the same time declared, that far from counselling them to so unbecoming an expedition, he had endeavoured, what in him lay, to suppress in them such rambling thoughts. And yet for that only matter are you put into Prison, said the Grand Vicar.  
While strict inquiries were made upon this Subject, as also upon the Life and Conversation of Ignatius, the wand'ring Ladies came back, after a two and forty days ramble; who being Juridically interrogated, confirmed what Ignatius had said, and their Testimony was believed, in this matter, where they accused themselves; so that he was fully acquitted on that side; and nothing more being found to charge him withal, he was absolutely discharged, and enlarged by a public Sentence, the first day of June in the year 1527.  
This Sentence had two Clauses in it not very favourable, That he, and his Companions should wear the ordinary Habit of Scholars; That not being Divines, they should abstain from explicating to the People the Mysteries of Religion, till such time, as they had studied Four years in Divinity: Moreover the Grand Vicar forbade them all manner of teaching or instructing in Religious matters, under pain of Excommunication and Banishment.  
For what regarded their Clothing, Ignatius answered, it was not in their power to obey, unless they had the means of doing it; upon the other point of instructing the People, he did not declare himself, because he doubted, whether it were a lawful Command. The ground of his doubt was, that their work in Catechising did not require a profound knowledge of the Mysteries; and that in not doing it, they should be wanting to their Call and Vocation. To clear this Scruple, and above all to take certain measures in the doing it, he resolved to apply himself to the Archbishop of Toledo, who was at Vallidolid.  
The Grand Vicar made him, and his Disciples be clothed after the manner of the Scholars; he moreover told him a little harshly, that they would not have brought so much trouble upon themselves if their Discourses had less of Novelty in them. I did not think, Ignatius replied with a grave and modest Air, that it had been a novelty amongst Christians, to speak of Jesus Christ.  
Some few days before his Departure, passing through a Street, where the People were assembled to see some play at long Tennis, before the House of Lopez Mendoze, he asked an Alms from some of the People there. Lopez had no sooner cast his Eyes upon him, but pointing at him with his finger, he cried out, I will be burnt, if that Man does not deserve to be so. The same day the news was brought of the Birth of the Prince of Spain, Philip the Second; and at night Bonfires were made over all the Town. Lopez being on the top of his House, to cause some little pieces of Cannon to be discharged, it chanced, that a spark fell upon his provision of Powder, which taking Fire, enclosed him, and burned him alive: As if God, to declare the innocence, and to repair the honour of Ignatius, had designed to take Lopez at his word, in punishing him, according to his own Imprecation.  
Ignatius was very well received by Don Alphonso de Fonseca, Archbishop of Toledo. This Prelate, having heard his reasons, and knowing how much those of Alcala were prepossessed against him, counselled him to go and Study at Salamanca, and very much exhorted him to continue his functions of piety towards his Neighbour. He promised him all the protection that he and his Companions should want, and gave them wherewithal to make their journey.  
Notwithstanding Ignatius his earnestness to prosecute his Studies, 
What he doth and what he suffers at Salamanca.  when he should be at quiet, yet when he came to Salamanca, he made it his first business to Labour in the gaining of Souls; and he did it with the greater Fervour and Liberty, because now his Mission seemed to be Authorised by the Archbishop of Toledo. The fruits of his Evangelical Labour first appeared in the Conversion of many among the ordinary People; and in a little time his Reputation so spread itself, that the most considerable of the Town desired to learn of him the Maxims of Salvation.  
And yet there were some good People, who did not well relish all that Ignatius did, either out of a secret Jealousy, that so many good works should be done by him, in which they had no part, or else being persuaded, that in a time in which Heresy did very much spring up, every new thing ought to be suspected. They said, it was a thing unheard of, that a simple Layman should instruct the People, and in a manner execute the Office of a Pastor, in directing Consciences.  
The Religious of St. Dominick in the Monastery of St. Stephen were of this opinion, and took upon them to Examine the Matter to the Bottom; although they had no Jurisdiction, nor Order given them, for their so doing. Ignatius had his Confessor in this Monastery, who one day invited him to Dinner by order of the Subprior, who at that time, in the absence of the Prior, governed the House: This Religious Man had a great Curiosity to know what kind of Man this new Apostle was, of whom the World so much talked. After dinner the Subprior, accompanied with the Confessor, and another Father, carried Ignatius and his Disciple Calisto into a private Chapel; where putting on an open free Countenance, he thus spoke to him, I am very glad, that according to the Example of the Apostles, you go about every where Teaching the People the things of Heaven, and I can assure you, that all of this Convent are no less satisfied with it. But I would fain know (he added) what ability of Learning you have, and to what Sciences you are most applied. We are not Learned Men, nor do we pretend to be so (answered Ignatius) nor have we Studied much. How then comes it to pass, that you take upon you the Ministry of Preaching? (replied the Subprior.) We neither undertake the Office of Preaching, nor do we Preach (said Ignatius) We only Catechise, and make familiar Discourses. But what do you speak of (replied the Subprior) in those familiar Discourses? We speak of Virtue, and Vice (Answered Ignatius) and we endeavour the best we can, to represent the Beauty of the one, and the Deformity of the other. Truly you are pleasant Men (said the Subprior) that you dare Discourse to the People of Virtue, and Vice, without being either Philosophers, or Divines. You have therefore infused Knowledges (he added, in a tone of Derision) since they are not acquired by study, and you would do me a kindness to tell me, what those Revelations are, that you have had.  
Ignatius judged, that such a Question did not deserve an Answer. He held his peace, and though often urged by the Subprior to give him an Answer, he only said, Father 'tis enough; if you please let us stop here, I will Answer no farther, till my Ecclesiastical Superiors, to whom I owe Obedience, shall Command me. But I will make you speak (said the angry Subprior) your silence sufficiently shows, that there is something very unwarrantable in your Doctrine. And then looking upon Calisto, who was at that time a little oddly dressed, We need but look upon you (said he) to Judge, that you affect singularity, and that Novelties please you. This Companion of Ignatius coming to Salamanca, met a Pilgrim upon the Road extremely poor, to whom he gave his new clothes in Exchange of the Pilgrims old ones, which consisted of a pitiful Jacket too short for him, and a Hat with broad brims all worn out, all which together made but a ridiculous Figure of him: He truly confessed what had happened, to take away the suspicion conceived against them. But the Subprior, no more satisfied with the Answer of Calisto, then with the silence of Ignatius, had them both conducted into a Cell, and there locked them up.  
Three days after, they were carried to Prison by the Order of Frias, Grand Vicar of the Church of Salamanca, and a friend of the Subprior. They put them into a dark Dungeon, as seditious persons, and Heretics, and fettered them together with a great Iron Chain. All the night they spent in singing Hymns, and giving Thanks to Heaven, for having been judged worthy to suffer contumely for the Name of Jesus Christ.  
Upon the first noise of the Imprisonment of Ignatius, all the Town was in an uproar, from all parts they flocked to the Prison, some to see the Prisoners, others to relieve them. Don Francisco Mendoza (who was afterwards Bishop of Burgos and a Cardinal,) going thither, and Condoling Ignatius' misfortune, he asked him, if his Imprisonment was not painful to him. D'ye think (said Ignatius smiling) 'tis any great matter to be in Prison, and in Chains? for my part I confess truly to you, that there are not so many Dungeons, nor Fetters in Salamanca, but that I should be glad of more, for the love of my Saviour Jesus Christ.  
He made almost the same Answer to some Nuns, who mightily compasionating his Condition, wrote to him Letters full of tenderness and grief on his behalf, and of Resentment against those, who had made him be arrested. But he condemned these Sentiments of Nature in them, and told them, it was a sign, that they did not know the Treasures, which are hid under the Crosses we suffer, for the Service of God. This Advertisement had such an effect upon these Religious Women, that they became inflamed with the desire of Humiliations and Sufferings.  
In the mean time Frias, who had much the Character and Spirit of Figneroa, came to interrogate the Prisoners; Ignatius delivered into his hands the Book of his Spiritual Exercises, and told him the Lodging of his other Three Disciples, to the end they might be Examined. Immediately they were apprehended, and put into a Dungeon apart, where they could have no Communication with Ignatius or Calisto.  
The Grand Vicar took the pains himself to read the Book of the Exercises, and afterwards gave it to three Doctors to read, of which one of his own Name was called Frias, the other Paravignas, and the third Isidoro. After they had all four throughly examined it, they sent for Ignatius to come before them, and proposed to him divers Questions, not only upon the Matters contained in his Book of Exercises, but also upon many Theological Points, treated of in the Schools. Ignatius acknowledged to them, that he was no Learned Man: However he answered so to the purpose, that the Doctors were surprised. One of them, to puzzle him, proposed a crabbed and difficult Question to him out of the Canon Law; He answered, he did not know what the Canonists had determined upon that Point, but in Obedience to them he told them his own Opinion of it, which proved to be exactly right and true. They commanded him to explicate to them the first Precept of the Decalogue, in the same manner, as he usually did to the People. He did it, but like a man inspired, and in such a way, as persuaded them that the Holy Ghost spoke by his mouth. This notwithstanding, they again told him, that they much wondered, that he, being no Scholar, as he confessed himself, should undertake in the beginning of his Exercises to determine the difference between a Venial, and a Mortal Sin. To which he plainly answered that they were his Judges; And if he had advanced any thing contrary to Faith, they ought to condemn him: But if his Doctrine of the distinction between a Venial and a Mortal Sin had nothing in it but what was Catholic, he humbly hoped, that they would approve of it.  
At this very time, while they were examining Ignatius, the Prisoners broke open the doors of the Prison, and having killed, or bound the Guards, all made their escape, except the Companions of Ignatius, who were found all alone in the Prison, with the Doors open. This did not a little serve to justify their Innocence. In conclusion after two and twenty days of Imprisonment, the Master and his Disciples were cited before the Judges, to hear their Sentence read; by which they are declared to be good Men, and their Doctrine to be Sound: They are farther permitted to speak of Heavenly things, and to Instruct the People, as much as they please: But, although the difference which Ignatius had set down, between Venial and Mortal Sins, were allowed to be Orthodox by the Judges themselves, they forbade him to touch upon that Point in his Catechisms, or in his Exhortations, till such time, as he had studied four years in Divinity.  
Here we may wonder, that the Lords of Loyola did not appear, during all these Storms, and that, since the Conversion of Ignatius, none of his Family did ever look after him. This possibly may be, either because Ignatius still made it his chief business to conceal his Family, and his Condition, so that his Kindred were wholly Ignorant, what was become of him, or else God might permit, for the greater Perfection of his Servant, that he who had absolutely abandoned the World, should also be forgot by it.  
Ignatius, who desired not his Liberty but for the Service of his Neighbour, was not well satisfied with the last Article of his Sentence. He looked upon it as a Snare laid to catch him. He knew that his Enemies had caused this Article to be inserted, with design of raising new Quarrels, and Complaints against him. Wherefore to avoid the ill Consequence of it, he resolved to leave Salamanca, and even Spain, itself. He had at the same time a strong Inspiration to go for France, to continue or rather to recommence his Studies in the University of Paris, which was at that time the most celebrated in all Europe.  
Having found by Experience, 
He leaves Spain to go into France.  that the little Progress which he had made in Learning at Alcala and Salamanca, did much proceed from his losing time in begging about for his subsistence, he thought that before he entered into a strange Country, he might in Conscience raise a small Fund, wherewith to subsist during his Studies. Wherefore, when he passed through Barcelona, he made no Scruple to accept of the Money, and Bills of Exchange, which his Friends offered him. He left his Companions there, whom he found not over disposed to follow him, and departed alone, about the end of December, however, with design that they should follow him, when he had made their way, and prepared accommodations for them. There was little Security upon the Frontiers of the two Kingdoms, where the Soldiers on both sides robbed, and ill treated Passengers. It was besides a severe Winter, and the Snow which covered all the Ground, made the ways hardly passable. Notwithstanding he performed his Journey without any Disaster, and came to Paris in good health at the beginning of February. 1528.  
The chief End, which Ignatius had in this Voyage, was to advance in Learning. He lodged in the University with some Spanish Students; And that he might be Master of the Latin Tongue, he put himself again to the Study of it in Montaigu College. Whereas he had no love for Money, and had no Inclination to keep it, out of the Principle of Evangelical Poverty, he trusted all that he had with one of his Chamber Fellows: But this Companion of his proved very unfaithful to him; Part of the Money he riotously spent, and the rest he run away with. Ignatius who had no Recruit, was constrained to retire to the Hospital of St▪ James, where Spaniards are received, and which was founded by Charlemagne for the Pilgrims of St▪ James, after he had freed Spain from the Yoke of the Saracens.  
He had only his Lodging in the Hospital, and for his Subsistance, he was forced to beg his Bread from Door to Door: This alteration did much prejudice his Studies, for he lost a great deal of time in procuring Alms about the Town; and Lodging far from the College, he could not be punctual at the Hours of School. He would gladly have been a Servitor to one of the Masters of the College; but with all his diligence and endeavour, he could not obtain so mean an Employment.  
His Poverty however, did not hinder him from exciting to Virtue those of his Acquaintance, and his words made great Impression upon three Spaniards, of which, one was named John de Castro, the other Peralta, and the last Amadore. Having all three made the Spiritual Exercises, they sold all that they had, and gave the Money to the Poor; after which, retiring themselves with Ignatius to the Hospital of St. James', they lived as he did upon Alms.  
The Friends of these young Men mightily blaimed their Conduct, and told them, that their Devotion made them pass for Madmen all over the Town. But seeing that they gained nothing that way upon them, they had recourse to Violence, and one day entered into the Hospital with Armed Men, and took away the three Spaniards against their Will.  
This business made a great Noise. 
He is informed against to the Inquisitor.  Ignatius is accused of concealing bad designs under a Mask of Piety; and two famous Doctors, Peter Ortiz a Spaniard, and James Govea a Portuguese, who were Acquainted with Castro, Peralta, and Amedoer, so openly declaimed, that such a Man, who seduced young Scholars, should be well looked after, that he was informed against to the Inquisitor Matthew Ori, Religious of the Order of St. Dominick, and Prior of the great Convent in St. James' Street.  
Although the Tribunal of the Inquisition was never established in France, in the same manner, as it is in Italy and Spain, yet there have been formerly for many years' Inquisitors, delegated by the Pope, to conserve the purity of Faith, and to keep the People in Obedience to the Church: Twelve years after the death of St. Dominick, who was the first Inquisitor General, commissionated by Pope Innocent the Third, and by Honorius the Third, against the Albigenses, Gregory the Ninth, deputed two Religious of the same Order in the year 1233, to exercise the said Office. And this Apostolical Commission was not only continued in the Convent of Toulouze, but was also extended to many other Monasteries of the Kingdom. One of the Commissioners, named in the cause of the Templars, was the Inquisitor General of France; one of the Examiner's of the Doctrine of John Petit Doctor of the University of Paris, was also such: And the History of the Maid of Orleans tell us, that in the year 1430. John Magistri, Vicegerent of John Graverant Inquisitor of the Faith, was one of her Judges, that five and thirty years after, John Brekal, he also being an Inquisitor, declared her Innocent, together with the Prelates thereunto deputed by Pope Calixtus. From that time to the Reign of Francis the First, it doth not appear, that in France there have been any of this sort of Inquisitors, whether it were, that the Popes did not Judge them necessary in an Age, when Heresies were in a manner extinguished, or that the Princes then reigning, more jealous of their Royal Authority then their Predecessors, would not suffer any thing that seemed to interfere with the Liberty of the Gallican Church.  
Matthew Ori, 
He helps him who had robbed him.  who had received from Pope Clement the Seventh the Office of Inquisitor, by reason of the Heresies rising in Germany, and who was a zealous Man, would have Ignatius brought before him, that he might himself judge of his Doctrine. He caused him to be searched for, but Ignatius was not to be found. At the same time that the three young Spaniards were taken by force out of the Hospital, he received Letters which told him, that he who had robbed him, was fallen sick at Roven, in his return to Spain. The Thief himself wrote, that he was in great want in a Place where he had no Acquaintance; and that without a speedy Relief, he must certainly perish. Ignatius did not at all balance upon what he had to do: At that very moment he departed, hoping to assist, at least to comfort the sick Man, if he could not otherwise help him. His fervour made him go away without eating, and persuaded him, that he should march more nimbly, if he went barefoot. He had gone but a little way, but he found a sadness at his Heart, and a heaviness all over him: However, he haled himself on to Argentevil, much ashamed of his weariness, and reproaching himself with want of Courage at every step that he made. When he had got to the top of the Hill, his sadness and weariness left him. He was filled with spiritual Joys; and without taking any Nourishment, he followed on his way with so much vigour and cheerfulness, that he seemed to fly. He was only necessitated sometimes to stop, that he might sigh at his ease, and give a little Liberty to those Flames of Love, with which his Heart did burn. At last he comes to Roven, and having found out the sick Man, he embraces him, he comforts him, he serves him, he begs Alms for him, and puts him in a Condition of prosecuting his Journey; he moreover procures a place for him in a Merchant's Ship, which was to go for Spain, and gives him Letters of Recommendation for Barcelona. Thus Saints revenge themselves.  
While these things were doing, Ignatius received News from one of his Friends at Paris, to whom he had confided the design of his Journey, that the Inquisitor had caused search to be made after him, and that his absence had rendered him more suspected. This made him with all diligence return back to Paris, where in the first place he immediately presented himself before the Prior of the Dominicans: But the Prior having caused strict enquiry to be made, and not finding any thing amiss in his Doctrine or Conversation, dismissed him without any reproof.  
In the mean time Ignatius suffered a great deal in a Town where the Poor, that are Strangers, have less share in the Charities than the rest, and where Spaniards were not very well looked upon, tho' the Peace of Cambray had newly reconciled the two Crowns. Wherefore his necessity obliged him to follow the counsel of a holy Religious Man, to go into Flanders during the vacancies of Study, so to procure some Subsistance from the Spanish Merchants who Traded at Antwerp and Brussels.  
The first time that he made this Journey, passing through Bruges, he asked an Alms of Ludovicus Vives. This Learned Man being none of those who are puffed up with Science, and who had in him an edifying Charity, made Ignatius eat with him at his Table, upon no other Motive, but of well treating a poor Man. But when he had heard him discourse of Christian Verities, and of the Secrets of an interior Life, he admired the Wisdom more than Natural which appeared in his Discourses, and said by a kind of Inspiration, This man is a Saint: I am mistaken if one day he be not a Founder of some Religious Order.  
This Supply out of Flanders gave him a Subsistance for two years; after which time, not to importune the same People again, he went to seek Relief in England from the Spanish Merchants who resided at London. But in the years following he made no more of these Voyages: for, not only the Spanish Merchants of the Low-Countries, upon the knowledge of his Virtues, returned him their Charities to Paris, but he moreover received a new Recruit from his Friends at Barcelona.  
A Man of Biscay residing at Paris, called John Madera, discovered, I know not by what means, who Ignatius was, and was mightily scandalised at his proling and begging Life, which his poverty reduced him to. Taking him one day apart, he told him with freedom, that the Life he lead was a dishonour to the Illustrious Family of Loyola, and that a Man well born, and of rich Parentage, could not live upon begging Alms, without offending God.  
Tho' Ignatius had no scruple upon it, yet he thought it expedient to consult the Sorbon upon the Point, both for his own security, and chiefly to undeceive Madera: He drew up the Case in these terms; Whether a Gentleman, who having renounced the World to follow Jesus Christ, going about in several Countries to beg Alms, doth any thing against Conscience. The Doctors, to whom he proposed the Case in Writing, all Answered, and put their Hands to it, That there was neither sin, nor the shadow of a sin in it. He showed to Madera the Answer of the Doctors, not so much to justify his own Conduct, as to vindicate the honour of Voluntary Poverty, which has been ennobled by Jesus Christ himself.  
Being thus at repose in the Matter of Subsistance, as well as of Conscience, he began now to advance very fast in Learning. After he had spent eighteen months in the College of Montaign, he made his Course of Philosophy in the College of St. Barbara. His Study was now his principal Employment; and he applied himself to it the more, for that he knew the design which God Almighty had in it. It was upon this Consideration, that during the Course of his Philosophy, he would not give the Spiritual Exercises to several Persons of the Town, nor be engaged in such other Works of Charity, which required much time, and would have distracted his Studies. He even abstained to speak of heavenly things with his Chamber-Fellows in the Hours of Study, because he found, that if he entered upon a Discourse of Piety at those Hours, he had not the power of giving it over, nor of reassuming his Notions of Study.  
But with all this, he no day omitted to take an account of the secret motions of his Heart; And to tame more and more his natural Inclinations, he constantly made the particular Examen of his Conscience, according to the Method set down in the Book of his Spiritual Exercises.  
Tho' the love of Science hindered him from communicating himself outwardly, 
He exhorts the Scholars to Nertue, And what happens to him.  and made him keep those Measures we now spoke of, yet upon good occasions, and at spare hours, he ceased not to entertain the Scholars with the Vanities of the World, the Horror of Sin, and the Pains of Hell.  
Some of them, touched with his Discourses, left their bad Haunts and sinful Commerce, and entered into so Christian a Conduct, that they frequented the Sacraments every Sunday and Festival Day. It being the Custom in the College of St. Barbara, to have Disputations upon those Days, for the Exercise of the young Students, the Master, called John Pegna, soon found that his Scholars were more assiduous at the Church then in the School. He mightily complained of Ignatius; and finding that Devotion did make Philosophy to be every day more and more neglected, he was sofar transported, as to call him the Disturber of the College. But that which most provoked him, was that many of his Scholars left him, to make themselves Religious Men.  
This Professor, who found not his Account in all this, and who leaned a little more to his own Interest then to the spiritual good of his Scholars, demanded Justice of the Principal of the College against Ignatius, declaring, that the Warning which had been given him, served to no purpose; that the evil daily increased; and that the irregularity of one Scholar, which broke all Order in the College, deserved an exemplary punishment.  
Doctor Govea was Principal of St. Barbara: he had a grudge against Ignatius upon the account of the three Spaniards, and particularly for that Amador, for whom he was most concerned, had resolved to embrace Religious Poverty before the end of his Studies. So that he easily suffered himself to be preposessed by Pegna, and without any great Examination of the matter, he resolved to have Ignatius publicly Corrected. They had a Custom at that time for the punishing scandalous Scholars, who debauched their Companions, to assemble the whole College in the great Hall, at the ringing of a Bell; The Regent's came with Rods in their Hands, and every one in their turn gave a Lash to the Delinquent, and this Correction was called The Hall.  
The Design of Pegna was hereby to render Ignatius in a manner infamous, so to hinder young Men, that were of any Quality, from having Communication with him. The Business could not be so secretly carried between the Professor and the Principal, but that Ignatius had intelligence of it from some of his Friends in the College. The thought of so shameful a Punishment gave him at first some horror; But he instantly suppressed this motion of Nature, and instead of disappearing, as his Friends advised him to do, or at least not to come that day to the College, he came and openly presented himself, being glad of the occasion of suffering for a good Cause.  
Yet for all this, he began to consider, that the young Men whom he had reclaimed, might possibly take scandal at his disgrace, and thereupon leave their holy Practices out of humane Respects; that his words would no more have the efficacy of persuading them, and that they would avoid him as a Corrupter of Youth; that altho' this Chastisement might conduce to his own perfection, yet he ought not to suffer any thing that might prejudice the spiritual good of his Neighbour. In fine, his zeal for Souls prevailed above his love of Mortification; so that while all things were prepared for this Execution, Ignatius went to the Principal, who was not yet come out of his Chamber, and following the inward Light which directed him, he modestly declared the Reasons of his Conduct to him, adding withal, by a Sentiment of Christian Generosity, that he was not afraid to suffer for the Cause of Jesus Christ, and that the Prisons of Alcala and Salamanca had prepared him for the most ignominious Affronts.  
Govea, without answering him any thing, took him by the Hand, and lead him into the Hall, where the whole College was assembled: But when they all looked for the Sign of falling on, he threw himself at the Feet of Ignatius, ask his pardon, for too lightly believing false Reports. Then rising up, he publicly declared that Ignatius was a Saint, who had no other aim but the good of Souls, and was disposed to suffer with joy the most infamous Punishments.  
So solemn a Reparation of Honour set all People right, and made the Name of Ignatius famous. The most considerable Persons of the University desired to see him, and among the rest a Doctor, called Martial, who contracted a great Friendship with him, and received from him such lights in the highest Mysteries of Religion, that ever after he called him his Master; not doubting, but that a Man so enlightened in the Matters of Faith, who was yet no Divine by Profession, had been instructed in another School then that of Men.  
Pegna himself, who had raised this Storm, ever after loved Ignatius, and made it his business to improve and advance him in his Studies. To this end he ordered a poor Youth of very good Parts, called Peter Faber, to explicate and repeat to him the Lessons which had been taken up at School. This Faber was a Savoyard, and lived in the College of St. Rarbara, with a young Gentleman of Navarr, called Francis Xaverius, who was not very well accommodated with Means, but almost as poor as Faber himself. They had both ended their Course of Philosophy, and Lodged in the same Chamber. Ignatius, for the convenience of his Studies, came in to them; and by the assistance of Faber made such progress, that his Course being ended, which was of Three years and a half, according to the Usage of that Time, he was judged, after a rigorous Examen, fit to proceed Master of Arts, whereupon he began his Divinity at the Dominicans.  
At this time his zeal for the Conversion of Souls mightily increased upon him, and he clearly saw, that God had appointed him to establish a Company of Apostolical Men to that end, and that he was to choose them himself out of the University of Paris: for now he did not reckon upon those whom he had left at Barcelona. When he was robbed by his Chamber-Fellow, he let them know the ill Condition which that Robbery had put him into, and advised them to make an end of their Studies in Spain: But he had quickly news of them, that they had taken other Measures, and had no thoughts of following him. Three of the four betook themselves again to the World, and ended miserably.  
Caliste, after he had made the Voyage of the Holy Land, went into the East-Indies to enrich himself, and died a Beggar. Artiaga, who had got the promise of a Bishopric in America, passed the Seas, and as soon as he was possessed of his new Establishment, for which he had travelled so far, out of a Principle of Avarice and Ambition, he casually poisoned himself. Cazeres returning to Segovia, where he was born, and leading there a Libertine life, at last took to the Trade of Soldiery, and Served up and down all Europe. He was taken for a Spy in France and in England; and once he was so cruelly tortured, that he remained a lame Man all the rest of his days. The young Frenchman, who had been Page to the Viceroy of Navarr, had more Conduct, and better Fortune than the rest: He became a Religious Man, and peaceably ended his days in a Cloister.  
The first Man upon whom Ignatius cast his Eyes, 
He makes choice of new Companions.  to fill up the places of his unfaithful Companions, was Peter Faber: He had excellent Qualities in him, a good Nature, a solid Wit, a great deal of Prudence and Learning, joined with Humility and Modesty. He did not at first discover to him his whole Design; he only directed him in the way of Virtue, or rather seconded his Inclinations which lead him to it.  
Faber, tho' perfectly chaste, had yet very violent Temptations, which were the more grievous to him, in regard that from his Childhood he had made a Vow of Chastity; so that the least shadow of a sin in that kind caused a horror in him. He endeavoured to overcome these importunate Temptations by continual Fast; but this did not make them cease, or if they diminished a little, he had in the room of them Sentiments of Vainglory, as if by his own strength he had vanquished the Enemy. Whereupon a flood of Scruples broke in upon him. Not knowing one day on which side to turn himself, he made known his Condition to his dear Ignatius, and told him in confidence, that he had a great desire to hide himself in some wild Desert, where he might see nothing to make any impression upon his Senses, and where he might Night and Day mortify his Body.  
Ignatius was too well read in Scruples, not to discern, that so strange a Resolution was a new Temptation. In order to cure Faber, and in curing him to gain him, he made him understand, that the most solitary Places were not always Sanctuaries against the Suggestions of the evil Spirit; that St. Jerome had met with Ideas of the Roman Ladies, even in the middle of the Deserts of Palestine; And that in leaving the World, we are not free from our greatest Enemy, because we always carry ourselves about us: On the other side, that the Macerations of the Body only, were not infallible Remedies against such Temptations; And that there had been many Men extenuated with Fast, who still were exposed to those carnal Suggestions.  
Next he applied himself to conduct his Friend in the way which his practice of a Spiritual Life made him judge most sure and suitable for him. He taught him therefore the use of his particular Examen, so proper to extinguish those corrupt Inclinations which cause a Rebellion of the Flesh against the Spirit. He prescribed to him the Method of interior acts of Virtue, which were directly opposite to each particular Temptation. And this Method consists in humbling ourselves, for example, in the prospect of our Nothingness and of our Sins, when a thought of Vainglory assaults us. In the matter of Scruples, he so well quieted the Conscience of Faber, that he put him in a Condition of making a General Confession, without any difficulty.  
Having cured in this manner his spiritual Infirmities, he formed him by degrees to solid Virtue, by his Discourses and Lessons upon Christian Perfection: but he did it with some reserves; for tho' he had an earnest desire to make him his first Companion, yet he would not touch upon that Point till after two years of trial; when one day entertaining him with the things of God, he said, (to sound him) that he had a desire to go into the Levant, as soon as he had ended his Divinity, and to employ himself wholly in the Conversion of Infidels. For Ignatius was not discouraged by the bad success of his Jerusalem Voyage, and he still imagined that God would be served by him in the Holy Land.  
Faber, who had been for some time deliberating upon the Course of life he should choose, presently took fire; and, as if the Holy Ghost had at that moment determined his Choice, embracing Ignatius with great affection, he told him, I will follow you, and I will follow you even to death: Yet before he did absolutely engage himself, he resolved to go into his own Country. He was born in a Village called Villaret, which belongs to the Diocese of Geneva. When he was young, he was put to keep Sheep; but his strong inclination to learn the Latin Tongue made him leave those Country Employments. After he had Studied a while in a small neighbouring Town under a Master who was a very holy Man, he was sent to Paris by the counsel of Don George Faber, his near Kinsman, and Prior of a Monastery of Carthusians in Savoy.  
During the absence of Faber, Ignatius undertook to gain Xaverius, who then taught Philosophy. Xaverius had a sprightly Wit, an agreeable Humour, a generous Soul, and a great purity of Manners; but he was naturally vain, and loved ostentation. Whareas' the Quality of his Birth, his natutural Parts, and his progress in Learning, had raised his Expectations in the World (notwithstanding the ill Condition of his impoverished Family) he pretended to advance himself by Ecclesiastical Preferments; and according to the custom of ambitious Men, who feed themselves with Chimeras, he framed to himself the obtaining great Advantages, upon the least appearances. Ignatius believed, that a Genius of this Character and Mould, being turned the right way, might do great things in the Service of God, but that it would be a very hard matter to bring him into a right temper to be wrought upon.  
In effect, 
He Converts divers Persons.  that innate Tumour of Vanity and Pride, made useless all the first Essays, and Discourses of a Man, who only spoke of the Contempt of worldly Greatness. He would hardly give ear to him, and instead of believing him, civilly raillied him. This did not dishearten Ignatius. To insinuate himself by degrees into the good liking of our young Professor, he commended his natural Talents, congratulated his Reputation, applauded in public the ingenuity of his Answers, and made it his business to procure him Scholars.  
But the zeal of Ignatius was not confined within the Walls of St. Barbara. He began to speak French, and was not now afraid that his Works of Piety would injure his Studies. It is not to be told, of how many Expedients he served himself, for the Conversion of Sinners. A Man of his Acquaintance was desperately in Love with a Woman, who lived in a Village near Paris, with whom he held a sinful Commerce. Ignatius employed all Reasons, both Humane and Divine, to cure him of this shameful Passion: But his Remonstrances were lost upon a Man, absorbed in carnal Pleasures; and without the strange Remedy, which he invented, the Disease had been incurable.  
Having learned out the way which this Person used to pass in going to this Woman, he waits for him near a Pond side, which the Cold of the Season had almost quite turned to Ice. As soon as he perceived him coming at a distance, he stripped himself, and stood up to the Neck in the Water; Whither do you go, unhappy Wretch? (cried he, when he saw him draw near) whither d'ye go? done't you hear the Thunder breaking over your Head? done't ye see the fiery Darts of Divine Justice ready to strike you? Well then, (he continued with a terrible Voice) go, satisfy your brutal Passion, here will I suffer for you, till the wrath of Heaven be appeased. The lascivious Man, frighted with these Words, and at the same time confounded with the Charity of Ignatius, whose Voice he knew, began to open his Eyes, grew ashamed of his sin, and returned back, with the design of wholly changing his Life.  
Ignatius showed his Industry in another way, to reduce a Religious Man, who was a Priest, but who dishonoured his Character and Profession by a scandalous Life. He went to him upon a Sunday Morning, desiring him to hear his Confession; and under pretence of quieting the Scruples of his Conscience, he made a general Confession to him. While the Penitent accused himself of his ancient Disorders with an extraordinary feeling and remorse, the Confessor began to feel an inward confusion, upon the account of his own dissolute Life, which now appeared to him the more criminal, for that the Sins of a Religious Man are of greater guilt than those of Men in the World.  
He also reproached to himself the hardness of his Heart, when he saw Ignatius lament with so many Tears his past Disorders: In conclusion, his Heart was mollified, and before the Confession was ended, he found himself touched with a true Repentance. He communicated to Ignatius the state and condition of his Soul, and asked his advice and help, to raise him out of that dismal Gulf into which his Sins had cast him. Ignatius prescribed to this Religious Man his Spiritual Exercises so successfully, that in a little time he put him into the way of Perfection.  
Going one day to see a certain Person upon a business of Charity, he found him playing at Billiards: This was a Doctor of Divinity, eminent for his Birth and for his Learning, regular enough in his Manners, but not very devout, and more taken up with secular Business then with his spiritual Advancement. The Doctor invited Ignatius to play: He excused himself, because he knew not the Game; but the other still pressing him, and even his own Virtue inclining him to a complacence, What shall we play for? (said he pleasantly to the Doctor) a poor Man as I am cannot play for Money, and there is no pleasure in playing for nothing; I will tell you then (he added) what we must do: If I lose, I will Serve you for a whole Month, and do exactly all that you shall command me; and if you lose, you shall only do one thing that I will ask of you. The Doctor being in a merry humour, readily accepted the Condition: They played, and Ignatius won, he who never before had played at Billiards. The Doctor thinking there might be something extraordinary and mysterious in this matter, resolved to obey Ignatius. According to, and under his Direction, he made the Spiritual Exercises a whole Month, and so profited by them, that he became an Interior Man.  
Among those which Ignatius had brought into the way of Devotion, one there was who fell back, and was even upon the point of totally forgetting God: The Saint spared no Advertisements to resettle him in Virtue; but not being able to obtain any thing upon him, he Fasted three whole days without eating or drinking, weeping at the foot of the Altars, and praying without intermission. His Fasting, his Tears, and his Prayers obtained mercy from Heaven, and restored the spirit of compunction and fervour upon him for whom he did this Penance.  
Ignatius also at this time attended to Works of Charity in the Hospitals. One day he helped to dress the Sores of a poor Man, all covered with Ulcers, whose Disease had something of Contagious. Whereas in the Dressing him he was forced several times to touch the affected Parts, he was seized with an apprehension, that his Hands might be infected; and this fear did somewhat cool his charity for such Employments: But upon reflection he condemned himself for his weakness, and with great remorse he clapped his Hand into his Mouth, saying, Since thou art so afraid for one part only, the whole Body shall take its share. From that time forwards he vanquished his fear, and returned to those Actions of Charity with greater fervour than ever.  
In this while Faber came back from Savoy, absolutely disposed to have no other Father but Ignatius, having now disengaged himself from the Ties of Flesh and Blood. Tho' Ignatius found in him a ripe Judgement, and solid Virtue, yet farther to try and fortify him, he resolved to give him the Spiritual Exercises, before he would communicate to him his whole purpose and design. Faber entered upon them in the middle of Winter, not in the College of St. Barbara, but in a House where Ignatius had hired a Chamber for him, in the Street of St. James. The fervour which our Recluse felt in his Meditations, obliged him often to go down into a little Court to take fresh Air: There he remained sometimes whole Hours together, and not seldom a good part of the Night. He Fasted six Days together, without any Nourishment but the Holy Eucharist, and would have still so continued, as long as his strength would have permitted, if Ignatius, seeing him brought very low, had not commanded him to eat.  
Faber, in the time of his retirement, clearly saw that Heaven had ordained him to be a Companion of Ignatius: So that when he came back to the College, he led so holy and so exemplary a Life, that Ignatius made no farther difficulty of opening fully to him his whole Design. He then declared his Resolution of gathering together Evangelical Workmen to labour in the Vineyard, for the gaining of Souls to God; and from that time forwards he looked upon him as his beloved Son in Christ Jesus.  
Now also had the Compliances of Ignatius, and the many good Offices he had done to Xaverius, wrought a greater tractableness and condescension in him. The great alteration in Faber's way of Living, did much run in his Head, and raised Reflections in him upon his own State, which did not a little stagger him. At the same time he came to understand the Quality and Birth of Ignatius; after which, his Discourse appeared more rational to him then before, as if the Condition of the Person had given weight and authority to his Words.  
Ignatius, who watched all the Motions of Xaverius, seeing him one day disposed to hearken to him, did thus press him more closely than before; Xaverius, what will it avail a man to gain the whole World, and to lose his soul? If there were no other Life but the present, and no other Glory but that of the World, you would have reason to take care only how to appear in it, and to raise your Fortunes among Men; But if there be an Eternity, as undoubtedly there is, with what sense can you place all your Desires here below, and prefer that which passes as a Dream, to that which never will have end? Believe me, (said he) the vain Honours of the Earth are too poor and inconsiderable for so generous a Heart as yours: The Kingdom of Heaven is only worthy of it. I do not pretend to extinguish that noble Ardour which you have for Glory, nor to inspire you with mean thoughts: Be Ambitious, be Magnanimous; but levelly your Ambition to a higher Mark, and show the greatness of your Soul, by despising all that is beneath it.  
Xaverius at that time was so disposed, that he could not hold out against the strength and kindness of these reasons. After some little strife within himself, at last he yielded, and made himself a Disciple of Ignatius. The School he then taught would not permit him to make the Spiritual Exercises before the Vacation; but the pious Entertainments he had with Ignatius and Faber, served him instead of them.  
A certain Spaniard of mean Birth, and worse Life, called Michael Navarr, who pretended a great concern for Xaverius, could not endure this Change, which broke all their Commerce: His rage fell upon the Author of it, and he believed, that by the death of Ignatius he might again possess the Friendship of Xaverius: He resolved therefore to kill him; and to that end he set up a Ladder one Night to the Window of Ignatius' Chamber: But while he was getting up, he heard a threatening Voice, which said to him, Whither dost thou go, thou wretched Man? what dost thou mean to do? At which he retired trembling and aghast, and acknowledged the horror of his Crime.  
The late conquest which Ignatius made with so much industry and labour, was followed by another of less difficulty. Two young Men of extraordinary Parts, both at once came in unlooked for to him; one of them, called James Laynez, born at Almazan in the Diocese of Siguents, was but One and twenty years old: The other, called Alphonso Salmeron, born near Toledo, and only Eighteen years of age; and yet he was Master of the Greek and Hebrew Tongues. They had both studied their Philosophy at Alcala, where they had heard the Fame of Ignatius, as of a Saint. The desire of seeing him, and of putting themselves under his Conduct, no less induced them to come to Paris, than their love and design of Learning.  
It was an effect of Chance, or rather of Providence, that Ignatius was the first Man they met, entering into the Town. Such an Air of Prudence and of Holiness as appeared in his Countenance, so struck Laynez, who had never seen him, that at first sight he doubted not but this was the Man. They both made their application to him, and were ravished with Joy, to find in him the Person for whose sake they had taken so long a Journey. Ignatius, who appeared as if he had gone purposely out to meet them, embraced them as Angels sent from Heaven, and received them with great affection into the number of his Disciples. They passed the trial of the Spiritual Exercises, and came out of their Retirement so inspired with the zeal of Souls, that they longed for nothing more than to labour in an Apostolic Life.  
Another Spaniard, named Nicholas Alphonso, and surnamed Bobadilla from the Place of his Birth, which is a Village near Palenza in the Kingdom of Leon, was called to the same Employment; but after a different manner. This was a poor young Man, of a very good Wit, who had taught Philosophy at Valladolid, before he came in to France. His Poverty more than once made him have recourse to Ignatius, who had wherewithal to live decently, upon the Charities which came in to him from all Parts, and who thereby was in a Condition to assist necessitous Scholars.  
Ignatius discovered rare Talents in Bobadilla, and remembering that the Poor had been chosen by the Son of God to Preach his Gospel, he believed that this Person might prove a very fit Workman for that purpose. He drew him by degrees with spiritual Discourses, which he entertained him with before he gave him any Alms; and having tried him in a Retirement, as the others, he made him his Fifth Companion.  
The Sixth was a Portugueze Gentleman, called Simon Rodriguez d'Azevedo, a comely Person, and very ingenious; God had prevented him from his Infancy with the Gift of an Angelical Purity: and his Father at his Deathbed looking upon him in the Arms of his Mother, This Infant (he said) will one day do great Service to the Church of God.  
Rodriguez had Studied some Years at Paris, and was maintained in his Studies by the King of Portugal. He first knew Ignatius before Laynez, Salmeron, or Bobadilla, but after them he put himself under his Direction. He had always in him a certain zeal for the Conversion of Infidels, and a desire of making the Voyage of the Holy Land. Ignatius observing these motions in him, so conformable to his own, without discovering himself wholly to him, intended to gain him: But finding that his Designs for Jerusalem hindered him from associating himself with them, he then declared to him, what he had done before to Faber, concerning his own Resolutions in that matter, and at the same instant Rodriguez delivered himself up entirely to Ignatius.  
Tho' the choice of these six Persons was very happy, and promised something extraordinary, yet Ignatius judged, that unless they did all propose to themselves the same End, nothing would be done. On the other side, remembering the inconstancy of his first Companions, and making reflection upon the lightness and uncertainty of humane Resolutions, he persuaded himself, that how good soever the present Inclinations of his new Disciples were, it was expedient to fix them by some indispensable Engagements.  
To which end, 
He proposes to his Companions his design of gaining Souls.  calling them one day together, after he had first caused each of them in particular to Pray and to Fast, and to beg of Almighty God his Light to direct them in the way they ought to serve him, he then told them, his design was to imitate our Saviour Jesus Christ in the most perfect manner he could: That he (God and Man) had no other aim in the whole course of his Life, but the Redemption of Mankind: That to follow him close, he purposed to labour for his own Perfection, and for the saving his Neighbour's Soul; That he was not ignorant, that Solitude had something in it more delightful, but that all things must yield to the Interests of God's Glory: That however, in losing a little repose, there was to be gained an infinity of Graces and Merits; and that after all, it did not import whether we gained or we lost, so that Souls might be saved; that the Apostles had lived in this sort, after the Example of their Master; and that, this kind of Life, was undoubtedly the most noble, and the most perfect.  
He added, That having considered all the Countries in which the Glory of God, and the Salvation of our Neighbour might be procured, he knew none that offered a more plentiful Harvest, and that was more abandoned, deserving least to be so, then Palestine; that having been himself upon the Place, he could not behold without extreme grief, that Land where our Saviour had Redeemed Humane Kind, lie under the Bondage of Infidels; that he was inflamed with a desire of returning thither, and that he should esteem himself most happy, in shedding his Blood for Religion, in a Country which had been Sanctified by that of God and Man. He said all this with such a fervency of Spirit, that the flame even appeared in his Countenance. His whole Discourse he closed, with telling them, that in expectation of a proper season to execute this his design, he would at present oblige himself by a Vow, to make the Voyage of Jerusalem, and wholly to renounce all things of this World.  
Scarce had he ended speaking, when they all, as one Man, declared, that they had the same thoughts, and the same intentions; whether it were, that his Discourse had wrought them to that unanimity, or that they were all at the same time alike Inspired by God. After which, Recognising him for their Father, and cordially embracing one the other, they interchangeably promised never to separate.  
Before this meeting broke up, a Question was moved, whether in case they could have no means to pass into the Holy Land, they should be obliged to Preach the Gospel in other parts. The matter being Examined and Debated, they Agreed, according to the Advice proposed by Ignatius, that when they were at Venice, if they could not in a years time procure any Accommodation for that Journey, they should then be released from that part of their Vow, which concerned Palestine; but that, in lieu thereof, they should go to Rome, and offer their Services to the Vicar of Jesus Christ, to be sent into what part of the World, he pleased.  
In the interim, for that the greatest part of them had not finished their Divinity, Ignatius was of opinion, that they ought not to shorten their Studies; being persuaded, that great Erterprises must be estabished upon solid Foundations, and that there would be temerity in taking upon them the Evangelical Ministry, without an Exact knowledge of the Mysteries, and Principles of Religion.  
And to the End, that all of them might adjust their measures, he judged it expedient to prefix a certain term for the ending of their Studies, which was, from that present July of the year 1534, to the Twenty fifth of January of the year 1537. He Judged it also necessary, that their fervour might not cool in them, to expedite the making of that Vow, which they had agreed upon; for which doing, he appointed the Fifteenth of August following, 
Ignatius and his Companions make their first Vow at Montmartyr.  being the Feast of the Assumption of our Blessed Lady: But, that this might be performed with the Solemnity and Devotion, which such an Action requires, he chose Montmartyr for the place of the Ceremony. This is a Monastery near Paris, upon a Hill, made Holy by the Blood of Martyrs, whence it derives its Name.  
At the appointed time, and place, they all met. Peter Faber, who since his Exercises had received the order of Priesthood, said Mass to them, and gave them the Holy Communion in a Chapel under. Ground, where it is believed, that the Apostle of France, St. Denis was beheaded, which is therefore called in Ancient Records the Chapel of the Holy Martyr.  
After they had Received the Holy Communion, they all made their Vows, with a loud and distinct Voice, of undertaking, within the time prescribed, their Journey to Jerusalem, for the Conversion of the Infidels in those parts; of leaving all things, which they possessed in this World, excepting only, what was necessary for their Journey thither; and, in case they could not enter into, or remain in that place, of going to cast themselves at the Feet of the Pope, as it had been agreed upon. They farther obliged themselves to ask nothing for performing their Functions; not only to the end of being more free and disentangled in their Ministry, but also to stop the Mouths of the Lutherans, who reproached Ecclesiastical Ministers with enriching themselves by the Dispensation of Holy things.  
Nor was it without a particular design of Providence, that among so many places of Piety, which are in and about Paris, this new Patriarch should choose Montmartyr, there to lay the Foundation of his Order: Heaven, who Inspired that thought into him, made him without doubt, comprehend, that a Society, which should one day shed their Blood for the Honour of Jesus Christ, and was to be persecuted in all the different ways, in which the Church of God had formerly been, aught to be born in the Sepulchre of Martyrs.  
Nor was it again without Mystery, that they chose the Feast of our Blessed Lady for so Important an Action. It was necessary, that a Society wearing the Name and Livery of Jesus, should be born under the Auspicious Patronage of Mary; and that the Queen of Virgins should be the Protectress of an Order, which makes profession of Angelical Purity.  
This business being over, 
He applieth himself to form his Companions.  Ignatius made it his chiefest care to keep up the fervour of his Companions, and to maintain a perfect union among them. He prescribed to them all, the same practices of Piety; of making every day the same Meditations, and of doing the same Penances; of having Conferences together about Spiritual matters; of diligently reading the Book of the Imitation of Christ; of Examining their Conscience often in the day; of Confessing and Communicating every Sunday and Holiday. But lest their Devotions and Studies should interfere one with the other, to the prejudice of either, he himself regulated the times of each Employment. And least, notwithstanding all these precautions, their first fervour might insensibly relax, he advised himself of an expedient, altogether new, which was to make them reiterate their Vows every year, upon the same day of the Assumption, and with the same Ceremony.  
He continually exhorted them to love one another, and to live like Brothers; and because they did not lodge all in one House, he obliged them often to intervisit, and to walk abroad together, and sometimes to make little Repasts, which might breed a kindness and familiarity among them, conformably to the Agapes, or Commessations of the Primitive Christians, in which he would sometimes himself be of the Party, when his other occasions gave him leave.  
There were many persons at this time in Paris, leaning towards the new sprung Heresies. Francis the First designing to re-establish Learning in France, invited Learned Men thither from all parts. Some of them, coming out of Germany to be Professors of the Greek and Hebrew Tongues, insinuated Lutheranism into many of the University: The Queen of Navarr, who had been seduced by Roussel, Bishop of Oleron, a secret Partisan of Luther, favoured the Lutherans at Court, and gave countenance to their Errors. On the other side, the Sacramentarians, who also endeavoured to introduce themselves into France, scattered about their Libels in all places, against the holy Sacrament, and such was their Impudence, that they fixed some of them upon the Gates of the Lovure: Calvin also, being returned from Bourges, where during his Study of the Law, he had learned of Volmar, a Germane, his First Notions of a New Gospel, had now published, and spread abroad the Doctrine of Luther, and of Zuinglius.  
Although the King were a great hater of Heresy, as he made it appear, in publicly protesting, that if his right Arm were infected with that Plague, he would immediately cut it off, and also in condemning to the Fire the Authors of Sacrilegious Libels, yet those Novelties ceased not to spread, and to gain Ground by degrees.  
The principal employment of Ignatius at that time was to confirm Catholics in their Ancient Belief, and to make Heretics sensible of their Errors. He caused many to return; who had abjured their Faith, and he brought them to the Inquisitor, to be reconciled to the Church.  
But while Ignatius laboured to stifle these growing Errors, he did not forget his dear Sons in Christ Jesus; he offered them every day to God, and offered himself in Sacrifice for them. He had a custom of retiring himself to the Church of our Lady in the Fields, which is at present the Church of the Carmelites, in the Suburbs of St. James; and there he spent whole days in the contemplation of Divine Mysteries. He also sometimes withdrew himself into a deep and dark Grotte at Montmartyr, which represented to him his Cave of Manreza; And in this place it was, that he used his severest Austerities.  
These new Rigours mightily abated his Natural Strength, and augmented the pains of his Stomach, which were now returned upon him again; so that he fell by degrees into so languishing a weakness, as hindered him from applying himself to the Exercises either of Piety or Study. His health not having been very good, since his coming into France, and not having found any benefit from the Remedies he used, the Physicians were of opinion, that the Air of Paris was noxious to him, and that nothing but his own Country Air would recover him. His Companions, who had so much the more care, and disquiet for his weakness, by how much the less he minded himself, joined all together in conjuring him to follow the advice of the Physicians; and they importuned him so much, that notwithstanding his great difficulty in being separated from them, he at last submitted. But there were other reasons, besides those of his health, which contributed to that Resolution.  
Xaverius, Salmeron, and Laynez had some Domestic affairs, which obliged them to go into Spain, before they could absolutely renounce all their Worldly goods. He was afraid lest this Voyage might slacken their Vocation, and that, as fervent as they were, they might want strength to resist the Caresses, and the Tears of their Families; So that, not to expose the Virtue of these three young Men, from whom he expected great matters, he thought it expedient to charge himself with their several Affairs, and to do their business for them. On the other side, it occurred to him, that having in his youth given so much bad example in his own Country, it would be proper to repair that scandal, and show, at least to his own Kindred, how much through the mercy of God, he contemned Worldly Greatness.  
While he was making ready for his Journey, 
He is again informed against to the Inquisitor.  some ill-minded people published about the Town, that Ignatius and his Companions were suspected of being a little infected with the Novelties of Germany; that so Austere a kind of Life in young Men, did denote a headiness and singularity, peculiar to Heresy; and that so straight a League between Persons, so different in condition, could not proceed, but from a Spirit of Faction. Ignatius was advertised of the rumour, which went about, and knew moreover, that they had accused him a fresh, before the Inquisitor, Matthew Ori. The principle Accusation fell upon the Book of Exercises, where his Enemies pretended the whole venom of his Doctrine lay, and which they called the Mysterious Book.  
Judging, that a good Reputation was necessary to the Preachers of the Gospel, and fearing lest his Departure should be taken for a kind of Flight, if he left France without justifying himself, he went in person to the Inquisitor, and prayed him not only to examine his cause, but to pronounce sentence therein in due form. When I was single (said he) the words of Men did not affect me; but now that I have Companions, and am called with them, to Evangelical Functions, I must take care of their honour, and my own.  
The Inquisitor, who knew by former experience, how much Ignatius abhorred Heresy, and not finding any thing in his Conduct that was irregular, told him, that he did not so much as give ear to his Accusers, knowing that their Accusations had neither Foundation nor appearance. However he desired to see his Book of Exercises, not so much to examine it, as to read it. He read it through, and was so Edified with it, that he desired Ignatius' leave to transcribe it for his own particular profit, and for the Spiritual advancement of those Persons, whom he directed. Ignatius gave way to it; but not contenting himself with these Testimonies, which were not Authentic, and desiring to leave a clear Reputation behind him to his Disciples, he appeared one day before the Inquisitor, with a Notary, and two or three Doctors of Sorbon. He prayed him, in their presence to give him an Attestation in writing, to certify, that he had been unjustly Accused, and that the Book of Exercises contained in it no unsound Doctrine. The Inquisitor made no difficulty of doing what Ignatius desired; But he set forth his Attestation with so many Eulogies and Commendations, that Ignatius was much confounded at them.  
There being nothing now to hinder his Journey, he took leave of his Companions, 
He returns into his own Country.  after having more than once Exhorted them to Constancy, and commanded them to obey Peter Faber, who was the only Priest among them, and whom they all honoured as their Senior. He Agreed with them before his Departure, which was in the beginning of the year 1535. that when he had recovered his health, and ended his business, he would go and stay for them at Venice; and that they should come away upon the five and twentieth of January of the year 1537, and meet him there. His weakness would not permit him to make his Journey a Foot. He rod on a Horse, which his Companions had bought for him; but he had scarcely past the Pyreneans, and breathed the Air of Guypuscoa, when he found a great amendment in his health.  
Being at two League's distance from Loyola, he was known by John d'Equibar, who had formerly seen him there, and used to frequent the place: This person arrived at the Inn a little after Ignatius, and asked the Host what company he had: He told him that there was only one Horseman, not very well accoutred, but who had a good Mien, and by his Accent seemed to be one of the Country, Equibar had the Curiosity to see him: They told him that the Cavalier was locked up in his Chamber: He looked upon him through the chink of the Door, and saw him at his Prayers upon his Knees, with a profound Recollection. He presently began to call him to mind, and having well viewed him, he no longer doubted, but that he was the Brother of Don Garcias, Lord of Loyola: For altho' Ignatius were very much changed by his Sicknesses and Austerities, yet he had in his Countenance so particular an Air, and such distinguishing Features, that he was easy to be known.  
