30 DOMESMC 
 
DOMESTIC 
 • LIBRARY 
 
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 DOMESTIC 
 i LIBRARY 
 
CTje Saint* anD Scruants of (T.oB. 
 
 THE LIFE 
 
 ST. IGNATIUS LOYOLA. 
 
 FOUNDER OF THE JESUITS. 
 
 " Gaude Maria Virgo, cunctas haereses sola interemisti in 
 universo mundo."— Antiph. Ecclesice. 
 
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 We hereby approve of this Series of 
 Lives of the Canonized Saints and Servants 
 of God, and recommend it to the faithful of 
 our District, as likely to promote the glory 
 of God, the increase of devotion, and the 
 spread of our holy Religion. 
 
 Given at Birmingham, this 29th day 
 of October, 1847. 
 
 ^c 
 
TO 
 
 THE REGULAR CLERGY 
 
 OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN ENGLAND, 
 
 THE CHILDREN 
 
 OF ST. BENEDICT AND ST. BERNARD, 
 
 ST. DOMINICK AND ST. FRANCIS, 
 
 AND THE SONS 
 
 OF THE HOLY IGNATIUS, 
 
 THE GREAT MASTER OF THE SPIRITUAL LIFE, 
 
 AND THE NURSING-FATHER OF SAINTS AND MARTYRS, 
 
 WHO, 
 
 IN THE STRAITNESS AND NEGLECT 
 
 OF THEIR UNHONOURED CLOISTERS, 
 
 OR THE CHEERLESS SOLITUDE 
 
 OF THEIR HIRED LODGING, 
 
 HAVE JOYFULLY EMBRACED THE POVERTY OF JESUS, 
 
 AND EARNED BY LOVING ZEAL 
 
 THE CROWN OF MARTYRDOM, 
 
 AND WHO, 
 
 THROUGH SCENES OF AWFUL SACRILEGE, 
 
 AND TIMES OF BITTER PERSECUTION, 
 
 THROUGH THE LONG AND WEARY VISITATION 
 
 OF ACTIVE MALICE OR OF COLD CONTEMPT, 
 
 HAVE PERPETUATED, 
 
 AMONGST THEIR UNWORTHY COUNTRYMEN, 
 THE BLESSED LINEAGE 
 
 OF THEIR HOLY FOUNDERS. 
 
 St. Wilfrid's, 
 Feast of St. Bernard, 
 m. d. ccc. xlyii. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 The following Life of St. Ignatius is 
 translated from the Italian of F. Fran- 
 cesco Mariani, a Jesuit, published by 
 Monaldi at Rome in 1842. The previous 
 Lives of St. Ignatius were not considered 
 in all respects satisfactory: Ribadeneira, 
 who had been translated into Italian by 
 Giovan Giolito, had written before the 
 processes had been formed, and was by 
 no means full enough ; Bartoli's Life was 
 more a chronicle of the early years of the 
 Society than a biography of the founder ; 
 and Luigi Carnoli, commonly called Vi- 
 gilio Nolarci, was more devout towards 
 the Saint than critical in his selection of 
 materials. All these defects, and the 
 publication of the seventh July volume 
 of the Bollandists, led Mariani to the 
 compilation of a new Life of his blessed 
 Founder. F. Francesco tells us that he 
 put the biography together from the fol- 
 lowing sources: — 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 1. From the acts of St. Ignatius, which 
 he himself communicated to Luigi Gon- 
 zalez. This Gonzalez was extremely be- 
 loved by the Saint; he was an elector 
 in the first general Congregation, and 
 assistant of James Lainez the general, 
 afterwards tutor to Sebastian King of 
 Portugal. He took down these acts from 
 the mouth of the Saint, mostly in the 
 Saint's own words. He began in Sep- 
 tember, 1553, was interrupted during the 
 whole of the following year, resumed his 
 labours on the 9th of March, 1555, and 
 finished them the same year. The origi- 
 nal is preserved at Kome, and a Latin 
 translation by Annibale Codretti is to be 
 found in the Acta Sanctorum. 
 
 2. From Pietro Eibadeneira. He 
 wrote three Lives of the Saint, having 
 lived in the closest intimacy with him 
 for about eight years, studiously watch- 
 ing his most ordinary actions and noting 
 down his words. He was also in pos- 
 session of the writings of Luigi Gonzalez, 
 and learned many other particulars from 
 James Lainez. Besides which Salmerone, 
 Bobadiglia, Rodriguez, Polanco, Natale, 
 
ritEF.\< i:. \i 
 
 Strada, Araoz, Gonzalez, and Torres bore 
 witness to the accuracy of Ribadeneira's 
 biography. 
 
 3. From Giovan Pietro MafFei, who is 
 particularly commended in the Acta 
 Sanctorum. 
 
 4. From Niccolo Orlandini, the chron- 
 icler of the Society, whose literary merits 
 are too well known to be dwelt on here. 
 
 5. From the copious and minute de- 
 tails in the Acta Sanctorum. 
 
 The second volume of Tannoja's Life 
 of St. Alphonso Liguori will be pub- 
 lished in August. 
 
 F. W. Faber. 
 
 St. Wilfrid's, 
 Feast of St. Antoninus, 1848. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 BOOK I. 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I. His birth and secular life 1 
 
 II. His conversion 6 
 
 III. His journey to our Lady of Monserrato - - 19 
 
 IV. Ignatius at Monserrato 24 
 
 V. His fervent penitence at Manresa - - - 30 
 
 VI. The temptations and persecutions he endured 
 
 at Manresa 34 
 
 VII. The singular favours he received from God 
 
 at Manresa 41 
 
 VIII. His spiritual advancement at Manresa, and the 
 book of spiritual exercises which he composed 
 
 there 
 
 Alcala 
 
 ■V, 
 
 IX. His pilgrimage to Jerusalem - - - -64 
 X. His visits to the holy places - - - - 70 
 
 XI. His return to Spain 8l 
 
 XII. The commencement of his studies at Barce- 
 
 lona and other events 87 
 
 XIII. His course of study, and his imprisonment at 
 
 lo:> 
 
 XIV. His imprisonment at Salamanca - - - 122 
 XV The commencement and progress of his studies 
 
 in Paris - 129 
 
 XVI. Hi3 labours for the good of souls at Paris, 
 
 and the persecutions which thence arose - 140 
 
 BOOK II. 
 
 I. Ignatius gains companions in Paris - - - N>8 
 II The first vows of Ignatius and his compan- 
 ions l65 
 
 III. St. Ignatius's journey to Spain 
 
 IV. His journey to Venice ls>> 
 
XIV CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 V. The arrival of his companions at Venice - - 189 
 VI. The removal of the society to Rome - - 199 
 VII. St. Ignatius is ordained priest- The labours 
 
 of the society in the Venetian States - - 207 
 VIII. The journey of St. Ignatius to Rome. Christ 
 
 promises in a vision to show him favour - 215 
 IX. The labours of St. Ignatius and his compan- 
 ions at Rome 221 
 
 X. St. Ignatius and his companions are falsely 
 accused and absolved. The aid given by 
 them to the poor of Rome in a time of 
 
 famine 227 
 
 XI. The foundation of the Society .... 241 
 XII. A short notice of the institute, and of the 
 
 name of the Society of Jesus - - - 252 
 
 BOOK III. 
 
 I. St. Ignatius is elected general of the order. 
 
 His profession and that of his companions - 267 
 II. What Ignatius did upon being made general; 
 
 some events which happened on that day - 279 
 
 III. The skill of St. Ignatius in the art of gov- 
 
 ernment - - - - - - - - 286 
 
 IV. His method of giving spiritual help to his 
 
 subjects 293 
 
 V. His charity to his children in temporal things 309 
 
 VI. His gentleness in governing - - - - 319 
 
 VII. His severity in upholding religious discipline - 327 
 
 VIII. His severity in expelling the unworthy - - 339 
 
 IX. His defence of the order 351 
 
 X. The society is forbidden to undertake the gov- 
 ernment of women, and its members excluded 
 
 from ecclesiastical dignities - 362 
 XI. The Saint's endeavours to promote fraternal 
 union and due subjection in the Society. His 
 
 care in appointing Superiors - - - 376 
 
THE LIFE 
 
 SAINT IGNATIUS 
 
 BOOK I. 
 CHAPTER L 
 
 HIS BIRTH AND SECULAR LIFE. 
 
 In that part of Spain called Guipuscoa, which 
 overlooks the Bay of Biscay, and which is -sepa- 
 rated from France by the little river of Bidassoa, 
 the family d' Ognaz (as Bartoli informs us) was 
 held in high repute both on account of its an- 
 cient possessions and learning, and because it 
 had produced men famous both in arms and in 
 letters. From Lope Garzia d' Ognaz and di 
 Loyola descended the Seigneurs of Loyola, and 
 by the marriage of Lope with Agnesa Loyola, 
 now nearly five hundred years ago, he acquired 
 both the patrimony and the name of that an- 
 cient family. Amongst the other honours of 
 their family, I find that they were connected 
 with the most noble houses of Spain, especially 
 with the Borgias and Saverias, and whenever the 
 nobles of the land were assembled either to 
 1 
 
I ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 swear fealty to the king, or for any other cause, 
 special letters were addressed by the crown to 
 the chief of the house, a privilege which was 
 enjoyed only by one other family in Guipuscoa. 
 In course of time, by right of primogeniture, 
 Don Beltramo d' Ognaz and di Loyola became 
 head of the family, and by his wife Donna 
 Marina Saenz di Licona and di Balda, also a 
 lady of noble lineage, he had, according to Bar- 
 toli, eleven children, three of whom were girls, 
 and eight were boys ; but according to Riba- 
 deneira, his family consisted of thirteen, five 
 girls and eight boys, and of these Ignatius, like 
 David the son of Jesse, was the youngest and 
 most valiant. He was born in the year 1491,- 
 during the pontificate of Innocent VIII. , at the 
 time that Frederic III. was emperor of Ger- 
 many, and Ferdinand and Isabella reigned 
 over Spain. His birth-place was the palace of 
 Loyola, near Aspeizia, and as the house was 
 situated within the spiritual jurisdiction of the 
 church of St. Sebastian of Soreasu in the same 
 town, he was there baptized, and even to this 
 day the font in which he received that sacra- 
 ment is shown to all who desire to see it. 
 
 It seems right in this place to exhibit the 
 beautiful order of God's providence in causing 
 the time of Ignatius 's birth and the other events 
 of his life to correspond with the end for which 
 he had been chosen. It has been the common 
 opinion of sovereign pontiffs, of great prelates, and 
 of very many writers, that Ignatius and the order 
 which he founded were raised up by God for 
 
ST. IGXATII B, 3 
 
 the particular purpose of defending the Church 
 in Europe from the attacks of Luther and Cal- 
 vin and other heretics of that age, and of ex- 
 tending it by the conversion of the newly -dis- 
 covered nations of Asia and America. It is 
 worthy of observation that the Saint's birth hap- 
 pened just when the New World was opened to 
 European enterprise, in the very same year in 
 which Christopher Columbus entered into his 
 contract with the king of Spain, which he con- 
 cluded and carried into effect the following year. 
 Again, in the year 1521, Martin Luther com- 
 menced open war against the Church, and in 
 the same year Ignatius was converted to God. 
 Ignatius and Calvin were both living at the same 
 time in Paris, and both collected followers there. 
 In 1534 Henry VIII. withdrew England from 
 the papal obedience, whilst at the same time in 
 Paris Ignatius laid the first foundations of his 
 order in devotion to the pope, and in the course 
 of a few years, as heresy developed, so did the 
 Society of Jesus become more numerous and 
 more stable. 
 
 But to return to my narrative : God, who had 
 formed Ignatius for such great designs, also 
 endowed him with the rarest gifts of nature, 
 which in due time under the guidance of His 
 grace, were to promote His glory and the sal- 
 vation of souls. He was possessed of vast pow- 
 ers of mind and of thought, of deep affections, 
 and a courage equal to every trial, whilst his 
 manners were so gentle that he was beloved by 
 everybody. It is true that this good seed which 
 
4 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 God had sown in the heart of Ignatius was long 
 in bearing its proper fruit. Maffei attributes 
 this to the severe and injudicious education he 
 received from his fathe^ adding, that from his 
 earliest years he had been imbued with worldly 
 ideas, as is common among people of high station. 
 Still we are assured by the bull of the Saint's 
 canonization that his parents were good, and 
 careful to educate their son in the practice of 
 piety. When the years of childhood were past, 
 he was sent as a page to the court of king 
 Ferdinand. Here he remained some time, till, 
 hearing that his brothers were renowned as 
 valiant soldiers, he was roused to emulation, 
 and being desirous of military glory, proposed 
 to change the court for the camp. Having made 
 known their intentions to Anton Manrico, duke 
 of Nagara, one of the grandees of Spain, that 
 nobleman, partly because of his relationship to 
 Ignatius, and partly because of the great aptitude 
 he saw in his scholar, undertook to teach him 
 the military art, in which he was himself very 
 skilful, so that in a short time Ignatius had 
 advanced from the first rudiments of the sword 
 exercise to the highest point of perfection. After 
 having for some short time exercised the art 
 of war, he obtained so high a reputation for 
 courage, that no post, however lucrative or 
 honourable, was above his reach. In this posi- 
 tion, so unfavourable to the growth of piety, 
 though we cannot give any credit to the stories 
 contained in the French legend, which describe 
 Ignatius as having fallen into all manner of dis- 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 5 
 
 orderly conduct, still amidst many good qualities 
 his life was of that description which the world 
 approves, but which God condemns. He showed 
 great reverence for sacred things and persons, 
 and although he was often greatly disturbed in 
 mind, and exposed to sudden and provoking acci- 
 dents, there was never a word which bordered 
 on impiety or indecency heard to escape his lips. 
 He was free from all covetousness. Of this he 
 gave a signal proof on the occasion of the con- 
 quest of the town of Xagara, on the confines of 
 Biscay ; for when in obedience to the orders he 
 had received, he had in punishment for seditious 
 conduct given up the city to be sacked, he refused 
 to take anything for himself except the honour 
 of the victory. He used to employ himself in 
 making peace when the soldiers had quarrelled, 
 and although but a youth he showed great skill 
 as a peacemaker, and more than once appeased 
 the uproar of opposite factions, who were ready 
 to break into open hostilities. Idleness and 
 gaming were hateful to him, and he used to 
 employ his leisure in composing verses on sacred 
 and moral subjects in the Castilian tongue. 
 There is a long poem still remaining to us writ- 
 ten by him in praise of the Apostle St. Peter, 
 for whom he had a special devotion, and by this, 
 as we shall shortly see, he gained great merit. 
 But although his actions were praiseworthy in 
 themselves, they were for the most part directed 
 towards an earthly end, for the sake of human 
 favour and applause, or for his own military 
 advancement. Moreover, he did not avoid, but 
 
6 
 
 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 rather prided himself with a young man's vanity 
 in professing his love and paying his court to 
 women. He was so sensitive on the point of 
 honour, that whenever it was touched, his feelings 
 of anger made him at once grasp his sword, 
 but at the same time this was accompanied with 
 a certain greatness of mind which made him 
 always willing to accept a fitting apology, and 
 with his sword all enmity and ill feeling was 
 laid aside. These were the manners of Ignatius 
 till the thirtieth year of his age, when it pleased 
 God to place him on a path different from 
 the one he had chosen for himself, and whereas 
 he looked to become a hero, God made him a 
 Saint, and one of the most valiant captains of 
 His Church, and this change was brought about 
 as follows. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 HIS CONVEKSION. 
 
 During the absence of the emperor Charles 
 V. a civil war broke out in Castile, upon which 
 the viceroy, Don Federigo Almirante, was obliged 
 for the suppression of these disorders to with- 
 draw all the troops and munitions of war from 
 Navarre. Francis I. of France seized this op- 
 portunity to reestablish his brother-in-law, Henry 
 of Brittany, in the lordship of Navarre, who was 
 devoted to his interest, and whose father, John 
 III. had been expelled by force of arms by the 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. / 
 
 Catholic King Ferdinaud, and accordingly he sent 
 into the country a powerful army under the 
 command of Andrea della Foes Lord of Asparot. 
 This force with the usual expedition of French- 
 men made conquest of St. Giovanni, whilst the 
 Duke of Nagara, the Viceroy, was seeking suc- 
 cours in Castile ; having afterwards occupied 
 other towns, and their numbers being daily in- 
 creased by many of the nobility, who were par- 
 tisans of Henry, coming over to their ranks, they 
 advanced upon Pampeluna, the capital of the 
 kingdom. Upon the approach of the French, 
 instead of preparing for defence, they consulted 
 whether they should dispute their entrance. It 
 is said by some, that the garrison being alarmed 
 by the number of the enemy, and distrusting 
 the fidelity of the citizens, thought it better to 
 yield in good time and abandon the place ; and 
 others have asserted that the citizens, consider- 
 ing that they had not sufficient strength, wished 
 to contract for a surrender, so that they might 
 not make their condition worse by resistance. 
 However this may be, Ignatius, to whose fidelity 
 and courage the place had been entrusted by 
 Manrico, strongly opposed all schemes of surren- 
 der, promising them speedy succours, and using 
 every effort of persuasion and reproof to dissuade 
 them from this design. But seeing that all his 
 attempts were useless, with his face enkindled 
 with anger, and detesting their cowardice, he 
 retired to the fortress, firmly resolved to hold 
 it to the last extremity, assisted by the few who 
 remained within it ; one only followed his exam- 
 
8 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 pie, whilst the rest valued their own safety 
 beyond any other consideration. In the fortress 
 a secret council was again held on the state 
 of affairs, and the constable and other officials, 
 especially the more aged, were in favour of a 
 retreat, which was again hotly opposed by Ig- 
 natius, and the proposition fell to the ground. 
 Meanwhile the French troops entered the city 
 without opposition, planted their artillery against 
 the fortress, and summoned the constable to a 
 parley that he might surrender the place. He 
 accordingly went forth accompanied by three 
 others, Ignatius being one of the number; but 
 seeing that the enemy, confident in their good 
 fortune, and relying on the difficulties of the 
 garrison, exacted the most painful conditions, 
 he so forcibly dissuaded his companions from 
 accepting them, that it was determined by all 
 to defend the fortress to the last extremity. 
 
 I must not omit to notice in this place an 
 anecdote which has been related by Ignatius 
 himself. He was anxious under these perilous 
 circumstances to prepare himself as he best could 
 to appear in the presence of God, and being 
 unable to procure the services of a priest he 
 made confession of his sins to one of his com- 
 rades. Although this was a confession which 
 had no sacramental virtue, nevertheless in past 
 times it used to be practised by some pious 
 persons, and since it is an act of great humility, 
 the God of mercy might give to those who so 
 confessed the gift of perfect contrition for the 
 salvation of their souls. 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 9 
 
 The proposed treaty having failed, the French 
 without further delay began to batter down the 
 walls, and a breach having been effected, advanc- 
 ed to the assault. The Spaniards made a brave 
 defence, stimulated by the words and example 
 of Ignatius, who was performing prodigies 
 of valour in protecting a bulwark which the 
 enemy were attempting to escalade. Whilst 
 thus engaged, a fragment torn from the wall 
 by a cannon shot wounded him on the left leg, 
 whilst the shot itself rebounding from the wall 
 fractured the right leg, so that he fell down 
 almost in a dying state. The courage of his 
 comrades fell, with their leader, and the fortress 
 was immediately surrendered on the 20th of May, 
 1521. In order that this event, which God made 
 use of for the sanctification of Ignatius to the 
 unspeakable good of his Church, might be held 
 in perpetual remembrance, a chapel has been 
 erected to the memory of the Saint on the spot, 
 and therein this history is inscribed in letters 
 of gold. 
 
 The French having become masters of the for- 
 tress, and finding Ignatius in the sad condition 
 we have described, either in consideration of his 
 rank, or of his courage, or to gain credit for 
 their clemency, or perhaps for all these causes 
 combined, treated him with great courtesy, car- 
 ried him into the city and entrusted him to the 
 care of the most skilful surgeon in their camp. 
 The courtesy of the French was returned by Ig- 
 natius, who received those who visited him with 
 the most winning and gentle manners, and he 
 
10 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 gave them almost everything that he was pos- 
 sessed of, viz. his helmet, his sword, and his 
 shield. When after the lapse of some days it 
 appeared that his wounds required a long and 
 careful treatment, which in his present position 
 it was impossible to obtain, the French in addi- 
 tion to their other favours granted him liberty, 
 and had him carried on a couch on men's shoul- 
 ders to Loyola, which is not very far from Pampe- 
 luna. It is easy to imagine with what tender- 
 ness he was received on his return home, and 
 how the most skilful surgeons were sent for to 
 attend him. But when the broken limb was 
 uncovered the bones were found to be displaced, 
 either from previous want of care or from the 
 movement on the journey, so that if the bone 
 was not again divided and properly set, a per- 
 fect cure could not be expected. Upon hearing 
 this Ignatius immediately offered without any 
 fear to undergo the cruel operation, and what 
 is still more extraordinary, he uttered no excla- 
 mation or complaint ; he did not even change 
 countenance or evince any sign of the pain he 
 suffered, except by clenching his fingers together, 
 and this constancy he maintained all through 
 his sufferings. But the powers of his body were 
 not equal to the courage of his mind, and nature 
 began to sink under such long-continued pun- 
 ishment. His stomach became so weak that he 
 could neither eat nor drink, and such extreme 
 weakness and other symptons of death ensued, 
 that it was thought necessary to let him know 
 his precarious condition, and he received the 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 11 
 
 last Sacraments. On the Vigil of the holy 
 Apostles St. Peter and St. Paul, the physicians 
 pronounced in the evening that if no sign of im- 
 provement manifested itself before midnight 
 they should give him up for lost. And in 
 truth, during that night the Apostle St. Peter 
 appeared to him in his sleep and gave him back 
 his health. From that hour his pains began 
 to abate, and his digestion to gain vigour, so that 
 he was shortly after declared to be out of dan- 
 ger. This great favour which he obtained from 
 the apostle shows, as we just now observed, how 
 great had been the devotion of Ignatius towards 
 him, and it is still more evident what care he 
 had for the life of one whom he foresaw would 
 prove so powerful a support and so great an 
 extender of the Church. For the fact of this 
 appearance we have the testimony of the Saint 
 himself, as well as that of many distinguished 
 writers. Among the many revelations which 
 St. Ignatius made from heaven to Giulio Man- 
 cinelli, he appeared once to him on the 28th of 
 June, 1602, and commanded him always to hold 
 that day in reverence, because it was most dear 
 to him as a memorial of his own conversion, 
 since upon that day St. Peter the Prince of the 
 apostles had appeared to him when he was sick. 
 Ignatius continued to improve from day to day, 
 when it was perceived that the bone of the limb 
 which was healed projected in an unbecoming 
 manner below the knee, and that the leg was 
 also a little shorter than the other. Since he 
 still intended to live in the world, and was very 
 
12 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 fond of dress, and took especial delight in wear- 
 ing richly adorned leggings, this deformity was 
 very painful to him. Having therefore asked 
 the surgeons if they could restore it more per- 
 fectly, and being answered that they could do 
 so, but that it was requisite again to saw through 
 the bone to put him to greater torment than 
 he had yet suffered, to the great astonishment 
 of all present he commanded them to commence 
 the operation. On this occasion Ignatius ex- 
 hibited a courage even greater than before, for 
 he would not allow himself to be bound, as is 
 the custom in these cases, where the smallest 
 movement of the body is attended with the 
 greatest risk, and where the will is often inca- 
 pable of restraining the motions of the body ; 
 but Ignatius, throughout this long and dreadful 
 operation had such a mastery over himself that 
 his powers of endurance appeared like insensi- 
 bility. After this, in addition to other expe- 
 dients, for many days he used to have his leg 
 stretched with a machine of iron, to bring it to 
 an equal length with the other ; but in spite 
 of all these endeavours he could never wholly 
 succeed. The Saint when speaking of the follies 
 of his secular life used to give an account of 
 this martyrdom of vanity ; and derived from it 
 an occasion of humiliation, and a motive to suffer 
 great things for the glory of God and the sal- 
 vation of souls. 
 
 When he had recovered the use of his limbs, 
 but not so entirely as to be able to walk and 
 support himself with ease, whilst the physicians 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 1 3 
 
 continued perfecting the bodily cure, God in a 
 marvellous manner commenced the cure of his 
 soul. During the time that he was confined to 
 his bed, wearied with this long period of inac- 
 tion, he asked for some book of chivalry, a sub- 
 ject in which he took great delight. But by the 
 merciful order of God's Providence no such book 
 was to be found ; and therefore two others on 
 far higher subjects were brought to him instead, 
 one of which contained the Life of Christ, the 
 other, Lives of the Saints, and both were writ- 
 ten in the CasCilian tongue. So great is the 
 virtue of holy books, that this reading wrought 
 upon the mind of Ignatius more powerfully than 
 the immediate prospect of death, or the vision 
 of St. Peter, or the gift of health which he 
 had received from him. For having begun to 
 run over the books for his entertainment, by 
 degrees he was interested by the marvellous 
 things which they treated of, and filled with the 
 desire of imitating such examples ; so that from 
 time to time he paused and said within himself, 
 "And suppose that I should do what St. Dom- 
 inic did, and what St. Francis did? St. Dom- 
 inic did this, and St. Francis accomplished that, 
 therefore with God's grace I can do as much." 
 In like manner he went on proposing to himself 
 other arduous and difficult undertakings, and 
 whatever they were it seemed to him that his 
 courage could never fail him. When he had 
 been for some time under the influence of these 
 good thoughts and holy affections, his former 
 thoughts and his vanity returned to his mind ; 
 
14 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 and his heart and memory were especially oc- 
 cupied by a certain great lady to whom he was 
 bound by the bonds of knightly service. This 
 lady (so he told Louis Gonzaga) was of a rank 
 still higher than a countess or a duchess. His 
 mind was occupied with this object for a long 
 time ; he thought how he should present himself 
 before her, what gallantries he should address 
 to her, what feats of valour he should perform 
 in her presence, till three or four hours had 
 elapsed without his having perceived it. Then 
 he was stung with the thought of the jests and 
 railleries which men would utter about his flight 
 from the world after the fall of Pampeluna. 
 These flattering thoughts, and this fear of the 
 world's judgment, abated and well nigh quench- 
 ed the fire of his piety, until God's mercy 
 brought succour to His servant in the midst of 
 these perils, and by bringing to his remembrance 
 the things which he had been reading, awa- 
 kened better thoughts and more healthy feel- 
 ings in his breast, and he so continued till his 
 reveries were broken in upon by the entrance 
 of others. For some days Ignatius was torn by 
 this conflict of his affections; on the one side 
 he was called by God and attracted towards 
 him ; on the other he was held back by the 
 world, nor could he finally determine to which 
 he should adhere. But there was this differ- 
 ence between the flattering images which the 
 world presented to him, and his desire to emu- 
 late the heroic actions of the Saints ; whatever 
 delight the former caused whilst they were pre- 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 15 
 
 sent to his imagination, they left him melan- 
 choly and discontented when they had fled; 
 whereas the latter brought with them an unac- 
 customed sweetness, and left behind them a won- 
 drous joy and peace of mind. For a long time 
 Ignatius felt these opposite effects without re- 
 marking them ; but when his intellect had be- 
 come more illumined with celestial light, he 
 began to distinguish this difference, and in the 
 end he clearly understood how greatly the vain 
 pleasure of the world differs from divine joy. 
 This was the first instruction which Ignatius 
 received from God relative to the inward move- 
 ments of the soul. From this observation, which 
 was confirmed by his long experience of spiritual 
 things, were derived those marvellous rules for 
 the discerning of spirits contained in his book 
 of Spiritual Exercises. Together with this light 
 there was infused into his soul a high fortitude, 
 which enabled him nobly to reject the allure- 
 ments of the world and embrace the designs to 
 which he was moved by God. Assisted by this 
 extraordinary grace and by the good sentiments 
 which he derived from the books which he daily 
 read, he was awakened, as it were, from a deadly 
 lethargy, and began to reflect upon the sins of 
 his past life, and to examine seriously not only 
 how he should reform his manners, but also how 
 he could best settle the great debt of sin which 
 he owed to God. The more these resolves were 
 strengthened, the more he was impelled by an 
 inward instinct to follow the footsteps of Christ 
 and of His Saints, and for those especially who 
 
16 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 were most remarkable for the rigours of their 
 penitential lives, for being a novice in the spiri- 
 tual life, he supposed that all Christian perfec- 
 tion consisted in maceration of the flesh, and 
 also, because in the wise order of divine grace, 
 these thoughts are suggested to the newly convert- 
 ed, that by severe treatment of their own bodies they 
 may make satisfaction to God's justice, and at 
 the same time wean their hearts from sensuality. 
 Accordingly, he resolved so soon as his strength 
 permitted him, to make a pilgrimage to Jeru- 
 salem barefoot, and by severe disciplines and 
 fastings, to take that vengeance of his sins which 
 a soul, full of hatred towards self and inflamed 
 with divine love, feels that they deserve. As 
 he was considering with himself what sort of 
 life he should lead when he returned from Jeru- 
 salem, it came into his mind that he would 
 enter the Carthusian monastery at Seville, with- 
 out making himself known, for he made no ac- 
 count of himself, and that he would there feed 
 upon nothing but herbs. He therefore confided 
 his scheme to one person only, who was going to 
 Burgos, and him he charged to obtain for him 
 exact information concerning the rule of the 
 order. When he received the report he was 
 greatly pleased with it ; but God, who had other 
 designs for Ignatius, did not permit him to 
 join this most holy and severe institute. Ever 
 afterwards there existed a mutual affection be- 
 tween Ignatius and these Carthusians, and they 
 encouraged the order which he founded, just as 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 17 
 
 if it was their own, as we shall hereafter relate 
 more at length. 
 
 When Ignatius was able to leave his bed, he 
 began the custom of rising every night for prayer, 
 and one night when he was more than usually 
 inflamed with holy desires, he threw himself on 
 his knees before an image of our Lady, and with 
 burning words and abundant tears made an en- 
 tire oblation of himself through her hands to 
 her Divine Son, determining to cleave to Him 
 amidst contempt and sufferings, trusting to God's 
 grace and the intercession of His Blessed Mother 
 for perseverance in his great resolve. Whilst 
 he was engaged in this act of devotion, suddenly 
 the whole palace was shaken, and in the cham- 
 ber of the Saint more particularly the wall was 
 rent, and the glass of the windows broken to 
 pieces. It may be that God desired to manifest 
 by this sign how efficacious and how acceptable 
 was the prayer of Ignatius in His sight; for in 
 like manner, and for the same reason, the prison 
 was shaken in which Paul and Silas were praying ; 
 but it is more generally thought that this, like 
 other instances which may be read of in the 
 Lives of the Saints, was the effect of the rage 
 of the devil, who perceived what Ignatius then 
 was, and feared still more what he would after- 
 wards become. 
 
 But the conversion of Ignatius was perfected 
 by a vision which appeared to him on another 
 night when he was visited by the Virgin Mother 
 of God with the Infant Jesus in her arms. Our 
 sweet Lady stood before him at a little distance, 
 
18 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 with unspeakable goodness, suffering him to gaze 
 upon her, and, as it were, satiate himself with 
 the view. From that time forward his heart 
 was so transformed by the sight of her most 
 heavenly beauty, that all which the world loves 
 and prizes became hateful and wearisome to 
 him; and what is most wonderful, all impure 
 images which had infested his imagination by 
 reason of the freedom which he had in times 
 past permitted to his senses, were chased away 
 for ever from his mind, so that he never after- 
 wards felt the rebellion of the flesh. 
 
 Ignatius did not fail to co-operate with the 
 graces and favours he received from Heaven. 
 His days were spent in prayer and in reading; 
 and that he might better remember and print 
 upon his mind the principal events of the Life 
 of Christ, and of the Saints, he wrote them out 
 with great care and beauty in a quarto volume 
 of three hundred pages; and from a feeling of 
 reverence and piety he inscribed the actions and 
 the words of Christ in a beautiful vermilion 
 colour, or else in gold, and those of our Lady 
 in blue, and those of the Saints in various other 
 colours. He delighted those who came to visit 
 him by the manner in which he reasoned on 
 divine things. He used to remain for a long 
 time gazing on the heaven and the stars, (a habit 
 which he appears always to have retained,) and 
 then comparing them with the vile things of the 
 earth, he was seized with ardent longings after 
 his heavenly country. He often revolved in 
 mind the resolutions he had formed, and again 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 19 
 
 confirmed them, anxiously expecting the time 
 when his recovered strength would allow him 
 to carry them into execution. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 HIS JOURNEY TO OUR LADY OF MONSERRATO. 
 
 Although Ignatius had not communicated to 
 any one his resolution of commencing a new 
 mode of life, or let them know of his assiduous 
 habits of prayer and study, his contempt for his 
 body and frugality of living, still his conversa- 
 tion, which was no longer composed of courtly 
 phrases, and ambitious aspirations, but full of 
 modesty and piety, afforded clear evidence to 
 the inhabitants of the palace of the internal 
 change which had been wrought. Amongst others 
 Don Martino Grazia, his elder brother, who had 
 succeeded to the family honours by his father's 
 death, when he perceived that Ignatius, influ- 
 enced by his dangerous illness, or by the spi- 
 ritual books he read, repented of his former life, 
 and was meditating some new design, began to 
 suspect that he was about to abandon the world. 
 These suspicions were greatly confirmed when 
 he came and asked his permission to make a 
 visit to the Duke Manrico. He therefore took 
 him aside and endeavoured by various artifices 
 to draw from him his secret, and ended by en- 
 treating and conjuring him to beware of what 
 he was about, and of the course he was pursu- 
 
20 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 ing ; begging him not to quit the path of honour 
 and riches which his own talents, courage, no- 
 bility, and military experience, as well as the 
 favour of the great and the good will of the people 
 rendered him sure of obtaining: he told him 
 how unwilling he was that the family should 
 lose all the advantages they might expect from 
 him, and besought him by their love for their 
 common father to do nothing which would bring 
 shame and dishonour on the house of Loyola. 
 Ignatius briefly replied, that he knew what his 
 duty was, and that he could never think of 
 doing anything which would prove him a degen- 
 erate son, or obscure the splendour of his family ; 
 that a visit to his intimate friend and relation 
 the Duke of Nagara was obligatory upon him, 
 seeing that Loyola was so near to Navaretto that 
 the news of his recovery would be sure to reach 
 the duke. The mind of his brother was not 
 satisfied with these explanations, but neverthe- 
 less, he made his preparations for departure. 
 
 Ignatius's brother wished to accompany him as 
 far as Ognate, a distance of about twelve miles, 
 at which place their sister was living. As they 
 were on the road Ignatius persuaded his brother 
 to pass the night in prayer with him, before the 
 image in the church of our Lady of Arancuz. 
 On this occasion Ignatius, so to say, returned the 
 visit she had made him, affectionately thanking 
 her for her exceeding condescension, and for the 
 great gifts he had received from heaven, and 
 earnestly praying that she would assist him in 
 the execution of his designs by her merciful pro- 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 21 
 
 tection. On the same night, when his prayers 
 were ended, having left his brother at the house 
 of the sister they had come to visit, he proceed- 
 ed with two servants on horseback to Navaretto. 
 When he had arrived there and exchanged cour- 
 teous greetings with the Duke, he remembered 
 that a certain sum of money was owing to him 
 at that place ; he therefore wrote directions to 
 the treasurer that a part of this sum should be 
 distributed to any deserving persons and a part 
 employed in adorning the image of the Blessed 
 Mother of God. After this, having dismissed his 
 two attendants, he took his departure alone from 
 Navaretto, and proceeded towards Monserrato 
 upon a mule, for at present he was not strong 
 enough to walk; and besides this he desired to 
 get out of that neighbourhood as quickly as pos- 
 sible. 
 
 What were the emotions of Ignatius when he 
 found himself out of the world and already enter- 
 ed upon the execution of his holy designs, must 
 be left for each person to imagine. On the first 
 night of his quitting Loyola he commenced the 
 custom of severely scourging himself, and con- 
 tinued it all through his journey. Thus he went 
 on his journey projecting new penances. And 
 since his love to God continued always to in- 
 crease, though he did not suppose that his sins 
 were entirely remitted, yet he regarded these 
 penitential acts, not so much as a sacrifice of 
 expiation as a sacrifice to the Divine Majesty. 
 He also reflected what he could do which might 
 be pleasing in the sight of our Blessed Lady, to 
 
22 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 whose favour he was so deeply indebted, and it 
 occurred to him that he might consecrate him- 
 self to her service by a vow of perpetual chastity, 
 and this he accordingly did. 
 
 But whilst Ignatius in this manner coura- 
 geously commenced his career in Christian per- 
 fection, he was very nearly drawn aside and 
 deceived by a temptation which had the sem- 
 blance of piety. From this we may understand 
 how dangerous a thing it is to walk without 
 a guide in so difficult a path. At that time 
 the Moors had been shortly before expelled from 
 Spain by the Catholic King Ferdinand, but 
 some few of these barbarians were still remaining 
 in Arragon and Valencia. One of these men 
 having fallen in with Ignatius on the road, ac- 
 companied him as he rode along, and asked him, 
 as was the custom, whither he was going, and 
 upon hearing that he was going to worship our 
 Lady of Monserrato, he began to reason upon 
 the perpetual virginity of the Mother of God. 
 The Saracen admitted that she was a Virgin 
 up to the time of the birth, but denied that 
 she could have remained a Virgin afterwards. 
 Ignatius, to remove this blasphemous error, 
 urged every argument that occurred to him, 
 bringing forward many strong proofs, and what 
 he wanted in knowledge was supplied by his 
 zeal. But all was to no purpose, for the Moor 
 continued obstinate and firm in his error. At 
 last, being vexed by the contradictions of Igna- 
 tius, or confounded by his arguments, he put 
 spurs to his horse and angrily continued his 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 23 
 
 journey. Ignatius seeing this was filled with 
 doubts and sadness, because he had not demon- 
 strated the truth as clearly as he ought to have 
 done, and at the same time he was assailed by 
 feelings of anger, and he seemed to himself 
 to have done wrong in allowing a man who 
 had used such execrable language of the Mother 
 of God to depart unpunished. The spirit of chival- 
 ry and war boiled up within him, and he thought 
 that to vindicate the honour of the Blessed 
 Virgin, he ought to pursue him and stab him 
 with his poignard. But then again he doubted 
 whether such an act of vengeance would be 
 right, and feared lest in defending the honour 
 of the Mother of God, he might offend both 
 Her and Her Divine Son. He was greatly agi- 
 tated by these conflicting thoughts, and so rude 
 were his notions of Christian duty, that he could 
 not decide which was the safest course. The 
 Moor had told Ignatius that he was going to a 
 certain place about forty paces from the road 
 side. Tired and perplexed with his long delibe- 
 ration, Ignatius formed this rash resolution. 
 When he came to the place where the two ways 
 parted, he gave the bridle to his mule ; if the 
 mule followed the path which the Moor had taken 
 he would stab him, if it took the other road, 
 he would receive it as a sign that God did not 
 desire the death of this villain, or at least not 
 by his hand. God had compassion on the good 
 intention of His servant, for when he acted upon 
 this determination, it happened that although 
 the path which the Moor had taken was more 
 
24 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 smooth and easy, the mule preferred the other. 
 Having been thus mercifully preserved from the 
 commission of a great crime, he arrived at a 
 place not far distant from Monserrato, and there 
 he provided himself with the dress of a pilgrim 
 and a penitent ; this consisted in a long and 
 coarse canvass tunic reaching down to his feet, 
 rough and irritating to the skin, a pair of hempen 
 shoes, a staff, and a gourd for drinking. Xow 
 that he had begun to despise the judgment 
 of the world, and to glory in the poverty of 
 Christ, he carried all these things tied to his 
 saddle, in the sight of all the passers by, and 
 proceeded joyfully to Monserrato. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 IGNATIUS AT MONSERRATO. 
 
 Monserrato is a lofty and beautiful mountain 
 of Catalonia, covered with sweet-smelling flow- 
 ers and green foliage. It derives its name from 
 the number of peaks on the mountain ridge, 
 which at a distance resemble the teeth of a saw ; 
 the Latin word for saw being, "serra," and the 
 Spanish " sierra." On the summit is the Church 
 of our Lady under the care of the Benedictine 
 monks, who have a magnificent convent on this 
 spot, and lead lives worthy of the sanctity of 
 the site. The church itself is most beautiful 
 and majestic, and richly adorned with gilding. 
 It is related by Father Peter Cant, that in the 
 
ST, IGNATIUS. 25 
 
 year 1674, seventy-four silver lamps of differ- 
 ent sizes burnt day and night suspended before 
 the miraculous image. The riches of the sacred 
 treasures, the offerings of many kings, were es- 
 timated at millions of reals, far surpassing those 
 of St. James of Compostella. But beyond the 
 value of all these treasures were the multitude 
 of miracles which were worked by the Blessed 
 Virgin, and the crowds of devout pilgrims who 
 nocked thither from all parts to pay their vows 
 and to implore her grace. 
 
 When Ignatius arrived, his first thought, after 
 visiting the Mother of God, was to purify his 
 soul by a general confession, for which purpose 
 he had minutely written down all his sins. 
 There dwelt in the monastery a great servant of 
 God named Giovanni Canones ; he was a French- 
 man by birth, and had formerly been a Vicar 
 in the Church of Mirapoes, but having made a 
 prilgrimage to our Lady of Monserrato, he turn- 
 ed his back upon the world, and assumed the 
 religious habit, renouncing all his dignities and 
 his large revenues in the thirty-second year of 
 his age. He lived to the age of eighty, and 
 retained to the last the same fervour with which 
 he had entered the monastery ; neither in youth 
 or age, in health or in sickness, did he ever eat 
 flesh, and every day he gave away in alms the 
 third part of his scanty portion of food- He was 
 meanly clad, and wore a hair-shirt next his skin 
 down to the knees. Excepting the few hours 
 which he allotted to the requirements of nature, 
 he used to pass the whole night in prayer, part- 
 
26 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 ly with the brethren in the choir, and partly 
 alone in his cell. Throughout the long and 
 grievous maladies with which it pleased God to 
 exercise his patience towards the latter end of his 
 days, and amidst the infirmities of age, which 
 are in themselves a malady, he not only main- 
 tained an unvarying resignation, but was con- 
 tinually praising God. He excelled in humility 
 and obedience, and other virtues, so that several 
 monasteries, both in Spain and Portugal, were 
 moved by his example and exhortations to reform 
 their discipline. I have extracted this memorial 
 of him from the Archives of the order at Mon- 
 serrato, in gratitude for the assistance which 
 he rendered to our holy father Ignatius, at the 
 commencement of his spiritual life. To this 
 holy man therefore Ignatius addressed himself; 
 and so minutely did he enumerate his sins, so 
 great was his contrition, and so frequently was 
 he interrupted by his tears, that his general 
 confession occupied three days. He then re- 
 vealed, which he had never before done to any 
 man, what great things he designed to under- 
 take for God's honour, and received that light 
 and comfort which a master so experienced 
 was able to impart to a soul so well disposed. 
 On the vigil of the feast of the Annunciation of 
 Mary, on that great and sacred day when the 
 Son of God took man's nature upon him, and 
 humbled Himself to commence the work of our 
 salvation, Ignatius sought for some beggar to 
 whom he might secretly give his knightly dress, 
 even to the shirt ; then with great joy he clothed 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 27 
 
 himself in sackcloth, girt his rope about his 
 loins, and went up towards the Church with 
 his staff in hand, having one foot bare, and the 
 other covered with a hempen shoe, for as yet 
 his wounded leg was unhealed, and used to swell 
 every night. And as persons of great piety draw 
 edifying lessons from all things, so did Ignatius ; 
 for having read in his books of romance how 
 knights before girding on their swords used to 
 keep watch a whole night under arms, he adopt- 
 ed the same custom and applied it to the 
 spiritual warfare he was about to begin, deter- 
 mining to watch all that night before the image 
 of the Blessed Mother of God. This he accord- 
 ingly did, sometimes standing and sometimes 
 kneeling, lamenting his past sins, confirming 
 his good resolves, imploring her assistance, and 
 commending himself to her protection. At the 
 early dawn he received the Blessed Sacrament, 
 and hung his sword and dagger before our Lady's 
 altar ; he then gave his mule for the service of 
 the monastery, and when the day broke he* 
 quitted the place in haste, turning aside from 
 the beaten road to Barcelona, in order that 
 no one might hinder him from executing 
 his design. I am not able to determine the 
 exact period of Ignatius's stay at Monserrato, 
 but since he was wounded at Pampeluna in 
 the year 1521, and quitted Monserrato, as he 
 himself told Luigi Gonzalez, in the year 1522, 
 it is plain that he never remained there for 
 three years, as certain writers have affirmed, 
 in order to give some foundation to their fab- 
 
28 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 ulous accounts. The memory of Ignatius's 
 visit and his devout vigil has been preserved 
 by the brotherhood, and one of their abbots 
 caused an inscription in the following words 
 to be cut on a pillar beside the altar, to the 
 glory of the Saint, and as an example to other 
 pilgrims : " Beatus Ignatius Loyola hie multa 
 prece, fletuque, Deo se Virginique devovit. Hie 
 tanquam armis spiritualibus, sacco se muniens 
 pernoctavit. Hinc ad fundandam Societatem 
 Jesu prodiit anno 1522. F. Laurentius Nieto, 
 Abbas dicavit anno 1603." Moreover, the 
 brethren of the monastery have dedicated an 
 altar to the Saint in this church, and have 
 always had great affection for the Jesuits. 
 