Equibar instantly took Horse, to carry the surprising new to Loyola. Don Garcias, who lately had heard that his Brother Ignatius lead a very holy Life in France, was overjoyed at his coming. He had thoughts of going forth to meet him with all his Retinue, and to make him a magnificent Reception; but fearing, lest it might discompose him, he was content to send him an Ecclesiastic of great Reputation, to give him joy of his return. Ignatius kindly received the Compliment from his Brother, but he sent back the Churchman, who would have waited upon him to Loyola; and instead of going thither, he took his way over the Hills to the Town of Azpetia, which lies near it. They of the Town had some incling of Ignatius' coming, and all the Clergy was assembled to pay him their Devoirs, and meet him with Ceremony: So that, coming near the Town, he met this Procession, which waited for him. He got off, as well as he could, from this Ceremonious Compliment, and retired to the Magdalen Hospital. His Brother, and his Nephews, instantly came to him, and conjured him to take his Lodging in the Castle, telling him, it was his home, and that he should be Master there. He Answered them, that since he had changed his course of Life, he did not reckon upon having any home in this World, and that instead of being Master, he only pretended to be a Servant of the Poor.  
Not being able to draw him out of the Hospital, 
The Life which he leads in his own Country.  they sent him a very handsome Bed, and furniture for his Table: But far from lying in it, he lodged upon the Ground, till such time, as they had provided him one of the poor men's Beds: But to conceal this from his Relations, he every Morning tumbled and disordered the fine Bed, of which he made no other use. As for the dishes of Meat, which came every day from the Castle, he treated the poor and the sick persons with them, without touching them himself, and begged his own Bread about the Town. Thus he lived amongst the Poor, and like a poor Man, those three Months, he remained at Azpetia, and in all that time, he went but once to see his friends at Loyola, nor would he then have gone, had it not been to satisfy the extreme Importunity of his Sister in Law, who begged it of him upon her Knees, for the Passion of our Saviour Jesus Christ. During his Visit, his whole Discourse was of the Vanity of the World, and of the blindness of Worldly Men. Whereas he came thither in the Evening, he lodged in the Castle; But he lay upon the Ground all that part of the Night which he did not spend in Prayer, and returned to the Hospital very early in the Morning.  
The sight of those Places, where he had lead a Sensual Life, Inspired him with the thought of renewing his former Austerities. He put on a sharp hair Shirt, girded himself with a great chain of Iron, disciplined himself every Night, so much the more rigorously, by how much he found himself better recovered in his health: But withal this, not to be unprofitable to his Neighbour, he every day taught poor Children the Christian Doctrine.  
Don Garcias, who was a wise Worldling, and who looked upon all these Actions of his Brother with Carnal Eyes, could not endure, that any of the Name of Loyola, should lead so abject a Life, which he several times reproached to him. It mightily disgusted him; to see his Brother constantly with a Troop of little Children about him; and once when Ignatius was going out to Catechise, to dissuade him from it, he told him, that no body would come to hear him. If I have but one Child at my Catechism (replied Ignatius) I shall be very well content with my Auditory.  
Besides this, he Preached every Sunday, and two or three days in the Week. The Churches not being able to contain the great Crowds which flocked to him, he was forced to instruct them in the open Fields. An infinite of People, from all the Neighbouring Towns came to hear him, and many got upon the Trees to see him.  
The first time that he Preached, he told his Auditors, that one of the reasons, which moved him to return into his Country, after an absence of so many years, was to quiet his Conscience, concerning a sin of his youth, and to make satisfaction to an Inhabitant of those parts. The Person, of whom he spoke, was there present, and he had found him out in the Crowd. He told them therefore, that on a certain time, breaking into a Garden with other young Boys, as mad as himself, they stole and spoiled a great quantity of Fruit; that a poor Man was accused of the Theft, put in prison for it, and condemned to pay the Damages. Then he raised his Voice, saying, Be it known to all this Assembly, that in satisfaction of the injustice, and the loss, which that Innocent man has sustained, I do here give and grant to him two Farms, which belong to me. He then called him aloud by his Name, and asked him Pardon before all the People.  
The words of a Preacher, whose Actions are of this sort, will easily persuade. After he had Preached against the Costly and Immodest Attire of Women, it was presently seen, that the richness of their Habits, their undecent Fashions, and naked throats (so common in Spain) did all disappear. The same day, that he spoke against Play, all the Gamesters threw away their Cards and Dice into the River, and not a Man in the Town touched them any more in three years' time. When he Explicated the Ten Commandments, during the ten Days between the Ascension and Pentecost, to prepare the Faithful for receiving the Holy Ghost, he so well acquitted himself, that in the Second day he quite abolished, and exterminated all Blasphemies, and false Oaths, which were too frequent in that Country. The sixth Day made a great Conversion of Courtesans, of which some made long Pilgrimages a foot, and the most famous among them, bound herself to serve the Sick in the Hospital, all the days of her Life, so to Expiate their former sins.  
But Ignatius was in nothing more successful, then in reforming the manners of Churchmen, who thereabouts were great Libertines, and for the most part lived in open Concubinage. He made them change their Conduct, by laying open to them the Holiness of their Profession; and to the end, that temporal punishments might restrain them, if the principles of Christianity would not, he engaged the Magistrates, and all Governors rigorously to execute the Laws against Scandalous Priests.  
He did some other good works, which still last, and will last to the end of the World: For he instituted a Confraternity of the Holy Sacrament, for the relief of the Poor, that are not Beggars, and he founded it with a part of his Estate, which he had not yet renounounced; he Introduced the Custom of Praying at Midday for such as were in Mortal sin; and least time should wear out this practice, he gave something in perpetuity to the daily Ringer of the Bell for this Prayer. He established also the Prayer commonly called the Angelus Domini. He renewed the ancient Custom of the Country, of Praying every Night for the Dead. He engaged his own Family at Loyola, to give every Sunday, in the great Church, twelve Loaves of Bread to so many poor People, in Honour of the twelve Apostles; In conclusion, he did what he pleased in Azpetia; These were the very Words of the Witnesses, who were heard after his Death, in the Process of his Canonization, and who had seen with their own Eyes, what they deposed.  
While Ignatius laboured in this manner at home, 
The number of his Companions is increased.  his Companions followed their Studies at Paris, without intermitting their Works of Piety. They were all animated with his Spirit, and Faber, who Governed in his absence, had so well learned his Maxims, that they all lived as if Ignatius himself had Governed them.  
Their number was then increased by three other Divines, whom Faber found to be very proper to be their Fellow-Labourers, after a due trial made of them in the Spiritual Exercises of their common Father. The First was Claude l' Jay, who was of Anessy, a Man of an extraordinary Genius, and of an excellent Disposition. The Second John Codure, and the Third Pasquier Brovet, both of them Learned Men, and both Frenchmen, one of the Diocese of Ambrun, and the other of Amiens.  
So that the first Fathers of the Society of Jesus, were Ten in number: Upon which Subject a certain Huguenot Writer strains hard for a Conceit, telling us (a little nonsensically) that among the Pythagoreans the number of Ten is surnamed Atlas, and that it is not without Mystery, that Ten Men made up the Foundation of a Society, which upholds the See of Rome, as Atlas doth the Heavens.  
These three last made their first Vow at Mont martyr, when the other six renewed theirs the second time; And they were all so united together, that notwithstanding the difference of Nation and of Humour, they all seemed to have but one Heart and one Soul.  
Such happy News much comforted Ignatius in the absence of his beloved Disciples: 
He cures the Sick.  But the Reputation which he had gained in Biscay did sensibly mortify him; and this was that which made him resolve to hasten his Journey to Venice. He passed every where for a Saint, and the People believed he could do Miracles: Whereupon they brought to him a Woman who had been four years possessed, and had all the signs in her of a true Possession. He remanded her to the Exorcisms of the Church, saying that he was no Priest, and that a Sinner, like himself, had no command over the Devils. But they still pressed him at least to make the Sign of the Cross over the possessed Person, which he could not refuse them to do, and immediately she was delivered.  
Some few days after they brought him a Maid whom the People would needs have to be also Possessed; she was very raging, with violent Contortions over all her Body; Ignatius, when he had beheld her, said she was not Possessed, and that those extraordinary Motions proceeded from a natural Cause; and that if the Devil had any part in it, 'twas only in troubling the Imagination of the sick Person. He made the Sign of the Cross upon her, and her fury presently ceased.  
There was in the Hospital of St. Mary Magdalen, a poor Man called Bastida, who for many years had the Falling-sickness: He had once a long and violent Fit in the presence of Ignatius; the Saint touched with Compassion, lifted his Eyes to Heaven, made an ardent Prayer for the poor Man, and laid his Hand upon his Head; Bastida instantly recovered of his Fit, and was so perfectly cured of his Disease, that it never came more.  
But God, who gives his Servants the power of curing Diseases, for the Glory of his Name, permits them at the same time to be diseased themselves; so to humble them, and to try their patience. Ignatius accordingly had then a great Sickness: He would not be carried to Loyola; but he could not hinder his Kindred's taking care of him. Two Women of Quality, his Cousin-germen, one called Maria Doriola, and the other Simona d' Alzaga, tended him, and continually watched with him.  
One Night, when they were retired into the next Chamber to take a little rest, they heard him sigh in an extraordinary manner. Going in to him, they found him with his Hands joined, his Eyes lifted to Heaven, his Countenance otherwise inflamed then with his Fever; for it shined with such a light, that it dazzled their Eyes. Ignatius was in Confusion to be so found by them, and he earnestly prayed his two Kinswomen to keep it secret.  
As soon as he was cured, he parted from Azpetia, with the great regret of his Family, and of all the Inhabitants. He accepted of a Horse, of Money, and of Servants, to content his Brother, and to part fairly with him; but he had no sooner got to the Confines of Biscay and Navarr, when he rid himself of his Attendance. He went by the Way of Pampelona to the Castle of Xavier, to dispatch the Business of his Disciple Francis Xavier, and afteward to Almazon, and to Toledo, for the Concerns of Salmeron and Laynez.  
Having dispatched all these Affairs, 
What passed betwixt Ignatius and a Carthusian.  he took the Way of Valentia, where he hoped to find the opportunity of a Ship for Venice: While he was waiting for it, he went to Visit Don John de Castro at Segorbe, who had lately made himself a Carthusian in the Charter-House of Val-Christ, and had not yet ended his Noviceship. This was one of the three Spanish Gentlemen, who at Paris being moved with the Discourses and Example of Ignatius, retired themselves into the Hospital of St. James.  
This Novice having a very mature Judgement, and being moreover a great Servant of God, Ignatius told him in confidence his most secret thoughts; That he intended to go into Italy, in order to make a Voyage to the Holy Land; and that there, or elsewhere, he intended to Institute a Society, whose only Aim and Business should be, to perfect their own, and to save their Neighbour's Souls. He set down to him the Scheme and Drift of that Society, in the manner he had then framed it within himself, according to the present light he received from God. He farther told him what Companions he had chosen for executing this Design, a Xaverius, a Laynez, and others not unknown to Castro; and then he asked his counsel in that important Business.  
Casto did not immediately tell him his judgement upon it; but having spent the Night following wholly in Prayer, he came out of his Cell at Break-of-day with a transport of Joy, which he could not moderate, and went in great haste to tell Ignatius, that his Undertaking was the Work of God, and that it should succeed in spite of all the Contradictions of Men, and that all Christendom should receive great Advantages by it: And (said he) to let you see that I do not speak at random, I offer myself to be your Companion and Disciple; for being only a Novice, I am not yet under any Engagement.  
Ignatius received this Testimony of Castro as an Oracle of the Holy Ghost; but far from consenting that this Recluse should leave the Solitude to which God had called him, he exhorted him to persist in so holy a Vocation as his was, and made him understand, that a contemplative Life was his Lot. The thought which this Novice had of changing his State, lets us see, that Persons inspired from Heaven in the behalf of others, are not always so for themselves; and that God made use of Ignatius to resettle Castro, as he did of Castro to fortify Ignatius. The Records of the Charter-House of Val-Christ mention this whole Passage between these two; of which there are besides Juridical Attestations of Don Antonio Martin d' Atarriba, and of Don Andrea Soler, both Carthusians, who deposed that they heard this Transaction from Castro's own Mouth.  
Ignatius more settled then ever in his Design, 
He Embarks for Venice.  went immediately to Valentia, and there went on Board a Merchant's Ship, which parted for Genova. The famous Pirate Barbarossa, who had driven Mulyassen out of the Kingdom of Tunis, was abroad upon the Mediterranean Sea with a Fleet of an hundred Galleys, pillaging the Coasts, seizing all Ships, and every where making Slaves: But so it happens sometimes, that one Evil is the cure of another.  
The most furious Tempest that perhaps ever was known upon the Coasts of Spain, brought this poor Merchant's Ship to the last extremity: The Rudder was carried away with the stress of the Wether, the Masts were broken, the Pilot and Mariners in despair. Among the Cries of so many People, who looked for nothing but present death, Ignatius was the only Person not discomposed, and so acquiescing in the Orders of Heaven, that he had not the least trouble upon him, to see all his holy Projects overthrown: His only sensible grief was for not having corresponded with the Graces of Heaven with that fidelity he ought. But when nothing but Shipwreck was looked for, the Wind, by a miraculous Providence, carried on the Ship to the Port of Genova.  
This was not the only Danger which Ignatius passed through in this Journey: Going from Genova to Bologna, he lost his Way upon the Apennine. After having a great while wandered through difficult Passages, he came at last to a Way wide and even at the entering, but growing by degrees narrow and craggy, which brought him in the end to a steep and upright Mountain, which had at the bottom a great Torrent of Water gushing out of the Rocks.  
Being insensibly engaged into so dangerous a Passage, he stopped with some terror at the sight of Precipices, which were on all sides of him; but after he had implored the succour of Heaven, he took heart again, and not knowing how to go back, he resolved to adventure forwards: Wherefore he crawled up along the Rock, sometimes hanging upon the Shrubs, sometimes upon the Stones, that stood out, always in hazard of rolling down to the Bottom of the Precipice which he saw under him. This adventure was the most perilous of his whole Life, and he was used to say, that without a kind of Miracle, he could never have come out of so great a danger.  
The Rains then falling, did almost drown the ways, by which he so much suffered, that he came very sick to Bologna: Entering into that Town, as he passed over a narrow Bridg, his foot slipped, and he fell into a Ditch full of Mire, out of which he came forth so covered with dirt, that he was a frightful spectacle. However, he was not nice to show himself about the Town, as dirty as he was, and to beg Alms: But whether it were, that his figure made him less acceptable, or that Charity was very cold, he could not all that day get one piece of Bread, and he must have starved, if the Spaniards who in that Town have a rich College, had not taken pity of him. As soon as he had a little recovered his strength, he went forwards on his Journey, and came to Venice about the end of the year 1535.  
From his first coming thither, he employed himself in the Service of his Neighbour, following the Spirit of his Vocation. 
He is employed in the Service of his Neighbour.  Two Brothers, Gentlemen of Navarre, the one called Stephen, the other James d'Eguia, were newly returned from the Holy Land. They both had sentiments of Piety, and some thought of quitting the World, but were held back by other humane motives. Ignatius, who had seen them at Alcala, engaged them to make the Spiritual Exercises, that so they might be well directed in choosing their course of Life. They found, during their retirement, that God had designed them one day to be the Children of Ignatius: They promised to follow in due time the Grace which called them, and they were so true to their engagement, that as soon as the Society of Jesus was formed, they both entered into it.  
There was in the Town another Spaniard of Malaga, of an Ancient Family, that came out of Cordova, and was called James Hozez: He was Bachelor of Divinity, a Man of good Life, and a declared enemy of the Novelties of Germany. The desire of his Spiritual profit made him seek out Ignatius, who had been represented to him, as a great Master in the Science of the Saints: But having learned that he had been suspected of Heresy, in Spain and in France, he durst not wholly rely upon his Conduct. However he one day, resolved to begin the Spiritual Exercises, first Arming himself with preservatives against any Poison, that he might find in them. He took therefore along with him an Abridgement of the Counsels, some of the Holy Fathers, and a great many Books of Divinity, to examine the Doctrine of the Exercises by solid and certain Rules.  
Scarcely had he ended the first Meditations, but he found a Character of Truth, where he was afraid he should have met Errors. Going forwards, he clearly saw that nothing was more Orthodox than the Faith of Ignatius: But that, which most of all convinced him, was what Ignatius himself declared to him of his Sentiments about Religion: That true Christians ought to submit themselves to the decisions of the Church, with the simplicity of an Infant; that in order to this, we are bound to believe, that the Spirit of our Saviour Jesus Christ doth animate his Spouse the Church, and that the same God, who in former times gave the Precepts of the Decalogue, to the Israelites, doth govern at this day the Society of the Faithful: That far from disapproving the Customs in ure among Catholics, we ought always to be provided with reasons to defend them against Libertines, and Heretics; that we must receive with profound submission the Ordinances of Ecclesiastical Superiors; and, when their lives should not be so blameless, as they ought to be, to abstain from speaking against them, because such Invectives always cause Scandal, and make the Sheep revolt from their Pastors; that we cannot too much esteem the Science of Theology, whether Scholastic, or Positive; That the chiefest aim of the Ancient Fathers, was to excite men's hearts to the love of God, but that St. Thomas, and the other Doctors of the last Ages proposed to themselves, to reduce the Principles of Faith, into an exact Method, for more surely confuting Heresies; that we cannot be too wary in speaking of Predistination, and of Grace; and that Preachers ought to be very circumspect, when they treat of those Mysteries, that they may not seem to take away the Power of our free will, and the Merit of good works, in exalting Predestination, and Grace; nor on the other side, to undervalue Predestination and Grace, in raising the Power of our will, and the Merit of our works; that often by exagerating the Excellency of Faith, without any distinction or farther explications, the People are made prone to neglect the practice of Virtues. In conclusion, that tho' it be the part of a good Christian, to serve God out of a Principle of pure love, we must not neglect to recommend the fear of God, nor that only, which we call Filial, which is most Holy, but that also, which is called Servile, because it may help a sinner more readily to get out of his sinful state, and may dispose him to that other fear, which unites the Soul with God.  
All these Articles and Rules of an Orthodox Belief, as the Saint calls them in his Book of Exercises, into which he has inserted them, made Hozez ashamed of the distrust he had concerning the Doctrine of Ignatius, to whom he made a Confession of it, showing him the Books he had Armed himself withal, by way of prevention, and now without any fear, he so adheared to his Director, that he embraced the same form of life, with Ignatius, and his Companions.  
Many Noble Venetians did put themselves under the Direction of Ignatius, as the three Spanish Gentlemen had done, and among the rest, Peter Contarini, Administrator of the Hospital of St. John and Paul, afterwards Bishop of Batto. He found great advantage for a Spiritual life in the Exercises, and if afterwards he did not embrace the institute of Ignatius, as some of the Venetian Nobility did, it was only, that he might be the Protector, and Father of the whole Order.  
The World, 
He is decried in Venice, and afterwards cried up again.  which commonly misconstrues, what it doth not understand, could not look upon the good Actions of Ignatius, without Judging ill of them; They imagined him, to be an Heretic in Masquerade, and that, after he had infected Spain, and France, he was now come to do the same in Italy, some were so mad, as to say, that he had a Familiar, which informed him of every thing, and that when he was discovered in one place, he saved himself in another, before Justice could take hold of him.  
As soon as Ignatius heard what Rumours were spread of him, he applied himself to Jerome Veralli, Nuncius of Paul the Third, with the Republic, humbly to request him, that if according to these Reports, he were culpable, his Process might be made. The Nuntius, having well examined the matter with Gaspar de Doctis his Assessor, and finding no sufficient ground for these Calumnies, he passed a Juridical sentence in favour of Ignatius.  
The esteem, which John Peter Caraffa showed for Ignatius, did not a little serve to dissipate these Slanders. This is that Caraffa, who was exalted to the Sovereign Pontificate under the name of Paul the Fourth, and who before that, leaving the Archbishopric of Theate, to make himself a Colleague of Caietan Thyene, had Founded the Order of Regular Clericks, called Theatins, from the name of the Archbishopric, which by a Spirit of Humility and Penance he had quitted. He was at that time in Venice, and lived the life of an exact Religious man. The great correspondence with Ignatius held with Caraffa, made the World believe, that he was become a Disciple of Caraffa, and thence certainly it came, that the People in those times called Ignatius and his Companions, Theatins.  
In this while, the War was kindled more fircely than ever, between Francis the First, and Charles' the Fifth, by the Death of Francis Sforza, Duke of Milan; both these Princes had pretensions on that Duchy. The Emperor, persuaded that in these occasions, diligence and strength doth best decide matter of right, immediately took up Arms, and made an irruption into Provence, with the choice of his Troops.  
Upon the First rumour of the War, 
His companions go to meet him at Venice.  the Companions of Ignatius, who were not to have departed from Paris, till the 25th. of January of the year ensuing, according to the first agreement, resolved to Anticipate the time of their Journey, and to go out of the Kingdom, before the Passages upon the Frontiers were stopped. They set forth the 15th. of November of the year 1536; with no other Equipage, but a staff in their Hands, and a little Valice on their Backs, in which they carried their Writings. To avoid Provence, they went by the way of Lorraine.  
The whole Troop marched with great Recollection, and modesty, sometimes Praying, sometimes Discoursing of Heavenly things, other while singing Psalms, or Church Hymns. Faber, Le Gay, and Brovet, who were Priests, every day said Mass; the others also Communicated as often, to fortify themselves with the Bread of Life, against all the hazards, and difficulties of their Journey, in so bad a season. They passed through Germany with their Beads about their Necks, as it were to make a public profession of their Faith in those places, where Heresy began to be Triumphant.  
Coming one Night to a Burrow, near Constance, where they were all Heretics, the Lutheran Minister, an Apostate Priest, and who before had been Curate of the Place, followed them into the Inn where they went to lodge: They having a plain and a simple outside, he thought he might deal very well with them, by way of disputation, and gain a signal Victory over nine Papists at once. He began with them by laughing at their Beads, and then fell to Argumentation about Religion. As weary, as they were they would not decline the engagement; and Laynez was the person, who first undertook him; He disputed so vigorously and so solidly, and the Minister was so non-plused, that he cried, Gentlemen, let us go to Supper, and let us Sup altogether, and afterwards we shall be better able to Dispute. They consented to renew the Dispute, but they would not eat with the Heretic. They made a sober Meal by themselves according to their custom, while the Dutchman, in another Room, eat and drank at his own rate. After Supper they resumed the debate, and now a great many People were got together to hear the Disputation: But the Minister, who had drunk a little too plentifully at Supper, not being able to Answer any one Argument of his Adversaries, fell a swearing in his own Tongue, and in great fury went out of the Inn.  
The next Morning they followed on their Journey to Constance, where the Heresy of Luther had been received, both by the Magistrates, and the People. Coming near the Town, hard by the Hospital for the infected of the Plague, they saw an old Woman, who seemed ravished with Joy, at the sight of them and their Beads, and lifting up her hands to Heaven, she made the sign of the Cross. The Lutherans of Constance could not prevail upon her, neither by fair means, nor by foul, to change her Religion; whereupon they banished her out of the Town. The good old Creature often kissed their Beads, and knowing no Language but her own, she made signs to them to stay a little while for her, in the place where they were. She presently went into the Hospital, where her abode was, and returning again, she brought with her a great many pieces of broken Crucifixes, intimating to them, that those were the greatest Treasure she had. To make a kind of Reparation to the Honour of Jesus Christ, so ill treated in Effigies by the Lutherans, they prostrated themselves upon the Snow, which all covered the Ground, and devoutly kissing those broken Crucifixes, they adored the Crucified.  
After which the Woman, returning back to the Hospital, and followed by our Catholic Troop, told those, whom she met; Look ye, you miscreants, what you say is not true, that all the World believes in Luther, and that the Roman Religion is quite extinct, Pray, whence came these Men with their Beads? Are not they of this World?  
The nine Travellers passed out of Germany, notwithstanding the great rigour of the Winter, and after much hardship endured, with their earnest desire of seeing Ignatius made less painful to them, at last they arrived at Venice, the 8th. of January, in the year 1537. Ignatius embraced them all, and wept for joy; he had with him James Hozez, who made the Eleventh of the Company, and was not less fervent, or less learned than the rest.  
Having some leisure time before their going to Rome, 
Ignatius and his Companions are employed in the Hospitals.  to receive the Blessing of His Holiness, for their Voyage to Jerusalem, they advized to dispose and fit themselves for that enterprise by works of Charity, and Humility; for which purpose, they divided their Company into two Hospitals, some went into that of the Incurables, and the rest into that of St. John and St. Paul: They instructed the Ignorant, served the Sick, assisted the Agonizing, and buried the Dead.  
Thus they were employed till Mid-Lent, 
He sends his Companions to Rome.  when they all parted for Rome, except Ignatius; who did not think it convenient to appear in a place, where his presence might possibly be of some prejudice to his Companions; for John Peter Caraffa, the Theatine, who was at Rome, and whom Paul the Third had newly made a Cardinal, seemed at that time very opposite to the designs of Ignatius; whether it were, that he had some resentment, that he, and Hozez, would not incorporate themselves with the Regular Clericks, Founded by him, or that he did a little believe those false reports, spread about in Venice concerning Ignatius.  
The Companions of Ignatius being come to Rome, they were presented to the Pope by Peter Ortiz, that Spanish Doctor, who had received in France ill Impressions concerning Ignatius, but who afterwards, upon better Information, had him in great esteem; He was deputed by the Emperor Charles the 5th. to maintain the Validity of the Marriage of Catherine of Arragon, Queen of England, whom Henry the 8th. had repudiated, to Marry Ann of Bullen. He remembered Faber, Xaverius, and the rest, whom he had seen at Paris; And did them all sorts of good Offices, in consideration of Ignatius. He told the Pope, that they were very Learned men, disengaged from the World, lovers of Poverty, very zealous for the Conversion of Souls, and that the only motive of Preaching the Gospel to Infidels, made them beg leave, to pass into the Holy Land.  
Paul the Third, who loved Men of Learning, and had a custom in time of his Meals, to have the choicest Questions both of Humane, and Divine Sciences, Treated and Discoursed before him, had a mind to see these Persons, whom Ortiz had so commended, and bad the Doctor bring them to him the day following. He proposed to them himself a point of Divinity, upon which they spoke so Learnedly, and with so much respect and modestly, that Charmed with their Discourses, he rose from his Chair, and said with a loud voice, We are Extremely pleased to see so much Erudition, and so much modesty joined together. He asked them, what it was they desired of him, and being told by them, that they only requested, what Otiz had already said, He gave them his Benediction, with all the Marks of a Paternal kindness; telling them withal, that he did not believe, they would be able to make the Voyage of Jerusalem, by reason of the League which was upon making between the Emperor, the Republic of Venice, and the Holy See, against the Turk, and which would break out very suddenly.  
He gave them Sixty crowns of Gold by the hands of Ortiz, and granted to those, who were not yet Priests, permission to receive Holy Orders from any Bishop whatsoever. Ignatius was comprehended in this concession, upon the Testimony, which Ortiz gave his Holiness concerning him, and Cardinal Anthony Pucci Issued forth a Dispensation out of the Penitentiaria, for Alphonso Salmeron, that he might receive the Order of Priesthood, with the rest, at the Age of Twenty years.  
After they had visited the Principal Churches of Rome, they took their way back again to Venice, living upon Alms, and keeping for their Palestine Journey the sixty Crowns of the Pope, with an Hundred and forty more which other Charitable Persons had bestowed upon them. Being come thither they made the Vow of Poverty, and of perpetual Chastity, in the presence of the Nuntius Veralli, and fell to their works of Charity in the Hospitals, which Ignatius had continued in their absence.  
Upon the Nativity of St. John Baptist, 
He receives the Order of Priesthood with his Companions.  they were Ordained Priests by Vincent Nigusanti, Bishop of Arbe, and during the Ceremony, they had such moving sentiments of Religion and Devotion, that the Bishop even with Tears protested, that he had never been so Edified in all the Ordinations, he had ever made.  
In the mean time, the League was concluded; and the Venetians having declared War against the Turk, there was nothing but Armies and Fleets preparing on both sides. Tho' now there was no more Commerce between those two States, nor any hopes of passing into the Levant, yet Ignatius, and his Companions would not go out of the Territories of the Republic, to keep their Vow, which obliged them to expect there one whole year.  
The new made Priests, made use of this time, to prepare and dispose themselves for saying their first Masses, and the better to do it, they went out of Venice into some solitary Places, where nothing but Divine objects might enter into their thoughts; and they chose their quarters in such manner, that altho' they were separated, they might easily come together, in case any opportunity should offer itself, of passing into the Holy Land.  
Ignatius made choice of a forlorn Cottage, 
He prepares himself for his first Mass.  not far from Vicenza, which was ready to fall. He lived there much after the rate of the Ancient Hermit's of Thebais, fasting every day, incessantly Praying, and never coming forth unless to get a little meat: But he received there such overflowing Consolations, that through the abundance of his Tears, he was in danger of losing his sight. and yet after forty Days of Retirement, and Penance, he would not presume to approach the Holy Altar; and tho' his Companions said their first Masses before the end of September, or October, he did not say his, before Christmass-day of the year following deferring it from Month to Month, according to the light which he received from God; still judging himself more and more unworthy for executing that Holy Function: So profound was his Reverence of those Sacred Mysteries.  
Waiting the end of the year, our new Priests, animated with a new Spirit and Fervour, were distributed into the Towns, and Burroughs adjacent to their solitary Mansions, in company of the Ancient standers, who had been formerly Ordained, to labour in their Vocation of saving Souls. Ignatius, Faber, and Laynez, went to Vicenza, Xaverius and Salmeron to Montselioe, Codurus and Hozez to Treutsa, le Jay and Rodriguez to Bassano, Brovet and Bobadilla to Verona; they commonly got upon some Stone, in the middle of Market places, and invited the Passengers to hear them. Whereas they had the mien of Strangers, and spoke bad Italian, the People who took them for Mountebanks, come out of some far Country, flocked about them in great numbers. But God bestowed such power upon their words, that such as came thither only to laugh at them, went away weeping for their sins.  
They only Preached Repentance and Penance, and to look upon their pale and mortified Countenance, they appeared to be true Penitents themselves, who had newly come forth out of some Desert. After having laboured the whole Day, without other sustenance than a little Bread begged from Door to Door; they passed the Night in small Cottages or Huts, lodging on the Ground, with a little Straw under them.  
They could not long hold out in so Austere a course of Life, the greatest part of them fell sick, and amongst the rest Simon Rodriguez was brought to Death's door. He and le Jay were retired into an Hermitage, built on the top of an Hill, near Bassano. The Hermit, who was called Antonio, and was a Holy Man, spared no pains to assist and comfort him, but the Violence of the Disease did not yield to any remedies.  
Upon the first news of this dangerous Sickness, 
He goes to the Relief of one of his Companions who was sick and tempted.  Ignatius parted from Vicenza, which is a days Journey distant from Bassano. He had at that time a lingering Favour upon him, and yet walked so fast, that Faber, who was strong and healthy, could not keep pace with him. Having always the Van of his Companion, he now and then stayed for him, and in these pauses, he begged of God upon his Knees, the Recovery of his Disciple. Nor did he pray in vain, even in his Journey he had an assurance of being heard, and he told Faber, that Rodriguez would not die. However, they found him so ill, that the Physician, who visited him, and the Hermit both despaired of his Life. But Ignatius, embracing the sick Man, confidently told him, fear nothing, Brother, you shall recover. From that moment, Rodriduez began to mend, and in few days was quite recovered.  
But the evil Spirit endeavoured to rob Ignatius of him, whom Heaven had newly restored to him: For Rodriguez, a while after, being charmed with the delights of Solitude, and comparing the quiet life of the Hermit Antonio, with the restlessness and fatigues of Ignatius, was tempted to make himself an Hermit. Nothing unites us more to God (said he within himself) than the Exercises of an interior life: All these outward Employments dissipate the Spirit in Saints, tho' never so great, the Commerce of Men in the World cannot be but dangerous for him, who deals with them, tho' it be to save them, and it is always most secure, only to mind our own Soul.  
These reasons much prevailed upon him; but the remembrance of his Vow, and the consideration of Ignatius, held him in suspense: Not being able to resolve, it came into his thoughts to consult the holy Man Antonio, and implicityly to follow his Council. For this end, stealing away from Ignatius, Faber, and le Jay, with whom he was at Bassano, he went towards the Hermitage. He was hardly got out of the Town, when a Man of a terrible aspect, and of a Giants stature, appeared before him, with a naked Sword in his hand; at first he was terrified: But after a while, thinking it might be only fancy, and that his Eyes deceived him, he followed on his way. Immediately the same Man in a greater rage, than before, looked dreadfully upon him, and threatened him with his Sword, as if he meant to run him through; so that Rodriguez, trembling and frighted, ran back with full speed to the Town. Ignatius received him with open Arms, and with a smile, full of sweetness, Thou man of little Faith (he said) why hast thou doubted? These words made Rodriguez ashamed, but they Confirmed him in his Vocation, and at the same time gave him to understand, that God had revealed the whole matter to Ignatius.  
The Charity, which the Hermit of Bassano had showed to Rodriguez in the time of his Sickness, obliged Ignatius to take his leave of him, before he returned to Vicenza. They had often seen one another; the Recluse, who highly valued his own way of life, and to whom Ignatius did not much communicate himself, had no great esteem for a Man, in whom he saw nothing extraordinary, either in his outside, or in his discourse. This last time of seeing him, he undervalved him even more, then formerly: But when Ignatius was departed, he understood by a light from above, that he, of whom he made so little Reckoning, was a Vessel of Election, and a Man filled with the Spirit of God.   

THE LIFE OF St. IGNATIUS. The Third BOOK.  
THE Year being run out, 
He goes to Rome to offer his Service to the Pope.  and no hopes appearing of a Passage into the Holy Land, Ignatius, who had called his Companions together at Vicenza, gave them to understand, that since the Entrance into Palestine was shut up, they ought not to defer the accomplishing of the other part of their Vow, which obliged them to offer their Service to the Pope.  
Here we cannot too much admire the Conduct of Providence, which doth sometimes infuse Thoughts and Designs into the Minds of Saints, not intending that they should be executed, and yet expecting from them their Obedience and Diligence, towards the Execution of them. It is a thing moreover very remarkable, that the Ships Transporting the Jerusalem Pilgrims, which in the foregoing Years never failed to put to Sea, should only omit going in the Year 1537. Doubtless the Divine Wisdom, which conducted his Servants by secret ways to higher Erterprises than they themselves imagined, did so dispose it for his own Glory.  
It was resolved, that Ignatius, Faber, and Laynez, should first go to Rome, and represent to his Holiness the Intentions of the whole Company; that the rest, in the mean time, should be distributed into the most famous Universities of Italy, to plant and insinuate Piety among the young Students, and to increase their own number with such as God should call in to them. Before they separated, they established a Form of Life, which they were all to follow, and engaged themselves to observe these ensuing Rules.  
1. That they should Lodge in Hospitals, and live only upon Alms. 2. That such as were of a Company, should be Superiors by turns, each in his Week, lest their fervour should carry them too far, if they did not prescribe Limits one to the other, for their Pennances and Labour. 3. That they should Preach in all public Places, and in such other where they could be permitted to do it. That in their Sermons they should set forth the Beauty and Rewards of Virtue, with the Deformity and Punishments of Sin; and that they should do it in a plain Evangelical manner, without the vain Ornaments of Eloquence. 4. That they should teach Children the Christian Doctrine, and the Principles of good Manners. 5. That they should take no Money for executing their Functions, and that in serving their Neighbour, they should seek the Glory of God, and nothing else.  
They all consented to these Articles: 
He gives to his Company the Name of The Society of Jesus.  But in regard they were often asked who they were, and what was their Institute, Ignatius declared to them in precise terms what they were to answer thereunto. He told them, That being united together to fight against Heresies and Vices, under the Standard of Jesus Christ, the only Name which answered their Design, was, The Company of Jesus. He had this Name in his thoughts ever since his retirement at Manreza; and it is believed, that God revealed it to him in his Meditation of the two Standards, in which was showed him the first Draught, and the general Scheme of his Order, by Military Representations.  
But that which happened to him in his Journey to Rome, much confirmed him in the thought, that this Name was inspired by Heaven. In his whole Voyage he every day received the Holy Communion from the Hands of Laynez or Faber. He was all the way in constant Meditation upon the Mysteries of our Saviour, with a feeling Devotion. Lighting upon a ruinous Chapel in the Road from Sienna to Rome, he went all alone into it, to recommend that little Company to God, which he was now going to offer to the Vicar of Jesus Christ. Scarce had he begun his Prayer, when he was rapt in spirit. He saw the Eternal Father, who presented him to his Son; and he saw Jesus Christ loaden with a heavy Cross, who after receiving him from the hands of his Father, said to him these words, I will be propitious to you at Rome. The sight of the Cross astonished him; but the Promise of our Saviour filled him with assurance and strength.  
Being come to himself, he went out of the Chapel with a transported Countenance; and joining his two Companions, I know not, Brethren (he said) what is prepared for us at Rome, and whether we may not be ill treated there; but this I know, that whatever our treatment shall be, Jesus Christ will be propitious to us. After which, to fortify them against all that might happen, he told them what he had seen. This heavenly Visit is one of the most remarkable which St. Ignatius ever had, and is so well attested, that there is no ground for a doubt of it.  
Laynez, when he was General of the Society, made a Relation of it to all the Fathers of Rome, in a Domestical Conference; and Ribadeneira, who first writ the Story of Ignatius, says he was present at it. When any body asked St. Ignatius concerning the Particulars of it, he referred them to Father Laynez, to whom, he said, he had formerly given a true account of it. Nevertheless, at the time when he made the Rules and Constitutions of his Society, and set down the Sentiments which God inspired him with at the Altar, 
Quando el Padre Eterno me puso consu Hijo.  he once writ, that he found himself in the same inward disposition and state as he was when the Eternal Father appeared to him, and recommended, or Put him with his Son, to use the Saints own Term.  
Ignatius, Faber, and Laynez, came to Rome about the end of the Year 1537. At their first arrival they had Audience of his Holiness, Paul the Third, by the means of Ortiz. His Holiness received with joy the Offers which Ignatius made him, and seemed very well satisfied to see him. To try, and employ his new Workmen, he desired that Laynez and Faber might teach Divinity in the College of Sapienza, the first, Scholastic, and the other, the holy Scripture. Ignatius undertook, under his Apostolical Authority, the reformation of Manners, by the means of his Spiritual Exercises, and of Christian Instructions. He first restored all the Money that he and his Companions had received for their Journey of Jerusalem, and he even sent back four Crowns of Gold as far as Valentia, which Martin Perez had given him.  
Cardinal Jaspar Contarini, one of the most Learned Men, and most Ingenious of his Time, was so charmed with the Disinteressedness and Wisdom of Ignatius, that he said he now had met with such a Director as he had long wished and sought for. He gave himself up wholly to him, and in his own Hand wrote out the Book of the Exercises.  
According to the Example of Contarini, 
He goes to Mont-Cassin.  Ortiz put himself under the Direction of Ignatius; But that he might make the Exercises with more liberty, he went out of Rome, and took Ignatius with him to Monte-Cassino. This Place, equally solitary and Religious, seemed to him very proper for his design of forgetting for a whole Month, all the Business of the World, and of minding no other but that of his Soul. As far advanced in years as he was, he made himself Ignatius' Scholar; and he said after his retirement, that the Divinity which he had learned at Monte-Cassino, in the space of Forty days, was incomparably better than that which he had taught in so many years. He said also, there was a great deal of difference between studying to instruct others, and studying to perfect ones self; that in the first we only design to make ourselves able Men, in the second to become Saints. In conclusion, he more valued one single Notion, gained in his Solitude, than all the curious Speculations of humane Sciences.  
In this while Xaverius and Bobadilla were employed in Bologna about saving of Souls; Le Jay and Rodriguez were at the same Work in Ferara, Pasquier and Salmeron in Sienna, Codurus and Hozez in Milan. From Venice their Reputation was every where spread about; and the Marchioness of Pescara being at Ferara, desired to be acquainted with the two who Laboured there. Meeting one of them by accident, she asked, if he were not one of those Priests come into Italy, to go into the Holy Land, and where he Lodged. She was informed by him, that their Journey to Jerusalem was disappointed, and that they Lodged in the Hospital. She went thither the very same day; but before she called for them, she enquired in what manner they lived. She was told that they were great Saints; that they spent part of the Night in Prayer, and in saying their Office together; that every day they begged their Bread about the Town, and would not eat in the Hospital what belonged to the Poor; that, as thin clad as they were, they never came to the Fire in the coldest Wether; that they never spoke but of Heavenly things, and that they were continually employed in the Service of their Neighbour.  
The Marchioness, who had true Sentiments of Piety, was overjoyed to find Directors of this Character. She gave them an account of her Interior, and obliged them to come and Lodge for a time, near her Palace. It was she who first made them known in the Court of Ferara, and who induced the Duke Hercules d'Este to choose Claude le Jay for his Confessor.  
But of three other of Ignatius' Companions, God was pleased to try the Virtue, and to exercise their Patience. Xaverius had a great Sickness at Bologna, of which he was brought to Deaths-door. Codurus and Hozez were put in Prison at Milan, by order of the Bishops Suffragan, who suspected them of ill Designs, and some Contrivances against the State of Venice: But the whole Town was concerned in their behalf; so that they lay but one Night in Prison. As soon as they fell to their Employment again, Hozez was seized with a most violent Fever, which carried him off in few days. The Disease took him after he had newly Preached to the People upon these words of the Gospel, Watch and pray, because you know not the day nor the hour.  
Ignatius, who had the News brought him to Monte-Cassino, of Hozez Sickness, knew it would be mortal. 
He sees the Soul of Hozez enter into Heaven.  At the very instant of his Expiring the Saint saw his Soul, shining and glorious, enter into Heaven, in the same manner as St. Bennet in that Place had formerly seen the Soul of St. Germanus, Bishop of Milan, carried by Angels into Paradise, as it is related by St. Gregory. Ignatius had the same Vision more than once: for being one day hearing Mass, at those words of the Confiteor, Et omnibus Sanctis, he saw Heaven opened, and among the numerous Troop of the Blessed, his Companion more resplendent than the rest; not that he was more holy, or more elevated in Glory, but because God, as Ignatius himself observed, would have him so distinguished, that he might take notice of him. This Vision so wrought upon him, that he wept for many days together. And that which made it appear that it was no Illusion, was, that the Body itself of the Deceased seemed to give some assurance of the glorious state of his Soul: for Hozez, who, living, was of a swarthy Complexion, and very hard-featured, become so handsome and well-coloured after his Death, that Codurus, who never left him, could hardly know him for the same Man.  
To increase his comfort, 
He gets a new Companion.  Ignatius stayed not long without finding another Companion, to fill his room whom he newly had lost, or rather whom it pleased God to take into his own Kingdom: Nor could he reckon it a loss to himself, that this holy Man should be the first to take possession of Heaven, out of that Society which was hardly yet well established upon Earth, and from whom he hoped for more protection (in that blessed State he had seen him) than he could have had service or assistance from him, if he had continued longer in the World.  
Coming back from Monte-Cassino, he met a young Spaniard of his Acquaintance, called Francis Strada, who was come to Rome to make his Fortune. Doctor Ortiz had placed him with Cardinal John Peter Caraffa. But Strada, who was full of spirit and fire, grew quickly weary of a Court, where all things go slowly on. He therefore resolved to turn Soldier, to advance himself that way; and he was then going to find Employment at Naples. It is the custom for Men, uneasy in their Fortunes, to be always complaining. He told Ignatius his Disgusts against the Court of Rome, called it Deceitful and Ungrateful; but still he comforted himself with the prospect of a freer Life, in which at lest he should gain Reputation.  
You have no reason to complain (said Ignatius to him). The World, in deceiving you, has only done what it useth to do: you have rather cause to rejoice, then to complain; for it was rather a Kindness then a Deceit, to let you know at first what the Court is, and how ill-grounded all Hopes are there. This ingrateful World, which has so ill recompensed your Services, doth in a manner itself admonish you to leave it: but you do like him, who suffers Shipwreck upon one Sea, and presently Embarks again upon another. You leave Rome for Naples, as if the Court were not still the Court as well at Naples as at Rome. For my part I have pity of you, not so much for the Hopes you have already lost, as for those you have still before you. If you will not be deceived, renounce all your vain Pretensions upon Earth, and trust only to God, who is only faithful, and can only make you happy.  
These words made such Impressions upon the young Soldier, that he laid down his new Profession to make himself a Disciple of Ignatius. He went back with him to Rome, and in process of time became one of the most famous Preachers of Europe. Other young Men, considerable for their natural Parts and for their Piety, almost at the same time, followed the Example of Strada.  
At this time God bestowed upon Ignatius more distinct Notions of the Institute of which he was to be the Founder, 
He proposes to his Companions the Founding a new Order.  together with a strong desire of Establishing it out of hand. He conferred with Faber and Laynez about it, and he sent for the rest of his Companions, who were dispersed up and down Italy. Upon his first Order they came to Rome about the end of Lent, in the Year 1538. They Lodged all together with a Roman Gentleman, called Guirino Garzonio, whom Ignatius had brought into the Service of God, and whose House he accepted of, that he might Treat more commodiously with his Companions about the great Business in hand.  
Having one day called them together, Can you think, Brethren (said he,) that Providence has gathered us out of so many different Countries, and united us with so straight a band of perfect Charity, with intention, that after so long Studies, and such painful Voyages, every one should go home again at his pleasure? No, no, (he added) God would have us engaged in his Service for ever; and even that we leave behind us Successors that shall embrace the same manner of Life. Heaven has been pleased to stop our Entrance into Palestine, and yet I can say it to the glory of God, that our zeal for his Service has still increased from day to day. Ought we not to judge from thence, that we are called to enlarge the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, not with a single Nation or Country, but with all the Nations and Countries of the World?  
The small number which we were at first, did not suffice for so vast an Enterprise. New Succours are now come in to us, and more are daily coming. But what benefit shall we receive from those who associate with us, if we all live in an Independency? and what great thing can we perform, if our Company be not Erected into a Religious Order, capable of multiplying itself in all Places, and subsisting to the end of the World?  
I doubt not but this Design will meet with great opposition: The Contradiction of Men is a Character and Mark of the Works of God: But neither Earth nor Hell can prevail against the Decrees of the Eternal Wisdom. Jesus Christ has promised us to be favourable to us; and what may we not hope upon his Word? and what can we fear with his Assistance? After all, I am if opinion, that you and I should take a little time to prepare ourselves by Prayer, to make a farther discovery of his Divine Will, and faithfully to Execute it, when it shall appear to us.  
This Discourse of Ignatius fully convinced the whole Company; yet in Obedience to him, they did not deliver their Opinions upon the Matter till they had taken some time to recommend it to God in the manner by him prescribed; which being done, they assembled a second time, and agreed by a common consent, that their Society should be Erected into a Religious Order; that no time ought to be lost in undertaking it; and that the first step to be made, should be to prepare the Mind of the Pope, which seemed to be averse from these new Establishments.  
While they sought out means to bring this to effect, Paul the Third parted from Rome for Nice, a Maritime Town in Provence, where there was to be an Interview between Francis the First, and Charles' the Fifth. The Design of the Pope was to Compose the Differences of those two Princes, by a Treaty of Peace, or at least to obtain of them a long Truce: for he had reason to fear, that their Divisions would hinder the progress of the League made against Soliman.  
It was a great pain to Ignatius, 
He continues his Works of Piety.  to see the Business of God retarded: he drew his comfort only from him, who permitted this delay, and in the mean time he employed himself in the Service of his Neighbour. Having obtained leave of Cardinal Caraffa, whom the Pope had made his Legate in Rome, to Preach in what Places he would, he distributed his Companions into several Churches of the Town. He chose for himself our Ladies of Montserrat, out of the Devotion which he always conserved towards the miraculous Image, which is honoured at the Place of Montserrat, where he made his Renunciation of secular Warfare.  
He Preached very feelingly; and his Talon was to make the Truths of the Gospel enter into the Heart, by laying them forth in a plain manner, such as they are in themselves, and as he himself relished them: so that pious Persons, and of good sense, who used to hear his Sermons, were wont to say, That the Word of God, naked and plain, had in the Mouth of Ignatius its full Majesty and force. Faber, Xaverius, Laynez, and the rest, did also Preach with great fervour, and with no other aim but the good of Souls.  
From their first Sermons there was observed a remarkable change in the Manners of the People. The frequentation of the Sacraments, which was then little in use, was restored according to the Model of the first Ages of Christianity; and 'tis since that time, that so holy a Custom has been introduced into all Catholic Countries, as well as that of making Catechisms to the Children, and Sermons to the People every Sunday and Holiday.  
This Eaungelical Ministry did not hinder Ignatius from often Treating with his Companions concerning the Project of his Institute: 
He confers with his Companions about his Institute.  for tho' he had the Model of it within him, yet he would do nothing in it without their concurrence. Being employed all the day either in instructing the People in public, or in directing Consciences in private, they took the Night for the time of their Consults. They resolved in one of their Assemblies, by the direction of Ignatius, that besides the Vows of Poverty and Chastity, which they had made at Venice, they should make another of perpetual Obedience; the more to conform themselves to the Son of God, who was obedient even to death; That to this end they should elect a Superior General, whom they must all obey, as God himself; That this Superior should be perpetual, and that his Authority should be absolute.  
At another Meeting they agreed, That such as were Professed in their Society, should add to the three Vows of Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience, an express Vow of going wheresoever the Vicar of Jesus Christ should send them, to labour in the Salvation of Souls; and even to go without any Viaticum, and living upon Alms, if his Holiness should think it fit. They had also other Conferences, where they resolved, That the Professed should possess nothing, neither in particular nor in common: but that in the Universities they might have Colleges with Revenues and Rents, for the subsistence of those who Study.  
After this manner they were employed, 
He opposes an Heretical Preacher.  in expectation of the Pope's return; and the Blessing which God bestowed upon their Labours, made them hope for a happy success in their grand Design; when on the sudden a Tempest was raised, which almost overturned all their hopes. There was at Rome a famous Preacher, by Nation a Piemontese, and a Religious of the Order of the Augustine Hermits, a reformed Man in appearance, but unworthy of the holy Habit which he wore, and a Lutheran in his heart. The absence of his Holiness gave him confidence from his Pulpit, to vent the Errors of that Heresiarch. The better to surprise the People, he mightily lamented the relaxation of Discipline, and of Doctrine in point of Manners and Christian Morals: And thereupon he would insinuate some ambiguous Proposition, which he failed not seemingly too back with the Authority of holy Fathers, and with the Example of the first Ages.  
Ignatius could not imagine, that a Religious Man should be capable of Preaching Heresy in the middle of Rome; and he believed at first that they had put a wrong sense upon the words of the Preacher, or that the Propositions which made so much noise, had negligently slipped from him without design. However, to be throughly informed of the truth, he ordered Salmeron and Laynez, who had formerly Disputed with the Heretics in Germany, and knew the bottom of Lutheranism, to go at several times to hear him.  
Being ascertained by them that he taught the very Doctrine of Luther, under a specious pretence of teaching that of the Primitive Church, he procured him to be admonished in secret, that his Doctrine had caused a great deal of scandal; and this Advice was given him with all the precautions which Prudence and Charity require.  
But 'tis the nature of Heresy to affect Moderation, when 'tis undisturbed and let alone, and to be violent in the highest degree, upon any opposition made against it. The Preacher, (whom all Rome followed as an Oracle) made haughty by his Reputation, and so much the more irritated by the Remonstrances which had been made him, by how much they were founded upon Truth; he vented his rage against those who suspected his Doctrine, and boldly maintained all those Propositions which he had advanced. Ignatius seeing that a secret Admonition had been unprofitable, and that sweet Remedies increased the Disease, thought it his duty publicly to oppose the Enterprise of a Man, who made it his Business to corrupt the purity of Faith in the Capital City of Christendom.  
Wherefore he and his Companions went into the Pulpit, and with all their might confuted his Errors, by defending the necessity of Goodworks, the Vows of Religion, the Authority of the Church, and such other Catholic Articles as are Impugned by the Lutherans. The ten Preachers did not Preach in vain; the Friar became suspected of Heresy: but being a Man very dextrous and intriguing, he wanted neither Artifice to justify himself, nor Credit to be supported.  
His first Address was to retort upon Ignatius the suspicion of Heresy, 
A Persecution raised against him in Rome.  saying aloud, That it was the custom of cunning Heretics, to impute Errors to whom they pleased, that by raising a dust, they might undiscovered, and with Impunity vent worse themselves. But the better to corroborate what he would have believed, he drew into his Cabal three Spaniards, who had an honest and sober outside, very proper to authorise a Calumny. One of them was called Mudarra, another Barrera, and the third Castilia.  
They were not contented to defame Ignatius only as a Lutheran, and a wicked Man, but they suborned Michael Navarr, and engaged him to depose something of a heinous nature against him. This is that Navarr who at Paris, being enraged at the Conversion of Xaverius, made an attempt upon the Life of Ignatius. He was come to Rome, after he had run about the greatest part of Europe; and he hated Ignatius the more, for that having offered himself to be one of his Disciples, he was not judged worthy.  
This Man then declared before the Governor of Rome, that the Ringleader of certain Spanish Priests, was an Heretic and a Sorcerer, who had been burnt in Effigy at Alcala, at Paris, and at Venice. He protested upon Oath, That nothing but his Conscience forced him to accuse a Man of his own Nation: that he averred nothing but what he had seen with his own Eyes, and of which he could produce indisputable Proofs.  
There needed no more with the People, inconstant of their own Nature, and prepossessed in favour of the Friar, to change their Sentiments in the behalf of Ignatius. The Men whom lately they admired in the Pulpit, and whose Life seemed to them so Apostolic, were now pointed at as Hypocrites and false Prophets. No body dared to appear in the Company of miserable Wretches, who they believed would suddenly be brought to the Stake; and two Priests, whom the Cardinal Legat had assigned them, to be their Assistants in hearing Confessions fled out of the Town, for fear of being involved in their destruction.  
The Friar and his Confidents congratulated with one another the success of their Enterprise. But Ignatius, whose hopes were the stronger in the protection of God, by how much more desperate his Condition seemed to be, encouraged his Companions, and excited himself to fear nothing. Behold, O Lord, (he said) the accomplishment of that which the heavy Cross did prognosticate, when I saw you loaded with it in my Journey to Rome. Accomplish also the rest, and refuse us not the Assistance which you then promised us. His Prayer was heard; and to the end it might appear, that God only did lay the Tempest, the Calm ensued by those means, from which humanely it could not be expected.  
Of all the Friends of Ignatius, there was none but Guirino Garzonio, who did not abandon him. The particular knowledge he had of the persecuted Persons, by having Lodged them so long before their Persecution, had given him so high an Idea of their Virtue, that the Reports of Rome made no impression upon him. It being his Custom to speak in favour of them upon all occasions; Cardinal John Dominique de Cupis, Dean of the sacred College, his Friend and Kinsman, one day reprehended him for it, and above all, advised him to avoid Ignatius, not only for the dishonour which the Company of such infamous Persons always brings, but for the danger of being infected by keeping the Company of wicked and impious Persons. I assure you (answered Garzonio) that if you knew him, as I do, instead of forbidding me his Company, you would desire and seek it yourself. I see (replied the Cardinal a little sharply) that this Wretch has disturbed your Reason, and that you are not less enchanted by him, than the Disciples that follow him; for they say he is a great Sorcerer.  
Garzonio gave an account the very same day to Ignatius of the Conversation he had with the Dean of the sacred College. 
The Persecution is appeased by degrees.  Ignatius praised the zeal of the Cardinal, who since he had an ill opinion of the Manners and Doctrine of a Man, would not have him conversed withal; he only added, that if he might be so happy as to wait upon the Cardinal, he did not doubt but he should undeceive him. Garzonio engaged to procure him an Audience, and he easily obtained it; for the Cardinal had a mind to see a Man so much talked of, and to reproach him with his Crimes; so that when he granted the Audience, he said, Let your Ignatius come, and I will treat him as he deserves.  
Ignatius appeared before the Cardinal with a modest assurance, such as Innocence only can give. It is not precisely known what they said; but this is certain, that they were together about two hours, and that the Cardinal wholly disabused, threw himself at the Feet of Ignatius, to ask his pardon; that he brought him forth with great marks of esteem and goodwill; and that from that time forwards he sent him every Week a large Alms.  
Tho' Ignatius found that Heaven began to be favourable to him, yet he failed not to be very industrious on his part, according to his grand Maxim, That in difficult Occurrences we ought to rely wholly upon God with an entire assurance, as if the good success of the thing were to come from Heaven by a kind of Miracle; and nevertheless, that we must use our utmost endeavour on our parts to make it succeed, as if we were to receive no succour at all on the part of God.  
His first step was to Present himself before Benedict Conversin, Bishop of Bertinero, Governor of Rome, and to solicit himself, that his Cause might come to a Hearing. The Governor having set a day, the two Parties, Ignatius and Navarr, who had accused him, appeared in Court. The Accuser maintained all that he had before deposed, and swore it over again by all that was sacred. In Answer to all this, Ignatius only produced a letter, and asked Navarr if he knew the Hand. 'Tis mine, said he, not mistrusting any thing. He said true, for he had writ that Letter to an Acquaintance some Months before. It contained, That Ignatius and his Companions led an unblameable Life; That he had known them at Paris, and at Venice, and that they were truly Apostolical Men.  
The Letter was read, and had all the effect which Ignatius promised to himself. The Accuser, who spoke with so much boldness, seeing himself convinced of falsity under his own Hand, was struck dumb; or what he spoke was so confused and incoherent, that it made his Perjury more notorious.  
But that which absolutely dissipated the Calumny, was, that the three Judges who had declared Ignatius' Innocence in the three Cities where Navarr maintained that he had been Condemned to be burnt, were all present in Rome at that time; Jaspar de Doctis, Assessor of the Nuntius Veralli, was come thither from Venice; the Grand Vicar John Figueroa, from Alcala; and the Inquisitor Matthew Ori, from Paris; each upon his private Concerns, or rather for those of Ignatius, whose Innocence God would have to be made authentically manifest in the Capital City of the Christian World. Of Judges, as they had been, they became Witnesses, and all three deposed the Truth against the Perjuries of Navarr.  
The Impostor was condemned to a perpetual Banishment, and would have been more rigorously punished if Ignatius had not interposed in his behalf. For the other three Spaniards, they all retracted what they had said, in the presence of the Governor of Rome, and of the Cardinal Legat. There now remained nothing for the absolute Justification of the Master, but to vindicate also his Disciples. Upon the Reports which were spread out of Rome, that the Companions of Ignatius were Men of bad Lives, the Grand Vicars of Milan, of Bologna, of Ferara, and of Sienna, immediately sent of their own accords very ample Attestations of their holy Life. And Hercules d' Este, Duke of Ferara, gave order to his Ministers then with the Pope, to interpose his Authority and Testimony in behalf of the unspotted Lives of Le Jay and Rodriguez.  
So many Proofs did not yet satisfy Ignatius, 
He solicits to have a Sentence pass to justify him, and at last obtains it.  he would have a Sentence Juridically passed, to remain upon Record. He said, that in time the Banishment of his Accuser might be forgotten; and if there were no public Act in favour of the Accused, it might hereafter be believed, that by their Intrigues and their Credit they had stopped the Course of Justice, as fearing a bad Issue of their Cause. That which the more induced him to solicit for a Sentence, was, that he might once-for-all justify himself also of those Accusations at Alcala, Paris, and Venice. I know (said he, Writing to Signior Peter Contarini) that in so doing we shall not silence bad Tongues, nor am I so ill-advised as to pretend to it: We only intent to save the Honour of Religion, which is in some manner joined with our own. It doth not much concern us, that they make us pass for Unlearned, or for Men of a bad Life: but that the Doctrine which we Preach should pass for Heterodox in the Minds of the People, and that the way in which we conduct Souls should be esteemed the way of Perdition, is that which we cannot permit, without betraying our Ministry, since it is the very Doctrine, and the very way of Jesus Christ.  
Tho' this Enterprise, which Ignatius laid so much to heart, was very just, and did not appear very difficult, yet he found Obstacles on all sides. The Governor, a just, but a weak Man, who was afraid of drawing Enemies upon himself, if he should show too much favour to Ignatius, neither daring to grant nor to refuse his Request, spun out the matter in length. On the other side, the Cardinal Legate was not of opinion that the Business should be farther prosecuted; and there wanted not those, even among the Companions of Ignatius, whose Sentiments did not agree with his upon this Matter. They said it was enough for them to be found innocent, and that any thing more would have an Air of Revenge, which might disedifie the People. These Oppositions did not startle Ignatius, no less jealous of his Honour, when the Interest of Religion required it, then greedy of Reproach and Ignominy in other occasions.  
Tired with the put-offs of the Governor, and despairing of ever obtaining any thing from him, he thought the shortest and most secure way would be to address himself immediately to the Pope, who returned to Rome while these things were transacted, and was gone to pass part of the Autumn at Frascati, to rest himself after his Journey from Provence. Thither Ignatius went to him, and the Justice of his Cause gave him so much assurance, that he neither looked out for a Mediator, nor an Introductor.  
The Pope had no sooner heard the Reasons of Ignatius, but he ordered the Governor to give him content. The Governor obeyed; and after having caused the Book of Spiritual Exercises to be Examined, he drew up a Sentence according to Form, which contained great Commendations of the Accused, and entirely cleared them.  
Ignatius sent Copies of the Sentence round about, even as far as Spain: but the unhappy Destiny of his Enemies, did yet farther vindicate him. Navarr lived miserably and agitated with remorse of his Conscience. Barrera died a few days after of a violent Disease. Mudarra and Castilia were both accused of Heresy: the first was condemned to perpetual Imprisonment; and the other, who appeared more obstinate, to be burnt. As for the Piedmont Friar, he fled from Rome to Geneva, and there declared himself openly an Heretic; and moreover wrote a violent Book against the Church of Rome, Entitled, The Summary of Scripture. In conclusion, the Impieties of this Apostate came to such an excess, that falling at last into the hands of the Inquisition, he ended his life at the Stake.  
Our ten holy Strangers having recovered their Honour, 
He helps the People during a Famine.  began to appear again in public; and there was presented to them an occasion of succouring their Neighbour, which they were careful to take hold of. The Winter at Rome was at that time exceeding sharp, and there was so great a Dearth, that many of the Common People almost famished, lay up and down in the Streets, having hardly strength enough to ask for Relief. Tho' Ignatius and his Companions, who lived only upon Alms, felt their share of the Famine, however they undertook, upon the Fund of Providence, to relieve these poor Wretches. They all set their hands to take them up in the Streets, and carried them on their Backs into the House where of late they Lodged themselves. They give their Beds to the weakest among them, and accommodate the rest as well as they can, with Straw laid upon the Ground. The Providence on which they reckoned, did not fail them: They received so great a Supply of Meat and Money all at a time, that they had wherewithal, not only to feed above Four hundred Persons, but also to cloth the most necessitous, who were almost starved both with Cold and Hunger.  
The Charity of Ignatius and his Companions, drew a great many Spectators. Some, who came only out of curiosity to see what they did, being moved at the sight, stripped themselves of part of their Garments, to cloth the half-naked, who were not yet provided of Clothes: And many Persons of Quality raised a Stock for the subsistence of three or four thousand Persons, whom Famine had reduced to extremest misery. But the care of Ignatius was not confined to the relief of their Bodies, he also instructed those poor Wretches in all the Duties of Christianity; he made them Pray orderly every day together, and engaged them to make their Confessions.  
While these things were doing, 
He Presents to the Pope the Project of his Institute.  Ignatius, who had the Benedictions and Praises of all Rome, and was called the Father of the People, thought it expedient to make use of so favourable a Conjuncture for the Execution of his Design. Having made an Abstract of the Institute which he and his Companions had formed, he Presented it to Paul the Third, by the Mediation of Cardinal Gaspar Contarini. The Pope received the Writing very satisfactorily, and gave it immediately to be Examined to Thomas Badia, then Magister Sacrae Palatiae, and afterwards made Cardinal of St. Silvester. Badia kept it by him two Months, after which time he brought it back to his Holiness, declaring that he found nothing in it, but what was very commendable. The Pope read it himself, and 'tis said, that after reading it, he cried, The Finger of God is here.  
Ignatius at the same time besought his Holiness, that he would be pleased Authentically to Confirm what he had already vouchsafed to approve by word of Mouth. Tho' Paul the Third stood well enough inclined, yet he would do nothing in it without the advice of three Cardinals: Of whom the first and principal was Bartholomew Guidiccione, a Man of great merit, and so worthy of the Papacy, that when he died, the Pope said, His Successor was dead; but of so austere Virtue, and so much an Enemy to Novelties of all kinds, that far from approving new Religious Orders, he thought that some of the old ones should rather be suppressed, and all of them reduced only to four. His zeal in this matter went so far, that he set out a Book with his Reasons for it, which were grounded upon the Decrees of the Councils of Lateran and of Lions, under Innocent the Third, and Gregory the Tenth, concerning the multiplication of Religious Orders. With this disposition of Mind he would hardly look upon the Memorial that was put into his Hands; and he often said, That whatever the Institute were, the Church had no need of it. The Authority of Guidiccione, who was an able Divine, and a great Canonist, drew along with it the other two Cardinals.  
At the same time that Paul the Third named these three Commissioners, 
Some of his Companions are employed by the Pope.  he spoke to Ignatius for some of his Companions, to be employed in some necessary Occasions of the Church. This he did at the instance of some Princes, Bishops, and other considerable Persons, who had knowledge of the Disciples and of the Master. Pasquier Brovet was sent to Sienna, to reform a Monastery of Religious Women, which was in great disorder; Claude le Jay to Brescia, to extirpate the Heresy which some Uncatholick Preachers had there sown; and Nicholas Bobadilla to the Island Ischia, upon the Coasts of Naples, to make Peace among the principal Inhabitants, who had mortal Feuds among them. James Laynez and Peter Faber attended the Cardinal of St. Angelo, in his Legantine Voyage to Parma: Laynez was left at Placentia, and Faber at Parma; from whence he was afterwards recalled, to accompany Doctor Ortiz, who had received Orders from Charles the Fifth, to be present at Worms, where there was to be a Colloquy between the Catholics and the Protestants. Lastly, Simon Rodriguez and Francis Xaverius parted towards the Indies, and the occasion of their Journey was this:  
James Govea (that Portuguez Principal of the College of St. Barbara, who penitently acknowledged the Innocence of Ignatius, when he was upon the point of exposing him to public shame) being yet at Paris, and hearing the great things which Ignatius and his Companions had done in Italy, judged, that Men of their Mould would be very useful in the East-Indies, which were newly conquered by the Portuguez. He writ about it to Father Ignatius, whose Sentiment he would first know, before he made any Overture of it in the Court of Portugal. The Father praised God that he had opened to him the Door of a new World, after shutting that of the Holy Land; and he conceived an ardent desire of going himself, to carry the Gospel into so many Idolatrous Nations. He answered Govea, That he and his Companions were ready to go into any Place in the World, where the Vicar of Jesus Christ should please to send them; That they had devoted their Service to him upon the account of Missions, and that they could not dispose of themselves without the leave and good liking of his Holiness.  
Govea sent the Answer of Ignatius to John the Third, King of Portugal, together with his own Thoughts concerning the Conversion of the Indians. This Prince, who was very Religious, and no less careful of Establishing the Kingdom of Jesus Christ in those Countries newly discovered, then of Enlarging the Dominion of Portugal, gave Order at the same time to Don Pedro Mascaregnas, his Ambassador at Rome, to obtain of his Holiness six at least of these Evangelical Labourers recommended to him by Govea, and to bring them along with him.  
The Ambassador, 
He appoints two of his Companions for the Indies.  who was particularly acquainted with Ignatius, and even made use of him for his Confessor, showed him the Order of his Master. The Father answered, That it belonged to the Pope to determine upon the matter; but if he might speak his own thoughts, he was of opinion, that two of the Fathers were as many as could well be spared for the Indies. When Mascaregnas insisted upon the number prefixed by the King, Good God (replied Ignatius) if of ten that we are, six should go to the Indies, what would there remain for all the other Countries of the World. The Pope, to whom Mascaregnas made all possible instance, referred the Matter to Father Ignatius, who still adhered to his first Sentiment: So that the Ambassador brought away no more with him but Simon Rodriguez and Francis Xaverius; a small Supply indeed, if we look only upon the number, but very considerable in weight and value.  
The two Missionaries being arrived at Lisbon, laboured there for the good of Souls, while they waited for the departure of the Admiral, in which they were to Embark, in Company of Martin Alphonso Soza, who Commanded the Fleet. And their Labours from the very beginning gained them the Title of Apostles, which in that Kingdom remains at this day to their Successors. Some Lords of the Court, enamoured with the zeal of Xaverius and Rodriguez, represented to the King, that perhaps it would be more advantageous to keep them both in Portugal, then to send them to the Indies.  
The two Fathers, who had their Mission appointed for the new World, having some inkling of the Design of the Portuguez, wrote presently to Rome, and conjured their Father Ignatius to Interest his Holiness in behalf of their Mission. Paul the Third would not appear in it, but was of opinion the disposal of it should be left to the King. Accordingly Father Ignatius sent to the two Fathers, that they should follow the Direction of the King of Portugal, whom they were to obey in this Circumstance as God's Vicegerent. But he added, that if perchance the King should ask what his Opinion was of it, they might tell him his Judgement was, That Xaverius should go to the Indies, and that Simon Rodriguez should remain in Portugal. The King received this Advice as an Oracle; and as Ignatius Proposed, so it was Executed: Wherefore for this reason alone we may in a manner attribute to him all those glorious things done by St. Xaverius in the Indies.  
The Joy which Ignatius had to see his Companions preferred to be Apostles of a new World, was a little allayed by the opposition made to his chief-Design, 
He persists to have his Institute Approved by the Holy See.  by the three Cardinals. However he continued his Applications to the Pope with more warmth than ever. At the same time he redoubled his Prayers to the Divine Majesty with great confidence; and, as if he were certain of success, he promised one day to God three thousand Masses, in acknowledgement of the Grace which he hoped to obtain.  
His hopes were not deceived; Cardinal Guidiccione found himself changed all in an instant, not knowing why: and this sudden change seemed to himself so extraordinary, that he doubted not but God was the Author of it. Now he read the Memorial, which before he would not look upon; and after well Examining it, he said his Sentiment was still in general the same, that new Orders of Religion were not to be admitted; but for this, which was now Presented, he could not oppose it. He farther declared, that he even thought it necessary for the present State of Christendom, and above all, for stopping the Course of Heresies, which began to overrun all Europe.  
In effect, there hardly appeared any footsteps of the ancient Religion in the greatest part of Germany, where the Lutherans and the Anabaptists (branched out into many contrary Sects) only agreed together to destroy the Catholic Faith. England separated from Rome, followed the Deviations of Henry the Eighth, whom she acknowledged for Head of the Anglicane Church. Switzerland, Piedmont, and Savoy, and all the Neighbouring Parts, were infected with the Errors of Zuinglius and Oecolampadius. France was every where tainted with the Contagion of Geneva, even into Italy itself the Venom had crept, whither Calvin had sent his Institutions Translated into French, and had so insinuated himself and his Doctrine into the good liking of Renée, Duchess of Ferara, who was Daughter of Lewis the Twelfth, that she and part of her Court had embraced the Heresy.  
The Pope judged, that in so fatal a Juncture the Church had need of extraordinary Succours. He understood at the same time, that the Disciples of Ignatius, who were employed out of Rome, did every where awaken and stir up the Spirit of Christianity; and that the most hardened Sinners could not resist the force of their Exhortations. Among the remarkable Conversions, that of a Priest of Sienna was most admired by the Pope. This Priest had lived a very dissolute Life: He was not content only to compose Comedies to entertain the People, but he would sometimes Act in them himself, to the high scandal of all good Christians, who could not endure to see the same Man, sometimes at the Altar, and sometimes upon the Stage. Brovet and his Companion Strada (that young Spaniard, whom Ignatius had gained in his return from Monte-Cassino) had touched him so to the quick with their Discourses, that after having made a Spiritual Retirement, he (with the leave of the Grand Vicar) publicly asked pardon of the People with a Rope about his Neck, for the Scandal he had given; and afterwards shut himself up in a Convent of Recollects, where he spent the rest of his days in rigorous Penance.  
The Pope, 
The Society of Jesus is Approved by the Pope.  being moved with so many extraordinary Actions, and more powerfully incited by an inward Impulse, confirmed at last the Institute of Ignatius, under the Title of The Society of Jesus, by the Bull, Regimini Militantis Ecclesiae. This Bull which was Expedited the 27th of September, in the year 1540, contains the Elegy of the first ten Fathers, and says in express words, that there is nothing but what is Good and Holy in this new Institute. The Pope, by the same Bull gave them leave to make Constitutions, such as they should think most proper for their own perfection, for the Good of their Neighbour, and for the Glory of God. It is true, that he limited the number of the Professed, and restrained them to Sixty; but this restriction he took away two years after by another Bull; and it was the Interest of Christianity, which obliged him so to do, as he himself declares.  
As soon, as the Holy See had approved the Society of Jesus, Ignatius judged it necessary to begin with choosing a Superior; and to this effect, he called to Rome, with leave of the Pope, such of his Company, as were free to come; For Xaverius and Rodriguez were at the Court of Portugal, Faber was at the Diet of Worms, and Bobadilla had Order expressly from the Pope not to leave the Kingdom of Naples, till the business committed to him was ended. So that these four Fathers assisted not at the Election: The two first left their suffrages behind them, when they left Rome; Faber sent his, and tho' Bobadilla did not do so, either for want of conveniency, or for that he hoped from day to day to be back in Rome, yet at his return, he confirmed the choice, which the others had made.  
When le Jay, 
Ignatius is chosen General of the Society.  Brovet, and Laynex, were come, they took three Days seriously to consider, whom they should choose, which time they passed in Prayer and Recollection. The fourth Day they met, and all the Voices were for Ignatius, except his own, which he gave to him, who should have most Suffrages, but still excepting himself. He did not declare for any body by Name, either because he could not decide who was most worthy, or that he would not show any partiality, but hold the balance even.  
Whereas some of these Suffrages, which every one gave in Writing, are still preserved, the Reader perhaps may be curious to see them, as they are taken out of the Originals. I protest, says Francis Xaverius, in his own Tongue, that without having been solicited by any Person, I judge according to my Conscience, that we ought to choose for Head of our Society, our ancient Superior, and true Father, Don Ignatius, who after having gathered us together with so great pains, will best know how to maintain, and govern us, as best knowing each of us in particular.  
Our thrice honoured Father, Don Ignatius de Loyola (says John Codurus in Latin) is he, to whom I give my voice, as having always found him inflamed with the Zeal of God's Glory, and of the good of Souls. I farther believe, that he ought to be the Superior over the rest, because he has always made himself the least, and has ever been the servant of us all.  
The Suffrage of Salmeron is the most in Form, and the Largest. In the Name of Jesus Christ (says he) ay Alphonsus Salmeron, most unworthy of this Society, after having besought God, and duly examined the thing in question as far as I am capable, do hereby choose, and declare, Don Ignatius of Loyola for my own, and the whole Societies Superior General. Whereas by the wisdom, which has been Communicated to him from above, he hath engendered us all in Jesus Christ, and nourished us with Milk in our Spiritual Infancy; now that we are grown more adult, and strong in our Lord, he will give us the Solid nourishment of Obedience, will conduct us in the Celestial Pastures to the Fountain of life; to the end, that when he shall give up this small Flock to the chief Pastor, Jesus Christ, we may truly say, We are his People, and the Sheep, which his hand has conducted, and that he, with joy, may also say, Lord, I have lost none of those, which you have given me. May the Good Pastor, Jesus, give us all this Grace. Amen.  
Ignatius afflicted, 
He refuses the charge of General.  and even surprised to see himself chosen General, Brethren (said he) I am not worthy of this employment; and I assure you, I shall not be able to discharge it; For how shall I conduct others, who am not able to conduct myself. I speak to you with all possible sincerity, when I consider the disorders of my former life, and the weaknesses of my present life, I cannot resolve to accept of this charge of General, wherefore I conjure you, in the Name of God, not to take it ill, that I refuse it, and that you would again, for the space of three or four Days, implore the Divine assistance, so to enlighten us all, that we may choose for our Father and Superior, him, who is most capable of well governing our Society.  
Tho' this refusal served only to confirm them in their first choice, yet in deference to him, they submitted to a new Election. After four Days of Fasting and Penance, he was chosen the second time, but he made a second endeavour to wave the Employment; He said, that he would put the business into the hand of his Confessor, and if he, who knew all his bad inclinations, should command him, in the Name of Jesus Christ to submit, he would then blindly obey.  
The Fathers had great difficulty to yield to him in it; They said, that the will of God was sufficiently manifested, and that it would be a kind of opposing it, any longer to balance upon the matter. But at last his Authority carried it, and he went to find out a Religious man of the Order of St. Francis, called Father Theodosius, to whom he ordinarily had used to Confess, and only left him, since the Holy See had confirmed the Institute. After exposing to him in a private conference both his Spiritual and Corporal Infirmities, he made his Confession to him of his whole life in the three last Days of the holy Week. Father Theodosius told him plainly, that he resisted the Holy Ghost in resisting his Election, and commanded him, on the part of God, to accept of the charge of General.  
Father Ignatius did then yield, 
Ignatius and his Companions make their Profession.  and out of Obedience took upon him the Government of the Society of Jesus, upon Easter-day in the year 1541. at which time they all agreed to make their solemn Profession the same Week, which they did upon the Friday following, being the 22th. of April. In this manner the Ceremony was performed; They all went to visit the Seven Churches, which are the principal Stations of Rome: Being come to St. Paul's, which is without the Walls of the Town, Father Ignatius said Mass at the Altar of our Lady. Before he took the Communion, he turned towards the People, and holding in one hand the Sacred Body of our Lord, and in the other, his Vows in Writing, he pronounced them all, with a loud voice, and then took the Communion. After which, turning again to his Companions, who were upon their Knees at the Foot of the Altar, and holding five Hosts upon the Patten, he received their Professions, and then Communicated them. They all engaged, as he did, to observe perpetual Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience, according to the form of life contained in the Bull of their Institution. They promised moreover a special Obedience to the Pope, in regard of Missions, set down in the said Bull, and they obliged themselves to teach Children the Christian Doctrine.  
There was this difference between the Profession of Father Ignatius, and that of the others; He made his Promise immediately to the Vicar of Jesus Christ, and the rest made theirs to him, as to their General and Chief. The Mass being done, they went altogether to the great Altar, where the Bones of the Blessed Apostles St. Peter and St. Paul are laid, and there embracing their common Father, they humbly kissed his hand, in token of their Submission and Obedience.  
The General began his Office with Catechising, 
He Catechizes with great fruit.  in the Church of St. Marry de Strata, which Peter Codacius, an Officer of the Pope, and Powerful in Rome, caused to be given to the Fathers, when they yet dwelled in an hired House. This is he, who charmed with their holy life, quitted great Benefices, and by a Spirit of retirement ranged himself among them, with no other intent but of taking care of their Temporals, and of procuring them Alms.  
Tho' the new Superior made his Christian Instructions principally for Children, according to his Vow; yet all sorts of People came to hear him, even Men and Women of Quality, Divines, and Canonists; He explicated in Italian the Mysteries of Faith, and the Commandments of God, in a plain, easy way, accommodated to the understanding of the People. In these explications he mingled some lively touches, and incitements to Piety, and Devotion; and tho' his Language were a little Barbarous, he made such Impression upon their minds, that after having heard him, they went away in silence, with Tears in their Eyes, and Compunction in their Hearts: Their sorrow was sometimes so excessive, that when, after the Catechism, they would go to Confession, they could not speak for sighing and weeping. He continued this Exercise forty Days together in the same Church; and 'tis according to this example, that the Superiors of the Society make forty Days of Catechism; when they enter into their Office.  
But whereas nothing was more essential, then to regulate the Conduct of the Members of this newly born Society, before making any Constitutions in exact form, he drew up, for the present, some general Regulations.  
I. That as much, 
The first Rules which he prescribed to his new Society.  as possibly they can, they should always have God before their Eyes; and that they should propose the life of Jesus Christ for the Pattern of their own.  
II. That they should look upon God in their Superiors, to execute their Orders, and to honour their Dignity; and that they should be persuaded, that obedience is a Guide, which never misleads, an Oracle, which never deceives; That they should discover to their Superior the bottom of their Souls, that so they may be rightly directed; That they should abhor nothing more, then being their own Guide; and that they should wholly mistrust self-love, by so much more blind, by how much it thinks itself clearsighted.  
III. That in the Commerce of the World, they should use the circumspection of those, who succour Men that are drowning, and that they should take heed, not to lose themselves in the endeavouring to save others; That they should not only love all as their Brothers, but that every one should love his Brother, as himself; That they should never dispute in words, with obstinacy and heat, which often cools Charity, if it doth not put it out, and when they differ in opinion, that the love of truth should rule their dispute, and not the vain desire of getting the better.  
IV. That silence be exactly kept among them, unless it be, when necessity obliges them to break it; and that when they must speak, they do it in a modest and Religious way; That what great things soever it should please God to work by their Ministry they should not think any thing better of themselves, nor Usurp the Glory of any good Action; for the Instrument is nothing by its self, but derives all its Virtue from the Arm, which Governs it; That they should reckon, Wit, Eloquence, Learning, as nothing in comparison of Virtue; and that they should never think themselves better rewarded, and paid for what they do, in behalf of their Nighbour, then when they shall receive affronts, and outrages, the only recompense which Jesus Christ received from the World for his Labours, and Sufferings.  
V. That if they should fall into any public fault, which might seem to dishonour them, far from losing courage, they should give thanks to God, for having made them know their own weakness, by permitting their fall, and for having undeceived the World, which thought them to be greater Saints than they were; and that for the future, they should always have their fall before their Eyes, to make them more humble, and to walk more warily; that others also may learn by their example, to have a care of falling, even when they think themselves least in danger.  
VI That in the hour of Recreation after Meals, they should be mindful of that Modesty, which the Apostle requires in our conversation; to be cheerful without Levity, and to be sober without fullenness; That in their exterior Functions, they should never let pass the occasions of a present and certain good, out of imaginary hopes of some great good to come, which is uncertain. In conclusion, that they keep themselves firm in their Vocation, and continually upon their Guard, against the deceits of the malignant Spirit, who labours to draw every one out of his way, tempting monastics to outward Employments, 
Ignatius and his Companions employed in the Service of the Church.  and Apostolical men to the repose of Solitude.  
Francis Xaverius, for whom the King of Portugal had procured, without his knowledge, a Brief of Legate Apostolical in the Indies, parted about this time from Lisbon, and left there Simon Rodriguez. The same year Paul the Third sent Alphonso Salmeron, and Pasquir Brovet into Ireland with the Characters of Nuntius, to maintain the Catholic Faith among those People, who, notwithstanding the Edicts of Henry the Eighth, still remained in Communion with the Holy See. The Commonwealth of Venice demanded James Laynez, Doctor Ortiz carried Peter Faber along with him to Madrid; Nicholas Bobadilla, and Claud le Jay, went to succeed in the place of Faber, at Vienna, and at Ratisbone.  
While these Gospel Laborers, animated with the Spirit of Ignatius, were at work in so many different places, for the good of Souls, Ignatius upon the same account, was in his own person no less active at Rome. Assisting the sick in the Hospitals, and elsewhere, he found that the greatest part of them went not to Confession, till almost at the hour of death, when for the most part Repentance is ineffectual. He represented this disorder to the Pope, and at first humbly proposed to him, to renew the Decretal of Innocent the Third, which Ordains, that the Physician shall not visit the sick, till they have first been at Confession. But afterwards he judged, that to the end such a Decree might be more duly observed, it ought to be a little moderated, so as it might be lawful for the Physician to make two visits to a Patient, before Confession, but that the third should be forbidden under grievous Penalties. The Pope followed the advice of Father Ignatius, and this Christian practice is exactly observed in Italy, even to this day.  
Rome was at that time full of Jews, 
He makes the Establishments for the Jews and Courtesans Converted.  and some of them opened their eyes to the Truth, since the new Society explicated the Mysteries of Faith; but the fear of Poverty hindered them from declaring themselves. Father Ignatius offered his house to those who would be made Christians, and many there were, who abjured Judaisme: The number of the Converts daily increasing by the Conversion of some prime Men of the Synagogue, who disabused he rest; he undertook to found a House, where all such Jews should be instructed, who demanded Baptism; and he engaged divers Persons of Piety to concur in so holy an Establishment. He obtained of the Pope, that the Jews who were Converted, should lose no part of their Goods, which were lawfully gained; that such Goods as had been gained by Usury, and of which restitution could not be made, for want of knowing to whom they belonged, should be employed towards the relief of the new Converts, and that the Children, who embraced Christianity against the will of their Parents, should inherit, as if they had not changed their Religion.  
There were also in the City, many Maids and Women, whom necessity had cast into evil courses; some of them, who had not quite lost the fear of God, had a horror of their infamous life, but yet they continued it, as not knowing whither to go, or how to live. There was indeed at that time a Monastery established of the Magdalenists; but they received only such, as would be Religious, and would pass the rest of their days in Solitude, and Penance. Father Ignatius considering, that the Grace, which excites sinners to leave Vice, doth not always carry them so far, as to leave the World, and that the state of Marriage is not consistent with that of Religion, Formed the design of another House, where secular Maids, and Married Women might be indifferently admitted. He communicated this Project to the principal Gentlemen of Rome, who all approved it, and promised to contribute to so beneficial a Foundation, provided that some body would undertake to begin the Work. The Father finding that no body would be the first to embark in it, boldly began it himself.  
Father Codatius, Procurator of the Casa Professa, caused some great Stones to be drawn out of the ruins of Ancient Buildings, in a place belonging to the new Society, which stood before their Church. Father Ignatius ordered him to sell as much as came to a hundred Ducats, and having received the Money, he carried it to those Roman Gentlemen, who durst not venture to lead the Dance, in so Pious an undertaking. If no body will be the first (he said smiling) at least let some body second me, and threw down his Money before them. They all of them furnished great Sums, and in less than a Month, a House was built for the Married, and Unmarried Penitents, called the Monastery of St. Martha. He carried them thither himself, and was not ashamed to appear about the Town in the company of Public sinners. He was sometimes told that he lost his time, and that such Women were never heartily converted. If I did hinder them but one night from offending God (he replied) I should think my time, and my labour well employed.  
He also took great care of young Maids, 
He doth other works of Charity.  that were exposed to great hazard, either for want of Education, or for want of means; and for these he caused another Monastery to be Founded, by the name of St. Catharine. The method which he observed in this sort of good Works, was first to engage as many Rich and devout Persons, as he could; next to choose some Cardinal of great Piety to be their Protector, and then to settle trusties for the Temporal, and Directors for the Spiritual, who might prudently govern such Houses, according to those Statutes, they should agree upon: But when the business was well Cemented, and went currently on, it was his custom to withdraw himself, that he might not give jealousy to any body, and to betake himself to some other work, that might be profitable to the Public.  
The next affair that he chiefly laboured in, was to procure a Fund for the subsistence of Orphans; in which he also succeeded, and two Houses were Erected in Rome, the one for Boys, and the other for Girls, and these two Establishments, which he regulated himself, have ever since subsisted; Lastly he endeavoured to purge the Town of some enormous Vices, which the Corruption of the Age had introduced, and which custom did in some manner countenance.  
All these Actions of Charity did not so take him up, 
He begins to write the Constitutions of his Order.  but that even than he applied himself to Model the Constitutions of his Order. He employed many hours of the day upon it, and some part of the Night. His Method was this, First he Examined every Article according to the Rules of good Sense, and set down all the Reason's Pro and Con. These Reasons were neither few in number, nor light in substance; for upon one only Point, which is none of the most important, there have been found in his Papers written with his own Hand, Eight Reasons for one side, and Fifteen for the other; every one of them of weight, and capable of holding the Understanding in suspense. After this, laying aside all Self-love, and private Interest, he exactly weighed all the Reasons of each side, one against the other, the better to discern which were the weakest, and which the strongest.  
After having done all that Prudence required, he consulted God with the simplicity of an Infant; as if he had nothing to do, but to write down that which God should dictate to him. Viewing it therefore all over again by the light of eternal Verities, he supplicated Jesus Christ, by the Intercession of the Holy Virgin, to make him see what should be most conducing to the Service of his Divine Majesty, and to the good of the Society.  
Tho' sometimes he found his Judgement so determined to one side, as seemingly to exclude all manner of doubt, he would nevertheless continue his Prayers, that he might more distinctly know what was best; insomuch that upon a certain occasion, when he had taken his last Resolution in a Matter before him, after ten days of Communication with God, he made his Prayer again upon the same Article, and Meditated farther upon it thirty days together. All this while the Matter was not very considerable; it was only to determine, Whether the Churches of the Professed Houses should have Revenues, or whether they should be maintained by the Charity of the Faithful.  
Besides, when he had written a Constitution, he laid it upon the Altar when he said Mass, and offered it to God together with the Divine Sacrifice; to the end, that the Father of Lights would cast his Eyes upon it, and make him know whether it were consonant to the Rules of Evangelical Perfection. He did this in imitation of the holy Pope St. Leo, who before he sent to the Bishop Flavian the Dogmatical Epistle which he had written against the Heresy of Eutiches, laid it upon the Altar of the Apostle St. Peter, and there kept it Forty days, Fasting all that time, and incessantly praying the Prince of the Apostles to Correct it himself, and with his own Hand to blot out all that should not be Orthodox.  
The interior Answers which the Holy Ghost made to Father Ignatius, gave him at least an entire assurance, and a perfect quiet in his Understanding, concerning the Resolution he had made. Wherefore having one day asked Father Laynez, if he did not think that God had revealed to Founders of Orders the Form of their Institute; and Father Laynez having answered him, That it seemed very probable to him, at least in regard of the Essentials. I am of your opinion (replied the Saint); and it was, without doubt, his own Experience that made him judge so.  
He began the Platform of which we speak, 
The End of the Society of Jesus.  with setting down the End of his Order, which he made to be not only (with the assistance of God's Grace) to save and cultivate their own Soul, but also, with the help of the same Grace, to employ all their might for the Salvation and Perfection of their Neighbour: For he would have it, that these two should make but one, and the only end of the Society, and should equally depend one on the other; being persuaded, that as nothing contributes more to our own sanctification, then to devote ourselves entirely to the saving of Souls, so on the other side, nothing renders us more fit and proper to save Souls, 
The Means which the Society makes use of to obtain their end.  than the sanctifying of ourselves.  
Having established the End, he thought upon the Means which were necessary to obtain it; and he set before his Eyes the two different Forms of Life: the one of which, by the Model of Martha, is wholly employed in the Service of our Neighbour; and the other, by that of Magdalen, is wholly taken up with the Repose of Contemplation. He easily discerned, that the Functions of these two States, taken in several, and in the whole extent, did not agree with his Design; and that he ought to choose that which was best out of them both, and so evenly to mingle them, that they should help, and not hinder one the other: for in conclusion, as little resemblance as there is between Martha and Magdalen, they are still Sisters, and not Enemies.  
He took therefore out of the Contemplative Life, Mental Prayer, the Examen of Conscience, the Reading of the Holy Scriptures, the Frequentation of Sacraments, Spiritual Retirements, the Exercises of the Presence of God, and such other Practices of Devotion.  
He took out of the Active Life, all that might contribute to save, and bring to perfection our Neighbour's Souls; Preaching, Catechising, Missions, as well amongst the Faithful, as amongst the Infidels, maintaining Controversies against Heretics, Entertainments of Devotion with secular Persons, Visiting Prisons and Hospitals, the Direction of Consciences, and the Instruction of Youth. But this last he most particularly regarded; for in that general Corruption which then reigned, he thought he could no better way reform the World, then by infusing the love of Virtue into Children, before they had contracted evil Habits. He hoped that thee young Plants growing up with Christian Impressions, would make Innocence flourish again in all States and Conditions of Civil Life: And he doubted not, but these first Seeds of Piety would continue in them as long as they lived, tho' possibly they might be smothered for a time by those Passions which the heat of Youth doth commonly engender.  
It may be also, that being informed how the new Heresiarches took the way of perverting Children, and how one of their false Doctors of Geneva taught them Songs against the Roman Church, he would employ the same Means to maintain Religion, which they made use of to destroy it.  
But foreseeing that there would be no great Concourse to the Schools of the Society, if only Piety, and nothing else should there be taught; and considering on the other side, that the Universities were daily infected with the Venom of Heresy, he conceived, that to draw Scholars, and to keep them from Error, it was necessary to hold public Schools, where all Sciences proper for Religious Men to teach, might be taught gratis.  
Indeed, for the first four or five years after the Confirmation of the Order, the Children were only instructed in their Catechism. The first Fathers were so full of other Employments, that they could not keep Schools, and those who were associated to them, had not ability at first to do it. The General would have them finish their own Studies in Philosophy, Divinity, and the Holy Scripture, before they were employed to Teach. And thence it comes, that the first Colleges of the Society were only for teaching the young Men of their own Body.  
It was to facilitate the use of all these Means, 
The Society has no particular Habit.  so proportionate to the End of an Apostolical Calling, that Father Ignatius made choice of a common conversible Life, according to the Model of that of Jesus Christ: Whereas he was a Priest, and that his Order was no other than a Congregation of Priests or Regular Clericks, he appointed no other Habit for his Religious, than what was used by Ecclesiastical Persons; nor did he prescribe to them any such Uniformity of Habit, as was used in other Regular Societies: He only ordered in general, that theirs should be decent, according to the Usage of the Country, but such as should not be contrary to Religious Poverty. The Design which he had to Convert all Men, if it were possible, made him judge, that the Society having to treat often with Heretics and Libertines, who are apt to deride the holy Habits of other Orders, it was most expedient for them, not to take any, that was remarkable and singular, that so they might have freer access every where.  
He regulated the Lodging, 
The Society has no Austerities of Obligation.  Diet, and the rest, as he did the Habit, according to the Laws of Decency and Poverty. This Principle of a Communicative Life, determined him also not to command in his Rule any Austerity by Obligation. He well knew, that Religious Societies are composed of Persons who are not all of the same Constitution or Age; that when Austerities are of Obligation, they must have recourse to Dispensations, in favour of Persons infirm, or Aged; and that Dispensations, how legitimate soever they may be, have almost always troublesome Consequences.  
On the other side, he foresaw that the Macerations of the Body, Established by the ancient Founders of Orders, according to the Form of their Institute, would be great Obstacles to the Functions and Business of his. And yet, in not prescribing any set measure of Pennances for all in his Society, he doth not pretend to exclude all Austerities; On the contrary, he will have every one mortify his Body as much as his Health and his Employment will permit. But lest Self-love should hold back, or Fervour should too much drive on, he appoints that Superiors shall be Judges in these Matters, who considering on one side the End of the Institute, to which all the Means must be subordinate; and on the other side, the Constitution and Strength of the several Persons, are to keep a Mean between a Relaxation hurtful to the Soul, and an Excess ruinous to the Body.  
Notwithstanding his Devotion to hear the Praises of God Sung, 
Why the Society doth not keep Quires.  and his Veneration for those Religious Persons who Sing them Night and Day, yet the Injunction of keeping Quires he left out of his Order, upon consideration that the Employments of his Institute, were incompatible with that pious Exercise, which however is not essential to a Religious Profession; for the Military Orders, and those which are employed upon Works of Mercy, have no Choir; even the Order of St. Dominick itself had none at the beginning; and in the most reformed Orders, Masters of Divinity, Preachers, and Missioners are therein dispensed. The Authority of the holy Pope St. Gregory, who in a Council at Rome forbids Deacons that are Preachers, to Sing: And that of St. Thomas, who teacheth, that it is better to raise men's Hearts to Heaven only by the Ministry of the Word of God, then by Singing and Music, did not a little serve to confirm St. Ignatius in this Resolution. And it may be said, that in reserving himself wholly for Evangelical Functions, he followed the Example of St. Paul, who says of himself, That Jesus Christ did not send him to Baptise, but to Preach. Not but that it was a holy and laudable Action to Baptise, but in regard he had been chosen to publish the Gospel, and there wanted not others to confer Baptism.  
Whereas the divers Employments of a Society, 
How Persons are to be chosen, and what hinders from being received into the Society.  devoted to the good of Souls, would require excellent Workmen, the Founder did forecast all that was necessary thereunto. For in the first place he ordained, that good choice should be made of those who are received; and he sets down himself the principal Qualities which they ought to have; among others, a good Nature, a good Wit, a vigorous Constitution, a Body well made, and a fair Carriage: As for Nobility, and the Advantages of Fortune, he reckons them as nothing, if the rest be wanting: But he would have them considered, when they are joined with Talents requisite; and for this Reason, because Men of great Birth, and such as have been considerable in the World, are very proper to be harkened to by the People, to speak to Great Men, and to maintain the Interest of the Church.  
He excludes those, who having been born Christians, shall have abjured their Faith among Infidels, or held publicly Heretical Opinions. To whom he adds Infamous Persons, and such as have been Convicted of enormous Crimes; all Persons subject to Lunacy, or Distempers of the Brain; Lastly, all those who have worn the Habit of an Hermit, or of any Religious Order, tho' but for a day. And all those Exclusions are grounded upon this, that St. Ignatius required for his Institute, Principles of Religion well settled in the Heart, and untainted Reputation, a sound Judgement, and a Will constant in the good Course which once it hath embraced.  
Besides these Impediments, which are not so Essential, but that the Holy See may dispense with them for just Causes, and in extraordinary Cases, there are others of less Consequence, which the Superiors themselves, according to discretion, may dispense withal; as being, for Example, under Fifteen years of age, or above Fifty; having violent Passions, bad Habits, indiscreet Devotions, etc.  
To have a perfect knowledge of those who Present themselves, the Founder requires, and directs a very exact Scrutiny, even to know whether they be born in lawful Wedlock; Whether they be only Sons; What their Family is; If they have any Engagement upon them, either by Holy Orders, or by Promise of Marriage, or by Vow.  
Above all, he recommends, that their inward Dispositions should be narrowly looked into, and chiefly that their Vocation should be well Examined; Whether, since their being called, they had not changed their mind, or suffered their holy Desires to grow cold; Whether any of the Society had not allured them; And in such case, tho' it might have been done with good intention, he declares, that a reasonable time ought to be given them, to re-consider upon so important an Affair, by the only Rule of God's greater Glory, and as if no person had ever mentioned it to them.  
But to draw out of this Examen the desired Effect, he requires from those who are Interrogated, a great openness and freedom, and prescribes to the Superiors a profound Secrecy. Lastly, when after all these Interrogatories, the Persons are judged proper for the Institute, he will have them, before they are received, made to understand, that if they sincerely desire to be admitted, they must be ready wholly and entirely to Consecrate themselves too God. Moreover, he prescribes, that the most humiliating and painful part of a Religious Profession, should be proposed to them, and even that they should be asked whether they will be content to be admonished, not only of all the Faults that shall be observed in them, but that whoever shall know their Faults by any other way but by Confession, shall inform the Superior, that he may correct them; and whether they themselves be disposed to inform him, with the spirit of Charity, of the Faults of others, when he shall ask them, to the greater Glory of God.  
The Choice being thus made, 
In what manner the Novices are to be tried and trained.  the Saint will have trial made of the Persons so chosen, after this manner. That upon receiving them into the House, they enter into the Spiritual Exercise, and that after a whole Month of retirement, without any Communication whatsoever, but with their Director, they shall make a general Confession of their whole Life.  
After this, they shall take the ordinary Habit of the Society, unless it be judged expedient to continue them in their secular Attire, as the Saint himself ordered it, in the case of Antonio Araos, his Kinsman, and of a Neapolitan Gentleman, who had been Captain of the Castle of St. Elm.  
That the Noviciate shall last two years, because a less time of trial will not suffice for those, who being designed for outward employments, have need of a great stock of Virtue.  
That during the Noviceship, besides learning every day something without Book to cultivate the memory, which loseth its vigour for want of Exercise, they shall not study at all.  
They shall serve the Sick in some Hospital for the space of a Month; the same space of time they shall also spend in making some Pilgrimage of Devotion a Foot, without Viaticum, begging Alms. Inquiry shall be made of the Administrators of the Hospital, how the Novices behave themselves, and also in the places, through which they pass, what their comportment was.  
That being well instructed themselves, they shall teach the Christian Doctrine to Children, and to the meaner sort of People, that they may betimes be accustomed to it. Lastly, that they shall be only employed in the Practices of a Spiritual life, and that their whole care must be, to acquire solid Virtue, particularly Humility, and Self-abnegation.  
Whereas Piety alone is not sufficient for Evangelical Functions, 
The Order of Studies for those who have ended their Noviceship.  Learning being absolutely necessary for them, he Ordains that after the two years of Noviceship, they shall apply themselves to Study: He sets down the Sciences which they shall learn, viz. The Learned Tongues, Poetry, Rhetoric, Philosophy, Divinity, Ecclesiastical History, the Holy Scripture: But he leaves it to the prudence of Superiors, to regulate the Studies of every one in particular, according to their Age and Talents; so that such Wits, as are capable of all, shall be trained in all the Sciences, and such as are not so universal shall learn that in which they are likeliest to excel.  
But some Rules he sets down, which are to be fixed and universal; he will have them instructed in Grammar, Poetry, and Rhetoric, before they begin their Philosophy; That they shall not Study Scholastical Divinity, before they have finished their courses in Logic, Physic, Metaphysic, and Moral Philosophy, nor be applied to cases of Conscience, till they have had an entrance in Scholastical Divinity. That they shall not proceed from one Science to another, till they have undergone a rigorous Examen; that in each Faculty, they follow the best grounded opinions, and the most approved Authors, that in studying the holy Tongues, their aim must be, throughly to understand the Scripture, and also to defend the version, Authorised by the Church. The want of method, which Ignatius found so prejudicial in his Study at Alcala, and the danger, which the reading of a suspected Author exposed him to, made him use all these Precautions.  
He likewise remembered, how his Exercises of Charity, and ill-timed Devotion, had hindered his progress in Learning; He therefore ordered that the Students of the Society should not be employed abroad; that the time of their Prayers should be limited, and that they should not receive the Order of Priesthood, till towards the latter end of their Studies.  
Moreover whereas his Infirmities and Sickness had much obstructed his own advancement in the Sciences, 
The care of St. Ignatius for the health and progress of Students.  he thought it very material to take great care of their Health, that their application should not be too violent, that they lost none of their sleep: That they should not Study at unseasonable hours, nor be longer at it then two hours together, without interruption. He ordered for them days of Recreation, and even from that time, designed to procure Houses in the Country; where they might go once every Week for their Diversion.  
And in regard, that the extreme Poverty, to which he had been reduced in the University at Paris, was one of the greatest obstacles in his Studies; He thought it not expedient to oblige those, who Study to live upon Alms, and therefore resolved, that such Colleges of the Society should have Foundations.  
But if on one side, he hath so great consideration and Indulgence, for the young Men of his Order. He is no less strict on the other, to have them kept close to their business. He will have them take pains and labour at it, always to be Exercised, either in private Conferences, or in public Disputations. He chargeth the Rectors of Colleges to excite and spur on those, that are heavy and slothful, and to withdraw such from the Study of Sciences, who make no progress in them, either for want of wit, or application; Lastly, to have continually his Eye upon them, and even to observe whether their Masters do their duty.  
But to prevent, 
Piety joined with Study in the Society.  lest the love of Science should insensibly weaken the Spirit of Devotion, he failed not to prescribe divers means for the maintenance and increase of it; of which the Principal are, to frequent the Sacraments once a Week, to examine their Conscience twice a Day, to make every Year the Spiritual Exercise, and to renew their Vows twice in the Year, with great Preparatives, that is to say, during three days of Retirement, of Meditations, of extraordinary Penance; of a sincere declaration of their inward state to their Superior, and a general Confession.  
But judging it almost impossible, that much Study and speculation should not in time cause some dissipation, and dryness in that Unction, and Spirit, which belongs to a Religious life, he advised of an expedient, altogether new, to reform the inward man, when their Studies were ended. To which purpose, he appointed a third year of Noviceship, in which they should wholly apply themselves to the Exercises of a Spiritual life, without the least attention to human Learning. Whereas this second Noviceship is the last trial of those that are admitted into the Society, the Saint would have them exercised more than ever, in all those things that may improve them in the contempt of the World, and of themselves: That, only minding Prayer, and the reading of such Books, as may render them more Devout, and not more Learned, they should be employed to teach the Christian Doctrine, and perform their Missions in Towns and Villages.  
These are the ways, by which the General of the new Society, intended to form Apostolical Men, that should be eminent in Science, and Virtue; So that his first intention was, to raise such accomplished Workmen; But Nature, which tends to perfection in all its works, doth not always arrive to it. He discerned that of many Persons, who were admitted, some there would be, who for want of natural Talents, or of Qualities acquired, would not come up to that perfection, which the Institute requires: He also at the same time comprehended, that the productions of Nature, which are not the most perfect, ceased not however to be profitable; and that an indifferent Talon, well managed, might serve to great things; and that Workmen, who are not excelling, may aid and assist the great Masters.  
To this end, 
The different Degrees in the Society.  he constituted two different degrees in his Order; one of the Professed, and the other of Spiritual Coadjutors. The Professed make publicly the three solemn Vows of Religion, and add thereunto one of special Obedience to the Head of the Church, in regard of Missions among the Faithful, and Infidels. The Coadjutors also make in public the Vows of Chastity, Poverty, and Obedience; But they make not the fourth concerning Missions. It follows from this constitution of several Degrees, that there are three states in the Society, not to speak of Lay Brothers, who are called Temporal Coadjutors. The first is of Scholars approved, so they are called who are in the Way, during their Studies; The second is of Spiritual Coadjutors; And the third of Fathers Professed, both which last, are come to their Station.  
Whereas the State of Trial doth not imply a certain and fixed Situation, St. Ignatius judged, that the Society, proposing to themselves to try their Scholars, ought not to be obliged or bound to them, but under conditions; but, whereas it was incongruous that young Men should so long remain at liberty, and Masters of themselves, he judged, that for their particular good, and for that of the whole Body, they ought, on their part, to be absolutely engaged to the Society, by promising to live and die there, in the observance of the Vows of Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience; and also by tying themselves in a Vow express, to accept of any such degree, as should afterwards be found to be suitable for them.  
By the Vows of Chastity, of Poverty, and of Obedience, the Founder unites them to the Society, and makes them truly Religious men, since the Essence of a Religious State consists in the Promise, which is made to God, of perpetually observing the Evangelical Councils, as much as lies in us. But in ordaining, that the Vows of the Scholars should be simple Vows, he leaves to the Society, under the good pleasure of the Pope, the Power of Dispensing with them. By this means, he leaves to the Scholars themselves the right and property of their Goods, tho' he takes from them the power of using and disposing of them, independently of their Superiors: and this is an usage, received in Spain, in Italy, in Flanders, and in all other Countries, except in France, where the Parliaments have not thought fit to permit, what the Holy See, and the Council of Trent have granted, in approving the Institute.  
As for the Fathers professed, who make the Essential part of the Society, the Saint obliges them to an exact observance of Evangelical Poverty; and orders that the Professed Houses shall have no Revenue, tho' Noviciates, and Colleges ought to have them, in regard that it is not just for Novices, and Scholars to live at the charge of the public, before they are in a condition of serving it; not to say any thing of the hindrance, which the care of a livelihood might bring to their Devotions and Studies.  
On the other side, considering that Poverty is as it were the Bulwark of a Religious State, and that the most flourishing Orders, are almost fallen to Ruin, for not having well observed it, he ordains that the Professed shall make a particular Vow, never to consent to change any thing in the Society, in relation to Poverty, unless it be, to make it stricter than before.  
After having made so many Ordinances concerning the Disposition and Form of the whole Body, 
The General of the Society Perpetual and Absolute.  he made others relating to the Head, and the Members. He decreed in the first place, that the General should be Perpetual and Absolute, according to what he and his Companions had agreed upon, before the Society was approved by the Holy See; and many reasons determined him to it.  
As to the perpetuity, he thought that the first Charge being once filled, and not to be vacant before the Death of the Incumbent, there would be no ground for a Temptation in any, to aspire to it; That it would be less difficult to find one Man, that was capable of the place, then to find many; That a General, who is only temporary, can undertake no great thing in the Service of God, because great erterprises require a considerable time to have them well executed; Lastly, That perpetuity draws Reverence and Submission from Inferiors, by giving the Superior a Character indelible.  
As to the Authority of the General, he will have it to be Absolute, and he leaves him the Power of making Provincials, Superiors of Professed Houses, and Rectors of Colleges, and Noviciates. The aim of the Saint was, to keep all the Members in a continual dependence of the Head, and to free the Body of the Society, as much as might be, from those Commotions, which almost always precede, and accompany Capitular Elections; and so to contrive it, that this first Superior, being at a distance from the greatest part of his Subjects, might Govern without Passion, and without any other Interest, but that of the Order.  
And to the end, that the General may have knowledge of so many Persons, whom he never sees, besides that the Subordinate Superiors give him an Account in general every year of those, that are under their charge, they also send him, from three years to three years, Catalogues of every Province, in which are set down the Age of every one, their Ability, their natural Talents, their advancement in Learning and in Virtue, in a word, all their good or bad Qualities: And lest such faithful Memories should be lost, or should fall into the hands of Strangers, a Deputy, elected by the Provincial Congregation, which is held every three years in all the Provinces, and which is composed of the Rectors, and of the most Ancient Professed, carries these Catalogues to Rome, with Instructions to inform the General of the State and Condition of the Province, which deputes him.  
Moreover there are extraordinary occasions, in which Informations are made, of the life and capacity of particular Persons, the better to inform the General, and this is done when any are to be admitted to Degrees, or to Superiorships in the Society. But to the end, that these Informations may be certain and true, or such at least, as that out of them, he may be able to collect the very Truth, they are made in great secrecy, by three different Persons, who are to have no Communication upon the matter, nor one to know what the other doth: So that the General, joining all these Reports together, and confronting the particular Informations with the aforesaid Catalogues, may easily enough know, what his Inferiors are capable of.  