 Ignatius had not proceeded more than three 
 miles when he was overtaken by an officer of 
 justice, who had followed him in great haste to 
 inquire whether he had really given such rich 
 clothes to the beggar as the man had declared 
 upon oath; but as his story was not believed 
 .the beggar had been put in prison. Ignatius 
 upon hearing this was greatly distressed that an 
 innocent man should have suffered on his ac- 
 count, and answered that he had spoken the 
 truth; upon which the officer further inquired 
 who he was himself, and whither he was going 
 in that disguise, and to this Ignatius firmly re- 
 fused to answer. 
 
 Giovanni Pasquali tells us in his narration, 
 that when Ignatius had arrived at a little chapel 
 dedicated to the apostles, he was met by his 
 mother Agnesa Pasquali, who had gone upon 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 29 
 
 that day to visit our Lady of Monserrato, which 
 was her usual custom upon Saturdays, and was 
 on her way back to Manresa, where she was 
 staying to transact certain matters of business, 
 accompanied by two young men and three wo- 
 men. When she observed the grave and noble 
 aspect of Ignatius, and the singular modesty of 
 his downcast looks, she discovered, notwithstand- 
 ing the poverty of his dress, that he was a 
 greater man than his appearance betokened, and 
 her wonder was changed into devotion. Ignatius 
 advanced towards her to inquire for some inn, 
 and Agnesa replied, that the nearest inn was 
 nine miles off, at Manresa, to which place she 
 was then returning, and offered, if he would be 
 pleased to accompany her, to provide for him to 
 the best of her power. Ignatius humbly thanked 
 her, and followed behind, whilst the party pro- 
 ceeded slowly ; perceiving that he was lame and 
 tired, they also besought him earnestly to mount 
 one of their horses, but they could not by any 
 means persuade him to ride a single step. When 
 they drew near to their destination, Agnesa sent 
 him forward with a widow whose name was Gi- 
 rolama Cavera, superintendant of the hospital 
 of St. Lucy, desiring her to prepare for him a 
 good chamber and bed, and saying that she 
 would herself provide him with food. Of this 
 Agnesa Pasquali I shall often have to make ho- 
 nourable mention. 
 
30 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 HIS FERVENT PENITENCE AT MANRESA. 
 
 Manresa is a small town three leagues from 
 Monserrato, situated in a valley near the clear 
 stream of Cardenero, which flows into the Rubri- 
 cato a short distance lower down. It was once 
 the seat of a bishop, and is now rendered famous 
 by the austerities which St. Ignatius there prac- 
 tised, and by the wonderful favours he there re- 
 ceived from God. Forty paces outside the town 
 stood the hospital of St. Lucy, so called after a 
 church close by dedicated to that virgin. When 
 Ignatius had entered here he began to put in 
 practice his fervent designs. He never wore any 
 covering on his head. He slept only a few hours 
 in the night with a stone for his pillow on the 
 bare ground, and this in the midst of winter 
 and whilst his health was weak. He scourged 
 himself four or five times in the night with iron 
 chains, till he had satisfied the fervour of his 
 devotion. He used to kneel seven hours in the 
 day in prayer, and not content with this, assisted 
 at mass and the divine offices. He fasted every 
 day except Sunday, on which day, after refreshing 
 his soul with the Bread of Angels, he dined off 
 the herbs and wine which might be given him, and 
 even this repast, we are told by Jacob Lainez, he 
 used to mingle with earth and cinders. During 
 the rest of the week a piece of bad bread which 
 he received as an alms, and a glass of water, 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 31 
 
 were his only food, although his sackcloth dress 
 (as is testified by the fragment which is preserved 
 at Barcelona) might havo served as a substitute 
 for a hair shirt, still he wore this also next his 
 skin, and in addition to this a heavy iron chain 
 round his loins ; and when he went to visit our 
 Lady of Villadordis, which is about a mile and 
 a half from Manresa, he put on a girdle which 
 he had made of rough and sharp pricking leaves, 
 which is still preserved and reverenced at Villa- 
 dordis. But the principal and the most difficult 
 part of Christian mortification consists in in- 
 ward self-denial, and this accordingly he prac- 
 tised as a valiant soldier of Jesus Christ, making 
 it his rule to kill and trample down every desire 
 which was contrary to right reason, to seek as 
 far as he lawfully might for whatever was con- 
 trary to the natural man, and flee from all that 
 was flattering. And since he had before been 
 under the dominion of pride and ambition, he 
 endeavoured by every means to find humiliations 
 and contempt. Not only was he careful never 
 to drop a word which might give the least hint 
 of his condition in life, but associating with the 
 mendicants he endeavoured with great art to 
 imitate their base manners, so that any body 
 would have thought that he really was by habit 
 and by birth what he now pretended to be. And 
 as in former times he had been extremely fond 
 of adorning his person, and amongst other things 
 used to wear long hair, according to the fashion 
 of the times, and as his hair had been very beau- 
 tiful and exquisitely attended to and curled. he 
 
32 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 would neither comb nor cut it, but suffered it to 
 lie in confusion on his shoulders, and in like 
 manner he allowed the nails on his hands and feet 
 to grow to a deformity. He waited on the sick 
 in the hospital, and the most offensive of them 
 were the most beloved by him, and the more 
 disgusting were the services they required, the 
 more contented he appeared ; and as is stated in 
 the process of canonization, he more than once 
 sucked out the matter from putrid sores. He 
 went begging about the city, seeking rather for 
 contempt than for bread, and he found what he 
 desired, for the children especially used to cry 
 out after him as he went about, "Look at the 
 man in sackcloth," and followed him in troops 
 contending with each other with their jests and 
 mockeries. 
 
 Still his abode at the hospital did not entirely 
 satisfy the Saint's fervour, and he sought for 
 some spot where he might converse with God 
 according to his desires, and practise his auster- 
 ities far from the observation of men. Certain 
 monks exhibit his cavern under their convent, 
 and insist upon it that this was the place that 
 he resorted to. At first they denied that there 
 was any other, but afterwards, in the year 1664, 
 they sent to us explaining that they did not deny 
 that the Saint had resorted to the cave in our 
 possession, only they maintained that theirs had 
 equal claims ; and so rooted was their conviction 
 of this that they used to give the dust of this 
 cavern to cure the sick. A treatise has been 
 written on this controversy by Francesco Vicens, 
 
ST. IGNATII 8. 33 
 
 a doctor of philosophy and medicine, in which, 
 besidos other arguments, ho brings forward many 
 witnesses who declare upon oath in favour of the 
 cavern which is in our possession, and against 
 the other. This cavern, which by reason of the 
 life there led by Ignatius, and of the divine vis- 
 itations which were there made to him, is con- 
 sidered as one of the most sacred spots in Spain, 
 was situated, according to Bartoli, about six hun- 
 dred yards outside the town, and consisted of a 
 hollow in the rock thirty-two hands in length and 
 ten in breadth and in height ; but these distances 
 and dimension are given with slight differences 
 in the juridical information taken by the Bishops 
 of Barcelona and of Viche, when they visited the 
 spot in 1606. It is situated in a very beautiful 
 valley, called by the peasants the Valley of Par- 
 adise; but the horrors and sepulchral darkness 
 of the cavern, and the rugged rocks around it, 
 were by no means in harmony with the beauty 
 of the landscape. In this place Ignatius opened 
 for himself a narrow path through the thorny 
 thicket, and used often to resort thither and re- 
 main for a long time. Here he was secure from 
 all intrusion, and could abandon himself to the 
 fervour of his devout feelings. Besides his other 
 mortifications he used to pass here whole nights 
 in the cold winter season without any other cover- 
 ing than his sackcloth robe. He cruelly scourged 
 his body with iron chains, and passed hours upon 
 his knees in prayer in addition to the seven hours 
 which he had appointed for himself by rule. He 
 used to fast for three and four days together, 
 
34 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 without ever tasting a morsel, and like St_Je- 
 rome he struck himself on the breast with flint 
 stones, as was seen bj some who watched him 
 by stealth. 
 
 By this treatment all the strength and come- 
 liness of his youth was changed into a paleness 
 which roused the compassion of all beholders, 
 and he was destitute of all strength. He often 
 fainted away and was found lying on the ground 
 cold and lifeless. Once especially, in a chapel 
 of the church of Villadordis, he fell into a swoon 
 so deep that the spirit seemed to have fled, and 
 on coming to himself he remained so weak that 
 he appeared to be dying ; and when he had been 
 refreshed with a little food, given him by some 
 pious women, he was unable to return to the 
 hospital without support. At the beginning of 
 the winter he was dangerously sick of a fever, 
 and as soon as he felt better he returned to his 
 former austerities, fearing lest he should mistake 
 for prudence what in reality was self-love, so that 
 the fever returned a second and a third time; 
 and when it had entirely left him there still re- 
 mained a great prostration of strength and dis- 
 order of the stomach. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE TEMPTATIONS AND PERSECUTIONS HE ENDURED 
 AT MANRESA. 
 
 Amidst these great mortifications and austeri- 
 ties Ignatius during a period of four months, 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 35 
 
 enjoyed a great tranquillity of conscience, and 
 that divine peace of the soul which the apostle 
 assures us far surpasses all sensual joys ; when 
 the Lord, who is accustomed to try His elect in 
 the furnace, and whose will it was that he should 
 be perfected in the spiritual life by experience, 
 allowed the devil to make many fierce assaults 
 upon him. One day therefore as Ignatius was 
 standing in the hospital surrounded by all the 
 filth of poverty, he was suddenly assailed by 
 this wicked thought : " Wretched man, why have 
 you abandoned your country, your friends and 
 relations, and all your glorious enterprises, to 
 stand in this vile dress, amidst this rude and 
 filthy crowd? Is it thus that in despite of all 
 obligations of duty you tread under foot the 
 honour of your family and your own nobility?" 
 These were the thoughts which spoke in his 
 heart, and for a time he was overcome with fear 
 and vexation of mind. But no sooner did he 
 perceive who was the mover of these thoughts, 
 than he began to associate with the mendicants 
 more familiarly than he had ever done before, 
 and by this noble conduct it often happened 
 that in a few hours the rebellion of nature was 
 stilled, and the evil suggestion had an end. 
 Another day, when he was overcome with fa- 
 tigue, this evil question was put in his heart, 
 as he was entering the church : " How is it possi- 
 ble that you can endure this misery all the rest 
 of your life, perhaps till you are seventy years 
 old?" To this Ignatius suddenly replied, for he 
 had recognized the tempter: "And canst thou, 
 
36 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 O wicked one, promise me another hour of life?" 
 Thus did Ignatius overcome the temptation and 
 recover his peace of mind. But about this time 
 he began to experience a strange variety of in- 
 ternal emotions. Sometimes he was left with- 
 out a drop of spiritual comfort, and he was full 
 of bitterness, and discontented with himself, nei- 
 ther did he derive comfort from any prayers or 
 masses. At other times he unexpectedly became 
 full of happiness, and to use his own expression, 
 all his sadness seemed to be stripped off like 
 a dress, so that he said to himself in astonish- 
 ment, "What sort of life is this in the midst 
 of which I now am?" 
 
 But more troublesome temptations were still 
 in store for him, and these were scruples. He 
 had, as we before said, made his general con- 
 fession with the greatest minuteness to a most 
 skilful director. Still his conscience pricked 
 him, and he began to doubt whether he had not 
 omitted this or that sin, or omitted to explain 
 the circumstances of another, so that either his 
 confession was not entire, or else from his hav- 
 ing represented things differently from what 
 they really were, he had been guilty of a false 
 confession. God only knows how the mind of 
 Ignatius was disturbed by these doubts, and what 
 dryness of spirit he suffered amidst his prayers, 
 and fastings, and penance. He fled for refuge 
 to the sacrament of the altar, and sought help 
 in the communion, which brings men thoughts 
 of peace and not of trouble. But here also it 
 happened more than once that even at the mo- 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 37 
 
 ment when he opened his mouth to receive, his 
 doubts seized hold upon him and pierced him 
 to the quick. He confessed a second time, but 
 he could not so easily be quit of his scruples. 
 He sought the counsel of all whom he knew to 
 be experienced in the warfare of the soul, but 
 without any advantage. Amongst the number 
 a learned man who was preacher in the principal 
 church, told him to write down all that he could 
 recollect. This he accordingly did, but without 
 any good effect. He well understood that such 
 methods oppose men's progress in virtue, so that 
 it was of great consequence that Ignatius should 
 be delivered from this entanglement. It had 
 occurred to him that if a confessor should com- 
 mand his penitent in the name of Christ never 
 again to confess his former sins, he might gain 
 peace, but he did not risk such a step, since it 
 was a private thought of his own; he therefore 
 commanded him to confess over again any omis- 
 sions in his former confession which he was quite 
 certain of, and to make no account of the rest, 
 and these directions Ignatius implicitly obeyed. 
 About this time the Saint left the hospital, and 
 was received with great kindness by the monks 
 of the Dominican convent. At this place he 
 was one day more than ever overwhelmed by 
 a storm of scruples, and turning towards God 
 he cried out, "Help me, Lord, for I find no 
 help in man, or in any creature. Do Thou teach 
 me where to look, that I may find a remedy, for 
 if I had to follow a dog to obtain help, I would 
 most surely do it." Thus he prayed, and when 
 
38 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 his petitions were unanswered, he consumed him- 
 self in tears and lamentations ; still the power 
 of these terrible doubts remained undiminished, 
 and his grief became so violent that he was 
 tempted in his despair to throw himself out of 
 the window. This temptation aroused him to 
 consider what a great sin this would have been, 
 and he exclaimed, "This I will never do, 
 Lord, may I never so offend Thee." As he 
 was repeating again and again these and other 
 similar words, he remembered to have read a 
 story of a certain father in the desert, who in 
 thanksgiving to God for a certain grace he had 
 received, abstained from eating any food for a 
 whole week ; and he proposed to do the same, 
 provided he should not thereby endanger his life. 
 He began his fast on one Sunday and accom- 
 plished it on the next, and according to his 
 custom told his confessor what he had done, 
 who severely reproved him, and desired him to 
 break his fast immediately, otherwise he would 
 not give him absolution. Ignatius, though he 
 felt his strength was sufficient, humbly obeyed, 
 and upon that day and the following one he 
 was unmolested by scruples. But the next day 
 they again rose up, and this time he was no 
 longer urged to commit suicide, but to abandon 
 his present manner of life, which was so full of 
 cares that it appeared to be no longer bearable. 
 But after four months of these severe trials it 
 pleased the Lord to turn the light of His coun- 
 tenance upon His servant, and suddenly all these 
 vexatious thoughts departed from him like mists 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 39 
 
 under the sun's rays. Ignatius therefore ren- 
 dered the best thanks he was able to the Divine 
 mercy; and ever afterwards, both by his own 
 experience and by God's special gift, he became 
 so skilful in the treatment of this disorder of 
 the soul, that none ever had recourse to him 
 without being entirely cured. I have narrated 
 these things the more willingly because of the 
 great number of well-disposed persons who are 
 tormented by these scruples ; for many in read- 
 ing of these conflicts which the Saint was ex- 
 ercised by, will receive great comfort and in- 
 struction by seeing what are the real ends of 
 the devil in making these attacks, and what was 
 the conduct of the Saint under these trials, and 
 will derive confidence from seeing that there is 
 One who tenderly watches over them amidst all 
 dangers and trials. 
 
 Ignatius having by God's grace issued victo- 
 rious out of this struggle, was called upon to en- 
 gage in another, as his enemy made a malicious 
 change in his mode of assault; for whereas he 
 had before endeavoured to delude him into sad- 
 ness and despair, he now tried to cast him down 
 by pride. When Ignatius was in great danger 
 of death from the severe illness we have before 
 mentioned, with a view to prepare himself for 
 death, he amongst other things began to examine 
 his conscience; upon this the devil insinuated 
 into his thoughts a feeling of excessive delight, 
 telling him that he was a holy man and had 
 nothing to fear. Ignatius, who well knew that 
 God resisteth the proud and beholdeth them afar 
 
 ) 
 
 2JS 1« 
 
40 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 off, quickly turned his thoughts back upon his 
 sins, and fixedly endeavoured to consider their 
 weight and their multitude; but since the temp- 
 tation increased and continually increased in 
 force, the Saint suffered more pain from it than 
 even from his bodily maladies. When he had 
 somewhat recovered from his fever, he looked 
 back upon this great temptation, and was rilled 
 with horror in seeing the precipice from which 
 he had been so nearly falling. It happened that 
 a certain noble matron was present, who on ac- 
 count of the devotion she felt for Ignatius had 
 assisted him during his illness ; this lady he ear- 
 nestly entreated that if he should ever again be 
 in the same extremity, she would not cease cry- 
 ing out to him, "0 sinner! recollect the multi- 
 tude of shameful sins thou hast committed against 
 God! " By these different snares the devil tried 
 to entangle his soul to perdition. Thus it is, as 
 we are warned in the book of Ecclesiasticus, that 
 the man who sets his heart to serve God must 
 prepare his soul for temptation, and lay a firm 
 foundation in humility. 
 
 Besides inward temptations Ignatius had also 
 to endure persecutions from without whilst at 
 Manresa. A certain man of notorious wicked- 
 ness, attributing to hypocrisy the humility and 
 poverty of the Saint, used to meet him whenever 
 he entered the *city and imitate his manners, 
 mocking him, and jeering him with loud laughter, 
 and when he had satisfied his malice he ended 
 by loading him with abuse; nor did this man 
 ever cease from these insults all the time that 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 41 
 
 the Saint resided at Manresa. The many chang- 
 es in his mode of living which his zeal urged 
 him to undertake multiplied the number of his 
 persecutors. Wicked men either followed the 
 example of others in abusing him, or spread cal- 
 umnies abroad against him for their own advan- 
 tage, and those who favoured and supported him 
 shared the same fate. When he was removed 
 from the Dominican convent on account of his 
 sickness, a certain rich man named Amigant re- 
 ceived him into his house, and because of this 
 act of charity the people called him in derision 
 Simon the leper, and his wife Martha, because 
 they served Ignatius during his sickness. But 
 Agnesa Pasquali was more cruelly tormented 
 than any of his other friends, because she was 
 the occasion of his having come to the place, 
 and had shown him the greatest favour. These 
 things especially caused great pain to Ignatius. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE SINGULAR FAVOURS HE RECEIVED FROM GOD AT 
 MANRESA. 
 
 Ignatius had come to Manresa with a fervent 
 desire of subduing the flesh, and mortifying 
 his former pride, but with small knowledge 
 of spiritual things, and without so much 
 as knowing what meditation was. At first, 
 therefore, his seven hours of devotion were all 
 passed in vocal prayer, for God did not toach 
 
42 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 him all things at once ; but treated him as a 
 wise master instructs a young child, who does 
 not go on to new lessons till the old ones are 
 perfectly learnt. But after that the Saint had 
 given proof of his courage under many severe 
 trials, the Lord opened His hand, and enriched 
 his mind with sublime knowledge. One day 
 whilst they were making preparations for a 
 solemn procession, and Ignatius was saying his 
 prayers on the steps of the Dominican church, 
 he was rapt in spirit, and clearly saw under 
 the form of some suitable representation, the 
 secret mystery of the Holy Trinity. After this 
 his mind was so overcome with joy, that all 
 the time of the procession he was unable to 
 restrain his tears, neither could he think or 
 speak on any other subject the whole of that 
 day, and he explained the mystery with such 
 striking and various similitudes that it was 
 marvellous to hear his conversation. Moreover, 
 although he had at that time never studied 
 Theology, he wrote a book containing about 
 eighty pages upon this high subject. After the 
 reception of this great favour, his devotion to 
 the Blessed Trinity, which had before been very 
 great, so that he was in the habit of addressing 
 prayers to each of the divine persons, was im- 
 measurably increased ; and all his life long 
 he at various times used to remain for long 
 periods absorbed in intense worship, and pouring 
 out devout aspirations to the Holy Trinity, 
 and from this source he drew sweet and holy 
 feelings, and obtained many celestial gifts, as 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 43 
 
 will be hereafter related. Again on another 
 day, as he was standing in the Dominican church, 
 the wonderful order observed by God in the 
 creation of the world was revealed to him, and 
 he himself has confessed that he saw these 
 secrets, though he could not explain them in 
 words even if he would. Another time, as 
 he was hearing Mass in the same church, he 
 saw the Infant Jesus at the time of the Eleva- 
 tion of the Host, and the manner in which the 
 divine body of Christ dwells under the conse- 
 crated species. Very often also, and for a long 
 time together, he saw the Humanity of Christ 
 under the appearance of a white body of a mid- 
 dle size. This vision was interior and without 
 any distinction of members ; this he told Luigi 
 Gonzalez, adding, that he should speak within 
 bounds if he said that he had seen this from 
 twenty to forty times whilst he was at Manresa. 
 Sometimes also he saw the Blessed Virgin un- 
 der the same form. As he was going to pay 
 his devotions at the church of St. Paul, about 
 a mile out of the town of Manresa, and was 
 sitting on the banks of the Cardenero, or as 
 some say, of the Rubricato, his mind was sud- 
 denly filled with a new and strange illumination, 
 so that in one moment, and without any sensible 
 image or appearance, certain things pertaining 
 to the mysteries of the Faith, together with 
 other truths of natural science, were revealed to 
 him, and this so abundantly and so clearly, 
 that he himself said, that if all the spiritual 
 light which his spirit had received from God, 
 
44 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 up to the time when he was more than sixty- 
 two years old, could be collected into one, it 
 seemed to him that all this knowledge would 
 not equal what was at that moment conveyed 
 to his soul. From that time forward his mind 
 was enlightened as if he had become a different 
 man. When he had returned to himself from 
 the elevation of mind caused by this visitation, 
 he went towards a cross which stood near, to 
 thank God for this signal favour, when a vision 
 appeared before him which he had often before 
 seen in the hospital. This consisted in a certain 
 luminous appearance, of which he could only 
 say that it appeared to him to resemble a serpent 
 more than any other form, and that, as it were, 
 from a multitude of eyes, but not from real 
 eyes, a vivid light proceeded. Ignatius had 
 not before understood what this vision was, 
 but here, in the neighbourhood of the cross, 
 whose virtue is always great against these illu- 
 sions, and now that his mind was more illu- 
 mined, he clearly understood that it was the 
 devil. On many other occasions, both at Man- 
 resa, and on his journeys to Rome and Paris, 
 the Deceiver appeared to him under the same 
 figure, but his aspect was always hideous and 
 deformed, and upon the Saint's recognizing him, 
 he drove him away with his staff. 
 
 But the chief of all the favours which Ignatius 
 received from Heaven at Manresa, was that won- 
 derful ecstasy in which he remained for a whole 
 week so absorbed in God that his soul received 
 no service from his bodily senses; and his state 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 45 
 
 so much resembled death that he would have beeu 
 buried, if it were not that a faint palpitation of 
 the heart showed that he was still alive. This 
 took place in the hospital of St. Lucy, in a 
 chamber which he had selected for himself near 
 the altar, and the window of which looked into 
 the church. This ecstasy began at the time of 
 evening prayers on Saturday, and ended at the 
 same time on the following week. On returning 
 to himself, he opened his eyes, as if he was just 
 awakening from a placid sleep, and exclaimed 
 with accents of love, " Jesus, Jesus! " and then 
 relapsed into silence. The humble Saint never 
 uttered a word concerning the things he had 
 seen during those days, nor did he ever speak 
 of this ecstasy, which has been attested by many 
 eye-witnesses. It is true that the Saint acknow- 
 ledged to Jacopo Lainez that during one hour of 
 mental prayer at Manresa, he had learnt more 
 than all the doctors in the world could teach 
 him. He likewise affirmed that if there were 
 no sacred writings in existence, and the Catholic 
 faith was without any other testimony, still he 
 should be firmly established in his belief and 
 ready to lay down his life for the truth, on the 
 evidence of what he had seen and learnt at 
 Manresa. The first members of the Society of 
 Jesus who lived with the Saint, and heard him 
 speak of these occurrences, suppose that it was 
 at this time that God made known to him what 
 work He had chosen him to do for His Church. 
 Everardo Mercuriano, who was afterwards Gen- 
 eral of the order, was told by Ignatius that the 
 
46 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 first sketch of the society was impressed upon 
 his mind when he first began to meditate upon 
 the kingdom of Christ ; and when he was asked 
 why he had made this or that regulation, he 
 generally answered, because I heard it at Man- 
 resa. It is narrated by Maffei that a certain 
 person who used to spy out all his conduct, saw 
 him in the middle of the night (the force of the 
 spirit having lifted up the sluggish body) exalted 
 about four cubits from the ground, and his face 
 shining as the light, as we read of Moses, by 
 reason of his familiar intercourse with God. 
 
 In course of time the penitential life of Igna- 
 tius, and the report of the divine favours he 
 received, added to the knowledge of what he had 
 done at Monserrato, and the discovery of his 
 real condition of life, which added such value 
 to his voluntary self-abasement, won for him 
 admiration and reverence from the larger and 
 the better part of the citizens. This reputation 
 was increased by the things which were spoken 
 of him by a certain lady, who was generally con- 
 sidered as a distinguished servant of God, not 
 only at Manresa, but all over Spain, because the 
 king had sent for her to ask her advice, and 
 receive directions from her for his soul's health. 
 In like manner Agnesa Pasquali, who was a wo- 
 man of great virtue and sound understanding, 
 and who was better acquainted with the Saint, 
 used to tell wonderful things of him. Thus it 
 happened that very often when he went out to 
 pray at three stone crosses which were erected 
 in various places out of doors, or in any neigh- 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 47 
 
 bouring church or chapel, the people used to fol- 
 low after him and observe him, When he fell 
 sick the chief magistrate of the town directed 
 that every thing should be provided for him at 
 the public expense ; and the holy monk D. Gio- 
 vanni Canones, to whom Ignatius had made his 
 general confession, and to whom he used some- 
 times to resort from Manresa to seek for direc- 
 tion, speaking to him with entire freedom and 
 openness as .he would to a Saint ; this holy man 
 was heard by the other monks to say, that Ig- 
 natius would be a great pillar of the Church, 
 and that the world would have in him an Apostle 
 and a successor to St. Paul, to carry the name of 
 Christ among the Gentiles. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 HIS SPIRITUAL ADVANCEMENT AT MANRESA, AND THE 
 BOOK OF SPIRITUAL EXERCISES WHICH HE COMPOSED 
 THERE. 
 
 God, who had commissioned Ignatius to un- 
 dertake such great things for the salvation of 
 souls, infused into him the spirit of zeal as well 
 as of penitence. At first he was very ill in- 
 structed in spiritual things, still the fervour of 
 his speech, and still more the example of his 
 holy life, moved and inflamed the hearts of all 
 who heard him. Crowds assembled to listen to 
 his teaching, and a rock may still be seen before 
 the hospital of St. Lucy, upon which he used 
 
48 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 to climb and make his discourse to them. As 
 his knowledge increased, so was his word more 
 fruitful in the hearts of others, and many per- 
 sons being touched by his discourse in private, 
 or by certain Christian maxims which he propo- 
 sed for their meditation, forsook the world and 
 consecrated themselves to God in different reli- 
 gious houses. It is asserted in the process of 
 Canonization, that when Ignatius came to Man- 
 resa God was hardly known amongst them, but 
 that on his departure he left it almost a city of 
 Saints. 
 
 But the writing of his book of Spiritual Exer- 
 cises was a work which far surpassed all his 
 other works at Manresa in utility to mankind. 
 I do not mean to affirm that the book was com- 
 pleted here in the same form in which it was 
 twenty-five years afterwards presented to Paul 
 III. by the Duke Francis Borgia. For when the 
 Saint was asked when he composed them, he 
 replied that they were not all written at the 
 same time, but in fragments, and that whenever 
 he discovered anything that was of use, he wrote 
 it down for the benefit of others. He gave as 
 an example of this the method of examination 
 of conscience, and said that in writing of the 
 manner of making our election he had availed 
 himself of what he had himself experienced at 
 Loyola, when he was confined with his broken 
 limb, from the conflict of the good and evil 
 spirit within him. It is at least certain that 
 the groundwork, method, and essential parts of 
 the work were composed at Manresa, for the 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 4!) 
 
 fact was publicly affirmed in the Consistory by 
 the Consistorial Advocate before Gregory XV. 
 It is generally supposed that the work was 
 written in the cavern of which we have before 
 spoken, and the place was well adaped for such 
 a labour on account of its retired and solitary 
 position. This is reported as beyond all doubt 
 by Vicens, who quotes juridical informations 
 taken at Barcelona and Manresa. Since this 
 book is one of the most valuable of the Saint's 
 works I will add a few words concerning its 
 nature and its virtues. 
 
 Those who suppose that the Spiritual Exer- 
 cises are merely a book of meditations are 
 greatly mistaken. If it were so they would 
 never have been called by this name. They dif- 
 fer from simple meditations as some particular 
 medicine by itself differs from a medicine in 
 the hands of a skilful physician who thoroughly 
 understands the constitution of the human body 
 and the properties of the drug, together with 
 the proportions required to work a perfect cure, 
 and who accompanies the medicine with instruc- 
 tions that it may produce the desired effect, and 
 with rules for the patient when the disorder has 
 departed, that he may enjoy firm health of body. 
 The Exercises of St. Ignatius correspond to this 
 description. It is an admirable abridgment, con- 
 taining all that is requisite to purify a soul from 
 its vices, assist it in virtue, and bring it to a 
 perfect union with God; and this is drawn up 
 in a most sure order and method, derived from 
 a most intimate knowledge of the human soul, 
 
50 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 to which the remedies are applied, and of the 
 virtues of those remedies themselves. In a word, 
 the learned Suarez has summed up its contents 
 by saying, " It contains all that can conduce to 
 the instruction and salvation of the soul." Some 
 authors of the Saint's Life have undertaken to 
 divide the Meditations, which may be called the 
 materials of the work, and to explain the prin- 
 ciple of their arrangement. 
 
 It is therefore necessary for their full under- 
 standing to make use of them and exactly per- 
 form what they enjoin. A man will then dis- 
 cover by his own experience, and the aid of 
 God's grace, that great and marvellous virtue 
 which is here concealed under the most extreme 
 simplicity of language ; and he will acknowledge 
 that nothing but divine illumination could show 
 to Ignatius such rules for spiritual guidance, and 
 such secrets of the human heart, remedies so 
 adapted to remove all obstacles to his perfection, 
 and stimulants to excite him to labour, aids to 
 assist him in choosing his state of life, and finally, 
 bring him to perfect sanctification. 
 
 But in order fully to feel their power the 
 Exercises must be performed with the most mi- 
 nute exactness. It has been well said by Diego 
 Mirone, an ancient and very learned member of 
 the Society of Jesus, "These Exercises do not 
 any longer operate those marvellous effects which 
 in former years used certainly to ensue ; and I 
 think that the only, or at least the chief reason 
 of these failures is, that we do not exactly fol- 
 low the rules prescribed by our Father Ignatius. 
 
ST. [GNATIUS. 51 
 
 Whenever any of his additions or notes are 
 neglected, the good effects are lost ; or again, 
 if any change is made, they are then no longer 
 the Exercises of St. Ignatius, but the inventions 
 of another. In truth, the additions form an in- 
 tegral part of the Meditations, and the omission 
 of them nullifies their effect, and still more the 
 introduction of different ones, or private addi- 
 tions to them, for this particular and exact ar- 
 rangement is one of the principal characteristics 
 of the Exercises." 
 
 Much depends upon the person by whom the 
 Exercises are conducted, for whose guidance 
 several rules are given by the Saint. It is his 
 duty to study the various dispositions of those 
 who perform the Exercises, so that he may apply 
 the directions of the Saint accordingly. He has 
 therefore need of the greatest prudence, and 
 this is a quality which few are found to possess. 
 Amongst the number of learned and holy men 
 whom Ignatius collected around him, he con- 
 sidered that so few were competent to this task, 
 that the only ones he mentioned with praise 
 were in the first place Peter Faber, next to him 
 Alfonso Salmerone, then Francesco Villanuova, 
 and Girolamo Domenichi, and for conducting the 
 first part, which is designed for purging the soul 
 from sin, he approved of Francesco Strada. 
 
 The value of the Exercises is demonstrated 
 by their effects upon men's souls, and these have 
 been so great and so abundant, that if I were 
 to relate all that is told of them, I should en- 
 large my history beyond all measure. I will 
 
52 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 say with Ribadeneira, that the Society of Jesus 
 owes its foundation and existence to these Exer- 
 cises. For our first fathers who were the coad- 
 jutors and companions of Ignatius, were moved 
 to contempt of the world, and led on to the 
 practice of perfection by their means. These 
 great men applied themselves to their perform- 
 ance with such earnestness and austerity, that 
 they used to pass three entire days at the least 
 without either eating or drinking ; and Simon 
 Rodriguez, and others whose health would not 
 allow of this, did the most they were able. In 
 like manner their successors, in whose number 
 were many men celebrated for nobility of birth, 
 or for learning, and other gifts of nature, or of 
 fortune, were for the most part made members 
 of the Order by the same instrumentality. 
 
 To give some examples of this, Emmanuello 
 Miona, a priest of great talents, who had for- 
 merly been spiritual director to Ignatius at Al- 
 cala, having been persuaded by letters which 
 the Saint addressed to him from Venice, to per- 
 form the Exercises, after deriving great good 
 from them in the direction of souls, when the 
 Society was founded, desired to become and event- 
 ually became, a spiritual son of his former peni- 
 tent. In like manner the two brothers Diego 
 and Stephano d' Eguja, the first of whom after- 
 wards became the Saint's confessor, were gained 
 over by the same means. So also was Giovanni 
 Polanco, Andrea Frusio, and Diego Mirone, all 
 men of great note in our annals. Marco, the 
 brother of Jacopo Lainez, in the simplicity of his 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 53 
 
 pious feelings had been for a long time in anx- 
 iety and fear, lest his brother should become 
 entangled in heresy from following Ignatius, and 
 on this account travelled after him to Rome; 
 but whilst there he was persuaded by Jacopo 
 to make trial of the Exercises, and himself be- 
 came a follower of Ignatius and member of the 
 Society. Orlandini relates in the third book of 
 his history, the heroic death of this man, and 
 his joyful apparition afterwards. Antonio Araoz, 
 a young man of great talents and high princi- 
 ple, who was already learned in theological 
 science, having come to Rome, and there made 
 a visit to Ignatius, to whom he was related by 
 blood, undertook to perform the Exercises and 
 joined the institute. Emiliano Loyola, a nephew 
 of Ignatius, who had come to Rome in hopes of 
 worldly advancement, having been enlightened 
 by these Exercises to distinguish the reality of 
 things eternal, changed his intentions, and took 
 up his habitation in the house of the Lord under 
 Ignatius. The pope's nuncio at Cologne having 
 performed the Exercises under Peter Faber, quit- 
 ted his ecclesiastical dignities and entered the 
 Society. Pietro Canisio, who in those calamitous 
 times was the great Apostle of Germany, and 
 was renowned all over the world for his power- 
 ful defence of the Church against the heretics, in 
 like manner undertook this sacred retreat with 
 the most fervent and holy zeal, and went on 
 his apostolic career as a member of our Order. 
 But these effects have not been confined to 
 our Society alone, but have been the means of 
 
54 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 filling other monasteries with elect souls. Some 
 religious who have been wavering in mind have 
 been established in their obedience, and some 
 have been brought back from a licentious course 
 of life ; and besides these effects in monastic in- 
 stitutions, a multitude of prelates and of secular 
 people, of learned and unlearned, of married and 
 single, of youths and aged men, of persons con- 
 secrated to God, and of persons unshackled by 
 vows, have been so reformed as to become illus- 
 trious examples of Christian, perfection. It is 
 sufficient to cite the single case of the Cardinal 
 and Archbishop Charles Borromeo. This young 
 man, who was a nephew of the reigning pope, 
 first performed the Exercises in the Jesuits' house 
 at Rome, and then commenced the labours of 
 his apostolic life ; and so highly did he esteem 
 the Exercises of St. Ignatius, that besides going 
 through them himself, once every year, all his 
 life long, and when he could find time for it 
 twice a year, he made a synodical decree that 
 none should take the holy orders of subdeacon 
 and of priest, without having performed at least 
 the first part of the Exercises. This book 
 was always in his hand, and from it he made 
 his daily meditation ; and once when he was 
 showing his library to Vincenzo, the Duke of 
 Mantua, he pointed to this book, saying, "that 
 in it he had an entire library comprised in one 
 volume." This book was also used with great 
 spiritual profit by St. Francis of Sales, St. 
 Theresa, and St. Mary Magdalen of Pazzi. 
 Nor is the virtue of these Exercises dimin- 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. JJ 
 
 ished in our own days. This heavenly and vigo- 
 rous plant, continues, praised be God, to extend 
 its boughs and bring forth abundant fruit, and, 
 to use the words of the benediction in a less 
 extended sense, its leaves are for the healing of 
 the nations. All that is required is that we 
 come with hearts fully bent upon profiting by 
 them, and not as some men, and a still greater 
 number of women do, out of habit, whilst they 
 are still bound by their former evil and profane 
 modes of life. 
 
 Although this book is so celebrated and has 
 borne such abundant fruit, nevertheless, some 
 writers have endeavoured to detract from the 
 reputation of the Saint. One book bears the 
 following title : " De religiosa S. Ignatii, sive S. 
 Enneconis fundatoris Societatis Jesu per Patres 
 Benedictinos institutione. Deque libello exerci- 
 tiorum ejusdem, ab Exercitatorio venerabilis 
 servi Dei Garziae Cisneri abbatis Benedictini 
 magna ex parte desumpto." So that even by 
 the title-page this author desires to publish to 
 the world that St. Ignatius took the greater 
 part of his Exercises from Don Garzia Cisnerus, 
 and consequently that they are not his, because 
 a work can never be said to be the performance 
 of one who has only done the smaller part, but 
 rather of him who has done the greater. This 
 assertion he thus proves. How is it possible 
 that an unlearned person, without any know- 
 ledge of divine things, as was Ignatius when he 
 lived at Manresa, could write a spiritual book so 
 complete and wonderful? and what experience 
 
56 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 could he possibly have had in these matters 
 when, since his quitting the profession of arms, 
 he had done nothing but live by himself in a 
 cavern, or attend to the sick in a hospital. 
 It is therefore the work of Cisnerus the Bene- 
 dictine, whose book it is highly credible was 
 put into his hands by his director Don Giovanni 
 Canones, who was himself a Benedictine monk. 
 But since this author wrote other things still 
 worse than this to the dishonour of the Saint 
 and of the Order he founded, he has been himself 
 dishonoured, and his book has been prohibited 
 by the Sacred Congregation; nevertheless, I think 
 it well to say something on a subject of such 
 great moment. I do not deny that when Ignatius 
 was without either knowledge of doctrine or ex- 
 perience, he neither could, nor did he compose 
 these Exercises by himself. But from what 
 quarter he derived this learning we are informed 
 by the auditors of the Rota at Rome, who, accord- 
 ing to juridical information, thus pronounced 
 upon the question at his canonization : " Since the 
 Blessed Father, at the time when these Exer- 
 cises were drawn up was ignorant of sacred 
 learning, we are compelled to admit that such 
 illumination and knowledge was supernaturally 
 infused, rather than acquired." Moreover, we 
 are told by Jacopo Lainez and Giovanni Polanco, 
 who were in the confidence of the Saint and 
 had the most intimate acquaintance with his 
 affairs, that he learnt more of what is there con- 
 tained from God Himself, and from heavenly 
 visitations which he received at Manresa, than 
 
ST. IGNATII s. 57 
 
 by any other means. Besides which, it must 
 be kept in mind that the Saint himself has in- 
 formed »us that the Exercises were not composed 
 by him in their present form all at one time, 
 but that he perfected and increased them as he 
 received new communications from God. "We 
 may also suppose that the testimonies of the 
 fathers and councils were appended after he had 
 become a theologian. But supposing that the 
 contents of the two works may bear some small 
 resemblance to each other in particular parts, 
 we cannot upon that account say that the Ex- 
 ercises are repetitions of Cisnerus, unless we 
 are prepared to say that a fortress is the same 
 thing as a palace because both of them have 
 walls and doors. If the accusation be true let 
 them show in the book of Cisnerus that medi- 
 tation upon the End of Man's Creation, which 
 Ignatius makes the foundation of all that fol- 
 lows, or again, the Meditation of the two Stan- 
 dards, and the Election of a State of Life, 
 which form a very principal part of the Exer- 
 cises and to which all the rest bears reference. 
 Where do we find in Cisnerus the three Methods 
 of Prayer? or the particular Examination of 
 Conscience ? and where are all the numerous 
 notes and additions, the rules for the discerning 
 of spirits, for curing scrupulous consciences, for 
 reformation of life, for distribution of alms, and 
 numberless other things ? Do we find in Cis- 
 nerus that beautiful order and connexion of the 
 various parts in which a great deal of its divine 
 virtue consists ? But if every other proof was 
 
58 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 wanting, can we believe that St. Ignatius gave 
 this book to St. Francis Borgia to be presented 
 to Paul III. as his own composition, when he 
 had so little to do with it that it ought to have 
 been called the work of another man ? Who 
 can believe such things of a humble Saint who 
 so often endeavoured to make over to others 
 the praise which was due to himself. 
 
 This calumnious book was published under 
 the name of D. Constantino Gaetani, monk and 
 abbot of the Congregation of Monte Cassino, The 
 fathers in the general diet assembled at Ra- 
 venna in 1644, agreed to the following decree: 
 "Having heard that a book has been published 
 under the name of D. Constantino Gaetani, monk 
 and abbot, greatly injurious to the reputation 
 of the Society of Jesus, we have, as was to be 
 expected, been greatly pained thereby ; and 
 greatly wondering at the levity and audacity of 
 this man, (if he be indeed the author of this book, 
 which we are most unwilling to believe) and for 
 the satisfaction of the most religious fathers of 
 this Society, who are esteemed by us, as the great- 
 ness of their virtue and their learning merits, 
 and that it may be made manifest to the whole 
 world that this book has been put forth without 
 our consent or knowledge : being here gathered 
 together in solemn assembly, we have taken the 
 opportunity to make known and testify this fact 
 by a public edict. Moreover we add that the 
 aforesaid D. Constantino has by the Pope's au- 
 thority now for many years past been living 
 separate from our Congregation, and is no more 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 59 
 
 subject to our authority than if he were professed 
 in auother religious institute. If therefore he 
 has sinned in this matter, or if, (which God for- 
 bid,) he sins hereafter, we earnestly entreat the 
 members of the Society of Jesus, and all others 
 whomsoever, to be well assured, that this act is 
 directly contrary to the common sentiments of 
 this Congregation, and to our respect for the 
 Society of Jesus. Given at Ravenna, at the 
 general diet, April 23rd, 1644." 
 
 Father Leone of St. Tommaso, deceived by the 
 great name on the title-page of this book, had 
 inadvertently repeated the same calumny in his 
 History of the Benedictines of Portugal, and this 
 Congregation in like manner followed the exam- 
 ple which had been given at Ravenna, and cor- 
 rected this writer's error by this solemn declara- 
 tion : " Whereas our Benedictine Congregation 
 of Portugal always entertains, as is fitting, the 
 greatest love and reverence for the very learned 
 and religious fathers of the Society of Jesus ; 
 and since it becomes all those who live after the 
 rules of Christian discipline, and not those alone 
 who belong to the strictest orders, to walk togeth- 
 er in charity, in honour preferring one another, 
 we, the Abbot General and provincial assistants, 
 specially assembled for this purpose, do hereby 
 bear witness that in the book lately published, 
 in the Portuguese tongue, by the Reverend Father 
 Leone da S. Tommaso, monk of our Congrega- 
 tion in Portugal, and first lecturer in theology 
 in the academy of Coimbria, are certain things 
 quoted from the work of one Constantino, also 
 
60 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 a monk of our Congregation, which things have 
 been declared by the venerable mother Congre- 
 gation, to be slanders on the fair fame of the 
 most religious Society of Jesus, and in all pro- 
 bability contrary to historic truth. We also 
 therefore declare, that since these things were 
 published, or invented by their first author, with- 
 out any foundation, so they have been incautious- 
 ly repeated, and they are most certainly con- 
 trary to the sentiments of this assembly. In 
 faith whereof we have commanded this our tes- 
 timony to be reduced to writing, and appended 
 our signatures at the foot ; and we earnestly 
 entreat the fathers of the aforesaid Society to 
 believe that the reverence which we have always 
 entertained towards them has not been and will 
 not be in any degree diminished. Given at our 
 Monastery, October 29, 1645. Signed, Maestro 
 F. Antonio Carnero, Abbot General of St. Ben- 
 edict, &c." 
 
 On account of these signal proofs of kind feel- 
 ing towards us, it was thought right that we 
 should render them public thanks, and in the 
 eighth general Congregation of the Society of 
 Jesus, held in Rome in the year 1646, in the 
 thirteenth and twenty-sixth decrees of which the 
 above documents are preserved in perpetual me- 
 morial by our institute, as may be seen in the 
 edition published at Prague in 1765. Notwith- 
 standing all this there have been some bold 
 enough to repeat these fables, as if the illustrious 
 Benedictine Order needed the assistance of false- 
 hood. 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 61 
 
 But if some have shown their high opinion of 
 these Exercises by giving the credit of them to 
 a member of their own order, in spite of these 
 opposing facts, others have attacked them with 
 the most cruel accusations. By some they have 
 been called presumptuous, as if the coming of 
 the Holy Spirit upon men's minds depended on 
 the Exercises ; others have accused them of foolish 
 vanity in endeavouring to reduce under rules 
 of art visions and ecstacies ; others have impu- 
 ted to them an occult magic, to which they have 
 attributed the wonderful changes brought about 
 by their means, and the solitude, darkness, and 
 silence which they prescribe is urged in support 
 of this view ; others again suspect their sound- 
 ness of doctrine, on which account there appears 
 so much of secrecy ; for it is the property of 
 error to hate the light. Such reasonings as 
 these were uttered from the chairs of bishops 
 and from pulpits, and dispersed abroad in various 
 publications, and the book was accused before 
 the ecclesiastical tribunals ; nor was this perse- 
 cution comfined to our city, but was repeated in 
 Alcala, Salamanca, Paris, Venice, and Rome, in 
 Parma, Piacenza, in Portugal, and in Toledo, 
 and in some of these places it was more than 
 once renewed. What is still worse, the promo- 
 ters of these persecutions were men eminent for 
 their learing and ecclesiastical position. So that 
 if it were not that God, who was the true Author 
 of these Exercises, likewise undertook to defend 
 them, they would perhaps have ceased to exist 
 almost as soon as they came into existence. It 
 
62 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 pleased God to rouse the zeal of St. Francis 
 Borgia, then Duke of Gandia. Being at Rome 
 and perceiving the great attacks which were made 
 on the work, he besought Pope Paul III. to 
 have the book properly examined, and defend it 
 by the authority of the Holy See. The Pope 
 willingly complied with this request, and com- 
 mitted the task of the examination to three learn- 
 ed men, namely, to Giovanni Alvaro of Toledo, 
 Cardinal and Bishop of Burgos, of the Order of 
 Preachers, to Philip Archinti, Vicar of Rome, 
 and to Egidio Foscarari, Master of the Sacred 
 Palace, and when they had unanimously appro- 
 ved of it without finding a word to complain of, 
 he published a bull in the year 1548, being the 
 second year from the request of Francis Borgia. 
 This bull is always now prefixed to the printed 
 copies of the book, and declares that from sure 
 knowledge, and by apostolical authority, it ap- 
 proves and commends these Exercises and all 
 that they contain, exhorting the faithful of both 
 sexes in all parts of the world to make use of 
 them and to profit by them. It also commands 
 the ordinaries and ecclesiastical authorities in the 
 different districts to support and defend them, 
 and in case of need to inflict punishment and 
 censure upon those who opposed them. After 
 this approval, and according to the permission 
 granted in the bull, they were printed, and 
 two Latin translations from the original Span- 
 ish, one of which was literal, and the other a 
 faithful exponent of the meaning of the words, 
 were also put forth by authority ; this latter, 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. G3 
 
 which was undertaken by P. Andrea Frusio, 
 since it appeared the most useful, was afterwards 
 printed. 
 
 It might have been expected that this Papal 
 Bull, like the command of Christ, would have 
 stilled the fury of the tempest, and that no 
 Catholic, at least, would be found to renew the 
 clamour. But there was such a person found, 
 and this man was a monk, who had possibly enter- 
 ed into some compact with Tommaso Pedroccio ; 
 by him a paper was drawn up and presented to 
 Giovanni Siliceo, Archbishop of Toledo, which, 
 besides containing much abuse against the Saint 
 and his foundation, accused the Spiritual Exer- 
 cises of superstition and heresy. The paper 
 also contained various extracts, which in the 
 opinion of the writer were unreasonable, or offen- 
 sive to pious ears, or else openly heretical ; and 
 a duplicate of this paper was presented to the 
 Holy Inquisitors. On the other hand some doc- 
 tors of high reputation for learning and piety 
 rose .up in defence of the book ; amongst others, 
 Alfonso Vergara, Canon of the church of Cuenca, 
 Giovanni Costa, and Bartolommeo Torres, after- 
 wards respectively Bishops of Leon, and of the 
 Canaries. These writers by their lucid demon- 
 strations succeeded in allaying the excitement 
 which existed in the town and diocese of Toledo, 
 and the adversaries of St. Ignatius were repul- 
 sed. Pasqual Mancio, of the Order of Preachers, 
 principal professor of theology at Alcala, also 
 assisted in bringing about this consummation. 
 For he brought back to the Archbishop the book 
 
64 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 of Exercises, which had been committed to his 
 hands for examination, saying that after careful 
 search he could find in it nothing objection- 
 able ; then he showed the Archbishop the mar- 
 ginal notes, saying, "But here I find many 
 things to be condemned in these censures which 
 are added on the margin." Thus, after many 
 and bitter attacks the Exercises of St. Ignatius 
 remained victorious, and the opinions of all 
 Catholics are unanimous, since the Church speaks 
 of them as "an admirable book in the judgment 
 of the Apostolic See, and approved as being of 
 general utility." 
 
 It remains to examine the veracity of those 
 authors who have asserted that Ignatius assu- 
 med the religious habit, first at Monserrato, then 
 at Manresa, sometimes of one order and some- 
 times of another. But that I may not involve 
 myself in this wearisome dispute, I refer those 
 who desire any information to the "Acta Sanc- 
 torum," and return to the narrative from which 
 I have digressed. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 HIS PILGRIMAGE TO JERUSALEM. 
 
 When Ignatius had lived at Manresa for nearly 
 a year, being no longer able to bear the great 
 reverence in which he had come to be held, and 
 desiring also to put an end to the vexations 
 which several devout persons were subjected to 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 05 
 
 on his account, lie resolved to quit the place. 
 He also thought that the time was now come 
 when he ought to carry into execution his pil- 
 grimage to Jerusalem, as Barcelona, where he in- 
 tended to embark from, was no longer under 
 suspicion of being infected by the plague. Some 
 time before leaving Manresa, Ignatius had been 
 taught by wise counsellors and also by his own 
 experience, that excessive acts of penance are 
 impediments to other things which are of still 
 greater importance in God's service. This he 
 was so well assured of that he taught the same 
 truth to others. He now therefore wore shoes, 
 and instead of sackcloth he put on two gar- 
 ments of coarse grey cloth, which were given 
 to him in charity, together with a cap of the 
 same colour. He also had his hair and his nails 
 cut, for this dirt and neglect he had only endu- 
 red for his soul's health. When it became known 
 in the town that he intended to depart, many of 
 his friends tried to dissuade him, and earnestly 
 besought him to remain, and not to leave so 
 abundant and flourishing a harvest ; besides which 
 they told him that his weak and impaired con- 
 stitution could not bear the sea voyage. But 
 when it was evident that neither this advice or 
 these entreaties were of any avail, they would at 
 least constrain him to take some companion, 
 showing him that in so dangerous a voyage he 
 would require some help and comfort, if it were 
 only because he could speak neither the Latin 
 nor Italian tongue, both of which were needful 
 to him. But the courageous Saint would not 
 
66 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 give ear to any such discourse, nor would he 
 accept of any money for his journey, for he said 
 that he especially loved the virtues of faith, hope, 
 and charity, and that the more he rested his 
 hopes and affections upon men, so much the 
 more would these be diminished. 
 
 About the beginning of the year 1523 he 
 started for Barcelona conducted by the priest, 
 Antonio Pujol, who was the brother of Agnesa 
 Pasquali, and by this man he was also provided 
 with a lodging, at the request of Agnesa till 
 he could find a passage from that port to Italy. 
 In the meantime he occupied all his leisure 
 hours which remained in addition to the seven 
 hours of his daily prayers, in visiting the prisons, 
 and attending to the sick in the hospitals. He 
 also begged in the streets of the city, and as- 
 sisted the poor with what he collected. Of the 
 arrangements for his voyage he thought nothing, 
 as if it were a matter which did not concern 
 him, but only God, upon whom he had cast 
 all his care. Most true it is that those who 
 trust in the Lord are never confounded, and 
 so it happened to Ignatius, for as he was as- 
 sisting at a sermon, mixed up with a number 
 of children at the foot of an altar, a noble lady 
 of the name of Isabella Roselli happened to 
 cast her eyes upon him, and saw that his head 
 was surrounded by a bright light, and at the 
 same time she heard an inward voice bidding 
 her call him to her ; whilst she understood 
 within herself that this outward poverty conceal- 
 ed a distinguished servant of God. Having re- 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. G7 
 
 turned to her house and narrated the circum- 
 stance to her husband, they both agreed to search 
 for him, and invite him to their table as a mere 
 act of charity, without appearing to have any 
 knowledge except of his poverty. Ignatius, hav- 
 ing been so invited, without discovering who he 
 was, conversed with his accustomed ardour upon 
 divine things, so that it was manifest how he 
 was filled with the Holy Spirit. He revealed 
 to his hosts his intention of making a voyage 
 to Rome, and Isabella upon hearing this did 
 all in her power to retain him. But when she 
 found that his determination was fixed, and that 
 he had secured his passage in a brigantine, she 
 begged him to give up his place, and sail on 
 board a ship in which the Bishop of Barcelona, 
 who was a relation of her husband's, was about 
 to make the voyage to Italy. This was the 
 work of God, and to this proposition Ignatius 
 yielded. When the brigantine had got a little 
 way out to sea, it was assailed by a furious 
 whirlwind, and foundered within sight of the 
 port, so that every soul perished. The captain 
 of the ship on which the Saint was now to em- 
 bark had given him his passage in charity, but 
 nevertheless told him that he would not receive 
 him unless he brought with him his own portion 
 of biscuit, and to collect this Ignatius began to 
 beg. But he was perplexed in mind, and asked 
 himself, " Is this your full trust and confidence 
 in God that nothing will be wanting to you ?" 
 and not knowing how to resolve this doubt, he 
 determined to seek counsel from the mouth of 
 
68 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 the Lord by asking his confessor, and by him 
 he was assured that by so doing he did not in 
 any way manifest any distrust in God. About 
 this time also he was greatly vexed by tempta- 
 tions to vain-glory, and he was in great fear of 
 being surprised by this sin. It is impossible to 
 say how studiously he endeavoured to conceal his 
 noble birth, nor did he breathe a word of his 
 pilgrimage to Jerusalem, or reveal to any one 
 his intentions of again preaching the Gospel 
 in those same places where Christ had preached 
 it, or of shedding his blood where Christ had 
 shed it. He made diligent search for persons who 
 were skilled in spiritual things, and visited seve- 
 ral hermits at a distance from the city, and 
 when he was unable to find any who could give 
 him help he felt great disappointment. But 
 this anxiety vanished after his departure from 
 Barcelona. The Saint has delivered this ac- 
 count to us, in order to teach us that as we 
 act rightly in making search after skilful di- 
 rectors for the good of our soul, so if it be God's 
 will that we are unable to find any such, we 
 ought to remain at peace, and feel satisfied 
 that God's Fatherly Providence will not for- 
 sake us. 
 
 Whilst Ignatius went about begging provi- 
 sions for his voyage, for he was unwilling to 
 ask them of Roselli, he chanced to encounter a 
 certain noble lady named Zepiglia, and asked 
 an alms of her. This lady was in great distress 
 on account of the evil conduct of her son, who 
 had run away from his home and wandered 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. G9 
 
 about in a disorderly manner ; and when she 
 perceived a certain air of nobility about Igna- 
 tius she thought that he must be a person of 
 the same description, and began to rebuke him 
 with indignation, calling him a lazy vagabond, 
 and heaping upon him a number of similar re- 
 proaches. Ignatius mildly listened to her till 
 she had finished all that she had to say, and 
 then humbly thanked her, saying that he was 
 most deserving of all her abuse and of far more 
 than she had said, for there did not exist in 
 the world a man more worthless than himself; 
 and this he said in a manner which showed that 
 they were not mere words, but the true feelings 
 of his heart. The lady, in great astonishment 
 at receiving such an answer, perceived what a 
 fault she had committed in abusing a Saint as 
 a worthless person ; her anger was changed into 
 reverence, and she begged his forgiveness, and 
 gave him a large alms. She afterwards de- 
 scribed this adventure with great emotion, and 
 when the Saint returned from Jerusalem, she 
 was most devoted to him, and under his direc- 
 tions greatly advanced in virtue. 
 
 After passing rather more than three weeks 
 at Barcelona Ignatius embarked, and finding 
 that he had in his possession five or six Spanish 
 coins called Blanchas, made of a composition of 
 brass and silver, and as no poor persons were 
 present to whom he could give them he threw 
 them down upon the shore that God might be- 
 stow them for him. The voyage, although quick, 
 was very fearful and dangerous, from the vio- 
 
70 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 lence of the gale which drove them forward. In 
 five days they arrived at Gaeta. 
 
 When he disembarked he started at once for 
 Rome. He was accompanied by some mendi- 
 cants who had sailed with him, a youth and a 
 mother with her little girl, who to secure herself 
 from insult had disguised herself as a monk, or 
 at least wore the dress of a man. They came 
 to a village, and were at first well received and 
 refreshed with food and allowed to warm them- 
 selves at a fire. Ignatius was then lodged with 
 the youth in the stable, and the woman con- 
 ducted to a chamber over head. In the middle 
 of the night shrieks were heard from this 
 chamber, and upon their hastening to inquire 
 what had happened they found the mother in 
 great grief complaining that some wicked per- 
 sons had offered violence to her. Ignatius, in- 
 flamed with zeal, and not knowing anything of 
 Italian, reprimanded them in his own language ; 
 but God gave such power to the words of His 
 servant, that although the men were soldiers, 
 and saw that he was only a poor beggar, they 
 did not dare to offend or resist him, and all 
 three of them, for the boy had run away, quit- 
 ted the place together. 
 
 At that time Italy was afflicted by pesti- 
 lence, and all the roads were narrowly watched, 
 and Ignatius being a poor pilgrim, soiled with 
 travel and worn with austerities, so that he 
 looked as if disease had already touched him, 
 it often happened that he was shut out from in- 
 habited places, and forced to pass the nights in 
 
ST. IGHAT1 71 
 
 the open country, without food or shelter from 
 the rain, and being obliged to travel slowly on 
 account of his weakness he was left quite alone. 
 Nevertheless, according to the good pleasure of 
 God, he arrived in Rome on Palm Sunday, and 
 when there he visited all the holy places with 
 the greatest devotion ; he received the benedic- 
 tion of Pope Adrian VII. , and was licensed by 
 him to make the pilgrimage to the Holy Land. 
 On the eighth or ninth day after the Pasch he 
 set out for Venice. When he was on the point 
 of starting, some of his compatriots who had 
 failed in all their endeavours to dissuade him 
 from the pilgrimage by telling of the difficulties 
 and dangers he was exposed to, forced him to 
 receive, after great opposition on his part, eight 
 gold scudi to take with him to Palestine. But 
 he had not proceeded far from the city before 
 his conscience reproached him for having de- 
 viated from his resolution of always living in 
 extreme poverty : in great sorrow he implored 
 pardon from God, and was on the point of throw- 
 ing away the money, but upon reflection he 
 determined to keep the gold, and bestow it upon 
 the first poor person he should meet, which he 
 accordingly did. 
 
 During this journey to Venice he had to un- 
 dergo, on account of the pestilence, the same, 
 and perhaps still greater hardships, as on his 
 journey from Gaeta to Rome. When people saw 
 his mean and sordid appearance, they fled from 
 the sight, as if he were himself the plague, and 
 his companions, that they might not have to 
 
72 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 pass the night in the open air, abandoned him, 
 and passed on in haste before him. But God 
 richly rewarded His servant for all these suffer- 
 ings. Between Padua and Chioggia Christ ap- 
 peared to him, filling his heart with joy, and 
 encouraging him to bear even greater things for 
 the love of Him, and after this He remained 
 invisibly in his company, and assisted him in 
 divers wonderful ways. He entered the gates 
 of Padua without any bill of health, and with- 
 out the guards saying a single word, and in the 
 same manner he left the city. At the lagune 
 of Venice, the guards of the boat into which 
 he entered, although they strictly examined 
 every one else, did not ask him any questions, 
 as if they did not so much as see him. Nor did 
 the favours of Heaven end here ; for when he 
 arrived in Venice, being a stranger and unac- 
 quainted with any hospital, he laid himself 
 down on the bare ground, under a portico 
 in the piazza of St. Mark. At that time 
 Marco Antonio Trevisani, a most learned and 
 holy man, was a senator of the republic. 
 Though a layman and a nobleman of such 
 high station, he made use of the penances 
 of a monk, and amongst other things wore 
 a hair shirt upon his skin. His house was 
 like a public hospital, so great was the num- 
 ber of poor whom he lodged there ; and he 
 would have brought himself to poverty if his 
 nephews, the Marcelli, had not taken care of 
 him. When he was lieutenant in Cyprus, he 
 acquired the reputation of a Saint by his exer- 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 73 
 
 cise of the government. In the year 1553, hav- 
 ing been elected Doge, he wished to refuse this 
 dignity, desiring in his heart to distribute all 
 his goods to the poor, and consecrate his life to 
 God in a monastery. This he would certainly 
 have done unless Lorenzo Massa and Antonio 
 Milledonne, who were secretaries of state and men 
 of great understanding, had not instructed him, 
 that he would be acting in a way more pleas- 
 ing to God if he sacrificed his own wishes for 
 the public weal. Thus he lived till he became 
 aged and decrepid, when on a certain day as he 
 was assisting at the divine Sacrifice he calmly 
 expired. On the night in which St. Ignatius lay 
 under the portico, this man was awakened out 
 of sleep by a heavenly voice which said to him, 
 " What ! dost thou sleep on a rich bed, whilst 
 my poor servant and my dear pilgrim lies near 
 thee on the bare ground, uncovered, and with- 
 out any human comfort ? " At these words, 
 which were rather a mark of divine favour than 
 a reproof, the good senator, at once ashamed 
 and rejoicing, went suddenly forth in search of 
 Ignatius, and when he had found him he brought 
 him to his house, and with great charity made 
 ready his food and his bed. But the next day 
 the Saint, not liking to remain in so splendid a 
 lodging, went away, and for the same reason he 
 refused to lodge at the house of the Imperial 
 Ambassador. A merchant of Biscay, who well 
 knew who Ignatius was, asked him to dine with 
 him, which Ignatius agreed to do, and afterwards 
 remained at his house till it was time for him 
 
74 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 to sail. Whilst he stayed there he always kept 
 silence at table, except when he gave such brief 
 answers as might be needful ; in the meantime 
 he listened to what was said, in order that he 
 might gather materials for speaking of God 
 when the meal was finished. By means of these 
 conversations the merchant, who was a pious 
 man, and all his family were filled with great 
 devotion towards the Saint, and greatly desired 
 to retain him amongst them. The good mer- 
 chant offered him clothes and money, but these 
 Ignatius refused, only he besought him to pro- 
 cure him an audience with the Doge, whose name 
 was Andrea Gritti, that he might beg for a 
 passage on board the admiral's ship which was 
 about to take out the new Lieutenant Governor 
 to Cyprus, for the pilgrim's ship had set sail a 
 few days before he arrived. No sooner had the 
 Doge seen Ignatius than he willingly acceded 
 to this request. The capture of Rodi by the 
 Turks, on the Feast of the Nativity in the pre- 
 ceding year, (1522,) made the voyage more peri- 
 lous than before; for these barbarians now swept 
 the sea with a number of vessels, so that num- 
 bers of pilgrims had turned back rather than 
 lose their lives or their liberty. All this was 
 represented to Ignatius by his friends to deter 
 him from running so great a risk. But his con- 
 fidence in God by whom he felt himself to be 
 called to these holy places made him quite in- 
 different to these terrors, so that he declared 
 that if there was no ship to convey him, he felt 
 certain he could make the voyage safely on a 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 75 
 
 plaiik. His great confidence in God was also 
 manifested upon another occasion. After hav- 
 ing been for some days very sick with a fever, 
 he was obliged to take medicine on the very 
 day upon which the ship was to sail, and upon 
 the merchant we have before mentioned inquir- 
 ing of the doctor if Ignatius could embark that 
 day in his present condition, he answered, yes, 
 that he might do so if he wished to lose his life. 
 Nevertheless, no sooner did Ignatius hear the 
 signal of departure, than he hastened on board 
 with the rest, and left Venice on the 14th of 
 July, 1523, and it pleased God whose counsels 
 he had followed, that the movement of the sea 
 and the sickness which it brought on were in- 
 strumental in saving his life and restoring him 
 to health. 
 
 During the voyage he was frequently in great 
 danger, both from the wickedness of others, 
 and from his own zeal. It often happens that 
 when men's lives are depending upon nothing but 
 the winds of heaven, that they live and talk in 
 a more dissolute manner than before, and so 
 it was in the present instance, in which they 
 were in danger from the Turkish Corsairs, as 
 well as from other causes. The heart of Igna- 
 tius was outraged by these dishonours to God, 
 and he reproved these men with great freedom 
 and sharpness ; nor did he leave off doing so, 
 although certain Spaniards who were in the ship 
 earnestly besought him, because the sailors had 
 formed the cruel design of casting him upon a 
 desert island. But God laughed to scorn their 
 
76 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 evil thought ; for when they were on the point 
 of making the island, they were driven back 
 by a violent wind, and carried to Cyprus. At 
 this place Ignatius ascertained that the pilgrim's 
 ship was anchored three leagues off at Saline, 
 and he accordingly proceeded thither by land 
 without any other provision for his voyage than 
 his sure confidence in God. Throughout this 
 voyage from Venice, which lasted altogether 
 forty-eight days, Christ vouchsafed frequently 
 to appear to him, and on the last day of August 
 he reached Zaffo in Syria. From thence he 
 continued his journey towards Jerusalem, in com- 
 pany with the rest of the pilgrims, and when 
 they had come within about two miles of the 
 city, they were met by a good and noble Spaniard 
 named Diego Nugnez, who admonished them 
 that before coming in sight of the holy city 
 they should set in order their consciences and 
 walk in silence, which they accordingly did. A 
 little afterwards the Franciscan Fathers, to 
 whose care the holy places are entrusted, came 
 out in procession to meet them, and introduced 
 them into the city at mid-day on the fourth of 
 September. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 HIS VISITS TO THE HOLY PLACES. 
 
 Great was the joy of Ignatius in reaching 
 this happy country which has been consecrated 
 by the presence and sprinkled with the blood 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 77 
 
 of our Redeemer ; he had now obtained what 
 had been the great object of his desires ever 
 since his conversion, this desire had made him 
 count as nothing all the difficulties of his long pil- 
 grimage, and it had been immeasurably increased 
 by those secret manifestations with which he 
 had been favoured by Jesus Christ. He now 
 visited with extreme devotion those places of 
 blessed memory where Christ was born, where 
 He preached the Gospel, and wrought His mira- 
 cles, looking upon them as if he was himself 
 a witness of these very scenes. But when he 
 saw the place of his Redeemer's agony, and 
 the spots on which He was crucified and buried, 
 all his soul was melted with a sweet sorrow, 
 and he could not cease from pressing tender 
 kisses on the holy ground, and pouring out his 
 heart in devout thanksgivings. He visited also 
 the house in which the Mother of God is report- 
 ed to have dwelt, the place in which the Eucha- 
 rist was instituted, and where the Holy Ghost 
 descended upon the apostles, and many other 
 spots consecrated by holy memories. He was 
 not content with seeing them once only, but 
 returned again and again, sometimes alone, and 
 sometimes accompanied by others, making the 
 most minute observations, and gathering the 
 most exact information. That he might pre- 
 serve in his mind the remembrance of these 
 scenes, and also for the edification of others, he 
 drew up an exact description of them in wri- 
 ting, and sent it to Agnesa Pasquali. In this 
 work may be distinctly seen the fire of his zeal, 
 
78 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 and none could doubt upon reading it, that it 
 was written by a Saint. The writing was pre- 
 served for a long time by the family of Pas- 
 quali, and finally left as a precious legacy to 
 the Society of Jesus. Ignatius also collected 
 many relics, and upon his return to Barcelona, 
 he gave them to Antonia Strada, a nun of St. 
 Girolamo, in which convent they are still pre- 
 served and venerated. 
 
 It had been the intention of Ignatius to spend 
 the remainder of his life in the Holy Land, and 
 to employ his time partly in visiting the holy 
 places, and partly in labouring for the conver- 
 sion of the heathen. To this end he had brought 
 with him from Europe letters of recommenda- 
 tion to certain Franciscan monks, and by them 
 he was presented to the head of the monastery, 
 and told him of his wish to remain in Jerusa- 
 lem, for the satisfaction of his private devotion, 
 but without opening to him his ulterior views. 
 The monks showed him the extreme poverty of 
 their convent, telling him that they had not 
 sufficient to support their present numbers, and 
 that on this account some of the brethren were 
 about to be sent back to Europe when the pil- 
 grims returned. Ignatius assured them that he 
 would not burden the Convent in any respect by 
 staying with them, and he asked of them nothing 
 more than spiritual direction and the hearing of 
 his confessions. The Superior answered that this 
 might be done, but that the Provincial must de- 
 termine the matter, whose arrival was shortly 
 expected from Bethlehem. Ignatius upon hearing 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 79 
 
 this, considered the affair as almost settled, and 
 wrote letters to some pious persons at Barcelona, 
 telling them of his expectation and his hap- 
 piness. 
 
 But God had designed Ignatius, not for the 
 good of any one country, but for the whole 
 world, so that his intentions were frustrated, and 
 God willed his presence in Rome instead of in 
 Jerusalem. Accordingly on the day before the 
 departure of the pilgrims he was sent for by the 
 Provincial Superior, who told him very kind- 
 ly that he had heard of his wishes, and that 
 after diligent consideration of the loss which 
 might ensue to him by his stay amongst them, 
 and also to the Convent, upon which fell the 
 charitable burden of ransoming all the Christians 
 who fell into the hands of the Turks, he could 
 not agree to his request, so that he must hasten 
 his arrangements for departure as quickly as 
 possible. Ignatius answered that either death 
 or slavery for Christ's sake would be sweet to 
 him, and that if it should so befall, he did not 
 desire to be ransomed, and humbly made him 
 understand that he was firmly resolved to stay 
 there if he could do so without sin. The Pro- 
 vincial then told him that he had received au- 
 thority from the Holy See to retain, or to send 
 back whomsoever he saw fit, and even to ex- 
 communicate those who opposed themselves, and 
 showed him the Pope's Bull conferring these 
 powers. Ignatius, however, refused to examine 
 the instrument, telling him that he believed his 
 words and was ready to obey him. Whilst he 
 
80 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 was making preparation for his return, he was 
 seized with a strong desire of revisiting the 
 traces of Christ's feet which he impressed upon 
 the rock upon Mount Olivet at His Ascension, 
 and that none might hinder his enterprise, which 
 was one of great danger, he departed alone 
 without the escort of any Turks who are gene- 
 rally hired for the protection of pilgrims, bribing 
 the guards to allow him to pass with the gift 
 of a small knife. When he had satisfied his 
 devotion he crossed over to the neighbouring 
 sanctuary of Bethphage. Whilst here it occur- 
 red to him that he had not paid attention to 
 the footsteps on Mount Olivet, so as to know 
 towards what quarter of heaven Christ was look- 
 ing when he quitted the earth. Impelled by 
 this desire he returned to the spot, looking at 
 everything again and again, till all doubt was 
 removed from his mind. So highly did the 
 Saint prize these holy recollections, that he would 
 not allow the smallest particulars to pass unno- 
 ticed. When the Franciscans heard that Igna- 
 tius was not to be found among the pilgrims, 
 they sent their Armenian servants in search of 
 him. These men met Ignatius on his return 
 from Mount Olivet, and with fierce looks threat- 
 ened to beat him, they reproved him for his rash- 
 ness with abusive words, and taking him by the 
 arm they dragged him rudely to the Convent. 
 But Christ richly rewarded His servant for this 
 shameful usage, appearing to him in the air and 
 going before him to the Convent. 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 81 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 HIS RETURN TO SPAIN. 
 
 The next day Ignatius with the other pil- 
 grims quitted Palestine which they had entered 
 only six weeks before, but his heart and affec- 
 tions still remained behind, and he indulged 
 the hope of one day returning thither again. 
 At Cyprus they found three vessels ready to 
 sail for Venice. The first was Turkish, the second 
 was a very large and well-equipped ship belong- 
 ing to a Venetian merchant, and the third was 
 small, old, and out of repair. As the winter 
 season, which is so dangerous for navigation, was 
 approaching, the greater part of the pilgrims 
 made bargains with the Venetian that they might 
 provide for their own safety as far as was possi- 
 ble. Ignatius had nothing to pay the fare, but 
 he had many friends, who earnestly besought the 
 captain to give a passage to the mendicant for 
 the love of God, because they knew he was a 
 holy man. To this request the merchant an- 
 swered with a sneer, that if he was a Saint ho 
 might walk on the water as other Saints had 
 done before him, but that he should not sail with 
 him. The foolish man little thought that it was 
 God's purpose to bear witness upon this voyage 
 to the sanctity of his Servant by marvels which 
 would bring punishment upon his own head. 
 When Ignatius had been rejected by the Veue- 
 6 
 
OJ ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 tian he was charitably received on board the 
 small vessel, and all three of them made sail 
 together the next morning at break of day, and 
 for some hours proceeded prosperously on their 
 voyage. But in the evening a furious wind sprung 
 up which raised a great sea and separated the 
 ships from one another ; and in the midst of the 
 tempest the Turkish ship went down with all on 
 board, and the Venetian struck on the coast of 
 Cyprus, and nothing but the crew escaped de- 
 struction. The third, on which Ignatius was 
 embarked, although old and leaky, endured the 
 fury of the gale and made the shore at Puglia, 
 from whence after making the necessary repairs 
 it continued the voyage to Venice, and arrived 
 there in the middle of January, 1524, after a 
 voyage of two months and two weeks from Cy- 
 prus. 
 
 Ignatius had gone to sea with nothing to cover 
 him but an open and ragged coat of black cloth, 
 a light waistcoat, and cloth breeches down to the 
 knees which left the lower part of his legs bare, 
 and with shoes only on his feet. Thus he made 
 the voyage in the midst of a severe winter, 
 and when he reached Venice he was almost per- 
 ishing from the sufferings he had endured. A 
 pious person, most probably the same Biscayan 
 merchant who had lodged him previous to his 
 starting on his pilgrimage, entertained him in 
 his house during the few days he stayed at 
 Venice. This man seeing his ragged dress, and 
 understanding that he wished to continue his 
 winter journey towards Spain, gave him a piece 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 83 
 
 of old cloth (for he would accept of nothing bet- 
 ter) to double over his body, for his stomach was 
 weakened and disordered by the great cold to 
 which he was exposed. He also gave him fif- 
 teen or sixteen pieces of money, which Bartoli 
 tells us he accepted to give to the poor, or as 
 others say, for the necessities of his journey, 
 which lay across the Appenines to the city of 
 Genoa. From Venice he first proceeded to 
 Ferrara, and as he was praying in the cathedral 
 there, a beggar came up and asked an alms of 
 him. Ignatius gave him a small coin, immedi- 
 ately after another came, and to him he gave 
 a larger coin, and then a third, to whom he gave 
 a large piece of money, not having any other ; 
 when the other beggars heard this, a number of 
 them came about him, and the Saint being as 
 ready to give as they were to receive, he was 
 soon left penniless, and was obliged to go beg- 
 ging himself to support himself for the day. 
 When others continued to ask alms, Ignatius 
 told them how grieved he was that he had no- 
 thing left to give, and these miserable creatures 
 in great astonishment at his bounty and his 
 poverty assembled together at the church doors 
 when he came out and exclaimed, " The Saint ! 
 the Saint ! " 
 
 From Ferrara he continued his journey with- 
 out delay to Genoa. At that time the emperor 
 Charles V. and Francis I. king of France, were 
 at war, and the whole of Lombardy was over- 
 run by soldiery, so that travelling had become 
 dangerous ; towns were pillaged and burnt, and 
 
84 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 murders and robberies were of every day occur- 
 rence. Some Spanish soldiers therefore recom- 
 mended Ignatius to travel by roads, lest he 
 should fall into the hands of one of the two 
 parties, and run the risk of losing his life. But 
 he was full of filial confidence in God, and would 
 not give heed to these counsels, perhaps too 
 his ardent zeal made him rather desirous of 
 encountering than avoiding such dangers. He 
 had not gone far before he approached a fortified 
 place garrisoned by Spanish troops, and fell 
 in with a party of them who were patrolling 
 the road. In these suspicious and perilous times 
 he was believed to be a spy, and was accord- 
 ingly made a prisoner and conducted to a small 
 hut close by. They asked him who he was, whi- 
 ther he was going, and what message he was 
 charged with, &c. They also stripped all his 
 rags from his body, and took off his shoes to 
 see if they could find any letters. Not being 
 able to gain any information either from their 
 search, or by their questions, yet believing never- 
 theless, that he had cheated them by his cun- 
 ning, they threatened angrily to bring him up 
 before the governor, ''and before him," they said, 
 "you will be forced to discover what you mali- 
 ciously conceal from us." Ignatius begged them 
 to suffer him to put on his ragged clothes, but 
 the cruel soldiers refused to let him have any- 
 thing except his coat and small-clothes, and in 
 this shameful guise they brought him through 
 the public ways to the governor of the fortress. 
 The Saint went along rejoicing, remembering 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 85 
 
 how his Lord had been shamefully dragged 
 through the public streets of Jerusalem, amidst 
 the mockery and abuse of the people. But if 
 Saints have more virtue than other men, they 
 have the same unhappy nature, and so it hap- 
 pened that after a short time the joy of Ignatius 
 was changed into fear. In order that he might be 
 thought a low-bred person, and also out of a 
 feeling of devotion which made him desire to imi- 
 tate the simplicity of Christ and His apostles, he 
 was accustomed to use the familiar pronoun in 
 addressing great people ; but on this occasion he 
 thought that he would depart from his rule, and 
 call the governor "Your Lordship." But no soon- 
 er did he recognize the real nature and spirit 
 of this thought, than he dismissed all his fear 
 of imprisonment and of cruel treatment, and 
 determined to look the governor boldly in the 
 face, and filled with holy indignation against 
 his cowardly intentions, he said within himself, 
 "I will not call him by his title, nor will I 
 bend my knee to him, or take off my hat to 
 salute him." In this way he accordingly acted, 
 and when the commander questioned him con- 
 cerning his name and habitation, he answered 
 him nothing, and to the number of different 
 questions which succeeded he either made no 
 reply, or else he answered slowly and briefly. 
 Only when the governor asked, " Are you a 
 spy?" he said at once, "I am not," for by 
 acting otherwise he would have given them just 
 cause to punish him severely. But by the mode 
 he adopted of not avoiding any danger, he es- 
 
86 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 caped unharmed. For the captain, taking him 
 for a madman or a fool, turned angrily to the 
 soldiers, saying, " Why have you brought before 
 me such a man as this ? Cannot you distin- 
 guish a fool from a spy? Take him at once 
 out of the fortress." The soldiers, exasperated 
 at these words, wreaked their vengeance on 
 Ignatius, beating and kicking him. There was 
 however one officer who was touched with com- 
 passion at seeing him so treated, and he took 
 him into his house, and gave him food, and kept 
 him there during the night. The following day 
 towards the evening he was discovered by some 
 French soldiers from a watch-tower, and by them 
 he was taken up and brought before their cap- 
 tain. But here matters fell out quite contrary 
 to the Saint's wishes. For whereas he had pru- 
 dently concealed from the Spanish commander 
 not only his family but his nation, he now openly 
 told the Frenchman that he was a Spaniard of 
 the province of Guipuscoa. Upon this the offi- 
 cer, who lived not far from that country, looking 
 upon him as if he were a compatriot, received him 
 kindly, and bade the soldiers take care of him and 
 suffer him to proceed on his journey the next day. 
 After these turns of good and evil fortune 
 which befell him by God's appointment, he at 
 last reached the city of Genoa. Here he found 
 Rodrigo Portundo a native of Biscay, with whom 
 he had been acquainted when he was at the 
 court of King Ferdinand. Rodrigo was in com- 
 mand of the Spanish galleys, and by his means 
 he got a passage to Barcelona, at which town he 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 87 
 
 arrived after a most perilous voyage, for they 
 were pursued by the galley of Andrea Doria who 
 was theu on the side of the French. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 THE COMMENCEMENT OF HIS STUDIES AT BARCELONA 
 AND OTHER EVENTS. 
 
 When Ignatius found that he could not pass 
 his days at Jerusalem, he began to consider what 
 mode of life he could adopt which might be 
 more pleasing and serviceable to God. It oc- 
 curred to him at Barcelona that he would enter 
 some religious order whose discipline had be- 
 come relaxed, and labour to reform it, hoping 
 that by this means he should have great suffer- 
 ings to undergo for the love of God through 
 the opposition of the monks. Perhaps it may 
 seem to some that this design was inconsistent 
 with the revelations made to him at Manresa 
 concerning the foundation and rules of his in- 
 stitute. But we have already said that his 
 knowledge was only obscure, and he had seen 
 nothing more than a rough sketch of the future. 
 It is God's will to reveal Himself to His Saints 
 by degrees, and to reserve many things for fu- 
 ture opportunities. So it happened with Igna- 
 tius, for as he was reading in the eighteenth 
 chapter of St. Luke of Christ's journey to Jeru- 
 salem, in which he foretold to His apostles His 
 own passion and resurrection, he came to the 
 
88 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 words, "Et ipsi nihil horum intellexerunt ; " and 
 they understood none of these things. He made 
 many different reflections on these words, and it 
 came into his mind that he ought to apply him- 
 self to study, for he clearly perceived that with- 
 out learning he could not devote himself as he 
 ought, and in a manner corresponding to his 
 own vast desires, to the sanctification of his 
 neighbour. He therefore resolved upon taking 
 this important step. He communicated on this 
 subject with a certain Ardebalo, a man of great 
 piety, and well skilled in the Latin tongue for 
 the times in which he lived, and also with Isa- 
 bella Roselli. Both of them approved his de- 
 sign, the first offered to give him gratuitous in- 
 structions, and the second to provide for all his 
 wants. But he had been acquainted at Manresa 
 with a very holy Cistercian monk, by whose 
 assistance he thought that he might make pro- 
 gress in letters and in virtue both at the same 
 time, and with these intentions he accepted the 
 offers of his friends only conditionally. He ac- 
 cordingly went to Manresa, and there discovered 
 that the monk had departed this life, so that 
 he again returned to Barcelona and commenced 
 his studies. Agnesa Pasquali give him a cham- 
 ber in her own house, and there he took up his 
 abode, for the library of Antonio Pujol, the 
 brother of Agnesa, was always open to him for 
 his studies. At this time he was a man of thirty- 
 three years of age, and in his natural disposition 
 extremely ardent, and disinclined to study, but 
 such was his marvellous zeal for God's glory 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 89 
 
 that he went to a public school with a number 
 of bojs, to take lessons in grammar and learn 
 the verbs and nouns, and here he laboured to 
 cultivate his memory which was injured by neg- 
 lect, and renounced in a great measure even 
 the joys of divine contemplation. 
 
 This new undertaking was most displeasing 
 and hateful to his spiritual enemy. For the 
 devil clearly saw that the success of Ignatius 
 would bring great injury upon him ; perceiving 
 therefore that he no longer practised contem- 
 plation, he endeavoured to turn him aside from 
 his labour by subtle and malicious temptations. 
 Ignatius had not long been working at the gram- 
 mar when his mind was filled with new and 
 lofty contemplations of divine things, and when 
 he went through the tenses of the verb "amo," 
 he was immediately and forcibly rapt in the 
 thought of God, neither was he able to restrain 
 and master his thoughts though he earnestly 
 endeavoured to do so. Hence it happened that 
 he could neither learn his tasks, nor remember 
 what he had learnt before. So that after many 
 days of schooling he had not advanced a single 
 step. But as purity of intention is always ac- 
 companied by clearness of perception, Ignatius 
 soon discovered this fraud of the devil; and he 
 asked himself, " How is it that when I am 
 saying my prayers and assisting at mass, I do 
 not experience the same excitement of thoughts 
 and affections ; it must therefore be an angel 
 of Satan who has transformed himself into an 
 angel of light." He was not mistaken, and in 
 
90 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 order to drive the devil from him, he adopted 
 those means which are made use of by Saints. 
 He took the schoolmaster to the Church of Sta. 
 Maria a Mare, which was near the school house, 
 and there cast himself at his feet, humbly beg- 
 ging pardon for his negligence at school, pro- 
 mising that he would henceforward study as dili- 
 gently as he could, and begging him if he ever 
 caught him in the same fault, that he would 
 chastise him as if he were a boy, in the presence 
 of the rest. But there was no need of this, for 
 the devil, confounded and baffled by his great 
 humility, ceased to assault him by this mali- 
 cious trick. 
 