This first Superior would not be able to fulfil his Office, if he had not Talents proportionable to a charge of so great extent. Wherefore St. Ignatius in his constitutions draws the Character of a General, by marking down all the Qualities, which he requires in him; one may say that he drew himself to the life, not knowing what he did: But in regard the Idea which he had of himself, was so far distant from that, which he framed of a General, we are not to wonder, if he judged himself so incapable of that Office.  
The General therefore, according to the Saints Idea, aught to be in a close Union with God, in all his Exercises of Piety, and in all the Actions of his Life, to obtain from his Divine Majesty a plentiful supply of Grace for the whole Body of the Society, and that he would be graciously pleased to bless the means and endeavours of his Servants in the gaining of Souls. It is moreover necessary, that by his example, he should animate his Subjects to the practice of all sorts of Virtues; that Charity to our Neighbour should eminently appear in his Actions, with a true humility, to render him acceptable to God and to Men; that he must have no irregular Passion; and that he be so composed in his exterior, so circumspect in his words, that nothing may be observed, neither in his Person, nor in his Conduct, but what is winning and edifying.  
He ought so well to temper Severity with Mildness, as never to relent, or to recede, from what he judges most conformable to the will of God; and that he show such tenderness to his subjects, that even they, whom he reprehends, or punisheth, may be sensible of his Charity and Equity, how grievous soever his reprehension or punishment should be to them.  
He had need of no common strength and courage, to bear with the Infirmities of his Inferiors; to undertake and execute the most difficult things for the Service of God, and to be Proof against the Menaces, or the Entreaties of the Powers of the Earth; neither to be dejected by cross Accidents, nor to be elevated with favourable; always Master of himself, and of his Business; and always ready to suffer death for the good of the Society, when the Honour of Jesus Christ shall require it.  
It is moreover necessary, that there be joined in him a solid Judgement with a clearsighted Wit, that he may be able to carry himself equally well, in Matters of Speculation and of Practice. And tho' the Head of so many Learned Men must have no common share of Learning, yet the Science of the Saints is that which is most necessary for him, to discern the divers interior Spirits, and to cure the spiritual Diseases of those whom he Governs.  
Yet there will be required in him great Prudence and Sagacity, for the management of so many different Affairs, both within and without his Society; which Prudence must be accompanied with no less Vigilance, to lay hold on all occasions of acting for the good of his Community, and for the Glory of God; and with equal Vigour to prosecute, and to finish what he undertakes.  
For what concerns the Age, the Exterior, and the Health of a General, they must be such as may suit with the Authority, the Dignity, and with the Burden of his Office, that he may worthily perform all the Duties of it, to the greater Glory of God. Greatness of Birth, Titles of Honour, and Riches formerly enjoyed in the World, are Qualities not to be neglected in him. But above all, regard must be had, that he who is elected, have a clear Reputation, and not the least flaw in his past Conduct.  
Lastly, he must be of the number of the Professed; and that, if he hath not all the Talents that were to be desired in him, he be at least furnished with an exact Probity, a good Judgement, a Capacity proportionable to his Employment, and a tender Love for the Society.  
But St. Ignatius judging that the most accomplished Person could not suffice alone, to do all that was necessary in a Government of so great extent, assigns to the General four or five Persons of a consummated Experience, and of indefatigable Application, to be his Coadjutors, whom he calls Assistants; and they bear the Name of the Kingdom or Country from whence they come: for Example, of Italy, of Spain, of Germany, of France, and of Portugal. Each of these has the care of preparing the Matters of his Assistancy, and of putting them in such an order as may facilitate their Expedition. 'Tis by them that the Inferiors and the Superiors within their District, regularly make their Application to the General; I say regularly, for if any of these Assistants be upon a just ground suspected, they may Apply immediately to the Head.  
Lastly, 
How the Authority of the General is tempered.  the Founder, upon reflection that the General might possibly at some time make ill use of his Sovereign Authority, thought fit to qualify the Generalship with some Counterpoizes or Correctives. For which end, these Assistants are not chosen by the General, but by a general Congregation of the whole Society, which also chooses the General: And tho' they be particularly established to ease and assist him in his Charge, yet they are also, in some sort, to observe his Conduct; so that in case he should commit a scandalous Fault, or should dissipate the Revenue of Colleges, or should swerve from the sound Doctrine of the Faithful, they may against his Will call a general Congregation to depose him, according to Form; or if the Evil be pressing, and will not admit of so much delay, they have power to depose him themselves, after having first by Letters taken the Suffrages of the Provinces.  
So that, as absolute as the General of the Society is, his Power is no longer in assurance then his Conduct is regular. And upon this account it is, that St. Ignatius has ordered, That the Provincial Congregations, which are held every three years, should in the first place deliberate, Whether there be a necessity of assembling a general Congregation; That the Deputies of each Province, when arrived at Rome, should confer together upon this nice Point, without the participation of the General; and that in the Assembly which is held upon this Subject, every one should give his Vote in Writing, to the end, that being secret, the Suffrages might be free.  
Besides this, the General has always near him, as also the other Superiors have, a Person discreet and virtuous, from whom upon occasions he is to receive Admonitions. This Person, who is chosen by the general Congregation, is to represent to the General, what he or the Assistants shall observe to be Irregular in his Government, or in his Person; but he must do it with all possible Respect and Moderation.  
After all these Precautions and Preservatives against the ill Consequences that possibly may attend the Absoluteness of a single Person, 
The Union of the Members with their Head, and among themselves.  in a Religious Society, the Saint in the next place provides Means to preserve the necessary Union which the Members ought to have with their Head, and among themselves, without which no Body, whether Natural or Politic, can subsist; And these are many. 1. That the General should have a fixed Habitation, and that his ordinary Residence should be at Rome, that so an easy Communication may be held with him from all the Parts of the World. 2. That the Provincials and Rectors should write very often to him, that is to say, every Week, if conveniently it might be done, or at the least every Month. 3. That every particular Person may Address to him when he pleases, as a Child to his Parent, to open to him his Wants, or tell him his Grievances, and that he should treat him in a tender and Fatherly way. 4. That Obedience being the Bond which most of all unites the Members with the Head, it should be preserved in its full vigour; that a perfect dependence should be exacted from the subordinate Superiors, upon those who are immediately above them; and that according to the Rules of Subordination, the Rectors should not be less subject to the Provincials, and the Provincials to the General, than each particular Person is to the one or to the other. 5. That notwithstanding the diversity of Climates, and the antipathy of Nations, they should observe every where the same form of Life; That every one should prevent his Brother in good Offices, and kindly treat him upon all occasions; That they should express a particular affection to Strangers; and in conclusion, That all Breakers of Fraternal Charity should be rigorously punished.  
But to hinder the Body from altering and decaying with Time, 
Means found out by St. Ignatius to preserve the Society.  he found out two Expedients very efficacious. The first consists in Expelling all scandalous or incorrigible Persons, and such who make Dissension, or machinate, or contrive any thing against the Order. And the Saint Ordains, That no regard should be had either to their Birth or to their Learning; nor that the General himself should be spared, if found guilty of such Misdemeanours. He also Wills, That such Persons, who through their Laziness are wholly useless; and such who have essential Impediments, which at first they did not discover, should be Discarded. But he will have Rules observed in the Dismission of all sorts of People; That no body should be put out without a manifest Cause, and mature Deliberation; That the Scholars approved, and the Spiritual Coadjutors, should in such Case have Dispensations from their Vows, which being only simple, are dispensible; And if at their Entrance, or afterwards, they have given any thing to the Society, it should be punctually restored to them; That care be had to save the Reputation, as much as may be, of such as are Dismissed; and that if the Fault for which they are Excluded be not of itself notorious, it should be kept secret.  
He will not have them Expelled only for Corporal Infirmities, especially if they be contracted since their Admission. In conclusion, he Order, That when any one is to be Dismissed, the Superiors should use the same Precautions which skilful Surgeons are wont to have, when a Leg or an Arm is to be cut off.  
The Second extraordinary Means which St. Ignatius has contrived, to make his Order continue and flourish, is to Exclude all Ambition, and to keep their best Subjects within the Body, by obliging the Professed to make a Vow, never to seek after any Superiority in the Society, nor any Preferment of Prelature out of it; but to inform the General of all such whom they shall know to be any ways engaged in such Contrivances.  
The Saint, not content only to charge the Conscience of such as shall solicit for any Office, also renders them incapable of ever possessing any, from the moment that they are found guilty of such Solicitation. As for Ecclesiastical Dignities, they are not only forbid to seek them directly or indirectly, but they are moreover bound not to accept of them upon any account, unless the Supreme Pastor by express Command, and under pain of Mortal sin, should oblige them to it. Thus the Founder of the Jesuits provides that his Religious, spending their days in the Service of their Neighbour, shall propose to themselves no other Emolument but the Glory of Jesus Christ. And to render their Disinteressedness more perfect, according to the Example of the holy Apostle St. Paul, who testifies of himself, that he had rather die then Preach for Gain, St. Ignatius Ordains, That none of his Body shall receive any thing by way of Salary or Recompense, for any of their Functions. This is the true Platform of an Institute, of which so many false Copies have been made, which have almost equally imposed upon the Wise, and upon the Simple.  
After he had traced out his Constitutions in the manner which I have related, 
The Constitutions of the Society divided into Ten Parts▪  he afterwards gave them a new Form, and divided them into Ten Parts, which have an essential Connection. The First Part contains what Qualities are necessary for Admission, and what hinder it, or make it void.  
But in regard that all those who are received, do not always answer Expectation, and that it will be necessary to Dismiss some of them; the Second Part sets down the Reasons for which they are to be Dismissed, and the Manner of doing it. Whereas those who continue, and are upon trial, till such time as they are Incorporated into the Society, have need of help and assistance to become good Workmen. The Third and Fourth Parts treat of Devotion, of Health, and of Studies. These four Parts contain that which disposeth to the Profession of the four Vows. Wherefore the Fifth Explicates the Conditions of this eminent Degree, and also those of the inferior Degree. The Sixth and the Seventh prescribe Rules to the Professed, and to the Spiritual Coadjutors, for their Conduct in their Employments according to the Institute. These Seven Parts regard the whole Body of the Order; the Two following more nearly relate to the Head; how he is to be qualified, the Form of his Election, his Authority, and all that which appertains to him. Lastly, the Tenth sets down several Means for the Preservation and Growth of the Society.  
He wrote all his Constitutions in Spanish, and Father John Plancus, his Secretary, Translated them into Latin. They are filled with the Spiritual Unction of Grace, which an attentive Reader may easily feel; and an Apostolical Zeal is every where so diffused in them, that in every Page, and almost in every Line, these following Words are found: For the Good of Souls, For the Service of our Neighbour, For the Honour of His Divine Majesty, For the greater Glory of God.  
Whereas Laws do not always descend to Successors with Explanations, but that they have often need to be interpreted, the Saint adds to his, in Form of a Gloss, Chapter by Chapter, certain Declarations which have the same Authority with the Constitutions, and have also the same Spirit.  
Tho' before he wrote them, he had read the Rules and Histories of other Religious Orders, yet at the time of Writing them he never had in his Chamber any other Book but the New Testament, and Thomas a Kempis. During that time there was often seen a Flame over his Head, not much unlike that which appeared in Tongues of Fire over the Apostles, when the Holy Ghost descended from Heaven: And his Hours were spent in Tears of Devotion, in holy Ardours, in Raptures, and in Celestial Apparitions, as we read in a Paper-Book written with his own Hand, which Providence hindered from being burnt with many other Papers of the same nature, which he caused to be cast into the Fire some few days before his Death.   

THE LIFE OF St. IGNATIUS. The Fourth BOOK.  
WHile Father Ignatius was thus Employed at Rome, 
The Society begins to spread in Europe.  in doing good Works, and in Writing the Constitutions of his Order, many Towns of Italy, Spain, Germany, and of the Low Countries, sent to him for Workmen of his own Training, and offered him Colleges for the Forming of more. They followed in this the Example of John thee Third, King of Portugal, who having sent Father Xaverius to the Indies, and intending to send from time to time fresh Succours to Second him in his Apostolical Labours, Founded the First College of the Society in the University of Conimbria, to be a Nursery of Preachers, and of Apostles for the new World.  
Alcala, Valentia, Gandia, Collen, Louvain, and Milan, were the first Cities which desired to have the Children of Ignatius. In a little time they were sought for by all Catholic Countries, excepting France, where the Society, tho' in that Place it had its Birth, made the least progress; whether it were that the Heretics, who were then spread about in the Kingdom, made it their Business to render it odious; or that the War being renewed between Charles the Fifth, and Francis the First, they did not love a Society, whose Head and principal Members were Natives of Spain: So that, far from being desired by the Towns of France, those of the Society who Studied at Paris, and were not Frenchmen, were obliged to leave the Kingdom, in Obedience to an Edict, which banished thence all Subjects of the Emperor.  
At the same time many Learned Men of all Nations, 
The General receives and dismisses William Postel.  and even French, embraced the Institute of Ignatius; they came to Rome, to put themselves under the Direction of the Saint, and to learn of him the Science of Salvation. One of the most eminent was William Postel, born at Barenton in Normandy, and Professor Royal in the University of Paris: He had in point of Learning the greatest Wit of his Age, vivacious, penetrating, and joined with a prodigious Memory; an universal Genius, which was ignorant of nothing, and which excelled particularly in the knowledge of Tongues: Besides the Latin, the Greek, the Hebrew, the Chaldaic, and the Syriack, he so perfectly knew all those that are now spoken, and are the living Languages, that he has been heard to say, he could go the whole Round of the Earth without an Interpreter. Francis the First, a Lover of Learning, and the Queen of Navarr his Sister, not unskilled in Literature, looked upon Postel, as the Miracle of the Age. The greatest Persons, and among the rest, the Cardinals of Tournon, of Lorain, and of Armagnac, were greedy of his Company, and in a manner, made their Court to him. The most Learned admired him, and in speaking of him, it was a common Saying, That there came out of his Mouth as many Oracles as Words.  
The Reputation of the Society of Jesus all Europe over, raised a Curiosity in Postel, to see the Founder of this new Order, which made profession of Learning. Being come to Rome on this account, and having seen Father Ignatius more than once, he was so charmed with his way of Proceeding, his Maxims, and with the Character of his Institute, that Visiting the Seven Churches, he made a Vow to enter into his Society. And afterwards with so much instance he pressed his Admission, and expressed so much zeal for the Conversion of Jews and Idolaters, that Father Ignatius, who well knew the Abilities of Postel, could not refuse to receive him.  
But the Saint soon perceived that a fair outside had dazzled his Eyes; whereas he knew that Science breeds Pride, and that without profound Humility, the greatest Wits are the least proper to do great things in the Service of God, he himself took the charge of the Conduct of Postel. This Novice, who was about Forty years old, and who before his Voyage into Italy, with much Reading of Rabbins, and Contemplating the Stars, had raised Visions in his Brain concerning a new Coming of Jesus Christ, could not so well contain himself, but that sometimes these Extravagancies would come from him. The Father, who found at first, that Rabbinism and Judicial Astrology had a little turned his Brain, used all possible means for Two years together, to set him right in his Wits: After having tried charitable Remonstrances, and severe Reprehensions, he put him into the hands of Laynez and Salmeron, who endeavoured to undeceive him with solid Reasons, and advised him to read only St. Thomas. He moreover Addressed him to the Pope's Vicar, a Man Learned, Prudent, and every way Accomplished for the curing a distempered Wit. But seeing that all these Remedies were unprofitable, and that Postel became every day more and more Visionary, to the degree of playing the Prophet, he Expelled him from his Order, and forbade all those of the Society to have any Commerce with him.  
The Event did justify the Conduct of Ignatius. As soon as Postel was Dismissed, he set himself to Dogmatise in Rome, saying, for a colour of his leaving the Order, That it was not to be wondered at, if he could not agree with the holy Man Ignatius, since even St. Paul, and St. Barnabas were not of the same mind. Afterwards retiring to Venice, where he thought he should be more in safety. He was so infatuated concerning a certain Religious Woman, called Mother Joan, as to hold forth, That in this Coming of Jesus Christ, which according to his Predictions was to happen in few years, she should be the Redeemeress of Women, as Jesus Christ was to be the Redeemer of Men; and he composed a Book on this Subject, Entitled, De Virgin Veneta.  
As we wander without end, when we leave the strait Line of Truth, and whereas Fanaticism borders upon Frenzy, Postel published in his other Books, That all Sects should be saved by Jesus Christ; That the greatest part of the Mysteries of Christianity were only Fables; That the Angel Raphael had revealed to him the Divine Secrets, and that his Writings were the Dictates of Jesus Christ himself.  
So many Impieties would perhaps have cost him his Life, if he had not been judged Distracted. He was shut up for his Extravagances, and remained several years in Prison; at last he made his escape, and after having a long while roamed about, he returned into France by the way of Geneva, more Libertine, and more Extravagant than ever. Yet at last it pleased God to give him his Wits, and the Grace to acknowledge his Impieties, in an extreme old Age, and to die in the Communion of the Church. It is said that he lived an hundred years, and that about the end of his days, he in a manner grew young again, so that his white Hairs returned to be black.  
About the time that Father Ignatius Expelled Doctor Postel, 
He chooseth Laynez and Salmeron for the Council of Trent.  his Holiness Paul the Third, who ever since his Promotion, still had it in his thoughts to remedy the Evils of Christendom, and who had lately made Peace between the Emperor and the King of France, demanded two Divines of the Society, who should Assist in his Name with his Legates, at the General Council to be held at Trent. The Father chose James Laynez and Alphonsus Salmeron; both of them indeed very young, the first being Four and thirty, and the other but Thirty years old, but both of them so Learned, and so Instructed in the Matters of Religion, that the old Divines looked upon them as their Masters.  
Laynez, whom the Venetians obtained, from the time that the Institute was first Approved by the Holy See, was Employed over the whole State of the Signiory; and the chief of his Business was to preserve Venice, Milan, and the other Towns, from the Errors of Germany, where they had insensibly crept in▪ Salmeron did the same at Modena, whither after his return from Ireland, he had been called by the Cardinal John Moron, Bishop of the Town; into which Place those new Heresies had also found their way.  
Tho' Father Ignatius did much rely upon the Virtue both of the one and the other, 
The Advertisements which he gives to Laynez and Salmeron.  yet the fear he had least the Title of The Pope's Divines, in the most August Assembly of the World, should a little dazzle Men so young, obliged him to give them, before their departure, some Advertisements and Instructions for their Conduct. After recommending to them in general, to seek in all things, during the Council, the greatest Glory of God, and the common Good of the Church, without neglecting their Neighbour's Souls, and their own Perfection, he prescribes to them in Particular these following Rules. Always to give their Opinions with modesty, and in those occasions to show more Humility than Learning; To observe with great attention the Sentiments and Reasons of those who first Opine, that afterwards they may either speak or be silent, as the Matter requires; When any Points are Debated, always to set forth the Reasons on both sides, that they may not appear wedded to their own Judgement; and never to quote any living Author for a Guarrantie of their Opinions, that they may not seem to be tied up to any Man's Judgement; To Visit Hospitals at least every Fourth day, to Catechise Children, to Preach Penance to the People; but without touching in their Sermons upon any Point of Controversy which may perplex their Understandings; but only in general exhorting them to submit their Judgements to the Decisions of the Church. Lastly, to excite their Auditors incessantly to pray for the good success of the Council. This farther Advertisement he gives them, That as in the Assemblies where Questions of Faith are Treated, a moderate and concise Discourse is most suitable; so when they come into the Chair, they should be more diffuse and vehement.  
He afterwards declared to them, that these Directions did as well regard Claude le Jay, who was at that time in Germany, much employed in making head against the Heretics, and whom Cardinal Otho Bishop of Ausburg, was upon sending to Trent in Quality of his Divine, and of his Legat. He added, That when they should be all three together, they should live in a perfect Concord, without interfering in Opinions and Judgements; That every Night they should confer upon what had passed that Day, and deliberate every Morning upon what they had to do the rest of the Day; That they should let slip no occasion of doing good Offices to every body, and to themselves, in admonishing one another of their Faults, in not leaving any thing uncorrected, and in mutually animating one another to lead an unblameable Life.  
The satisfaction which Father Ignatius had to see the Council opened at last, 
He reconciles the King of Portugal and the Pope.  after so many Lets and Delays, was much allayed by the Misunderstanding than happening between the Pope, and the King of Portugal, which arose upon the account of the famous Michael de Silua. This Portuguez, descended from the Illustrious House of the Counts de Portalegre, and Son of Don Diego de Silua, who had been Governor to the King Don Emanuel, having resided a long time with the Popes, Leo the Tenth, Adrian the Sixth, and Clement the Seventh, was called back from his Embassy of Italy by Don John the Third, Successor to Don Emanuel, and provided at his return, not only with the Bishopric of Viseu, but also with the Office of Protonotury, of Secretary of the Kingdom. He was afterwards nominated Cardinal by Paul the Third, who had known him in the former Pontificates.  
Whereas his Promotion was properly the Work of Cardinal Alexander Farnesius, his Friend, and the Pope's Nephew. Portugal being wholly a Stranger to it, it shockt the King, who would not have his Subjects owe their Preferment to any but himself: So that this Prince would never be induced to give way that the Bishop of Viseu should receive his Cap.  
The Bishop, persuaded that Princes do not easily recede, and that having lost the good Graces of his Master, he had more yet to fear, departed secretly out of Portugal, and went into Italy, whither Fortune seemed to call him. Being come to Rome, he was made Cardinal with great Solemnity, and his Disgrace in Portugal, joined with his great Merit, were the occasion of extraordinary Honours done him.  
The King, irritated with the Flight, and with the Reception of the Bishop, began his Resentment by depriving him of the Revenue of his Bishopric, and by forbidding his Subjects, under grievous Penalties, to have any Communication with him. He highly complained of the Court of Rome, and above all, against Cardinal Farnesius, who Employed Cardinal de Viseu in the most important Affairs of the Church. That which galled him most, was, that Cardinal Contarini, Legat of Paul the Third with the Emperor Charles the Fifth, being dead in his Legatship of Spain, they sent Michael de Silua in his Place, with the Character, and the full Power of a Legate Apostolical.  
The Pope no less displeased on his side, condemned the Proceedings of the King of Portugal, and upon occasions, made his Complaints to Father Ignatius, who was wont to speak to him of this Prince, as of the most Religious Monarch in Europe. The Breach began to widen, and to produce ill effects in behalf of Religion, when the Father undertook to heal it. In the first place, he had his recourse to God, in whose hands are the Hearts of the Great ones of the Earth, and he ordered Prayers in his whole Society, to draw a Blessing from Heaven upon his undertaking. He wrote at the same time to Lisbon, where his Counsels were well received: He treated with Cardinal Farnesius, and with the Pope, who both had confidence in him, and he so well managed the Parties, and the Business, on both sides, that so nice and so difficult a matter was easily composed. In testimony of a sincere Reconciliation, the King restored Cardinal de Viseu into Possession of the Revenues of his Bishopric, and the Pope granted to the King considerable Privileges, in favour of the Tribunal of the Inquisition, Established in Portugal.  
These Foreign Employments did not hinder Father Ignatius from discharging at home all the Duties of his Charge. 
His Domestical Government,  He made divers Regulations, according to the diversity of Occurrences; He gave all necessary Orders, but after a way, rather of Entreating, then Commanding. In distributing employments, he had regard to the inclinations of those whom he employed, tho' on their parts, he will have them indifferently disposed to any.  
It was his custom to choose persons of great experience, for Offices in the Society; And yet he would not stick sometimes to put in less experienced subjects, to govern under him in Rome: This he did, to try their Talents, and to form them himself, by observing their deportments. But he never sent in laborious missions any but Men of tried virtue. He spared the weak, and the less perfect, sometimes with design of making them take notice of their own weakness, and to the end, that shame should stir them up to become more Vigorous; or if he gave them Employments of some hardship, it was at their own request, and upon condition, that if they found themselves over burdened, they should freely declare it to him.  
Nevertheless, when he met with those rough, indocible tempers, whose harshness of Nature was accompanied with a robust Constitution, he would load them with employments, harder than the rest; and if peradventure they fell sick, he was not much troubled at it, as thinking, that the Infirmity of their Body, might tame their dispositions, and prove beneficial to their Souls.  
When they asked him any thing of Consequence, he commonly told them the reasons he had to refuse it them, to the end, that he who obtained it not, should be the better content, and that he, who received a savour, should be more reserved in ask new ones. But for the most part, he never denied any, but when his Conscience would not permit him to grant it; and even his refusal he sweetened with such obliging terms, that they always went away satisfied. His very reprehensions he seasoned with so much civility, or at least he so tempered them, that altho' they were smart and penetrating, yet they were not harsh nor reflecting.  
He had so good an opinion of his own, that he could not believe any thing, that was said against their Honour; and he loved them all so well, that every one thought himself to be the most beloved: He so accommodated himself to the humour of every one in particular, as if his own had been transformed into theirs, and this with an Air so plain, and natural, that one would have said, he was born that which he seemed to be.  
Tho' he would have the Novices well tried, 
His Conduct towards the Novices.  yet he treated them like tender Plants, newly transplanted, which still partake of the Soil, whence they came. A Rich man, who was received into the Society, had a Crucifix well wrought, and of great Prince, of which he was very fond; the General let him have it. In the mean time the Novice made great progress in Virtue, and particularly laboured in the overcoming himself. As soon as the General perceived it. This goes well, says he, since the Brother is not only disengaged from the World, but also from himself, we may venture to take out of his hands the Image of Christ Crucifi'd, for now he has him in his Heart. And in effect he took away the Crucifix, and the Novice, who was now well weaned, without difficulty parted with it.  
The Conduct, which he observed towards Persons Illustrious, by their Birth, or by their Learning, who embraced the Institute, is very remarkable. He showed great consideration for them in the beginning, he called them Counts, Marquesses, Doctors, till such time as they grew ashamed to be called by those Names, and that they asked themselves not to be distinguished. But when he saw, that they began to relish the Maxims of the Gospel, and that they marched in the way of Perfection, there were none whom he mortified more. He took pleasure in making a Man of Quality stoop to the meanest Offices, in humbling a Doctor, and he gave it not over, till he had quite made them forget what they had been. This he did, first to let the World know that among the Jesuits, advantages of Birth and of Knowledge, are of no reckoning without Humility, and that, to be great among them, they must be little in their own Eyes; and in the second place, because a Religious Society always receives from such sort of Persons, either a great deal of Honour, or a great deal of Confusion.  
There was nothing which he would leave undone, to strengthen those, who began to grow weary of carrying the Yoke of Jesus Christ, and were in danger of falling from their Vocation. He went one night to the Chamber of a Father, who had resolved to return into the World, and after many remonstrances, both of the Rewards and Punishments of the next Life, he made such impressions upon his Heart, that this Father fell at the feet of the General, and offered to undergo what Punishment he would Impose upon him. One part of your Penance (said Father Ignatius embracing him) shall be, never to repent you more of having served God; for the other part, I will take it upon me, and perform it myself.  
A young Germane, who had great Natural parts, was tempted to leave the Order. Father Ignatius, who had taken him in, and judged him very proper for the Ministry of the Gospel, did what he could to keep him: But the German, so violent was his temptation, would hearken to nothing. The Father seeming to yield to him, entreated the Novice to stay at least some few days in the House, and to live as he pleased, without being subject to any Rule. He accepted the offer, and lived at first with all the liberty of a Man, who had shaken off the Yoke of Discipline. But after a while, he grew ashamed of his way of living, when he considered, how modest and regular the rest were; and in conclusion he effectually repent of his inconstancy.  
If the General discovered, that this sort of Temptations came from any secret sin, or from a vicious habit, he endeavoured to find out the root of the Disease, and exhorted the Culpable to make an exact Confession. To engage them to do it, he often made use of the same pious Artifice, which he had formerly tried with success upon that Religious Man, whom he reclaimed from Libertinism, and would recount to them at large the disorders of his own Worldly life. He would never permit them to be left alone; and whereas the night is commonly the time, in which the Devil, and Melancholy most torment those, who are so tempted, he ordered that some prudent, and agreeable Companion should lie near them, to entertain them when they waked, and with wholesome Discourses by little and little to dissipate those black Vapours, which so distempered them.  
Lastly, If all this were unsuccesful, he called together all the Fathers, and desired him, who had a mind to depart, to tell them his reasons, hoping, that a public Declaration from them all, would make the poor wretch sensible of his delusion, or that God would inspire the Fathers with such Arguments, as might convince him.  
The General in his Government was no less careful of the Corporal Infirmities of his subjects, 
His care for the Sick.  then of their Spiritual. He Ordained in the beginning of his Generalship, that as soon as any of them fell sick, they should advertise him of it, and that twice a day they should come to tell him, whether the Brother, that had care of the Provisions, did his part in furnishing them with all necessaries. He would have nothing spared in their behalf, and that if Money were wanting for it, they should sell their very Movables, for the relief of the sick.  
The Physician having one day prescribed some choice Meat for a Lay Brother, whose Stomach was very weak, and the General being told, that there was not two Shillings in the House; let them be laid out, said he, for the Brother; we that are in health, and have good Stomaches, will content ourselves to day only with bread. Two other Brothers, who were disigned for Domestic services, the one a Spaniard, and the other a Frenchman, were scarce entered into the Noviceship, but a Fever took them. There were at that time many sick in the House, and all the Chambers were full; besides Provisions at that time were very scanty in the Family. Some advised Father Ignatius to send the two Brothers to the Hospital: By no means, said he, it would be a great shame, that we should have no place among us, for those, who have left all for God.  
His business did never hinder him from often visiting the sick, and when the Disease was dangerous, or very painful, he would many times rise in the night, to see the Patient, and to ease his pain with consolatory Discourses. Nor could he rest in his Bed, when any under his charge, had any Distemper extraordinary. A young Brother being upon some urgent occasion let Blood in the night, the General not content only with visiting him, and with leaving People to tend him, sent twice or thrice to see him. Such as know not, how tender and condescending Charity is, will perhaps be surprised, that to divert and recreate a certain Father, whom Melancholy had made insupportable both to himself and others, Father Ignatius should cause some of the Novices, that had been trained to Music, to Sing and Play about his Bed.  
But as tender as he was of his Children, he would have them in time of their sickness, to be under a perfect submission, and to look upon their Disease, as the gift of God. If any words of Impatience came from them, or if they were froward and peevish, as soon as they were recovered, he failed not to punish them.  
To speak in general, when any had committed a fault, which deserved Punishment, the first thing, which the Saint did, was to make the Offender sensible of his Transgression, and then he engaged him to set his own Penance, which if it were too rigorous, the Saint would always moderate it. When those, who had Transgressed, did amend, he treated them afterwards in the same manner, as if they had never offended; he did not only forget the fault, but by his way of proceeding, he made the Offender himself in a manner forget it too, and lose part of that shame, which sticks after a fall, and which sometimes disheartens Men in the way of Virtue.  
He often gave very great Penances for light faults, 
His Zeal for regular Discipline.  if they were against Religious Discipline, being persuaded, that if it were not rigorously maintained in a new founded Order, it would after a while be quite lost. He said, that what appeared nothing in itself, might be the rise of greatest disorders, and that small faults publicly committed, were at least bad examples, which lead to a dissolution of Government.  
Nor would he suffer any innovation in the Society, but always vigorously opposed it, even to the treating those, as Enemies, and Rebels, who offered to change any thing in the Institute, tho' under pretence of making it more perfect. He did not this, because he would have his subjects content themselves with a common degree of Sanctity; for he continually excited them to get up to the perfection of their State, proposing to them, what God required from them, according to the Spirit of their Vocation; and this his Solicitude, was not confined only to Rome, or to Italy, but extended itself over the whole body, which now did increase daily, and spread itself; and his principal care was, to banish out of it, the profane Spirit of the World.  
Being informed, that Antonio Araos, whose Spiritual labours were very successful in the Court of Spain, seemed a little too much to look after the conversation, and favour of great Persons, upon supposition of gaining Credit to his Ministry, he sent him a sharp reprimand, advertising him, that the necessary Authority for Ministers of the word of God, was much better gained by the Exercises of Christian Humility, then by the Commerce of Great ones.  
But it seems a little sttrange, that perceiving Simon Rodriguez to have a great interest in the King, and the Court of Portugal, he should have the thoughts of calling that holy Man back into Italy, fearing lest the World might insensibly change him. And this he had done, if the King of Portugal had not himself opposed it, earnestly requesting Father Ignatius, that he would leave him Rodriguez to instruct and educate the Prince, his Son.  
A young Portuguez, called Antonio Monis, who had been received into the Society about three or four years, fled out of the College of Conimbria, upon the only motive of Libertinism. After having lurked some time at Lisbon, without daring to appear, he rambled about all Spain, and his curiosity led him to Montserrat. This holy Place put good thoughts into him: He grew sensible of his Apostasy, when he beheld the Sword of Ignatius, which still hung up near the Altar of our Lady; and his Heart being touched, he said, with the Prodigal Child, I will go to my Father. He did so, but being come to Rome, he had not the confidence to appear before Father Ignatius, who was informed of his desertion; but he writ to him from the Hospital of St. Anthony of the Portuguez, whither his necessities had forced him to retire.  
The Father immediately took him out of the Hospital, and provided him with all necessaries; but he would not receive him into his House, he made him lodge close by, and so for twelve days kept him at a distance. Monis spent that time in bewailing his Crime, and the fervour of his Repentance went so far, that he visited the seven Churches of Rome, disciplining himself all the way. Father Ignatius at last received him again among his Children, and by divers marks of his kindness, gave him to understand, that he no longer looked upon him, as a Desertor: This Charitable Reception did not hinder the Portuguez, wounded with remorse of his sin, from falling into a linger Fever, which by degrees brought him to his end. But he conceived no little comfort and joy, to die in the Arms of his good Father, and he ceased not from praising the Mercy of God, which had recalled him into the Society.  
In this while, 
Le Jay, Laynez, and Salmeron, at the Council of Trent.  Father Ignatius had news, that the three Divines, who were come to Trent, to assist in the Council which was now begun, did worthily maintain the Honour of the Society, and the Interest of the Church. Le Jay, who first arrived there, immediately entered into the good opinion, and esteem of the Cardinal of Trent, who consulted with him upon the most difficult affairs. Salmeron pronounced before the Fathers of the Council a very Eloquent Oration in Latin, which gained the applause of the whole Assembly. Laynez made himself admired from the first time, that he spoke; and they all three made their profound Learning so eminently appear, that the Pope's Legates gave them the Employment, of making a Collection of all the errors of the Ancient, and Modern Heretics, with all the Authorities of Scripture, Fathers, Councils, and Doctors, which directly oppose them.  
But that, which most pleased Father Ignatius, was, that when they were not employed upon the business of the Council, they visited Hospitals, Catechised Children, and begged Alms, not only for poor Catholic Soldiers, who had served in Germany, of whom the Town was full, but also for themselves. The Pope's Legates seeing their Cassocks all worn out, caused new ones to be made for them, that they might appear more decently in the Council; but they, when the Sessions were over, did still put on their old ones again.  
Of all the Transactions they duly gave an Account to their General, and asked his Advice in difficult matters. Having once made their Application to him, to know, how they were to carry themselves, upon the subject of certain new opinions, proposed by some of the Prelates, which did a little lean towards the Sentiments of Luther, tho' they seemed not to be very unreasonable, he nevertheless expressly Commanded them, not to leave them unopposed, declaring to them, that in matter of Religion, the most plausible Novelties were often the most dangerous; that speculative Arguments did not render a Doctrine more Catholic, and that, till such time as the Church shall decide, what we are to believe of such suspected Opinions, we should have a care how we judge, or speak favourably of them. They took his Answers for Oracles; and Laynez did usually say, that if Father Ignatius were at the Council, he would do great Service to the Church.  
In the mean time, the Emperor not being able to resist the Prayers of the Catholics, declared War against the Protestants, who would not acknowledge the Council. Frederick Duke of Saxony, and William Landgrave of Hesse, were at the Head of an Army of fourscore thousand Men, who were in their March against the Emperor's Forces, so that, whereas the troubles of Germany for some time had interrupted the Council, Father Ignatius, who had need of Laynez at Florence, would have called him from Trent, during this Recess. But the Cardinal of Sancta Croce, the Pope's Legate, stopped him; not by his absolute Authority, nor without writing to Father Ignatius: For after having represented to him, that they could not spare Laynez at Trent, because he was appointed to make an exact Collection of the Heresies, which regard the Sacraments, he entreated him not to take it amiss, that he detained the Father, at least till such time, as the Collection was finished; adding withal, that if his reasons did not seem to him sufficient, he would dismiss him upon his next orders.  
The Bishop of Trieste dying about that time, 
Le Jay nominated to the Bishopric of Trieste.  Ferdinand King of the Romans, who had Zeal for Religion, and to whom Trieste with its dependencies belonged, as being a Town within the Precincts of Istria, of which the Archduke's of Austria are Supreme, thought this Diocese, being a near Neighbour to Germany, would require a very Learned, and Vigilant Pastor. He cast his eyes upon Claud le Jay, who was at Trent, and immediately wrote to him about it. The Prince had been informed, what this Missioner of the Society had done, at Ratisbon, at Ingolstat, and at Nurenburg, in the Conversion of Heretics; and he had been himself a witness of the good effects, which his Sermons had wrought at Worms, among the Faithful.  
The nomination of le Jay was a stroke of Thunder to him, 
Le Jay refuses the Bishopric of Trieste.  and it's said, that he was like to die with grief: He was a Man of the greatest modesty, and who had proposed to himself all his life time, to shun Honour and Dignity, according to the Spirit of his Father Ignatius. He answered the King of the Romans; that so heavy a charge was above his strength; that dignities did not suit with the Society of Jesus, and that Bishops were not thence to be chosen. At the same time he informed Father Ignatius of King Ferdinand's design, and humbly requested him vigorously to mediate with the Pope, to break it, protesting withal, that if Obedience did not tie him to attend the Council, he would hide himself where no body should find him.  
This refusal served only to confirm Ferdinand in the choice which he had made. He sent to Venice the Bishop of Labac, his Confessor, to prevail upon le Jay, whom the Pope's Legates had made go thither, against his will. But understanding that the Bishop could work nothing upon a Man, whom principles of Conscience had rendered inflexible, he earnestly entreated the Pope, that he would lay his Commands upon Father le Jay, to accept of the Bishopric of Trieste; and he ordered his Ambassador to follow the business with all Vigour at Rome.  
Father Ignatius, 
St. Ignatius opposes the Promotion of le Jay.  who had been alarmed, when he first heard the nomination of le Jay, was much more so, when he saw, that the Pope and the Cardinals did approve it. Whereas he was persuaded, that the true interest of the Church required, that his Society should be extempt from all Ecclesiastical Dignities, he spared no pains to convince the Sacred College of it. But finding that they were not of his sentiment, and that Ferdinand still persisted in his, he took a course, which seemed to him the most Natural, and it was, to write to Ferdinand himself. Having therefore according to his custom, implored the assistance of Heaven, and caused the business to be retarded by the entermise of Margaret of Austria, whose conscience he governed, after the death of Father Codurus, he writ in these terms to the King of the Romans.  
We are not ignorant of your Majesty's Zeal for the good of your People, nor of the affection, you are pleased to have for our Society. We praise God for both, and we humbly pray his Divine Majesty, to furnish you with means happily to accomplish, what your Piety undertakes.  
But in rendering you our most humble thanks, for the Favours and Graces you vouchsafe to heap upon us, we must be bold to say, you cannot oblige us more, then by assisting us to march in the straight way of our Institute. Ecclesiastical Dignities are so contrary to it, that according to the Idea, which we have of it, nothing is more capable to alter and destroy it. For those, who formed this Society, made it their principal end, to Preach the Gospel in all parts of the World; and its true Spirit, is to seek the Salvation of Souls, and the Honour of God, without being confined to employments or places. Religius Societies no longer can subsist, than they preserve their primitive Spirit; and if ours be lost, or taken from us, how can our Body be kept alive? We are but nine Professed, of which four or five have already refused Prelatures: If one of us now should accept a Bishopric, will not the rest believe, they have right to do the same? And when the Members are thus separated, what will become of the Community? This little Order since its Birth has made no small progress by the way of Humility, and of Poverty: If the People should come to see us Clothed with Honours and Dignity, will they not be scandalised at the change of our Maxims, and of our Conduct? And will they not receive Impressions of us, which may render us useless in the Ministry of the Gospel? But what need we offer our reasons to your Majesty, we implore your Goodness and your Wisdom: We lay ourselves under your Royal Protection: We humbly supplicate for the service of Jesus Christ, and for the good of Souls, that you will vouchsafe to maintain, to the Honour of his Divine Majesty, this little new born Society. May it please the same Infinite Goodness, long to preserve your Sacred Person, and to pour on you all sorts of Benedictions.  
The Letter of the General had all the effect that could be desired. Ferdinand laid down his thoughts of Father le Jay, for the Bishopric of Trieste; and he charged his Ambassador to inform the Pope of it. The occasion seemed favourable to Father Ignatius fully to instruct the Pope upon this Subject. One day he represented to him, 
He declares his reasons to the Pope, of refusing Ecclesiastical Dignities.  that this small Society, which in the whole number, did not contain more than two hundred Persons, would in a little time grow weak, and be quite dissipated, if their ablest Subjects, which are the support of the rest, should be drawn from them; That the promotion of one might cause great disorders, by stirring up Ambition in the rest; That when Religious Persons have once pretensions of Greatness, they grow more Worldly than the very Men of the World; That those, who had embraced the Institute of the Society, out of a Spirit of Charity, and of Zeal, would easily fall off from their laborious Employments, through the hope of Ecclesiastical Preferment, or at least, the prospect of it would make their motives less pure, and their intentions less direct; That Jealousy would not fail to insinuate itself among several Competitors, and that if all did not aspire to Honours, there would at least be but little union among those, who acted not by the same designs, and principles.  
He added, that the Professed, being devoted to the Service of the Holy See, in regard of Missions, and having more access in the Court of Rome, they would be more in the occasion of seeking, and would have more opportunity of obtaining Preferments; That labouring in the Courts of Princes, they would be less free, and courageous in discharging the duty of their Ministry, if there were something for them to hope here below, and that the Princes themselves would perhaps make less use of them, if their services looked for Recompense: Nor did he pretend herein to disapprove the accepting Ecclesiastical Dignities, nor to condemn those Religious, who are thereunto raised, for the good of Christianity, and who possess them, with the Edification of the Faithful; That there is great difference between this Society, and other Orders; That these, by their Antiquity, and long continuance, had acquired strength sufficient to bear the weightiest charges, but that the other, being newly entered into the world, was yet too weak for them. Holy Father (he said) recalling his Ancient Ideas of the War) I consider all other Orders, in the Army of the Church Militant, as so many Squadrons of Cuirassiers, who are to remain in the Post assigned them, who keep their Ranks, and face the Enemy, always in the same Order, and with the same manner of fight. But for us (he continued) we are as so many Light Horsemen, who must be always ready upon occasion of Alarms, and Surpizes, to Attack, or make a Stand, according to different conjunctures; to go every where, and to Skirmish on all sides.  
He concluded, that Missioners, such as they were who must not only go from Town to Town, from Province to Province, but must fly from one Pole to the other, at the least beck of the Vicar of Jesus Christ, could not be fixed any where.  
With these reasons the Pope did acquiesce, and was persuaded, that their refusal of Ecclesiastical Dignities would not be less beneficial to the Church, then to the Society. Some have believed, that the business of Trieste gave the first occasion to the General, of obliging the Professed, by Vow, not to seek after Prelatures, and to refuse them, when offered. But it is certain, that he had taken that Resolution before, and from the time, that he first came to Rome with Faber and Laynez. For going one day with them to see the Marquis d' Aquilar, than Ambassador of Charles the Fifth, with Paul the Third, and their Discourse falling upon the reports, which were then spread against the new Society, the Marquis told him, that he was suspected to cover a great Ambition under an exterior Humility, and that it was publicly said, a Cap or a Mitre was the motive of his Journey. The Father was so surprised at this Discourse, that at first he only answered it by making the sign of the Cross. Afterwards, as if he had been inspired on the sudden by God, he made a Vow before the Marquis, never to accept any Ecclesiastical Dignity, unless he were obliged to it, under pain of Sin, by the Vicar of Christ; and some time after he renewed this Vow in the presence of a Cardinal.  
The affairs of the Society were in this Posture, 
The Society begins to Instruct youth in Learning.  when Father Ignatius thought it seasonable, that it should be employed in the instruction of Youth. The Zeal of Francis de Borgia, Duke of Gandia, to whom the sight of the dead Body of the Empress had given a disgust of the things of this World, and who after the death of his Duchess, gave himself wholly to God, was the first rise and occasion of beginning so profitable a work. There being within his Lordships a great number of Baptised Moors, of which the greatest part had renounced Mahometanism only in appearance, he judged that to secure the Souls of the younger Brood, and wholly to extirpate that pernicious Sect, he ought to provide for the Education of their youth: and in order thereunto, to Found a College of the Society in his Town of Gandia, where the Children of all his Vassals should be Educated in Virtue and Learning.  
This design he communicated to Father Ignatius, and asked his advice, and assistance for the Execution of it: Who immediately gave order to Father Faber, then at Valladolid, to wait upon the Duke, and to serve him in the Establishment of this College, before he came to Trent, whither Paul the Third had called him, to be joined with Salmeron and Laynez. As soon as the Duke and Father Faber had regulated matters, according to the Instructions of the General, there were presently sent thither Professors out of five or six different Nations, all able Men, and chosen by Father Ignatius himself, and each of them opened his School with a Latin Harangue before the Duke, and all his Court.  
It was therefore in the year 1546, and six years after the Confirmation of the Institute, that the Jesuits first opened their Schools in Europe, I say in Europe, because in the year preceding, those of the Society, whom Father Ignatius had sent out of Italy, and out of Portugal to Father Xaverius, having been put into possession of the Seminary of Goa, Founded some few years before by King John the Third, for Educating the Indian youth, Nicholas Lancillotti an Italian, had begun to teach the Children the Principles of the Latin Tongue.  
But at Gandia they did not only teach these first Elements of Sciences, 
The General's Directions for good Order in the Colleges.  for besides Grammar, there were Schools of Poetry, Rhetoric, Philosophy, and Divinity; and to give the greater Credit to the College, the Duke obtained from the Pope, and from the Emperor, to have it Erected into an University, and that the Scholars who there took Degrees, should have all the Privileges which are enjoyed by the Graduates of Alcala, and of Salamanca. Father Ignatius Ordained, for the good order of the College, that the Professors should be very careful in their Method of teaching, that in each faculty they should follow the most received Authors, as in Philosophy Aristotle, and in Divinity St. Thomas: He recommended, that they should often exercise the memories of those young Scholars, who were not yet come to ripeness of judgement, and that in making them recite, what they had got without book, they should accustom them betimes to pronounce well: That they should stir up young Wits by frequent Disputations, quickening them with emulation, and sometimes setting the more forward and capable, against those, who were behind them, that so both one and the other, might either be animated with Glory, or excited by Shame; that the Slothful and the Libertines should be punished, but that the Masters themselves should not Chastise their Scholars; This last Order he made, both to observe the Decency of a Religious state, and to prevent all passion in Corrections.  
Besides this, insomuch as it was his principal Design to form the Manners of Youth, he expressly forbade the reading any Author, either Latin or Greek, that might corrupt their Innocence; unless such Authors be first purged of all that is obscene. He ordered that the Scholars should every Day hear Mass; That every Month they should go to Confession; That when they begin School, they should all together say some short Prayer, to ask God's assistance in their Studies; And that once a Week, by Catechisms and Exhortations, they should be Instructed in the Verities of Faith, and in the Rules of good Life. He also prescribed to the Masters, that upon every fit occasion, both in School and out of School, in their familiar Discourses, they should speak to them of Heavenly things. These Rules observed, made Doctrine and Piety flourish at Gandia, under the Conduct of Father Andrew Oviedo, Rector of the College.  
About this time it was, that Isabel Rosella coming to Rome to see Father Ignatius took a Resolution of leaving the World, and of living according to the Evangelical Counsels under the Obedience of the Society. Two Roman Ladies of great Virtue joined with her in this Design, and they obtained leave of the Pope to embrace this kind of Life. Tho' F. Ignatius well saw, that this sort of Directions was not very agreeable to his Institute, yet his Gratitude towards his Benefactrix, and the small number of these new Religious prevailed with him, to take upon him the care of them. But he soon repent of it, and was heard to say, That the Government of three Devotees was more troublesome, then that of the whole Society: For in fine, there was no end with them; at all hours their Doubts must be resolved, their Scruples must be cured, their Grievances must be heard, and even their Quarrels must be reconciled.  
This obliged him to represent to the Pope, 
He delivers the Society from the Government of Religious Women.  how incongruous such an Employment would be to the Society, and how necessary it was that his Holiness should deliver them from it; For he judged, that this small Community of Jesuitesses, which yet consisted but of three Persons, would in time become numerous, and multiply in other Towns: but the Consideration which he had of the Catalonian Lady, from whom he had received so many good Offices, and who so earnestly requested him not to abandon her, made him manage the Matter with all possible fairness and condescendency. Here is the Copy of a Letter which he writ to her upon this Subject.  
Right Venerable Dame Isabel Rosella, my Mother and my Sister in Jesus Christ.  
TRuly I should be very glad, for the greater Glory of God, to satisfy your good Desires, and to procure your Spiritual Advancement, in keeping you still under my Direction, as you have been for the time past: but the continual Indispositions to which I am subject, and all my other Employments in the Service of God, and of his Vicar upon Earth, will no longer permit me so to do. On the other side, being persuaded, according to the light of my Conscience, that our little Society ought not to take upon them the particular Conduct of any Women, who are not engaged in a Religious State by the Vows of Obedience, as I have fully declared to our Holy Father the Pope; it appears to the, that for the greater Glory of God, I ought not any longer to look upon as my Spiritual Child, but only as my very good Mother, as you have been for many years, to the greater Glory of God. So that, for the greater Service, and the greater Honour of the Eternal Goodness, I Resign you, as much as in me lies, into the Hands of the Sovereign Bishop, to the end, that taking his Judgement and his good Pleasure for your Rule, you may find Repose and Consolation, to the greater Glory of his Divine Majesty.  
At Rome the First of October, 1549.  
This Letter, which is so full of the Spirit of the Saint, and where those Words, which he had always in his Mouth, are so often repeated, disposed the Lady to receive with submission, what the Pope determined upon the Matter. For Paul the Third having well considered, that Missioners designed over the whole World, should not be tied by particular Engagements, caused his Apostolical Letters to be expedited, by which he exempted the Jesuits from the Government of Women, who either in Community, or living singly, would put themselves under the Obedience of the Society.  
The General rested not satisfied with these Letters; The more to Confirm so Essential a Regulation, he obtained the Year following from the Pope, that the Society should not be obliged to charge itself with the Direction of Religious Women, even tho' they should obtain Bulls, to put themselves under whose Conduct they pleased, unless such Bulls made express mention of the Society. It is in virtue of these Exemptions granted by the Pope, that Ignatius in his Constitutions forbids his Order to Govern Religious, or other Persons, with that Authority, which Confessors in Ordinary, and Ecclesiastical Superiors have. But he moderated this Prohibition, by giving leave to assist them in their spiritual Advancement, and sometimes to hear their Confessions, upon special Occasions.  
But nothing more shows how his Judgement stood in reference to this Government and Direction, 
His Proceeding with Hercules d' Este, Duke of Ferara.  of which we last spoke, as did his Proceeding two or three Years after with Hercules d' Este, Duke of Ferara, a declared Protector, and faithful Friend of the Society. This Prince, having built the College of Ferara, desired that the Jesuits should Govern a Monastery of Women, of which the Princess his Mother had been the Foundress. But Father Ignatius could not consent to it; and notwithstanding all the Entreaties of the Duke, he continued firm in his Resolution. According to the same Principle, he sent his Commands to the Fathers of Valladolid, to give over the Conduct of a Monastery which they had taken upon them, at the solicitation of several considerable Persons of the Town.  
This Proceeding of the General of the Jesuits did not hinder Hercules d' Este, who had taken up the Resolution of a Christian Life, from having a Jesuit near his Person. Guidoni, the holy Archdeacon of Modena, to whom he had imparted his thoughts, very much approved the Design, and counselled him to take Father Le Jay. The refusal of the Bishopric of Trieste had rendered him famous; and he was besides known to the Prince, who had seen him some Years before at Ferara, and had then Confidence in him. On the other side, being a Frenchman, he was less odious to the Duchess of Ferara, who was Daughter to Lewis the Twelfth, and was unhappily Engaged in the new Heresy, as we have already said. The Duke made his Demand to the General, and to the Pope, for Father Le Jay. He was granted to him without difficulty; because the Troubles of Italy raised by the Murder of Peter Lewis Farnesius, caused a Cessation of the Council, which a contagious Sickness had made to be transferred from Trent to Bologna.  
Le Jay, before he parted for Ferara, consulted Father Ignatius about the manner of his Deportment with the Duke. The Father told him, That being appointed by the Vicar of Jesus Christ to the Service of one of the most eminent Benefactors of the Society, he ought to Dedicate himself wholly to it, and not to employ himself in any Charitable Actions abroad, without the participation and goodliking of the Prince, who was to be in a manner to him both Superior and General.  
The Duke of Ferara in the first place made the Spiritual Exercises, under the Conduct of Father Le Jay, as the Duke of Gandia had done before, under that of Father Faber. It was the ordinary Method every where used by the Jesuits, for the reformation of Manners: And the Practice of these Retirements grew very common among Persons of the best Quality, after that many of the Fathers of the Tridentine Council, had themselves made the Exercises of the Society under Laynez, Le Jay, and Salmeron.  
True it is, 
The Spiritual Exercise is approved by the Holy See.  that Don John Martinez Siliceo, Archbishop of Toledo, would have abolished the Practice of them in Spain, upon pretence, that the Book of Exercises contained dangerous Doctrine. But besides that the Doctors by him appointed to Examine it found nothing in it but what was Catholic and Edifying, the Holy See approved it the Year following by an express Bull, at the Request of Don Francis de Borgia, Duke of Gandia. The Bull deserves to be recited, and the Reader will not perhaps be troubled to see it.  
Paulus Papa Tertius, ad perpetuam rei Memoriam.  
Whereas the Duty of an Universal Pastor of the Flock of Jesus Christ, and the Zeal of the Glory of God, obligeth us to embrace all that concerns the good of Souls, and their Spiritual Advancement, we cannot choose but give ear to their Entreaties, who ask any thing of us, which tends to maintain the Piety and Fervour of the Faithful.  
Our dearest Son, Francis de Borgia, Duke of Gandia, has lately represented to us, that Ignatius of Loyola, General of the Society of Jesus, by us Established in our City of Rome, and Confirmed by our Apostolical Authority, has Written certain Instructions, or Spiritual Exercises, Extracted out of the holy Scriptures, and from the Experiences of a Spiritual Life, in such a Method and Form as is very proper to touch the Heart. He hath moreover declared, that he knows, not only by common Fame, that these Exercises are very useful for the Profit and Comfort of Souls, but more especially by what he himself has seen of the good done by them at Barcelona, and at Gandia. Whereupon he has made his Supplication to us, to have them Examined, and to Approve them, if we shall find them worthy of Approbation, and Commendation; to the end, that the good Effects of them may be made more universal, and that the Faithful with greater Encouragement might make use of them.  
We have accordingly caused them to be Examined, and upon the Testimony which has been given us by our dear Son John of the Title of St. Clement, Priest, Cardinal, Bishop of Burgos, and Inquisitor of the Faith; by our Venerable Brother Philip, Bishop of Saluzzo, our Vicar General in Spirituals within Rome; and by our dear Son Giles Foscarini, Master of the Sacred Palace: We have found these Exercises to be filled with the Spirit of God, and to be very useful for the Edification, and the spiritual Profit of the Faithful.  
Having also regard, as we ought to have, to the great good, which Ignatius, and the Society by him Founded, cease not to do in the Church, among all sorts of Nations, and considering on the other side, how instrumental this Book of Exercises is thereunto, we of our own certain knowledge Approve by these Presents, Commend and Ratify with our Apostolical Authority, all that is contained in that Book. We moreover exhort all the Faithful of both Sexes, in what Place of the World soever they be, devoutly to practise such Christian Exercises; and we give leave that the Book be Printed by any such Bookseller as shall best like the Author: Provided nevertheless, that after the first Edition, neither the Bookseller whom he shall first choose, nor any other, shall presume to Print the same the second time, without the Consent of Ignatius, or of his Successors, etc.  
Given at Rome in the Palace of St. Mark, under the Seal of the Fisher, the last Day of July, in the Year of our Lord 1548, and the Fourteenth of our Pontificate.  
The Approbation, and the Printing of the Book of the Exercises, which was Translated out of Spanish into Latin, very much added to the Reputation of the Founder of the Society.  
Since the Establishment of his Order, 
He goes out of Rome upon a work of Charity.  he always made his Abode in Rome, following therein his own Institution, that the General ought to have a fixed Habitation: nevertheless, he went forth for a short time upon a Charitable Account, and his Journey had a happy Success. The Inhabitants of St. Angelo, and those of Tivoli their Neighbours, having a mortal Feud one with the other, even to a kind of open War, Father Ignatius at the Pope's Desire, went over to the Places themselves. Having first Treated with Margaret of Austria, Wife to Octavius Duke of Parma, who was Lord of St. Angelo, and next with the Magistrates of Tivoli, he brought those two Towns to this Agreement, That the Cardinal De la Cueva should be the Arbitrator of their Differences, and that in the mean time they should lay down their Arms.  
It was upon this Occasion that Signior Lewis Mendoza, who Lodged the Father at Tivoli, made the Offer to him of a commodious House, with very good Gardens, and a Chapel of our Lady's, which had been built out of the Walls near the stately Ruins of Moecenas' Villa. This new Establishment Father Ignatius completed upon the Nativity of our Lady, which nevertheless came far short of those which about this time were made in Sicily.  
Don John de Vega, Viceroy of Sicily, who had great Communication with the General of the Society, when he was Ambassador from Charles the Fifth at Rome, and who did nothing of Importance without consulting him, according to the Order which he had received, was no sooner at Messina, but he took the Resolution of Erecting there a College for the Society. Palermo immediately followed the Example of Messina: And these two Colleges, whither the General sent Persons of great Virtue and Ability, were the first, after that of Gandia, where Schools were opened.  
At the departure of these excellent Workmen, of which the principal were Peter Canisius a German, Andrew Frusis a Frenchman, and Jerome Nadal a Spaniard, he told them what he usually said when he sent forth Missions: Go, Brethren, inflame, spread about that Fire which Jesus Christ came to kindle on the Earth. Before they went away, he would have those who were designed to Teach Schools, make an Essay before him of their Method, and their Ability. He also would have them all take leave of the Pope, to whom he himself conducted them. The Pope received them with kindness, and exhorted them in the first place to be very watchful against new Heresies.  
But Father Ignatius, 
He tries the Obedience of his Subjects.  before he culled out the twelve which he sent into Sicily, gave himself the satisfaction of sounding the bottom of their Souls, and of trying the Temper, and the Obedience of his Subjects in Rome, by ordering every one of them to tell him in Writing, after three days of Prayer, First, Whether they were indifferent to go into Sicily, and whether that which the General should determine (who to them is in the place of God) would be most welcome to them? Secondly, Whether, in case they were sent into Sicily, they should be ready either to Teach, and perform such other Functions as require Learning and Ability, or to be employed in Domestical Offices? Thirdly, If it should so happen, that they were appointed for Study, and Regency, whether they would be disposed to Study what Science, and to Teach what School it should please the Superior? Lastly, Whether they did believe, that what ever Obedience should prescribe to them, was most proper for them, and most conducible to their eternal good?  
They every one brought in their Writing upon the Day assigned, and there was not one of them in their whole number of Thirty six, who did not sincerely declare, That he was ready to go not only into Sicily, but into the Indies; and that he would willingly employ his whole Life in the meanest Offices, whenever their good Father, and their honoured Master in Jesus Christ, should give them the least intimation of his Will.  
It was not enough for a Man, who designed to do good to the whole Earth, 
The Society enters into Africa and America.  to labour in Europe, and in Asia, for the gaining of Souls. John Nugnes, and Lewis Gonzales, were sent, almost at the same time, into the Kingdoms of Fez and Morocco, at the Instance of the King of Portugal, who concerned at the Captivity of a great number of Christians, demanded some Fathers of the Society, to Negotiate the delivery of the Slaves, and to confirm them in their Faith.  
A little time after, the Viceroy of Sicily having Orders from Charles the Fifth, to pass over into Africa with a good Army, to make War upon Dragut, a famous Pirate, who was possessed of a strong Place on the Coast of Barbary, from whence he made his Excursions as far as Naples; Father Ignatius was desirous that Laynez should leave Sicily, where he was Superior, and should follow Don John de Vega in his Expedition against the Moors, to attend the Hospital of the Army.  
Four other Jesuits before this time were gone into the Western Parts of Aethiopia, to the Kingdom of Congo, where the Gospel was quite extinguished, which Don Emanuel, King of Portugal, had formerly there caused to be Preached and Planted: And it was now, at the Instance of John the Third, Son and Successor of Emanuel, that Father Simon Rodriguez sent those Evangelical Laborers, in the Name of their common Father Ignatius. Lastly, under the auspicious Protection of that Prince, the Society entered also into the Southern Parts of America, when Don Soza, Captain General of the Portugal Fleet, Landed in Brasile, to build a new Town in that new World.  
God was not pleased to grant such happy Progress without some allay; 
The Society ill used in Germany.  and at the same time that the Society spread itself over the whole World, it was his Divine Pleasure to exercise it at home with troublesome Accidents. After the Battle which the Protestants of Germany lost, and in which the Duke of Saxony was made Prisoner, the Emperor, seeing that the Assembly at Bologna was broken up, and that according to all appearances it would not be renewed in a long time, undertook himself to Regulate the Faith of his People, till such time as the Council should meet again to Decide about it.  
Wherefore he caused to be published in the Diet of Auspurg a Formulary of Faith, which was called The Interim, and contained Articles altogether contrary to the Doctrine and Discipline of the Church; as for Example, the Marriage of Priests, and Communion under both Kind's. Among all the Doctors, who opposed this Imperial Libel, Nicholas Bobadilla, whom Father Ignatius had still left in Germany, was the most zealous and fervent. He was then at the Court of Charles the Fifth, cherished by the Catholic Lords, whose Consciences he Directed, and feared by the Protestants, whom he always vigorously opposed. His resolute and untemporizing Humour was the cause, that declaiming against the Interim with great heat, he let fall some sharp words, which reflected upon the Person of the Emperor: He highly blamed such Condescendence and Compliance with Heretics, and warmly maintained, even in the Presence of Charles the Fifth, that nothing was more likely to keep Divisions still on foot, than a false Peace.  
Charles the Fifth, who thought his Honour concerned to justify what he had done, and who looked upon all as Rebels that did not concur with him, could not endure the liberty of Bobadilla: He not only forbade him the Court, but banished him out of all the Territories of the Empire. Bobadilla obeyed▪ full of Glory for having suffered Reproach in the Cause of God, and immediately came to Rome, where the Agreement of Auspurg had but very little approbation. But Father Ignatius did not think it expedient to receive, at his first coming, into the House of the Society, a Man whose Zeal had carried him too far, and who in defending the Church, had not shown due Respect to his Imperial Majesty. The Saint hereby designed to make a public Satisfaction to the Emperor, and moreover to teach the Religious of his Order how they ought to respect Princes, 
Melchior Cano declares himself against the Society.  even when their Conduct is irregular.  
The Indignation of Charles the Fifth gave occasion in Spain to the Enemies of the Society to rise up against them. Melchior Cano, a Dominican, and Doctor of Salamanca, being possessed, I know not how, with a Fancy that the end of the World drew near, and that Antichrist would quickly appear, to make up his Vision complete, would needs have it, that the Jesuits were the Praecursors of Antichrist; the People called them Inigists from the Name of Inigo, which in Spanish signifies Ignatius. Some gave them the Title of Theatines, for the Reason formerly told; and this Appellation continued afterwards, as Palafox observes upon a Letter of St. Teresa: 
Note upon the Letter 29. Art. 12.  The Theatines of which she speaks (says he) are the Fathers of the Society of Jesus; and it appears, that the Spirit with which they acted, was holy, and great, since she compares them with the blessed Peter of Alcantara.  
Cano grounded his Imaginations upon the newness of the Institute, which had no resemblance with the ancient Orders; Their having no peculiar Habit seemed to him a good cover for Libertinism: Their resort and Commerce with the People of the World, and in the Courts of Princes, made him believe that they lived according to the Maxims of the World. Lastly, the Retirements which they caused their Proselytes to make, according to the Method and Spirit of their Founder, were no less than Mysteries of Abomination, in the Judgement of Cano.  
He uttered all he thought, and his great Reputation gave so much Credit to his Words, that the People now treated those as Impostors and Malefactors, whom before they looked upon as Men dropped from Heaven.  
Father Ignatius, 
The Conduct of Ignatius in the Persecution raised by Cano.  when he heard of this Persecution, in the first place gave God thanks that the Society was judged worthy to suffer Contumely for the Name of Jesus Christ: In the next place he gave order to the Fathers of Spain, to show the Bull to Cano which Confirmed their Institute, and modestly to represent to him, that the Kingdom of God would be divided, if the Vicar of Jesus Christ should approve a Society opposite to Jesus Christ; That of these pretended Forerunners of Antichrist, Paul the Third had chosen two to be his Divines in the Council of Trent, and that his Holiness had nominated another, to be his Legate Apostolical in the Indies. He sent at the same time into Spain a new Copy of the Sentence, pronounced by the Governor of Rome, Benedict Conversino, in favour of the Society against false Accusations, and he joined thereunto a Brief from the Pope, which constituted the Bishop of Salamanca Protector of the Reputation of an Order Confirmed by the Holy See. The General of the Dominicans himself writ a Circular Letter, in which after having magnified the Advantages which the Church received from the Regular Priests, Established under the Title of The Name of Jesus, he commanded all his Religious to love that Holy Order, and did forbid them, in virtue of holy Obedience, to speak ill of them, under any pretence whatsoever.  
Cano's Imaginations were so deeply rooted in him, that he had no regard, either to the Pope's Bull, or to the Letter of his General; for he continued his Invectives with an Animosity, which bordered upon Fury. But such was his Extravagancy, that it only served to undeceive those Men whom his Authority had misled. All the World took the Society's part; there were none, even among the Religious of St. Dominick, who did not declare in their behalf, against one of their own Brethren. F. John Penna, a Doctor of Salamanca, and no less eminent in Virtue then in Learning, was he who signalised himself most: for, not content to refute the Visions of Melchior Cano in the Pulpit, he published an Apologetic Manifesto in behalf of the new Order, and his Writing stopped the Mouth of Calumny.  
Don Francisco de Borgia, 
Oviedo inclined to a Solitary Life.  on his part, highly favoured and protected the Children of Ignatius: yet notwithstanding his Affection for them, he placed great confidence in a Religious Man of the Order of St. Francis, called John Texeda, whom he had known at Barcelona, and brought with him to Gandia: He was a Man of austere Life, and of high Contemplation, wholly given to Solitude; and he lived at Court, as the ancient Anchorites did in the Desert. Father Andrew Oviedo, Rector of the College of Gandia, who had great Acquaintance with this holy Man, being introduced to him by the Duke, entered by Degrees into his Sentiments, and became so enamoured with Solitude, that withdrawing himself sometimes from the Company of his Brethren, he would abscond in some Wilderness of a neighbouring Forest, to attend the Exercises of an interior Life. This new Spirit carried him so far, that he asked leave of his General to give over the Government of the College, and to pass five or six years in an Hermitage. His Motive was, that he might arrive to Evangelical Perfection, by flying from so many dangerous Occasions, which are inevitable in the Commerce of the World.  
Father Ignatius, 
Oviedo set right again.  by his great Talon in discerning Spirits, and by his long experience in a spiritual Life, easily found out, that this new Project of Oviedo was an Illusion. He made it manifest to him, by showing him, that when God had once set out our way to us, we ought faithfully to follow it, and not to turn aside into any other, under pretence that it seems to us the straighter and the surer; That a solitary Life has its dangers no less than the Apostolical Life; That indeed we ought not to commit the least Fault with a deliberate purpose for the whole World, but we must not renounce the Employments of Charity through the fear of small Faults, which human frailty is subject to; That on the other side, nothing is more generous, nothing more divine, then to sacrifice our Repose, and all our Concerns, to the good of Souls.  
As much enamoured as Oviedo was with his second Vocation, he quite lost the thought of it, as soon as he received the Answer of Father Ignatius. Don Francis de Borgia, to whom Oviedo had imparted his Designs of Retirement, profited no less than he by the Advice of the Saint.  
This Duke had made a Vow at Granada to embrace a Religious State, 
Francis de Borgia called to the Society.  if he should happen to outlive his Duchess: yet in making of his Vow he was not determined to any Religious Order in particular; and it was after that the Holy See had Approved the Book of Exercises, that he made his choice of the Society, against his natural Inclination, which inclined him to Solitude. He opened his mind to Father Ignatius, and he had no great difficulty to make him believe that his Vocation was a true one; for when Peter Faber died at Rome, God did then reveal to him, that a Grandee of Spain should supply his Place, and that this Grandee was the Duke of Gandia. Wherefore the Father approved the Design of the Duke, and writ to him in these Terms.  
Most Illustrious Lord,  
THE Resolution, which you have taken, and which God has been pleased to inspire you with, fills me with unspeakable joy. May the Angels, and all the Saints praise his holy Name, and render him Eternal thanks in Heaven, for we on Earth are not able to make any condign Acknowledgement of the transcendent Blessing, which his Divine Goodness has bestowed upon his small Society, in calling you to it.  
I hope his Providence designs hereby considerable Advantages of Spiritual Advancement, not only to yourself, but to an infinity of Persons, who will profit by so great an Example. For us, who are already in the Society of Jesus, (we shall) excited by your fervour, begin a fresh to serve the Divine Father of the Family, who gives us such a Brother, and who has made choice of such a Workman for his new Vineyard, of which it has been his Pleasure, that I (tho' unworthy) should have the Care.  
Wherefore, from this time forward, I receive you, in the Name of our Lord, for our Brother; and in this Quality, you shall always be most dear to me, as such a Person ought to be, who enters into the House of God with so much generosity, as you do, only, and perfectly to serve him.  
For what you desire to know of me, concerning the time, and the manner of your public Reception, after having seriously recommended the matter to God, both in my own, and in the Prayers of many besides, it appears to me, that to the end you may the better acquit yourself of all your obligations, this change ought to be made leisurely, and with a great deal of Circumspection, to the greater Glory of our Lord. Thus you may by little and little settle your affairs in such sort that without disclosing yourself to any Secular Person, you may in a short time find yourself free, and disengaged from all, that may retard the accomplishment of your holy Desires.  
And the better to explicate myself, in coming to particulars, I am of opinion, that since your Daughters are at an Age of being Married, you should in the first place provide for them, according to their Quality; and also dispose of the Marquis your Son, if a convenient Match be offered. For your other Sons, it will not be sufficient for them to have their reliance upon their Elder Brother, to whom the Dukedom will fall: You must leave them wherewithal to go through their Studies in one of the principal Universities, and to subsist honourably in the World: And you may reasonably expect, that if they prove such, as they ought to be, and such as I hope they will be, the Emperor will bestow his favours upon them in some proportion to your services, and to that good will, which he has always manifested towards you.  
I think it would be also convenient for you to dispatch those Buildings which you have begun: For I would have all the business of your Family fully ended, before you publish to the World your change of life. In the mean time, whereas you are already well grounded in Learning, I should desire, that you would seriously apply yourself to the Study of Divinity, which Science will be most useful to you for the service of God; nor would it be amiss, if it might be done, that you took the Degree of Doctor in your University of Gandia: but in regard that the World is not yet prepared for news of this nature, I would have it done without any noise, and that it should be kept secret, until time, and your occasions shall, with God's permission, give you an entire Liberty.  
Other matters we may settle, and determine from time to time, according to the diversity of occurrences; wherefore, intending to keep a regular Correspondency with you, I shall say no more at present. Be pleased to answer me at your first leisure, and I shall always continue my Prayers to the Sovereign Goodness, more and more to strengthen you with his Grace.  
Tho' Don Francisco was very well inclined to follow the Councils of Father Ignatius, yet still he found a Bias in himsel, which made his affections lean towards Solitude; such resistance doth Grace find, even in the most holy Souls, when it doth not comply with the natural temper. But what the Father had writ to Ovideo, to confirm and fix him in his Vocation, did so strike the Duke, that a holy Impatience took him of entering into the Society, before those things were done which were prescribed to him. To this end he writ to Rome so pressingly, that Father Ignatius, having obtained leave for him from the Holy See, to make his Vows of Profession, without leaving the World, consented, that he should make use of the Privilege.  
The Duke of Gandia therefore consecrated himself to God, by the Solemn Vows of the Society, in the Chapel of his Palace, in the presence of few persons, retaining still his outward Grandeur, and the power of Possessing his estate for three years, as may be seen more at large in his Life, which has been set forth by one of our best Writers in a very moving and elegant Style.  
Father Ignatius, 
He moderates the fervour of Borgia and others.  who from that time, called Don Francisco de Borgia by the Name of Father Francis, and who looked upon him, as one of his own Children, began to direct him in the ways of God, and to exercise the Authority of General upon him. The Duke, who lived like a Religious man, before he had made the Vows of Religion, thought himself obliged after his Profession to redouble his practices of Piety and Penance: But his fervour led him into excesses, which were neither convenient for a Man in the World, nor for a Member of the Society. Father Ignatius thought it not fit to leave him to the transports of his Devotion: He gave him to understand, that such as are destined by Heaven to instruct the Ignorant, and to oppose Heresies, must not always be at the Foot of Altars; and that sometimes they must leave Prayer for Study. The Father also declared to him, that a Person like him, who had a weak Stomach, and a tender Complexion, aught to moderate his Fasting, and in a reasonable manner to nourish himself for the support of his health. You have received from God a Body, as well as a Soul, (said the Saint in express terms,) and you must equally give an Account to God, both of the one, and the other. But because the Duke did every day discipline himself to Blood, in manner of the flagellation of the Son of God, he forbade him these extremities, which might render him uncapable of performing the Functions of the Society.  
It was one of the principal cares of Father Ignatius, to moderate the fervour of his Children; and he was forced sometimes to make use of all his Authority to restrain them, as he did towards Simon Rodriguez, whom the King of Portugal had entrusted with the Education of the Prince Don John. Rodriguez, who passionately desired to be employed in Foreign Missions, sought all occasions to remove himself from Court. He would fain have accompanied the Missioners, who parted from Portugal into Aethiopia: Afterwards he desired to go to Brasile; he was many times upon the point of embarking for the Indies; and he would certainly have satisfied his Zeal, if the General, to whom he communicated his designs, had not absolutely forbade him to leave his Post, telling him withal, that the Educating in the fear of God the Children of Kings, was virtually the saving a great many People; and that the Court was a place of greater merit to us, then either Aethiopia, or Brasile, when we stayed there in Virtue of holy Obedience.  
The Casa Professa was at that time reduced to great necessity, 
His confidence in God recompensed.  by the death of Paul the Third, who constantly bestowed great Alms upon it, and by that of Father Codacius, who had care of their temporals. However, the General ceased not to receive those Novices, who presented themselves; and God seemed to recompense his reliance on him, with miraculous assistance. For, besides that the Cardinals in the Conclave were mindful of him, and sent him a good supply of Money, Brother John de la Croce, who managed their household Provisions, coming one Evening from St. John Lateran's, and passing by the Colizeum, met a Man, who without saying a word to him, gave him an hundred Crowns in Gold.  
Another time the same Brother, going out very early in the Morning, received from an unknown Person a Purse full of pieces of Gold, newly Coined. It not being quite day, so as to distinguish the Countenance of the Person, that put the Purse into his hands, he began to fear, that it was an Illusion. The Fathers, on their side, believed that the Pieces were Counterfeit, and that some body had put a trick upon them; but at last they found, that the Gold was very good. Near the same time, and when they were in great straits, Father Polancus, Secretary of the Society, looking for some Papers in an open Chest, found there a quantity of Crowns of Gold, which seemed to him to have been newly stamped.  
All these Miraculous recruits, as they very much confirmed Father Ignatius in his reliance upon Providence, so they did not at all diminish in him his prudential care for the subsistence of his Body. The household Affairs he put into the hands of Father Pontius Gogordan, a very able Man, but without leaving the Conduct wholly to him: For he himself would supervize, both to observe his demeanour in that Office, and to assist him in so painful an Employment. In gratitude to the Memory of Father Codacius, for procuring a subsistence to the House in difficult times, and for having spent himself in the service of his Brethren, he caused the same Honours to be done him after his death, which are usually given to the Benefactors of the Society, and ordered a Marble stone to be laid over his Grave, with an honourable Inscription.  
The concern, 
His application to make Learning flourish in the Society.  which Father Ignatius had for the livelihood of his subjects, did not distract him in his care of promoting Study, and of making Sciences to flourish in his Order. He obliged the Professors of Messina, and Palermo, to send him an Account every Week of their labours, and he caused to be sent to him from the farther end of Spain, the Thesis of Philosophy and Divinity, together with the Compositions both in Prose and Verse of the young Regent's: And he expressly Ordered, that they should be sent him, just as they came out of their hands, without being touched over, or looked upon by any body else: Nor did the great Affairs of his Government hinder him from reading them, and having them examined in his presence, by the best judging Persons. Above all, he solicitously informed himself of the progress, which the Scholars of the Society made, who Studied at Paris, because he looked upon that University, as the principal Seminary of his Order.  
But if he understood, that any of the Professors of Spain, Italy, and Sicily, did follow singular Opinions, in opposition to those commonly received in Schools, he presently removed them, how great Wits soever they were; and he said, that if he lived a thousand years, he would never give over crying down all Novelties in Divinity, in Philosophy, and even in Grammar. After the same fashion he treated those, whom their Learning had made selfconceited, or less devout. And he was wont to say, that Science is lost upon him, who makes ill use of it. By devotion he did not mean Spiritual Gusts, and Interior Consolations, but a steady and faithful performance of Devout Exercises, and of Religious Virtues: For he well knew, that the time of Studies, was not the proper season of those Celestial Favours, which require a Spirit of Recollection; and we read in one of his Letters, that we are not to be startled at it, if speculative Sciences, and human Learning, should diminish in us that kind of sensible Devotion; That provided in Studying, we only seek God, our Studies are good Devotions; and that if we allot to Prayer the whole time, which the Rule prescribes, we ought not to concern ourselves, whether we find in it sweetness or dryness. So that, there was nothing, which he recommended more, both to the Professors and to the Scholars of his Order, then to Dedicate all their Labours to the greater Glory of God, and to persuade themselves, that Study, with so noble an intention, was more agreeable to Heaven, then continual Prayer.  
The Zeal of William Duke of Bavaria furnished Father Ignatius with a fair occasion of showing the Abilities of three Learned Persons. 
He sends three Divines to Ingolstadt.  This most Catholic Prince, who was the support of the Ancient Religion in Germany, demanded of the General some able Divines, that might raise up the Honour of Theology in the University of Ingolstadt, where the Heretics had rendered Divine Sciences very contemptible. The Father chose Salmeron, and Canisius, to whom he joined le Jay, whom the Duke by name required, and who was spared for a time by the Duke of Ferara, at the instance of Cardinal Farnesius.  
But to the end, that these three Divines might have a Character to Authorise their Doctrine, he would have them, as they passed through Bologna, to receive the Degree of Doctor, after the usual Examen; And this was solemnly done by the order of Cardinal John Maria de Monte, who was then Nuntius Apostolicus, and was afterwards chosen Pope, by the Name of Julius the Third. With this Title of Doctors, of which the Germans are very fond, and which by the Protestants was so much magnified in the Person of Luther, Le Jay, Canisius, and Salmeron were well received at Ingolstadt. Salmeron undertook to explicate the Epistles of St. Paul; le Jay the Psalms of David; and Canisius the Master of the Sentences. Each of them performed their Readins with so much Credit, and Fruit, that Duke William resolved to Build for them a magnificent College. His death disappointed the design, but he recommended to his Son Albert the care of these Children of Ignatius.  
Tho' the Saint extremely desired, 
The Society makes small progress in France.  that the Society, which was born in France, should also grow and have Credit there, as it had in Germany, and in many other places, yet in that Kingdom it still remained obscure, without making any progress. The Jesuits of Paris were shut up in the College of the Lombard's where they lodged, applying themselves only to Study, and to good works. True it is, that William de Prat, Bishop of Clermont, who had known the new Society at the Council of Trent, very much favoured them: But the Bishop of Paris, who had received doubtful impressions of them, was not their Friend; and a certain Doctor, who had the Bishop's friendship, declared War openly against them, every where saying, that this newly born Society, had something of the Monster in it, and that it could not be long lived; that he who had set it on foot, was a little Spanish Visionary; that it was better to relieve Beggars, and Vagabonds, than these Jesuits; and that it would not be ill done, to have them driven out of the Kingdom.  
While this Doctor was so violent at Paris against Ignatius, 
Avila and Granada favourable to the Society.  and his Order, the Father Master John Avila, that famous, and fervent Preacher, and that enlightened Director, published in Spain, that the Society of Jesus was the work of God; and that if his Age would have permitted it, he should have embraced the Institute of Ignatius: He added, that he knew no man more interior, and filled with more supernatural wisdom: That he had conceived formerly within himself the same design, which this new Founder had executed; but that he was in respect of Ignatius, but as a Child compared to a Giant, or to a Man of great Strength, who carries a burden, without feeling it, which the Child cannot lift up.  
This Doctor very much approved, what Father Ignatius had writ to him, concerning the invectives of Melchior Cano; That according to the Authorities of the Doctors, and Fathers of the Church, we ought not to suffer the Reputation of Evangelical Ministers to be run down; And that, when ill meaning, prepossessed Persons would bring suspicion, and infamy upon them, it was necessary to implore the Assistance of the Holy See, to stop the career of Calumny, or at least to show the injustice of it.  
On the other side, Lewis de Granada, so famous for his Piety, and for his Writings, one of the Chiefest Ornaments of the holy Order of St. Dominick, highly exalted the Society in Portugal, and Preaching one day in the Town of Ebora before Cardinal Henry, he said, that the new Society was an Assembly of Apostolical men, chosen by God to renew in these latter times the sanctity of the first Ages. He said upon another occasion, that he had received so much light from the Spiritual Exercises of Father Ignatius, that his whole life would not suffice to write down what God had communicated to him in the Practice of those Exercises.  
The affection which the Carthusians testified in all places to the Society, 
The Order of the Carthusians affectionated to the Society.  did it no small Honor. This holy Order, which has always preserved its primitive Spirit, and which respresents on Earth the life, which the Angels lead in Heaven, not content to Favor the Jesuits upon all occasions, would farther contract with them a straight Alliance, in making them participate of their Prayers, their Sacrifices, and Abstinences, requiring the like from them, to be made partakers of their Works of Charity.  
To this effect the whole Order writ to Father Ignatius, in the time of their General Chapter; and the Letter which was signed by Don Peter de Sardis, Prior of the Grandee Chartreuse, mentions, that he and his Religious, being edified with the innocent Life, the holy Doctrine, and the Apostolical labours of the Society of Jesus, had given thanks to God for having raised it in so corrupt an Age; And that they desired to aid and assist it, according to their Power, to continue their Holy Ministry, notwithstanding all Contradictions, and Persecutions, which inseparably attend the life of perfect Christians. Thus these two Religious Orders, which seem to have the least of similitude in their Institutes, were the most united by the Spirit of Charity; And after this, we are not to wonder, if the Jesuits at this day have a particular friendship and veneration for the Carthusians: They have inherited these sentiments from their first Fathers, and they are glad of the Occasion to manifest them.  
But that, 
Julius the 3d. grants many Favours to the General of the Society.  which gave the greatest Credit to the Society, was that Pope Julius the Third, who had taken particular notice of it at the Council of Trent, being now chosen in the room of Paul the Third, gave to Father Ignatius public marks of his good Will. This was about the beginning of the Jubilee year 1550. The Father went to do his Homage to the Pope, and to beg of his Holiness, that the Labourers of the Society, who were in Africa, in Brasile, in the Indies, and in Japan, might together with their Neophits, gain the Jubilee, without coming to Rome. The Pope embraced him, and after having declared to him, how much he loved his Order; As to the Favour which you ask of me, he said smiling, I grant it with this restriction, that you shall have all my Power in that particular, and that, for your brethren's gaining the Indulgences of the holy Year, you shall Prescribe them to do what you think fit. He granted him the same Favour, not only for several persons in Messina, in Venice, and in Paris, but also for the Troops, which Don John de Vega, Viceroy of Sicily, had carried into afric, and for the whole Town of Gandia, which in consideration of Don Francis de Borgia, had this Pre-eminence above all the Towns in the World.  
Besides this, Julius the Third, gave permission to Father Ignatius, and to all the Priests of the Society, to exercise in the Jubilee year all those Privileges, which Paul the Third had granted them; Tho', according to the usage of the Church, Religious Orders, who have Power from the Holy See to absolve in reserved Cases, are not to use their Power in the time of the grand Jubilee. To crown all his Favours, he again confirmed the Institute, and by an express Bull, in which all things are cleared and explained. His Liberalites were also very considerable to the Jesuits of Rome, and, what is worthy of remark, he commanded the General, in virtue of holy Obedience, to come and tell him as often as the professed House should be in any necessity.  
In the mean time, 
He submits the Constitutions to the Censure of the Principal Fathers.  Father Ignatius, having finished his Constitutions, had it in his thoughts to Print them, but he would first submit them to the Judgement and Censure of the chief among the Fathers, and the opportunity of the Jubilee year favoured his design. Wherefore he summoned to Rome all that were eminent in Merit, and Authority, and they all came, except Simon Rodriguez, whom the King of Portugal detained at Lisbon.  
He put the Constitutions into their hands, praying them strictly to examine and weigh them; and to tell him freely what they thought might need amendment, or alteration. Intending that the Design and Spirit of the Society, should be uniform in all places, and that the Rules of Government should be suitable to different Nations, and Tempers; he was very glad that the Fathers Assembled, who were of several Countries, and of unlike Constitutions, should be themselves Judges of these Rules. He sent a Copy of the Constitutions to Rodriguez, upon whose Judgement he much relied; he also sent one for the same reason, to some of the Spiritual Coadjutors, who tho' not so Learned, were Men of great Prudence.  
After having heard the Opinions of those who were present, and received the Answers of the absent, he touched over his work again, and joining their lights with his own, he finished the Piece. Nevertheless, being persuaded that only time and experience can demonstrate the Perfection of Laws, he would have no absolute obligation laid upon the Society, of observing the Constitutions, until the whole Order assembled in a Body, should approve them; and this did not happen till after his death, under the Generalship of Laynez. They were not only Review'd, and Authorised by the first general Congregation, but they were also confirmed by the Holy Apostolic See, after an exact discussion, which four Cardinals made of them, without changing one word.  
As the year of the Jubilee seemed very proper to Father Ignatius for convening the Fathers in Rome, 
He endeavours to lay down the Generalship of his Order.  so the Opportunity of their being there appeared no less favourable to him, to execute a design, which he had long in his thoughts. He at first took the charge of Government upon him with great repugnancy, as we have already seen; and when it was laid upon him against his will, he made account, that he should be one day freed from it, to enjoy the ease of Obeying, and the merit of Obedience. He did believe that the happy day was now come, and his continual Infirmities, in an Age far advanced, seemed to promise him that, which he so passionately desired. To this end, he called all the Fathers together; but remembering the opposition they had made him, when he refused to receive the charge of General, instead of being present at the Assembly, he sent them a Letter, writ with his own hand, and couched in these terms.  
To my dearest Brethren in Christ, my Brethren of the Society of Jesus.  
AFter divers Reflections, which I have made at leisure, not being moved thereunto by any Passion, I will tell you sincerely, as in the presence of my Creator, and my God, who must judge me for an Eternity, what I believe to be most for the Glory of his Divine Majesty.  
Considering my Sins, my Defects, and all my Infirmities, Corporal and Spiritual, I have often thought, that I was very far from having those Qualities, which are requisite to sustain the Burden, which you have laid upon me. I desire therefore, in the Name of our Lord, that you would find out, and choose some Body, by whom this Office may be better, or at least not so ill discharged; and tho' another should not do better, than I have done, yet I desire to leave the Place.  
After due consideration had upon it, in the Name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, I depose myself, and simply and absolutely, I renounce all pretensions to the Generalship. I Conjure, in the Name of our Lord, and with all my Soul, the Fathers professed, and those, with whom they shall please to consult, I Conjure them, I say, to receive my Demission, which I make in the presence of God, for Causes so just. But if there should be diversity of Opinions among you, I beseech you for the love of our Saviour Jesus Christ, well to recommend the matter to God, to the end his most holy Will may be done in all things, to his greater Glory, and to the greater good of Souls, and of the whole Society.  
The Reading of this Letter did very much Surprise and Contristate the Assembly; some with admiration extolled the humility of their Father, others more astonished and inwardly touched, kept a profound silence; but in conclusion, they all opposed his laying down his Office, Father Ovidoe only excepted, who was a man, that had the plainness and candour of the first Ages. When it came to his turn, he said, that to him it appeared, that Father Ignatius ought not to be resisted; and when the Fathers asked him his reason, because (he replied) he who is a Saint, has lights, which we have not. But opening his eyes, and finding that Saints are sometimes unjust to themselves, he condemned his first thoughts, and came in to the rest. They sent to declare the Resolution of the Assembly to the General; which was, that as long as God should please to preserve his life, they would have no other Head nor Superior.  
So that, notwithstanding all his endeavours to the contrary, they would not hearken to him, and he was forced to submit. This Submission lay heavy at the bottom of his Heart, and was probably the cause of a great Sickness, which soon after seized upon him. He fell ill upon Christmas-day, after he had said two of the Masses. His Disease growing dangerous, he did believe, that God was pleased by taking his Life, to free him from that Load of which Men would not discharge him. This thought filled him with joy; and his hopes of being quickly loosed from the Fetters of his Body, filled his Soul with the most sensible Delights which Saints can taste in this World. He now desired nothing but to see his God; and the approaches of Eternity did so inflame his Desires, that he was in a continual Transport. The Physicians ordered him to moderate those ardent Affections, lest they should hasten his Death. Whether it were that he obeyed them, or that they were deceived in their Conjectures, he by degrees recovered, and entered again upon the Exercise of his Charge.  
Don Francisco de Borgia, 
He Treats at Rome with the Duke of Gandia.  who was a Member of the Society, under the outward appearance of a Grandee of Spain, and whom Father Ignatius had invited to Rome, was now arrived there, with the Spanish and the Portuguez Fathers, after having Married his eldest Son and his Daughters. He was Lodged in an Apartment of the Casa Professa, separated from the Community; and all his delight was to entertain Father Ignatius. He gave him an exact Account of his Interior, and he often conferred with him about his manner of Prayer, his Pennances, and the whole Conduct of his Life.  
During these Entertainments, it came into the thoughts of the Duke of Gandia, to do something which might make the Society more flourishing in Rome▪ which was to Establish a College there. He gave Six thousand Crowns in Gold towards the Foundation; whereupon Father Ignatius offering him the Title of a Founder, he refused it, saying, That Honour was to be reserved for some other Person, who should give a Foundation worthy of the Metropolis of the World: As if he had foreseen that Pope Gregory the Thirteenth was one day magnificently to Erect the Roman College.  
The Society was not at Paris in the same Posture as at Rome. 
The Society ill treated at Paris.  Many of the University, and of the Parliament, seemed to make it their Business to discredit the Order. They disputed every thing with them, even to their very Name. A certain Carmelite Preaching in the Church of St. Severin, took an occasion to inveigh against the new Society, upon these words of St. Paul, Brethren in Jesus Christ. Hereupon he was much offended, that they should arrogate to themselves the Name of The Society of Jesus, not considering, that the Sovereign Bishops, and the Fathers of the Council of Trent had named them so. At the same time a Man of the long Robe, and of great Reputation and Credit, set upon them, by calumniating their Manners and Doctrine. This Enemy was so much the more to be feared, for that under the appearances of a holy Life, he concealed Heretical Sentiments, which afterwards he made manifest, when retiring to Francfort, he publicly professed Heresy.  
These new Persecutions raised no small hopes in Ignatius, of a happy success in the conclusion, according to the word of David, that God revives, after having mortified. As his hopes at length did not fail him, so neither did these present difficulties deject him. The Bishop of Clermont still continued his good Offices to the Jesuits of Paris, who yet Lodged in the College of the Lombard's; His desire was to bestow upon them Clermont House for their Habitation, with annual Rents for their Subsistence. But there was no professed Father among them to take possession of the House, and to accept of the Foundation in the Name of the General. On the other side, there wanted the King's Letters for their being received in the Kingdom, as Religious; and their Enemies, who were powerful at Court, hindered their obtaining them.  
The first of these Obstacles was easily removed by Father Ignatius: 
The General endeavours to Establish the Society in France.  He ordered John Baptista Viola to make the Vows of Profession according to the Form, which he sent him from Rome; and he humbly requested the Bishop of Clermont to receive them. As to the King's Letters, which were looked upon as impossible to be obtained, the General found an Expedient, which had effect.  
The Cardinal of Guise, who after the death of his Uncle was called the Cardinal of Lorain, being come to Rome to Negotiate a League between the Pope, the Venetians, and the Duke of Ferara, against the Emperor, Father Ignatius went to see him, and took occasion to inform him particularly concerning the Institute of the Society, which had raised so much Jealousy in France. The Cardinal promised his assistance and protection of them at Court, and desired the Father to look out no farther for any other Intercessor or Patron. He kept his Word; for as soon as he was returned to France, the first thing he did, was to introduce Ignatius and his Society into the knowledge of Henry the Second, and to obtain for them Letters of Reception, which had been formerly refused;  
But since they could not procure these Letters to be Registered in Parliament, where the Jesuits found more Enemies then at Court, all the Protection of the Cardinal came to no more, then to give them Countenance for changing their Abode. John Baptista Viola, who was chosen Provisor of the College of the Lombard's, and who had a Command from the General to quit a Title, so little suitable to a Person Professed of the Society, went to Lodge with all his Brethren in Clermont House, of which the Bishop gave them the use, not being able to give them the Propriety, because their Letters were not Registered. This House we may call the Origine, and as it were, the Cradle of the College of Clermont, which came not to be opened, till some years after, and which was rendered famous even at the beginning, by the Learned Men who came thither from all Parts to Teach; and is more so at this time then ever, by the great number of young Nobility, who are there Educated with so much care; and who have at the Head of them a young Prince of the Blood, the most Ingenious, and the most Amiable of the World.  
Tho' this Business of Registering the Letters appeared to be desperate, yet Father Ignatius did not doubt but the day would come, when it should take effect; and for this reason, that all Erterprises which regard the good of Souls, commonly find Opposition in the beginning; and that in great Affairs, when the first difficulties are made smooth, time will bring on the rest.  
The News which he the same year received from the Indies, 
He causes a House of Catechumen to be Established in the Indies.  made some amends for what came out of France: Father Xaverius, who gave him a constant Account of his Proceedings, as to his Superior, informed him of the great progress which the Gospel had made in those Parts, and how much Heaven had blessed the Labours of the Society. By other Letters at the same time he understood, that with a a little too much precipitation Baptism was conferred upon the converted Pagans, and that it often happened, that these new Converts returned to Paganism, or did not well observe the Rules of Christianity, for want of sufficient Instruction. To remedy this Disorder he gave Directions, that they should erect in the Indies Houses for Catechumen, where the Idolaters that would embrace the Christian Faith, might be well Instructed and Tried before they received Baptism. According to this Advice, one of these Houses was settled at Goa, which proved highly beneficial to all the Indies, and out of which came forth some young Indians so fervent, that being taken by the Turks, they animated and exhorted the Christian Slaves to Constancy.  
These Nurseries were altogether according to the Spirit of Father Ignatius, as well as those of young ecclesiastics, who are designed for Holy Orders. From the time that he sent Claude le Jay into Germany, he directed him to advise the Bishops, who desired to have good Priests, and good Curates, that they would Establish Seminaries in their Dioceses, where young Catholics, well chosen, might be perfectly Instructed in the true Religion, and in all the Duties of Men Consecrated to the Altar. Many Bishops, and amongst others, those of Ausburg and of Salspurg Erected Seminaries in their Towns; and if Father Ignatius might have had his Will, every Diocese should have had one.  
While he thus laboured to reform the World, 
Artifices of the Heretics to pervert the Jesuits of Rome.  the Heretics, whom the Jesuits opposed in Germany and in France, not knowing how to revenge themselves otherways, enterprised even to pervent Ignatius himself, and his Company: And to compass this, they found an Invention, which only the Father of Lies could suggest. Philip Melancton, who after the death of Luther was Head of the Protestants, together with another Heresiarch, sent to Rome one of their Disciples called Michael, with Instructions to counterfeit himself a Catholic, and to present himself to the General of the Jesuits, to be received among them.  
He was a Man in the flower of his Age, Ingenious, Modest, well shaped, and had a promising Physiognomy. Father Ignatius did not stick at receiving him, being led thereunto by such fair appearances. The counterfeit Novice did admirably well disguise himself. No body so regular, nor so fervent, as he was: He was the first at every thing; He Confessed, and Communicated several days in the week; He even chastised his Body with great Rigour; and that which is most wonderful, there did not appear in him any thing of Pride or of Self-love.  
When Michael thought himself well settled, he began leisurely to disperse his Venom, and he did it with a great deal of subtlety. They gave him the care of the Refectory, and Oliver Manar for his Companion in the Office. Having opportunity to speak to him alone, after having first insinuated himself into his Friendship by his Behaviour towards him, which was very civil, and also edifying, he undertook by degrees to corrupt him. In several parts of the Refectory there were many Pictures of Saints: he asked Manar one day by way of Discourse, as if he meant no hurt, to what use those Pictures were, and whether it were well done to be uncovered, or to kneel before them.  
Manar, who had Learning, and had newly ended his Divinity, answered him not only like a good Catholic, but like a good Divine. Look ye (replied the Hypocrite) how different men's Opinions are about the same Point. I knew a great many famous Doctors in Germany, who made a scruple of honouring these Images, and who cited for it the Passage in St. John, Custodite vos a simulacris. Those Doctors (said Manar) were either inclining to Heresy, or not such able Men, as you believe. The Passage of S. John intends only the Images of false Gods; and you need but read the preceding words to be convinced of what I say: for St. John in that place, showing the opposition between the false Gods and the true God, says of Jesus Christ, It is he who is the true God, and life everlasting; Keep yourselves from Idols.  
Michael made show of being satisfied with so clear an Explication, and drove the Matter no farther. But another time he desired his Companion to Explicate to him those Words of St. Peter, The Brethren which are in Babylon salute you. Manar said, That the Apostle spoke there of Rome, which well deserved at that time to be called Babylon, in regard of that confusion of Errors, of which it was full. The Divines of Germany understood that Passage after the same manner (replied Michael, and smiled); but they add, how truly I cannot tell, that St. Peter did chiefly give that Name to Rome, because Antichrist was to have there his Seat, which David calls the Chair of Pestilence. Manar was startled at such a Discourse, but he dissembled his Surprise, the better to discover what he began to fear, and what he hardly dared to believe. He informed Father Ignatius of what had passed, and he received Orders from him to keep the Argument onfoot with Michael, and by a faint resistance to give him hopes of victory, the better to make him speak out, and to discover the bottom of his Soul.  
In the very next Conference Manar clearly discovered Michael to be an Heretic; and in few days there came from him above twenty Lutheran Propositions. He entered into Argument with him upon three of them, which were the least impious, and having prevailed upon him to set them down in Writing, he desired him that they might choose an Umpire of their Controversy, and he named to him Everard Mercurian, who was a Friend to both. Michael, who thought Manar half gained, and had the vanity to believe that he might also pervert Mercurian, agreed to it in the presence of Mercurian himself, whom Manar had preacquainted with the Matter; and so Michael left a Paper of the Propositions in their hands, that they might Examine them at leisure: But instead of Examining them, they carried the Papers to Father Ignatius; whereupon the Father doubting no longer, neither of the Doctrine, nor of the Intentions of Michael, informed the Grand Inquisitor, John Peter Caraffa, who was afterwards Pope, of the whole Matter, and at the same time Expelled the Impostor. The Inquisitor caused him to be Arrested, and after he had been kept some Months in close Prison, which obliged him, tho' unwillingly, to confess the truth, he was condemned to the Galleys.  
This Artifice not having succeeded with the Protestants, they had recourse to another; which was to send to the Fathers at Rome two great Chests of Books, of which the greatest part were very proper to poison Youth. Oliver Manar, who opened the Chests, found that those at the top were Catholic Books, and all the rest Heretical; he presently advertised Father Ignatius of it. The Father, at the very first, divined whence such an Alms should come, and ordered that all the Books should be burnt, and their Ashes to be thrown into the Wind, as if he were afraid they should infect the House; nor could he, according to his own Maxims, otherwise do, being persuaded, that all that comes from Heretics ought to be suspected, and not permitting that any of their Books should be read in the Society, how good soever they might be: For (said he) when we read a good Book, writ by a bad Man, after having taken pleasure in the Book, we grow insensibly affected to the Author, even sometimes to believe, that all that such an Author writes is reasonable. This he particularly applied to Erasmus, and to such like Authors, a great while before their Works were condemned. And he grounded his Opinion upon the Authority of S. Basil, who says in express terms, That a Religious Person ought not only to have in horror the Doctrine of Heretics, but also not to read any Books but such as come from an Orthodox Pen, and are approved by the Church, because the Words of the Impious, according to the Sentiment of the Apostle, are like a Gangrene, which taints and corrupts by degrees all that is sound.  
But Father Ignatius had yet more troublesome Rencounters, 
The Archbishop of Toledo opposite to the Society.  even with Catholics, and with a principal Prelate of the Church. The Archbishop of Toledo newly declared himself again against the Society, notwithstanding the Bulls which Approved the Institute and Exercises. His pretence was, that the Jesuits, whom they called Theatines', did entrench upon the Rights of Episcopacy, by the liberty which they took of Administering the Sacraments in all Places, under colour of their pretended Privileges. There was but one College of the Fathers in his Diocese, which was that of Alcala; He one day Interdicted them all, and thundered out a Sentence of Excommunication against all Persons that should Confess to them. He commanded at the same time all the Religious, and Curates within his Diocese, not to suffer any of the Society either to Preach, or to say Mass in their Churches; and that, which exceeds Imagination, he suspended all the Priests in Toledo from hearing Confessions, who had made the Spiritual Exercise.  
The General, far from being afflicted at this violent Persecution, did in some manner rejoice at it. This new Tempest (said he to Ribadeneyra) is a good Omen: If I am not mistaken, it is an evident sign, that God will be served by us in Toledo. For Experience has taught us, that to our Society, Contradictions and Persecutions always prepare the way; and that the more it is opposed in any Place, the more fruit it there produceth. In the mean time he writ into Spain, that all Endeavours should be used to satisfy the Archbishop. Villanova, who was Rector of the College of Alcala, a moderate and prudent Man, made to him all manner of Submission; but the Archbishop grew more inflexible, by how much the Rector was more submiss. All means were used to mollify and appease him: The Friends of the Society, and especially Cardinal Francisco Men●za, who designed to Erect a College in the Town of Burgos, of which he was Bishop, left no means untried to procure their Peace.  
When Father Ignatius understood that nothing could prevail with the Archbishop, he at last informed Julius the Third with what had passed at Toledo; and also ordered the Fathers of Alcala to ●●●sake their Complaints to the Privy-Council of Spain. The Pope caused a Letter to be writ to the Archbishop by Cardinal Matheo, Secretary of State, which imported, That it was much wondered at in Rome, that the Society of Jesus should be so ill treated at Toledo, since it was in so good Esteem, and so well received in all other Parts of the World.  
On the other side, the King's Council having examined the Bulls, and the Privileges of the order, and judging that the Conduct of the Archbishop did directly oppose the Holy See, they made a Declaration in favour of the Fathers. The ●●●ter from Rome, and the Declaration of the Coun●● brought the Prelate to reason: He presently annulled his former Acts, and re-established the Jesuits in all their Rights. As soon as Father Ignatius had news of it, he sent him his most humble thanks in a Letter, full of Acknowledgement and submission; and the more to gain him, he promised, that the Fathers of Alcala should make no use of their Privileges, nor receive any Person among them, without his Approbation.  
At this time the Society had two great Losses: Claude le Jay died at Vienna in Austria, and Francis Xaverius in the Island of Sancian, near China. They were also in danger the same year of losing Father Francis de Borgia, but after another manner; and they would certainly have lost him, if Father Ignatius had not preserved him by such means as I shall now relate.  
Borgia upon his return out of Italy, retired himself into Biscay, and made choice of the College of Ogniate, to consummate his Sacrifice, by renouncing the Duchy of Gandia, and all the remainders of his Greatness. He chose that Place, in regard of its Neighbourhood to Loyola, whether his Devotion led him before he came to Ogniate: And it is said, that entering into the Chamber where Father Ignatius was born, he fell down upon his Knees, and kissed the Ground with a Religious respect; and after having given thanks to the Divine Goodness for having brought such a Man into the World, he made it his Prayer, that since he had taken Ignatius for his Guide and his Master, he might have the Grace exactly to follow his Counsels and his Example.  
He departed from Loyola, animated with a new Spirit; and he lived so holily, that all admired to see in him, at his very entrance into Religion, consummated Sanctity. When the Emperor Charles the Fifth understood that Don Francisco de Borgia, of a Grandee of Spain was thus transformed into a Jesuit, he sent to the Pope to bestow upon him a Cardinal's Cap; for which his Holiness needed no great Solicitation, for he had seen Father Francis the Year before, and was so edified with his Virtue, that even then he had it in his thoughts to make him a Cardinal: So that now he resolved to comply with the Emperor, and the Matter was resolved with the general Approbation of the sacred College.  
Father Ignatius being informed of the Pope's Resolution, 
The General hinders the Promotion of Borgia.  thought himself obliged to oppose it for the Interest of the Society, and for the Honour of Father Francis, whom the World would not fail to reproach with having resigned his Dukedom of Gandia to his Son, in prospect of a Cardinal's Cap. But the better to find out the Will of Heaven in a Matter so nice, and so important, he shut himself up three days together, and communicated only with God in Prayer. The first day he found himself altogether indifferent, without inclining more on one side then on the other. The second day he felt a propension in himself rather to break the Design, then to let it go on. But the third day he was so convinced, that it was not the Will of God to have Father Francis made a Cardinal, that he said to an intimate Friend, If all the World should throw themselves at my Feet, to beg of me not to oppose the Promotion of Father Francis, I would not desist.  
In effect, notwithstanding all the Entreaties of the Emperor's Ministers, and of those who pretended Zeal for the Honour of the House of Borgia, he would not relent. He began his Solicitation by interessing those Cardinals in the Matter, who were best instructed in the Nature of his Institute; but finding that they more considered the Honour of the Sacred College, than the Advantage of the Society, and the Reputation of Father Francis, he applied himself immediately to the Pope, and plied him with so many strong Arguments, that his Holiness was forced to yield.  
The truth is, that he found an Expedient to content the Court of Rome, and the Court of Spain, and also to do Honour to Father Francis, without doing wrong to the Society: which was, That the Pope should offer him the Cap, but that if the Father did refuse it, his Holiness should not compel him to take it. The thing was Executed as Ignatius had laid it: And the Cap, of which the Offer was sent to Father Francis in his Solitude at Ogniate, no otherwise pleased him, then in giving him an occasion of Sacrificing to God the Dignities of the Church, after his having made a Sacrifice to him of the Grandeurs of the World.  
The Conduct of Father Ignatius, 
Don Antonio de Cordova received into the Society.  and the Example of Father Francis, caused a Resolution in Don Antonio de Cordova to enter into the Society. He was the Son of Laurence Suarez de Figueroa, Conde de Feria, and of Catherine Fernandez de Cordova: Being young, and very well accomplished, he made himself a Churchman, only upon the Motives of Piety. Philip Prince of Spain, who particularly loved him, desired the Emperor to procure for him a Cardinal's Cap. Charles the Fifth did what the Prince desired; but Don Antonio resolving wholly to leave the World, by the Example of his Cousin Borgia, thought the surest way to avoid the Honour which was prepared for him, would be to shelter himself in the Society of Jesus, as in a Sanctuary. He writ a long Letter to Father Ignatius upon this Subject; in which, after having laid open the Motives of his Vocation: Father, (he said to him) since God has placed you in his Church to be the Refuge of those who are out of their way, I desire you to receive me into the number of your Children. The young Lord was received, and in time became one of the greatest Men of the Society.   

THE LIFE OF St. IGNATIUS. The Fifth BOOK.  
WHereas Father Ignatius secluded his Order from Ecclesiastical Dignities, 
The Foundation of the Germane College.  upon the only Motive of better Serving the Church, accordingly his thoughts were always watchful to observe, and relieve the Necessities of Christianity; and his Care extended itself even to the remotest Parts of the World. But his principal Consideration was of the Northern Countries, desolated by Heresy. The greatest part of Germany had in a manner quite lost their ancient Piety: the Books of Heretics were every where scattered, and every where read with Impunity. And the younger sort, out of those poisoned Fountains, drew their first Principles of Religion. The greatest part of the Catholics could not endure the Name of Papist, given them by the Protestants, and grew almost ashamed of their Profession. The Priests and the Religious were in great disorder; and notwithstanding the Zeal of many Bishops for the Reformation of their Dioceses, they could hardly find sufficient Curates, to whom they might confide the Care and Government of Souls.  