 After this Ignatius began to make rapid pro- 
 gress in his studies. About this time he was 
 advised by some worthy men to read the book 
 "de Milite Christiano," by Erasmo Roterodamo, 
 a writer who is much praised for his pure Latin, 
 by which reading he might at the same time 
 improve himself in the practice of virtue. His 
 confessor gave the same advice, and as he al- 
 ways yielded in every thing to his opinions, he 
 began to use the book, but as often as he began 
 to read it he perceived that all the fire of de- 
 votion was quenched within him ; and after 
 taking counsel on the matter from God he cast 
 the book away ; and afterwards when he became 
 general of the Society of Jesus, he proscribed 
 all the writings of this author, and would not 
 suffer them to be read, except by a very few 
 of approved virtue and learning, who were en- 
 joined to read with great caution. It was not 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 01 
 
 that he considered all the works of this author 
 to be infected with heresy, but in order that 
 none might be so attracted by his facetiousness 
 and sarcastic pleasantries, as to proceed from 
 wholesome studies to what was injurious to de- 
 votion. 
 
 Though the Saint applied himself to study with 
 great intensity, he did not cease from his fer- 
 vent devotions and penitential practices. When 
 therefore he returned to Barcelona he resumed 
 the austerities which his weakness of stomach 
 had obliged him to discontinue. He did not 
 again put on the dress of sackcloth, but by the 
 advice of Pasquali he assumed a black dress 
 of an ecclesiastical appearance, and beneath this 
 he wore a hair shirt. He retained his shoes, 
 but he took off the soles and went barefooted 
 in the depth of winter, by which contrivance he 
 avoided ostentation whilst he endured the pain. 
 He slept almost always on the bare ground, and 
 gave himself the discipline several times a day. 
 He refused the food which Agnesa would have 
 provided for him, and the alms which he receiv- 
 ed in abundance he distributed to the miser- 
 able, contenting himself with the worst morsels 
 he collected by begging. One day Pasquali 
 affectionately reproved him for this, upon which 
 he answered, " And what would you do if Christ 
 were to ask an alms of you ? would your love 
 suffer you to give Him the worst instead of the 
 best?" A great part of the night and of the 
 hours due to sleep he passed in prayer, and 
 Giovanni Pasquali, who was very desirous of 
 
92 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 knowing what Ignatius did during the night, and 
 for that purpose watched him secretly, has affirm- 
 ed upon oath that he saw the chamber full of 
 light, and the Saint kneeling in the air, whilst 
 he exclaimed amidst penitential sighs, " my 
 God, how infinite is Thy goodness in bearing 
 with so great a sinner." It is also stated in 
 the process of canonization that he was often 
 seen in this house seized up whilst he was in 
 prayer and elevated about a cubit's height from 
 the ground. He had no use of his senses on these 
 occasions, and his breathing was alone percep- 
 tible. In this state he was heard to say, "Ah 
 Lord, would that men would know Thee ! " The 
 house where these marvels occurred was after- 
 wards held in great veneration, and especially 
 the Saint's room, which was situated at the head 
 of the staircase. It was of a square form, and 
 its length, according to the description of Pietro 
 Gil, who visited the spot, was about twenty-two 
 palms. Ignatius used to visit all the churches 
 in the town ; but most of all the church of 
 Santa Maria a Mare, where he generally heard 
 mass and communicated every week. He at- 
 tended vespers at the cathedral, and compline 
 at the chapel of St. Eulalia, for whom he had 
 a great devotion. The church of St. Girolamo 
 is also rendered famous by one of his ecsta- 
 sies, for he was there seen by the nuns re- 
 maining immoveable as a statue for many hours 
 together before the altar of St. Matthew ; his 
 knees were bent, and he was elevated above the 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 93 
 
 ground, and his face beamed like one of the 
 blessed. 
 
 The Saint also employed himself in works of 
 charity towards his neighbour, for his ardent 
 zeal would not suffer him to pass many years 
 in the work of preparation only. Many and won- 
 derful were the conversions which he wrought, 
 so that he was considered not only a Saint, but 
 an apostle. Hence it happened that the greatest 
 noblemen and chief ladie3 of Barcelona came to 
 him for spiritual advice, and they assisted and 
 favoured his charitable undertakings. Amongst 
 others were Donna Stephana di Richefens, daugh- 
 ter of Count di Palamos, and wife of Don Gio- 
 vanni, a chevalier of the Order of St. James, 
 Donna Isabella di Bogados, D. Gujomar Graglia, 
 and D. Isabella di Sosa. But he took chief de- 
 light in the society of those who were always 
 with him, viz., his hostess Agnesa and her son 
 Giovanni. With these friends he used every 
 night to converse in a marvellous manner upon 
 divine things, on the vileness of all that belongs 
 to earth and the value of what is heavenly. To 
 the youth Giovanni he particularly recommended 
 that he should frequent the sacraments, and be 
 obedient to the laws of God and the commands 
 of his mother. And as Christ foretold to His 
 apostles the persecutions they would have to 
 encounter, so that when these things befell them 
 they might remember their Master's words, and 
 derive from them courage and comfort, so, for 
 like reasons, did Ignatius discover to this youth 
 the future course of his life and its many af- 
 
94 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 flicting accidents, telling him that God would 
 send these things upon him because of His love 
 towards him, and that he might by these means 
 pay the debt of his sins. "It is God's will," 
 he said, " that you should marry, and you will 
 marry a very virtuous woman, and you will 
 have many children, and on their account you 
 will have many sorrows." And so it happened. 
 For Bartoli relates that the eldest son was born 
 deaf and dumb ; the second at twenty-two years 
 of age went mad ; and the third led a very 
 wicked life, and one day he suddenly fell down 
 dead. Of his four daughters three were not 
 able to marry because they had no portions. 
 Ignatius also predicted that at the latter end of 
 his life he would become very poor, and die in 
 poverty. This also was fulfilled ; he was over- 
 whelmed with debts, and almost reduced to 
 beggary. When these misfortunes came, the 
 good Giovanni humbled himself under the pow- 
 erful hand of God, and when any one consoled 
 him with hopes of better fortune, he used to 
 answer, " Pray that I may have patience, but do 
 not promise me what I shall never have, for no 
 word of Ignatius's prophecy will fail hereafter, 
 as none have hitherto failed." He found his 
 comfort in the sweet letters which the Saint 
 used to write to him so long as he lived, and in 
 the assurance he had that his afflictions were 
 working good to his soul. His thoughts were 
 always with the Saint, he used to tell his chil- 
 dren many anecdotes of what he had seen and 
 heard, and then break out with such expressions 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 95 
 
 as these, " If you knew what things I have seen 
 with my own eyes of Ignatius, you would never 
 be satisfied with kissing this ground which his 
 feet have touched, and these walls which have 
 sheltered him." Then he would strike his breast 
 with bitter lamentations, saying that he was 
 miserable at having profited so little by the 
 conversation of so great a Saint. He kept the 
 hair shirt which Ignatius had worn as a pre- 
 cious relic, and a small crucifix which he had 
 carried on his breast ever since his conversion ; 
 a wallet in which he collected his alms for the 
 poor, a number of his letters, and a description 
 in his own hand of the things he had seen in 
 the holy land ; almost all of these things he 
 presented to the society, but the hair shirt he 
 left in his will as a precious inheritance to his 
 children, and numbers of sick persons were 
 cured by its touch in the town of Barcelona, till 
 in the year 1606 it was purchased for a large 
 sum by Ettore Pignatelli, Duke of Monteleone 
 and Viceroy of Catalonia. We shall see in the 
 course of the narrative how the Saint recom- 
 pensed Giovanni for his intense devotion towards 
 him, and we will only remark in this place that 
 Maffei asserts this prophecy of St. Ignatius to 
 have been made at Barcelona after his return 
 from Paris. 
 
 But to return to our narrative. Ignatius 
 exhibited his great zeal for the salvation of 
 souls, as well as his patience and fortitude 
 in his labours to reform certain religious of 
 the Monastery of the Angels. These women 
 
$6 §T. IGNATIUS. 
 
 used to conduct themselves in a disorderly and 
 
 licentious manner, which they were able to do 
 with greater security because their house was 
 situated outside the walls, between the new gate 
 and the gate of St. Daniello. Ignatius could 
 not endure this scandal, and let happen what 
 might he determined to try and bring about their 
 reform. He began accordingly to frequent their 
 church, and used to stay there for mauy hours 
 in the day praying to God, and commending 
 to His care this vineyard of His which the wild 
 boars had ravaged and laid waste. The length 
 of his prayers, the fervent piety expressed in 
 his countenance, his tears of devotion, and the 
 strangeness of his looks, moved the nuns to in- 
 quire who he was. and when they heard he was 
 a Saint they desired to hear him speak about 
 God. Ignatius who had long waited for such 
 an opportunity complied. He first placed before 
 them the excellency and the duties of a religious 
 profession, and then went on to show how great 
 was the injury done to God by the lives led by 
 some of their society, the infamy which they 
 brought upon the house, the danger of such 
 examples to innocent souls, and the Divine 
 vengeance which would fall upon these gnilty 
 nuns, the more heavily because they were es- 
 poused to Christ ; and, finally, he exhorted them 
 to perceive and to weep over the horrible state 
 of wickedness in which they then were. These 
 salutary exhortations he frequently repeated at 
 other times, at last he induced them to make 
 certain arrangements well calculated to complete 
 
[ohatius. 97 
 
 the cure. They returned to their old observan- 
 ces and habits of retirement, and when their 
 former friends resorted to the place they found 
 themselves excluded from all conversation. 
 These wicked men were greatly angered at this 
 novelty, and finding that neither threats nor 
 blows had any effect upon Ignatius, who con- 
 tinued to encourage the nuns in their good 
 resolutions, they deliberated among themselves, 
 and agreed to rid themselves of this annoyance 
 by taking away his life. One day therefore as he 
 was coming away from the monastery with a priest 
 named Pujalto, who was a faithful servant of 
 God, and the assistant of Ignatius in this work, 
 they were attacked by two moorish slaves near 
 the gate of St. Daniello, who beat them so cruel- 
 ly that Pujalto was nearly killed, and Ignatius 
 escaped only because his assailant thought that 
 he was already dead. In the midst of this 
 terrible assault, so long as he had the use of his 
 senses, he remained unmoved, and with a serene 
 countenance gave praises to God, and prayed 
 for his intended murderers. He was left on 
 the road unable to rise, till a miller came to the 
 spot, who took him up and carried him on 
 his mule to the house of Agnesa almost in a 
 dying condition. This pious lady did everything 
 that she could for his recovery by bathing him 
 with wine. His body was in such a condition 
 that they were obliged to carry him in a sheet 
 when he was to be moved, and even this caused 
 him the acutest suffering. Notwithstanding this, 
 when thev would have taken off his hair-shirt, 
 
98 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 he would not consent to it, except upon the 
 urgent prayers of his confessor Father Diego of 
 Alcantara, a holy Franciscan monk, who was 
 also confessor to the Monastery of Jesus out- 
 side the walls of Barcelona. For thirty days 
 his life was despaired of by the physicians, and 
 he received the last Sacraments. Many noble 
 and distinguished persons came to visit him, 
 being attracted by their devout feelings towards 
 the Saint. Ignatius replied to their condolences 
 with expressions of joy, saying, " How great 
 would be his good fortune if he was able to suf- 
 fer in imitation of Christ, and to die for His 
 sake!" After these noble persons came his poor 
 friends, who were still dearer to him, in great 
 affliction lest they should lose their father, and 
 earnestly begging God to spare his life. And 
 they were consoled, for it was not the will of 
 God to sacrifice for a small number of religious 
 one whom he had appointed for the salvation 
 of many. After fifty-three days he was declared 
 out of danger, and soon afterwards he left his 
 bed. As soon as ever he could walk he went 
 to the Monastery of the Angels again to con- 
 firm them in their change. The good Agnesa 
 was greatly afflicted at this intention, and did 
 all in her power to prevent his running such a 
 risk, but all her efforts were vain, for Ignatius 
 desired what she was so fearful of. But God 
 did not surrender him to his malignant enemies, 
 and as his charity resembled that of the holy 
 martyr, St. Stephen, he gained over, as his 
 reward, the chief among his persecutors. This 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 99 
 
 man was a merchant, named Ribera, and he was 
 the contriver of the plot, but conquered by the 
 Saint's patience and charity ho one day threw 
 himself at tho feet of Ignatius as he was re- 
 turning from the monastery, beseeching pardon 
 for his cruelty, and promising him in satisfaction 
 for his sin that he would amend his life. This 
 promise he faithfully fulfilled. 
 
 His patience also obtained a like reward on 
 another occasion. Certain rude people having 
 discovered from his appearance that he was of 
 gentle birth, began to ridicule and mock his 
 present manner of living, and his mean dress, 
 saying that he was without doubt a vagabond 
 who had brought nothing from his father's house 
 but his roguery, and to these insults they added 
 abuse and threats. The Saint stopped upon 
 hearing these words, listening to them in silence 
 and with joy in his countenance, and then hum- 
 bly thanked them, as if they had done him some 
 favour. Amongst these young men were some 
 who worked in the house of the Pasquali, and 
 when they were about to punish this insolence 
 by dismissing them, Ignatius entreated them 
 not to do so, but to let the young men say what 
 they pleased, that they might not deprive him 
 of this opportunity of exercising the virtue of 
 Christian patience. The Saint's gentleness and 
 humility brought a happy termination to this 
 and other similar annoyances by gaining over 
 to God the souls of his calumniators. 
 
 One very wonderful conversion was especially 
 granted by God to his prayers. Two brothers 
 
100 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 named Lissani, who lived in the parish of Sta. 
 Maria a Mare, had for a long time been at law 
 with each other about their inheritance, and 
 when the cause was determined, the one against 
 whose claims sentence had been given, hung 
 himself to a beam in his own house in a fit of 
 grief and desperation. The house was situated 
 in the street of Beglioco which leads from the 
 plain of Uglio to the sea. Upon this catastrophe 
 the whole house was filled with cries and lamen- 
 tations, and all the neighbours collected together. 
 Ignatius, who happened at the moment to be re- 
 turning from the Monastery of the Angels, was 
 instantly on the spot, and made them cut the 
 rope, and put the wretched man upon a bed upon 
 which he was stretched without any signs of life. 
 He then knelt down at a little distance and made 
 earnest supplications to God with many tears 
 for the poor man's soul. Whilst Ignatius was in 
 prayer, and all the bystanders stood gazing up- 
 on the body, the wretched man suddenly opened 
 his eyes, and soon so far recovered the use of 
 his senses, that he began to lament over his sins, 
 and, as we are told by Ribadeneira, he made his 
 confession ; after this was done he died, and when 
 the Bishop was satisfied of his penitence he gave 
 permission for his burial in consecrated ground. 
 Father Nicholas Lancizio was very anxious 
 to know whether according to the general belief 
 the man had been dead previously to Ignatius's 
 prayer, and made inquiries of Father Pietro Gil, 
 who had been present as procurator during the 
 various processes of the Saint's canonization, 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. J 01 
 
 and who had given testimony upon this event. 
 Gil made answer that he could not determine 
 the point with any certainty ; that the publica- 
 tion of the accident and the finding of Ignatius 
 on the spot were undoubted, but that the rude 
 persons who were present had taken no sufficient 
 proofs of the death of Lissani, nor did they af- 
 terwards cry out that Ignatius had raised him 
 to life, and that a miracle was wrought, although 
 it was most true that they supposed him to be 
 dead, and conjectured it to be a miracle. Still 
 in the depositions which were taken at Barce- 
 lona, under the head of Miracle, we find the fol- 
 lowing account : " When Ignatius heard of the 
 event he went to the house, and found Lissani 
 lying on the bed, without the use of his senses, 
 and supposed to be dead. He at once knelt down 
 and began praying to God that he would restore 
 him to life, and grant him such a space of time 
 as would suffice for repentance and confession 
 of this and of his other sins. As Ignatius was 
 thus praying and invoking the name of Je'sus 
 over the body of Lissani, and whilst all waited 
 in astonishment to see what would happen, Lis- 
 sani returned to life." 
 
 The fame of these wonders which the Saint 
 wrought in Barcelona induced some to offer them- 
 selves as his companions. Giovanni Pasquali had 
 put himself in his hands at the time of his un- 
 dertaking his pilgrimage to the Holy Land, but 
 Ignatius did not accept the offers of any except 
 these three, Calisto, Artiaga, and Diego di Caz- 
 zeres, who was attached to the court of the 
 
102 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 Viceroy of Catalonia, and the constancy of all 
 these men failed as we shall hereafter see. Ano- 
 ther man who offered himself as companion to 
 Ignatius received a wonderful reply, and as the 
 account is written down and attested upon oath, 
 I will give the document at length : "I have 
 often heard it said by Father Michael Rodis of 
 the Society of Jesus, who was a native of Cata- 
 lonia, and a man much esteemed for his piety, 
 zeal, and austerity of life, that his father, who 
 was a famous jurist, had been intimately ac- 
 quainted with St. Ignatius when he was study- 
 ing grammar at Barcelona, and that being mo- 
 ved by his example and his words he was inflamed 
 with an ardent desire to become his companion 
 and imitate his virtue. Having made known this 
 wish to Ignatius he answered, 'You will not 
 follow me ; but your son will enter the religious 
 order which by God's grace I shall found.' 
 This prophecy was made sixteen or seventeen 
 years before the foundation of the society, and 
 it *was not spoken in vain ; for Michael Rodis 
 entered the Society and lived long a member 
 of it, and died at a great age, and in high re- 
 putation for virtue. From hence we may infer, 
 how long before the foundation of the Society 
 God revealed to Ignatius what he was hereafter 
 to found; for this took place immediately after 
 his return from his pilgrimage at Jerusalem. I, 
 Francis di Caspes of the Society of Jesus, priest 
 and a professed religious, have affirmed and writ- 
 ten this with my own hand in the seventieth 
 year of my age, and the fifty-fifth of my reli- 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 103 
 
 gious life, during which years I have at various 
 times held the offices of rector, of provost, and 
 of procurator for the province of Aragon at Rome. 
 This I swear by the Lord, and by the four gos- 
 pels. Jan. 20, 1641. Francesco di Caspes. S. J." 
 
 I have quoted this document not only for the 
 glory of the Saint, but that it may plainly ap- 
 pear how little credit is to be given to those 
 accounts which state, that about eleven years 
 after this period Ignatius begged to be admitted 
 into another religious order at Venice, and with 
 this single allusion I shall omit all further dis- 
 pute on this wearisome controversy. Bartoli 
 adds some other interesting particulars to this 
 narrative ; he tells us that when the young Mi- 
 chael made known to his father his vocation to 
 the Society of Jesus, he was informed by him of 
 the prophecy of Ignatius, which he was now about 
 to verify, and that the father shed tears of joy 
 whilst he rejoiced with his son. Afterwards how- 
 ever the Provincial of the Jesuits made some delay 
 about his admission, and the young man with the 
 impatience of youth, changed his mind, and pro- 
 posed becoming a Carthusian monk ; on two dif- 
 ferent occasions the day of his entrance was fixed, 
 and twice something happened which interfered 
 with his designs, so that finally he again made 
 application to the Society of Jesus, and having 
 been received as a member he fulfilled the Saint's 
 prophecy. 
 
 It now appeared to his master Ardebalo that 
 Ignatius was sufficiently instructed in the Latin 
 language to proceed to his scientific studies, and 
 
104 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 other learned men were of the same opinion. 
 Still Ignatius waited the determination of those 
 who were best able to judge, and to that end 
 submitted himself to be examined by an able and 
 learned theologian, by whose advice he betook him- 
 self to the College at Alcala which was newly 
 founded by Cardinal Ximenes, and provided with 
 the most skilful professors. Thus after a resi- 
 dence at Barcelona, not of six years, as the good 
 Pasquali has inconsiderately written, but of two 
 years, as the Saint has himself recorded, he de- 
 parted from that town. The citizens continued 
 to retain a sweet and pious memory of the Saint, 
 so that when Father Antonio Araoz, a novice of 
 the new foundation, came there after a lapse of 
 fifteen years, the fact of his arrival and of his 
 having lately parted from Ignatius, was no sooner 
 known than the inn was filled with people who 
 came to make every sort of inquiry after 
 Ignatius. Many offered to join his foundation, 
 and many more offered money for establishing a 
 house at Barcelona. Araoz was not able to 
 console them, except by addressing some spiritual 
 discourse to them, and giving them some rules 
 for good living, which they received as if they 
 had come from the mouth of Ignatius himself. 
 
ST. [G5AT1UH. 105 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 HIS COURSE OF STUDY, AND HIS IMPRISONMENT AT 
 ALCALA. 
 
 Ignatius arrived at Alcala at the beginning of 
 August, 1526. The first person he met was a 
 student named Martino Olave, from whom he re- 
 ceived an alms. This alms was a source of great 
 merit to the young student if it be true as Riba- 
 deneira relates, that through the prayers of Ig- 
 natius, after a lapse of twenty-six years, when 
 Olave was a very learned Doctor of Theology at 
 the University of Paris, and was attending at the 
 Council of Trent, he was rewarded by God with 
 an extraordinary vocation to quit the pursuit of 
 worldly honours, and seek after evangelical per- 
 fection in the Society of Jesus. Ignatius was soon 
 after followed by the three companions whom he 
 had left at Barcelona, and to these was added a 
 fourth, named Giovanni, a young Frenchman 
 who was page to Don. Martino di Cordova, the 
 Viceroy of Navarre. As he was on a journey 
 with this nobleman, he had been wounded in 
 some quarrel, and was left at Alcala to be cured 
 in the hospital. But God brought good to the 
 young man out of this misfortune, for whilst the 
 physicians attended to the bodily cure, God gave 
 medicine to his soul by the words of Ignatius. 
 
 All these five companions wore the same dress, 
 which consisted in a loose tunic reaching down to 
 
106 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 the feet, from which they got the name of " sac- 
 cati," both the dress and the cap were of a grey 
 colour. Three of them were lodged in his own 
 house by Diego d'Eguia, as Gonzalez was told 
 by the Saint himself. But I am unable to recon- 
 cile this with the account of Bartoli, who says 
 that two were charitably lodged by Ernando di 
 Para, and two by Andrea d' Arce, unless we 
 suppose this to refer to a different time. When 
 he first came Ignatius went to a hospital, and 
 as he came out one day to beg, a certain priest, 
 together with some idle and impudent men who 
 were collected together in a knot, began to abuse 
 and ridicule him. It happened that the Prior of 
 the hospital of Antezzana witnessed this scene, 
 and observed the patience of the Saint, and being 
 indignant at this treatment he took him away 
 from that place and received him into his own 
 hospital. In this place, whether it was that 
 the prior left it to others to select his room, or 
 that he wished to put his sanctity to the proof, 
 he was lodged in a room that had been for a 
 long time uninhabited on account of its being 
 haunted with nocturnal visions and fearful nois- 
 es. Ignatius had full experience of this on the 
 first night. Not having expected any thing of 
 the kind he was at first terrified ; but presently 
 recollecting himself and taking courage, he 
 offered himself up to God to undergo whatever 
 he might have to endure from these visions or 
 from the malice of the devil. But the Lord 
 was mercifully content with proving this magna- 
 nimity, and rewarded his good dispositions by 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 107 
 
 ridding that room for ever from all molestation 
 of evil spirits, and by taking away from his mind 
 all fear of their terrors and cruelties. This was 
 his abode, and his living he obtained by begging, 
 and as he here received largo gifts from pious 
 people, as he used to do at Barcelona, he distri- 
 buted them to the poor, and every day he made 
 some provision for those who were prevented 
 from going out to beg either through shame 
 or by reason of infirmity. 
 
 He was observed to act in this way by Martino 
 Saez, one of the most excellent and richest 
 men of Aspeizia. He had come to Alcala on 
 business, and had a great desire to see Ignatius, 
 whom he had known in times past, and now 
 heard to be celebrated as a Saint. One day 
 therefore ho recognized him as he was return- 
 ing from the schools, and secretly followed be- 
 hind him till he observed him to go into a 
 cottage, and after a little while come out again. 
 He then followed into the cottage, and found a 
 very poor and infirm woman. He asked her 
 who that student was, and what he had come 
 for ; and the woman answered that she could 
 only tell him that he seemed to be a Saint, and 
 that he came there every day and relieved her 
 with alms, and consoled her with sweet and pious 
 words. Then Saez told her, that when he came 
 the next day she should ask him if he was in 
 want of anything either for himself or for any 
 other, as she knew somebody who would supply 
 all that he had need of with abundance. The 
 woman did as she was told; but when Ignatius 
 
108 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 perceived that he had been observed and dis- 
 covered, he said to her, "My sister, up to the 
 present time I have provided for you, but hence- 
 forward God will provide for you, and to him 
 I commend you : " with these words he left her, 
 and never returned any more. Amongst those 
 who assisted the Saint in these works of mercy 
 the principal was Diego d' Eguia, who after- 
 wards entered the Society, and of whom I shall 
 by and by have much to say. To these assis- 
 tants the Saint never failed to have recourse 
 whenever any one was overtaken by some sud- 
 den calamity ; and once when Diego found him- 
 self without any money he opened his chest that 
 Ignatius might take from it whatever he pleased, 
 and as he well knew the charity of Diego, and 
 that he was doing a thing which was at the 
 same time a pleasure to him and a gain to the 
 poor, helped himself without sparing, and taking 
 out bed furniture, and candlesticks, and a num- 
 ber of other things, he wrapped them up in a 
 sheet and carried them through the public 
 streets on his back. 
 
 Ignatius, according to the custom of the uni- 
 versity, began his studies after the feast of St. 
 Luke, and in order to shorten his course of 
 sciences, he attended all at the same time, the 
 lectures on the logic of Soto, the physics of 
 Alberto Magno, and the theology of the Master 
 of the Sentences, so that the number of his stu- 
 dies and the want of method prevented him from 
 learning anything. But God, who had brought 
 Ignatius to Alcala to reward him for his zeal 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 109 
 
 and patience, and not that he might gain learn- 
 ing, did not at that time enlighten him to regu- 
 late his studies more prudently. Ignatius then 
 applied himself to labour for the good of souls, 
 giving spiritual exercises, doctrinal expositions, 
 and by these occupations he wrought the most 
 marvellous effects, not so much by his skill and 
 eloquence, which at that time had not developed, 
 as from the ardent zeal with which he spoke. 
 This account is left us by many who heard him 
 and witnessed the wonderful effects which fol- 
 lowed. He had also some strong truths which 
 he made such a vigorous use of that even the 
 hardest hearts were pricked by them. This was 
 the case with a certain ecclesiastic of high dig- 
 nity, who held one of the chief churches in 
 Spain. The greatness of his position rendered 
 his evil life more conspicuous and more imita- 
 ted, and so greatly were the young students 
 corrupted by his discourse that he might be call- 
 ed the pest of the university. Ignatius was 
 greatly afflicted upon hearing of this, and when 
 he had sought counsel and help from God in 
 prayer, he went to his house and asked an au- 
 dience. The prelate received this message dis- 
 dainfully, for he had heard of the sanctity and 
 zeal of Ignatius ; but considering with himself 
 that he would never dare to reprove him he 
 gave him admittance, but received him roughly 
 in order that he might put a check upon any 
 such design. When Ignatius requested to speak 
 to him in private he was much astonished ; but 
 still did not refuse it. Then Ignatius with all 
 
110 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 the respect which was due to his high station, 
 but at the same time with all the force which 
 the greatness of the evil required, began to de- 
 clare to him how dreadful a condition his soul 
 was in, and how great was the scandal of his 
 conduct to the whole city of Alcala. The 
 young man no sooner understood the drift of 
 these observations, than he rose up in great 
 anger, considering it an unbearable insult that 
 he should be reproved by so base a person, 
 and after many threats and much abusive lan- 
 guage, he told him that if he opened his mouth 
 again he would have him thrown out of the win- 
 dow. Ignatius treated him as a physician would 
 a patient in delirium, he quietly proceeded with 
 what he had to say, and appeased him with 
 gentle words which the Holy Spirit put into 
 his mouth, so that he willingly listened to his 
 discourse, and at the conclusion of it the young 
 man was brought to repentance. The servants, 
 who had heard the high words of their master, 
 and who expected to receive some severe order, 
 were greatly astonished when he came forth 
 treating Ignatius with all reverence and humility, 
 and gave them directions to prepare the table for 
 himself and for the stranger who was with him. 
 Ignatius did not refuse this courtesy, in order 
 that he might have a better oppportunity of 
 confirming him in his good feelings, but he re- 
 fused to ride upon the mule which had been 
 got ready for him, or to be accompanied to his 
 house by servants with lighted torches. Ever 
 afterwards this prelate looked upon Ignatius as 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. Ill 
 
 a father, loved him affectionately, and defended 
 him with all his power, and he also was dear to 
 Ignatius, and prized by him as a great acquisi- 
 tion. 
 
 Conversions of this sort were of every day 
 occurrence, so that Alcala seemed no longer to 
 be the same town, and, as might have been ex- 
 pected, a persecution was raised against the 
 author of these novelties by the malignity of 
 the devil and of evil men. He began to be 
 the subject of conversation, and according to the 
 various opinions of men, and the diversity of 
 their moral dispositions, he was praised or ac- 
 cused. Besides the heresy of Luther, which was 
 at that time spreading widely in Germany, there 
 had been a short time previously, in the year 
 1523, a new sect established in Spain, who were 
 called Illuminati. The rumour of these events 
 at Alcala came at length to Toledo, and roused 
 the fears and suspicions of the Inquisitors. It ap- 
 peared to these learned and zealous men, who had 
 received exaggerated reports of these things, that 
 they ought to make inquiries what companions 
 Ignatius had, why they all wore the same habit, 
 why all ranks of men resorted to the hospital 
 to put themselves under the direction of Igna- 
 tius, who was a man of such moderate learning, 
 why he gathered around him so great a number 
 of students, and gave them secret instructions, 
 what were the strange disturbances, and par- 
 ticularly concerning the fact of one man having 
 been restrained by an invisible hand when he was 
 about to give himself the discipline. To conduct 
 
112 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 these inquiries they sent thither Alonso di Me- 
 chia, a Canon of the Cathedral of Toledo, with 
 whom was associated Michele Carrasco, a Canon 
 of St. Giusto of Alcala. These men made a se- 
 cret inquisition with all diligence. They collected 
 evidence of all the words and acts of Ignatius, 
 and rinding nothing but what was holy, Mechia 
 returned to Toledo without having even seen 
 Ignatius, leaving in his place Giovanni Figueroa, 
 Vicar General of the Archbishopric of Toledo, 
 in the city of Alcala, to whom he committed the 
 inquiry, desiring to watch attentively the course 
 of things. These two commissioners after a 
 short time summoned Ignatius and his compan- 
 ions before them, and informed them that they 
 had made full inquiry into their manner of life 
 and their doctrine, and as these were free both 
 from vice and error they were at liberty to con- 
 tinue as before labouring for the good of their 
 neighbour. One thing alone they disapproved 
 of, which was that they adopted the religious 
 habit without being monks in reality. They 
 thought it better, and therefore issued orders 
 that Ignatius and Artiaga should dress in black, 
 Calisto and Cazzeres in a yellowish brown colour, 
 and that Giovanni should retain the colour he 
 then wore. Ignatius answered that they would 
 do as they were commanded. Bartoli says 
 that after this decision Ignatius and his compan- 
 ions, who were accustomed to receive the com- 
 munion every week, were refused the communion 
 by Dr. Alonzo Sanchez a canon of the church 
 of St. Giusto, who had before only allowed it 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 113 
 
 to them with difficulty and against his own 
 judgment ; but very soon he came to a better 
 mind, and God made him sensible of his error 
 by filling his mind when he gave the commu- 
 nion to Ignatius with a spiritual sweetness he 
 had never before experienced, so that he could 
 with difficulty restrain his tears. On that day 
 he asked Ignatius to dine with him, and reve- 
 renced him as he would a Saint, and the more 
 so when he heard him speak of God in his 
 customary manner. This inquiry was begun on 
 the 19th of November, 1526, and at the Na- 
 tivity they commenced the prescribed change in 
 their dress. About three weeks later an order 
 came from the Vicar General bidding Ignatius 
 leave off going barefoot, with which he immedi- 
 ately complied. After some months a fresh in- 
 quiry was instituted by the Vicar General. It 
 appeared that a certain lady of high rank who 
 had a great devotion to the Saint, used to go 
 to him at the hospital about daybreak ; but 
 this examination issued in adding to his glory, 
 and in adding to the love and esteem which 
 Figueroa entertained towards him. Thus did all 
 the affairs of Ignatius proceed prosperously for 
 about four months, when an accident happened 
 which caused him great anxiety, and altogether 
 changed the dispositions of the Inquisitor to- 
 wards him. Amongst the number who assem- 
 bled to listen to the Saint's discourse were two 
 noble ladies, a mother and her daughter, both 
 of them widows, and the daughter, though not 
 young, was a very pleasing and beautiful woman. 
 8 
 
114 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 The name of the first was Maria del Vado, the 
 second Louisa Velasquez. These pious women 
 ardently desired to do great things for the love 
 of God, and proposed to pass their lives as pil- 
 grims, travelling from one hospital to another, 
 and performing great acts of charity and mor- 
 tification. When they communicated this de- 
 sign to the Saint, he strongly disapproved of it t 
 and dissuaded them from it for many reasons, 
 but particularly because the beauty of the 
 younger lady would make them incur much 
 danger. He told them that there were hospitals 
 in Alcala in which they might employ their cha- 
 rity, and that they might satisfy their devotion 
 by accompanying the Most Holy when it was 
 carried to the sick. By such words as this and 
 by the power of his authority he withdrew them 
 from this design. About the end of Lent how- 
 ever their zeal was again roused, and they re- 
 solved to make a different sort of pilgrimage ; 
 accordingly, without telling their plan to any 
 except a few confidants, and accompanied by a 
 single maid-servant, they left the town on foot, 
 under the disguise of pilgrims, and begged their 
 way to the shrine of our Lady of Guadaloupe 
 and of St. Veronica of Jaen. When they re- 
 turned from their pilgrimage, Ignatius, who was 
 considered responsible for the imprudence of 
 his disciples, had to sustain the whole weight of 
 censure, and Dr. Pietro Cirvelio, who had the 
 care of these two ladies, and who had been in 
 great anxiety for their safety, and was greatly 
 ashamed of what they had done, was excited 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 115 
 
 with anger against Ignatius, saying, that it was 
 not to be endured that an ignorant beggar and 
 an unknown man should have it in his power to 
 disturb the whole city of Alcala, and withdraw 
 mothers from the care of their families, and en- 
 danger the modesty of young women ; if such 
 boldness and imprudence were not checked, they 
 must expect great scandal to ensue. 
 
 The misdemeanours of students came under 
 the cognizance of the Rector of the University; 
 but Cirvelio, who wished Ignatius to be punish- 
 ed with the severity which he considered him 
 deserving of, and distrusting the Rector Matteo 
 Pasquali Catalano, who was a great friend of 
 Ignatius, had recourse to Figueroa. Figueroa, 
 who was weak enough to be overcome by the 
 authority of Cirvelio, who was the first lecturer 
 in theology in the university, and who had been 
 placed in the chair by Cardinal Ximenes the 
 founder, acceded to his demands. It happened 
 that Ignatius was standing in front of the hos- 
 pital when an officer from the Vicar General 
 suddenly approached him and bid him follow 
 him. Ignatius, without appearing to be in any 
 way disturbed, cheerfully accompanied him to 
 the prison. Bartoli relates, that as Ignatius 
 was being led to the prison by the police, they 
 chanced to meet Francis Borgia, who was then 
 a youth of seventeen, accompanied by a numer- 
 ous train of nobles. This meeting, if it increased 
 the shame of Ignatius upon that day, might 
 perhaps afterwards have increased his joy, when 
 this same man, who was then duke and vice- 
 
116 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 roy, cast himself at his feet, and offered himself 
 to him as a subject and a son. 
 
 To Saints, who find God wherever they may 
 be, all places are alike good ; and so it happen- 
 ed that even in prison Ignatius had some liberty, 
 and whoever came to see him, (for he was in 
 the neighbourhood of his former habitation, and 
 many whose devotion was in no degree lessened 
 by his present infamy used to visit him,) were all 
 rejoiced by hearing his discourse on divine things, 
 and by his teaching and Spiritual Exercises. 
 Amongst those who came was Giorgio Navero, 
 the first lecturer on the scriptures at Alcala, 
 a man of great understanding and piety, and 
 a great friend of the Emperor Charles V. This 
 man hearing the discourse of Ignatius was so 
 ravished with delight that he passed the hour 
 for giving his lecture without perceiving it; re- 
 turning therefore in great haste to the academy, 
 with the manners of one who was beside him- 
 self with the wonders he had witnessed, he 
 said to the students, who were waiting for 
 him, "Vidi Paulum in vinculis," expressing 
 by this striking comparison how he had been 
 struck with the fortitude of Ignatius, and with 
 the power of his words. Many persons of dis- 
 tinction offered their aid to procure his libera- 
 tion. Amongst others were Donna Teresa En- 
 riquez, mother of the Duke of Macheda, and 
 Donna Leonora Mascaregna, who was then lady 
 in waiting to the empress, and afterwards gov- 
 erness to Philip II. But he would neither avail 
 himself of their favour nor of the services of a 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. H7 
 
 lawyer. He said it was God's cause, and that 
 God would defend him. When Calisto, one of 
 his companions, heard of his imprisonment, al- 
 though he had not yet recovered from a severe 
 sickness, he travelled from Segovia to Alcala 
 that he might join him in the prison. Ignatius 
 immediately sent him to the vicar, that he might 
 obtain from him the most exact information. 
 When he was sent back to the prison Ignatius 
 soon began to be afraid that his weak health 
 would suffer from the confinement, and therefore 
 caused him to be set at liberty, for it is the 
 custom of Saints always to think more of others 
 than of themselves. 
 
 Figuero had made active inquiries into Igna- 
 tius 's case, but although there was no lack of 
 men to bring forward complaints and calumnies, 
 they all vanished when the proofs were required ; 
 whereas so many testimonies were brought for- 
 ward of the innocence and holiness of his life 
 and of his good deeds, that it seemed more like 
 a process for the canonization of a Saint, than 
 for the condemnation of a criminal. Seventeen 
 days elapsed before Ignatius knew the reason of 
 his imprisonment, when the Vicar came to visit 
 him accompanied by a public notary, and 
 amongst other questions asked him if he kept the 
 Sabbath-day. Ignatius humbly answered that 
 he did observe it in honour of the Blessed Virgin, 
 but not as a Jewish rite, of which rite he knew 
 nothing, nor were the Jews tolerated in that 
 country. The Vicar then proceeded to ask if he 
 knew the two ladies we have before spoken of, 
 
118 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 and on his replying that he did, whether he was 
 aware of their departure before it took place. 
 "I was not," he answered, "by that sacred oath 
 by which I bound myself at the commencement 
 of this examination." Then the Vicar gently laid 
 his hand upon his shoulder, and said with a 
 smile, " That is the only cause of your detention 
 here ; still I should be better pleased with your 
 discourses if they contained less novelty." Igna- 
 tius answered, "My Lord, I should never have 
 supposed it was a novelty to speak of Christ 
 among Christians." He then asked permission 
 to relate to the Vicar what had passed between 
 himself and these ladies, and the Vicar, highly 
 pleased at his statement, had the whole reduced 
 to writing by the notary, and took his departure, 
 only waiting the return of the ladies in order 
 that it might be confirmed by their testimony. 
 In the end, after an imprisonment of forty-two 
 days, the notary returned to read his sentence 
 to the following effect. His liberty was granted 
 to him because he was found to be free from all 
 blame both in his life and doctrine, but that for 
 sound reasons he was after a period of ten days 
 to lay aside his long robe, and with his compan- 
 ions adopt the ordinary dress of scholars ; more- 
 over that he was forbidden to make any public 
 assemblies, or make any public or private ex- 
 hortations for a space of four years, until he had 
 completed his course of theology ; and this was 
 enjoined under pain of excommunication and 
 banishment. Ignatius received the sentence with 
 great humility, only with regard to the dress he 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 119 
 
 said, " When we were commanded to change the 
 colour of our dress, we immediately obeyed with- 
 out a word, for it mattered little what the dye 
 might be ; but now we are required to adopt a 
 new and costly dress, which is a thing impos- 
 sible to our poverty." 
 
 On this account the Vicar recommended Igna- 
 tius to a man of consideration named Luzzena, 
 well known in Alcala for his works of mercy; 
 and this man volunteered to accompany Ignatius 
 on his quest. They came in the course of their 
 expedition to a place where the young nobles 
 resorted for the game of pella, near to the house 
 of Lope Mendozza, and here they were standing 
 under the gaze of the whole assembly when Luz- 
 zena approached and begged for alms. Lope, 
 who bore malice against Ignatius because of some 
 salutary correction which he had administered 
 to him, turned to Luzzena and said, " Is not an 
 honourable man like you ashamed to go begging 
 in this manner with a wretched hypocrite like 
 that? May I die of burning if he does not de- 
 serve the fire." Those who were assembled on 
 the spot were very angry at this speech, and the 
 inhabitants of the city, amongst whom it was 
 quickly published, were greatly offended. But 
 more than all this, his words were displeasing 
 to God, so that He visited the wretched man 
 with a speedy and fearful vengeance; for soon 
 afterwards the news of the birth of Philip II, 
 reached the city, and great rejoicings were made. 
 Lope, who was one of the chief nobles of Alcala, 
 went to a tower of his palace, accompanied by 
 
120 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 a servant and a page, to fire off guns, when a 
 spark fell upon a heap of powder, which suddenly 
 exploded and enveloped him in the flame. Ago- 
 nized by the pain he uttered horrible cries of 
 despair, and ran down from the tower to throw 
 himself into some water, but he had no sooner 
 reached the spot than his strength failed him, 
 and he fell down and died. Ribadeneira is in 
 error in saying that he was consumed together 
 with the tower. 
 
 This terrible vengeance, by which God de- 
 fended His servant's honour in the eyes of men, 
 made up to him for the discredit into which 
 he had been brought by the Vicar having so un- 
 justifiably imposed silence upon him. This 
 learned doctor could not have been ignorant 
 that the Holy Spirit has very often raised both 
 men and women who were ignorant of letters, 
 and has made them ministers of His word and 
 dispensers of His mysteries, and Ignatius was 
 proved to be one of these, by the holiness of his 
 life, the soundness of his doctrine, and the hap- 
 py effects of his preaching, which had been 
 several times juridically attested. Besides which, 
 the Vicar now prohibited what he had himself 
 only a short time before permitted and approved. 
 
 But God made up to the Saint for these per- 
 secutions and calumnies, by preparing in the 
 same city of Alcala many distinguished men 
 who in after times illustrated the Society of 
 Jesus. Not to speak of others, Lainez, and 
 Salmerone, and Bodadiglia were among its ori- 
 ginal members ; and six years later, in 1546, 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 121 
 
 Father Francesco Villanova was sent by St. 
 Ignatius to found a college there ; and in the 
 course of time, Dezza, Vasquez, Suarez, Azzorio, 
 Arrubale, Torres, and many other famous Doc- 
 tors taught in that University, and here also 
 St. Francis Borgia expounded the Scriptures. 
 
 Ignatius perceiving that he was now prevent- 
 ed from doing service to the souls of men in 
 Alcala, where he had now resided for nearly a 
 year and a half, departed to Salamanca, where he 
 could quietly pursue the course of his studies 
 without hinderance to his zeal. At Valadolid 
 he found Alonso Fonseca, Archbishop of Toledo, 
 to whom he made known the designs which he 
 had in contemplation, as well as what had hither- 
 to happened to him, telling him, that although he 
 was no longer in his diocese or bound by the 
 sentence issued against him at Alcala, he never- 
 theless remitted the case wholly to his decision, 
 and would do nothing according to his own will. 
 The good Archbishop received him with great 
 kindness, consoling him for what he had suffered, 
 and bidding him go to the college of Salamanca, 
 where he had friends, and where he would as- 
 sist him to the best of his power, and by way of 
 a beginning he placed in his hand some gold 
 pieces for his journey. 
 
122 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 HIS IMPRISONMENT AT SALAMANCA. 
 