Father Ignatius Discoursing one day upon this Subject with Cardinal Moron, they were both of Opinion, that the only way to remedy so many Evils, was to place in all Church's Pastors found in their Doctrine, and unstained in their Life, which should be of the Germane Nation; but that it was necessary in the first place, to have them well Formed and Trained, which could not be done without Founding a College, where the young Men of the Country might be Educated in Learning and Piety: That Germany being generally perverted, there could be no Security there for the Establishing such a College; and that a properer Place could not be chosen then Rome, where, not to speak of the holiness of the Place, which would inspire Catholic Sentiments, the Presence, and the Liberality of Popes, would much conduce to the rise and support of so good a Work.  
The Pope, to whom Cardinal Moron, and Cardinal Santa Croce first opened this Matter, very much approved this Design, which he himself had formerly conceived in his thoughts, and gave a beginning to it, by assigning a Fund for the Maintenance of the College: After which he ordered Father Ignatius, not only to seek out and choose young Students out of Germany, but also to Govern and to Instruct them. The Father immediately gathered together Four and twenty out of several Provinces of Germany, all of good Capacity and Education. He afterwards by the Pope's Order, drew up Rules and Statutes for their Government. He appointed Fathers out of the Casa Professa, and the Roman College, to be their Directors and Masters, but with the management of their Revenue he would have nothing to do: He said that such Administrations, besides the fatigue and trouble of them, often give occasion of suspicions and murmurings.  
The principal Revenue of the Germane College failing, 
He supports the Germane College in troublesome Times.  upon the death of Julius the Third, Father Ignatius was in some apprehension, lest the College should break, by reason of the Dearth then at Rome, and of the Disturbances in Italy, under the Pontificate of Paul the Fourth. He therefore distributed a part of these young Strangers into several Colleges of the Society abroad, and the rest he maintained in Rome upon such Charities as he procured for them; and when those failed, he borrowed Money upon his own Security. Thus he made them subsist till the bad Years were over, and the noise of War did cease. It was observable in him, that when the Times were at the worst, he showed most courage, and was often heard to say, That the Germane College should one day have large Revenues. He sent word to the Cardinal of Auspurg, who was Protector of this College, and who believed it would fall to ruin, That the Work would not fail, if those who undertook it did not fail in their Resolution, and their Confidence in God: But that if the Cardinals and Princes would not go through with it, he, as poor as he was, would take it upon him, and sell himself, rather than not bring it to pass.  
The Words of Father Ignatius were made good by the Event; for the Germane College was plentifully supplied by the Alms of Charitable Persons: and the same Spirit which moved Julius the Third to begin the Foundation, excited some years after Gregory the Thirteenth, to augment it, and to enlarge the Buildings with a Magnificency worthy of the Head of the Church; as if God who had made use of other Popes of the same Name, to Plant and to Propagate the Catholic Faith in Germany, would also employ a Gregory to make it reflourish there.  
About the end of the Year 1552, 
He makes a Reconciliation, and doth other good Works.  an important Occasion presented itself, which obliged Father Ignatius to go out of Rome into the Kingdom of Naples. The Duke Ascanio Colonna, and Jane of Arragon his Wife, were at variance upon some frivolous Matter, according to the Custom of Great-ones; and their Differences growing wider and wider, they at last separated with noise and scandal. The Father, who knew them both particularly well, could not endure that this Breach should continue, and undertook to make it up. Jane of Arragon was already retired to the Frontier of the Kingdom of Naples: He followed her thither, as infirm as he was, and in a very rigorous Season: for he thought it convenient to begin with the Duchess, not doubting but that if she were gained, the Peace would be soon made. In conclusion he prevailed with her, and he had no great difficulty afterwards to bring the Duke to reason; so that being brought again together, they lived more peaceably than ever.  
During this little Voyage, which took up but Ten days, Father Ignatius, with his Companion John Polancus, did many other good Works under the Authority of Cardinal Burgos, who was in those Parts. They Confessed the poor Country People, as they passed through the Villages; and they introduced into two or three Towns of the Kingdom of Naples, the Custom of Confessing and Communicating every Month: And that so Christian a Practice might not be discontinued, they engaged the Pastors frequently to excite their Parishioners to the performance of it, and the principal Men of each Place to lead the rest by their Example. 
He hinders the Incorporating the Barnabites, the Somasques, and the Theatines with the Society.   
Upon his return to Rome he received Letters from the Archbishop of Genoa, who earnestly desired that the Congregation of the Barnabites of Milan might be Incorporated into the Society of Jesus. This Prelate, who had a very good meaning, but was ill instructed in the Institute of the Jesuits, represented to Father Ignatius, that these two Congregations of Regular Clerics making up but one Body, would be more beneficial to the Church; wherefore he very much exhorted him to this Union. The Father very greatly esteemed the Virtue of the Barnabites, and moreover he had been obliged to them for their Charity showed to Father Emanuel Miona, when he fell sick at Milan, in his Journey from Paris to Rome. Nevertheless he could not consent to the Proposition of the Archbishop, and he answered him, That in his Judgement, the greatest Glory of God required, that each Order should continue in their primitive Institution; That for their being all of them Regular Clerics, and their wearing almost the same Habit, they had never the more the same Rule, nor the same Design; and that nothing would be more serviceable to the Church, then for each Order to hold constantly to the Spirit of their first Vocation. He had made the same Answer some years before, in reference to the Somasques, and the Theatines, upon a like Motion of having them Incorporated with the Society; but his Judgement was fixed, and never to be altered in this Matter.  
About the same time he disapproved the Conduct of two very eminent Fathers of his Order: 
He condemns the Conduct of Miron and Gonzales.  One of them was Father James Miron of Valentia, who was the first Rector of the College of Conimbria, and made so even before he was a Priest; The other was Father Lewis Gonzales, Son to the Governor of the Island of Madera, who was come out of afric into Portugal, to Treat with the King for the Redemption of Slaves, and about the Means of advancing Religion among the Moors. They both Resided at Lisbon, and led there a very holy Life.  
John the Third of Portugal, of whom we have so often spoken, having twice or thrice made use of Father Gonzales in Confession, resolved to choose him for his Confessor in Ordinary, being at that time unprovided. But observing in him an extreme aversion to the Court, and a great desire of returning back into afric, he would not force his Inclinations. He therefore cast his Eyes upon Father Miron, and sending for him upon the Octave of the Blessed Sacrament, he declared to him, that he had chosen him for his Confessor. The Father was so surprised, and so troubled at such a Declaration, that at first he remained speechless; but recovering himself again, he kneeled down to the King; and after having humbly thanked his Majesty for the advantageous Opinion which he was pleased to entertain of the Jesuits, he Protested, that as to his own Person, his Majesty, if duly informed, could not make choice of him. I have neither (said he) the Talents, nor the Age, which such an Office requires, and besides this, I am a Stranger.  
None of your Body are Strangers to me (replied the King), and on the other side, I see no necessity of such extraordinary Talents, to be my Confessor: for by the Grace of God you shall always find me disposed to follow your good Advice; but I am a little surprised, that you who are Confessors to all the World, should make such a difficulty of being mine.  
It is not, Sir, that we have the least unwillingness to Serve you in this manner (replied the Father), but only in regard that such Honourable Employments agree not with our Vocation; which is to Visit Hospitals, to Instruct the Poor, and to Exercise the most abject Functions for the saving of Souls. We ought to fear nothing more than Worldly Esteem; and it is already laid to our charge, that we hunt after the Favour of Princes. Wherefore I humbly beseech your Majesty, upon this occasion, to moderate the Affection with which you are pleased to honour us.  
The King made Answer, That he would do nothing contrary to their Institute; and that his Design was not to divert them from their Evangelical Functions; that they should take a Days time to deliberate, and that on the Morrow they should bring him their precise Answer. They failed not to do it, and deputed Father Gonzales, with all Respect to tell the King, That the Humility of which the Society made profession, was not consistent with the Honour which he intended them; wherefore they humbly prayed his Majesty to excuse Father Miron from being his Confessor.  
The King had been so pressing upon them for their Answer, that he gave them no time of first Writing to Rome about it; but they afterwards certified Father Ignatius what Answer they had made. He absolutely condemned it, tho' it proceeded from a good Principle; and gave them both to understand, that the Humility of Apostolical Men was not so straight confined as they thought; That these Honourable Functions were not incompatible with a Vocation which obligeth to Preach the Gospel both to the Little and the Great, and to Kings as well as to Subjects; That the Society must not refuse the meanest Functions, nor be afraid of the highest, when Providence, without their seeking, presented them; That they were not monastics, enclosed within a Monastery; That as they ought to seek in Hospitals, in Cottages, in the Galleys, and in Prisons, whereupon to exercise their Zeal; so on the other side, they were not to avoid the Palaces of Princes: and that being engaged by their Institute to sanctify all Conditions of Men, it would be a fault in them to abandon those who were at farthest distance from the Kingdom of God.  
Thus St. Ignatius instructed his Children upon Occasions; and he sharply reproved them, even those of the greatest Merit, when he thought the Reprehension was necessary. We have a memorable Example of this in the Person of Father Laynez. This Father assisted the second time at the Council of Trent, which Julius the Third immediately reassembled after his Promotion, according to one of the Articles Stipulated in the Conclave; and he there gained so great an Esteem, that having a Quartan Ague, the Congregations of the Divines and of the Cardinals, was never held upon the Days of his Fits.  
Whereas the War of Germany, which the Detention of the Landgrave of Hesse had raised against the Emperor, and had put the whole Empire into disorder, did also suspend the sitting of the Council for two years; Father Ignatius recalled Laynez to Milan, and named him Provincial of Italy in the room of Pasquir Brovet, whom he had sent into France, where the Affairs of the Society were in a reasonable good plight. Laynez refused the Provincialship, and the reason alleged for his refusal was, that he was not yet perfect enough at Obeying, and therefore unfit to Command: But he was told that it was the Will of his Superior, and consequently of God, that he should accept it; whereupon he was forced to yield. When he was in his Government of the Province of Italy, he was concerned, that all the best workmen were sent for to Rome, and he complained by Letters, that the Colleges of Italy were left unfurnished.  
Father Ignatius Answered him in short, 
He reprehends Laynez, and how Laynez receives the Reprimand.  that the Capital City of the World ought to be more considered, than other Towns; and whereas Laynez replied upon it, without taking due notice, as it seems, of what had been Answered him, Father Ignatius wrote to him in these words, I am displeased, that you continue to write to me upon the same Subject, after what I have already Answered, that a common good must be preferred to a particular one, and a greater concern to a less. Reflect a little upon your Proceeding, and then send me word, whether you find that you have transgressed, and in case that you think yourself Culpable, let me know what Penalty you are ready to undergo for your fault.  
Laynez writ back from Florence to Father Ignatius, that he had read over his Letters several times; that he found matter in it to make him admire on one side his Paternal Charity, and to praise the mercy of God; and on the other, to humble himself, and to acknowledge his fault. He beseeched him never to be sparing towards him of such wholesome Reprehensions, and he acknowledged, that upon this occasion he had been guilty of several considerable Faults. 1. For having been so undiscreet, and so vain, as to oppose with his weak Reasons the Sense of a Person so prudent and clearsighted. 2. For having caused Displeasure in his General. 3. For contradicting the Order of Providence, by endeavouring to proceed in a different way from that prescribed him by his Superior.  
As to the Chastisement which I deserve (he said), considering with myself of late, that I have been now Twenty years under an Obligation of Serving God according to the Evangelical Counsels, that for the doing it I have had so much help and assistance, of which I have made so little use, and that the end of my Life may possibly be near at hand, I found an ardent desire within me of dying wholly to myself, and of living only to God; and it appeared to me, that to be treated according to my Merits, I ought to be esteemed a miserable Wretch, and as a mere Nothing.  
Wherefore, my Reverend Father, upon the Receipt of your Letter, I fell down upon my Knees, and having made my Prayer with many Tears, a thing not usual with me, this was the result of my Desires, which I now send to your Reverence, with Tears in my Eyes, for your Approbation. I humbly request you, into whose hands I wholly resign myself, I say, I humbly request, and ask it of you by the Bowels of our Saviour Jesus Christ, that to punish my Sins, and to tame my ill governed Passions, you would be pleased to withdraw me from Government, from Preaching, from Study, so as to leave me no other Book but my Breviary; to command me that I come to Rome upon Alms, and there to be employed in the meanest of Offices in the House; or if I am not fit for them, to spend the rest of my days in teaching Children the first Rudiments of the Latin Tongue, and that I may be laid aside as the outcast of the Body. This is that which I choose in the first place for my Penance.  
Laynez fearing that Father Ignatius would not admit of all these Propositions, he qualified them in a second Address, and submitted to the same Penalties with a limitation of Time; that is, for two or three years, or so long as it should please the General. And lest this second Offer should not be received, he at last proposed several Disciplines; A four-weeks Fast, and that as often as he writ to the General, he should first make his Prayer, and then meditate upon his Letter; and after he had writ it, he should read it with attention, taking great heed, not to say any thing which might cause in his good Father the least Displeasure, and even endeavouring to make use of no Expressions but what may give him comfort and satisfaction.  
This only Example showeth the Authority which Father Ignatius had in his Body, and after what manner he would have Superiors subject to their General. But hence we may also learn, how great the Humility was of a Man who had been admired in the Council of Trent, and how tractable the greatest Wits are, when they have the true Spirit of Religion.  
Father Ignatius was highly edified at the proceeding of Laynez; and so Religious a Submission made him better amends then any penal Satisfaction. Far from Interdicting Laynez his Study, or from humbling him to Teach a Grammar School, he gave him Orders to write a Sum of Divinity, to serve as an Antidote against the Books of Heretical Controvertists. And to the end that his Office of Provincial should afford him leisure to attend this Work, he named two Fathers to ease him in his Visitation of the Colleges of Italy: One of them was Doctor Olavius, who before he was a Jesuit, was acquainted with Laynez at the Council of Trent, and whom Father Ignatius Constituted Rector of the Roman College presently after his Profession. The other was John Baptista Viola, a prudent and zealous Man, who had been Regent of the young Jesuits at Paris in the College of the Lombard's, and in Clermont House.  
This last, whom Zeal so transported, that to save the Provincial's trouble, he took too much of it upon himself, even to be disquieted at any Proceedings that were contrary to his Ideas, was once admonished by the General, that after he had done his Duty, he should keep himself in repose, and imitate our Guardian-Angels, who continually watch over the Souls which God has given them in charge, but who lose nothing of their tranquillity or happiness, when their care is unsuccessful.  
Oviedo, 
He keeps up regular Discipline in the College of Naples.  whom Father Ignatius had recalled from Gandia, Governed at that time the College of Naples, in Quality of Rector, and Bobadilla had the Charge there of Supervisor, according to the Practice of the Society in the beginning. These two Men, as holy as they were, each in his way, did not very well agree together concerning the Conduct of the College: For the last, being easy and condescending, was apt to let loose, what the other (more rigorous) held fast in point of Discipline. Bobadilla thought it less generous to regulate Sanctity by little outward Observances; and provided there were a serious Application to solid Virtue, he did not much concern himself for the rest. Oviedo on the contrary believed there was nothing to be reckoned little, that tended to the Service of God; and that the best grounded Virtue could not long subsist, with the neglect of those lesser Duties, which in themselves appear not very considerable.  
When Father Ignatius understood what passed at Naples, he took from Bobadilla the Office of Superintendent, and forbade him from giving any disturbance to the Government of Oviedo, to whom he gave the whole Authority; that so Domestical Discipline might be maintained, which began insensibly to relax, which is a matter of dangerous Consequence to all Communities: For it was the General's Opinion, that these was less danger in the violation of the greater Rules, then in the neglect of the lesser; because the evil which the infraction of the first brings with it, is evident and palpable; whereas that which proceeds from the contempt of the second, is not for the most part seen nor felt, till it becomes incurable.  
The Affairs of Portugal proved much more troublesome and difficult to him, 
Troubles in the Province of Portugal, and the General's Conduct in quieting them.  than those of Naples. The College of Conimbria was in a flourishing Condition, both for the number of the Jesuits, and for the Reputation of Learning. More than a hundred young Men of good Parts, and most of them of Quality, which Father Simon Rodriguez had received into the Body, followed the Study of Human Learning, and of higher Sciences, with incredible vigour and emulation. Some among them, too much intent upon their Study, and not enough dead to the World, began to neglect their Exercises of Piety, and by degrees degenerated into a Behaviour altogether worldly. The mildness of Rodriguez's Government was the principal cause of this Mischief. This holy Man, who had formerly cured a Leprous Person by lying in Bed with him, and who lately had restored Health to many sick People, with only embracing them, edified all his Inferiors by the exact regularity of his Life. But his natural Goodness permitted them to live according to their Inclinations; and if sometimes he reprehended them, he did it in so soft a manner, that it signified little, and served rather to confirm them in their bad Customs.  
Before these Disorders broke out, Father Ignatius had thoughts to remove Rodriguez out of Portugal, where he had been twelve years' Governor; and this he designed upon the account of putting in practice what is set down in the Constitutions, concerning the time to be limited in the Government of subaltern Superiors, and of letting Provincials understand that they were not perpetual, tho' the General might continue them for as long time as he pleased.  
The bad Effects which the Indulgence of Rodriguez produced, absolutely determined Father Ignatius to this Removal; and that which obliged him to do it with speed, was, that the Jesuits of Portugal were so linked to their Provincial, that they seemed to know no other Superior. His Facility was pleasing to the Tepid, and his eminent Virtue charmed the Fervent. Father Ignatius judged that this mighty adhesion and fondness was against the perfection of Religious Obedience, which ought not so much to regard the Person of the Superior, as that of Jesus Christ in the Superior.  
He resolved therefore to take from him the Charge of Provincial, and moreover to make him leave Portugal; both to the end that his Successor might have entire liberty in the Government of the Province, and also that the Malcontents might not have recourse to their ancient Superior, and that they being all deprived of his Presence, their Obedience might be more pure and free.  
But to save the Reputation of Rodriguez, he thought it expedient to put him in Office elsewhere; for he believed, that when he should not have Portuguez to Govern, his Conduct would not be so soft and easy. And whereas the General well knew, that the Spanish Fathers had not much inclination to those of Portugal, by reason of the natural Antipathy between the two Nations, and desiring nothing more than to unite them all in Jesus Christ, he designed Rodriguez for the Province of Arragon, and Miron for that of Portugal. But he found great Obstacles in the Execution of this Project.  
The King of Portugal, 
The General overcomes great Oppositions.  who did not permit that Rodriguez should go to Rome, to be present at the Assembly in the Jubilee Year, and the Prince Don John, who still honoured him as his Master, could not resolve to let him go from them. Of the same mind were Don Antonio d' Alencasire, Duke d' Aviro, Nephew to King John the Second, and Don Antonio d' Ataide, Conde de Castenheira, his particular Friends; besides a great many other Portuguez Lords, who had great confidence in him. Upon the first rumour of the Alteration which the General of the Society intended to make, the whole Court was in disorder. Some said, that the King should command Father Rodriguez not to depart the Kingdom. Others offered themselves to make the General change his Resolution. There wanted not those, who would have a Brief sent for from Rome to detain him; and some advised the King to make the Father accept of the Bishopric of Conimbria, which had formerly been several times offered him, and was yet vacant.  
On the other side, the young Jesuits spoke it openly, that they could obey none but Father Simon; and began to talk of leaving all, if he were taken from them. But Father Ignatius having foreseen these Stirs, writ to the King, to the Queen, and to the Prince of Portugal, to make them sensible of his Reasons; He did the same to Father Leon Henriquez, and to Father Lewis Gonzales, who had great Credit in that Court: He conjured them, and commanded them to use all their Industry to facilitate the Business. And at the same time he writ to Father Rodriguez a Letter, in which his Expressions were very kind, but his Orders very positive.  
All these Leters had their effect; and it is hardly conceivable, with what Reverence and Submission Rodriguez received the Order of his General: he several times kissed the Letter; and it is said, that he was in such a Transport of Joy, that sometimes he laid it to his Head, and sometimes to his Heart, as if he had been out of himself. He also earnestly solicited for his Departure with the Princes, whom the Reasons of Father Ignatius had convinced, but whom their Affection for Rodriguez made unwilling.  
As soon as he had obtained what he desired, he retreated to the farthest end of Portugal towards Galicia, into a Country House, which belonged to the College of Conimbria, called St. Felix, and is situated near Valenca de Mino, among the Rocks and Mountains: He retired, I say, after having resigned the Government of the Province to Father Miron, and after having excused himself by Letters from the Provincialship of Arragon; so much was it his desire to live only to God, and to himself.  
Miron, who was a clearsighted Man, exact, resolute, and severe, would also have been very proper to re-settle Discipline in a short time, if he had a little more considered Human weakness. Whereas he had high Ideas concerning Religious Perfection, especially concerning that of his Society, he was not satisfied, unless those under his Government were all perfect; not considering, that things in Practice will not rise so high as our Speculation, and that sometimes we must content ourselves with what is best to be had, tho' not best in itself.  
A Conduct so severe, and so opposite to that of Rodriguez, which was fresh in their memory, gave a general disgust. And whereas Miron naturally active and restless, would see every thing done with his own Eyes, and in a manner do all himself, the domestic Officers, and the subordinate Superiors, were unsatisfied that he put no trust in them, and consequently grew negligent in their Employments.  
Father Ignatius, 
He sends a Visitor into Portugal.  whom the Provincial informed of the state of Affairs, and to whom the others made their Complaints of the Provincial, was upon the point of going himself into Portugal, to remedy these Disorders by his Presence; but after divers Reflections, he contented himself with sending a Visitor; and he chose for so important a Commission, Father Michael de Torrez, Rector of the College of Salamanca, and Doctor of Divinity in the University of Alcala, a Man of Authority and of good Sense, in whom was joined the Mildness of Rodriguez with the Resolution of Miron.  
The Visitor, according to his Instructions, in the first place paid his Duty to the King of Portugal, gratefully acknowledging him to be the principal Benefactor and Protector of the Society. After which he humbly besought him to give leave, that Father Rodriguez, who was appointed for the Government of the Province of Arragon, and whose absence from Portugal seemed necessary for the quiet of the College of Conimbria, might not remain useless in a Desert, but might speedily repair to his Charge.  
The King found great difficulty to consent to it; but at last he did consent, and thereupon writ to Father Ignatius by Father Gonzales, who was called to Rome when Father Rodriguez (who blindly obeyed his Orders) had left his Solitude to proceed towards Arragon. This is the Copy of the King's Letter.  
FAther, Master Ignatius, I have received your Letters, and with them a great deal of Satisfaction. I am persuaded that the Service of God requires of me to grant what you ask concerning the change of Father Master Simon, and that it should be done in the manner which Father Lewis Gonzales will tell you. You may rest assured, that I shall always be well pleased to favour your Society, in consideration of the great good which God is pleased to do by it in all my States. And because I have told Father Lewis Gonzales, what in particular regards the Affection which I have for you, and the Concerns of your Order in my Kingdom of Portugal, I refer myself to him, and you may give entire Credit to what he shall say to you on my part. At Lisbon the 30th of January 1553.  
The departure of Rodriguez did not a little advantage the Visitor, to quiet the Minds of those whom the presence of their ancient Superior had rendered less tractable. But that which much contributed to restore Order and Tranquillity in the Province, was, that the new Provincial, according to the Directions which he received from Rome, changed the Method of his Conduct.  
The General advertised him, 
He gives Advice to the new Provincial.  that a new Administration doth never succeed well in the beginning, by using rigour; that at first some Faults must be dissembled, or pardoned; that young Men cannot be perfect all on the sudden, and that there is no arriving to the height of Virtue, or of Vice, but by degrees.  
But in regard that Miron was too much inclined to Motion, and would do all things himself, he told him, to allay his Activity, That it did not belong to Superiors in Chief to pry into every little matter themselves; That Men were made trusty by thinking them so; That it was better sometimes to be deceived, then always to be in distrust; Lastly, that the first in Office should resemble the Primum Mobile, which by its own steady Motion regulates the Courses of other Celestial Bodies. Know all, order all (he said), but take heed of doing all yourself. Acting in this manner, you will do nothing unbecoming your Place; and you will have this advantage, that if your Orders be ill Executed, you may afterwards rectify what you find amiss; whereas, if you make yourself the Actor, and things should not at first succeed, it would not be very Honourable for you, that your Inferiors should mend your Faults.  
All things being settled in this manner, 
He moderates the Fervour of the Portuguez.  it happened by a strange Revolution, that the Portuguez passed from one Extremity to the other, according to the nature of human things, which seldom rest in an even poise, and in their just situation. The Fervour introduced into the College of Conimbria, increased so fast, that at last it exceeded all measure. Every one took upon him to be his own Director in Matters of Piety and Mortification, only consulting his own Spirit, and following the heat of his Devotion. Some consumed themselves with Austerities, to a degree of wasting their Bodies and their Health; others, charmed with the Delights of Contemplation, spent whole Days and Nights in Prayer, hardly minding their Study.  
Father Ignatius, to remedy this second Disorder, which was the more dangerous, in regard that it proceeded from an excess of Virtue, endeavoured by his Instructions to discover to them their Illusion: but finding that the Advice given them, had not its effect, and that an indiscreet Fervour reigned not only in Portugal, but spread itself into Spain, he writ a long Discourse in form of an Epistle, to reduce those into a right way, whom a mistaken Devotion had misled.  
This Epistle, 
The Epistle of Obedience.  Entitled, Concerning the Virtue of Obedience, and Addressed to the Portuguez, begins with making it appear, That Obedience is the only Virtue, which bringeth forth and nourisheth all other Virtues; That this, in a peculiar manner, is the Virtue of the Society of Jesus, and the distinguishing Mark and Character of it: so that we may suffer ourselves to be surpassed by other Orders, in Fasting, in Watching, and in many other Practices of Austerity, which each of them holily observes, according to the Spirit of their Vocation; but that in matter of Obedience we ought not to yield to any, as being obliged by our Vocation to be perfect in it.  
The Saint in the next place, upon Reasons drawn out of Scripture and the Fathers, lays down these Degrees of Obedience. The First and lowest, consists in doing what we are commanded. The Second is, not only to execute the Orders of a Superrior, but to conform our Will to his. The Third, to judge, that what he Order is best and most reasonable, and upon this ground alone, because the Superior doth judge it so. To arrive at this high degree, which is called the Obedience of the Understanding, he says, that we are not to take notice, whether he who Governs us be Wise or Imprudent, Holy or Imperfect; but only to consider in his Person the Authority of Jesus Christ, Delegated to him for our Conduct, and that his infinite Wisdom cannot permit his Delegate to deceive us.  
The whole Letter, which may be called a Masterpiece in its kind, turns upon these grand Principles, which the Father supports by solid Reasons, and illustrates by divers Examples. He particularly proves, in order to his present Design, That it is a strange Illusion to believe, that one may go against the Will of a Superior, in doing things which are good in themselves, as in Praying, and Fasting, etc. And he declares, That according to the Doctrine of the ancient Masters of a Spiritual Life, it is not a less Fault to break the Laws of Obedience in Watching then in Sleeping, in Labouring then in doing nothing.  
Father Ignatius was not content to send this Letter of Obedience only into Portugal and Spain, he transmitted it into all Parts, even to the Indies and Japony. The Society had entered the Year before into the Island of Corsica, and the two Workmen he sent thither by the Pope's Order, at the Request of the Commonwealth of Genova, found work enough to do in their new Mission. One of them was called Silvester-Landino, and the other Emanuel de Monte-Mayor. The whole Island had much of the Barbarity of a Heathen Country, and tho' Religion for many Ages past had been planted there; yet in their manner of living there was little of Christianity to be seen. The Priests had not so much as a distinction of Habit, and for the most part led not only a Secular, but a Libertine Life: There were among them, who neither knew how to say Mass, nor to Administer the Sacrament of Penance. The People on their side lived in profound Ignorance, and many up and down the Country, even old Men, could not make the Sign of the Cross. This Ignorance was accompanied with all sorts of Vices; Superstition, Sorcery, Incest, and Pligamy, did every where reign with Impunity, and without Scruple.  
No sooner had the two Missioners made their Circuit about the Island, 
Two Missioners of the Society Accused, and Justified.  but the face of it was wholly changed, so great was the Blessing which it pleased God to bestow upon their Labours: But this change drew upon them a terrible Persecution. An Ecclesiastic, considerable for his Office of Grand Vicar, and more famous for the Debauchery of his Life, could not endure the Zeal, and the good Success of Landino and Monte-Mayor. Besides his own Animosity against these Foreign Priests, whose Apostolical Conversation seemed to reproach the Irregularity of his Life, and whose Character of the Pope's Visitors appeared to lessen his Authority: He was also instigated against them by some Apostates, who had taken Refuge in that Island; so that he sent an Accusation to Rome against the two Fathers. He likewise Dispatched and Deputed one of his Friends to maintain the Charge against them; viz. That Landino and Monte-Mayor were insupportable Persons, extremely Arrogant, and outrageously severe; that they treated the Religious of St. Francis with the lowest degree of Contempt, and that they visibly abused the Authority of the Holy See.  
This Deputy, who neither wanted Cunning, nor boldness, prevailed upon many Cardinals to believe his false Suggestions against the Apostolical Visitors: Insomuch that Cardinal Sancte Croce complained of them to Father Ignatius. The Father, who perfectly well knew both Landino and Monte-Mayor, had difficulty to believe what was said of them, and imagined it was a Calumny. But to know the bottom of the Business, he sent into the Island of Corsica one of his own People, in whom he could confide, called Sebastian Romés, who was not yet a Priest; and he ordered him to disguise himself in the Habit of a Cavalier, and narrowly to observe the Demeanour of the two Fathers, without making himself known to them.  
Romés remained in the Island as long as was necessary well to execute his Commission. When he had throughly observed the Conduct of Landino and Monte-Mayor, and had taken exact Informations of their manner of Life, he came back to Rome with Letters from the Governor of the Island, from the Magistrates and People, and from the Provincial himself of the Franciscans, so Advantageous and Honourable for the two Persons accused, that the Cardinals, who had been surprised, made their Excuses to Father Ignatius, for having too easily believed false Reports.  
He himself was newly again accused in Spain, 
A new Persecution in Spain.  for teaching Heretical Doctrine in his Book of Spiritual Exercises; and his Accuser was an Ecclesiastic, instigated by Melchior Cano, who still had rancour in his Heart against the Society, but hid himself behind the Curtain, fearing the Displeasure of the Court of Spain, where the Jesuits had Credit.  
Tho' the Book of Exercises, which was Printed with the Bull of Paul the Third, aught to have been protected from Calumny by the Bull itself, yet there were those who put it into the hands of the Inquisitors, and laboured to get it Censured. Good Men thought this Proceeding neither Equitable, nor Catholic. The Doctors of Salamanca, who were consulted upon it, unanimously took upon them the Defence of the Holy See, and of Father Ignatius; and among the rest, Bartholomew Torrez, so famous for his Learning and Virtue. He it was, who writ a very Learned Book upon the Mystery of the Trinity, and who was made Bishop of Canary after his Return out of England, whither Philip, Prince of Spain, going to Espouse Queen Mary, carried him, with other Divines, solidly to Establish among the English the Catholic Faith.  
Torrez writ several Papers upon this Subject of the Exercises, the principal of which you have here Translated.  
God is my Witness, 
A Testimony in favour of the Exercises of Father Ignatius.  that nothing could be asked of me more to my satisfaction, then to tell my Opinion concerning the Spiritual Exercises of the Society of Jesus: For I desire that all the World should know what I think of them, in the sincerity of my Heart, and in the Presence of God. And in the first place, lest any body should imagine that Interest makes me speak, I declare that I am no Jesuit, tho' I ought to have been of this Society, or of some other Holy Order, if I had a true zeal for the good of my Soul. Next I declare, that altho' I may be perhaps the least capable of all the Doctors, yet I have knowledge enough to answer the Question proposed to me: For besides that I have formerly Entertained Ignatius in Salamanca, I have since familiarly been acquainted with his Disciples: Moreover, I have attentively Examined the Tendency, and the Spirit of this Order, continually observing their manner of Life, and judging of their Institute by their Actions, which cannot long deceive.  
I say therefore, that from the time I first knew the Society of Jesus to this day, I never have perceived any Error or Crime (truly such) in any one Person among them. I farther say, that for the Spiritual Exercises, no body can make a true Estimate of them, who has not himself made them. For whereas their Design is to establish Virtue in the Soul, and to purge it of Vices, they are not to be sensibly understood, but by the Practice and Experience of them. I have myself seen Learned Men, who could not comprehend them, tho' the Matter contained in them be clear and Orthodox, and Extracted out of the Scriptures and holy Fathers: and yet all those who have tried them, understand them without difficulty. So that there is great difference between the Sciences learned in Schools, and the Science of the Saints, which besides acquired Knowledge, requires the Exercise of Prayer, and of interior Virtues.  
I declare, that I have made these Exercises at Alcala, and I speak it in the Presence of God, that in the space of thirty years, all which time I have spent in the Study of Divine Sciences, and a good part of it in teaching Divinity, I never profited so much in true Knowledge, as I did in the few days of that Retirement. If this shall seem strange to any Learned person, who is not of my Opinion, I only desire him to make Experience of it himself: Let him but do, what I have done, and he will think what I think. The Reason is clear for what I say of myself: I Studied Divinity, that I might be able to teach others, but I made the Exercises, that I might live well myself. Now, there is a great deal of difference between knowing, how to explicate a Question, and how to practise a Virtue.  
Moreover I have known many persons, that have made these Exercises, and I have engaged many of my Scholars both Religious and Secular, to make them, and I never knew one, that did not reap great Spiritual advantages from them; and who did not openly declare, that they infinitely valued that little Book. Might it please God, that such a Treasure were esteemed by men as it deserves! for in fine, whereas Prayer and Meditation are of so high a price, we may in a short time advance more in them by the Method, which these Exercises prescribe, than we can in many years, and with great Labour, by any other way.  
Now if any one desires to know precisely, what these Exercises are, they consist in Attentively and Sedately considering the verities of Faith, the Benefits and Commandments of God; the Life and Death of Jesus Christ; and also in making an exact review of our Life past, and in well regulating our Conscience for the future. It is not to be wondered after all this, if the Enemy of Mankind doth his utmost endeavour to abolish so holy a practice; and we may judge by all these Contradictions, that the work itself is Divine.  
I also declare, that the Holy See having approved the Exercises, and his Holiness having by his Bull Exhorted the Faithful to make them, no wise Man, no good Christian, can aver, that they contain Errors: And I doubt not, but that if the Society, which suffers contumely with Joy for the love of Jesus Christ, should bring their Enemies before the Tribunal of the Inquisition, that Court would severely punish them. For my own part I declare, that it is not lawful for any person to charge a Book with Heresy, which is Printed with Approbation and Authority from the Holy See, nor to prosecute the Censure or condemnation of it. Such as shall find in it any thing, that is difficult and obscure to them, aught to content themselves with ask to have it explained and made clear to them. But for the Doctrine contained in it, I aver it to be Sound and Orthodox, and that such Propositions as are contrary to those laid down in the Book, are so many Errors.  
The Testimony of Torrez, was of great weight and gave a check to the Prosecution; but the indirect proceeding of Cano finally concluded it. This Enemy, once so declared and now concealed, seeing that the Doctors of Salamanca opposed his designs, endeavoured to engage Mancio on his side, one of the most famous Persons of his Order, who taught Divinity in the University of Alcala. That he might securely gain the suffrage of this Divine against the Exercises of the Society, he put a Copy of them in Manuscript into his hands, where something was thrust in, which was not in the Printed Books. The Divine perused the written Copy very exactly, and declared, that he found nothing in it, but what was Orthodox, one passage only excepted, which could not be excused from Heresy. This passage was further examined, and upon comparing the Printed Books with this Manuscript, there was a plain discovery made of Cano's foul dealing. Thus Truth carried the cause against Forgery, and the Inquisitors, of Judges to Condemn, became Compurgators of the Spiritual Exercises.  
While an Ecclesiastic, 
The King of Portugal demands of Father Ignatius a Patriarch and Bishop for Aethiopia.  and a Religious Man, vainly endeavour to slain the Reputation of Father Ignatius, and to overthrow his Order; the King of Portugal Solicited the Pope to choose for Aethiopia a Patriarch, and Bishop out of the Society of Jesus. The choice which was made, and the occasion of making it, cannot well be understood, unless we look a little back into the Affairs of that Country.  
The People of Aethiopia, which are at this day called Abyssins', are the most Ancient Christians in the World; they received the Faith, in the very beginning, from the Apostle St. Matthew, and from the Eunuch of Queen Candace, who was Baptised by Philip the Deacon, as it is related in the Acts of the Apostles. But in process of time they left the law of Jesus Christ, for that of Moses; or rather they confounded these two Laws together, using both Circumcision and Baptism; so that, intending to be at once Christians and Jews, they were truly neither the one, nor the other. They acknowledged the Patriarch of Alexandria for their Head in matters of Religion, from whose hands they received their Abuna, or High Priest. They embraced with the Cophtes of Egypt the Heresies of Dioscorus, and of Eutyches. On the other side, being mixed with Mahometans and Idolaters, they every day contracted something of Mahometanism and Paganism: In this manner their Religion was a mixture of all Sects. But they had no Communication with Rome, both in regard of their great distance, and that the Greeks infused Hatred into them against the Latin Church.  
When the Portuguez in their Navigation to the East-Indies discovered that part of Aethiopia, which is under the Obedience of Prester John, or to speak properly, the Kingdom of the Abyssins', whose King we call Prester John, by a popular Error, which has prevailed in Europe, of attributing to this African Potentate a Title Anciently used by the Monarches of the Asian Tartars, he that then Reigned among the Abyssins', was a young Prince, called David, naturally Wise, and Virtuous. He was instructed by the Portuguez in the Mysteries of Faith, and he so opened his Eyes to Truth, that relinquishing the Patriarch of Alexandria, he writ to the Sovereign Bishop of Rome, Clement the Seventh, and by a solemn Embassy yielded him Obedience in the Assembly at Bologna, and in the Presence of Charles the Fifth, who was newly there Crowned Emperor.  
David being dead, his Son and Successor, named Claude, who had been bread up in the Roman Religion, and was a Man of good sense, judged that the true Faith could not well be Propagated and Established in his Kingdom, unless the Pope sent thither a Patriarch and Bishops. Whereas he had contracted an Amity with John the Third, King of Portugal, who had assisted him with Money and Forces, against the King of Zeilan Gradamete; he requested him likewise to procure these Spiritual Succours for him from Rome. John the Third undertook the business with a great deal of Zeal. But the troubles of the Church in those times retarded the effecting it; nor was it dispatched till under the Pontificate of Julius the Third, when it was brought to pass in this manner.  
The King of Portugal writ to Father Ignatius to send him the Names of some of his Order, whom he might propose to the Pope for Patriarch, and Bishops of Aethiopia. These Titles of Dignity for any of his Subjects did at first very much startle the Father: But upon reflection, that a Patriarcate, and Bishoprics of this nature, were rather Crosses than Dignities, and that it was a single Case, not likely to be drawn into Example, he took courage, and consented to all, that the Prince required of him. He named to him three Fathers, of profound Capacity, and of eminent Virtue, John Nugnez, Andrew Oviedo, and Melchior Carnero, without determining which of them he would have chosen for Patriarch, tho' his desire was, that Nugnez should be the person which he only showed by recommending him with a little more advantage than the rest: He only declared himself upon this point, that those who were the Bishops might succeed the Patriarch, when the case should require it.  
Nugnez, 
The Fathers proposed by the General, oppose their promotion.  who had been employed many years in Africa about the Redemption of Slaves, and the Conversion of Renegades, was then come to Lisbon, to procure Money to redeem those Christians, whom the King of Algiers had taken from the King of Fess, when he drove him out of his Kingdom. Upon the first rumour of his new employment, he writ with all earnestness to Rome to break the design. He represented to Father Ignatius, that he did not refuse the Mission of Aethiopia, but that he could not yield to go thither with a Mitre, and that he had a great deal rather spend the rest of his days in a Chain, among the Slaves of Barbary. He conjured him by the precious wounds of our Crucifi'd Saviour, to have consideration of his weakness, and not to charge him with a Load, which might possibly be the cause of his Damnation. He added, that if his good Father would not relent, he should at least send him his Will in writing; to the end, that an Order under his hand might be a comfort, and support to him in his difficulties.  
Carnero, who was then at Rome, and Oviedo, who was called thither from Naples, made no less Resistance. They would themselves plead their cause before the Pope. As painful as their designed Dignities seemed to be, they still thought them more illustrious than painful, and the Luster gave them a Horror of them. Tho' Father Ignatius had other thoughts, yet he praised their modesty, and was well pleased, that all three upon this occasion had need of an absolute Command from the Vicar of Jesus Christ.  
But he made them understand, 
The General engageth the three Fathers to submit.  that all the Honour, and all the Revenue of these Prelatures, consisted in great Labours, in continual Dangers by Land and by Sea, in Poverty, and possibly in Martyrdom. Julius the Third was so well satisfied with the Conduct of the Father, and of his Sons, in this matter, that he said publicly before all the Cardinals, that now it might be seen, what the Jesuits pretended to in this World, since they refused Mitres, that were more splendid than burdensome, and accepted those, that had nothing belonging to them but Labours and Sufferings.  
Tho' Father Ignatius did not fear, that any one of the three Fathers, was capable of abusing the Patriarchal Authority, yet he judged, that the more securely to oblige him, who should be Patriarch, to do his Duty, it was convenient that an Apostolical Commissioner should reside at Goa, to make his Visitation from time to time, and to observe the Conduct of the Patriarch.  
Don Alphonso d'Alencastre, Grand Commander of the Order de Christo, the Portugal Ambassador, had received a Letter from the King his Master, in which he was Commanded to use his Interest with the Pope upon all occasions, in behalf of the General of the Jesuits; which Letter was brought by Father Lewis Gonzales, when he came to Rome; and in the same Letter the King declared to Don Alphonso how great his Confidence was in that Father. Whereas the General perceived, that the Ambassador was a little slow in the business of the Aethiopian Mission, he ordered Father Gonzales to quicken him in it, and for that end, to Visit him every third day; which the good Father so regularly performed for three Months together, that it was said in Rome, by the way of Raillery, that Gonzales visited the Portugal Ambassador like a Tertian Ague.  
These Solicitations of the Fathers were not unprofitable, for Don Alphonso vigorously took the business in hand, and ended it in a short time, notwithstanding all the delays of the Court of Rome. The Pope named Nugnez Patriarch of Aethiopia, according to the demand of the King of Portugal, who had discovered the inclination of Father Ignatius therein. He sent him a little after the Pall, with the Rights and Powers thereunto belonging, to be exercised not only in Aethiopia, but in all the Neighbouring Provinces. He made Oviedo Bishop of Nice, Carnero Bishop of Hierapolis, and declared both the one, and the other Successors to the Patriarch. Lastly he gave the Title and Authority of Apostolical Commissary to Father Gasper Barzee, whom Father Ignatius named to the Ambassador, and who was then Rector of the College of Goa. Father Ignatius chose for the Patriarch, and the Bishops, ten Companions; and when they all parted for Aethiopia, he writ to the King of the Abyssins' this following Letter.  
My Lord, in our Lord Jesus Christ.  
I Wish to your Highness, 
The General's Letter to the King of the Abyssins'.  all Grace, Happiness, and abundance of Spiritual Gifts. The most Serene King of Portugal, nsoved by his Zeal for the Glory of the holy Name of God, and for the Salvation of Souls, which Jesus Christ has Redeemed with his precious Blood, has more than once signified to me his Pleasure, that I should name twelve Persons of our small Society, which is Entitled of Jesus, for the Service of the States of your Highness; and that among them there should be a Patriarch and two Bishops. I have executed the Orders of that Prince, being obliged thereunto by the innumerable Favours, which our Society has received from his Highness, and by the due Veneration, which we all owe to the Commands of so great a King.  
I have designedly imitated the Number of our blessed Saviour and his Apostles, in choosing besides the Patriarch, twelve Priests of our Body, to Sacrifice their lives for the Salvation of your Subjects; and I have done it the more willingly, in regard that we cannot better employ ourselves, then in the service of a Prince, like your Highness, who in the midst of so many Nations, that are Enemies to the Christian Name, endeavour, by the Example of your Ancestors, to maintain and augment within your Empire, the Religion of Jesus Christ.  
These Good intentions and Honourable endeavours of your Highness, did truly stand in need of such Spiritual Pastors, by whose Ministry the Church of Aethiopia might receive both Legitimate Power, derived from the holy Apostolic See, and also the pure Doctrine of the Christian Faith: For those are the two Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, which our Lord Jesus Christ first promised to St. Peter, and afterwards entrusted him with.  
He did but promise them, when he said to him, as we read in the Gospel of St. Matthew, I say unto you that you are Peter, and upon this Rock I will build my Church, and I will give you the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and whatsoever you shall bind upon Earth, shall be bound in Heaven, and whatsoever you shall loosen upon Earth shall be loosened in Heaven. He Actually gave them to him, when after his Resurrection, and before his Ascension, he said to him, as St. John tells us, Feed my sheep. By these words the Son of God committed to his charge not a part only, but the whole Flock, with a Plenitude of Power, much more ample, than what he communicated to the rest of the Apostles. This is that which our Lord seems to have figuratively signified by the Prophet Isaiah, when speaking of the High Priest Eliacim, he said, I will give you the Key of the House of David, that shall open, and no man shall shut, that shall shut, and no man shall open. This Symbol is the Figure of St. Peter, and of his Successors; and the Keys, which have the signification of a full and absolute Dominion, denote the Power of the See of Rome.  
This being so, your Highness has great reason to give thanks to Heaven, for having vouchsafed, under your Reign, to send true Pastors, who have received their Power and Authority from the Vicar of Jesus Christ, to your People, who have strayed from the Fold of the true Church. And it is not without great reason, that your Father and Grandfather had difficulty to receive a National Patriarch from the hands of the Patriarch of Alexandria: A Member separated from the Body, receives from it neither life nor motion; in like manner the Patriarch of Egypt, whether he resides at Alexandria, or at Grand Cairo, being a Schismatic, separated from the Holy Apostolic See and from the Supreme Bishop, Head of the Universal Church, can neither receive for himself, nor communicate to others, the life of Grace, or Pastoral Authority.  
For in fine, as there is but one Catholic Church, so there cannot be one true Church depending upon the Bishop of Rome, and another upon him of Alexandria. As the Bridegroom is one, so is the Bride, and 'tis of her that Solomon, representing the Person of Jesus Christ, says in the Canticles, My Dove is one. The Prophet Osee speaks to the same purpose: The Children of Israel and of Judah shall be assembled, and shall have but one Head. In the same Spirit St. John along time after said, there is but one Fold and one Shepherd. And as we read in Genesis, there was but one Ark of Noah, out of which none were saved from the Deluge; so there was but one Tabernacle built by Moses; but one Temple of Jerusalem built by Solomon, where they Sacrificed and Adored; but one Synagogue, whose Judgements were legal.  
All these things were Figures of the Unity of the Church, out of which nothing can avail: For whoever ever is not United to this Mystical Body, shall not receive from the Head, who is Jesus Christ, Divine Grace, which gives life to the Soul, and disposeth it to Eternal happiness. To declare this Unity against certain Heretics, it is Sung in the Creed, I Believe in the one Holy Catholic, and Apostolic Church; and the holy Councils have Condemned of Error the Opinion of those, who maintained, that the particular Churches of Alexandria, or of Constantinople, were true Churches, without being United to the Bishop of Rome, the common Head of the Catholic Church; out of which have descended in a continual Succession, all the Popes from St. Peter to this day, who, by the relation of St. Marcellus the Martyr, fixed his Chair at Rome by order from Jesus Christ, and cemented it with his own Blood.  
These Popes have been held, without Controversy to be the Vicars of Jesus Christ by innumerable holy Doctors, Greek and Latin, and of all Nations; they have been acknowledged by Anchortes, Bishops, and other Confessors, Illustrious for Sanctity: Lastly they have been Authenticated by an infinity of Miracles, and by innumerable Martyrs, who have died in the Union, and for the Faith of the holy Roman Church.  
It was therefore with good reason, that in the Council of Chalcedon, all the Bishops cried with one Voice, in Saluting the holy Pope St. Leo, Most Holy, Apostolic, Universal; and that in the Council of Constance those were Anathematised, who denied the Primacy and Authority of the Bishop of Rome over all the Churches of the World. These Decrees so Express, and so Authentic, are farther confirmed by the Council of Florence, which was held under Eugenius the Fourth, and in which were present the Greeks, the Armenians, the Jacobites, and other Nations, We Define, say the Fathers of this Council, that the holy See Apostolic, and the Bishop of Rome hath the Primacy over all the Churches in the World; that he is Successor of St. Peter, the Vicar of Jesus Christ, the Head of the whole Church, the Father, and Doctor of all the Faithful, that our Lord Jesus Christ hath given him, in the person of St. Peter, a full power to instruct, to direct, and to govern the Universal Church.  
Wherefore the most Serene King David, Father to your Highness, with great right did formerly acknowledge, by a solemn Embassy, the Church of Rome for the Mother, and Mistress of all Churches. And amongst the many illustrious Actions, by which both he and you have recommended your Names to Posterity, two there are which will outshine all the rest, and for which your People ought to render immortal thanks to God. Your Father is the first King of the Abyssins', who put himself under the Obedience of him, who holds the place of Jesus Christ upon Earth; and you are the first who hath brought into your Dominions a true Patriarch, a Legitimate Son of the holy See, and deputed by the Vicar of Jesus Christ.  
For if it ought to be reckoned the highest Blessing, as in effect it is, to be United to the Mystical Body of the Catholic Church, which is enlivened, and directed by the Holy Ghost, teaching her all Truths, according to the Testimony of the Evangelist; If it be a great happiness to be enlightened with sound Doctrine, to be settled, and to rest upon the Foundations of the Church, which the Apostle St. Paul writing to Timothy, calls the House of God, the Pillar and Basis of Truth, to which our Lord Jesus Christ hath promised an Everlasting Assistance, when he said to his Apostles, Behold I am always with you to the end of the World, as we read in the Gospel of St. Matthew; These Nations have certainly great reason to thank their Saviour and Creator, whose merciful Providence has made use of your Father, and of yourself, to bestow such benefits upon them; and their acknowledgement should the more show itself, in regard also of the Temporal Advantages, which are likely to follow these Spiritual Blessings. For we may justly hope, that by the means of this Reunion with the Church, your Enemies will soon be vanquished, and your Empire enlarged.  
The Priests, which are sent you, are indeed all, but principally the Patriarch and the two Bishops, of tried Virtue, and selected out of our Society for so important a Function, in regard of their eminent Learning, and of their perfect Charity. They want neither Courage nor Zeal well to acquit themselves of their Ministry, hoping that they shall Labour usefully for the Glory of God, for the Conversion of Souls, and for the Service of your Highness. Their only desire is, to imitate in some sort the Son of God, who willingly suffered death, to redeem Mankind from Eternal Damnation, and who saith, by the Mouth of the Evangelist, I am the good Shepherd, the good Shepherd gives his Life for his Sheep.  
The Patriarch, and the rest, animated by the Example of our Saviour, come disposed, to relieve and gain Souls, by their Counsels, by their Labours, and even by their Death, if need shall require. The more freely your Highness shall be pleased to open your mind, and to communicate your thoughts to them, the greater (I hope) your inward Consolation will be. And for what regards the Credit to be given to what they shall say, either in private or in public, your Highness is not Ignorant, that the words of these Missioners, sent by the Holy See, and chiefly those of the Patriarch, have Apostolical Authority, and in some sort are no less to be credited, than the voice of the Church, whose Interpreters they are.  
And in regard, that all the Faithful aught to adhere to the Sentiments of the Church, obey her Decrees and consult her in doubtful Cases: I am persuaded that your Piety will lead you to make an Edict, which may oblige all your Subjects to follow, without resistance, the Orders and Constitutions, both of the Patriarch, and of those whom he shall substitute in his place. The Deuteronomy teaches us, that it was the Custom among the Jews, in the Controversies and Difficulties which occurred, to have recourse to the Synagogue, which was the Figure and Forerunner of the Christian Church. For this reason it was that Jesus Christ said in the Gospel, the Scribes and Pharisees are seated on the Chair of Moses; the wise Man teaches the same thing in the Proverbs, Do not neglect the Precepts of your Mother; This Mother is the Church: And in another place, pass not the bounds which your Fathers have set; these Fathers are the Prelates of the Church. In conclusion, Jesus Christ requires of us to have so great deference to his Church, that he plainly tells us by the Evangelist St. Luke, He who hears you, hears me, and he who contemns you contemns me. And by St. Matthew, If he hears not the Church, let him be to you as a Heathen and a Publican.  
Hence it follows, that we must not hearken to those who hold forth any thing, that is not conformable to the Sense, and the Interpretation of the Catholic Church; of which we are admonished by those words of St. Paul in his Epistle to the Galatians, But altho' we, or any Angel from Heaven should Evangelize to you, otherwise than we have Evangelized to you, be he Anathema. In fine the Testimony of the Holy Doctors, the Canons of Councils, the Consent and Practice of all the Faithful, evidently prove this Truth.  
The Patriarch, and his Companions are prepared to render to your Highness all due Honour and Submission, and in their Function to use all the Indulgence, which Piety and Religion will permit. For our parts who remain in these Countries of Europe, your Highness may be assured, that as many as we are in our Society, we shall ever be ready to serve you in Jesus Christ. We shall continue our Prayers and our Sacrifices, that Heaven may Preserve your Royal Person, and your whole Empire, in the service of Jesus Christ, and bestow upon you all Temporal and Eternal Blessings. May it please his Divine Goodness to give us all, light clearly to know his Holy Will, and strength duly to Execute it.  
From Rome the 28th. of February, 1555.  
Before the Missioners went to meet the Patriarch Nugnez in Portugal, 
How the General treats Rodriguez.  Simon Rodriguez, who upon the Order of his General, concerning his Provincialship of Arragon, had made new instances to be discharged from it, and whose Excuses were finally received, came to Rome whither he was called. Whereas good Men sometimes forget themselves, which God permits for their greater humiliation, Rodriguez had some resentment, that he was not sent into Portugal. He also complained, that they had laid at his door, the troubles and disorders of the Province, which he had Governed twelve Years; and his discontent led him so far, as to demand justice of the General; Father Ignatius, to content Rodriguez, appointed some of the Professed Fathers, that were of the greatest Prudence and Candour, to judge the matter, and according to the Forms of a Religious Tribunal, reserving to himself the appointment of the Mulct, as the Case should deserve. The Judges named, whose Choice Rodriguez approved, after having maturely Examined the Matter, upon the Informations received, and upon his Answers thereunto made, unanimously declared upon their Oaths, that they found him culpable upon two Points; First, for having been negligent in causing to be observed that Form and Manner of Living in Portugal which their common Father Ignatius had prescribed to the whole Society. Secondly, for having used too much Mildness and Indulgence in his Government. Rodriguez, whom they caused to come before them, to signify their Judgement to him, submitted to it with a profound Humility; and casting himself at their Feet, desired them to impose upon him a Penance proportionable to the Scandal which he had given.  
Father Ignatius, satisfied with the Submission of Rodriguez, whom he tenderly loved, as his Brother and Son in Christ Jesus, would inflict no Punishment upon him. He only forbade him to return into Portugal, lest his presence should renew those Troubles, which his Absence had quieted; and he rather chose to let him go into the Holy Land, whither his Inclination had led him ever since his entrance into the Order, and where there was some Design of setting up a College of the Society. Thus Rodriguez left Rome, and took the Way of Venice: but his want of Health hindered him from putting to Sea, and so long stopped him in Italy, till at last he was permitted to retire into Spain, where he led a very holy Life.  
The care which Father Ignatius had to preserve the Virtue and the Reputation of his Children, 
He makes a Regulation for the Visits of Women.  in the midst of so many different Employments, in which they were engaged for the good of Souls, caused him to make a Regulation, which was published over his whole Body, importing, That none should go to visit Women alone, not even those of the highest Quality, or those who were sick; That when they Discoursed with them, or heard their Confessions, it should be so ordered, that the Companion should see all that passed, without hearing what ought to be secret. And to the end that all the World might know how strictly he would have this Rule observed, being informed that a certain ancient Father, and of known Virtue, had upon some Occasion deviated from it, he caused eight Priests to be assembled, and ordered the Culpable to take a Discipline before them, during the space that each of them recited one of the Penitential Psalms.  
Whereas the General left nothing unthought of, 
He caused Rules of Behaviour to be published.  and well knew, that the modest Comportment of Religious Men did not only serve to edify and gain Secular Persons, but also to contain the Religious themselves in their Duty, he had formerly composed Rules in particular concerning exterior Behaviour. These Rules, which are Entitled Of Modesty, and which contain thirteen Articles, descend into a great many Particulars, even to prescribe how they ought to carry their Head, and to hold their Eyes. At this time he ordered Father Lewis Gonzales to publish them in the Casa Professa, and earnestly to Recommend the observance of them all the World over. This Father, who had the care of Domestic Discipline, not having been so speedy in publishing them as he was ordered, the General reprehended him openly for his negligence, in these Terms; We take great pains in making Laws, and our Ministers are negligent in having them observed, as if they had cost us nothing; and yet these, of which I now treat, have cost me very dear. I have consulted God many times in writing them, and my Prayers have been accompanied with great store of Tears.  
He so much valued these Rules of Modesty, that to the end the practice of them might throughly be Established, he one day commanded Laynez at the end of Dinner, to make an Explication of them before all the Fathers of the House, and to demonstrate to them their Importance. While Laynez spoke, and all attentively listened, a terrible noise was heard, which shook the Room: It mightily frighted both the Speaker and the Hearers, but did not break off the Conference. As soon as their Business was ended, they all had the curiosity to know the cause of it, which their own Eyes quickly manifested to them, upon their passing out of the Room where they were assembled. A Gallery, which looked into the Garden, and in which the ancient Fathers always used to walk after Meals, was entirely fallen down: So that if the General had not obliged all the Fathers to be present at the Conference, some of them had certainly perished under the Ruins of the Gallery. Father Ignatius adored the Providence of God over his Servants, and making use of the Occasion, he told them, It well appears, Brethren, that the Rules which have been Explicated to you, are not unpleasing to God.  
These Rules were not ineffectual: Every one observed them so exactly, that those of the Society were known by their composed Behaviour; And the General being told that some of the World looked upon the Jesuits as Hypocrites, by reason of this extreme Modesty which was seen in their Countenance: I pray God (said he) that such an Hypocrisy may always increase among us. For my part, (he added smiling) I know but two Hypocrites in all our Company; pointing at the same time to Bobadilla and Salmenon: and he explained himself to the rest that were about him, That altho' they both seemed very virtuous, yet their inward Virtue was greater than it seemed.  
Not long after, Discoursing familiarly with Father Lewis Gonzales, and upon the occasion of News lately come from the Indies, their Discourse falling upon the happy progress which the Society made in all Places, he said, That these Prosperities caused in him more fear than joy; That when Persecution ceased, he should be in apprehension, lest the Society should somewhere relax in the observance of their Duty; That good Fortune was never to be trusted, and that we are then most to fear, when all things go according to our Desires. But this Calm which he so much feared, did not last long: A Storm arose, which was the more terrible, in regard it proceeded from Pope Julius the Third, who had been so kind to Father Ignatius.  
Charles the Fifth made an Order in Spain, 
The Pope in●●●●d against the Society.  according to a Decree of the Council of Trent, That Priests, and such as were Beneficed, should not absent themselves from their Diocese, nor from their Churches. The Spanish ecclesiastics, who were at Rome, and whom this Edict particularly regarded, made their Complaint to the Pope of the Emperor's Proceeding, as being derogatory to the Rights of the Holy See; and they stickled so much in it, that at last the Pope complained of it to the Emperor; Who briskly replied, That the Order came not from him, but from the National Council, which would have the Decrees of the Council of Trent observed; and that his Holiness, who assisted at the Council in Quality of Legate, ought rather to maintain Ordinaces of this nature, then to oppose them.  
The Pope more irritated at the Answer of Charles the Fifth, then at the Thing itself in question, showed great Indignation at it. And because it was reported, that the Jesuits at the Court of Castille were the Authors of the Edict, or at least had a good share in it, his Holiness so changed his Countenance towards them, that the Fathers at Rome were denied all access to the Pope's Palace; and no body dared speak a word in their behalf, not Cardinal de Carpi himself, who had great Credit with the Pope, and who was Protector of the Society.  
What much aggravated this Misfortune was, that Father Ignatius, who possibly might have found the Secret to appease his Holiness, lay dangerously sick in this unhappy Conjuncture. But when the Matter seemed desperate, all was unexpectedly healed again. Ferninand, King of the Romans, writing to the Pope about some very important Affairs, desired him to give Credit to what the General of the Jesuits, who had his Secret, should say to him, and whom he had ordered to impart it to none but to his Holiness. The Pope, who had no less Concern in the Business then Ferdinand himself, sent for Father Ignatius the same Moment that he had received his Letters out of Germany. But the Father was still sick, and in so bad a Condition, as would not permit him to hear any Business spoken of.  
As soon as he began to recover, 
The General appeases the Pope.  and was able to go abroad, he went strait to the Vatican, every body wondering what should carry him thither: All the Fathers were startled at it, that he should so little regard the Pope's Indignation, and no body could divine upon what account he exposed himself to it. He had Audience immediately, and the Pope seeing him very weak, would not permit him to speak upon his Knees, nor Bareheaded. The Father imparted to the Pope what he had Order to say to him from the King of the Romans: After which, taking occasion to speak to him about the Edict of Spain; he so well justified the Society from those Reports that had been raised against them, that his Holiness wholly changing his Sentiments, or rather returning to his former Affection for the Jesuits, told Father Ignatius, that he would never more believe what was said against them; and at the same time made him a promise of Two thousand Crowns a year; or of the first vacant Abbey, for the support of the Roman College.  
The Pope in the next place asked the Father, if the Casa Professa were in no want of Necessaries. The Father answered, That it wanted nothing, tho' all its Subsistence was upon Alms; and that they had nothing to desire, but the good Favour of his Holiness. Before the Father had ended his Audience, the Pope called for his Maistro di Camera, and in the presence of Ignatius, I Order you (he said), that as often as the Father shall demand Audience, you immediately admit him, and that you give me notice of it, tho' Cardinals, or any other Persons of Quality should be with me. The day following he sent to the Casa Professa an Alms of Five hundred Crowns in Gold.  
This return, or rather this increase of the Pope's Kindness towards the Jesuits, enabled Father Ignatius to come off in a Business, which otherwise might have been of pernicious Consequence: A young Neapolitan, called Octavius Caesar, who was Son to the Duke of Mont-Leon, had been received into the Society with the Consent of his Father; and after his Noviceship, he had been sent to the College of Messina; and about this time the General called him to Rome: His Father being also come thither about a Business of Importance, took a Resolution of requiring his Son from the General, under pretence that he had been taken from him against his Will; and he so well solicited the Matter with the Pope, by the Mediation of Cardinal Caraffa, Archbishop of Naples, who was his Friend, and no lover of the Jesuits, that the Pope referred the Business to the Cardinal himself.  
The Mother also came on purpose from Naples, to act her part in this Matter: And whereas Octavius had been a great Darling, she made use of all those little Arts which Passion usually instructs Women withal. She went up and down the Town like a distracted Person, weeping, and calling for Justice from God and Men, against those who had Spirited away her Son. The Cardinal, whether ill informed of the Business, or touched with the Lamentations of the Mother, gave Judgement, That the General should restore Octavius; and should be liable to Ecclesiastical Censure, if he did not immediately obey the Sentence. Father Ignatius, who well knew what S. Jerome prescribes concerning Children called by God, and that such Orders are not to be submitted to, as contradict the Maxims of the Gospel, went himself to the Pope, to inform him of it. His Holiness annulled the Sentence of Cardinal Caraffa, and declared the Pretensions of the Father and Mother to be unjust: But in regard the same Case might often recur, to settle the Vocation of young Jesuits, against the Assaults of Flesh and Blood, he appointed a Congregation of Cardinals, to Judge all Causes of this nature.  
Julius the Third continued even to his Death, 
The Affection of Popes for the Society.  to protect the Society upon all Occasions. The Cardinal De Sancta Croce, Marcellus Cervinus, a Man of extraordinary Virtue and Prudence, who succeeded Julius, and took the Name of Marcellus the Second, had no less goodwill for it, nor less esteem for the Founder. So that when Father Ignatius went the first time to do his Homage to the new Pope, his Holiness embracing him with great kindness, Conferred a long time with him about the Means of Re-establishing the ancient Discipline of Manners, and to extinguish the new sprung Heresies. He moreover charged him in his Name, to give the Apostolical Benediction to all the Fathers of Rome; and declared to him, that when the Crowd of the first Compliments was over, he would see them all in particular. But that which was most remarkable, was, that the Pope exhorting him to increase his Body with more Labourers, to cultivate the Vineyard of the Church, Choose us but Workmen of your Trainining (he said to him), and we will find them Employment.  
Besides this, he demanded of him two Divines, whom he might safely Consult in difficult Matters, and who might assist him in some manner to bear the heavy Charge which lay upon him; but he added, out of great Humility, I ask this Succour of you upon condition, That you yourself shall judge it necessary for me. Father Ignatius, charmed and confounded with this Goodness of the Pope, chose for him two Men of the Society, whom he knew to be most agreeable to his Holiness, and most capable of filling that Post. The first was Father James Laynez, with whom Marcellus had contracted a great Friendship at the Council of Trent, and often made use of him for his Confessor. The second was Father Martin Olavius, whom the Pope, when he was Cardinal, took with him to his Bishopric of Eugubio the year before, and whom he ordinarily called his Master.  
These good Intentions, and Marcellus himself, suddenly vanished. He died in few days after his Promotion; and Cardinal John Peter Caraffa, who was chosen in his Place, gave no hopes of so happy a Reign, at least for the Society. He was Dean of the Sacred College, and wanted little of being Fourscore years old. He was thought an Enemy to the Jesuits, both in regard that Ignatius had refused to unite his Order to that of the Theatines, of which Caraffa was the Founder, and that Julius the Third had made void the Sentence given by Caraffa, in favour of the Mother of the Neapolitan Jesuit. The Fathers of Rome were all, except the General, alarmed at his Election; but he, having made his Prayer, was sufficiently satisfied, that Paul the Fourth would be very favourable to the Society.  
In effect, the Pope did not only the first time of his waiting upon him, treat Father Ignatius with great kindness, but in many other particular Audiences, concerning the Affairs of his Order, and those of Ferdinand, he would not permit him to speak upon his Knees, or Bareheaded. The only thing which displeased the Father, was, that his Holiness declared to him his Resolution, as he did also in the Consistory, to make Laynez a Cardinal. Whereupon when he came home, he was heard to say, If God doth not prevent it, we shall see Laynez in few Months made a Cardinal. But that which comforts me (he added) is, that if his Holiness doth not change his Resolution, the World will see by the manner of Laynez 's receiving his Hat, whether the Society be covetous of Ecclesiastical Dignities.  
Father Ignatius was not deceived: 
He 〈◊〉 Laynez 〈◊〉 made a Cardinal.  He offered on his part many Vows to God, and shed great store of Tears at the foot of the Altars, to allay the Tempest. Laynez no sooner knew the Design of the Pope, but, not content to implore night and day the Aid of Heaven against his Promotion, he applied himself with all earnestness to his Friends in the Sacred College, to save him from it; and he did it with such an Air of Sincerity, as caused in them both Belief and Admiration. The Pope understanding the Reluctancy of Laynez, in order to qualify, and a little to prepare him before he named him Cardinal, caused him to Lodge in the Vatican, under pretence of Employing him to Reform the Datary, into which of late years had crept many Abuses. Laynez had scarce been one day in the Vatican, but he came back to the Casa Professa, pretending to look upon some Books, and to consult able Persons about the Affairs of the Datary; but his real Design was to withdraw himself from the Eyes of the Court, and to fly into the Arms of his Father, to save himself from the danger: And it was according to the Principles, and by the Counsel of the General, that he made a solemn Protestation, Written and Signed by his own Hand, to make known to all the Society, and to the whole World, how much his Heart was averse from a Cardinalship.  
All these Endeavours had their effect: for, whether it were that God heard the Prayers of his Servants, and so changed the Resolution of the Pope, or that, persuaded by the Reasons of Laynez, the Pope himself laid the Matter down, there was afterwards no more talk of this Father's Promotion. We cannot express the Joy which Father Ignatius conceived, to see the Society delivered from a Cardinal's Hat: He and his whole Family gave thanks to Heaven, and to his Holiness, acknowledging it to be the greatest Favour which could be done them. Paul the Fourth upon this Occasion came to understand the Spirit of the Founder of the Jesuits; and the Esteem which he had for him did hereupon so much increase, that in all great Affairs he followed his Counsels.  
The Credit of Ignatius grew so great at Court, that the Cardinal of Ausburg, then at Rome, was heard to say, That if he had any thing to ask of the Pope, he should use the Mediation of Ignatius; And the occasion of his so speaking was, that Cardinal John Michael Sarazin, who was chief Minister at the beginning of the Pontificate, having one day Presented a Memorial to Paul the Fourth, for obtaining some Graces, his Holiness referred the Petition to the General of the Jesuits.  
Paul the Fourth was not content with these particular Marks of Honour and Kindness, but to give Ignatius and his Body more solid proofs of his goodwill, he resolved to complete the Foundation of the Roman College, to the Maintenance whereof, and for the Subsistence of Two hundred persons, which it contained, the Liberality of Borgia, and the Two thousand Crowns of Julius the Third, were not sufficient. But the War which broke out between the Pope and the Catholic King Philip the Second, to whom Charles the Fifth had newly Resigned his Kingdoms, postponed, and afterwards quite defeated the Execution of this Design: for it put the Holy See to a vast Expense, to Resist the Power of Spain; and the Times grew so hard during the Wars of Italy, that the most Wealthy were put to it how to live.  
In this while the Charity of the Faithful did not cool towards the Jesuits of Rome; 
The Confidence of Father Ignatius in the Providence of God.  they wanted nothing during the public Calamities: And when a certain Father told the General, that this could not be done without a Miracle; What Miracle (replied the General, with a serious Countenance, and with a severe Tone)? It would be very strange, if things should go otherwise: for God has engaged his Word upon it; let us Serve him, he will Conduct us, and we shall want nothing.  
Whereas the War did every day augment the scarcity of Provisions, they advised him to send away part of his Company into other Provinces. Far from following this Counsel, he sent for an excellent Architect to come to him to Rome, called Antonio Labaco, who had a Son in the Society, and caused him to draw Models for the Roman College, and for the Germane College, and to cast up the Charges of those two Buildings. So much he relied upon the Fund of Providence.  
It was according to this Principle, that in the same Year he caused to be built out of Town, near S. Balbina's Church, a pleasant and commodious House, where Convalescents might sometimes take fresh Air, and the young Scholars might once a Week Recreate themselves after their Studies. Some there were who told him, it had been better to have laid up a Sum of Money; and that it was no time to Build, when there was so much difficulty to Live. I prefer (said he) the Health of the least in all the House, above all the Treasures in the World.  
It pleased God to manifest, as formerly, by extraordinary ways, how much his perfect Dependence, and his sincere Charity, were agreeable to his Divine Majesty. For Father Polancus, who at that time managed the Temporals of the Roman College, and had charge of the Building, not having Money one day to pay the Workmen, and not knowing where to get it, went to the General, and told him in what Straits he was. The General locked himself up to make his Prayer, which being ended, he called for Father James Laynez, and Father Christopher de Madrid, together with Father Polancus, and told them smiling, Tho' I am no Prophet, nor the Son of a Prophet, yet I am assured, that our Lord will not abandon us. Then turning to Father Polancus, he said to him with a gay Countenance, Make but the College subsist for Six months, and afterwards I'll take care for it.  
The Prediction of the General was verified almost at the same instant, for it being then Night, yet as late as it was, two Persons of Quality sent him a considerable Sum, tho' unacquainted with his Necessities; and before the Six months were over, such plenty of Alms came in, as served to pay off all the Debts of the College.  
These unexpected, and seasonable Supplies, did so affect Father Martin Olavius, that Writing to Father Ribadeneira, who was gone into Flanders, he told him, That to be convinced of the Sanctity of their common Father, he needed not to see the Sick cured, or the Dead raised; for what passed in Rome, in sight of all the World, sufficiently proved, that Ignatius was a Saint, without the help of any other Miracles.  
The News received out of France did somewhat surprise Father Ignatius; 
The Society Persecuted in France.  but as bad as they were, they did not afflict him. When all things seemed disposed for Registering the Letters which the Jesuits had obtained from the King, there was suddenly raised against them in Paris a furious Storm, occasioned in this manner.  
Henry the Second, into whose Mind the Cardinal of Lorain had infused a good Opinion of the new Society, was informed by the Commissioners whom he appointed to inspect the Matter, that the Institute of the Jesuits was neither prejudicial to the Church, nor to the State; and being advertised that the Parliament still refused to Register his first Letters, he sent them new ones, with Order to proceed in Registering them, without having regard to the Remonstrances of his Attorney-General, who pretended, that the new Jesuits destroyed the Authority Royal, and the Ecclesiastical Hierarchy.  
The Parliament, not well pleased that the Jesuits should have so much Credit with the King, protracted the Business as long as they could. But not being able to avoid any longer, at least seemingly to obey so precise an Order, they passed a Decree, That whereas the Business of the Jesuits did principally concern Religion, their Bulls should beshewed to the Bishop of Paris, and to the Dean of the Faculty of Divinity, and that both the one and the other should give their Judgement of the Matter to the Court.  
The Bishop, who was Eustace du Bellay, a declared Enemy of the Jesuits, made his Report, that their Institute was repugnant to the Rights of Bishops, and to the Concordates made between the Popes and the Kings of France. But the Dean of the Faculty, devoted to the Bishop, and animated by a Doctor, whose near Kinsman had, against his will, entered into the Society, drove the Matter a great deal farther: For not contenting himself to deliver his Opinion in a full Audience, with a great deal of passion and bitterness, he of his own head called together the Faculty of Divinity; and in this Assembly it was that a bloody Decree was Passed against the Society, much like to that which the same Faculty in former days made against the Order of St. Dominick.  
Tho' many Doctors of the Sorbon refused to Subscribe this Decree, yet they failed not to publish it, and every where to disperse it; Pasquier Brovet, who was Superior of the Jesuits in Paris, sent a Copy of it to Rome.  
The Decree Imports, 
The Decree of the Faculty of Divinity at Paris against the Jesuits.  That the new Society, which attributes to its self the Name of JESUS, receives into their Body, without distinction, all sorts of People, how Criminal and infamous soever they are; That they of it differ in nothing from Secular Priests, having neither Habit nor Choir, nor Silence, nor Fast, nor any of those other Observances, which distinguish and constitute a Religious State; That it seems to violate the Modesty of Monastic Profession, by so many Immunities and Liberties, which they take in their Functions, chiefly in the Administration of the Sacraments of Penance, and of the Holy Eucharist, without any distinction of Places or Persons, and in Dispensing the Word of God, and in the Instruction of Youth, to the prejudice of the Hierarchy, of other Religious Orders, and even of Princes and Temporal Lords, against the Privileges of the Universities, and to the great Charge of the People; That it enervates the holy practice of Virtues, of Pennances, and of the Ceremonies of the Church; That it gives occasion of Apostatising from other Religious Societies; That it refuseth due Obedience to the Ordinaries; That it unjustly deprives of their Rights, Ecclesiastical and Temporal Lords; That it brings every where Law-Suits, Divisions, Jealousies, Quarrels, and Schisms; Lastly, That for all these Reasons this Society seems Dangerous as to Faith, an Enemy to the Peace of the Church, Destructive to Monastical Profession, and born more for the Ruin, then for the Edification of the Faithful.  
The Fathers of Rome, 
The General will have no Answer made to the Decree.  to whom the General communicated this Decree, were all of Opinion, that it should be Answered in Form, to Disabuse the People of France, and to Instruct the Doctors of Paris, who seemed to have little knowledge of the Institute of the Jesuits; but the General was of another Opinion, as tender as he was of the Reputation of his Order. Besides his Veneration for the Sorbon, which he looked upon as one of the strongest Pillars of the Church, he believed that the Censure had too much Heat and Passion in it to do much hurt, and that an Answer, as modest as it could be drawn, would rather irritate then heal.  
Being of this Mind, he said to them, Pray remember the Words which the Son of God spoke to his Apostles, when he was returning to his Father, Peace I leave to you, my Peace I give to you, and imagine with yourselves, that our Saviour doth at this present address these Words to you. My good Fathers, we must neither Print, nor Write any thing, which may either show in us, or produce in others, the least bitterness. In many Occasions it is better to be silent then to speak; and there is no need to vindicate and defend ourselves by Writing, since Truth is strong enough alone to vindicate and defend herself. The Divines of Paris are undoubtedly very considerable Persons, and for whom we ought to have much Respect: But as great as their Authority is in the World, we ought not much to fear it; for nothing can long prevail against Truth, which may be set upon, but will never be overcome. God is our Defence, let us put our Cause into his hands, and we shall triumph over Calumny.  
After this general Discourse, he assured them in particular, that notwithstanding all these Obstacles, which seemed to make their Reception in France desperate, the Society would be there Established; and that the College of Paris should be one of the most celebrated Colleges of Europe. However, he neglected not to write to all the Society in the several Parts of the World, where they had Houses, Ordering them to send him authentic Attestations of their Doctrines, of their Manners, and of their Course of Life, from Princes, Universities, Bishops, Magistrates, and Governors. His Design was, in case of need, to set this Testimony of the whole Universe against the Judgement of a particular, and not well instructed Body.  
In the mean time some Doctors of the Sorbon being come to Rome with the Cardinal of Lorain, 
He Confers with some Doctors of the Sorbon.  Father Ignatius, who never had opened his Mouth about the Decrees of Paris, neither in the Town nor in the Vatican, thought it now convenient to Explicate himself upon it with these Doctors before the Cardinal. The Day being set, he took with him Laynez, Polancus, and Olavius; four Doctors were likewise present at the Conference: One of them, called Benet, who had been a principal Actor in the Censure, undertook to maintain it, Article by Article; But the Fathers so fully Answered all the Contents, that the Cardinal, being himself convinced, obliged the Doctors to acknowledge, that they had condemned the Jesuits, without being well informed of their Institute. After this, he praised Father Ignatius for having made no Complaints, neither to the Pope, nor to the Cardinals; and Doctor Benet himself could do no less than commend him for it.  
The publication of the Decree stirred up all Paris against the Jesuits: The Professors, the Preachers, and the Curates, loudly declaimed against their Institute, and made horrible Representations of it: In every corner of the Town were fixed contumelious Papers, to decry their Doctrine and their Manners; And the incensed Multitude treated them as Wretches hated and despised.  
But the Storm was too violent to last: The Decree of the Faculty of Divinity, according to the Destiny of false things, fell of itself. And tho' the Society was not received in France by public Authority till five or six years after, yet they lived quietly, and had free Exercise of their Functions. It began to Teach even at that time, in the Town of Billon, where the Bishop of Clermont, William du Prat. Founded a College, till that of Paris should be opened.  
About this time it was, that the King of Portugal desired to have Pensioners in the College of Conimbria, and that the Jesuits should have the Direction of their Manners, and of their Studies. The General consented to it, upon Condition that the Quarter of these Pensioners might be separated from that of the ancient Fathers: And this is the Original of Pensioners, which are now received by the Society in the principal Colleges of most Provinces.  
Whereas Father Ignatius intended that the Roman College should be the Pattern of all other Colleges, 
His Care for the Advancement of Learning in the Roman College.  he spared no Industry to make it complete. Besides Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, all Sciences were also Taught, even to the Mathematics; and great Care he had to get the best Masters. He continually informed himself how their Studies advanced; and to animate the Scholars and the Masters, he appointed frequent Disputations and Combats of Wit in each School, where he would be oftentimes present himself, and bring with him Cardinals, and other Persons of Quality. The most solemn of these Disputations was that which lasted eight days together, in which were maintained Theses of all the Sciences Taught by the Society; which Theses he caused to be Printed, and to be every where dispersed.  
And farther to give Reputation to the College, he Ordered, That at the opening of the Schools, the Professors should every year make public Harangues; and at the end of the year that Comedies or Tragedies should be performed by the Scholars, to draw the Ingenious by the Beauty of the Composition, and the People by the Ornaments of the Theatre. And to give more Encouragement to Industry and Study, he obtained of the Pope, that the Scholars of the Roman College should be received to the Degrees of Masters of Art, and of Doctors, after sufficient proofs had of their Capacity.  
Moreover, tho' his greatest Concern was for the Learned Languages, yet he would not have the vulgar Tongue neglected; insomuch that he himself in the beginning of his Generalship, made it his Business to speak Italian correctly; and to that end he ordered young Ribadeneira, who was perfect in the Tongue, to note all the Faults he should commit in speaking: and he was so exact herein, that with his own Hand he would write down the improper Words or Expressions which were observed to come from him: So much it was his Judgement, that Religious Men, who by their Institute are to have Commerce with the World, aught to have an exact knowledge of the Language of the Country.  
Upon this account it was that he then renewed a Rule which he had formerly made, to maintain at Home an union of Hearts, and to make them abroad more capable and fit to Serve their Neighbour. The Rule Imports, 
Orland. Hist. Soc. l. 16. 11. 12.  That every one should Study the Language of the Country where he lives. For the same Reason he ordered, that in the Roman College there should be every day Lessons in the Italian Tongue. But nothing shows more how incongruous to the Functions of his Order he esteemed a Barbarity of Language, than that Passage of the Constitutions, 
Constitut. part 4. c. 8.  where he saith, That they should be Trained to Preach, and to make Christian Exhortations, in such a Way and Style as may edify the People, which Way is very different from the Style and Terms of the School; And that, profitably to perform these Functions, they should endeavour to be perfect in the vulgar Tongue.  
Hence it follows, that the Jesuit who neglects to speak correctly, neglects his Rule; and that those who pretend that it agrees not with the Character of their Profession, to study the purity of their native Language, do not well consider what they say. They should remember, that since Heretics in all Ages have endeavoured to excel in politeness of Language, thereby to gain the People, and to insinuate their Poison, the Society of Jesus, who are called and designed by Heaven to oppose them, aught to employ their own Weapons against them in behalf of Truth, and not to permit that the Enemies of the Church should have the advantage of Speaking and Writing more elegantly than the Defenders of it.  
Father Ignatius had all these Cares upon him, 
His Infirmities oblige him to give over Business  and Governed his whole Order with such bad Health, that he was often forced to keep his Bed. And whereas his Strength every day decayed, and with the increase of the Society, his Business still increased upon him, he thought it necessary to associate some Person, to ease him of part of the Burden, or rather to Execute his Charge under him; but he did not judge it expedient to make the Choice himself. He assembled all the Fathers who were in Rome, except one or two, who had not yet ended their Noviceship, and declaring to them his weak Condition, he enjoined them to nominate and assign him some Person capable to ease him of the weight of the Government.  
After three days of continual Prayers, they all with one Voice named Father Jerome Nadal, who was lately come out of Spain, whither the General had sent him, and who had all the Qualities requisite for so important a Charge. Some of the Assembly were of Opinion, that he should have the Title of Vicar, or Commissary-General; but it was his own Sentiment, to have no Title at all, lest it should seem to lessen the Authority of the General; and his Advice was followed.  
The General approved the Choice which was made, 
He reserves to himself the care of the Sick.  and left the whole Care of Business to Nadal; he reserved only to himself that of the Sick, out of a charitable tenderness, which made him judge that a Superior was obliged in Person to provide for the Necessities of those who acknowledged him for their Father. So that he made this his whole Business, nor is it to be imagined how sensible he was of the least Indisposition of his Children. He said it was by a particular Order of Providence, that he himself had so little Health; and that the several Diseases to which he was subject, gave him a truer feeling of others Sufferings, and a due Compassion for all sick Persons. Notwithstanding his extraordinary Care in providing for them, he never thought he did enough; and he has been heard to say, That the Charge of the Sick made him tremble, when he considered what the Obligations are of a good Superior.  
This tenderness extended itself to all that were in Affliction, or in any sort of Misery. A certain French Father having been taken on the Coasts of Sicily by the Pirates of Algiers, upon his return out of Spain, we can hardly express the Concern and Solicitude of Father Ignatius in his behalf. He employed all his Credit with the Viceroy of Sicily; he writ in his own Hand to the Fathers of Messina and of Palermo, and charged them to spare, and to omit nothing for the deliverance of the Captive; he charged them every Week to give him an Account what Course they took, and what Progress they had made in it.  
Tho' his Infirmities, 
He Institutes the Prayers of Forty hours, during the three last days of Carnival.  which together with his Age increased daily upon him, suffered him not to manage the Business of his Order, yet he would have an Account given him of all remarkable Actions performed in the Service of God, either in Italy or elsewhere. One day he was informed, that some young Men of Macerata having prepared a Comedy, not very modest, for the Diversion of the Carnival, the Fathers who were sent in Mission from the College of Loretto, had exposed the Blessed Sacrament in a Chapel magnificently Adorned, where Prayers of forty Hours were made during the three last Days of Shrovetide; and that the People, drawn by the newness of the Ceremony, had left the Theatre to Adore Jesus Christ upon the Altar.  
This Devotion so pleased Father Ignatius, that he ordered the practice of it to be every year observed in the Houses of the Society. And to him we owe the Establishment of that solemn and seasonable Devotion, now universally practised, to withdraw the Faithful from the Follies and Debaucheries of the Carnival Days.  
Finding himself grown weaker than ordinary, and it being much in his thoughts, that Obedience was the Soul and Character of his Order, he caused the Secretary of his Companion to come to him; and after having told him, that he could not long hold out, Write (said he); I desire that the Society should know my last thoughts concerning the Virtue of Obedience: And he Dictated to him what follows.  
I. WHen I enter into Religion, my first Business must be to give myself up entirely to the Conduct of my Superior.  
II. It were to be wished, that I might light into the Hands of a Superior, resolute and industrious in subduing my Judgement.  
III. In all things, where no Sin lies, I must follow the Judgement of my Superior, and not my own.  
IV. There are three manners of Obeying. The First, When we do that which is Commanded us in virtue of Obedience; and this manner is good. The Second, which is better, When we obey such Orders as oblige not under mortal Sin. The Third, and most perfect of all, When, not waiting for the Superiors Order, yet knowing his Will, we prevent it by an antecedent Conformity.  
V. I must indifferently obey Superiors of every Degree, without making any distinction between the highest and the lowest; but I must equally in all of them consider God, whose Place they hold, and remember, that the Authority is derived to the last by gradation from the first.  
VI If the Superior judgeth, that the thing which he Commandeth me, is good, and I am of a different Opinion, without Evidence to the contrary, I ought to obey; but if I find difficulty upon a scruple of Conscience, I am to consult two or three intelligent Persons about it, and to rest upon their Judgements: but if they concur with my Superior, and I should adhere to my own Opinion, I am very remote from the Perfection and Excellency required in a Religious State.  
VII. In short, I ought not to be at my own disposal, but at my Creator's and at his under whose Conduct he hath placed me. I ought to be in the Hands of my Superior, as soft Wax, which takes any Form, and to do what he shall please; for Example, to write Letters, or not to write them; to speak to a Person, or not to speak to him, and the like.  
VIII. I must look upon myself as a dead Body, which has no motion of itself, or like the Staff in a Man's Hand, which he takes or leaves as he finds convenient; so that the Order may make use of me in what manner, they shall judge me Serviceable.  
IX. I must not desire or my Superior to put me into such a Place, or to give me such an Employment: I may notwithstanding declare to him my Thought, and my Inclination, provided that I refer myself wholly to him, and think that to be best which he shall Ordain.  
X. This hinders not, but that we may ask things which are not of Consequence, as to visit Churches, or to do any Devotions for obtaining some Favour of God; but still provided we be equally content, whether our Superior grants or refuses what we ask.  
XI. Above all, I must depend upon my Superior in what concerns Poverty, having nothing in Propriety, and in the use of things, to be as a Statue, which you may cover or uncover without opposition or complaint.  
This is the Will and Testament of Father Ignatius, and the last Action he did for the common good of his Order. His corporal Infirmities did not hinder him from his continual Mediation upon Divine Matters; and his Desire grew every day more ardent to be loosened from the Fetters of his Body, and more closely to be united with God. Whereas in his Life-time he had desired three things, That his Society should be Confirmed by the Popes, That the Book of Spiritual Exercises might be Approved by the Holy See, and That his Constitutions might be published among his Children in all Parts of the World: He said, all this being done, he had nothing more to do, or to desire in this World; that he now was unprofitable, and aught to think of nothing but Heaven. In such Meditations as these he spent his Days and his Nights, longing and sighing for the sight of God; and in his Prayers so violent were his Affections, that they did not a little increase the Weakness of his Body.  
Moreover, 
He disposes himself to die.  his Grief to see a War kindled between the Catholic King and the Pope, did not a little contribute to shorten his Life. To lament in quiet this new Calamity of the Church, and the better to dispose himself for Death now coming on, he had a mind to leave Rome, where nothing was to be heard but the noise of Arms, and to retire himself to the Villa of the Roman College, which he had built the year before. But the ancient Fathers representing to him, that a new Building might be unwholesome for him, and that removing in the great Heats of the the Month of July, would be dangerous; he caused the Physicians to be consulted about the Matter, that he might not seem to neglect the Counsel given him, and a due care of his Health: for as great, as his desire was to die, and as certain, as he was of his approaching Death, he always observed his ordinary Train and Way of Living, being a great Enemy of Singularity, and a lover of Conformity even to his last.  
Alexander Petronius, the most famous Physician of Rome, gave him leave to go to the Country House, after having first been himself upon the Place, to view the Situation and Condition of it. But the Father had not been there many days without finding a sensible change to the worse; so that he was brought back again to the Town: and yet the Physician was not of Opinion that his Sickness was mortal, but that it was only a weakness of Nature, without any bad Symptom, and almost without any Fever. Insomuch that no body was much alarmed at it; and among the many that were sick in the Casa Professa, the General was thought to be the least in danger of Death.  
Some there were, who hearing him speak of dying, ventured to tell him that his Fears were groundless. He went not about to undeceive them, but following his own insight, and silently leaving himself to the disposal of Heaven, he went to Confession, and received the Blessed Sacrament, as having Death before his Eyes. Two days after in the Evening he called for his Secretary Father Polancus, and causing the rest to void the Chamber, My Hour is come (said he), go and beg of the Pope his Benediction for me, and an Indulgence for my Sins, that my Soul may have more assurance in the dreadful Passage. And tell his Holiness, if I go into a Place where my Prayers may avail him, as through God's Mercy I hope I shall, I will not fail to pray for him, as I have always done, even when I had most need to pray for myself.  
And how, my dear Father! (replied Polancus) are we in any danger of losing you so soon? the Physicians do not judge that you are in danger, and I hope God will yet preserve you for his Service. Go, (replied the sick Man), and ask the Pope's Benediction also for another Father. Polancus believed that this Father was Laynez, who had received the last Sacraments; but the Event showed it to be F. Olavius  
Polancus was in great trouble what to do. He could not take Advice, not daring to publish what Father Ignatius had told him in secret, nor could he believe him in so much danger; for his Strength seemed to be increased, and every body thought the worst was passed. On the other side, his Order to go to the Pope was positive, and reiterated. In this Anxiety he resolved to go back to Father Ignatius, and to ask him whether he might not defer going to his Holiness till the Morrow. Do what you will, replied the Father, fearing, perhaps, lest he should have attributed a third Order to a certain Revelation. Polancus, who had Letters to write into Spain that Night, upon the Father's Answer, put off the performing his Commission to the Day following, and the rather, because the Physicians who Visited him that Evening, said as formerly, that there was no danger.  
Two or three of the principal Fathers stayed with him till it was very late before they parted; they Discoursed with him about a Business relating to the Roman College, and he told them his Judgement in it with his usual presence of Mind.  
He passed that Night alone, his Communication being only with God; and when they came in the Morning to see in what Condition he was, they found him in his Agony. The Fathers came all about him full of Grief and Surprise. Polancus went immediately to the Pope, condemning himself for having not gone sooner. His Holiness granted all his Requests with great Demonstrations of goodwill, and of Grief. In the mean time they pressed Father Ignatius to take something, in hope that it might be only some faint Fit upon him; but he told them in a dying Voice, that there was no more occasion for it: and with his Hands joined, and his Eyes lifted up to Heaven, pronouncing the Name of JESUS, he quietly Expired an hour after Sunrising. It was upon a Friday the last of July, in the Year 1556.  
He was Sixty five years old. He died Thirty five years after his Conversion, and Sixteen after the Society was Founded. He saw it before his Death, spread over the whole World, and divided into twelve Provinces, which altogether contained above a hundred Colleges. He had the happiness to see it Crowned with Martyrdom in the Persons of Father Antonio Criminale, and of the Lay-Brothers, Peter Correa, and John de Sosa, who were all three put to death for Religion by the Barbarians.  
He was of a middle Stature, rather low then tall; of a brown Complexion, Bald-headed, his Eyes deep set and full of Fire, his Forehead large, and his Nose aquiline; all Signs of Wisdom, according to the Physiognomists. He halted a little, by reason of the Wound he received at the Siege of Pampelona, but he so managed himself in walking, that it was hardly perceived. His natural Temper was ardent and sprightly in the highest degree; and yet the Physicians judged him to be of a Phlegmatic Constitution; for he had laboured so long to overcome himself, that he had quite suppressed all the Propensions and Motions of his Nature. In conclusion, in his Person there was an Air so grave and so winning, so noble and so modest, all together, that who only looked upon him, must judge him to be a great Man, and a Saint.   

THE LIFE OF St. IGNATIUS. The Sixth BOOK.  
AS dear, as Father Ignatius was to his Children, 
The effect which his death produced.  and as great need, as yet they had of him, his loss caused no trouble in them, nor gave them any discouragement. In losing him they felt a certain inward joy, springing from an assurance of his Eternal happiness, which promised greater blessings to them, than ever.  
The day that the Servant of God departed this life, Laynez was dangerously ill, and in a manner given over by the Physicians; yet he had his Senses perfect, and by some words let fall by those about him, he conjectured what they would have concealed from him: For when some of the Ancient Fathers came to see him, he said to them, The Saint than is dead. They confessed it to him, and the first thing that he did, was to lift up his Eyes, and his Hands to Heaven: Then he prayed to God, by the Mediation of so Holy a Soul, to set his at liberty, that he might accompany his blessed Father, and enjoy with him the happy repose, which he hoped from the Divine Mercy.  
Instead of obtaining what he asked, he recovered his health; and probably, by the means of the same Holy Saint, who some years before had foretold him, that he should be the second General of the Society. 
The judgement of the first Fathers of the Society, concerning St. Ignatius.  Nor are we to wonder, that Laynez in that manner did then recommend himself to Father Ignatius, since even he was alive, he always Honoured him as a Saint, and when he saw the Society so increase in the World, in the midst of persecutions, and every where to bring forth such good Fruits; he used to say, that Christ was so in love with the Soul of his Servant Ignatius, that he could deny him nothing. He was also wont to say, that Father Faber, a Man of great Spirit and Illumination, was but a Novice, and a mear Child in respect of Ignatius. Faber himself was much more of the same opinion: He always by his Letters opened to him the state of his Soul, as to his Spiritual Master, he had recourse to him to be resolved in all his doubts, and he proposed him to all the World, as a Model of Christian perfection.  
His other first Companions had no less veneration for him, than Laynez and Faber. But the Apostle of the Indies, and Japony, Francis Xaverius, amongst the admirors of St. Ignatius seems to challenge the first place. His common way of writing to him was upon his Knees, he called him the Father of his Soul, and one of his Letters he thus superscibed; To my Father in Jesus Christ, St. Ignatius. All his discourse of him was in the same style; and with his Companions of the Mission in the Indies, the sanctity of Ignatius was the usual Theme of his Conversation: So that, whenever he did engage them in any enterprise of difficulty, he excited them to it by the love, and reverence, which they owed to their Father Ignatius. In all his dangers by Sea and by Land, he implored the succour of Heaven by the Merits of the holy Man Ignatius; and in a Reliquary, which he always carried about him, he put the Signature of one of his Letters, together with a Relic of St. Thomas, the Apostle of the Indies. This is what was related before the death of Ignatius, by the Lay Brother, Bernard of Japony, who was the first Christian of that Island, Baptised by Xaverius, and whom, after he had admitted him into the Society, he sent to Rome.  
Father Lewis Gonzales, who had a long and intimate Conversation with Father Ignatius, constantly used to say, that his Life was the Book of the Imitation of Christ, reduced into practice.  
It was not only amongst his own, 
He is Honoured as a Saint in Rome.  that the Founder of the Society of Jesus was Honoured, as a Saint, all Rome gave him that Title, and when his Death was known about the Town, and common saying was, The Saint is dead. When his Body lay exposed, the People in crowds flocked about it, and he thought himself happy, who could come near to see it, and to kiss his Hands. They all would have carried away with them some part of his Garment, but the Fathers would not permit it. He was buried in the Church of the Casa Professa, at the foot of the High Altar on the Gospel side. He had been opened before he was laid forth, and his Bowels were found in a manner dried up, his Liver extremely hard, with three petrified Cores in it, which were marks, and signs of an excessive Abstinence, by the report of the Surgeons, that opened him, and amongst the rest, of Realdus Columbus, the most famous Anatomist of his time, who speaks of it in his Book of Anatomy.  
Father Benedict Palmio, 
A Miracle wrought upon the day of his Interment.  Preached his Funeral Sermon. Amongst the Roman Ladies, who were present, the Wife of Signior Andrea Nerucci was possessed, during the Ceremony with a strong imagination, that her Daughter, who had the Kings-Evil, might be cured by the Intercession of the holy Man, whose Obsequies were then performing. The Physicians, after five Years fruitless endeavours, judged the Disease to be incurable, and the Lady was resolved to carry her Daughter into France, where the Kings have the gift of curing that Malady. She doubted not, but if she could bring her Daughter, who was with her, near enough to touch the Body of Father Ignatius, the cure would be effected.  
But the crowd was so great, that it was not possible for them to get near the Body, before it was laid into the Grave. However they did not lose courage, and the Mother entreated the Fathers to apply something that had belonged to the Saint, to the part affected of her Daughter. Father Cornelius Vischaven did what she desired, and in the same moment the Evil left her, with all the marks and effects of it.  
His Body remained in the place where it was first laid, 
The place where his Body lies, and his Epitaph.  till the Year 1568, at which time it was removed to another part of the Church, by reason of the Foundations, that were there to be laid for the new Church of the Giesu, built by Cardinal Alexander Farnesius: But in the Year 1587., when that Church was finished, Father Claudius Aquaviva, then General, translated thither the Body of the Holy Founder, upon the 19th. of November, and placed it on the right side of the High Altar, with this plain Epitaph upon a Marble stone,  
Ignatio Societatis Jesû Fundatori.  
The Blessed Institutor of the Congregation of the Oratory, 
Testimonies of several Persons in praise of St. Ignatius.  Philip Nerius, who was at Rome when Father Ignatius died, spoke of him after his death, as he did when he was alive. He said, that he was a Man filled with the Spirit of God; that he had often seen a Resplendency in his countenance; that he had learned from him the way of mental Prayer, and that all Christendom was infinitely beholding to him.  
As soon, as the news of the Father's death was spread over Europe, many eminent Persons writ to the Society, and their Letters were so many Eulogiums of the Saint. Cardinal de la Cueva in his, Extolled his Christian prudence, and said that the Church had lost in him one of her ablest Subjects.  
The Cardinal of Ausbourg writ in these terms. My very Reverend, and Religious Brethren in Jesus Christ; I cannot say, whether the Death of our most Holy Father Ignatius, has caused in me more joy or sadness. For on one side, if I consider, that God hath released him out of this miserable World, to recompense his Labours, it would be a kind of Impiety, for our own interest, to grieve at his happiness: On the other side, we have great cause to be afflicted, seeing ourselves become Orphans, by the loss of such a Father, who was a Refuge to us, and a safe Harbuor in all our Distresses. But in regard, that transitory things must not enter into Competition with Eternal, we comfort ourselves by your Example, upon our assurance, that this happy Soul is at this time our Advocate with God.  
Don John de Vega, Viceroy of Sicily, expressed his Sentiments in the Language of a Soldier. The Servant of God (said he) has left behind him Trophies of his Virtue, which time will never destroy, as it has destroyed the proudest Monuments of Human Vanity. Me thinks, I have before my Eyes the Solemnity, with which a great and holy Captain is received into Heaven, loaded with the spoils of Hell, who has gained so many signal Victories upon the Enemy of Mankind, in reducing to the Christian Faith, by his Conduct, and the Valour of his Soldiers, so many Barbarous Nations, who before knew not the Name of Jesus Christ. It also appears to me, that upon a just account, his Standard may be raised in Heaven, with those of St. Dominick, of St. Francis, and of the other Saints, to whom God has given the strength to overcome the World, and to save a great number of Souls.  
I must not omit the Letter, which the Regular clerics of St. Paul, commonly called Barnabites, writ from Milan to Father Laynez, Vicar of the Society; And I think it worth the while to set it down, as it lies, faithfully Translated out of the Latin.  
The news of the Decease of Venerable Father Ignatius, of happy memory, has caused great sorrow in us, both upon your account, and of all the holy Society of Jesus, who have lost such a Master, and such a Father, and upon our own, who also have always looked upon him as our Father.  
There is certainly great reason for us to be afflicted, to have him taken from us in a time, when good Men are so scarce; but his happiness ought to out balance with us our own loss. For Jesus Christ is the life of the just, and their Death is their gain, because it brings them to their happiness, of being with Jesus Christ, when they are loosened from the Fetters of the Body: Thus did this holy Soul, going out of Prison, together with St. Peter, upon the first day of August, take its place in Heaven. We only ought to fear, lest our Sins may have been the cause of our losing him; and lest his death, in our regard, may have been a punishment from God, like that of King Josias, who was taken out of the World, before the wrath of Heaven broke out upon the Jewish people.  
However it were, such was the Will of God, and may his holy Name be praised: At least he is not wholly lost to us. This blessed Man, who has done so great service to Christendom, will always live in the memory of the Faithful, and his Name will be glorious in all the parts of the Earth, where the Name of Jesus Christ is known. It was under the Conduct of this Governor, that the Christian Faith was carried even to the Antipodes; and that in those unknown Climates are at this time to be seen thousands of Souls Converted, and a new Church, every way resembling the Ancient, Erected of new Apostles, and of new Martyrs.  
He has sent his Children before him; and after having himself taken great pains in the Service of Jesus Christ, he follows them, worn out and consumed like them, with Labour and Fatigue, oppressed with the care of so many Churches, and to conclude a Martyr in Peace. He has been for several Years the support of your Family, and of many others; or rather a common Father of all good People. What sad Hearts has he not relieved by his Discourses, full of Sweetness and Charity? To whom has he not given profitable Counsel in difficult matters, and Relief in greatest necessities? He has been the Foot of the Lame, the Eye of the Blind, the Refuge of the Poor, and the Comfort of the sorrowful.  
May Heaven reward him for all his good Works! On our parts, we cease not to offer to God the holy Sacrifice of the Altar for so holy a Soul, which as we verily believe, at this present enjoys the Beatific sight of God. Let others strew Flowers upon his Tomb, the proper Offerings of Priests, are the holy Mysteries. At least, in paying him these last duties, now that he is delivered from the miseries of corrupt Mortality, we shall testify to the end, the affection we bore him, whilst he lived amongst us. To conclude, we desire you to receive these Tears of Brotherly love, as most certain marks of our Friendship, and respects, to return us love for love, and to remember us in your Prayers. May our Lord Jesus Christ be for ever with you. Amen. From our Monastery in Milan, the first of September, 1556.  
They were not only some particular Persons, or some Societies who beheld Father Ignatius after his Death, 
He is reverenced by the People as a Saint.  as a Saint; In many Nations the People had so great an opinion of his Sanctity, that they implored his succour for obtaining Favours from Heaven. This was principally done in Spain, and the Honour given to his memory, was spread into the places Inhabited by him in his Life. The Castle of Loyola grew venerable to the whole Country, and the Chamber where in his Sickness he was Converted, was reverenced by all Spain, as a kind of Sanctuary: Those who Lodged in it, felt in themselves a horror of Sin, and their Hearts turned to Virtue. Nevertheless, it once happened, that a certain Gentleman, was came to visit the Lord of Loyola, and was Lodged in the Chamber of Ignatius, entertained unchaste thoughts in his mind: But at the same instant, the whole House was shaken with a terrible Earthquake. as if Heaven could not endure Impurity in a place, where Ignatius had received Visits from the Holy Virgin, and had for ever renounced the pleasures of the senses.  
The Hospital of Manreza, where he began his penitent Life, and the Cave where he used his Body with so much rigour, became also places of public Veneration. The People were led thither by their Devotion, and usually kissed the Ground, which had been watered with the Tears, and sprinkled with the Blood of so Holy a Man. Before the Hospital was erected a Pyramid in his Honour, with an Inscription, which contained a Summary of his Life. The little Chamber, where he had the Ecstasy of eight Days, was turned into a Chapel. The Cave was adorned, as much as the horror of the place would permit, and the chiefest Ornament of the place, was a great Picture, in which was represented the Saints manner of living in that Grotte. He was drawn in his Sackcloth, girt with an Iron Chain, his Countenance pale and lean, his Feet bare, and upon his Knees, before the blessed Virgin, holding in her Arms her Child Jesus. He had his Eyes fixed upon her, and his Arm was set in a posture of writing, as if Jesus and Mary were dictating to him the Spiritual Exercises. In the bottom of the Piece were these words: In the Year 1522, Ignatius in this place writ the Spiritual Exercises, the first Book put forth by the Society of Jesus, which was approved by a Bull of Paul the Third.  
The many Cures wrought in Barcelona by the Hair shirt of Ignatius, which John Pascal preserved as a Relic, did not a little increase the People's Devotion towards the Servant of God: But the accomplishment of Ignatius his Prediction to Pascal himself, was very wonderful.  
When Ignatius left Barcelona, 
The prediction, and apparition of St. Ignatius.  to Study in the University of Alcala, Pascal who was very young, would have followed him, and been his Disciple, together with Cazeres, Artiaga, and Calisto. But the Saint told him that God would have him remain in the World, and at the same time predicted to him, what should befall him; You shall Marry, said he, a very virtuous Woman, and shall have many Children, you likewise shall have many afflictions, and shall die very poor; but comfort yourself, for your afflictions shall be the means of saving your Soul. The event verified the Prediction: For Pascal did Marry a Person of great Virtue, and had three Sons and four Daughters. But his eldest Son was born deaf and dumb, his second Son became distracted, and the third, who was a great Libertine, died suddenly. Of his four Daughthers, he was able to Marry but one, and at last he was reduced to beg Alms. These great misfortunes however did not dishearten him. This is (said he) what the holy Man Ignatius foretold me: And when his Friends would have made him hope for better Fortune; the Prophecy of the Saint (he answered) must be fulfilled, and all that I ask of God, is Patience.  
Ignatius, who before his Death, often comforted Pascal with his Letters, did not forget him afterwards. He once appeared to him at four a Clock in the Morning after this manner. Pascal had a custom for many Years of hearing Matines every Day in the great Church, near the Tomb of St. Eulalia, which joins to the Altar. Being come one Morning too soon, he Prayed by himself, in expectation of Matines; and his extreme necessity put him upon imploring the succour of Heaven, by his mediation, who had foretold it to him, and of whose Death he had been lately informed. Father (he cried, sighing and weeping) your Predictions are but too true; and now you behold from Heaven, what was beforehand revealed to you upon Earth. Have pity on me; and if you deliver me not from my Miseries, at least obtain for me the Grace to endure them with Constancy, and to merit by them, according to your promise, a future happiness.  
He had scarce ended these words, when he heard a Melodious noise, and saw a beautiful train of young Clergy men, who ranged themselves on each side of the Altar, to make place for a Venerable Person, who followed them in his Priestly Attire, all shining in Glory. This Priest of Figure more than Human, stopped at the Tomb of St. Eulalia, and bowing to the ground before the blessed Sacrament, took a Censor from the hand of one of the Assistants, and several times Incensed the Altar.  
Pascal astonished at the sight, and doubtful, whether his Eyes might not deceive him, remained sometime without motion: But looking attentively upon the Priest, he found him to be Ignatius. Ah Father, he cried, Ah my Father Ignatius! The Saint comforted Pascal, by giving him fresh hopes of his Salvation, and then disappeared, with the blessed Spirits that attended him.  
The Canons, when they came into the Church to Sing Matines, found Pascal out of himself, seized with admiration, fear and joy all at once: He than told them, what he had seen, and he ever after retained so lively an Idea of it, that in all his distresses, it never failed to give him present comfort.  
This Apparition grew famous over all Spain; 
A Miraculous Cure.  but the cure of Bobadilla was no less notorious in Italy. This Father being come from Tivoli to Rome, was taken with a violent Fever. Whereas they Lodged him in the Chamber, where the Saint died, in the height of his Disease he made his Application to him, and immediately the Fever left him. He every where made Public the favour from Heaven, which he had received by the intercession of his Father Ignatius; and this Testimony was the more considerable, because he was a Man not at all inclined easily to believe Miracles. Many other Persons were cured in divers parts of Europe, and of the new World, by imploring the assistance of the Founder of the Society of Jesus.  
Tho' in the following Years, the Opinion of Ignatius his Sanctity did every day increase, time making his Virtues more conspicuous, yet the Fathers of Rome would not permit, that any Vow-offerings should be made at his Tomb; and a devout Person having once set up seven Lamps before it, Father Claudius Aquaviva caused them to be taken away. But the Piety of two famous Cardinals carried it against the Caution of the General of the Society.  