 On his arrival at Salamanca, as he did not 
 know to what inn his companions had gone, 
 for thej had preceded him a long time, he en- 
 tered a certain church to pray, when a pious 
 woman, after looking at him attentively, came 
 up and asked his name, offering at the same 
 time to conduct him to his companions, with 
 whom she was acquainted. But he did not long 
 enjoy peace at Salamanca, for having there re- 
 sumed not only his studies, but the exercises 
 which he was in the habit of giving, and the 
 success of his labours being very wonderful 
 among persons of all ranks in life, the eyes of 
 men were quickly directed towards him, and the 
 whole city was astonished. In truth, it was a 
 new and strange thing to see a layman who did 
 differ from others even in his dress, for he now 
 wore the student's dress, publicly discharging the 
 duties of an apostle, and by his exhortations 
 reducing even the priests to the holiness which 
 their ministry required of them. 
 
 By a great number of men his conduct was 
 highly praised, but there were others also who 
 from having been falsely informed that Igna- 
 tius had been sent away from Alcala by the 
 Vicar General, and also because the unsettled 
 state of the Church at that period rendered all 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 123 
 
 novelties suspected, considered that his preten- 
 sions ought to be cautiously examined. Tho 
 Dominican Fathers therefore of the great Con- 
 vent of St. Stephen, although this duty did not 
 rightly appertain to them, desired to know Ig- 
 natius, and examine what were his abilities and 
 his knowledge. And according to the narrative 
 which the Saint himself gave to Louis Gonzaga, 
 the affair was conducted as follows. About 
 twelve days after his arrival at Salamanca, one 
 of these religious, whom he had taken as his 
 confessor, told him that his brethren desired 
 to hold a conference with him, and Ignatius re- 
 plied that he was willing to comply with their 
 desires in the Lord's name. The confessor then 
 said, "It will be well then that you come to 
 sup with us next Sunday, but I warn you that 
 you will be closely questioned." Ignatius ac- 
 cordingly went to the monastery accompanied 
 by Calisto. After supper the vicar, for the 
 prior was then absent, together with his con- 
 fessor and other fathers of the community, led 
 him into a chapel, and all took their seats. 
 Calisto had on a very short cloak and a very 
 large hat, a staff in his hand, and boots which 
 only reached half up his leg. This costume 
 became him the less because Calisto was a very 
 tall man. The vicar, in great astonishment, ask- 
 ed why he was so dressed. Ignatius answered, 
 that as a student's dress had for God's sake 
 been given to him at Alcala, so for God's sake 
 he had given the dress to a poor priest. The 
 vicar was not pleased with this answer, and 
 
124 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 said that charity ought to begin at home. Then 
 entering at once into the subject of their in- 
 quiry, he addressed Ignatius with looks of kind- 
 ness, and told him how greatly they were de- 
 lighted to see that he and his companions went 
 about the city like apostles, and drew the peo- 
 ple to God's service; but that he desired much 
 to know what studies they had made. Ignatius 
 replied that he had himself studied more than 
 the rest, but that still his knowledge was small 
 and that he was ill-grounded. The vicar then 
 inquired how it was that he preached. " We 
 do not preach," said Ignatius, "but we reason in 
 a homely manner on divine things, or speak of 
 some particular vice or virtue, endeavouring to 
 the best of our power to inspire a love for vir- 
 tue and hatred of vice." The vicar replied 
 that they could not discourse upon such sub- 
 jects unless they had been taught in the schools 
 or by the Holy Ghost. "Now this," he said, 
 "is what we seek to know." It appeared hard 
 to Ignatius that they should deduce such a con- 
 sequence from his answer, and after a moment's 
 thought he answered, "I have said sufficient 
 upon this subject." "How," said the vicar, 
 "now that the errors of Erasmus and of other 
 teachers are disseminated among the people, do 
 you refuse to tell us what is the subject of 
 your addresses ? " Ignatius answered, " Father, I 
 will say no more than what I have already told 
 you, except it be before my superiors, who have 
 a right to inquire." The vicar then said, "Do 
 ye then remain here, and we will take mea- 
 
ST. IGNATTU8. 125 
 
 surcs to compel you to speak more openly." He 
 then rose up and hurried away with his com- 
 panions to seek for the judges, leaving the doors 
 of the convent guarded. Ignatius and Calisto 
 were kept here three days, taking their meals 
 with the brethren in the refectory, and many 
 of the brethren came to their cell, with whom 
 they discoursed on divine things. By this means 
 division sprung up among the brethren, for many 
 firmly believed him to be a Saint, testifying great 
 affection towards him, and begging him to speak 
 to them with all freedom, for it was not, they 
 said, his own speech, but the Spirit of the Lord, 
 who spoke by him. On the contrary others were 
 of opinion, that whether he was good or bad, 
 an unknown man ought never to be allowed to 
 assume the office of teacher, and at least it was 
 their duty to see well to it, lest any corruption 
 of doctrine was to be introduced among them 
 under the appearance of zeal. 
 
 After three days a notary came from Bac- 
 celliere Frias, the Bishop's vicar, by whom they 
 were taken to prison, not to the dungeon of 
 criminals, but to one above it which was dirty, 
 foul -smelling, uninhabited, and out of repair. 
 In the midst of it was the beam which supported 
 the roof, and to this was attached a chain about 
 twelve palms in length ; with this their feet were 
 fastened in such a manner that one could not 
 move without dragging his companion with him. 
 Here they passed the whole of the first night 
 without sleeping, in praising God. The day fol- 
 lowing, when the news of their imprisonment 
 
126 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 was rumoured in the city, beds and coverings 
 
 were sent for them and plenty of food, and after 
 
 that they were treated with less cruelty. Here, 
 
 as before in Alcala, numbers of people resorted 
 
 to them, with whom Ignatius tranquilly conversed 
 
 on divine things. Amongst them was Francesco 
 
 Mendozza, who afterwards became a Cardinal, 
 
 Bishop of Burgos, and Archbishop of Valencia, 
 
 and who had a great love for Ignatius and his 
 
 institute. When the Saint was asked whether he 
 
 found his imprisonment and chains grievous to 
 
 bear, he made answer, ''Do chains and fetters 
 
 then seem to you a great thing? I tell you that 
 
 in all Salamanca they could not find irons and 
 
 bonds which I should not long to bear for the 
 
 love of God." The Vicar Frias was united with 
 
 Mendozza to inquire into the cause, and Ignatius 
 
 and Calisto were examined separately. Ignatius 
 
 handed over to them all his writings, and 
 
 amongst the rest the book of Exercises ; he also 
 
 told them that he had three other companions, 
 
 and informed them of their habitation, that they 
 
 might have no difficulty in discovering them. 
 
 They were accordingly imprisoned by the vicar, 
 
 with the exception of Giovanni, who was but 
 
 a youth ; they were also put in the criminals' 
 
 dungeon, that they might not be able to hold 
 
 any communication with Ignatius and Calisto. 
 
 The judges then began an attentive examination 
 
 of the Exercises, and, moreover, handed them 
 
 over to the scrutiny of three doctors of theology, 
 
 named Frias, Paravigna, and Isidore After 
 
 this preliminary step, Ignatius was brought be- 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 127 
 
 fore the judges and the above-named doctors, 
 and a number of questions were put to him, not 
 only with regard to the Exercises, but on many 
 deep theological doctrines ; as on the Trinity, 
 the Incarnation, and the Eucharist. After hav- 
 ing protested that he was an unlearned person, 
 and that he submitted all his words to the judg- 
 ment of the Church, he made such satisfactory 
 replies to all these questions as to move the as- 
 tonishment of his judges. 
 
 After this the vicar, who showed a more ardent 
 zeal than the others, proposed to him a difficult 
 question of canon law. Ignatius, after saying 
 that he was ignorant of what was said by the 
 doctors on this subject, nevertheless gave a fit- 
 ting answer, which resolved the doubt. They 
 then commanded him to give them an explana- 
 tion of the greatest commandment of the law, 
 as he was accustomed to explain it to the people. 
 And the holy man, whose heart was overflowing 
 with divine affection, spoke upon the love of 
 God in a manner so wonderful and so original 
 that they abstained from putting any further 
 questions to him. One thing only the judges 
 disapproved of, which was that when he con- 
 fessed himself to be an unlearned person, he 
 had still ventured at the beginning of his book 
 of Exercises to define what constituted a mortal, 
 and what a venial sin, which had appeared a 
 great difficulty to the greatest doctors. Ignatius 
 answered, "You are the judges whether what I 
 have said upon that point be true or false ; if 
 therefore it be erroneous, condemn the defini- 
 
128 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 tion ; " but this they would not venture to do. 
 Meanwhile an event occurred which gave the 
 clearest testimony to the innocence of Ignatius 
 and his companions. The prisoners succeeded 
 in breaking the doors of the prison house and 
 made their escape ; but the two companions of 
 Ignatius still remained there. When this fact was 
 known in the city, all men were astonished and 
 edified by it. Bartoli says that they were again 
 confined in a commodious house, whilst Ignatius 
 continued bound with chains ; but in the Saint's 
 own narrative to Louis Gonzaga it is said, 
 " It happened at this time that all the prisoners 
 made their escape but these two, and their 
 companions, Ignatius and Calisto, were alone 
 found there in the morning, and on this account 
 the neighbouring palace was assigned to them 
 as their only prison." Ribadeneira and Maffei 
 give the same account. 
 
 Twenty-two days after their arrest, Ignatius 
 and his companions were summoned before the 
 judges to hear their sentence. Their lives and 
 their doctrine were declared to be blameless, and 
 therefore they were permitted to labour for the 
 good of souls as they had done before. Only as 
 they had not studied theology for four years, 
 they were forbidden to define mortal and venial 
 sin. The judges afterwards showed great kind- 
 ness to Ignatius, as if they desired him to receive 
 their sentence in good part. He made answer 
 that he would yield obedience to their commands 
 so long as he remained in the diocese of Sala- 
 manca ; but that it did not appear to him a just 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 120 
 
 thing that they should throw impediments in the 
 way of his usefulness to the souls of men when 
 they were unable to find any fault with him. 
 The Vicar Frias with many expressions of esteem 
 begged him to be content with the judgment 
 they had delivered ; but Ignatius persisted in his 
 former answer. In truth the Saint well under- 
 stood that when he denied, as his custom was, to 
 condemn and hold up to hatred offences against 
 God, it would be in their power to interpret as 
 light sins what he had defined to be great crimes, 
 and then accuse him of violating the prohibition 
 they had given. Having therefore commended 
 the matter to God, and perceiving that continual 
 obstacles were thrown in his way in Spain, he 
 resolved to quit the country and go to Paris. 
 Thus was Ignatius urged on by God's wonderful 
 providence, and for this end did He permit such 
 impediments to be put in the way of his zeal. 
 For in Paris he had prepared Peter Faber, Fran- 
 cis Xavier, Simon Rodriguez, and others, who 
 together with James Lainez, Alphonso Salme- 
 rone, and Niccolo Bobadiglia, were about to be 
 made the foundation stones of the Society of 
 Jesus. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 THE COMMENCEMENT AND PROGRESS OF IIIS STUDIES 
 IN TARIS. 
 
 Having made known his design to his compan- 
 ions, it was agreed that he should go forward 
 
 9 
 
L30 - KWATiua 
 
 alone to Paris : if he found there any means of 
 subsistence, he was to send for them to join him. 
 if not, he was to let them know it. that they 
 might be still united in heart whilst at so great 
 a distance from each other, and when they had 
 completed their studies in philosophy and the- 
 ology, might, if it pleased God. again unite for 
 the accomplishment oi their enterprise, which 
 had been hitherto frustrated. About three weeks 
 after his liberation he accordingly set out on foot 
 for Barcelona, with an ass before him loaded with 
 books, and without giving any heed to the words 
 or the prayers of his friends. At Barcelona the 
 scene was very different, for all his old friends, who 
 were bo full of devotion towards him, besought 
 him with prayers and lamentations not to go 
 into a strange country at a time when France 
 and Spain were engaged in bitter warfare, and 
 when the confines of both kingdoms were infested 
 by robbers and murderers. But Ignatius, unde- 
 terred by prayers or fears, abided by his decision ; 
 only for the necessities oi his long journey and 
 for his wants in Paris, he accepted a sum of 
 money from Isabella Koselli. and from others, 
 which he took with him partly in cash and 
 partly in bills of exchange. With this assistance, 
 but depending above all on the help of God. he 
 set forth in the early part of January. 1528, du- 
 ring a very severe winter, and travelling, as was 
 his wont, on foot, and without either guide or 
 companion, he arrived at Paris without any dan- 
 ger on the second day oi the next month. 
 When Ignatius came to the university of Paris. 
 
131 
 
 and made a rev: the fruitlesmess of his 
 
 former studies, he determined to devote himself 
 
 -.em with all his power, as he believed, on 
 mature consideration, that this would be 
 
 - thing he could do fot God*i nnice. He 
 also condemned his extreme haste to make pro- 
 - wired in future to proceed step by 
 
 re-commence his studies from the 
 beginning. He more save 
 
 the time which he had lost in begging when 
 he w ^pain, and to avail himself of the 
 
 pious offerings of his friends. Having then 
 made an arrangement with some Spaniards for 
 his board and lodging, he took - in gram- 
 
 mar under good instructors in the C oiler-. 
 Monte-acuto. Bnfl n happened which 
 
 interfered with his good resolutions. When he 
 first came to Paris he had exchanged a Barce- 
 lona bill for twenty- i as h- 
 liked having the charge of money, he consigned 
 the ducats to one of his companions, who spent 
 the whole sum, and was not able to make I 
 tution. At the end of Lent therefore he found 
 himself quite destitute, and was forced to lose 
 a great part of his time every day in begging 
 alms from door to door, and he was also obliged 
 to quit his lodgings and betake himself to the 
 hospital of St. James ; and as this was a: 
 distance from the college, and it was con:: 
 to the regulations for him to go out ear- 
 ning, he could only study 
 half his time. This misfortune he was anxious 
 to repair, and perceiving that other poor ri 
 
132 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 dents hired themselves out as servants to one 
 of the professors or governors of the college, 
 and in that manner got sufficient leisure for 
 study, he determined to do the same. The 
 Saint resolved in his own mind that he "would 
 look upon his master as if he were Christ Him- 
 self, and on his fellow-servants as the Apostles 
 of Christ, and in this spirit behave himself to- 
 wards them. But very often it pleases God 
 to disappoint the good desires and intentions of 
 His servants, in order that He may perfect them 
 in patience, submission, and in trust in Him, 
 and in the present instance Ignatius, in spite 
 of all his eiforts, could not find any master to 
 engage him. By the advice of a certain monk 
 he there adopted a different course, which was 
 to go into Flanders during the vacation, and 
 there he collected from different Spanish mer- 
 chants who traded at Antwerp and Bruges, 
 enough to support him during the rest of the 
 year. This plan he adopted successfully for 
 two years, and the third year he crossed over 
 into England, and in the city of London he 
 gathered still more abundant alms. These for- 
 eign expeditions appeared to Giovanni Madera, 
 who was a compatriot of the Saint's, to be a 
 slur upon the house of Loyola, as if the nobles 
 of that family were unable, or else did not care, 
 to support one of their own blood. One day 
 therefore he endeavoured to show Ignatius that 
 he was by his conduct committing a sin of injus- 
 tice in detracting from the honour of his family, 
 which was not his own property; and so fixed 
 
ST. I(;XATIU>. 133 
 
 was the good man in this erroneous opinion, that 
 Ignatius could not remove it by any arguments. 
 Accordingly he made a statement of the question 
 in a few words, aud referred it to the chief doc- 
 tors of the Sorbonne to decide whether a noble- 
 man who had forsaken the world for the love 
 of Christ, might go about begging without 
 bringing disgrace upon his family. When he 
 had obtained from all a uniform answer, that 
 there was nothing to blame in such a course, 
 he presented the answers to Madera, not so much 
 in his own justification as in defence of volun- 
 tary poverty, which, having been ennobled by 
 the example of Jesus Christ, could not possibly 
 bring disgrace even upon a royal house. After 
 the first three years the merchants of Flanders, 
 who were now acquainted with him, relieved 
 him from taking these long and difficult journeys 
 by causing their charities to be paid into his 
 hands in Paris. From this source and from 
 his friends in Spain he obtained sufficient to 
 provide for himself and for Peter Faber aud 
 Xiccolo Bobadiglia, as well as for a number of 
 poor persons. 
 
 Amongst others, Ignatius, by his journeys into 
 Flanders, gained the esteem of Consalvo Aguig- 
 lieres, a Spanish merchant of Bruges, a man of 
 great authority and of a noble zeal, who had 
 preserved the church of the xVugustinian monks 
 from the attack of the heretics. This man re- 
 ceived Ignatius into his house from motives of 
 kindness and charity; and as he had every 
 day opportunities of witnessing his virtue he be- 
 
134 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 gan to be surprised at him, and very shortly his 
 surprise was changed into reverence, and his rev- 
 erence into loving devotion ; so that when he was 
 afterwards called by business to make a residence 
 of some months in Paris, he desired to lodge in 
 the same apartment with Ignatius. In like man- 
 ner Ludovico Vives, a man of great learning and 
 abilities, entertained him at his own table when 
 he went to Bruges, and when he heard him speak 
 of God he was filled with astonishment, and when 
 he had gone away told those who were present 
 that he was a Saint, and that one day he would 
 doubtless be the founder of a religious order. 
 These words were reported to Ignatius by one of 
 the guests who had heard them spoken, who for 
 some good reason repeated them to Giovanni 
 Palanco, who has left an account of them. But 
 upon the occasion of one of his visits to Antwerp 
 the Saint made a prophecy which is more worthy 
 of record than the words of Vives, and which, 
 besides being told by many learned writers, is 
 attested on oath in the process of canonization. 
 Ignatius had asked an alms of a young Spanish 
 merchant from Medina, named Pietro Quadrato, 
 and when this good young man willingly relieved 
 him, the Saint looked fixedly at him with an 
 expression of joy, and said to him, "My Lord, 
 you will one day bestow upon me a far greater 
 sum than this, by founding in your own country 
 a religious house, which it is God's pleasure to 
 establish in the world by means of this wretched 
 man who speaks to you." The strangeness and 
 emphasis of these words, and the reputation of 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 135 
 
 Ignatius, impressed this prophecy for over on 
 the mind of Pietro, and when the Society of Jesus 
 was founded the marvellous prediction was re- 
 lated to them by his wife, Francesca Mansoni, 
 and she, together with her husband, in the course 
 of time completed the foundation. To this day 
 a house may be seen at Antwerp, opposite the 
 collegiate church of St. James, which in former 
 times belonged to Giovanni Cuegliar, and in which 
 tradition says that Ignatius used to lodge; and 
 in memory of this an inscription may be seen 
 under an image of the Saint at the angle of the 
 wall in these words: 
 
 " S. Ignatio 
 
 S. J. F. 
 
 in hac domo 
 
 olim hospitato 
 
 Sac." 
 
 The citizens of Bruges also point out a house 
 in which he is said to have lodged. 
 
 But, to return to our history, when Ignatius 
 had been eighteen months occupied in the study 
 of grammar, he entered his course of philosophy 
 under Giovanni Pegna in October, 1529, and for 
 that purpose removed from the College of Monte- 
 acuto to that of St. Barbara. The unusual eager- 
 ness with which he began these studies gave an 
 occasion to the devil to endeavour, as he had 
 before tried at Barcelona, to disturb his mind, 
 and perplex him with a multitude of thoughts, 
 and with a spiritual sweetness which appeared 
 to be divine. But after his former experience 
 Ignatius quickly discovered the illusion. In 
 
136 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 like manner when he conversed with Peter Faber 
 on philosophical subjects, he wandered into 
 spiritual discourse and was lost amidst divine 
 joys, to the great hindrance of his studies, and 
 he therefore made an agreement with him never 
 to converse on any such topics. It also seemed 
 good to him at the same time in some degree 
 to relax his labours for the good of souls, with- 
 out at the same time relinquishing them alto- 
 gether, by which arrangement he had more time 
 at his disposal and also avoided stirring up per- 
 secutions. Professor Frago was astonished at 
 the peace he enjoyed, and asked him how there 
 came to be such a great calm after the tempest. 
 Ignatius answered, " Because now I do little for 
 the salvation of my neighbour ; but when my 
 studies are finished, and I return to my former 
 habits, the storm will again commence." About 
 this time a monk came to Frago begging him 
 to find him another house, because some of the 
 lodgers in the house he then inhabited had died, 
 as it was supposed, of the plague, which had 
 then just broke out in Paris. The doctor sent a 
 woman to the house who had great experience 
 of that disorder, and on her return she reported 
 that it really was the plague. Upon this Igna- 
 tius went to the house to comfort and help the 
 sick whom he might find there, and he ministered 
 to one whom he discovered, and dressed his sores 
 with his own hands. Very soon afterwards he 
 felt a violent pain in his hand, and supposing 
 that he had taken the infection he was in great 
 fear ; being of so ardent an imagination he 
 
ST, IGNATIUS. 137 
 
 could not with all his efforts drive away this 
 dread from his mind, and that he might conquer 
 this involuntary want of conformity to God's 
 will, he courageously put the finger of that 
 hand into his mouth, saying, " Well if you have 
 got the plague in your hand you shall have it in 
 your mouth also." No sooner had he done this 
 than all his fear vanished at once, and at the 
 same time his hand was freed from pain. Still 
 when it became known in the College of St. Bar- 
 bara, where he was then lodging, that he had 
 been into an infected house, it was agreed that 
 he ought to be sent away for a certain space 
 of time. 
 
 When he had accomplished his three years 
 and a half of study, including the course of 
 philosophy, according to the custom of the 
 times, and having been tried by a severe exami- 
 nation, he was granted the degree of master at 
 Easter, 1534, the patent of which degree is 
 preserved in our college at Rome. He had 
 taken the licentiate during the Lent of 1533, 
 as may be collected from one of his own letters 
 written from Paris in the June of that year, the 
 original of which may be seen in our house of 
 novices at Cagliari in Sardinia. Let it be ob- 
 served that I mention the date of 1533, whereas 
 the Chronicles at Paris call it 1532 ; because I 
 calculate the year to begin in January, whereas 
 it was then the custom in Paris to count the 
 beginning of the year from Easter. The hum- 
 ble Saint accepted these honours by the advice 
 of his superiors, and that he might have some 
 
138 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 testimonials of his learning, seeing that both at 
 Alcala and Salamanca his labours had been 
 checked from the want of them. After this he 
 attended the lectures in theology in the Domini- 
 can Convent at great trouble and inconvenience 
 to himself, as he was obliged to be there before 
 day ; but this was amply compensated by the 
 doctrine which he was there taught, and from 
 which he derived the greatest benefit, although 
 his studies were interrupted by illness after he 
 had pursued them for a year and a half ; but he 
 was afterwards enabled to resume them and com- 
 plete the term of four years. 
 
 I must not omit to mention here that several 
 rules and precautions which the Saint afterwards 
 prescribed in his own schools were taught him 
 by his own experience during the period of his 
 studies. In the first the great hindrance which 
 he had experienced in his studies from anxiety 
 in seeking for a maintenance, caused him to make 
 provision in his Constitutions that in our colleges 
 all should live in common. This regulation in 
 no way offends against the perfection of religious 
 poverty, and also tends to the greater glory of 
 God, which is the great object of the Society and 
 of its studies. In the next place the Saint con- 
 sidered the great hindrance which he had found 
 from importunate thoughts upon divine subjects 
 when he ought to have been intent upon learn- 
 ing, and he there arranged that the young men 
 should make their meditations and perform their 
 other religious exercises, so that due time should 
 be given to their reading. Moreover as his own 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 139 
 
 infirmities had taught him how the mind is op- 
 pressed by the weakness of the body, and disturbs 
 its operations ; besides the great attention which 
 was at all times to be given to the health of his 
 children, and besides imposing this care particu- 
 larly upon the superiors in his Constitutions, he 
 also imposed it upon them, particularly that they 
 should carefully watch over the application of 
 the scholars, and interpose to put a fitting re- 
 straint upon over exertion. Lastly, as he had 
 himself lost much from mixing and hurrying 
 through his studies, he ordered that the Society 
 should observe a most exact order in this respect, 
 and pursue the regular course without curtailing 
 it. From this it plainly appears what was the 
 design of God's providence in exposing Ignatius 
 to so many difficulties and suffering him to fall 
 into so many mistakes, although he was honest- 
 ly working for the greater glory of God. It was 
 in order that he might provide for us with greater 
 prudence when he became the Father of the 
 Society of Jesus, having learned wisdom by his 
 own experience. And if we find when we are 
 walking in the way of the Lord, with pure and 
 honest hearts, that our holy desires are crossed, 
 let us learn from hence that we ought to rest 
 with entire confidence on the paternal Providence 
 of God, certain that, as the Apostle says, all will 
 work for good to those that love God. 
 
140 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 HIS LABOURS FOR THE GOOD OF SOULS AT PARIS, AND 
 THE PERSECUTIONS WHICH THENCE AROSE. 
 
 We have seen that Ignatius abstained in a 
 great measure from his apostolic labours whilst 
 he was going through his course of philosophy ; 
 but when he returned from Flanders the first 
 time he exerted himself with all his energies to 
 reform the manners of the young students, and 
 as he was one of those just men who are said in 
 the book of Wisdom to be as sparks among the 
 stubble, and set the people on fire, his labours 
 were followed by many extraordinary conversions. 
 The most striking of these were the conversions 
 of Giovanni di Castro, a doctor of the Sorbonne, 
 of a student named Peralta, and of a youth 
 from Biscay, of the family of Amadori, who re- 
 sided in the College of St. Barbara. These three 
 greatly desired to lead a perfect life, and became 
 the Saint's companions. Shortly after they sold 
 all that they had, even their books, and were ad- 
 mitted into the hospital of St. James, where they 
 lived in extreme poverty and in continual pray- 
 er. This conduct, which was wisdom in the sight 
 of God, was condemned by the world as the 
 extreme of folly. G. di Castro and Peralta both 
 belonged to rich and noble families, and it was 
 considered a disgrace both to their names and to 
 their country that they should go about the streets 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 141 
 
 of Paris as if they were the children of beggars. 
 Their friends, therefore, did all that they could 
 by threats, and arguments, and prayers, to with- 
 draw them from this course and make them re- 
 pent of their mistake. But all their exhortations 
 were in vain, and the only answer they could 
 get was, that they had been taught to act in 
 this manner by the Holy Spirit when they went 
 through the Exercises. 
 
 Hence arose rumours to the prejudice of the 
 Saint, and it was said that he blinded the under- 
 standings of sensible people by incantations. The 
 Spaniards at Paris were furious against him, and 
 especially two famous doctors named Pietro Ortiz 
 and Diego Govea, who were indignant on account 
 of their respective scholars; the first for G. di 
 Castro and Peralta, the second for Amadori ; and 
 they declared that when Ignatius came to the 
 College of St. Barbara they would have him pub- 
 licly whipped as a corrupter of the young stu- 
 dents. They accused him before the court of 
 the Inquisition; for although this tribunal did 
 not exert the same power as in Spain and Italy, 
 there had still been an Inquisitor for many ages 
 delegated by the Pope, to preserve the purity of 
 the faith and the obedience of the people. Mattei 
 Ori, of the Order of Preachers, was at that time 
 the head of the tribunal, a learned divine who 
 was celebrated for his goodness as well as his 
 doctrine. When he had heard the accusation he 
 knew at once what sort of incantations Ignatius 
 must have used, and understanding the cause 
 of their anger, was anxious to see the accused. 
 
142 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 But Ignatius was then absent from Paris on a 
 mission of charity. The Spaniard to whom the 
 Saint had given his money in charge when he 
 first came to Paris, was now lying sick at Rouen 
 in a state of great misery and destitution, and 
 knew no body to whom he could apply for assist- 
 ance but the man whose trust he had betrayed. 
 When Ignatius heard of this, he perceived that 
 he had an opportunity of Christian revenge, and 
 set out immediately for Rouen. Overcome by 
 this act of charity and chastened by his sick- 
 ness, which had been the occasion of sug- 
 gesting to him wise counsels and holy thoughts, 
 he was persuaded by Ignatius to forsake the 
 world and consecrate his life to God. To ask 
 this grace from the Father of lights who is the 
 giver of all good gifts, it came into the mind 
 of Ignatius that he would make the journey bare- 
 foot, and without either eating or drinking, and 
 upon this occurring to him he went to pray in 
 the Church of St. Dominic, that he might be 
 quite sure that he was not tempting God. But 
 this laborious undertaking was very grievous to 
 his natural inclinations, and on the morning of 
 his departure he was so oppressed with faint- 
 heartedness and sloth, that he could hardly rise 
 from his bed to put on his rags, and in these dis- 
 positions he continued till he had walked the first 
 three leagues as far as Argenteuil, after which, 
 as he was laboriously dragging himself up a 
 steep hill, God suddenly infused such joy into 
 his heart, that he could no longer restrain him- 
 self from uttering cries of joy, and at the same 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 143 
 
 time he was so strengthened that he was able 
 to accomplish full fourteen leagues that day, 
 without feeling any fatigue or hunger. The 
 first night he slept at a hospital, where he sha- 
 red the bed of a mendicant. The second night 
 in a little hut thatched with straw, and the third 
 day he came to Rouen, where he found the sick 
 man, whom he affectionately embraced, taking 
 care of him and ministering to his wants. He 
 afterwards took a passage for him on board a 
 ship, gave him provisions for his voyage, and 
 furnished him with letters to his own friends. 
 
 When Ignatius returned to Paris he heard of 
 the reports circulated against him, and of his 
 having been summoned by the Inquisitor. He 
 accordingly hastened to present himself and offer 
 himself for examination, requesting only that 
 the cause might be hastened, as he was about 
 to begin his course of philosophy on the Feast of 
 St. Remigius. The Inquisitor courteously com- 
 plied with his wishes, and told him that he had 
 certainly been accused, but that he was already 
 satisfied of his innocence, and that he might 
 therefore proceed with his studies in peace. 
 
 Shortly after this another storm arose. In 
 the College of St. Barbara disputations were held 
 every feast day, for testing the skill of the stu- 
 dents ; but as a number of them had become 
 devout and frequented the sacraments through 
 the exhortations of Ignatius, it was found that 
 upon these days the schools were abandoned 
 whilst the churches were filled. The professor, 
 whose name was Pegna, was greatly provoked 
 
144 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 at this, and told Ignatius several times that he 
 had better attend to his own business without 
 meddling with the other students, unless he 
 wished to have him for his enemy. The only 
 effect which these threats had upon the Saint 
 was to move him with compassion, that a man 
 should be more solicitous for the lessons of 
 Aristotle than for those of Christ, and he con- 
 tinued to act as he had done before. Pegna 
 then had recourse to the Rector Govea, whom 
 there was no occasion for him to inflame, be- 
 cause, as we have lately seen, he was already 
 full of hatred and revenge against Ignatius. It 
 was then the custom to punish those who dis- 
 turbed the peace of the college with a public 
 flogging in the college hall : all the masters 
 were assembled at the sound of the bell, and 
 beat the culprit with rods and scourges in the 
 presence of all the students. The disgrace of this 
 punishment was still greater than the pain, so 
 that any person of consideration who had re- 
 ceived it could never show his face again. This 
 punishment seemed to Pegna and Govea well 
 deserved by Ignatius, and it agreed also with 
 their intention of getting rid of him from the 
 college, and upon this they accordingly resolved. 
 The affair could not be kept so secret but that 
 it came to the ears of some of the friends of 
 Ignatius, who informed him of it. When he 
 heard of this public insult and shame, his human 
 nature revolted with indignation ; but at the 
 same time he rejoiced in spirit, and he said to 
 himself, " It is in vain for thee, fool, to kick 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 145 
 
 against the pricks ; yield thyself, and comply, or 
 else I will drag thee to the spot." Continuing 
 to abuse himself in this manner he went to the 
 college, and the doors were immediately barred 
 behind him. But God was satisfied with his 
 willingness of mind, which he made instrumental 
 to His own glory, and did not require him to 
 make the sacrifice ; for by his undergoing this 
 dishonour many would have been alienated from 
 Ignatius, and their spiritual life would have 
 wasted away like tender plants which are de- 
 prived of moisture. Besides this, what could 
 have been more against the glory of Christ than 
 to have seen a man publicly flogged in a Chris- 
 tian academy for no other reason than because 
 he had gained souls to Christ? Therefore, in 
 the same manner that the apostle St. Paul 
 refused to be scourged, saying that he was a 
 Roman citizen, so for the greater glory of God 
 was Ignatius inspired to avoid this punishment. 
 He therefore caused himself to be brought into 
 the presence of the Rector, who had not yet left 
 his own apartment, and with the frankness of 
 one who spoke not on his own account, but for 
 the sake of others, he told him, that as far as 
 he was concerned, he should wish nothing better 
 than to bear stripes and shame for Christ's sake ; 
 that he had already borne chains and imprison- 
 ment for the same cause, and that he knew no 
 greater joy in the world; but now, when the 
 eternal salvation of many was in jeopardy, to- 
 gether with his own honour, he put to his own 
 understanding to decide, whether it became a 
 10 
 
146 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 Christian man to punish him as a worthless per- 
 son, when no man could accuse him of having 
 committed any other crime than that of bring- 
 ing souls to God ; and how could it be said that 
 he had rendered himself infamous by withdrawing 
 the students from him, when he had attracted 
 them only with the design of making them pious ? 
 The scales fell from the eyes of the Rector at 
 these words. He perceived the enormity of the 
 fault he had committed, and not suffering him 
 to proceed any further he took him by the hand 
 and conducted him into the hall. Then before 
 the whole assembly he knelt at his feet and im- 
 plored his forgiveness with many tears, confess- 
 ing that Ignatius was in truth a Saint, and that 
 he was to blame in having yielded to the persua- 
 sions of others and to his own bad passions. 
 This anecdote is an example of one of those 
 wonderful strokes of Divine Providence by which 
 God sometimes sees fit to frustrate the expecta- 
 tions of men. For this good man, as we shall 
 hereafter see, when he was many years after- 
 wards in great authority under John III. king of 
 Portugal, was the cause of the king's selecting 
 the companions of Ignatius for the conversion 
 of India, and this would never have happened if 
 this fault of his had not opened his eyes to see 
 the sanctity of Ignatius, and been the occasion 
 of their close friendship. This apparently tri- 
 fling occurrence, and, if I may so call it, this 
 sin, was instrumental in bringing St. Francis 
 Xavier and his heroic followers to the Eastern 
 world; and even at the time the best effects fol- 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 1 17 
 
 lowed from it, as it raised Ignatius so highly 
 in the esteem of the students. 
 
 Moreover, Pegna, who had raised all this storm 
 against him, was not only reconciled to him, 
 but ever afterwards looked upon him with great 
 love and veneration as a man of God. So like- 
 wise did Moscoso and Vaglio, chief lecturers in 
 the university, and Marziale, the master of theol- 
 ogy, the latter of whom became very intimate 
 with Ignatius, and finding that he possessed so 
 deep and vast a knowledge of divine things, he 
 offered to make him a doctor of theology, al- 
 though he had not then completed his course 
 of philosophy, but this Ignatius would not hear 
 of. Thus did the affairs of the Saint go on 
 prosperously at Paris, with two unimportant 
 exceptions, which I will relate in a more con- 
 venient place, and this prosperity he made great 
 use of for the advantage of men's souls. 
 
 It is related by Maffei, that besides the super- 
 natural gifts which the Saint was endowed with, 
 he had a great natural sagacity, which he made 
 use of for gaining the hearts of men and bring- 
 ing them to Christ. He cultivated the friend- 
 ship of the great as opportunities presented 
 themselves, his equals he attracted by the sweet- 
 ness of his manners, and the poor he bound to 
 him by his assistance, his authority, and, though 
 he was himself poor, by his alms ; the sick he 
 made his friends by visiting them at the peril 
 of his own health and life, and by comforting 
 them with all his power. He bore with all the 
 pride and natural imperfections of those with 
 
148 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 whom he lived, and he passed over offensive 
 words and actions with a wonderful dissimulation. 
 He discovered the inclinations of all, and ac- 
 commodated himself to them as far as he law- 
 fully could. In a word, as the Apostle expresses 
 it, he made himself all things to all men. When 
 he had thoroughly entered into their minds, 
 and had gained an influence over them, he went 
 on prudently guiding them step by step in the 
 practice of virtue. By such arts as these, in con- 
 junction with his own saintly example, many 
 were brought from the road of perdition to the 
 path of life, and the desire of evangelical per- 
 fection was lighted up in a great number of the 
 students at Paris, so that all who had felt a 
 devotion towards him and who were acquainted 
 with him, abandoned the world and became 
 religious when he departed from amongst them. 
 In like manner he brought a number of heretics 
 to the knowledge of the truth, and led them in 
 secret before the Inquisitor, that they might 
 be privately reconciled to the Church of Rome. 
 But among all the conversions which the Saint 
 made at Paris, the following seem to me to be 
 the most remarkable. A certain man was crim- 
 inally connected with a married woman, and 
 was running continual risk of losing his life and 
 his soul at the same moment. The circumstance 
 was known to Ignatius, and he employed all 
 the force of argument, both human and divine, 
 to draw back the wretched man from the pre- 
 cipice on which he stood; but all was to no effect, 
 for he was so possessed by passion that he could 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 149 
 
 neither see, or hear, or understand. Still the 
 zeal of the Saint was not overcome, and the 
 difficulty of the case urged him to a strange 
 expedient. The unhappy man, when he went 
 to visit his mistress, was in the habit of cross- 
 ing a bridge, beneath which ran a stream which 
 in the cold winter season of the climate of Paris 
 was nearly frozen. Ignatius stripped himself 
 naked and plunged into the water up to his 
 neck, waiting till the adulterer should pass in 
 the dusk of the evening. He then prayed God 
 with tears that He would have mercy upon 
 this madman, who had no mercy on his own 
 soul, and for him he offered this mortification 
 of his flesh. The man came in course of time 
 alone and still possessed with folly, and when 
 Ignatius saw him, he addressed to him a few 
 ardent words, showing him the double peril which 
 he ran both of soul and body, and telling him 
 that he stood there in the water praying that 
 his punishment might be suspended and that he 
 might obtain the grace of repentance. At this 
 unexpected attack and strange sight the man 
 stood amazed; the marvellous charity of the 
 Saint moved his affections, and the nature of 
 the remedy brought him to a conviction of the 
 heinousness of his sin, so that his impure love was 
 changed into a spiritual love, and he ever after- 
 wards felt great gratitude to Ignatius, who had 
 snatched him from the very gates of death and 
 hell. The expedient which he made use of to 
 raise up another who was a regular priest from 
 a scandalous and impure life was no less novel 
 
150 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 and efficacious. He perceived that it was not 
 becoming in a layman openly to reprove a per- 
 son of his rank and profession. Having therefore 
 taken counsel from God he hit upon the expe- 
 dient of making his confession to him. One Sun- 
 day therefore he knelt down at his feet, and as if 
 he were seeking for a remedy, he related to him 
 all the disorders of his past life, weeping bitter 
 and contrite tears over every sin. The Saint's 
 design was that the confessor should so be 
 brought to recognize the greatness of his own 
 crimes, and to conceive sorrow for them, and 
 he succeeded according to his intention. The 
 sins of the penitent made him consider his own 
 offences against God, which were so much the 
 more heinous as he was a priest and a re- 
 ligious, and the bitter lamentations which he 
 listened to made him think what contrition he 
 ought to feel, and how great was his insensibility. 
 So did the divine grace work in his heart, 
 that when the confession of Ignatius was com- 
 pleted, the conversion of the priest was entirely 
 accomplished. He forthwith revealed to his 
 penitent his own most wicked life, earnestly 
 imploring his help in order that he might amend 
 it. This request was all that Ignatius sought, 
 and having caused him to go through the Exer- 
 cises, he was cleansed in mind, and from being 
 a scandalous sinner became an example of re- 
 pentance. In these two instances the plan was 
 formed by Ignatius, but in the one I am about 
 to relate the person who was converted himself 
 furnished the means ; whilst it was God Him- 
 
st. k;natiis. 15] 
 
 self who inspired the one to make the offer, 
 and the other to accept it. The Saint went to 
 make a visit to a French gentleman who was a 
 Doctor of Theology, and found him playing at 
 billiards. The Frenchman received him cour- 
 teously, and jestingly invited him to play. Ig- 
 natius at first excused himself, because he had 
 never in his life touched either the balls or the 
 mace, but when the other persisted in urging 
 him to it, being moved by God, he answered, 
 " Well, my lord, I will consent, but poor men 
 like me must not play for amusement, but for 
 profit. I have nothing that I can call my own 
 but my own person, and I will pledge this to 
 your service for a month. If I conquer, you, 
 on the contrary, must do what I require of you." 
 These conditions were accepted, and they began 
 to play. Although Ignatius struck the balls 
 without any object, still he was so fortunate that 
 his adversary could not make a single stroke, 
 and it was plain to be seen that God was gui- 
 ding the hand of Ignatius for some great de- 
 sign, whatever it might happen to be. When 
 the Frenchman was beaten he was ready to 
 keep his engagement, and Ignatius made him go 
 through the Exercises for a month, which 
 wrought upon him the effects which the Saint, 
 or rather God Himself, had designed. 
 
153 
 
 BOOK II. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 IGNATIUS GAINS COMPANIONS IN PARIS. 
 
 During the stay of Ignatius at Paris, his for- 
 mer companions, whom he had left in Spain, still 
 kept their place in his heart, and he had often 
 sent them sums of money for their mainte- 
 nance, and endeavoured to establish them in their 
 good resolutions by frequent letters. But these 
 men had not been chosen by the Lord for the 
 foundation of the Society. After a certain time 
 they were overcome with the vexatious delay 
 and disgusted with the difficulties in their way, 
 so that they turned their thoughts elsewhere. 
 Calisto undertook a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and 
 losing all aspirations after perfection was infect- 
 ed with the desire of riches. He made a voy- 
 age to America, and returned to Salamanca with 
 large sums of money, whilst men were in as- 
 tonishment at seeing the apostle had become a 
 merchant. Cazzares returned to his country 
 Segovia, and allured by the flatteries of his 
 friends, he abandoned himself to an easy and 
 pleasant life. But he paid dearly for this change, 
 for he was imprisoned as a spy, both in France 
 
154 ST. IGXATH s. 
 
 and England, and also in the camp of the Em- 
 peror Charles V. Twice he was nearly being 
 hung, aud on one occasion he was so tortured as 
 to be deformed for all his life. Artiaga sought 
 to obtain honours, and at length was made bish- 
 op in an American see ; but after holding this 
 dignity for some time he came to a miserable 
 end. He was lying sick, and by his side were 
 two vessels, one containing water and the other 
 sublimate, and the poison was accidentally given 
 him to drink. Giovanni, who was the youngest, 
 was the wisest of all, for though he forsook Ig- 
 natius, he did not abandon God's service, but 
 became a religious. Neither did Castro, Peralta, 
 and Amadori continue faithful to Ignatius, for 
 their companions, when they found that persua- 
 sions were of no avail, came with arms in their 
 hands and forcibly carried them away from the 
 hospital to the university, and it was finally 
 arranged amongst them that they should first 
 conclude their studies, and afterwards follow 
 whatever course of life they saw fit. Castro 
 returned to Spain, and after preaching for a 
 time at Burgos, took the Carthusian habit at 
 Valencia, and of him we shall have more to say 
 by and by. Peralta undertook a pilgrimage bare- 
 foot to the Holy Land, but was seized on the 
 road by a relation of his who held a high mili- 
 tary command in Italy : he was brought before 
 the Pope and commanded to discontinue his 
 pilgrimage. He afterwards became a canon of 
 Toledo and led an exemplary life. But in place 
 of those companions who deserted him God pro- 
 
ST. [<;v\Tirs. J 55 
 
 vided for him others, who -were far superior and 
 better adapted to his designs. 
 