The Children of Ignatius had a Custom once a Year to meet at the Tomb of their Father, 
The Saint Religiouslp reverenced by Cardinal Baronius.  upon his Anniversary day, and one among them made a short Oration, setting forth the principal Actions of the Saint. In the Year 1589, Cardinal Bellarmin, who was the second of the Society, whom Clement the Eighth obliged by special Command to receive the Hat, desired to make this Speech. Tho' the Ceremony was only for the Jesuits, Cardinal Baronius would needs make one of the company, to Honour the memory of a Man whom his Father filips Nerius had esteemed a Saint. Bellarmin proved in his Harangue that the Illustrious Person Deceased, had all requisites for being Canonised among the Saints. Baronius touched, and convinced with Beauties' discourse, made a long Prayer upon the Tomb of Ignatius, and many times kissed the Ground, which covered his Body: then suddenly rising up, and turning towards the Fathers, I came with a resolution, said he, to hearken and not to speak, but the words of Cardinal Bellarmin have been to me, as the stream of a River to the wheel of a Mill: Tho' cumbersome and heavy of myself they have put me into motion. He went on like a Man inspired, and enlarged upon all that Cardinal Bellarmin had said before. After which, he reproved the Fathers, for not having yet set up the Picture of their holy Founder over his Tomb; and causing it to be immediately brought to him, he set it up with his own hands, and kneeled before it with great Devotion, all the Company following his Example with Tears of joy, and affection.  
No sooner was it known in Rome, what Cardinal Baronius and Bellarmin had done, but the People no longer doubted to give a Religious Veneration to Holy Ignatius; which was Authorised, not only by the Example of two the most Exemplary, and Learned Cardinals of the Sacred College, but also by a great number of Miraculous Cures in all parts.  
Paul the Fifth, 
The Pope orders informations to be taken of Ignatius his life.  moved by the reports of Father Ignatius his Holiness, found within himself a strong impulse to have him honoured as a Saint among all the Faithful. To proceed in it according to the Rules of the Church, he began the business by causing juridical Informations to be taken of the Life, and Actions of the Servant of God. Wherefore in the Year 1605, which was the first of that Pope's Pontificate, an exact enquiry was made of the Virtues, that were most eminent in the Person of Ignatius; and the account given by witnesses of known credit was as follows.  
He was so recollected in his Prayers, 
His gift of Prayer.  as if God were visibly present before him, and that he spoke to his Divine Majesty, like Moses, face to face. At the beginning of his Prayer his Countenance was inflamed, and commonly in the heat of his Devotion he had very violent Palpitations of the Heart, and not unfrequent Raptures. For his manner of Prayer it much resembled that of the Divine Hierotheus Master of St. Denis, which by the Relation of St. Denis himself, consisted in passively receiving the impressions of the Divine Spirit. And one day he told Father Laynez who asked him about it, that God Acted in him much more than he Acted himself.  
All Objects spoke to him of his Creator: He admired his beauty, his wisdom, his power, in the least things; a Worm, a Flower, a blade of Grass, were any of them sufficient to put him into Contemplation. But nothing raised him more to God then looking up to Heaven, which he so frequently did, that some who did not know his name, used to call him the Man that still lifts up his Eyes to Heaven, and always speaks of God.  
Being General of the Society, it was his Custom to go up into the Leads of the House where he had a free prospect of Heaven. There he remained some while standing with his Eyes sixth on Heaven; then he fell upon his Knees and adored God with all possible reverence, next he sat down upon a little seat, because his weakness did not suffer him long to remain otherwise, and there he spent whole hours in great repose, his Head bare, his Face all in Tears, and his Soul absorbed in God.  
Not content to pass the Day in this Divine Exercise, he divided the Night into three parts, one was for Sleep, another for Business, and the chiefest for Prayer. When he was first made Priest, Illuminations and Tears came so thick upon him in reciting the Divine Office, that he was forced to make a pause at every Verse: but when he said Mass, he had such Lights and Affections as made him sigh and weep at every Word.  
One Christmas-day saying Mass in the Church of St. John Lateran, he was seized with such tender Devotion, that he fell into a holy Passion of Weeping in the middle of the Sacred Mysteries; insomuch that a Slander by who did not know him, told Francis Strada, who served Mass, Certainly you have a very wicked Priest there, sadly tormented in his Conscience; for all Mass-time he did nothing but weep for his Sins.  
These continual Tears did in time so exhaust him and dissipate his Spirits, that he grew very infirm, and was in danger of losing his Sight. Being admonished by the Physicians of the bad consequence of them to his Health, he prayed to God that their course might be stopped, or at least that he might be master of them. He obtained what he asked, and got so absolute a command over his Tears, that he could keep them back, or let them flow at his pleasure; but with this advantage, that when they were kept in, he felt in his Soul an Inundation of spiritual Delights.  
The better to know what his Communications were with God, it will not be amiss to hear him speak himself in a Paper which contains his interior Dispositions of four Months, where he sets down day by day, what passed in his Soul; which Writing had the fortune to scape the Fire, when he caused all other Papers of that nature to be burnt.  
The Tears which I that day did shed, seemed very different from those which formerly came from me: They dropped softly, without noise or agitation; they issued out of so deep a Source, as I know not how to express. Every thing excited me to the love of God, as well the interior Voice, as what I heard abroad: but these divine Words had an unexpressible harmony, which penetrated the bottom of my Heart. The next Morning in time of Mass, and also after Mass, great store of Tears, as the day before. I than tasted a secret joy, produced by the interior Voice; and this Voice was so melodious, that it seemed to me the Music of Heaven. In proportion to my Tears, the ardour of Devotion increased in me, and I seemed to know and to understand in a manner altogether incorporeal.  
Invocating the holy Virgin to Mediate for me to her Son and to the Eternal Father, and then addressing myself to the Son of God to join with his holy Mother their Intercessions for me to God the Father, I saw myself elevated in the Presence of the First Person of the Trinity, and all my Hair stood an end. I began my Prayer with a large profusion of Tears, a vehement Devotion, and many Illuminations concerning the most blessed Trinity. So frequent and sweet were these Illustrations, that I want Memory and Understanding to relate them.  
I was so overflowed with divine Lights, with celestial Visits, with spiritual Delectations, accompanied with continual Tears, that as often as I pronounced the Name of God, or of Saviour, I found myself struck with so profound a Submission as cannot be expressed.  
After Prayer, my interior Motions were extraordinary, producing outwardly innumerable Sighs and Tears: My Heart was inflamed with the love of Jesus Christ, and with the desire of dying with Him, rather than to live with all the World besides.  
When the Altar was prepared for the holy Sacrifice of Mass, having Jesus Christ before my Eyes, I found myself ardently inclined to follow him, and looking upon him under the notion of Head of the Society, I was by that Motive more powerfully determined, then by all other Reasons, inviolably to practise Evangelical Poverty. Calling then to mind the time when the Eternal Father gave me to his Son, and when the Name of JESUS was printed so deeply in me, I fell into a new Fit of Sighing and Weeping.  
Speaking to the Divine Majesty, a torrent of Tears flowed from my Eyes, and the flames of my Love seemed to have no bounds or limits, and even to be joined and united with the Divine Love itself.  
Being at the Altar, I had more tender Sentiments of Devotion, and I wept so much, that I was in fear of losing one of my Eyes, if that course of Tears had continued. At those Words of the Mass, Placeat tibi sancta Trinitas, there came upon me a deluge of Tears, with an extraordinary ardency of Love. All these Aspirations terminated in the most Holy Trinity, which led me, and drew me to the love of it.  
Addressing myself to the Holy Ghost, that I might be rightly disposed to say the Mass, Instituted by the Church in his Honour, it seemed to me that I heard him, and saw him in a visible Light, under the appearance and colour of a bright Flame.  
I clearly knew, that the holy Virgin did Mediate for me to the Eternal Father. I likewise saw at the time of Consecration, that the Grace which I had, came by her Intercession, and that her Flesh was radically contained in that of her Son.  
I had in time of Prayer, from the beginning to the end, great Sentiments of God. In the Church, out of the House, it seemed to me that I beheld our Country above, and the Lord of Heaven, by the intelligence I had of the three Persons of the Trinity.  
Entering into the Chapel to pray, I received a light and a power from above, which enabled me to know, or rather in a manner to see the most blessed Trinity. Jesus Christ was shown to me at the same instant, to have obtained for me from the Trinity this intellectual Vision.  
I had great Devotion in preparing myself for the Sacrifice of the Mass, upon the consideration, that to approach the holy Altar I ought to be as an Angel; and this Sentiment brought Tears into my Eyes, which were not of Grief, but of Joy. During Mass, I made many Pauses, and upon the sudden I was so enlightened concerning the Mystery of the Trinity, that I thought I could not have acquired so much Knowledge by a long Study.  
Another time in Prayer I felt so lively and fervent Devotion with such spiritual Delectation, as raised me beyond, and above my Senses. After this, at Mass more Tears than before came upon me, even to the loss of my Speech. In this while I had Lights in so great number, and of such a nature, that methought there was nothing more for me to learn concerning the most holy Trinity.  
Celebrating the Divine Mysteries with a great deal of Fervour, it seemed to me, that when I Prayed to the Eternal Father, Jesus Presented to him my Prayers, and accompanied them with his own: I had then a Feeling, and a View which cannot be expressed.  
By the Fireside I had again a Vision of Jesus, and once more without-doors in the Streets, as I went to Cardinal de Carpi, and also as I came back from him, and in divers other Places. During these Apparitions I had many interior Motions, and the sight of Jesus did so inflame me, that I thought nothing could separate me from him.  
This is part of what was contained in the Spanish Memoire, writ by the Hand of Ignatius. Whence may be seen how far that holy Man was advanced in all the Ways of an interior Life, and to what pitch he was arrived of Union with God.  
Accordingly he loved him so ardently, 
His Love towards God.  and with so filial an Affection, that he proposed to himself in all his Actions no other Motive whatsoever, but the Honour of his Divine Majesty. He took for his Devise, To the greater Glory of God; not being content only to glorify our Lord, but to do it in the most excellent and perfect manner that Man is capable of, with the assistance of Grace.  
Entertaining himself one day with Father Laynez, in the Company of Andrew Oviedo and Peter Ribadeneira, What would you you do (said he) if God should tell you, in case you would be content to die instantly, I will give you eternal Glory? but if you will still live, I give you no assurance of your Salvation; but I will judge you according to the state you shall be in at the hour of your death. If (I say) our Lord should make this Promise to you, and at the same time you should believe, that remaining longer in the World, you might do some Service to his Divine Majesty, what would you choose? I confess, Father, (replied Laynez) that I should choose, without demurring, to be secure of my Salvation. I should not do so (replied the Saint); and if I thought that I could in any thing advance the Glory of God, I should entreat him to let me live; because it appears to me, that I should not hazard much in so doing. If a King should offer a great Recompense to one of his Subjects, and this Subject should not take it, upon the account only of being more at liberty to serve his Prince; would not the Prince hold himself obliged to keep in store for him, and even to increase the Recompense, which for the sake of his Service only was not accepted? But if the Great-ones of the Earth, who are not over-inclined to be Grateful, would proceed in that manner, what may we not hope from the King of Kings, who always prevents us with his Grace, and of whom we hold what we have, and what we are. How can we fear being unhappy and reprobate, for having sacrificed our Interests to the Glory of our Master? Let others think what they please, no such thing will enter into my thoughts of a God so good, so faithful, and so magnificent.  
When he writ the Constitutions of his Order, it came into his mind what his Sentiments would be, if God should put him into Hell for his Sins; hereupon he writ these following Words. On one side, I set before my Eyes the Torments I should endure; On the other, the Blasphemies of the Damned: and it seemed to me that the Pains I should endure, would not be so grievous to me, by many degrees, as the Blasphemies I should hear against the holy Name of God.  
It was his usual Saying, What shall I desire, or what can I desire, besides you my God? He always ended his Catechisms with these Words, Love God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. He many times in the day repeated the fervent Prayer which he composed when he wrote the Book of the Spiritual Exercises. Receive, O Lord, all my Liberty, my Memory, my Understanding, and my whole Will. You have given me all that I have, all that I possess; and I give back, and I surrender all to your Divine Will, that you may absolutely dispose of all. Give me only your Love, and your Grace, and I am rich enough: I have nothing more to ask.  
He sighed, and longed Night and Day, for the sight of his Saviour; and for this end was desirous to be loosened from the Bands of Flesh: So that as often as he thought of Death, he wept for joy, esteeming it better for him, according to the Example of St. Paul, to live with Jesus Christ; but his principal End was not his own Happiness, it was to see the Sacred Humanity of Jesus Christ in Glory, in the same manner as we desire to see that Person promoted in Dignity, whom we tenderly love.  
He so much esteemed Contumely suffered for God's sake, that the Chains with which in Spain he was loaded, he said, were dearer to him then all the Crowns of the Earth would be; and that nothing could give him greater joy, than what he felt in having been a Prisoner for the sake of Jesus Christ.  
Whereas he had continually before his Eyes what the Son of God suffered for the love of Man, he imagined he did not love him, unless he also suffered something for his sake; and it was his desire to give Life for Life, and to requite him with a painful and opprobrious Death.  
He once prayed to our Lord not to give him any inward Consolations, to the end that his Love might be more pure and disinteressed. Another time he earnestly begged of God to bestow upon him a profound Reverence for the holy Mysteries, but that this Reverence might be of Love, and not of Fear. Give me, Lord, (said he) a tender Veneration, Submission, and Humility, springing from Love. And when he pronounced these Words, his Soul was filled with Delight.  
Meeting a Lay-Brother, who did his Office negligently, Brother, (said he) that which you do, for whom do you it? The Brother answered, That he did it for the Love of God. Certainly (replied the Saint) if you do it for the Love of God, you are highly to blame, and deserve an extraordinary Penance. The Sin is not great, to be a little slack in Serving Men; but to Serve God negligently, is intolerable.  
Whereas he loved and sought nothing but God, he had no care but to please him, and no fear but to offend him. Wherefore he was in a continual watchfulness over himself; he every hour of the day Examined all the motions of his Heart, and kept his Senses so recollected, that from his Conversion to his Death he never looked a Woman in the Face, tho' by the Duty of his Function he was often obliged to speak and treat with them.  
For from the first years of his Renovation of Life, 
His Charity towards his Neighbour.  he employed himself wholly in the Service of his Neighbour; all his Actions and Designs had no other tendency. To relieve the Poor, to serve the Sick, to instruct the Ignorant, to comfort the Afflicted, to do good to all the World, was properly the Business of Ignatius' Life.  
He had always care, not only not to return Evil for Evil, but, according to the Counsel of the Apostle, To overcome evil with good. In the Year 1546, a Spanish Religious Man, who was at Rome, and had formerly shown much Kindness to Father Ignatius and his Children, altered all on the sudden, and declared highly against him, so far as to maintain, That all the Jesuits in Spain, from Perpignan to Sevil, deserved the Faggot, and that he would procure them to have their Deserts. The General of the Society, to whom this Religious Man had sent an Express with the Message, received the Indignity in a most Christian manner, and afterwards writ to the Bringer of the Message in these Terms. Pray tell the good Father, that whereas he has a desire to have all the Jesuits burnt, from Perpignan to Sevil, it is my desire, that he and all his Friends, not only between Perpignan and Sevil, but all the World over, may burn with the Flames of Divine You may also tell him, if you please, that the Governor of Rome, and the Pope's Vicar, have our Business before them, and that if he hath any thing to say against me, he should make his Depositions before those Judges, to the end that if I be guilty, I alone may suffer the Punishment of my Crimes, and that the Innocent may not be involved in my Gild.  
A certain Father of the Society, unsatisfied with Father Ignatius, did one day express his Resentment, and transgressed the bounds not of Obedience only, but of Reason. The Saint fell to Prayer for the poor Man, and with Tears in his Eyes, spoke thus to God. Pardon him, O Lord! my Creator, pardon him! for he knows not what he does. God at the same time answered the Saint, as once he did Moses, Leave it to me, I will revenge. And it after happened, that this Father going to see some Relics in a Church in Rome, did behold, or so thought, the Figure of a terrible Man, who had a Scourge in his Hand, and threatened to Chastise him, if he did not obey Ignatius. This Vision brought him back to his Duty: But tho' he became thereupon very tractable, he ceased not, during his whole Life, to be inwardly tormented.  
To maintain Peace with his Neighbour, Ignatius did always yield up his Right, as far as Conscience would give him leave; and he said, that such a Proceeding was not only fair, but advantageous: for God never failed to requite those whom Charity induced to depart from their Right. Upon this account, the Refectory of the Casa Professa being very dark, by reason that a troublesome Neighbour would not suffer any Windows to be made in a middle Wall, tho' by Law it might be done, the Father would not permit to have a Suit Commenced upon it, but rather chose to Eat in the dark Eight years together, till such time as he was in a Condition to purchase the Man's House, who of his own accored offered it to Sale.  
He equally prayed to God for the Friends, and the Enemies of the Society. The same Duty he every day performed for the Pope, and for all Christian Princes, on whom depends the public Tranquillity. In the Year 1555, he said upon the occasion of Julius the Third being Sick, that when the Pope was in Health, he constantly prayed for him once a day with Tears; but that when his Holiness was Sick, he never failed to do it twice in the day. And in the Year 1556, after that Charles the Fifth had Resigned his Kingdoms into the Hands of Philip the Second, Eleonor Mascaregnas, who had been Governant to Philip, by her Letters entreated Father Ignatius to recommend the new Monarch in his Prayers to God, whose good Conduct was of so great Concern to the Church. He Answered her, That it was his Custom once a day to Pray for the Prince before the Abdication of Charles the Fifth, and that after it he had Prayed twice every day for him with a particular Affection.  
He commonly excused the Sins of others, upon the account of human Frailty, or of suddenness of Passion. A blamable Action he would qualify, by supposing a good Intention, and say, That what appeared Criminal before Men, was not always so in the sight of God: But if the Action was so enormous, and so evident, that it could in no manner be defended, he then said, with the Holy Ghost, Judge not before the time, God only sees the bottom of Hearts.  
But his love to his Neighbour did most of all appear in his concern for the good of Souls. He refused no Labour that might be profitable to them; And he usually said, That if for saving one, it were necessary for him to endure the uttermost Misery, he should suffer it with a good will.  
Being now old, and broken with Sickness, he was called upon to Confess a dying Man: Tho' he was that day Sick himself, and tho' there wanted not Fathers in the House, very fit for that Employment, yet would he go himself, and spend the whole Night in assisting the dying Person to make a Christian End.  
To conclude, all his Passion was for the Conversion of Sinners, and his Zeal embraced no less than the whole Earth. He had even for Sinners a certain tenderness, more than for other Men; and this was so notorious, that the Brother of Father Francis de Borgia, in a Letter to desire his Friendship, wrote thus to him, I have nothing in me to deserve your love, unless it be that I am the Brother of Father Francis, or that I am a great Sinner, and of these two Motives I know not which will be the strongest, to make you grant the Favour which I ask.  
From his beginning to Serve God, 
His Humility.  he had so deep an apprehension of his own nothingness, and so low an Idea of himself, that he has been often heard to say, that vain Glory was the Vice which he least feared. He was not of so affected an humility, as not to own the gifts which God had bestowed upon him; and comparing one day with another, the present state of his Soul with the past, he said, that Manreza, which he called his Primitive Church, was only his Noviceship, and that our Lord went on every day perfecting the work, of which he then made only a rough draft. But all those extraordinary favours, of Interior dispositions, of Divine Illustrations, of frequent Apparitions, of continual Delights flowing from a sensible Devotion, only served to increase the bad Opinion, he had of himself. It must necessarily be, that I am very weak, he said, since I have need of so many extraordinary props to support me.  
He also said, that the more faults he committed, the more Favours he received from Heaven; as if his negligences and infidelities were the measure of the Liberalities and Favours of the Father of Mercies: And this was it which made him say, that perhaps he was the only Man in the World, in whose Person were united such distant Extremes, so much Sin, and so much Grace.  
Being once rapt in Spirit, and raised from the ground, environed with Celestial light, he was heard to cry, O God thou art infinitely Good, since thou dost support so miserable a sinner as I am. So that the sight of his Miseries, even in his Ecstasies, never left him.  
After this, one would think, that he might have spoken of his Raptures and Ecstasies, without any fear of Vanity: And yet he was so reserved in speaking of them, that unless it were to fortify his Companions, upon some very extraordinary occasion, and only at the first planting of the Society, he suppressed all mention of them: For when his Order was once throughly Founded, he used incredible industry to conceal all supernatural Favours of that kind, conferred on him by God.  
He never spoke of what passed within his Soul, but in modest and humble terms; and because, towards the end of his days, he had the most tender Sentiments of Piety, he said, that the Divine Goodness bestowed on him Devotion, for that being Old and Infirm he was only fit for the Exercises of an Interior life. Sometimes he signed his Letters in this manner, Destitute of all Good, Ignatius. He generally called his Order the little Society of Jesus. When mention was made before him of the good fruits it produced in the World, and of its being spread in so little time over the whole Earth, or when any Discourse was held, which turned to his Commendation, he presently gave a check to it, and commonly it raised in him Blushes and Tears.  
Father Laynez asked him one day in confidence, whether it were true, what was said of him, that he had an Archangel for his Angel Guardian. The Saint made him no Answer, but blushed, and to use Father Laynez's Expression, showed such trouble as a chaste Virgin would do, if surprised by a Visit of some unknown Person, at an undue hour.  
Being informed, that a lay Brother told his Companion, that their Father Ignatius was a great Saint, he severely reprehended him for it. You vilify, he said to him, and dishonour Sanctity by supposing it to be in such a sinner as I am: He added, that an expression of this nature was little less than Blasphemy.  
A saying like this, did perhaps cost Father James d'Eguia his life; he was Confessor to Father Ignatius. Tho' the Saint who discovered to him his interior (that he might not march in the ways of God without a guide) had recommended to him a profound silence, and had likewise Penanced this good Father, for having been to free in talking, yet Eguia could not so well contain himself, but that some words slipped from him, importing something which he durst not speak out. It was much his desire to outlive the Saint, at least some few hours, that he might without scruple reveal what he knew, and he said, he had things to tell, which could not be heard without Astonishment. This wish of the Confessor came to the Ears of Father Ignatius, and it was the Opinion of the Fathers then alive, that the Saint begged of God, that Eguia's wish might not be accomplished. However it were, the Good Confessor died some few Days before Father Ignatius, and it was never known what it was, that the Saint so much feared, lest Eguia should reveal it. He desired to be thrown upon a Dunghill after his Death, being as he said, nothing but Dirt and Corruption. He one day said, that all those of the House, gave him an Example of Virtue, and matter of Confusion; and that he was Scandalised by no body, but by himself. He once writ to a Person of intimacy, that he never treated of the things of God, even with the greatest sinners, that he did not learn and gain something.  
Never was Man less adhering to his own judgement, and when the matter deliberated upon did not appear evident to him, he easily followed the Opinion of others. Lastly, tho' he had in an eminent degree all the qualities necessary to govern well, by the common consent of all wise Men that knew him, yet he still thought himself not capable to be Superior, and protested in the Presence of God, that he was only fit to Obey.  
His Children did several times entreat him, and with great earnestness, to leave them Memoires of his life for their Instruction, at first he would not hear of it, but at last he condescended to them, fearing lest they should believe, that his modesty hindered him from telling them great matters. Wherefore towards the end of his days, he dictated to Father Lewis Gonzales a plain and short Relation of what had happened to him from the time of his Conversion to the year 1543: For what followed, he referred them not to Father James d'Eguia his Confessor, but to Father Jerome Nadal, to whom from time to time he had given some account of himself  
He would have it believed that he concealed nothing, and that what he himself had said, and what Nadal could say, was the sum total. This is that which is called, covering humility with humility, in flying the reputation of being humble.  
From the time when he first left the World, 
His disingagement from the World.  he had in great abhorrency all that, which Worldly Men most greedily court, and he ardently sought what they most abhorred. If he had only regarded himself, he would by his good will have passed for a Fool or a Madman, in the apprehension of the wise Men of the World; & if his Charity to his Neighbour, or common decency would have permitted him, he would have made no difficulty to expose himself to the Eyes of the People in an extravagant dress.  
The contempt in general, which Ignatius had of the World, did particularly extend to the Pomp, and Magnificences of Courts, to the Enterprises and Conquests of Princes: all this appeared very little in his Eyes; and this it was which caused in him that frequent Ejaculation, when he considered the Stars in the silence of a clear Night, How vile is the Earth, when I look upon Heaven!  
Accordingly, he had no Commerce with great Ones, any farther than the Glory of God, and the Interest of Religion required. Whereas he was much looked upon, for the very reason, because he would not be so, many Persons made their Applications to him, by his Mediation to make their Fortunes; but he plainly declared to them, that he had no interest, but in the Court of Heaven, and that, if there they desired Access, he would endeavour to assist them with his Counsels and Prayers. He said, that the duty of a Religious Man was not to introduce People into Court, but thence to withdraw them into Solitude; and when a secular Person at any time did press him to recommend him to some Prince or Cardinal, Brother (he Answered) I know no Master greater, or better, then him whom I serve; if you have a mind to be one of his Domestics, I will assist you with a very good will.  
He exactly practised, what is said by the Apostle St. Paul, No man listed in the Service of God, entangleth himself in secular affairs. He would not have any thing to do, even in the concerns of his nearest Relations; and once upon a Winter day, when he was at Prayer in his Chamber, the Porter bringing him Letters from Loyola, which were said to be of Consequence, he took the Packet, and threw it into the Fire without opening it.  
His Niece, who was Daughter to his Eldest Brother Don Martin Garcias, and who became the sole Heir of the House of Loyola, was sought in Marriage by several Lords. The Duke de Najare, and the Duke d'Albuquerque writ to Father Ignatius in Favor of one of the Pretenders, and desired him to use his Interest for the Person recommended, because he was a Man of great Quality and Estate. The Father Answered them, that he had no concern in the Marriage of his Niece; that such secular Affairs had no congruity with his Profession; that for many years he had renounced the World, and that such as renounce it for the Love of Jesus Christ, aught to forget Earthly things, that they may be only employed in those of Heaven.  
By long combating his natural Inclinations, 
His Command over his Passion.  he had got such a Mastery over them, that there appeared in him no irregular motion. His Countenance was always equal, as was his mind; and his own People used to say, that he had an Heavenly Air, because there was always serenity in his Forehead, and in his Eyes: So that, to treat with him upon any Matter, or to obtain any thing of him, there was no need of studying his Humour, or of observing Times, or favourable Conjunctures.  
His Moderation however was not languid; for tho' he had quite suppressed the risings of his Bilious and Irascible Nature, he had not lost the Fire which was necessary for Action. He has been often seen, whilst he Entertained some of the Fathers with all mildness and tranquillity, to send for some one whom he had a mind to rebuke before them, and suddenly changing his Countenance, to speak in a Tone which made them all tremble: and then, as soon as the Culpable had turned his back, to reassume his Air of mildness, and to hold on the Conference with the same tranquillity, as before.  
The most surprising and strange Accidents made no visible Impression upon him; and whether they were happy, or otherwise, it seemed all one with him, he was never the more sad, nor more cheerful. Being one day upon a Visit in a House at Rome, whilst he was, according to his custom, speaking of Heavenly matters, a Messenger sent from the Fathers, showing great haste and concern, came to tell him something in his Ear; having heard his Tale, he sent him back without any Answer, and then proceeded in his Discourse with the Company for the space of an hour. Upon taking his leave, some that were present had the curiosity to ask him, whether the Man that came in such haste, had not brought some bad News. 'Tis nothing (he said) but that the Bailiffs are in our Hours, and carry away all our Goods. But this doth not much trouble me; (he added, smiling) If they take away our Beds, we will lie upon the Ground, as it becomes poor Men, such as we are.  
Once being sick, the Physicians ordered him to keep himself quiet, and to banish all thoughts that might cause the least sadness. This made him think what there was that could afflict him in this World, or give any disquiet to his Soul. One thing only occurred to him capable of doing it; which was, if he should live to see the Society come to an end. He went on farther, and considered with himself, how long that trouble would last upon him, in case that Disaster should happen; and he concluded, that if without any fault of his it should come to fail, he should recover his Tranquillity in a quarter of an hours Recollection.  
A Man who is Master of his Passions, 
His Reservedness in Speaking, and how weighty his Words.  is easily so of his Words. Ignatius observed in Speaking, all the Measures which Reason and Charity prescribe. He related things plainly, without exaggeration, leaving to the Hearers the liberty of weighing Circumstances, drawing Consequences, and of making Reflections. Were the Conduct of Great Men never so irregular, or their Vices never so public, he would not suffer any mention of it. He covered with a profound silence the Faults of his Subjects; and once made it a matter of his Confession, that he had declared to three Persons what might have been declared only two, for the amendment of the Culpable. Some years before his Death he promised a certain Person to assist him in a Business; but finding afterwards that it was a Matter not very proper for a Religious Man to solicit, he repented him of his Engagement, and said upon this Occasion, I do not remember in twelve years' time that I have made such a slip, or that I have promised any thing, which I afterwards repent.  
Those who knew him, used to say of him, that he was a Man of few words, but the little which he said had great weight, and such force, that no body could resist it; so that he turned the Judgement of his Hearers as he pleased. Ribadeneira being young, was not very regular, nor very discreet; his unruliness went so far as to shake off the yoke of Obedience, and not to endure the sight of Father Ignatius, against whom he conceived a secret Aversion. The Father one day calling him, did not speak to him above two or three words: Ribadeneira immediately threw himself at his Feet, and with Tears in his Eyes, I will do Father, (he said) I will do what you will have me. The Business was about the Spiritual Exercises, which the young Man had no mind to make: he made them, and put himself under the Direction of the Saint, with an entire Confidence and Resignation.  
Before there was in Rome a House of Catechumen, the Jews who asked Baptism, were Instructed in the Casa Professa. One of these Catechumen, called Isaac, who had shown great fervour, and desire of Conversion, and came every day with great diligence to the Catechisms, I know not by what Impulse, changed his Mind on the sudden, and breaking out into impious Expressions, in the middle of the Exhortation, went out of the Church in a fury. Father Ignatius overtook him, Remain with us, Isaac (he said to him). These words alone appeased the Jew; he immediately returned to the Company, and to his former Intentions, with a new fervour, and at last received Baptism.  
When the Saint had taken in hand any thing for the Honour of God, 
His Constancy in what he undertook for God, and his Greatness of Soul.  the Obstacles and Difficulties which he met with in the Execution of it, did rather animate than discourage him. He waited one day fourteen hours together, to speak with a Cardinal about a Work of Charity. Another day, when he was to go out of Rome towards Naples, the Wether was so bad, that his Companion Father Polancus advised him to put off his Journey. These thirty years (he said to Polancus) no Accident of this nature has made me put any thing off till to Morrow.  
Being broken with Sickness, and having all the Business of the Society upon him, he had great need of help in many Occasions. Nevertheless, he left himself destitute of it, when the greater Glory of God did require it; and he has been sometimes left alone in Rome, to bear the whole weight of the Business there, having sent into divers Parts all those Fathers who were capable to ease him. As infirm as I appear to be, (he said) with this Staff I would go a foot even into Spain, if there were need.  
If Sickness obliged him to keep his Bed, and that any difficult Affair occurred, he seemed to forget his Disease, and to recover Health in a moment: so that when he fell sick, his Children used to say, Let us pray to God that some Business of Consequence may happen to our Father Ignatius, and we shall have him presently recovered. He bore Adversities with invincible courage; and being asked which was the surest way to come to Perfection in a short time, he answered, Generously to suffer great Crosses for the Interest of God. The Grace of Persecutions (as he called it) of all Divine Favours, was that which he most esteemed; and it looked, as if by his Prayers he had obtained it: for it has been often observed, that the other Fathers, when they were from him, lived in a Calm; and that assoon as the Saint came amongst them, Tempests did arise on all sides.  
In all the Storms of his Life, 
His Confidence in God.  the Confidence which he had in God so kept him up, that he feared nothing, when every thing was to be feared. In difficult Matters which he undertook for the Service of the Faithful, he sometimes to that degree abandoned himself to Providence, that such as in these Occasions looked upon his Conduct with carnal Eyes, thought him Rash and Imprudent. He made it one of his chief Maxims, That whoever would do great things in God's Cause, must have a care of being too wise; and he said, That if the Apostles had consulted the Dictates of Human Prudence, they never had undertaken the Conversion of the World.  
According to this Principle he once said, That if God should call him beyond the Seas, and the Vicar of Jesus Christ commanded him speedily to depart, he would put himself into the first Ship, tho' never so badly Equipped, and even without Sails or Rudder. What Prudence, Father, would be in this (said one that stood by). Prudence (replied Ignatius) is the Virtue of him that Commands, not of him who Obeys.  
In a very hard Time, and when there was no appearance of Relief by way of Charity, he ceased not to receive many into the Society; and he told a Father who wondered at it, That the more desperate things did appear, the more hope we ought to place in God. What merit is there to hope (said he), when we have a secure Fund, and certain Recruits? If we see what we hope for, it is no longer hope; for no body hopes for what he sees.  
Nicholas Bobadilla, not being able to comprehend whence Father Ignatius got wherewithal to maintain so many People, and ask him one day about it, the Father made him a particular Recital of all the Alms constantly received. All this (said Bobadilla) is not enough for half our Company. What then (replied the Saint), shall we depend in nothing upon Providence? And must we rely upon the Care of our Heavenly Father no farther, than the Charity of the Faithful shall give us leave? For my part, what comes short from the Hands of Men, I always find in the Hands of God; and should they give me nothing, in him I should find all things.  
The Marquis de Sarria, Ambassador with the Pope from the Catholic King, once received Father Ignatius with more coldness then usually, which was occasioned by the Father's making little use of the Marquis in the Business and Concerns of the Society. Father Ignatius, who smelled out the Cause of the Embassador's reservedness, told Ribadeneira, who was his Companion, That for above thirty years' God had taught him so to make use of human Succours, as not wholly to rely on them; and that he would let the Ambassador understand, That Religious Men ought not to build upon the Credit of Great Men, to the prejudice of their Confidence in God.  
He had a particular Grace in the Direction of Souls, 
His Prudence in Spiritual Matters.  and this Gift of God he had in so eminent a degree, that many Persons consulting him about their inward Troubles, and not being able well to explicate them to him, he so clearly Explained and laid them forth before their Eyes, as if with his own he had seen the bottom of their Consciences.  
It was his Maxim, That we should not accommodate Business to ourselves, but ourselves to the Business; and he applied this prudential Rule to Matters of Piety. Wherefore he condemned those Directors, who would reduce all the World to their manner of Prayer, and to their way of Living. He said that this sort of Conduct is very dangerous, and that such Directors have little understanding in a Spiritual Life, as not knowing that the Gifts of Heaven are of different kinds, and that all the Faithful come not to God by the same way. He also said, That altho' in Virtues and their Acts there were several degrees of Excellence, the most sublime and perfect was not always the best for every Person in some Circumstances; and that if God in time of Prayer excites a Soul to Compunction, she ought not to turn away from it, nor, for Example, apply herself to rejoice in the Infinite Perfections of his Divine Majesty.  
He used to say, That such as made long Prayers, aught to be very much upon their guard, not to abuse that Commerce which they have with God; That there are a sort of People of a wilful Nature, who by much Praying without observing the Rules of Discretion, and wanting a true desire to overcome their own Judgement, dry up their Brain, and are so possessed with their own Imaginations, that there is no getting them out of their Head; That others there are, who persuaded that all comes from God which enters into their thoughts in time of Prayer, take their own Fancies for their Conduct, and in this manner only follow the Impulse of Nature, mistaking it for that of Grace. He added, That Persons thus seduced, often fell into gross Errors, and that their Miscarriage discredited Prayer amongst the People of the World, who wrongfully attribute the Disorder to Prayer itself, and not to the bad use made of so holy an Exercise. Finally, that how much soever illuminated we may think ourselves to be, we are not to judge of divine Matters by human Measures; but we ought always to submit our Judgement to the Principles of Faith, and the Authority of the Church; it being unreasonable, that things certain should be regulated by those which are doubtful; whereas on the contrary, the certain aught to overrule the uncertain.  
He valued more the Spirit of Mortification than the Spirit of Prayer; or rather, he judged that these two Spirits, if true, were inseparable, and that the one could not subsist without the other. Some body in his presence praising a Religious Person, by saying he was a Man of great Prayer, Add (said he), that he is a Man of great Mortification; by which word he meant the Mortification of the Will, more than that of the Body: for tho' he judged Austerities to be necessary for curbing the rebellion of Flesh and Blood, or for expiating Sins, yet he made no great reckoning of them, unless they were joined with an inward Abnegation. And for this Reason, in his Constitutions he Order, That the principal care of those of the Society, should be to serve God with the greatest Self-denial, and as much as may be, with a continual Mortification of their Will.  
When any body desired him to tell them the nearest way to Perfection, he said, The shortest and the surest, was to overcome themselves. He once told a young Brother, who was of a violent Temper; Tame and master yourself, (Brother;) for if you do it, your Reward will be much greater in Heaven than theirs, whose Virtue costs them little. Another time, Father Lewis Gonzales, who had the care of Domestic Discipline, complaining of the same Brother: Have patience (said the same Saint to him), he with whom you are so unsatisfied, is more come on in a Month, than such, and such a one in a Year; and he named to him two other Brothers of a mild Temper, who went for Patterns of Discretion.  
Being informed, that a Father naturally choleric and hasty, withdrew himself from the Company after Meals, to avoid Occasions of transgressing: You deceive yourself (he said to him); 'tis by Fight, and not by running away, Vices are overcome.  
He preferred the least Act of Charity, Humility, or of Patience, before the highest Knowledges acquired, or infused. Accordingly, he more esteemed a plain simple Man, full of Spirit, and the Love of God, than a great Scholar, less Fervent and Devout: tho' generally speaking, he took more care of the Learned Man, because he was more useful for the Service of our Neighbour.  
He principally regarded, that his Children should be applied to the Exercises of true Devotion, without looking after spiritual Gusts, Raptures, or Visions. Tho' God continually regaled him with those extraordinary Favours, yet he said, that we never ought to desire them, but rather to fly them, and to have them in suspicion; that when God did communicate them, they were to be received with fear, and not to be spoken of without being obliged to it by Obedience, or by Charity. To conclude, he judged of the Perfection of a Soul, only by the practice of solid Virtues, even to say, that it was better to know our own Nothing, then to have Revelations or Ecstasies; and that to raise the Dead was not so much, as to mortify our Passions.  
In the Year 1553, a Religious Man of the Order of St. Dominick, called Father Reginald, Venerable for his Age and his Piety, came one day to see the General of the Society, and told him in the presence of Ribadeneira, that there was at Bologna a Religious Woman of their Order, endowed with an extraordinary Gift of Prayer; that she had frequent Raptures, and that during her Ecstasies she had no feeling, not so much as of Fire, when applied to her; but that she always came to herself when her Superior commanded her any thing. He moreover said, that this Nun had sometimes the Stigmata in her Feet, her Hands, and her Side, and that the Blood trickled down from her Head, as if she had been Crowned with Thorns. He added, That not believing the common report of all these things, he went himself to be ascertained of the truth with his own Eyes, and that after what he had seen he could no longer doubt of it. Then he asked Father Ignatius what he thought of so wonderful a thing. Of all that you tell me (said the Saint) nothing seems to me less suspicious, than that ready Obedience; and farther he would not Explicate himself.  
When the Religious Man was departed, Ribadeneira desired Father Ignatius to tell him what he thought of that Saint of Bologna. The Father told him, That God Almighty did operate in the Soul, and infuse into it the Unction of his Spirit, sometimes in so great abundance, that in a manner it overflowed, and wrought outward Effects upon the Body; but that this happened very seldom, and only to Persons much in the favour of God. He added, That the Devil, who could act nothing within the Soul, had a custom to counterfeit outwardly Divine Operations, and by such Appearances to impose upon the Credulous. Ribadeneira understood by this Discourse, that the Nun might be deceived with her Raptures, and Stigmata; and in conclusion it was found out, that all her pretended Holiness was but an Illusion of the bad Spirit.  
In the Year 1541, Martin de Sancta Cruse, who was then a Novice of the Society, and afterwards Rector of the College of Conimbria, and died in great Sanctity in the Year 1557, being in Conversation with Father Ignatius, happened to speak of the famous Magdalen de la Croce. He related the marvellous things he had heard of her in Spain: he said that he had seen her at Cordova, and that she seemed to him to be one of the wisest and most holy Women of the World. The Father gave a great Reprehension to the Novice, for so highly crying up this Woman, and told him, That those of the Society should not esteem and measure Sanctity by outside, and ostentation.  
Another time he severely checked a Father, who in Discoursing with a Novice, proposed to him the Example of some Men, who had the repute of having extraordinary Gifts, and Ecstasies in their Prayer: for he judged, that beginners ought not to hear such things spoken of, especially the Novices of the Society, lest instead of being well grounded in solid Virtues, they should run after the specious part of an interior Life.  
Upon the same account he treated with utmost rigour a Priest of the Society, who was a great Divine, called Soldevilla, a Catalonian, for teaching some of the Students in the Roman College new ways of Prayer, very different from the common Method. He was a Man of very holy Life, but a little Visionarily given, and in whom the vivacity of his Imagination had got the better of his Judgement. This contemplative Father assembled by Night his Disciples, to Explicate to them his Mystical Doctrine, and to make them practise it in secret, as if Contemplation were an Art, and had any other Teacher than the Holy Ghost. Assoon as Ignatius understood these Proceedings, he failed not vigorously to suppress them: for after having caused Soldevilla publicly to Discipline himself in the Refectories of the Roman College, and of the Casa Professa, he turned him out of the Society; and he had no more regard to his profound Learning, than he had to the Illustrious Birth of a Kinsman to the Viceroy of Sicily, and of a Son of the Duke of Braganza, both whom he had Dismissed some days before, for being proud and unquiet.  
In his Conversation he drew People to God, by gently insinuating into them the things of Heaven; and he said that this way of gaining Souls was the proper way of his Institute. It was not his Custom, at first dash, to force upon Men of the World Discourses of Piety: he commonly began his Entertainment with Matters agreeable to their Profession and Capacity. He spoke of Trade with Merchants, of War with Soldiers, of Policy with Statesmen; and after a while, turning the Discourse to his main purpose, he exhorted them to gain Heaven, to overcome their Vices, to govern their Passions: This is that which he called, To go in at their Door, and to come out at his own.  
But when certain idle People, whose Business was only to pass away their time, came to Visit him, he without Ceremony immediately fell upon the Subjects of Death, Judgement, and Hell: and he was wont to say, That if they liked his Discourse, they would be the better for it; if they liked it not, he should be rid of them for the future.  
It was his Maxim, That Familiarity with all Women ought to be avoided, even with the most Devout; that the most innocent Commerce with them, if it wounds not our Conscience, it leaves some stain upon our Reputation; and the Smoke blackens, tho' the Fire does not burn us.  
He said, That few People understood what God would do with them, if they left themselves to him; That Apostolical Men ought to do for the saving of Souls, what the Devil does to destroy them; that is, they should study the natural Motions in general of Man's Heart:, and the particular Inclination of each Person; That natural Qualities ought to be set to work by the interior Spirit, and that the Means which make the Instrument pliable, and handy for God to work with it, such as are Humility, Contempt of the World, Purity of Intention, and the like, are much better than the Means which render the Instrument capable to work of itself, such as are Wit, Learning, and Eloquence; That Evangelical Labourers better attain their End by yielding, then by resisting; and that a little obscure Good, done with Edification, does more glorify God, than a thousand good Works which make a Blaze in the World, and raise Murmuring and Envy; That we must not suffer ourselves to be seduced by a certain Zeal, which makes us unquiet for the Disorders of the World; That we must begin by reforming ourselves, and afterwards look, as to other People, what it is that God will ask us an account of at the Day of Judgement; Lastly, That Reason, which distinguisheth us from Beasts, must serve not only as a Bridle to our Passions, but as a Rule to our Virtues, in such sort, that in the Good which we do, we may act by Measure and Compass, and that our Fervour may not carry us beyond the Bounds of our State.  
These were the Virtues, and principal Maxims of the Saint, gathered from unquestionable Testimonies, an Extract of which was Presented to the Pope. At the same time a Collection was made of the miraculous Cures obtained by the Intercession of Ignatius; and amongst them was inserted the Deliverance of a possessed Person, out of whom the Saint had chased the Devil, at the time when he was chosen General of the Society.  
This poor Wretch was a Servant of the House, a Basque, called Matthew. The evil Spirit entered into him in the absence of Ignatius, when he went to consult Father Theodosius the Franciscan, about his Election, as we have formerly mentioned, and remained in the Convent three Days together in retirement. The Devil, who had taken possession of this poor Man, tormented him in a dreadful manner: Sometimes he threw him against the Ground, sometimes he lifted him up into the Air; then again he made him so lumpish and heavy, that ten Men could scarce move him. Some that were present, threatened the Devil, that Ignatius would quickly return, and dislodge him. At these words the Malignant Spirit growing more furious, horribly cried out, that he detested the Name of Ignatius, that he was his mortal Enemy. The Saint being returned, made a short Prayer over the person possessed, and he was immediately delivered from the Devil.  
Since that time, the Name of Ignatius grew terrible to the powers of Hell, and the Possessed have been sometimes heard to cry out in the middle of the Exorcisms, before a Picture of the Servant of God, Where is thy power, O Lucifer, since a bit of Paper with the figure of a Priest makes us fly without resistance? Ah God, why dost thou deprive us of glory to bestow it upon a little lame Priest?  
One of his Letters had the same effect upon some of these Evil Spirits, which haunted the College of Loretto, and which the ordinary Exorcisms could not drive away: for as soon as the Letter was publicly read in the House, the noise ceased, and the Spectres disappeared.  
Tho' the Persons, 
His Beatification.  who made their report of all these things, which I have now related, were of known sufficiency and probity, yet all was strictly examined, according to the ordinary forms. After these proceedings, in the Year 1609, Paul the Fifth at the request of the greatest Princes of Europe, Beatified Ignatius, and gave leave to have him Celebrated in the Mass, and in the Office. In the following Years the Process of his Canonization was set on foot, and a new enquiry was made into his Virtues and Miracles. Six hundred and sixty witnesses, Juridically interrogated, made their depositions upon the Holiness of his life. Above two hundred Miracles well attested, were produced at the same time, which were related in the Acts of the Canonization, the Principal of which have been Collected by divers Authors.  
Those Towns and People, who had most obligation to blessed Ignatius, writ to Paul the Fifth, to hasten the Canonization of their Holy Benefactor, and these their requests were seconded by many Princes and Princesses, particularly by Philip the Second, and Philip the Third, Kings of Spain, by Sigismond King of Poland, by Henry the Great, King of France, by Margaret Queen of Spain, and by Mary of Austria Empress, and Wife of Maximilian the Second.  
After the Death of Paul the Fifth, Maximilian Duke of Bavaria, and Ferdinand the Emperor did write to the same purpose with great instance to Gregory the Fifteenth. The first asked no other recompense from the Holy See for all the Service he had done in the War of Bohemia against Heretical Rebels, but the Canonization of Ignatius; And the other said, that it was for the Honour and the Interest of the Empire, to have Enrolled in the Catalogue of Saints, the Founder of an Order, which seemed to be chosen by God for the defence of Germany.  
But the King of France, Lewis the Thirteenth, of all Christian Princes was he, who most warmly solicited this matter. He declared to the Pope in his Letter of the 14th. of February, of the year 1621., that having received the first rudiments of Faith, and of good manners from the Children of Ignatius, and being very well satisfied with them, in what regarded his Conscience, which he had put into their hands, it was his desire, that they might upon this occasion feel the effects of his good will towards them; that all the most signal Favours, which he could possibly receive from his Holiness, could not more affect him, than this which he now asked; that such a request he reckoned to be worthy of the Eldest Son of the Church; that this Glorious Title which he Inherited from his Predecessors, and which inspired him with Zeal for the Advancement of Catholic Religion, obliged him to pursue the Canonization of Ignatius, as hoping that the Intercession of that Saint would be a powerful succour to him for the banishing Heresies, and Vices out of his Kingdom; Lastly, that France having had the Honour to have this Servant of God not only to acquire his Learning, and choose his Companions in the University of Paris, but also to lay the Foundation of his Society in the Church of Montmartyr, he had reason to hope for new Benedictions by contributing to the speedy Canonization of the Saint.  
Gregory the Fifteenth could not resist these entreaties, 
His Canonization.  so pressing, and so reasonable. He Canonised blessed Ignatius with all the usual Ceremonies upon the 12th. of March in the Year 1622, which is the day on which the Church honours the Memory of St. Gregory the great. Urban the Eighth, who succeeded Gregory, did afterwards put the Saint into the Roman Matyrology, and amongst the divers Forms presented to him, he chose the following, which he partly composed himself, The one and thirtieth day of July, at Rome, Saint Ignatius Confessor, Founder of the Society of Jesus, Illustrious for his Saintity, his Miracles, and for his Zeal, to extend the Catholic Faith over the whole World.  
Without departing from the Character of an Historian, I may add to the words of Urban the Eighth, those of Gregory the Fifteenth, spoken by him, when he Canonised St. Ignatius: They are taken out of Ecclesiasticus, and the Holy Ghost spoke then of Josue, He was great in his Name, most great in saving the Elect of God, in subduing their Enemies, that he might obtain an Inheritance for Israel.  
But in ending the Life of this glorious Patriarch, if I were worthy to offer any thing in his Praise, I should apply to him, what St. Jerome writes of St. Augustine.  
Catholics Reverence and Admire you, 
Tom. 2. Ep. 50.  as the restorer of the Ancient Faith, and what seems yet more Honourable, all Heretics Hate and Persecute you.  
FINIS.    

The Letter of Lewis the Thirteenth, King of France, and of Navarre, to Pope Gregory the Fifteenth.  
Most Holy Father,  
SInce there is no better beginning then by an Action tending to the Glory of God, it must needs be acceptable to your Holiness, that my first demand, upon your entering into the Government of the Church, should be for a thing, which will no less show your Paternal Piety, then increase the Devout sentiments, which God has been pleased to bestow upon me. The first Instructions, which I received in Faith and Manners, were from the Fathers of the Society. They have had to this present day the direction of my Conscience, very much to my satisfaction, which makes me desirous, that their whole Order may experience the effects of my goodwill. Hereupon being informed, that the process of Canonization of Blessed Ignatius, Founder of the said Order, was so far finished, that there wanted nothing, but the good pleasure of your Holiness to perfect so good a Work: I have thought good to entreat you, as I do with great affection, that you will be pleased to declare, and place him in the number of the Saints, Reverenced and Honoured by our Holy Mother the Church. The Favours (how great soever) which I may for the future receive from your Holiness, all of them put together, cannot give me greater satisfaction, than this alone, which besides the Benedictions I hope to reap for myself, will also heap Prosperities upon your Government. The Divine Providence which inspires Hearts and governs their motions, has not permitted that this Devotion, for many Years impressed in my Heart should be sooner manifested; Reserving thereby to your Holiness the performance of an Action so praise worthy, and to me the happiness of making a request so well becoming the Eldest Son of the Church. This Title, no less engraved in my Soul, then deservedly enjoyed by my Predecessors, gives me a strong emulation for the advancement of our Holy Religion; and makes me more Zealous for the said Canonization, upon the hopes I have, that the Intercession of this blessed Man will powerfully aid me to do that, for which God sent him into the World, and wherein this Order is so profitably employed. My Kingdom has been formerly blest with the presence of this Servant of God; He studied at Paris, he there Assembled his first Companions, and Founded his Society in the Church of Montmartyr: I now expect new Benedictions, if your Holiness, at my request, shall consent to his Canonization. As it is my first Prayer, so I desire it may have a place amongst those Holy and Good Actions, which are expected from your Pontificat, which I beseech our Creator, that it may succeed to his Honour and Glory, to the Edification of his Church, and to the good of all Christendom. From Paris the 14th. of February 1621.  
Signed Lovis.   

A Catalogue of Books Printed for Henry Hills, Printer to the King's most Excellent Majesty, for his Household and Chapel, 1686.  
REflections upon the Answer to the Papist Misrepresented, etc. Directed to the Answerer. Quarto.  
Kalendarium Catholicum for the Year 1686, Octavo.  
Papists Protesting against Protestant-Popery. In Answer to a Discourse Entitled, A Papist not misrepresented by Protestants. Being a Vindication of the Papist misrepresented and Represented, and the Reflections upon the Answer. Quarto.  
Copies of Two Papers Written by the late King Charles II. Together with a Paper Written by the late Duchess of York. Published by his Majesty's Command. Folio.  
The Spirit of Christianity. Published by his Majesty's Command. Twelve.  
The First Sermon Preached before their Majesties in English at Windsor, on the first Sunday of October 1685. By the Reverend Father Dom. Ph. Ellis, Monk of the Holy Order of St. Benedict, and of the English Congregation. Published by his Majesty's Command. Quarto.  
Second Sermond Preached before the King and Queen, and Queen Dowager, at their Majesty's Chapel at St. James', November 1. 1685. By the Reverend Father Dom. Ph. Ellis, Monk of the Holy Order of St. Benedict, and of the English Congregation. Published by his Majesty's Command. Quarto.  
The Third Sermon Preached before the King and Queen, in the Majesty's Chapel at St. James', on the third Sunday in Advent, December 13. 1685. By the Reverend Father Dom. Ph. Ellis, Monk of the Holy Order of St. Benedict, and of the English Congregation, Chaplain in Ordinary to his Majesty. Published by his Majesty's Command. Quarto.  
The Fourth Sermon Preached before the King and Queen, in their Majesty's Chapel at St. Jame's, on Newyears-day, 1685-86. By the Reverend Father Dom. Ph. Ellis, Monk of the Holy Order of St. Benedict, and of the English Congregation, Chaplain in Ordinary to his Majesty. Quarto.  
Sixth Sermon Preached before the King and Queen, in their Majesty's Chapel at St. James', upon the first Wednesday in Lent, Febr. 24. 1685. By the Reverend Father Dom. Ph. Ellis, Monk of the Holy Order of St. Benedict, and of the English Congregation. Published by his Majesty's Command. Quarto.  
An Exposition of the Doctrine of the Catholic Church in Matters of Controversy. By the Right Reverend James Benign Bossuet, Counsellor to the King, Bishop of Meaux, formerly of Condom, and Preceptor to the Dauphin: First Almoner to the Dauphiness. Done into English with all the former Approbations, and others newly Published in the Ninth and Last Editions of the French. Published by his Majesty's Command. Quarto.  
A Sermon Preached before the King and Queen, in their Majesty's Chapel at St. James', upon the Annunciation of our Blessed Lady, March 25. 1686. By Jo. Betham Doctor of Sorbon. Published by his Majesty's Command. Quarto.  
An Abstract of the Dovay Catechism, for the Use of Children and Ignorant People. Now Revised, and much Amended. Published with Allowance. Twentyfours.  
A Letter from the Lord Bishop of Mea●●x, to the New Catholics of his Diocese, Exhorting them to keep their Easter, and giving them Necessary Advertisements against the False Pastoral Letters of their Ministers. With Reflections upon the Pretended Persecution. Published with Allowance. Quarto.  
The Answer of the New Converts of France, to a Pastoral Letter from a Protestant Minister. Done out of French, and Published with Allowance. Quarto.  
All which Books are to be sold next Door to his House in Blackfriar's, by Richard Cheese.