 The first of these was Peter Faber, a Savoy- 
 ard from Villareto in the diocese of Geneva. 
 He was of very humble birth, and^when he was 
 a boy was sent by his father into the fields to 
 tend a herd of swine. But God, who had des- 
 tined this swineherd, as He did the shepherd 
 David, for nobler employments, withdrew him 
 from this base occupation, by inspiring the boy 
 with an ardent desire of cultivating his mind 
 by study, and inclining the heart of the father 
 to yield to his desires. He was sent to the col- 
 lege of Rupese, and placed under the tuition of 
 Pier Veliardo, who was an able and a good man, 
 and being a clever boy he quickly learned the 
 Greek and Latin tongues, and also became skil- 
 ful in rhetoric. He increased at the same time 
 so rapidly in piety and devotion that at the age 
 of twelve years he consecrated himself to God by 
 a vow of perpetual virginity ; so early did he be- 
 gin to climb towards that height of virtue which 
 afterwards caused him to be venerated by the cel- 
 ebrated St. Francis of Sales, who used to call 
 him "The Blessed," and also by St. Francis Xa- 
 vier, who, as Bartoli informs us, used to invoke 
 him in the litanies of the Saints. At the request 
 of George Faber, Prior of the Carthusian convent 
 of Requie, and a near relation of Peter, he was 
 sent to Paris, where he went through his course 
 of philosophy under that same Pegna who was 
 afterwards the master of Ignatius, and besides 
 esteeming him greatly as one of his best pupils, 
 
156 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 he used to take counsel with him about certain 
 obscure passages in Aristotle, upon which Faber's 
 knowledge of Greek might throw some light. 
 Peter was still in the College of St. Barbara when 
 Ignatius entered there, and when he saw his won- 
 derful gifts, both of nature and of grace, he look- 
 ed upon him as an instrument which God had 
 placed in his hands for carrying out his great 
 designs, though as yet he had not given a hint 
 of these designs to any one. Their mutual re- 
 semblance in virtue united them in the bonds of 
 friendship, and their familiarity was increased 
 by Pegna's having handed over Ignatius to be 
 privately instructed in philosophy by Faber. 
 For the accomplishment of His purposes God 
 permitted this virtuous and innocent young man 
 to be tempted by luxury, appetite, and vain-glory, 
 and also to be tormented by scruples. In order 
 to escape from these assaults, he thought that 
 he ought to conceal himself in some wilderness, 
 where he could neither see any one or be seen 
 by any, and there endeavour to subdue the re- 
 bellious flesh by a perpetual fast upon bread and 
 water. Being perplexed and tormented by these 
 thoughts he opened his mind to Ignatius, begging 
 for his directions and his prayers. Ignatius wil- 
 lingly consented, and being greatly skilled in 
 these sort of cases, he very soon restored him to 
 peace of mind by the virtue of his prayers, and 
 then following up the hopes he had conceived he 
 undertook to guide him in the spiritual life, not 
 proceeding hastily, but going step by step. First 
 he made him examine his conscience every day, 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 157 
 
 then he caused him to make a general confession, 
 and afterwards to receive the communion every 
 Sunday. By these means and by continual dis- 
 course upon holy subjects he laboured to perfect 
 his soul during a space of two years, and when he 
 thought that the time had come, he one day told 
 him, as it were, in a friendly manner, that he in- 
 tended to sail to the Holy Land, and that he should 
 not fail by his labours amongst the infidels, either 
 to gain some souls to Christ, or else to lay down 
 his life for Christ's sake. This simple announce- 
 ment had the same effect upon Faber that the 
 words of Christ, "follow me," had upon the 
 Apostles St. Peter and St. Andrew. All the 
 doubts which he had hitherto had about choosing 
 a course of life, and which had disquieted him 
 for so long a time, were dissipated in a moment, 
 and overcome with joy, he threw his arms round 
 the neck of Ignatius, offering himself as his fol- 
 lower and companion in this holy enterprize. 
 Ignatius then made him perform the Exercises, 
 which he accomplished with astonishing fervour. 
 After this Faber, out of love for solitude, retired 
 from the College of St. Barbara to a small 
 house called Jacopea. The winter of that year 
 was so severe that the Seine was frozen so that 
 carts could cross upon the ice. Peter Faber, who 
 delighted in making his devotions in the sight of 
 heaven, used to go into the courtyard at night 
 and remain for many hours in prayer in the open 
 air. He had resolved to make no use of fire, and 
 used to sleep on a heap of fuel which had been 
 brought up for warming his chamber, and with 
 
158 ST. IGNATIUS, 
 
 nothing on but his shirt lie used to take a few 
 hours' repose, if it deserved that name. For six 
 days together he never tasted food, and he had 
 intended to prolong his fast so long as nature 
 could sustain it ; but Ignatius, having discovered 
 that he was sinking, recommended the matter 
 to God in prayer, and then commanded him to 
 return to the use of food and firing. When the 
 Exercises were finished he had determined to be- 
 come a priest, and this resolution he fulfilled, and 
 said his first mass on the feast of St. Mary 
 Magdalen, for whom he had a great devotion. 
 
 The next who joined Ignatius was St. Francis 
 Xavier. He was a native of the kingdom of 
 Navarre, and of royal lineage. His brothers had 
 followed the profession of arms, but he had ap- 
 plied himself to letters, so that from his earliest 
 years God had prepared him for the great end 
 for which His providence designed him. He went 
 to Paris to study philosophy, and after taking 
 the degree of Master he gave public lectures, and 
 was in high repute for his talents. At the Col- 
 lege of St. Barbara he was a fellow-student, and 
 at one time lodged in the same room as Peter 
 Faber ; nor did the great difference of their birth 
 interfere with their mutual affection, for this dis- 
 advantage on the side of Faber was amply com- 
 pensated by his excellent abilities and purity of 
 manners. If these qualities made him pleasing 
 in the sight of evil men, far more would they 
 endear him to Xavier, whose soul was fair and 
 undefiled by the impurities of the flesh ; for 
 though he was young, ardent in disposition, and 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 159 
 
 engagiug in manners, he nevertheless quitted the 
 college as pure and virginal as he entered the 
 world. It is true that together with his noble 
 blood he inherited a love for glory and a certain 
 degree of pride. No wonder then that he sought 
 to gain an honourable name by his laborious stu- 
 dies, and when he came into the company of Ig- 
 natius he could not abide the simplicity of his 
 dress and his manners, and his contempt for the 
 opinions of men, nor could he abstain from fre- 
 quently deriding him. But Ignatius, who had 
 discovered the high qualities of Xavier, and who 
 knew that he would not be contented with medi- 
 ocrity when he was once turned to God, employed 
 all his patience and sagacity to gain him over. 
 He availed himself even of his ambition, and see- 
 ing that he was exceedingly desirous of being 
 highly thought of as a professor, he did all he 
 could to find pupils for him, and presented him- 
 self to receive his instructions, showing himself 
 in every way tender of his reputation. By these 
 means the feelings of Xavier towards Ignatius 
 were changed, and, as often happens, his opinion 
 changed with his feelings, and those same things 
 which he had previously considered to indicate 
 baseness of mind, he now judged more truly to 
 be proofs of his heroic virtue. Ignatius now be- 
 gan to assail him with the powerful maxims of 
 the Gospel ; and that he might draw him away 
 from his ambitious schemes, which formed the 
 great obstacle to his conversion, he used often 
 to repeat in his ear the words, "What does it 
 profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose 
 
1G0 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 his own soul?" and then he used to make va- 
 rious commentaries upon these words adapted to 
 the dispositions of Xavier. This sentence enter- 
 ed deeply into his mind, and at first threw him 
 into the greatest perturbation, as is always the 
 case when there is a contest in the soul between 
 nature and grace. When the victory was gained 
 Francis Xavier surrendered himself entirely into 
 the hands of Ignatius. The Saint would have 
 desired to perfect his work by making Xavier go 
 through the Spiritual Exercises, but as this was 
 not befitting when Ignatius was his pupil, he used 
 instead to converse with him very frequently upon 
 some maxim of Christian perfection, and from 
 these discourses a soul so well disposed derived 
 spiritual sustenance and strength, and made great 
 progress in virtue. 
 
 But the acquisition of such a companion cost 
 Ignatius dear. A poor man in a humble con- 
 dition of life, whose name was Michael Navarro, 
 lived at the expense of Xavier. This man well 
 understood that if he became the follower of 
 Ignatius he would very shortly forsake all that 
 he had, and have nothing left for him to live 
 upon. Being brought to despair, he formed the 
 cruel design of seizing upon Ignatius and putting 
 him to death in order that he might not lose 
 his patron. And he would have accomplished 
 the murder if it had not pleased God to touch 
 this wretched man, whose wicked thought would 
 have interfered with the course of His provi- 
 dence. The man, with his weapon in his hand, 
 was stealthily ascending the stairs which led 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. I (J 1 
 
 to the chamber in which Ignatius was sitting 
 quite alone, when a terrible voice said to him, 
 " Whither art thou going, wretch, and what 
 is thy purpose ? " Struck with astonishment 
 and trembling at this address, he hastened on, 
 and throwing himself at the Saint's feet, told 
 him what had been His evil intention, and what 
 was the inducement, and at the same time im- 
 plored his forgiveness. 
 
 After Francis Xavier, the next whom Ignatius 
 took for his companions were two young Spani- 
 ards, named James Lainez, a Castilian of the 
 city of Almazzan in the diocese of Seguenza, 
 and Alfonso Salmerone from the neighbourhood 
 of Toledo. The first was twenty-one years of 
 age, and the second twenty-eight; both were of 
 wonderful abilities, and of learning so far beyond 
 their years, that Lainez was already a master 
 in philosophy, and Salmerone was well skilled 
 in the Latin, Greek, and Hebrew languages. 
 They had been students in the University of Al- 
 cala, and had been attracted to Paris chiefly by 
 the report of Ignatius 's sanctity. They remem- 
 bered so many things of him at Alcala and 
 heard so much from Paris, that they were filled 
 with an ardent desire to see him, that they 
 might benefit by his teaching and example. It 
 was the will of God that the first person whom 
 James Lainez met upon entering Paris was Ig- 
 natius, and from that moment their friendship 
 commenced, and Lainez became his disciple. 
 A short time afterwards Alfonso followed his 
 friend's example, and Ignatius put them both 
 11 
 
1G2 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 through the Exorcises together with Faber. The 
 young men applied themselves with so great 
 fervour that Lainez, besides fasting for the three 
 first days, passed the next fifteen days eating 
 nothing but bread and water, wearing a hair- 
 shirt, using tho discipline, and sleeping only for 
 a few hours upon a bare table. 
 
 Tho fifth of the Saint's companions was 
 Niccolo Alfonso, called Bobadiglia, from an 
 estato of that name where he was born in the 
 neighbourhood of Palenza ; and this man was 
 brought to him by God in a different manner. 
 Having learned philosophy at Valladolid, and 
 obtained a great reputation for his talents, he 
 went to Paris to learn theology. Here he fell 
 into want, and having heard of the holiness and 
 charity of Ignatius, he came to beg his assis- 
 tance. Ignatius not only gave him alms, but 
 what he had not expected, advice for his soul's 
 health; and these lessons were so well received 
 by Bobadiglia, that after going through the 
 Exercises he was added to the number of his 
 companions. After Bobadiglia succeeded Simon 
 Rodriguez, of Azzevedo in Portugal, who was 
 born at Buzella, in the diocese of Viseo. It is 
 said that when his father, Egidio Consalvez, was 
 about to die, he called all his children round 
 him to give them his last blessing, and having 
 spoken to all the rest he turned at last to Simon, 
 who was then an infant held in the arms of his 
 mother, Cateriua d' Azzevedo. After looking 
 at him for a long time without speaking, he was 
 illuminated by a divine knowledge, and said to 
 
n.-j. L63 
 
 hii wife, "Lady, I commend to you thiij child, 
 
 attend to it most carefully, for God hi 
 
 hirn to do great things in His ser?iee. w The 
 
 mother obeyed this injunction, and Simon so 
 profited by her care, that 1 in 
 
 angelic purity, and more than once repulsed 
 the advance-; of women wn ° assailed hii chas- 
 Whflet he was prosecuting hii studies 
 -v. Paris, whither he had been sent by the king 
 of Portugal, to be maintained at the royal ex- 
 
 .-. he determined in his own mind to make 
 a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and labour for 
 the conversion of the infidels, and one day he 
 revealed his design to Ignatius, and asked his 
 advice ; the Saint told him that this was also 
 his own desire. This coincidence united thern 
 I j .;r, and still more when Ignatius 
 discovered, after making him go through the 
 Exercises, that God ha/1 appointed Simon to bo- 
 nis follower and to share in his enterprise. 
 Ignathn desired to gain over another, but it 
 
 not God's will that he should have him till 
 till some years afterwards. This wa3 Girolamo 
 Xatale Majorchino, a man who was highly 
 thought of for his abilities by the young men 
 we have just enumerated. Peter Faber, J 
 Lainez, and Emanuel Miona, the Saint's con- 
 
 r, accordingly made strong attacks upon 
 him, and when they were quite in despair I 
 
 made the attempt. He had writ- 
 ten a most powerful letter to one of his nep 
 to draw hirn away from the world into the service 
 of Christ, and one day when he met Natale, 
 
164 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 with great sagacity he brought him to an old 
 chapel which was very little used, and having 
 prepared the way by some spiritual discourse, 
 he showed him the letter he had written, as to a 
 friend ; he read it over slowly to him, and in- 
 terposed many observations and dwelling upon 
 the most powerful truths. Natale discovered 
 his design, and determined not to yield ; in order 
 to escape from the difficulty, he took out the 
 book of the Gospels which he had with him, 
 and said, " This is sufficient for me : what you 
 and your companions may be, I do not know, 
 still less do I know what you may hereafter be- 
 come." After this he would never suffer Igna- 
 tius or the others to come near him. Never- 
 theless, he carried the Lord's arrow fixed in his 
 heart for more than ten years; he was never 
 able to shake it off, and was always striving 
 against God. At length, after the Society of 
 Jesus was founded, a letter of Xavier's fell 
 into his hands describing the wonderful con- 
 versions which they wrought, and he then re- 
 membered how he had said that he knew no- 
 thing of Ignatius, or his companions, and he was 
 greatly agitated in mind. Without further delay 
 he travelled to Rome in order to take spiritual 
 counsel from the Saint, but without any ulterior 
 views. When he was there, James Lainez and 
 Girolamo Domenichi invited him to perform the 
 Exercises, and he, supposing that this was equiva- 
 lent to asking him to become a Jesuit, was made 
 angry. Lainez gently answered, "What is 
 it that provokes you ? The Exercises can do 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 165 
 
 you nothing but good; it is God who alone 
 can move jou to enter the Society, and if 
 God does call you, you would not fail to 
 obey Him." During the Exercises his mind 
 was agitated by a long and obstinate contest. 
 He would not disobey God, and on the other 
 hand, he would not recognize his vocation, and 
 he filled a number of sheets with the reasons 
 for and against his joining the Society. But 
 when he came to the meditation of the two 
 Standards, God sent upon him a ray of divine 
 light, which illuminated his mind like a flash 
 of lightning, and brought peace to his heart. 
 He no longer doubted what was the will of God, 
 nor did he any more resist it. With perfect 
 peace of mind he took the pen, as he still re- 
 mained upon his knees, and wrote down his 
 determination, confirming it by a vow, and this 
 vow he at once carried into effect ; so that if he 
 was not one of the original members of the 
 Society, he was at least one of the most worthy 
 sons of Ignatius ; he assisted him in his duties 
 as general of the order, and in the promulgation 
 and interpretation of the Constitutions, and la- 
 boured much in God's service both in Italy, 
 Sicily, Spain, Portugal, and Africa. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE FIRST VOWS OF IGNATIUS AND HIS COMPANIONS. 
 
 When Ignatius had collected together these 
 men of distinguished learning and talents, he 
 
166 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 considered that they were sufficient for his pur- 
 pose. Each of them supposed that he was him- 
 self the only companion of Ignatius, and he now 
 told them that he had also other companions, 
 and that he would tell them who they were on 
 a certain day which he had fixed. In prepara- 
 tion for this announcement, they were to pre- 
 pare themselves by prayers, fasting, and pen- 
 ances which he appointed. They were also du- 
 ring this time to consider in their hearts what 
 manner of life appeared to them to be best 
 adapted for accomplishing great things for the 
 glory of God and the good of souls, and after- 
 wards they were to publish their respective 
 plans. On the appointed day they all came 
 to Ignatius, each full of impatience to know 
 who were to be their companions in the great 
 enterprise. And now for the first time, Igna- 
 tius, Peter Faber, Francis Xavier, James Lainez, 
 Alfonso Salmerone, Nicolas Bobadiglia, and 
 Simon Rodriguez found themselves united ; 
 they had all prized each other highly be- 
 fore, and now they all wept tears of joy. 
 When they had all prayed for a short space 
 Ignatius addressed them ; he told them that he 
 proposed to conform his life as far as he could 
 to the life of Christ, not only in labouring for 
 his own sanctification and that of others, but by 
 making his life a sacrifice for the salvation of 
 souls, if God would grant him such a favour ; he 
 said that he had selected a field for his exertions 
 which was beyond comparison the most honour- 
 able that could be found, the country where 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 167 
 
 Christ Himself had preached and shed His blood 
 for man's redemption. Moreover, as the time 
 had now come for executing this design, he was 
 resolved to offer himself to God for this service 
 bj a vow, adding also vows of poverty and 
 chastity. Having spoken these words he was 
 silent, and waited for each in turn to reveal the 
 plans he had formed. But the Holy Spirit had 
 made all the assembly to be of one heart and 
 of one mind, as He did the infant Church. Each 
 of them affirmed that these were their own feel- 
 ings, and consented to unite themselves to him 
 for ever as his followers and companions. When 
 the meeting was over they embraced each other 
 with tears, and from that time forward they 
 loved each other more than if they had been 
 brothers by birth, and reverenced Ignatius with 
 the love of children to their father. But since 
 God had destined the whole earth, and not the 
 narrow tract of Palestine alone for these men 
 and their posterity, He put it into the heart 
 of one of them to propose, that in case they 
 could not get a passage to the Holy Land, or in 
 case of any delay, they should turn to some 
 other countries. After much reasoning upon 
 this point it was determined that they were to 
 wait in Venice a whole year, and if they were 
 not allowed to sail for the Holy Land within 
 that period, they were to consider themselves as 
 released from their vow, and proceed to Rome, 
 where they were to resign themselves into the 
 hands of the Pope, that he might dispose of them 
 as he might consider most advisable for the 
 
168 
 
 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 good of souls. It was also agreed that as most 
 of them had not finished their course of theology, 
 they should remain in Paris till January 25th, 
 1537, and then set out for Venice. This first as- 
 sembly took place in July, 1534. 
 
 I have already said that they had determined 
 to consecrate their enterprize by taking vows. 
 The day they fixed upon was the Feast of the 
 Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the 
 place was the Church of our Lady upon the Hill 
 of Martyrs, situated about a mile and a half out 
 of Paris, and the spot being retired and held in 
 great veneration was well suited to their purpose. 
 They prepared themselves by a long course of 
 prayer, fasting, and penance, and when the long- 
 expected day arrived they assembled ail together 
 in a little chapel underneath the church, no 
 person being present besides themselves. Peter 
 Faber, who was the only priest among them, said 
 mass, and at the moment of Communion he 
 turned towards them with the Lord's Body in 
 his hand, and in His presence each of them in 
 turn made vows of perpetual poverty and chasti- 
 ty, and also that they would go to the Holy 
 Land, and offer their services to the Pope in 
 the manner before agreed upon, and that they 
 would never receive either stipend or provision 
 for celebrating the Sacraments. The vow of 
 poverty was to be thus understood ; when they 
 had finished their studies they were to strip them- 
 selves of all that they possessed, retaining only 
 what was required for their journey to the Holy 
 Land. By taking a vow not to accept anything 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 1G9 
 
 for administering the Sacraments they hoped 
 to render their labours more acceptable, and 
 nullify the calumnies of the Lutherans, who 
 accused the Catholics of trafficking in holy 
 things, and selling them for money. After ta- 
 king the vows they received the communion, but 
 it is quite impossible to describe their tears and 
 devotion. Simon Rodriguez, who wrote an ac- 
 count of it, said that the remembrance of it, 
 although thirty years had passed, still filled his 
 mind with sweetness. The remainder of the 
 day they passed near a fountain at the foot of 
 the hill upon which the church is built. At this 
 spot they took their meal with joy, and deter- 
 mined the manner of life which they should fol- 
 low whilst they remained at Paris. Their new 
 Father Ignatius allotted some pious work to 
 each, which might assist their devotions with- 
 out interfering with their studies. These con- 
 sisted in certain meditations and penitential 
 exercises for every day, with Communion upon 
 Sundays and Festivals : every year on the Feast 
 of the Assumption they were to renew their 
 vows in the same church. They were to regard 
 each other and love each other as brothers, and 
 since they had different lodgings they were to 
 meet in each other's rooms by turns, and take 
 some simple repast, whilst their hearts and minds 
 were refreshed by holy conversation and chari- 
 table discourse. These rules were immediately 
 carried into effect. I must not omit to mention 
 on the authority of Simon Rodriguez, that as 
 the Society was (if I may so speak) conceived in 
 
170 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 the Chapel of our Lady, and upon her most 
 solemn Festival, our first fathers took her as 
 their Protectress and Mother, placing themselves 
 and all their hopes in her hands. If it would 
 not lead me too far from my subject, my feelings 
 of intense gratitude would make it a joyful task 
 for me to show how these hopes were fulfilled, 
 how our sweet Lady has shown her love for this 
 little Society, which was born of her, how she 
 has defended it almost visibly amidst its labours, 
 and how many graces and favours she has be- 
 stowed upon it. I will therefore content myself 
 with solemnly entreating my religious brethren 
 ever to preserve and cherish filial affections to- 
 wards their dear Mother, and to spread that 
 devotion towards her which our fathers have 
 delivered down to us, inadequate as all our best 
 endeavours may be to her deserts ! The city of 
 Paris also, on account of this first meeting of 
 the Society, and of our first fathers having there 
 dedicated themselves to God's service, claims 
 for herself the title of Mother, as may be seen 
 by the following inscription in bronze posted 
 against the walls of the Church of our Lady on 
 the Hill of Martyrs. 
 
 "D. 0. M. Siste spectator, atque in hoc mar- 
 tyrum sepulchro probati Ordinis cunas lege. So- 
 cietas Jesu, quae S. Ignatium Patrem agnoscit, 
 Lutetiam matrem, anno salutis 1534, Augusti 15, 
 hie nata est : cum Ignatius, et Socii votis sub 
 sacram synaxim religiose conceptis, se Deo in 
 perpetuum consecrarunt, ad majorem Dei glo- 
 riam." 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 171 
 
 After taking their vows the brethren contin- 
 ued labouring to advance in spirit and in learn- 
 ing; and in addition to that readiness of mind 
 which resulted naturally from their having so 
 high an object in view, they were endued with 
 a marvellous clearness of understanding, for God 
 in this manner was pleased to bless the labours 
 which they undertook solely for His glory and the 
 salvation of souls. Ignatius also pursued his stu- 
 dies, and far surpassed them all in his religious 
 fervour. About a mile and a half out of Paris, 
 in the direction of the Church of our Lady, there 
 was a hill in which chalk pits and long caverns 
 had been opened. In one of these Ignatius had 
 made a hermitage, and hither he used to retire 
 from the noise of the city and pass days and 
 nights in prayer and penance. He used also 
 to pray much in the Church of our Lady of the 
 Fields, in the quarter of St. Germain ; the place 
 was retired, and he used to bring his compan- 
 ions to it upon Sundays and other festivals for 
 prayer and communion. In the midst of his 
 occupations and studies he used to retire from 
 time to time to some solitary place where he 
 could refresh his spirit by long contemplation. 
 Such, in short, was the life he led in Paris, that 
 his disciple Peralta, who was afterwards a famous 
 doctor, asserted when examined upon oath con- 
 cerning the sanctity of Ignatius, that if he knew 
 no more of Ignatius than what he had seen with 
 his own eyes, when he conversed with him so 
 familiarly at Paris, it would in his judgment be 
 more than sufficient for his canonization. 
 
172 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 ST. IGNATIUS 's JOURNEY TO SPAIN. 
 
 As Ignatius was living this kind of life, he 
 used to be afflicted with violent pains in the 
 stomach, by which on one occasion he was tor- 
 tured for sixteen or seventeen hours together, un- 
 able to do anything except to exercise the virtue 
 of patience. Medicines were of no avail to the 
 cure of this disorder, and the only thing which the 
 most skilful physicians could advise was that he 
 should try the effect of his native air; and this 
 advice was so seconded by the entreaties of his 
 companions that he at last consented. Another 
 motive also urged him to undertake this journey, 
 for Xavier, Lainez, and Salmerone had not as 
 yet formally renounced their claims to their pro- 
 perty, as they were bound by their vows. The 
 Saint wisely judged that it would be well not 
 to interfere with their studies, or expose them 
 to the attractions of their homes, till he knew 
 them to be firmly established in virtue ; and 
 if I am not mistaken he had laid his new com- 
 panions under the obligation of an oath, as a 
 better security for their constancy, and lest he 
 should lose them as he had lost all the others. 
 But an unforeseen impediment occurred just as 
 he was on the point of starting. Some persons 
 began to suspect that this new society had been 
 instituted, like so many others in those days, in 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 173 
 
 hostility to the Church, and they were accused 
 before Valentino Lievin, a Dominican monk, who 
 was at that time the Inquisitor. After making 
 those diligent and secret inquiries which their 
 office required of them, the Inquisitors found in 
 the works and teaching of Ignatius and his com- 
 panions much more reason for admiration than 
 for fear, and they proceeded no further with the 
 case. But Ignatius, who was acquainted with 
 these proceedings, was not satisfied, wisely judging 
 that his departure would be taken for flight, and 
 as an evidence of his guilt, and he therefore pre- 
 sented himself before the Inquisitor to give an 
 account of himself. The Inquisitor, without at 
 all examining him, only asked for his book of 
 Exercises, which had wrought such marvellous 
 conversions, and when this pious monk, who was 
 learned in spiritual matters, had read the book, 
 he was greatly struck with the inestimable value 
 which he discovered in so short a book ; and 
 when Ignatius returned for his book he begged 
 that he would at least allow him to keep it a 
 sufficient time to have it copied for his private 
 use and that of his friends. Ignatius humbly 
 gave his consent, and in his turn requested that 
 he would bring the cause to an end, and pro- 
 nounce the sentence; for he well understood 
 that his good name was necessary to him in his 
 apostolic labours, and also that suspicion would 
 still be attached to him in some quarters, if he 
 was known to have been accused, and his inno- 
 cence had not been publicly declared; rumours 
 would again be spread after their departure from 
 
174 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 Paris, which would not be long in pursuing them ; 
 and besides all these considerations, he fully 
 expected renewed attacks, and the sentence of 
 the tribunal at Paris would be of service to him 
 in his defence. But the Inquisitor, who thought 
 it useless to pronounce a sentence where the 
 truth was so plainly manifest, was not to be 
 moved by these reasons. He consoled Ignatius 
 with kind words, saying that he might live se- 
 cure in his own innocence, which was sufficient of 
 itself to rebut all calumnies, and even supposing 
 that a fresh examination was called for, the sen- 
 tence would be one of praise and not of condem- 
 nation. After the Saint had many times in vain 
 renewed his petition, he one day went to the 
 Inquisitor, accompanied by a public notary and 
 by some learned divines to serve as witnesses, 
 begging him that in case he would not proceed 
 to pass sentence, he would at least suffer him to 
 have an authentic instrument in proof of his 
 innocence. This the Inquisitor willingly agreed 
 to. Besides this document another interesting 
 paper of the same nature is preserved in our 
 archives at Rome, granted by Tommaso Lorenzo, 
 of the order of St. Dominic, who succeeded 
 Lievin as Inquisitor at Paris, which was applied 
 for after the Saint's departure from Paris. 
 
 When he was freed from this anxiety, he com- 
 mitted his followers to the care of Peter Faber, 
 who was the chief amongst them by reason of his 
 age and his priestly dignity, and having affec- 
 tionately embraced them he set out on his journey 
 to Spain, in the early part of the year 1535. The 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 175 
 
 length of the journey and the Saint's infirmities 
 compelled him to make use of a pony which his 
 companions had procured for him. This pony 
 he afterwards gave to the hospital at Aspeizia, 
 and it was made use of for carrying wood for the 
 poor, or, as others say, it was turned out to wan- 
 der at liberty, and treated with great kindness 
 out of reverence to the Saint. At Bayonne Ig- 
 natius was seen by some persons who informed 
 his relations of his arrival, and Bartoli relates 
 that when he was staying at an inn about two 
 leagues from Aspeizia he was overtaken by Gio- 
 vanni d' Equibar, an intimate friend of the Lord 
 of Loyola. This nobleman inquired in the usual 
 way if there were any strangers at the inn, and 
 the host told him that there was only one poor 
 man, who had a very noble appearance, and who 
 seemed to belong to that part of the country. 
 Giovanni, curious to know who it could be, looked 
 into the Saint's room through a chink in the door, 
 and perceived him kneeling in deep prayer. He 
 at once recognized his features, and mounting 
 his horse, carried the news to Loyola and As- 
 peizia, in which town the clergy assembled to re- 
 ceive him in procession as a Saint, His brothers 
 and his nephews prepared a splendid cavalcade, 
 but afterwards fearing lest these honours should 
 be the cause of their losing him, they changed 
 their plans and sent a worthy priest named Bal- 
 dassare d' Arabaesa to welcome and invite him 
 in their name, and to bring him to Loyola by* 
 guile. But suspecting that the Saint would take 
 the road by the mountains, which was infested by 
 
17(5 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 robbers, that he might have an honourable re- 
 ception they sent two armed servants who might 
 protect him, whilst he supposed them to be trav- 
 ellers. It fell out as they had imagined ; for 
 after having courteously dismissed the priest he 
 took the road by the mountains. On meeting 
 the armed men he was in some fear that they 
 were assassins, but when he understood who they 
 were and why they had come, and they earnestly 
 desired him to proceed to his brother's house, 
 he insisted upon going to Aspeizia. But his hum- 
 ble desires were deceived ; for when they ap- 
 proached the domain, he was met by a procession 
 of the clergy and by a number of his relations, 
 who earnestly begged him to give them the hap- 
 piness of his presence at Loyola. The Saint did 
 not comply with this request, but not wishing at 
 the same time to give offence, he went to the 
 hospital of St. Magdalen to meet them. Since 
 they could do nothing else they sent a rich bed 
 to the hospital, together with provisions. Igna- 
 tius however made no use of either, but in order 
 to prevent its being discovered that he had slept 
 upon the bare ground he disarranged the bed 
 every morning. At length the servants of the 
 hospital were aware of this fraud, and sending 
 back the rich bed, put in its place one of the 
 common beds of the hospital, which he was con- 
 tent to make use of. Although his relations were 
 very angry, and looked upon it as an insult to 
 them, he continued begging from door to door 
 during all the three months of his residence at 
 Aspeizia. He used to wait upon the sick, and 
 
ST. h.S VI II-. 177 
 
 eat at the same table with the poor, and he used 
 to share the alms he had collected with them, 
 reserving the worst for himself. Once only he 
 entered into his paternal house, because one of 
 his relations entreated him to do so upon their 
 knees by the Passion of Jesus Christ, and he 
 wished the lady who had used this form of en- 
 treaty to know what account he made of that 
 holy name. Bartoli says that he went there in 
 the evening, and slept on the ground, and the 
 next morning returned to his hospital before any 
 body was awake ; but Maffei, on the contrary, 
 says, that he remained there for some days im- 
 proving the souls of all the inhabitants. 
 
 Even before he arrived at his own country the 
 change of climate and relaxation from study had 
 improved his health, and he again resumed his 
 habits of penance, his fasting, and disciplines, 
 the hair-shirt, and the chain about his loins, 
 and humicubations. In this way he acted, so 
 soon as ever the reasons which occasioned his 
 leaving off these customs ceased to exist, and so 
 too ought we to act in regard to our mortifica- 
 tions and devotions. He began to labour for the 
 good of souls by instructing the children in Chris- 
 tian doctrine. His brother, Don Martin Garzia, 
 could not tolerate this, for he estimated divine 
 things according to the rules of worldly prudence, 
 and he tried to dissuade him from it, saying, that 
 there would be none to hear his instructions. 
 Ignatius replied, that if only one came it would 
 be sufficient to content him. But the event 
 turned out very differently, for multitudes of 
 12 
 
178 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 all ranks flocked to hear him, even the chief 
 men in the district, and amongst the rest his 
 own brother; and to all these he gave different 
 lessons adapted to their various circumstances. 
 He used to preach for two or three hours to- 
 gether, on three days in the week, besides feast 
 days, although his strength was much reduced 
 by a slow fever which never left him. Never- 
 theless he was supported under these fatigues 
 by the fervour of his zeal and by the special 
 aid of God. Thus when he thought it fitting 
 that he should preach in the country because 
 of the great crowds which assembled in Aspeizia 
 from all the neighbourhood, there was so large 
 a multitude collected that the men climbed up 
 into the trees to hear him, and God gave him 
 such miraculous clearness of voice that he was 
 heard at a distance of three hundred yards as 
 distinctly as if he were close by. Ignatius began 
 his preaching by carrying into effect that pro- 
 verb which says that a just man is the first to 
 accuse himself. He told them that one of the 
 reasons which had brought him back to his own 
 country was, that he might repair the scandals 
 which he had given them in past times ; he ear- 
 nestly implored their forgiveness, and begged 
 that if there might be any there present who 
 had copied him in irregularity of life, they would 
 also imitate his repentance. "I am bound also," 
 he added, "to make restitution to those whose 
 honour or fortunes have been injured by my 
 fault. Look, there," he said, pointing to a 
 man with his finger, "is an innocent person 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 170 
 
 who was put iii prison and obliged to make up 
 out of his own purse for the damage done to an 
 orchard which I and my companions robbed of 
 its fruit for our amusement. Let all therefore 
 know that he is innocent and that I am guilty, 
 and in compensation to him for what he was 
 wrongly obliged to pay, I publicly make over to 
 him my two farms, making him a present of all 
 that is over and above my debt." 
 
 This humility and fervent zeal for God's glory 
 was rewarded by God with abundant fruit in 
 the conversion of souls. He first made a re- 
 form amongst the clergy who were shamefully 
 licentious in their lives. It was the ancient 
 custom of that province for unmarried women 
 to wear no veils upon their heads, and many of 
 the priests not only kept concubines in their 
 houses, but ordered them to veil their heads as 
 married women, and permitted them to declare 
 publicly on whose account they wore the veil; 
 and from this evil custom many disorders arose. 
 He also extirpated the vice of gaming so effec- 
 tually that for three years after neither cards 
 nor dice were seen in the town of Aspeizia, for 
 by the Saint's advice they had all been cast into 
 the fire. In order that these evils might not 
 spring up again, he induced the governor to en- 
 act a punishment against all who played games 
 of chance, and all unmarried women who wore 
 the veil. He inveighed against the vain and 
 unseemly dress of the women, so that those 
 who were guilty broke out into open lamenta- 
 tions, beating their faces and tearing their hair. 
 
180 ST. IGNATIUS, 
 
 and they abandoned all indecency of dress. Du- 
 ring the ten days between the Ascension and 
 Pentecost lie made an exposition of the ten 
 commandments. On the first day he caused 
 them to forsake vain and false oaths, which had 
 been so long persevered in that the habit was 
 become inveterate. On the sixth day he effected 
 the conversion of some abandoned women, whose 
 conversion was so sincere that in their turn they 
 brought about the conversion of their com- 
 panions in guilt. Three of these, that they 
 might make up for their past sins, and at the 
 same time escape from the occasions of falling, 
 made long pilgrimages on foot, and one who was 
 not strong enough to undertake this, retired to 
 a hospital, and passed her days in ministering 
 to the sick. One founded a confraternity of 
 the most Holy Sacrament, and used to be- 
 stow her care upon those who were in shame 
 and poverty. She made over a large sum for 
 their support, which was distributed by her 
 agent every Sunday. The Saint also laid an 
 obligation upon his brother's house to distribute 
 twelve loaves to twelve poor men every Sun- 
 day, in honour of the twelve Apostles. He also 
 instituted the custom of ringing the Angelus 
 three times a day, as was the practice in other 
 places, at morning, noon, and night-fall. He 
 also introduced the pious custom of praying at 
 mid-day for all who were in mortal sin, and 
 left a stipend for the ringing of a bell for that 
 purpose. He revived the forgotten custom of 
 praying for the departed in the evening. In 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 181 
 
 short, he accomplished all his designs for regu- 
 lating the service of God at Aspeizia, and with 
 these words we shall conclude our account of 
 his work in that district. 
 
 The Saint was also gifted by God with mirac- 
 ulous and prophetic powers. At the catechism 
 there was a boy named Martino d' Alartia, who 
 was laughed at by some of the noblemen who 
 were present because of his ugliness and the 
 stammering answers which he gave. Ignatius 
 turned towards those who were laughing, and said, 
 "You deride this boy because you perceive no- 
 thing but his exterior, but be assured that he is 
 more beautiful in soul than he is deformed in 
 body, and that spiritual beauty will continue al- 
 ways to increase. He will be a distinguished ser- 
 vant of God, and will do great things in his own 
 country for the salvation of souls." The event 
 fulfilled this prediction, for the boy became a 
 most holy and zealous priest, and laboured most 
 successfully all his life long in that district. 
 One day as he was giving instructions in Chris- 
 tian doctrine, a lady brought her little son, whose 
 name was Francesco d' Almare, begging for the 
 Saint's blessing and for his prayers that the boy 
 might be preserved for her comfort and sup- 
 port. The Saint looked fixedly upon him, and 
 said to the mother, "Go in peace, for God 
 will give long life to the boy and many children." 
 And so it proved ; for he lived to the age of 
 eighty, and had fifteen children. Not very far 
 from Aspeizia there lived a miserable woman 
 who had been for four years past possessed with 
 
182 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 a devil, and the only effect of the exorcisms 
 which had been tried upon her was to prove 
 the reality of her possession. As a last re- 
 source she was brought before the Saint, for 
 whom God had reserved the glory of her libe- 
 ration. She was set free by the imposition of 
 his hands and by the sign of the cross. The 
 fame of this miracle induced some other people 
 to bring before him a frantic maniac, who was 
 generally thought to be possessed by the devil. 
 The Saint, illumined by the Spirit of God, af- 
 firmed that this person was not possessed by 
 an evil spirit, but only visited by horrible at- 
 tacks of madness, and then he cured him by 
 making the sign of the cross. Another woman 
 was brought to him in the last stage of con- 
 sumption, and apparently at the point of death. 
 The Saint at first was unwilling to give her his 
 benediction, saying that this appertained to the 
 priest, but he was at length overcome by the pious 
 importunity of the sick woman and the bystanders, 
 and upon receiving his blessing, she suddenly gain- 
 ed her strength in such a manner that she was 
 able to walk back to Gumara without any help. 
 Soon afterwards she returned to Ignatius entire- 
 ly cured, bringing with her a small offering of 
 fruits which he accepted from her that she might 
 not return home disappointed, and afterwards he 
 distributed the present among the poor of the hos- 
 pital. In the hospital of St. Mary Magdalen, there 
 was a poor man named Bastida, who for many 
 years had been frequently subject to the falling 
 sickness. One day he was taken with the disorder 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 183 
 
 in the presence of Ignatius, who being touched 
 with compassion lifted up his eyes to heaven, and 
 after a short prayer laid his hand upon his fore- 
 head, upon which he immediately came to him- 
 self, and was never again attacked in the same 
 way. Not only the hand of the Saint, but even 
 things which belonged to him, worked miracles. 
 This happy effect was experienced by a poor 
 woman whose arm was withered and useless ; 
 partly out of a feeling of devotion, and partly 
 with the hope of receiving some grace, she took 
 some of the Saint's things to wash, and upon 
 the first touch was entirely healed. 
 
 But whilst God was miraculously healing the 
 maladies of others by means of Ignatius, He was 
 pleased to increase his own merits by visiting 
 him with sickness. Upon this his brother, D. 
 Garzia and his other relations, renewed their 
 entreaties that he would suffer himself to be 
 brought to Loyola. But when they found that 
 they were just as unsuccessful as they had been 
 before, they came to assist him in the hospital, 
 and amongst the number his cousins Donna 
 Maria d' Oriola, and Donna Simona d' Alzaga, 
 stayed several nights in the hospital. One 
 night when these pious ladies were about to 
 retire to their rooms to sleep, they wished to 
 leave a lighted candle with Ignatius in case he 
 might require anything ; the Saint refused to 
 have any light, and upon their pressing it he 
 answered that God would not fail to give him 
 light in case he had any need. Upon this they 
 retired. Ignatius, whose bodily weakness did 
 
184 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 not interfere with his devotions, betook himself 
 to prayer, and after . some hours his spirit be- 
 came so inflamed with divine love, that, as was 
 often the case, he cried aloud. His cousins ran 
 to him and found the room shining with brilliant 
 light ; but the Saint was so ashamed of this 
 discovery that he entreated them never to utter 
 a word of this to any one. 
 
 When he was restored to health he quitted 
 the place, having stayed there about three 
 months. As usual he had to contend with the 
 pious opposition of the peasantry and with the 
 civilities of his family. The clergy and inhab- 
 itants of Aspeizia came and besought him with 
 tears not to leave off his instructions for the 
 good of his country, reminding him how well 
 they had profited by his lessons. To this Ig- 
 natius made no other answer than that God had 
 called him elsewhere, and that if it had not 
 been so he should have remained amongst his 
 relations and led a secular life. His brother 
 Don Garzia occasioned him much more trouble, 
 for he insisted that he ought at least to provide 
 him with horses and servants and money for his 
 journey till he came to the place from whence 
 he was to embark. To put an end to the dis- 
 pute the Saint at last consented to yield some- 
 thing, and agreed that his brother and his re- 
 lations should accompany him as far as the 
 confines of Biscay, which were not far distant. 
 At this spot he took leave of them never to see 
 them any more, and went on foot towards that 
 part of the country where his companions' prop- 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 185 
 
 erty was situated, that he might wind up their 
 affairs as had been determined between them. 
 He afterwards went to Valencia and Segorbe, 
 and made a visit to his old master and his great 
 friend Giovanni di Castro, who had lately taken 
 the Carthusian habit in the monastery of Valle 
 di Christo. He told him of his intention of 
 going to the Holy Land, and founding the So- 
 ciety of Jesus, and of the distinguished men he 
 had already collected who were well known to 
 him in former times, and he earnestly commend- 
 ed the undertaking to his prayers. When he 
 had passed the whole night in prayer he came 
 the next morning to Ignatius full of joy, and 
 encouraging him to prosecute his design ; he told 
 him to rest assured that it was God who had 
 begun this good work, and that He would perfect 
 it, and as he was not yet under the obligation 
 of vows he offered himself as his companion; 
 but this Ignatius refused, bidding him remain 
 in his present vocation, and only begging the 
 continual assistance of his prayers. These par- 
 ticulars were narrated by the holy Carthusian 
 monks who heard them from Castro himself, and 
 many years after the account was given by three 
 of them upon oath. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 HIS JOURNEY TO VENICE. 
 
 On his return Ignatius embarked on board a 
 merchant vessel at Valencia at the time when 
 
186 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 the famous corsair Barbarossa with a large fleet 
 of Turkish galleys was blockading the coast and 
 inflicting losses upon the Christians almost every 
 day. Having by God's mercy escaped from this 
 danger he soon fell into another. For a dreadful 
 storm came upon them ; the sails were torn to 
 pieces, the rudder was broken, and the mast 
 carried away, and when they had thrown the 
 cargo overboard they had nothing to expect but 
 drowning. Ignatius, who confided in God's pro- 
 vidence, remained calm amidst all the confusion, 
 joyfully looking forward to the moment when his 
 death would perfect his union with God. One 
 thing only gave him pain, which was, that upon 
 examining his conscience, he thought that he 
 had done little for God, and made a poor return 
 for gifts which he had so bountifully received. 
 At last the storm abated, and they entered the 
 port of Genoa; but the perils of his journey did 
 not end here. In descending the Appenines into 
 the plains of Lombardy, as he had no guide he 
 lost his way, and came to a spot where he could 
 neither ascend or descend, and at every step 
 was in danger of losing his footing and falling 
 into a furious torrent; he was obliged to creep 
 on his hands and knees clinging to the rocks 
 and to the herbage which grew out of the cre- 
 vices, and in this manner he at last escaped, 
 but he asserted that he had never in his life 
 been in such dreadful peril of death as he was 
 on that occasion. In Lombardy he found the 
 roads covered with deep mud and overflowed 
 from the continual rains. At the entrance of 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 187 
 
 Bologna he fell into a ditch and his clothes were 
 saturated with water and covered with mud, so 
 that he provoked the gibes and laughter of all 
 who saw him, and though the town was said 
 to be rich and the people charitable he could 
 not collect a single farthing all that day. He 
 slept that night at the Spanish College, where 
 he was laid up for a week with an attack of 
 fever and colic. From Bologna he continued 
 his journey to Venice, where he arrived at the 
 end of the year 1535. This date is certified 
 by a letter written by the Saint himself to the 
 Archdeacon of Barcelona, and dated February 
 12, 1536, in which he says that he had been 
 at Venice for a month and a half, adding that 
 he should continue his theological studies there 
 till the Lent of the ensuing year, after which 
 he would send him back the books which he 
 there kept for his studies. 
 
 To his theological studies he united as usual 
 his missionary labours and gave Spiritual Exer- 
 cises. By this means Diego and Stefano d' Eguia 
 of Navarre, young men of noble birth whom he 
 had previously been well acquainted with at Al- 
 cala, were brought to the pursuit of Ghristian 
 perfection ; they were then returning from a pil- 
 grimage to the Holy Land, and after the founda- 
 tion of the Society they took the religious habit, 
 and closed their religious course by holy deaths ; 
 after that he gave the Exercises to Diego degli 
 Ozzes, a native of Malaga, and a young man who 
 was illustrious both for birth and virtue. These 
 men all suspected that the Exercises were em- 
 
188 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 ployed as a vehicle of unsound doctrine, and 
 brought with them a number of books, containing 
 the writings of the Fathers and Doctors of the 
 Church, the decrees of councils, &c. which might 
 serve them as antidotes for any poison which they 
 might be attacked with ; but when they had tast- 
 ed the sweet and divine food which was offered 
 them, they were ready to forsake the world and 
 follow Ignatius. Another of his spiritual scholars 
 was Gasparo de Doctis, who became from that 
 time forward affectionately attached to Ignatius, 
 and afterwards when he became governor of the 
 holy house of Loreto, showed great kindness for 
 the Society. Many albo of the chief noblemen 
 of the republic of Venice were brought to the 
 practice of virtue by the same means, amongst 
 whom were Pietro Contarini, who was then depu- 
 ty of the hospital of St. John and St. Paul, and 
 afterwards Bishop of Baffo, a great protector, and 
 a kind father to the Society of Jesus. 
 
 These illustrious conversions soon began to 
 provoke the rage of the devil, and to set at work 
 the cunning of the wicked. They published a 
 report that Ignatius had been several times con- 
 victed of heresy both in Spain and in Paris, and 
 that although he had escaped by flight his image 
 had been publicly burnt. These rumours among 
 the people at last reached the ears of Girolamo 
 Veralli, who was then Paul the Third's nuncio, 
 and was afterwards made a cardinal. As soon as 
 Ignatius heard of it he presented himself before 
 him, requesting that he would summon his accu- 
 sers and dispose of the cause. This he accord- 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 189 
 
 ingly did, being assisted by his auditor, Gaspare- 
 de Doctis, and when the truth was made appa- 
 rent he gave sentence highly to the honour of 
 the Saint. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE ARRIVAL OF HIS COMPANIONS AT VENICE. 
 
 Whilst Ignatius was thus occupied in Spain and 
 at Venice, his companions with prudence and cour- 
 age, by the same holy instruments which they had 
 been taught to use by their master, gained a very 
 great number of souls to God. When they were 
 about leaving Paris to rejoin Ignatius, a famous 
 doctor of theology in the university told them 
 that if they preferred the uncertain good which 
 might result from their following Ignatius to the 
 rich harvest which they were gathering in that 
 populous city he should consider them guilty of 
 mortal sin ; and when they refused to listen to his 
 words, he brought them his opinion in writing, 
 and confirmed by the signatures of the chief di- 
 vines in Paris. But Faber, who knew the vast 
 designs of their holy Father for the glory of God, 
 and who had a clear knowledge of his divine vo- 
 cation, instead of deserting Ignatius, gained over 
 three others who were all men of approved abili- 
 ties and graduates in theology, and two of whom 
 were priests, to join the new Society. The first 
 of these men was Claudio Jajo, from the neigh- 
 bourhood of Geneva, who was endowed with the 
 
190 ST. IGNATIUS 
 
 mind and dispositions of an angel ; the next was 
 Pascasio Broet of Bertamcour near Amiens ; and 
 the third was Giovanni Codurio of Ambrun in 
 Dauphiny, but whose birth-place was Sein in Pro- 
 vence ; they all took the vows on the feast of the 
 Assumption in the chapel on the Hill of Martyrs, 
 and the original members at the same time re- 
 newed their vows. 
 
 At this time the war between the Emperor 
 Charles V. and Francis I. of France, was re- 
 kindled through the death of Sforza Duke of 
 Milan, and the Emperor had invaded Provence 
 with a large army of German, Spanish, and 
 Italian troops. Ignatius's companions therefore 
 judged that they ought no longer to delay their 
 journey, lest their passage into Italy should be 
 cut off, and accordingly, though the day appoint- 
 ed had been the 25th of January, 1537, they 
 left Paris on the 15th of November, 1536, whilst 
 a few still remained to settle their affairs, and dis- 
 tribute what property they left behind. Those 
 who went first waited at the town of Meaux till 
 their companions should join them, in order 
 that they might all travel together to Venice. 
 Amongst those who arrived the first at the place 
 of rendezvous was Simon Rodriguez, and he was 
 immediately seized with a most violent pain and 
 swelling upon the shoulder, accompanied by fe- 
 ver, so that he passed the whole night in a small 
 inn, where they had prepared a bed for him ; but 
 the fear lest his illness might interfere with their 
 journey into Italy occasioned him still more suf- 
 fering than his disorder ; he therefore prayed to 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 191 
 
 God with many tears that He would havo regard 
 to tho merits of the rest, and restore him to 
 strength : the others also prayed for him. It 
 seemed as if God had brought this evil upon 
 him that he might make manifest by a miracu- 
 lous proof His tender care over them. After 
 passing the whole night in torments, Rodriguez 
 slept a little towards day-break, and upon awa- 
 king both the swelling and the fever had disap- 
 peared and left no trace behind them, so that 
 when the rest of the party arrived from Paris, a 
 few hours afterwards, he was able happily to con- 
 tinue his journey. Two days afterwards they 
 were overtaken by his brother and another coun- 
 tryman and friend of his who had been studying 
 at Paris. These two young men, when they per- 
 ceived that Simon Rodriguez did not return as 
 quickly as they had expected, but that he had 
 gone to join Ignatius, they went in pursuit of him, 
 and upon meeting him his brother tenderly em- 
 braced him, and said all that he could to retain 
 him. He told him that he had not the heart to go 
 back to his mother in Portugal, who would be in 
 despair at losing the son who had been so partic- 
 ularly given in charge to her by her husband 
 upon his death-bed, and who would reproach him 
 with the loss. Then his friend added that he 
 would be guilty of shameful injustice if he deceived 
 the expectations of the king, who had defrayed 
 all the expense of his studies with the hope of 
 having his future services. But the virtue of 
 Simon was proof against these attacks, and the 
 favour which he had so lately received from God 
 
192 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 was still fresh in his memory, so that the dispute 
 was much more likely to have ended in his per- 
 suading them to follow Ignatius than in their in- 
 ducing Simon to abandon him. 
 
 When Xavier was on the point of leaving 
 Paris he received from Pampeluna the offer of a 
 canon's stall in the cathedral there, but this he 
 hardly deigned to look at, so great was his desire 
 to rejoin Ignatius. Xavier used to take great 
 delight in the amusements of running and jump- 
 ing, and his activity was so extraordinary that 
 he was rather vain of it. This vanity was one 
 of the greatest sins of his past life, and one 
 which he took the greatest vengeance upon. He 
 bound his arms and thighs with sharp knotted 
 cords, and in this manner he commenced his 
 long journey, tormented at every step. This 
 pain he endured for some days, but at last the 
 holy youth fell down fainting, and acknowledged 
 that he could go no further, so that his secret 
 was discovered. His companions were shocked 
 at this discovery, for the cords had produced 
 not only inflammation, but had caused such a 
 swelling that they were buried underneath the 
 flesh and were no longer visible. They sup- 
 ported him to a house in the neighbourhood and 
 called in a French surgeon who was there. The 
 surgeon perceived the necessity of cutting the 
 ligatures, and on the other hand feared lest he 
 should touch some nerve during the operation 
 and throw the patient into convulsions, so that 
 he would not attempt it. Still the hopes of his 
 companions did not fail, but remembering the 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 193 
 
 recovery of Rodriguez they prayed to God, feel- 
 ing confident that He would succour under an 
 affliction which had been occasioned by zeal in 
 His service. It needed not many prayers, when 
 they were offered in behalf of a man who had 
 been marked out by Providence to be the 
 apostle of a new world. During the night 
 he slept quietly, and the next morning, the 
 cords were found broken, the flesh was healed 
 without any appearance of wound or swelling to 
 be seen. Jacob Lainez was also distinguished 
 for his zeal during this journey, for though he 
 had recently recovered from a severe illness he 
 insisted upon walking like the rest, and he 
 wore his hair-shirt all the way from Paris to 
 Venice. 
 
 They were all clothed in the long dress of 
 pilgrims, with staffs in their hands, and carry- 
 ing a bundle upon their shoulders containing 
 their bibles, breviaries, and writings ; round their 
 necks they wore the chaplet of our Lady, and 
 by their modest and devout appearance they 
 moved the wonder and attracted the attention 
 of all who saw them. On the first day of their 
 journey they fell in with a party of French 
 soldiers who were guarding the barriers, and 
 who questioned them as to their country and 
 their occupation, when a citizen who stood near 
 said, " Let them alone, for they are going to 
 work a reformation in some country." They di- 
 vided their time so that a certain portion was 
 allotted to meditation, another to reading, or 
 else sometimes to singing psalms, another to 
 13 
 
194 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 pious discourse, for they conversed only upon 
 what was necessary, or what was holy. Every 
 day those who were priests celebrated and the 
 others received the communion. When they 
 came to the inn where they were to rest they 
 all knelt down to thank God for the benefits they 
 had received, and when they left it they again 
 knelt to implore His protection. Their table 
 was sparing, but their meals were sweetened by 
 charity. When they took counsel together upon 
 any subject, the minority always yielded with 
 alacrity, they had many difficulties and hardships 
 to undergo. To avoid the imperial army they 
 quitted the ordinary road, and went towards 
 Germany. All the time of their progress through 
 Lorraine it had rained heavily, and in Germany 
 they found the snow so deep that sometimes 
 they were forced to wait three days till a path 
 could be opened. 
 
 During the march of the French troops through 
 Lorraine the roads were so dangerous by reason 
 of the continual robberies which occurred, that 
 even the peasants did not venture to leave their 
 own fields. On one occasion they got entangled 
 amongst the troops, and by the manifest pro- 
 tection of God it was never discovered in spite 
 of frequent examinations that any of them were 
 Spaniards, in case of which discovery they would 
 have been made prisoners. One of them an- 
 swered in French that they were students from 
 Paris who were going on a pilgrimage to St. 
 Nicholas on the confines of Lorraine, by which 
 their route lay, and upon this answer they were 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 195 
 
 allowed to pass. In passing through Germany, 
 although they were kindly received by the Ca- 
 tholics, still it moved the rage of the enemies 
 of the Church in this country, which was full 
 of heretics, to see nine men boldly wearing 
 their chaplets round their necks and publicly 
 professing the faith, so that they were often 
 insulted, and their lives were in danger. When 
 they came into any Lutheran city they were 
 challenged by the preachers to dispute, for they 
 thought it a disgrace to them if they allowed 
 these foreign Catholics to pass by in silence. 
 The young men accepted these challenges, not 
 so much with the expectation of converting their 
 adversaries, as to vindicate the honour of the 
 Roman Church, and to prevent these heretics 
 from boasting of their silence. In these dis- 
 putes Jacob Lainez was the most conspicuous, 
 and the preachers were unable to contend with 
 him in argument and readiness of speech. One 
 of the preachers who publicly confessed his 
 defeat, still persevered in his errors, for it was 
 not so much blindness of intellect as p& A versity 
 of will which made a number of these men ad- 
 here to their sect. But still there were others 
 more wise, who upon comparing the impudence 
 and folly of these preachers with the sound 
 reasoning and modesty of the strangers, showed 
 great affection for them, and gave them alms 
 and lodging, and conducted them on their 
 journey. At a fortified place about sixteen 
 miles from Constance, all the inhabitants of 
 which were Lutheran, they were challenged by 
 
196 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 one of their preachers, who being a man of great 
 abilities, and thinking himself sure of victory, 
 brought with him a great number of auditors. 
 But he was disappointed, for when the dispute 
 had lasted for some hours, he was so entangled 
 in the arguments of Lainez, that no escape was 
 left him. The dispute was interrupted by sup- 
 per, which Lainez and his companions did not 
 take with the heretics as they had been invited 
 but by themselves. At supper the preacher 
 drank a large quantity of wine, and the con- 
 troversy was resumed before a large concourse 
 of people ; the preacher was so overcome by 
 the continued force of the wine and the argu- 
 ments of Lainez, that he publicly declared him- 
 self vanquished, saying, "I have nothing left 
 to answer, what more will you have ? " One 
 of the company answered, "We will that you 
 quit your errors, and bring with you all the 
 souls you have misled ; for how can you teach 
 what you are unable to defend." Upon this 
 the preacher burst out into a fit of anger, and 
 changing the Latin for the German language, he 
 began to abuse them and threaten them with 
 prison, and what was still worse, broke out into 
 blasphemy. Some who were present translated 
 these words to the Fathers, and advised them 
 to take to flight. But they would not suffer 
 the imputation of cowardice to be attached to 
 the Catholic Faith, and besides this they would 
 have rejoiced to find that death for Christ's 
 sake which they were going into the Holy Land 
 to seek for. They therefore made an offering of 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 197 
 
 their lives to God, and the whole of that night 
 they passed in mutual love and in prayer. The 
 next morning at break of day, before the heretics 
 had yet shaken off the effect of the wine, there 
 came to the inn where they were lodging a young 
 man tall of stature, who appeared to be about 
 thirty years of age. The young man first of all 
 addressed them in the German language and 
 with a pleasing expression of countenance, and 
 as they could not understand him, he then beck- 
 oned them to follow him. They did so, and 
 he led them out of the place by side paths, often 
 looking back and smiling upon them and bid- 
 ding them to take courage and fear nothing. 
 The young men were in great astonishment, for 
 whereas at first there was no perceptible track 
 by which he guided them, it gradually showed 
 itself and became smooth and easy, and what 
 is more, although the whole country was cover- 
 ed with snow, this path alone was free from it. 
 After travelling thus for a distance of eight miles, 
 they came into the high road, and their cour- 
 teous guide kindly saluted them and disappeared. 
 They were in doubt whether he were an angel, 
 or whether it were some angelic man who had 
 thus delivered them from the hands of their 
 enemies. After passing through Constance, they 
 approached towards a fortified place, and were 
 met by an aged woman who came out of a hos- 
 pital, and advancing joyfully extending her arms 
 in the form of a cross, and lifting up her eyes 
 to heaven full of tears, whilst she testified great 
 reverence towards them. When they came up 
 
198 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 to her she began to kiss their rosaries, talking 
 to them in German, and although they did not 
 know the language, they understood that she 
 was expressing her joy and her love for the 
 Catholic Faith which she knew them to possess 
 by that sign. She then made signs for them 
 to wait for her, and running into the hospital 
 she came back with a number of chaplets, cru- 
 cifixes, and images of our Lady, which the Lu- 
 therans had broken to pieces, and which she had 
 collected together and taken care of. The Je- 
 suit Fathers mourned to see how these sacred 
 objects had been torn by these ravenous heretics, 
 and kneeling down upon the snow they tenderly 
 kissed them. Afterwards the old woman went 
 before them into the fortified town, pointing to 
 them with her finger and crying out, " See, ye 
 wretches, whether you told me truly that there 
 is not a man left in the world to profess the 
 Catholic Faith. Well it is for me that I would 
 not believe you. You called me a madwoman, 
 because I would not be deceived by you, but it 
 is you that are the madmen." The Fathers 
 afterwards discovered that this woman was a 
 faithful Catholic, whom the Lutheran preachers 
 had driven out to a pesthouse as a madwoman, 
 because they could not move her either by threats 
 or persuasions. A number of the preachers came 
 together and disputed with the Fathers, but all 
 to no purpose, for when arguments would not 
 serve them, they fell back upon the scriptures, 
 and would admit of no appeal except to their 
 own mutilated and falsified translation. Such 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 199 
 
 was the journey of Ignatius's nine companions, 
 full of perils and difficulties and of heroic acts, 
 which brought glory upon the Catholic Faith, 
 till upon the 8th of January, 1537, they had the 
 happiness of again embracing their holy father 
 at Venice. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE REMOVAL OF THE SOCIETY TO ROME. 
 
 At Venice they consulted about their journey 
 to Jerusalem, and agreed that it was better to 
 go to the Pope, and ask his permission to re- 
 main in the Holy Land and preach the gospel 
 there, so that no man might have it in his power 
 to forbid them, and that they might be em- 
 powered to take holy orders on the title of vo- 
 luntary poverty. But as the season was unfa- 
 vourable for travelling, they determined to rest 
 where they then were till the severity of the winter 
 had passed, but their rest was the rest of saints, 
 and consisted only in a change in the nature 
 of their labours. They accordingly divided their 
 services between two hospitals, Francis Xavier 
 taking the hospital of the Incurables, and Igna- 
 tius the hospital of St. John and St. Paul. Thus 
 they remained giving themselves up entirely to 
 ministering to the sick, whose bodily welfare 
 they attended to more carefully than the hired 
 servants, and whose souls they tended with the 
 zeal of apostles. Night and day they were en- 
 
200 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 gaged in consoling their afflictions, encouraging 
 their patience, in giving advice and exhortations, 
 and in assisting the dying. Nothing was too 
 base for them to perform ; they made the beds, 
 cleaned the rooms, washed the plates and dishes* 
 cleansed away the filth from their bodies, at- 
 tending to their meanest wants, and when they 
 died they buried them with their own hands. 
 The report of these deeds of charity was quickly 
 spread through the town, and not only the 
 people but the chief noblemen of the republic 
 came to see them, and it is impossible to describe 
 the tender emotion and the astonishment which 
 was caused amongst them. But the heroic vir- 
 tue of Xavier did not rest here. One day he 
 found a patient who was suffering from a horri- 
 ble sore, and perceiving that his weak nature 
 shrunk from the sight, as it were to punish this 
 cowardice, he put his lips to the wound and 
 sucked away the corrupt matter from it not once 
 only, but several times. Another of the society 
 was asked by a man whose body was covered with 
 an infectious and leprous incrustation to do some 
 service for him ; feelings of disgust rose within 
 his mind, and he gained a noble victory over 
 himself, by taking the putrid matter from his 
 body and putting it into his mouth. Another 
 perceiving that the superintendant of the hospital 
 of St. John and St. Paul had refused admittance 
 to a poor man with leprosy, took him into his 
 own bed. The next morning he found that the 
 leper had disappeared, and he himself was taken 
 with the disorder, which he received as a reward 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 201 
 
 for his charity, and looked upon its cure the 
 day afterwards as a misfortune. 
 
 It was God's will to manifest how pleasing in 
 His sight was this fervent charity and generous 
 self-sacrifice of His servants, by permitting the 
 rage of the devil to appear without disguise. One 
 of the servants in the hospital was possessed by 
 an evil spirit, and whenever any of the fathers 
 came into the kitchen where she used to work, 
 she made hideous faces at them, and eyed them 
 maliciously, muttering at the same time some un- 
 intelligible words. But one day upon seeing them 
 she broke into a passion and cried out to the 
 bystanders, " Ah ! you do not know who these 
 men are, they are men of great learning and of 
 exceeding virtue. How much I have laboured 
 to prevent their coming here, and nevertheless 
 here they are!" Another day she screamed out 
 at them, and when one of them went up and 
 endeavoured to calm her, she made a rush to 
 throw herself into the fire, but was prevented by 
 another of the servants, although in her strug- 
 gles she threw herself backwards so as nearly 
 to bring her head down to the flames, and at 
 the same time filled the house with her shrieks. 
 The priest of the hospital was brought to the 
 spot by this tumult, and had the woman brought 
 into the church to be exorcised. The devil was 
 compelled to repeat the Creed, which he did in 
 an interrupted manner, stopping between each 
 article, and when he came to the words, " Inde 
 venturus est judicare vivos, et mortuos," ho ut- 
 tered a loud yell and exclaimed with a tono of 
 
202 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 misery, " Ah, poor wretch that I am, what will 
 become of me on that dreadful day ! " then he 
 cast the woman down upon the earth and was 
 silent. 
 
 These were their employments during the 
 winter, and towards the end of Lent they began 
 their journey to Rome, with the exception of 
 Ignatius who remained at Venice, because he 
 understood that Cardinal Pietro Carafa, who 
 had spread false rumours about him at Ve- 
 nice, was then at Rome, and he knew that 
 he should do more harm than good to his own 
 cause if he were to show himself there. The 
 whole company travelled on foot together, but 
 they divided their numbers, and the Spaniards, 
 French, and Savoyards were mingled with each 
 other. The priests said mass every day, and 
 the others received the communion, just as 
 they had done on their journey from Paris. 
 They strictly observed the Lent fast amidst all 
 the fatigues of their journey, living upon the 
 alms they collected, and taking no provision 
 with them. It was God's good pleasure to 
 satisfy their ardent desires of suffering that they 
 could procure nothing but bread and water, and 
 we are told by Bartoli, that during three 
 days as they were going along the sea-shore to 
 Ravenna, they could not get even a single loaf, 
 so that first one and then another fell fainting 
 upon the road from extreme weakness. On 
 Passion Sunday they were compelled by extreme 
 necessity to gather some cones in passing through 
 a pine forest, so that they might break them 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 203 
 
 open to get the bitter nuts which they contain- 
 ed, but they were often obliged to desist from 
 this fatiguing process, which brought them such 
 slender advantage. They were continually drench- 
 ed with the unceasing rain, and in this condition 
 were often obliged to sleep in the open air ; a 
 heap of straw to lie upon they esteemed a lux- 
 ury. One day after eating only a mouthful of 
 bread they walked a distance of twenty-eight 
 miles under a heavy rain, the country was cover- 
 ed with water like a lake, and they waded some- 
 times up to the chest, but they, nevertheless, 
 went on their way rejoicing, and chanting the 
 Psalms of David. God rewarded their merits and 
 consoled them by a new favour, for the water was 
 the means of restoring health to Giovanni Codu- 
 rio, who had been suffering from an inflamed leg. 
 When they had nothing to pay the ferry on cross- 
 ing a river, they gave up different articles of con- 
 venience which they possessed, one gave an ink- 
 stand, another a knife, and some even parts of 
 their under garments. Between Ravenna and 
 Ancona it was necessary that one of them who 
 was not in holy orders should leave his breviary 
 as a pledge with the cruel ferryman, whilst the 
 others waited till he should come back and redeem 
 the pledge by the alms he collected in Ancona. 
 In Ravenna they lodged in a hospital where only 
 one bed was allotted them, which was given up 
 to the weakest of the party. In their number 
 was Simon Rodriguez, but the smell from the 
 dirty bed linen made him prefer sleeping on the 
 bare ground ; but soon afterwards his conscience 
 
204 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 reproached him for this piece of self-indulgence, 
 and in another hospital he passed the whole night 
 in a bed in which a man had the day before died 
 of a most loathsome disorder ; (mal di pidocchi.) 
 Besides these sufferings they had also to bear 
 shame, for when it was observed that they were all 
 foreigners and all dressed alike, it was supposed 
 that they were criminals under the ban of the 
 church, and that they were on their way to Rome 
 to be absolved by the Pope. But all these trials 
 were sweetened by divine love, and by that bro- 
 therly love which made each of them prefer 
 others before himself ; each saw that there were 
 other men in the same company with themselves, 
 whom they esteemed far more highly, and this 
 made them despise their own sufferings. At Lo- 
 reto they stayed three days to satisfy their devo- 
 tion, and then proceeded to Tolentino, at which 
 place God gave them fresh proofs of his Fatherly 
 protection. The night had come on, and they 
 were tired and exhausted with hunger, the rain 
 was falling in torreuts, and they met none of 
 whom they could ask an alms or a night's shelter. 
 Three of them walked in advance ; two of these 
 walked under the eaves of the projecting roofs to 
 escape the rain, whilst Simon Rodriguez walked 
 right in the middle of the street, because he said 
 it was impossible that he could be more wet or 
 dirty. As they thus proceeded they were met 
 by a tall man about thirty years of age, and, as 
 far as they could distinguish by the tight, of a 
 beautiful countenance ; he took them by the hand, 
 and opening it placed in it some small pieces of 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 205 
 
 money, and then closed the hand without saying 
 a word ; with this money they bought wine and 
 dried figs, and according to their poverty made a 
 sumptuous repast, besides having something left 
 to bestow on others. When they came within 
 sight of that holy city, which is the head of the 
 Catholic religion, the treasury of holy relics, and 
 whose ground is soaked with the blood of innu- 
 merable martyrs, they prostrated themselves on 
 the ground to salute it. They entered the walls 
 with hearts full of devotion, and Jacob Lainez 
 walked in barefoot. They proceeded direct to 
 the shrine of St. Peter, and when they had 
 paid their loving devotions, and commended to 
 his patronage the object of their mission, they 
 resorted each to the hospital of his own coun- 
 try. But after a short time their zealous de- 
 votion in visiting the holy places, their pious 
 discourses, their exemplary frugality, modesty, 
 and innocence, attracted the notice of many, 
 and some rich Spaniards belonging to the court 
 were desirous of having them all in the Spanish 
 hospital of St. James, and would not allow such 
 holy men to go begging about for food, but en- 
 gaged to provide a moderate subsistence for 
 them according to their wants. They found 
 Pietro Ortiz beyond all their expectations most 
 kindly disposed towards them, for he was fully 
 convinced of the sanctity of Ignatius, and enter- 
 tained a great devotion for him. He made known 
 to the Pope Paul III. that there were certain 
 doctors arrived from Paris distinguished for their 
 learning and piety who desired to visit the Holy 
 
206 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 Land. The Pope greatly pleased at this intelli- 
 gence, desired that they should appear before 
 him in a few days together with some Roman 
 divines to hold a religious disputation whilst 
 he was at table, for it was the custom of this 
 pontiff to listen to such disputes at dinner time, 
 so that he might feed his mind and body at the 
 same time. A number of subtle questions were 
 mooted by the Roman theologians, which were 
 satisfactorily resolved by our Fathers amidst the 
 applause of all, and to the great delight of the 
 Pope. When he rose from table they drew 
 near to kiss his feet, and the holy father stretch- 
 ing out his arms as if to embrace them, exclaim- 
 ed, " Great is our joy to see such great learning 
 united to such great modesty." He then em- 
 braced them and liberally granted all their re- 
 quests, but as a league was then being formed 
 against the Turks between the Church, the 
 Emperor, and the Venetian State, he advised 
 them not to undertake their pilgrimage that year. 
 He gave orders to Cardinal de Santi to pro- 
 vide them with letters from the court of the 
 Penitentiary licensing them with the consent 
 of Ignatius to receive ordination at the hands 
 of any Bishop, whilst they were away from their 
 own diocese, and at other times than those ap- 
 pointed by the canons. A dispensation was also 
 granted to Alfonso Salmerone to receive the 
 priesthood as soon as he was twenty-three years 
 of age. The holy Father moreover gave them 
 seventy scadi, and they received one hundred 
 and forty more from the good Spaniards, which 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 207 
 
 were changed into Venetian money, because they 
 had resolved to use them only for their pilgrim- 
 age to the Holy Land, and then they started 
 again to beg their way back to Venice on foot 
 as they had come. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 ST. IGNATIUS IS ORDAINED PRIEST. THE LABOURS OF 
 THE SOCIETY IN THE VENETIAN STATES. 
 
 Upon their return to Venice they again began 
 their ministrations in the hospitals, and con- 
 tinued their former mode of life, till the Feast 
 of St. John Baptist, 1537, upon which day St. 
 Ignatius, and those who had not yet taken priests' 
 orders were ordained upon the title of voluntary 
 poverty and sufficient learning ; and all the so- 
 ciety took perpetual vows of poverty, chastity, 
 and obedience at the feet of the Pope's nuncio 
 Veralli. The nuncio's dispensation, together 
 with the letter from the court of the Peniten- 
 tiary, are still preserved in our archives at Rome. 
 The ordination was performed by Vincenzo Nig- 
 usanti da Fano, Bishop of Arbense, a man of 
 distinguished virtue, who affirmed that he had 
 experienced feelings of devotion in laying his 
 hands upon these servants of God, which were 
 unknown to him upon all other occasions. The 
 newly-ordained priests celebrated their first 
 masses upon different festivals ; but Ignatius re- 
 solved to make a year's preparation for this sol- 
 
208 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 emn act of worship, and eventually he prolonged 
 the time to eighteen months, and celebrated for 
 the first time on the Feast of the Nativity in 
 the year following in the church of St. Mary 
 Major at Rome, and in the chapel of the Holy 
 Crib. 
 
 Meantime a war broke out between the Vene- 
 tians and Soliman the Turkish Sultan, so that 
 neither merchants or pilgrims could any more 
 frequent the seas, and all hope of visiting the 
 Holy Land was taken from them. It is remark- 
 able that the passage had been open for very 
 many years previously, and with this single ex- 
 ception it continued free up to the year 1570. 
 Thus did God's secret Providence conduct this 
 troop of apostolic men who were to contend for 
 His glory and the good of His church. Still 
 they continued to wait till the year was ex- 
 pired in fulfilment of the vow they had made 
 at Paris ; and that they might have more leisure 
 to prepare themselves for fresh sacrifices, they 
 agreed to quit the city and retire to other places 
 in the neighbourhood, from whence they might 
 return quickly whenever these hostilities should 
 cease, and the voyage be practicable, of which 
 consummation they had but feeble hopes. 
 
 It was decided by lot that Ignatius, Faber, 
 and Lainez should go to Vicenza ; Xavier, and 
 Salmerone to Monfelice ; Jajo and Rodriguez, 
 to Bassano ; Broet and Bobadiglia to Verona or 
 Padua ; and Codurio and 1' Ozzes to Trivigi ; 
 which last had joined Ignatius at Venice, and 
 taken the vows in the presence of the Pope's 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 2<»0 
 
 nuncio. In the vicinity of these towns the 
 Jesuit fathers found lodging in some deserted 
 cottages. They slept upon straw, or else upon 
 the bare ground ; they lived upon a scanty al- 
 lowance of bread and water which they procured 
 by begging. Many hours were allotted to prayer 
 and penitential exercises, and for the practice of 
 humility each of them took the office of superior 
 by turns. Ignatius with Faber and Lainez in- 
 habited a ruined monastery destroyed in the wars 
 and abandoned ; neither doors nor windows re- 
 mained, so that it was open to the winds and 
 rain, but these inconveniences only gave plea- 
 sure to the Saint, for they brought to his mind 
 the cavern at Bethlehem. During his stay at 
 Venice, and especially whilst he was preparing 
 himself for the priesthood, God had restored to 
 him those spiritual delights and heavenly visi- 
 tations which he had experienced at Manresa ; 
 but which had been diminished during the period 
 of his studies at Paris. Moreover, he had the 
 gift of most sweet and abundant tears, so that 
 he now began to suffer from weak eyes, and 
 continued to do so all the rest of his life. Two 
 of the three went out to beg morning and even- 
 ing ; and they could barely collect sufficient for 
 their wretched subsistence. The third remained 
 to keep the house and to prepare the food, which 
 generally consisted of boiled bread, and this 
 office fell for the most part upon Ignatius, who 
 was confined to the house by the weakness of 
 his eyes. 
 
 They remained forty days in this solitude as 
 14 
 
210 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 Christ was forty days in the wilderness, after 
 which time they were joined by Giovanni Co- 
 durio from Trivigi, and they went forth to 
 preach, each one to some frequented quarter of 
 the town of Vicenza. A bench served them for 
 a pulpit, and by raising their voices and waving 
 their hats they invited the people to hear them. 
 They spoke with a foreign accent, and some- 
 times even made use of foreign words. But the 
 Divine Spirit which urged them, their ardent 
 zeal, and the sanctity which was marked upon 
 their faces, quickly took effect, and many who 
 came for amusement were pricked in heart, and 
 obtained some spiritual good, so that they has- 
 tened to hear the preacher another time. All 
 the rest acted in the same way, going to the 
 town or village which was nearest to them, and 
 thus originated the custom which the Jesuits 
 have ever since retained, of going to the market- 
 places and there casting the net of the gospel 
 among the crowd of idlers who were not often 
 to be met with in the churches. 
 
 Several of the fathers became ill from the 
 fatigue of preaching and the severity of their 
 lives, especially Simon Rodriguez. He was stay- 
 ing at a hermitage called St. Vito, in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Bassano, which was inhabited by an 
 ancient solitary named Antonio, who had retired 
 there by the admonition of God ; he had only a 
 narrow cell and the bare table for his only bed. 
 Rodriguez used to get up at night to pray and 
 sing psalms with the hermit, and shared in all 
 his fastings and austerities. In September Ro- 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 211 
 
 driguez was taken ill, and the physician who 
 was sent for despaired of his recovery. When 
 Ignatius heard of this he went immediately to 
 Bassano with Faber, leaving Lainez sick at the 
 hospital. The Saint was himself suffering from 
 fever, but his charity gave him such activity 
 that Faber was astonished at his walking so 
 rapidly and was unable to keep pace with him, 
 so that Ignatius was often obliged to wait. On 
 another occasion Lainez was also astonished in 
 the same way, for as he was on a journey with 
 the Saint he fell sick of a fever, upon which 
 Ignatius took off his own clothes to cover him, 
 and having procured a horse to carry him, he 
 started on foot before him, and walked so fast 
 that Lainez had great difficulty in keeping up 
 with him. When he came to Bassano Ignatius 
 affectionately embraced the sick man, and said 
 to him, " Take courage, brother Simon, for most 
 certainly you will not die of this illness." The 
 Saint had been praying earnestly for the life 
 of his companion, and God had revealed to him 
 that his prayers were heard, and this he had 
 immediately told Faber. In fact, improvement 
 began upon the arrival of Ignatius, and he rapid- 
 ly recovered his health. 
 
 But very soon after his life had been saved 
 by the prayers of Ignatius, he was nearly being 
 separated from the Society of Jesus by a fraud 
 of the devil, (for it is generally thought that 
 Rodriguez was the one so assailed.) Certain 
 it is that one of the three was captivated by the 
 life and conversation of the hermit. The an- 
 
212 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 chorite's retreat seemed like the solitude of St. 
 Antony or St. Hilarion. He was attracted by 
 the life of seclusion and of perpetual divine con- 
 templation, and it occurred to him that per- 
 haps he should be doing God better service if 
 he left Ignatius and remained with the hermit. 
 On the other hand he hesitated because of the 
 vow which lie had taken, and was swayed by the 
 example of the rest whose abilities, learning, and 
 holiness he admired. Nevertheless he resolved 
 to go away secretly from Ignatius and his com- 
 panions at Bassano, and act upon the advice which 
 the old hermit should give him. But God who had 
 permitted this temptation for the instruction of 
 the new Society, and in order that they might 
 understand that it was displeasing to Him that 
 any one who had been called by Him to assist 
 the souls of other men, should abandon that 
 vocation to occupy himself with heavenly things 
 alone, violently opposed his course in the fol- 
 lowing manner. Hardly had he quitted the 
 town of Bassano when he was met by an armed 
 man of fierce and terrible aspect, who stood 
 across his path with a drawn sword in his hand. 
 At first he was somewhat frightened at this 
 sight, but being unable to discover the cause 
 of the interruption he attempted to proceed. 
 But his adversary immediately fell upon him 
 with looks of fury, and threatened to strike him. 
 Upon this the poor man was half dead with fear, 
 and fled away trembling, whilst men wondered 
 to see a fugitive without any visible pursuer. 
 He came running into the presence of Ignatius, 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 213 
 
 who having known all that had passed by divine 
 revelation, received him with a calm aspect, and 
 speaking to him by his name, told him of his 
 doubts. 
 
 The hermit was also admonished by God, for 
 he was a very holy man, and acted in a most 
 charitable manner towards these two Fathers of 
 our Society. It appears only right that I should 
 digress for a moment out of respect to his me- 
 mory ; for it seems to me that his intercourse 
 with Ignatius was Providentially ordered, so 
 that his virtues might be made known to the 
 world, which would otherwise have remained in 
 obscurity. The country people, and others who 
 lived near him, tell amongst other things how 
 the hermit Antonio used to call long prayers 
 and extreme privations the ointment of hermits. 
 Many spiritual sayings of his have been handed 
 down to us by his disciple Gasparo Gropelli. The 
 following are given by Bartoli : "What kills the 
 soul with cold is the not stripping from it the 
 garment of self-love. The highest and the most 
 useful of all human knowledge is to know how 
 to deny one's own will. He who is not at 
 peace with God is always at war with himself. 
 He who sets out to go to God must first depart 
 from himself. This world is a place of exchange 
 and barter, and he only is rich who loves himself 
 that he may gain God. The greater part of man- 
 kind take counsel from fools, for the world is folly, 
 and the flesh is folly, and in listening to these 
 counsellors they are the greatest fools. To die 
 well, you must first be dead. To do a great action 
 
214 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 you must know your own littleness. If you would 
 live in Christian joy take heed that you remain 
 ignorant of evil." He used to thank God that 
 he had no relative living in his native city of Bas- 
 sano, because a man's greatest foes are they of 
 his own house, and he would have found them 
 disturbers of his peace instead of imitators of his 
 life. God gives not Paradise to those who think 
 it costs much, but to those who willingly give 
 their best, however large be the price. He used 
 thus to explain those words of David, "In cir- 
 cuitu impii ambulant :" " Men of the world begin 
 their circle at self-love, they proceed through the 
 love of creatures, and return again to the point 
 from which they started. Saints on the contrary 
 begin with love to God, proceed through love for 
 their neighbour, and return again to the love of 
 God." To a rich man who once said to him, that 
 the world was beautiful, he answered, " If the ap- 
 proach to the palace be so beautiful, what will the 
 palace be ?" To another who said that he would 
 gladly bargain to give up all the Paradises in the 
 world, provided he could live here for ever, the 
 hermit replied, "Either you do not believe that 
 there is any other life than this present one ; or 
 else your conscience is so burdened with sin that 
 you fear going to a worse place after death." 
 These were the hermit's sayings, and his acts cor- 
 responded to them. His mind was weary of earth 
 and looked only to heaven, life was a burden to 
 him and he ardently desired death ; when some 
 one consoled him in his sickness by telling him 
 he would live another twenty years, "I would 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 215 
 
 not give you a farthing," he said, "if you could 
 sell them to me." His death took place about 
 Pentecost, and when it drew near he was full of 
 happiness, and used often to say, "0 death, I 
 have been a long time expecting thee ;" then he 
 would tenderly embrace the cross which he loved 
 above all other things, and in which he now more 
 than ever placed his hopes. It is natural that 
 one who is altogether intent upon corporal aus- 
 terities, should suppose that they are the greatest 
 proofs of holiness ; moreover this good hermit was 
 a simple and ignorant man, and when he perceiv- 
 ed that there was nothing singular either in the 
 dress or in the manners of Ignatius, he secretly 
 despised him, and considered him a man who 
 had made small progress in perfection, and he 
 was very much astonished that his companions 
 should think so highly of him. But it pleased 
 God at the same time to remove his delusion, and 
 to glorify his servant Ignatius. For one day as 
 the hermit was praying fervently, God made 
 known to him what his estimate was of the man 
 whom he despised, and the old man afterwards 
 told this for his own humiliation and the honour 
 of Ignatius. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE JOURNEY OF ST. IGNATIUS TO ROME. CHRIST 
 FROMISES IN A VISION TO SHOW HIM FAVOUR. 
 
 When Rodriguez had recovered his health Ig- 
 natius returned to Vicenza, and as there was no 
 
216 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 longer any hope of their being able to make their 
 pilgrimage to the Holy Land, he called an assem- 
 bly of all his companions, to consult upon their 
 future course. The ruined monastery was their 
 place of meeting; and so greatly had Ignatius 
 gained the hearts of the inhabitants of that dis- 
 trict by his preaching, that whereas they had 
 hardly been able at first to beg a scanty sub- 
 sistence for three, their alms were now sufficient 
 to support eleven men. Still, the building was 
 so exposed to the winds and the rain that Francis 
 Xavier and another fell ill, and that they might 
 not die of cold it was necessary to remove them 
 to a small house close to the Hospital of the In- 
 curables, which afforded somewhat better accom- 
 modation. They had one small bed, in which 
 both of them lay together, and their patience was 
 sorely tried, for both of them being laid up with 
 fever it often happened that one of them was 
 burning with fever whilst the other was shivering 
 with cold chills, so that what gave ease to one 
 of them did the other harm. But the favours 
 of God abounded now that the help of man was 
 vain. St. Jerome, for whom Xavier had a great 
 devotion, appeared to him in the middle of the 
 night, and gave him divine consolations. He 
 then told him that his companions would be dis- 
 tributed among different cities which he named, 
 and that the town of Bologna would be allotted 
 to him, in which place a cross awaited him most 
 o-rievous and at the same time meritorious. The 
 
 o 
 
 prediction was exactly fulfilled ; for when all 
 hopes of their pilgrimage had failed, they deter- 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 217 
 
 mined, according to their vow, to put themselves 
 into the hands of the Pope. Accordingly, it was 
 agreed that Ignatius, Faber, and Lainez should 
 go to Rome for this purpose, and that the others 
 should £0 to various cities in which there exist- 
 ed schools of divinity, where they might attract 
 souls to God, and, if possible, add novices to 
 their own Society. Whilst they were thus scat- 
 tered far from each other certain rules were 
 established, which they were to observe unless 
 prudence or necessity prevented them. These 
 were as follows. They were to live by alms and 
 lodge in hospitals. Each was to have the office 
 of superior by turns every week, and besides 
 other duties he was, in case of need, to restrain 
 any excess of zeal. They were to preach on the 
 beauty and advantages of virtue, and on the de- 
 formity and the punishment of vice, and to em- 
 ploy fervour of spirit rather than artificial elo- 
 quence. To children and to the ignorant they 
 were to teach the rudiments of the Faith, and 
 how they ought to live. The time that was not 
 occupied in public ministrations they were to 
 devote to spiritual and corporal works of mercy 
 in the hospitals. That they might leave no means 
 untried for gaining souls they were to do all for 
 the glory of God without asking or accepting of 
 any reward. Besides these rules it also appeared 
 necessary that they should be furnished with some 
 uniform answer to those who from time to time 
 might inquire who they were, what order they be- 
 longed to, and what they called themselves. Bar- 
 toli says, that there was no division of opinions 
 
218 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 upon this point, because it was determined by 
 God when the first sketch of the future Founda- 
 tion was revealed to Ignatius at Manresa. He 
 therefore told them that as the object of their 
 Society was to labour for the salvation of men, 
 they should take Jesus as their example and their 
 Head, and call themselves the Society of Jesus. 
 Having then determined in what cities each was 
 to labour, they took an affectionate leave of each 
 other. Ignatius with Faber and Lainez went to 
 Rome, Xavier and Bobadiglia to Bologna, Rod- 
 riguez and Jajo to Ferrara, Salmerone, and 
 Broet to Siena, and Codurio and 1' Ozzes to 
 Padua. 
 
 I should be wandering too far from my subject 
 if I were to relate the labours, the sufferings, 
 and the success of these various missions. But 
 still the honour of St. Ignatius demands of me 
 some notice of the conduct of these his worthy 
 children, and I may at least record how strictly 
 they observed their rules, and how in all of these 
 various cities they left a good odour of Christ 
 by their holy lives and teaching, and how num- 
 bers flocked to the odour of this precious oint- 
 ment. In this manner the name of the new 
 society first became known and the fame of their 
 good works spread all over Italy. Great was 
 the joy of Codurio and of 1' Ozzes when upon 
 some false suspicion they were imprisoned by 
 the Vicar of the Bishop of Padua, and the face 
 of 1' Ozzes was lighted up with smiles. At Bo- 
 logna Xavier proved those wonderful qualities 
 which he afterwards manifested in India. For 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 219 
 
 several months he suffered from a quartan ague, 
 but still he abated nothing of his labours for 
 tho good of souls, or from his bodily austeri- 
 ties, and thus did he bear the heavy cross which 
 St. Jerome had foreshown him. Although no 
 records are remaining to us of the effect which 
 was wrought in this city by so bright an exam- 
 ple of zeal, we may very well conjecture what 
 it was from what took place there when Xavier 
 was on his journey to India. When they heard 
 of his arrival crowds of the inhabitants flocked 
 about him to take leave of him and receive his 
 blessing ; and so great was the number who 
 desired to confess to him, that he wrote word 
 to Ignatius that he had more to do than in 
 the Church of St. Louis at Rome, where he 
 had laboured so greatly. Moreover out of regard 
 for Xavier the society was invited to Bologna, 
 and the Church of St. Lucy was given up to 
 them, together with the house in which Xavier 
 had lodged when he was there. 
 
 Before Ignatius came to Rome he had the 
 following remarkable vision. During the whole 
 journey, and especially at his daily communions, 
 he received abundant divine consolations, and 
 his mind was continually full of the most ar- 
 dent desires of being made a Servant of Jesus, 
 and as he expressed it, being taken into his fami- 
 ly, and without ceasing he made supplication to 
 the Mother of God, that she would obtain his 
 request for him, and be his mediatrix with her 
 son ; ho also prayed to tho Eternal Father for 
 the same end, and with great fervour. During 
 
220 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 the journey from Siena to Rome lie was always 
 occupied with these thoughts, and when he was 
 about six miles from the holy city, he entered 
 by himself into a little ruined chapel. Here he 
 was rapt in spirit, and he saw the Eternal Fa- 
 ther recommend him affectionately to His divine 
 Son, who was standing with His cross upon His 
 shoulder, and to use the words of the Saint, He 
 placed him with Him, that is to say, consigned 
 him to Him, and made him one of His servants. 
 Then the divine Son turned kindly to him and 
 he heard Him say, "I will that you shall be 
 my servant," and He promised to protect him 
 and his companions with these words, "Ego 
 vobis RoniEe propitius ero." Ignatius was greatly 
 rejoiced by this vision, and he said to Faber 
 and Lainez, "My brothers, I do not know how 
 God will dispose of us : perhaps we shall be 
 crucified at Rome : but whatever happens, we 
 may be at peace, for we have Jesus to help us : " 
 then he told them all that he had heard and 
 seen, to encourage them against the dangers they 
 might meet with. Lewis Gonzaga heard this 
 story from the Saint's own mouth, and told him 
 that when it was related to him by Lainez he 
 had added other particulars, to which the Saint 
 replied, that he might rely upon all that he 
 had heard from Lainez, for that he could not 
 then remember every minute circumstance, but 
 that he was quite certain that in telling the 
 story to Lainez he had spoken with exactness ; 
 and Lainez when he was General of the Society 
 related this vision in a public discourse to the 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 221 
 
 brethren as I have given it here. This cele- 
 brated vision took place at a hamlet called Storta, 
 and the following inscription is cut upon a piece 
 of marble over the chapel door : 
 
 "D. o. M. 
 
 In hoc Sacello 
 Deus Pater 
 S. Ignatio Romara petenti 
 Ad Societatem Jesu instituendam 
 Anno mdxxxvii. 
 apparuit 
 ipsum ej usque socios 
 Christo Filio crucem bajulanti 
 Benigne comraendans 
 Qui sereno vultu Ignatium intuens 
 
 His verbis affatus est: 
 Ego vobis Roma propitius ero. 
 Thyrsus Gonzalez 
 propositus generalis societatis, 
 Sacello refecto et ornato, 
 Sancto parenti 
 P. 
 Anno mdcc." 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 THE LABOURS OF ST. IGNATIUS AND HIS COMPANIONS 
 AT ROME. 
 
 Ignatius and his companions entered Rome in 
 October, 1537. According to their vow they 
 hastened to throw themselves at the Pope's feet, 
 and Ignatius made an unreserved offer of him- 
 self and of his companions to the holy father, 
 which he accepted with every mark of affection, 
 
222 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 and commanded that for the present Faber and 
 Lainez should continue their studies at the Insti- 
 tute of the Sapienza, the first in the Scripture and 
 the second in scolastic theology. Ignatius accord- 
 ing to his custom laboured for the good of souls 
 by giving spiritual exercises. Besides doing 
 general good by this means, he also smoothed 
 the way for the foundation of his order by gain- 
 ing over to his interests persons in high autho- 
 rity. The principal convert was Cardinal Gas- 
 paro Contarini, who had formerly been a dis- 
 tinguished senator at Venice, and whose extra- 
 ordinary abilities are proved by his copious 
 writings and by the testimony of all the most 
 learned of his contemporaries. This man was 
 captivated by the prudence and the great spi- 
 ritual wisdom of St. Ignatius, and asserted that 
 he had discovered in him exactly such a guide 
 as he desired. He thought so highly of the 
 book of Spiritual Exercises that he transcribed 
 the whole of it with his own hand, and left it 
 in his will as a precious legacy to his heirs. 
 The advantage which so great a prince had 
 derived from these Exercises, and the praises 
 he bestowed upon them, invited Pietro Ortiz, 
 the agent of Charles V., to try their efficacy, 
 and in order that he might not be distracted 
 by business, this learned man retired with St. 
 Ignatius to the celebrated monastery of Monte 
 Cassino, and for forty days devoted himself to 
 these pious meditations. The fruit he derived was 
 proportioned to his zeal. He was so filled with 
 the conviction of these truths that he would 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 223 
 
 have abandoned the court and the world to be- 
 come a follower of Ignatius, if the Saint had not 
 dissuaded him from it on account of his advanced 
 age and bodily infirmities. Since this was not 
 permitted to him, he became an illustrious ex- 
 ample of pietj to those in his own rank of life. 
 He ever retained his devotion for the Saint, and 
 defended and favoured the Society by every 
 means in his power. He was a distinguished 
 doctor of philosophy, but he humbly confessed 
 that he had learned more from Ignatius in a 
 few days, than he had attained to during his 
 whole life. 
 
 Whilst Ignatius was at Monte Cassino with 
 Ortiz, the death of James Ozzes took place at 
 Padua. He was the last combatant who joined 
 the apostolic phalanx, and he was the first to 
 obtain the crown of victory. When the Saint 
 was informed of his dangerous illness he fer- 
 vently commended his soul to God. It is nar- 
 rated by St. Gregory, that the patriarch St. 
 Benedict at this same spot saw the soul of St. 
 Germanus, Bishop of Capua, ascend to heaven 
 in a globe of fire ; and now Ignatius saw the 
 soul of Ozzes surrounded by bright rays of light 
 and carried up to heaven by angels. It was not 
 once only that he saw this vision ; for not long 
 afterwards as he was hearing mass, (for he had 
 never as yet offered the holy Sacrifice himself,) 
 at the words, " et omnibus Sanctis ; " in the 
 "Confiteor," a band of the blessed spirits pre- 
 sented themselves to his sight, in the midst of 
 whom Ozzes shone with a beauty surpassing all 
 
22 1 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 the rest. This vision left such an impression 
 upon his mind that for some days afterwards 
 it was always present to him, and he broke 
 out into cries of joy. God also manifested the 
 glory of his servant at Padua. The counte- 
 nance of Ozzes when he was alive was somewhat 
 deformed, but after his death it acquired so mar- 
 vellous a beauty that his companion Codurio 
 was never satisfied with gazing upon it, and 
 wept tears of joy. 
 
 When Ignatius returned from Monte Cassino 
 to Rome, he was full of happiness to think that 
 he now possessed a companion iu heaven, and 
 a representative of tne religious order which 
 he had founded ; moreover the loss of Ozzes 
 upon earth was supplied by the acquisition of 
 Francesco Strada, who lived long to pursue his 
 apostolic labours. Francesco was a young Spani- 
 ard who having been unsuccessful as a courtier 
 at Rome had gone to Naples to seek his fortune 
 as a soldier. Not far from Monte Cassino he 
 fell in with the Saint, and as he was already 
 acquainted with him, in a passion of disappoint- 
 ment he told him of his misfortunes and of his 
 proposed course. But when the disconsolate 
 youth expected only some words of comfort, he 
 was surprised by Ignatius inviting him to follow 
 another Master, under whose obedience his hopes 
 would never be deceived. Through the marvel- 
 lous power of the Saint's words, and also because 
 a man is more ready to embrace God's service 
 when he is disgusted with the world, Francesco 
 agreed to the proposal. He returned with Igna- 
 
IGHATTUf, 
 
 tius, went through the Spiritual E and 
 
 became one of the Society, and as a gallant, 
 dier of Jesus Christ he afterwards won many 
 souls to Him in Italy, Flanders, Spain, and For 
 tugal. Not many days afterwards several other 
 men of distinguished ability, being summoned by 
 a divine calling, and attracted by the holi 
 and high qualities of the little Society, united 
 themselves to Ignatius. 
 
 At Easter in the year 1538, about which time 
 all of the Society came to Rome, it seemed right 
 to Ignatius to give a beginning to his divided 
 community. He himself together with Faber and 
 Lainez lived in a house in a vineyard at the foot 
 of Trinita de Monti, which was kindly given up to 
 their use by a Roman gentleman named Quirino 
 Garzonio. When the arrival of his companion! 
 was known, some pious persons provided for them 
 a more ample lodging. The sea voyage was 
 quite impossible, and now that they were 
 leased from their vow, there remained in the 
 hands of Ortiz the two hundred and ten gold 
 pieces which had been collected for their pil- 
 grimage, and they sent back to Martin J' 
 at Valencia the four gold pieces which they 
 had procured for this intention. Having obtain- 
 ed a license from Cardinal Giovan Vincenzo 
 Carafa, who was now at Nice, to negociate a 
 peace between the Emperor Charles V. and 
 Francis I. king of France, they went into differ- 
 ent churches to preach, and explained to the 
 ignorant and to the children, both there and 
 in the public streets, the truths of the go-pel. 
 15 
 
226 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 Ignatius preached in Spanish at the church of 
 our Lady of Monferrato, the others in Italian ; 
 Faber and Xavier at St. Lorenzo in Damaso ; 
 Lainez at St. Salvatore in Lauro ; Salmerone 
 at St. Lucia; Jajo at St. Luigi de Francesi ; 
 Rodriguez at St. Michele in Pescheria ; and 
 Bobadiglia at St. Celso di. Banchi. At first 
 crowds of people were attracted by the novelty 
 of seeing priests preach in the pulpit in sur- 
 plices, and afterwards the power of their preach- 
 ing and the example of their holiness converted 
 a great number of souls. They restored the 
 practice of frequent communion which had long 
 fallen into disuse, and in the course of time by 
 their labours, and the labours of their successors, 
 this custom spread over all Christian countries, 
 and still continues to the unspeakable benefit of 
 the faithful. They attended to the necessities of 
 children who were in danger, and of orphans, 
 and of sinful women who reformed their lives, 
 and they provided refuge and support for con- 
 verted Jews, and these pious works, as we shall 
 hereafter see, were permanently established by 
 the diligence of Ignatius. A holy emulation 
 of their zeal sprang up in other churches, and 
 they began to pay attention to the instruction 
 of the children and of ignorant persons, and to 
 preach to them every Sunday and Festival. 
 Lainez, Salmerone, and Bobadiglia, besides prov- 
 ing their zeal, greatly excelled in oratory, but 
 Ignatius surpassed them all in spiritual power 
 and in moving the affections of his hearers. His 
 manner and his discourse was plain and simple, 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 227 
 
 but still men of the most refined judgment said that 
 in his mouth the Word of God seemed to have 
 its true weight. In these apostolic labours they 
 passed the entire day without a thought of 
 themselves. Like to their Divine Master, their 
 meat and drink was to do the Will of their hea- 
 venly Father, who had sent them to labour for 
 the good of souls; and it often happened that 
 at the close of the day they had taken no bodily 
 refreshment, and were then obliged to beg for 
 it, because they only lived by alms. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 ST. IGNATIUS AND HIS COMPANIONS ARE FALSELY 
 ACCUSED AND ABSOLVED. THE AID GIVEN BY THEM 
 TO THE POOR OF ROME IN A TIME OF FAMINE. 
 
 As they were thus labouring happily and suc- 
 cessfully in Christ's chosen vineyard, a dreadful 
 storm of persecution arose, which would have 
 destroyed and reduced to nothing all the harvest 
 they had gathered in, if Jesus Christ who had 
 appeared to Ignatius in the chapel at Storta, bear- 
 ing His cross upon His shoulder, had not, ac- 
 cording to His promise, come to their aid. The 
 mover of this persecution was a native of Pied- 
 mont, named Augustin, and of the order of Au- 
 gustinian Hermits, but at the same time a 
 secret partisan of Luther. This man taking 
 advantage of the Pope's absence, and watch- 
 
228 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 ing for favourable opportunities, mingled cer- 
 tain seeds of heresy in his sermons to the peo- 
 ple, which he took care to accompany with much 
 sound Catholic doctrine, and these seeds quickly 
 struck root among the ignorant multitude. Some 
 of our people who happened to hear him on sev- 
 eral occasions, being zealous for the purity of the 
 Catholic Faith, went to him and humbly pointed 
 out to him his errors, distinctly enumerating 
 each one, and then they begged him in a friendly 
 manner not to propagate such opinions, and to 
 retract what he had said in another sermon. 
 It is strange that the man did not retire upon 
 finding that he was discovered, but being sup- 
 ported by the applause of the people who were 
 delighted with his eloquence, and by the favour 
 of certain rich Spaniards, he took courage, and 
 continued his work as he had done before. Upon 
 this the Jesuit fathers fearing lest this wicked 
 heresy should infect the capital city of the Ca- 
 tholic religion, began to combat his doctrines 
 and openly to expose his errors to the people. 
 Upon seeing that his snares were discovered, 
 the heretical preacher cunningly resolved to dis- 
 guise his own guilt by counter accusations of 
 heresy against his adversaries. He therefore 
 conspired with three Spaniards named Pier di 
 Castiglia, Francesco Mudarra, and Barrera, who 
 were all men of a certain rank, and all infected 
 with his errors, to spread calumnious reports 
 against us, which they hastened to do with all 
 zeal, both among the people and at the court. 
 The eyes of men were now directed to 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 229 
 
 Ignatius and his companions, as if they were 
 misleading the people under the cloak of sanc- 
 tity. They asserted that Ignatius had already 
 been convicted of heresy in Spain, at Paris, and 
 at Venice, and had escaped the sentence of the 
 tribunals by flight ; they proved this by saying 
 that there was a person in Rome who had for- 
 merly been ensnared by his deceits, and who 
 had extricated himself upon discovering his 
 true character. The person thus alluded to 
 was Michele Navarro, who was struck with 
 terror at hearing a voice from heaven when 
 he was about to murder Ignatius. This man, 
 either from being overcome by the Saint's 
 charity, or else with some concealed purpose, 
 offered himself as his companion, and stayed 
 with him a short time, but his mind was of too 
 earthly a kind to live an heroic life, and he 
 quickly abandoned him. He afterwards follow- 
 ed him to Venice and again begged to be ad- 
 mitted into the society, but being refused, be- 
 cause he was an unstable and evil disposed man, 
 he became at once Ignatius's enemy. The con- 
 spirators against Ignatius upon finding a man 
 so well fitted both from natural character and 
 personal hatred to further their intentions, im- 
 mediately hired him as a false witness to give 
 testimony before the governor Benedetto Con- 
 versini ; and accordingly he swore to all that 
 he was secretly instructed to say. The city of 
 Rome was filled with these rumours, and it is 
 impossible to describe the shame the Jesuit fa- 
 thers had to endure, and the abuse which they 
 
230 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 suffered. Their names were in the mouths of 
 all men as persons who deserved to be burned, 
 and two priests who had been expressly licensed 
 by the Cardinal Vicar to assist them in hearing 
 the multitude of confessions, (for which the time 
 of all the society did not suffice,) began to fear 
 for themselves, and they fled out of the Papal 
 States, leaving all that they had. The same 
 reports which agitated the city of Rome were 
 also circulated in letters over all the world ; but 
 Ignatius in the midst of all this tumult continued 
 unmoved, and earnestly besought Jesus that he 
 would fulfil his promise and give them comfort. 
 Moreover he consulted with his companions, and 
 it was agreed that they ought to proceed juri- 
 dically and to purge themselves from the cal- 
 umnies with which they were attacked before the 
 public tribunals. Accordingly, they presented a 
 petition to the governor, begging that as they had 
 been so accused they might be legally tried, that 
 their accusers might be examined and a just 
 sentence given. This step he was urged to take, 
 not for the sake of his own reputation, but for 
 the glory of God and the good of souls. The 
 governor consented to this, and a day was ap- 
 pointed upon which the parties were to appear 
 before him. 
 
 Whilst things were in this posture, and the 
 storm was still raging against the Jesuit Fathers, 
 Cardinal Giovan Domenico de Cupis, a very 
 learned man, and dean of the Sacred College, 
 sent for Quirino Garzonio, who had given up his 
 house to Ignatius, Faber, and Lainez, and re- 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 231 
 
 proved him for his familiarity with such men, 
 urarino' him as a friend and relative to break 
 off all intercourse with such disgraceful friends, 
 and never to see them any more. Quirino an- 
 swered that he had for a long time cautiously 
 and closely observed their lives and conversa- 
 tion, and that he had always found them full 
 of Christian piety. The Cardinal replied, "Ah ! 
 Quirino, you also are seduced by their incanta- 
 tions, and no wonder ; for when the wolf makes 
 his attack openly, all recognize him and take 
 to flight, but he caresses and fawns upon his 
 victims that he may the better ravage and de- 
 stroy them. You do not know what convincing 
 proofs of their wickedness I have in my posses- 
 sion. Depend upon it, these men are very differ- 
 ent from what you suppose." These words of 
 the Cardinal greatly disturbed Quirino, still he 
 believed the evidence of his own observation more 
 than the words of another, and he immediately 
 went to Ignatius, told him all that he had heard, 
 and asked him what was to be done. Ignatius 
 calmly told him not to be alarmed, for that be- 
 fore long the Cardinal would be convinced of 
 his mistake, and that his present detestation of 
 them would be exchanged for kind feeling. In 
 the meantime he said we must humbly recom- 
 mend the matter to God. The Cardinal how- 
 ever still continued to besiege Quirino, that he 
 might compel him to break off all intercourse 
 with such wicked men, till at last Quirino beg- 
 ged him that he would for once come and see 
 Ignatius and question him, so that he might 
 
232 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 know from his own experience the life and doc- 
 trine of this man, for he said it was wrong to 
 condemn a person of whose defence he knew noth- 
 ing. "Well," said the Cardinal, "I will come, 
 and you may be sure I'll treat him as he de- 
 serves. He accordingly went and remained in 
 close conference with Ignatius for two good hours. 
 What passed between them is not known, but 
 so entirely were the opinions of the Cardinal 
 changed, that the good man without any thought 
 of his high station knelt down at the feet of 
 Ignatius and begged his forgiveness, and when 
 he took his leave he showed him every mark of 
 reverence and affection, and openly offered his 
 services for the defence of his cause; moreover 
 he sent every week as long as he lived an alms 
 of bread and wine for the society. The results 
 of this conversation which Quirino had partly 
 witnessed, and partly heard from the Cardi- 
 nal, he quickly reported in the city ; and now 
 that the course had been shown by which people 
 might undeceive themselves, many others took 
 the same line of conduct and were convinced in 
 the same manner. 
 
 When the appointed day arrived Ignatius and 
 his accuser Michele appeared before the gover- 
 nor, and the latter boldly repeated his calum- 
 nies, affirming all his falsehoods upon oath. 
 After this Ignatius quietly produced a letter, and 
 presenting it to his adversary, asked him if he 
 knew whose writing that was, and if he remem- 
 bered what he had written with his own hand. 
 This letter had been written by Michele before 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 233 
 
 lie had turned against Ignatius, and was full 
 of the highest praise of him and his companions : 
 it had providentially fallen into the hands of Ig- 
 natius only a short time before. The wretch up- 
 on seeing that he was convicted of self-contradic- 
 tion turned pale, and not wishing to confess his 
 calumny, and at the same time unable to deny 
 his own letter, he uttered some confused words 
 without any meaning. Upon this the judge, 
 perceiving his dishonesty, questioned him closely, 
 and soon discovered his falsehood, and although 
 the Saint mercifully interceded for him he 
 condemned the man to banishment. After this 
 Ignatius earnestly begged that the instigators of 
 Michele might be summoned, in order that they 
 might maintain what they had been publicly 
 reporting in the city of Rome. But when 
 these men were placed before the judge, in- 
 stead of maintaining their cause, they made 
 powerful interest with Ignatius that he would 
 be contented with receiving an authentic decla- 
 ration that they had no accusation to make 
 against him or his companions, and that they 
 had never thought or spoken of them except as 
 being men of sound faith and unimpeachable 
 lives. When they could not impose upon Igna- 
 tius, they endeavoured to overcome the governor. 
 The governor therefore, since he could not refuse 
 the justice which he had promised to administer, 
 tried to persuade Ignatius by saying that it was 
 not possible for him to judge when there were 
 no accusers, and when this would not do, he at 
 last declared that it was the will of the Cardinal 
 
234 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 Legate that the cause should be considered as 
 terminated. Amongst the companions of Igna- 
 tius there were some more humble than prudent, 
 who gave him the same advice ; they said that 
 since their enemies had withdrawn and no longer 
 pursued them, it seemed to them to be contrary 
 to Christian charity to prosecute the affair. But 
 Ignatius, who was so wonderfully gifted with pru- 
 dence, rightly feared that the infamy attached 
 to a new Society would not be entirely removed, 
 and that the souls of many for whose salvation 
 they had consecrated their services would re- 
 ceive injury, if these atrocious calumnies which 
 had been spread all over Rome and the Christian 
 world, which had been formalized in public in- 
 struments and brought before the courts of law, 
 should be now suppressed without any further 
 proceedings, and without the innocence of the 
 Society having been clearly and unmistakeably 
 pronounced. Neither prayers, or threats, or the 
 advice of his companions could induce him to leave 
 this cause undecided when it had been brought 
 before the public tribunals: he affirmed that he 
 did not seek for the punishment of his accusers, 
 whom he heartily forgave, but he desired that 
 the calumny should be removed. " I know very 
 well, (he wrote to Pietro Contarini) that men's 
 mouths will never be closed from speaking evil 
 against us ; nor do I look for this, I seek only 
 that our doctrine which is sound, and our lives 
 which are pure, may be made manifest. Let 
 them suppose that we are rude and ignorant 
 men and graceless speakers, and this would be 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 235 
 
 a very slight matter ; but that they should sup- 
 pose our doctrine to be false, and our conversa- 
 tion worthy of blame, this we may not pass over 
 in silence, because this does not concern us, but 
 Christ and His Church." Such were also the 
 opinions of St. Jerome, who says that a Christian 
 ought not patiently to endure the suspicion of 
 heresy, because this patience will be considered 
 as a pretence by those who do not know the 
 soundness of his faith. When Ignatius could not 
 prevail with the governor, he hoped to obtain his 
 request from the Pope who had returned from 
 Nice, and gone to repose for a time at Frascati. 
 Ignatius accordingly went to Frascati, and the 
 Pope graciously acceded to his demands, and 
 sent one of his secretaries to the governor, desiring 
 that the cause might be proceeded with and 
 determined according to its merits. Upon this 
 command the cause was again commenced, and 
 God's providence over His servant was made 
 manifest. The sum of the accusation consisted 
 in this, that Ignatius had been convicted of va- 
 rious crimes, and particularly of heresy, at Alcala, 
 at Paris, and at Venice, and in order to rebut 
 this charge it was requisite to procure the au- 
 thentic documents of the proceedings in these 
 various places at a great cost both of money 
 and labour; but it happened that on that very 
 day the same judges who had determined these 
 causes were all present at Rome. Their names 
 were Giovan Figueroa, vicar of Alcala ; Matteo 
 Ori, inquisitor of Paris ; and Gasparo de Doctis, 
 auditor of the Pope's nuncio Veralli at Venice, 
 
23G ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 and all three appeared in court to give their 
 testimony to his sound doctrine and blameless 
 life. Besides this, letters arrived from the vicars 
 and bishops of Padua, Ferrara, Bologna and 
 Siena in defence of the Society, and with full 
 evidence of their innocence. Moreover Hercules, 
 Duke of Ferrara, sent orders to his ambassador 
 at Rome, to interfere in behalf of Claudio Jajo, 
 and Simon Rodriguez, and answer for their good 
 conduct on his word of honour. The aforesaid 
 judges were examined, the various testimonies 
 were produced, the book of Spiritual Exercises 
 was diligently examined, and in accordance with 
 these unanimous and harmonious proofs the sen- 
 tence was formally pronounced as follows : 
 
 "Benedict Conversine, Bishop elect of Ber- 
 tinoro, Vice Chamberlain of the city of Rome, 
 and Governor General of his district, to all and 
 each to whom the present letters shall come, 
 health in the Lord. Since it is of great impor- 
 tance to a Christian state that those who give 
 a good example of life, and edify by their doc- 
 trine, should be publicly known, as well also 
 as those who sow tares ; moreover certain ru- 
 mours having been spread, and certain accusa- 
 tions made to us against the life and the 
 doctrine of Loyola and his companions, name- 
 ly, Peter Faber, Claudio Jajo, Pascasio Bro- 
 et, Jacopo Lainez, Francesco Xavier, Alfonso 
 Bobadiglia, graduates of the university of Paris, 
 and secular priests, of the dioceses respectively 
 of Pampeluna, Ginevra, Sequenza, Toledo, Viseo, 
 Ambrun, and Palenza, whose teaching and re- 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 2.°>7 
 
 ligious exercises were asserted by some to be 
 erroneous, superstitious, and different from the 
 Catholic doctrines : We in the discharge of our 
 office, and by the express command of his Holi- 
 ness, have diligently looked into these things, 
 and made every inquiry which appeared neces- 
 sary for the full understanding of the case, and 
 for ascertaining if perchance these accusations 
 might be true. Having therefore first examined 
 the accusers, and afterwards weighed a portion 
 of the evidence brought in behalf of the afore- 
 said Ignatius and his companions, and the sen- 
 tences given in Spain, Paris, and Venice, in 
 Vicenza, Bologna, Ferarra, and Siena, in his 
 favour, and against his accusers ; having more- 
 over examined upon oath divers witnesses of 
 approved character, learning, and dignity, we 
 have discovered that all these complaints and 
 accusations have no foundation in truth. Where- 
 fore, according to the obligation of our office, 
 we pronounce and declare that the aforesaid 
 Ignatius and his companions are not only free 
 from all stain of such accusations and suspicions, 
 both in law and in fact, but also that they have 
 issued in affording clearer evidence of their good 
 life and sound doctrine : for it has been made 
 manifest that the things alleged by their ad- 
 versaries were vain, and without appearance 
 of truth, whilst on the other hand, the highest 
 testimony from the highest persons has been 
 adduced in their favour. We have therefore 
 judged it right to issue this our sentence, that 
 it may bo a public testimony in their favour 
 
238 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 against all enemies of the truth, and that it 
 may quiet the minds of all those who have been 
 led into error by these their accusers and calum- 
 niators, and have conceived suspicions of their 
 guilt. Moreover we admonish, exhort, and be- 
 seech in the Lord each and all of the faithful 
 to hold Ignatius and his companions to be such 
 as we have found them, viz. Catholic Christians, 
 if by God's help they shall remain stedfast in 
 in their present manner of life and doctrine, 
 which is our sincere hope. Given at our house 
 in Rome this eighteenth day of November, 
 1538. Signed by the governor aforesaid, and 
 by his secretary, Rutilio Furio." 
 
 Authenticated copies of this sentence were 
 forwarded to all those places where these calum- 
 nies had been circulated, and thus was this ter- 
 rible blow turned aside by God from the head 
 of Ignatius and his companions, and made to 
 fall upon his adversaries. Mudarra was con- 
 demned to the flames as a convicted heretic, 
 but he made his escape from prison, so that he 
 was publicly burnt in efligy at the Campo di 
 Fiore. Pier di Castiglia was condemned to per- 
 petual imprisonment, and Barrera died after a 
 lapse of only a few days. All three of them 
 sooner or later contradicted the accusations they 
 had made against Ignatius, and were reconciled 
 to him. Pier di Castiglia, after persisting long 
 in his error, at last came to a better mind, and 
 died in the arms of Father Aveglianeda of our 
 Society. Mudarra upon falling into some great 
 danger in the year 1555, had such confidence 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 239 
 
 in the Saint's charity that he applied to him 
 for help, and Ignatius was as active to save him 
 as he had been to destroy Ignatius. Barrera 
 in his last moments acquitted the innocent, and 
 grieved over his own sin. But it was otherwise 
 with the monk who was the author of this wicked 
 conspiracy. He fled to Geneva and became a 
 preacher;- and is said to have been the author 
 of a pestilent book entitled, " Summarium Scrip- 
 tune. " An historian of these times says, that 
 he ended his evil life at the stake. The Gover- 
 nor's sentence brought the Society into high 
 repute, because it had courted instead of shrink- 
 ing from this trial. Thus does God assist 
 those who place their trust in him, and turns 
 their darkness into light. 
 
 God gave them many opportunities of showing 
 their charity and regaining the favour of the 
 people. In the year 1538, there was so great 
 a dearth in the city of Rome, that it was a mis- 
 erable thing to see the numbers of poor who were 
 wandering about the streets half dead with hun- 
 ger. The Fathers were moved to compassion at 
 this sight. Though they were very poor and 
 obliged to beg for their own bread, still they had 
 an unfailing confidence in God ; and they under- 
 took to go about begging for the support of the 
 wretched multitude. They used to carry on their 
 back whatever they had collected in the streets, 
 and they took it to a spacious house, which they 
 now possessed near the tower of Melangolo. In 
 this house they prepared as many beds as they 
 could get, and when these would not suffice, 
 
240 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 quantities of straw, which they arranged as they 
 best could. They comforted the poor with food 
 and firing, for the winter was extremely cold, 
 and also with clothing ; in a word they did all 
 that they could to assist every one. All the 
 poor were attracted by this charity, and came 
 in crowds to their house ; none were refused, 
 and very soon they had more than four ^hundred, 
 whose bodily and spiritual wants they supplied. 
 Upon their first coming they were required to 
 make confession, and received instructions in 
 Christian doctrine, and heard pious discourses ; 
 every day they joined in appointed prayers, so 
 that many of them were cured of old habits of 
 sin, and many who had for a long time neglect- 
 ed confession and communion were reconciled 
 to God. People came both day and night to 
 witness this new spectacle of Christian charity, 
 and many were so moved at the sight of so much 
 misery and by the example of the Fathers, that 
 not having money to bestow, they stripped off 
 their own clothes, and went away half naked. 
 Many also were excited to a holy emulation, 
 and received some of these miserable people into 
 their houses. Some few also of the chief nobles 
 contributed large sums of money to support and 
 keep up this pious undertaking. The charity 
 of Margaret of Austria, daughter of the Emperor 
 Charles V., who was afterwards married to 
 Octavius Farnese, Duke of Parma, was the most 
 conspicuous. These sums were spontaneously given 
 to Ignatius, and he was entreated to make use of 
 some part of them for his own wants, but he refus- 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 241 
 
 ed to accept a farthing except for the support of 
 the poor, and he kept a strict account of these 
 expenses, in order that the expenditure of the 
 money upon them might appear plainly. Thus 
 by the charitable exertions and by the example 
 of the Fathers, it is said by Orlandini and Bar- 
 toli that three thousand poor were fed all through 
 the winter, or as Maffei says, till the spring. 
 During this time the city was relieved partly 
 by the supplies of grain which they had provi- 
 dently stored up, and partly by the contributions 
 of the chief men of the city. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 THE FOUNDATION OF THE SOCIETY. 
 
 The fame of this great work and of their 
 other glorious labours, together with the pub- 
 lic declaration of their innocence induced many 
 to request Ignatius to admit them into his 
 Society. For this reason and because the Pope 
 had intimated to Ignatius that it was his in- 
 tention very shortly to send some of his com- 
 panions on distant missions for the service of 
 the Church, a general council was held in 
 which it was resolved to form the Society, which 
 was done in the following manner. 
 
 First, they devoted some days to fervent 
 prayer and fasting, and offered masses, imploring 
 to send down upon them from on high the gift 
 of wisdom, to direct and accompany all their 
 
 16 
 
242 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 deliberations. The night was their time of con- 
 sultation, because the whole of their days were 
 employed in working for their neighbour. In 
 the first place it was demanded whether, if they 
 should hereafter by the Pope's command be dis- 
 persed into different countries, each was to per- 
 form the work imposed upon him unshacklod 
 by any to his community, and without having 
 any thought of each other, or whether as they 
 had hitherto been only united by a bond of 
 brotherhood, so they should hereafter continue, 
 notwithstanding diversity of place. To this 
 question all answered unanimously and without 
 hesitation, that whatever happened they ought 
 to remain steadfast in that sweet union and 
 brotherhood, which by God's marvellous provi- 
 dence had bound together so closely men of 
 various nations who were hostile to each other ; 
 for that if they acted otherwise they should 
 prove themselves ungrateful to the Holy Ghost 
 who is the author of peace and lover of concord ; 
 besides which they ought not to abandon that 
 unity which was so powerful an instrument for 
 accomplishing great undertakings and overcom- 
 ing obstacles. 
 
 The second question proposed was concerning 
 the expediency of adding a third vow of obe- 
 dience to the vows of chastity and poverty 
 which they had already taken, and whether to 
 this end they should elect a head to the Society 
 out of their present number. Many days were 
 occupied on this question, and being unable fully 
 to satisfy their doubts, they sought out for some 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 243 
 
 method of resolving them. They debated 
 whether they should all retire to some hermi- 
 tage and seek to discover God's will by passing 
 thirty or forty days in prayer, fasting, and pen- 
 ance, or whether four of their number should do 
 this in the name of the rest. But it was af- 
 terwards agreed that they should all remain in 
 Rome, so that they might give no occasion for 
 reports, or perhaps give offence to some who 
 might suppose that they had run away, or ac- 
 cuse them of love of novelty and inconstancy, 
 and lest they should lose the fruit of their spi- 
 ritual labours, for the harvest was so plentiful 
 that they could not gather it in when they had 
 lost four of their fellow - labourers. Finally, 
 therefore it was resolved that they should in- 
 crease the number and the fervour of their 
 prayers, and act upon the following plan. First, 
 they were to offer all their prayers and every 
 mass for this intention, that with respect to this 
 virtue of obedience, God would grant them peace 
 and joy, and that each one of them in particu- 
 lar might be as willing to obey as to command. 
 Secondly, they were not to converse together 
 upon this subject, in order that their mind* 
 might not be swayed on either side by the in- 
 fluence of human persuasion. Thirdly, each of 
 them was to imagine that he did not belong to 
 the congregation, and had no private interest in 
 it ; but that he had to give his opinion in a 
 strange assembly ; so that when those selfish 
 affections which are so apt to interfere with 
 sound judgment were laid aside, they migl 
 
244 • ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 able to discover what would be the most ad- 
 vantageous for the service of God. After this 
 period of preparation the point was again de- 
 bated for several days, and finally it was unani- 
 mously resolved that there ought to be a vow 
 of obedience in their Society, and one head to 
 whom all were to yield obedience, as to Christ. 
 The principal reasons which made them so de- 
 termine were these. First, they would then be 
 following out their proposed end as far as was 
 possible by imitating Jesus Christ, who made 
 himself obedient to death, even the death of 
 the cross. Secondly, that the Society might not 
 be wanting in so great a virtue, which is said 
 by St. Gregory to graft all other virtues into 
 the mind, and to preserve them when grafted. 
 Thirdly, that they might make provision for the 
 stability and perpetuity of the Society which 
 could never continue long unless it were bound 
 together by the bond of religious obedience. 
 The decree was then put into writing by Peter 
 Faber, and subscribed by each of the members. 
 This instrument is still preserved in our archives 
 at Rome, and runs as follows, "I. N. declare 
 in the sight of Almighty God, of the Blessed 
 Virgin Mary, and of all the court of heaven, 
 that having prayed to God and maturely deli- 
 berated in my own mind, I have freely con- 
 cluded, as being in my own opinion more con- 
 ducive to the glory of God, and to the stability 
 of the Society, that it should embrace the vow 
 of obedience ; and I firmly offer myself to take 
 this vow, without binding myself on oath, or 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 245 
 
 putting myself under any obligation to enter 
 the Society when it is confirmed by our lord 
 the Pope. And to keep in memory this deter- 
 mination, (which by God's grace I have arrived 
 at,) and with this determination in my mind, I 
 now, albeit most unworthy, approach the holy 
 communion. Tuesday, April 15th, 1539. R. 
 Cacres, Giovanni Codurio, Lainez, Salmerone, 
 Bobadiglia, Pascasio Broet, Francesco, Pietro 
 Fabro, Ignazio, Sirnone Rodriguez, Claudio Jajo." 
 
 Doubtless the reader will be surprised at read- 
 ing the name of Cacres, who signed the first, 
 and in the Bull for founding the Society his 
 name does not afterwards appear with the rest, 
 and he is never mentioned by our early writers, 
 still his name is here recorded and preserved 
 in our archives, and besides this there is pre- 
 served in the same place a letter of his written 
 to Ignatius from Paris in the year 1541. 
 
 These discussions continued about the space of 
 three months, that is, from the middle of Lent 
 till the Feast of St. John Baptist, and during 
 this time many other points were defined with 
 great unanimity of opinion after having been 
 thoroughly considered and argued. On the 4th 
 of May it was determined, and on the ensuing 
 day confirmed, that every professed member of 
 the Society should bind himself by vow to go 
 wherever it should please the Pope to send him, 
 whether among the faithful or the heathen, with- 
 out offering excuse, or even asking for provision 
 for his journey, and that none of them should, 
 either directly or indirectly, speak to the Pope 
 
246 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 on the subject of their mission. On the Satur- 
 day preceding the fourth Sunday after Easter, it 
 was resolved and on the succeeding day confirm- 
 ed, that they should teach children in Christian 
 doctrine. Bartoli says that this was not made 
 obligatory upon oath, by reason of the firm, and 
 as it seems obstinate, opposition of Xiccolo Bob- 
 adiglia to the concordant opinions of all the rest ; 
 out of respect to him rather than to his reasons 
 they abstained from proceeding further in this 
 affair; but since it might prove highly incon- 
 venient if the opposition of one had power to 
 annul their resolutions, they made a rule that 
 whenever one member should obstinately oppose 
 himself to the common opinion of the rest, his 
 vote should be considered as null. On the same 
 day various regulations were made for the pro- 
 bation of those who demanded admission into 
 the Society. On the day before the Octave of 
 Corpus Christi, it was resolved that the head 
 of the Society should be appointed for life. It 
 was also agreed that as some of them were 
 about to go into distant countries, the consti- 
 tution of the Society should be made according 
 to the majority of votes of those who remained 
 in Italy; and that those who were not in Rome 
 should be sent for, or else give their votes by 
 letter. Ignatius was enjoined to present these 
 and other rules, which formed the Constitution 
 of the Society, to the Pope, that he might vouch- 
 safe to give them the approbation of his apostolic 
 authority. 
 
 In the course of these consultations the reader 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 2±7 
 
 will not fail to remark the extreme humility of 
 St. Ignatius, who although he was the father of 
 them all, acted only as if he were their brother ; 
 and who, notwithstanding the divine illumina- 
 tion lie had received at Manresa, and the know- 
 ledge which he had subsequently gained in this 
 matter, still consented that his own vote should 
 be of no greater weight than that of the others. 
 But besides this humility, we ought to observe 
 his extraordinary wisdom and foresight in leav- 
 ing the foundation of the Society to be ruled by 
 the consultations and brought about by the 
 co-operation of his companions, so that they 
 might not feel the weight so heavy which they 
 had placed upon their own shoulders. 
 
 Ignatius having drawn up a summary of the 
 institute, placed it in the hands of Cardinal 
 Gasparo Contarini to be presented to the Sove- 
 reign Pontiff Paul III., who graciously received 
 the document and entrusted it to be examined 
 by Father Tommaso Badia, master of the sacred 
 palace, who was afterwards Cardinal of St. 
 Silvester. After a diligent and exact examina- 
 tion, at the end of two months he gave it back 
 to be considered by the Pope, saying how highly 
 he commended it. The Pope was greatly aston- 
 ished at the magnitude of the design which was 
 therein laid down, and said, "The finger of 
 God is in this." He approved of it, "viva3 vocis 
 oraculo," on the 3rd of September, 1530, at 
 the town of Tivoli. But when Ignatius after, 
 wards requested that the foundation should be 
 formally established by an apostolic bull, the 
 
248 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 negociations became so involved, that if the 
 work had not been of God, it would doubtless 
 have fallen to the ground. The Pope handed 
 the matter over to three of the principal Car- 
 dinals. Bartolommeo Guidiccioni, who was one 
 of the number, resolutely opposed the foundation, 
 and as he was a man of great understanding, 
 profound learning, and pure life, he had no dif- 
 ficulty in drawing over the other two to his own 
 opinion. So far was he from thinking it right 
 to found any new religious order in the Church, 
 that he considered that the existing ones ought 
 to be reduced to the number of four ; and he is 
 said to have written a book upon this subject. 
 As soon as the institution of the Society was put 
 into his hands, he threw it aside, and could not 
 endure the sight of it, saying, that let it be 
 what it might he would take good care that it 
 was not sanctioned by the Church ; for that all 
 religious orders became relaxed in the course of 
 time, and did more harm to the Church in their 
 old age, than they had ever done good in their 
 youth. Thus does God permit his most excel- 
 lent works to be rudely attacked by men, so 
 that their stability and prosperity may afford 
 plain proof that He is the Author of them and 
 not man ; and His Church, which is the chiefest 
 of all His works, has had the fiercest combat to 
 sustain. Ignatius was not dismayed by this 
 opposition, because he knew that no counsels 
 can prevail against the Lord. He confided in 
 Him more firmly in proportion as he had less to 
 hope from man, and to Him he directed all his 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. . 249 
 
 looks and all his affections. Besides many pray- 
 ers and penitential acts he offered three thou- 
 sand masses of thanksgiving in the name of the 
 Society, if he should be found worthy to see it 
 instituted. His hopes did not deceive him. 
 Guidiccioni, without being able to explain it to 
 himself, found himself altogether changed from 
 what he was before, and he could only attribute 
 the change to God, in whose hands are the 
 hearts of all men. Ughelli, in his "Italia illus- 
 trata," tells us that Ignatius appeared to Guidic- 
 cioni in a dream, and changed his opinions, 
 but this story I leave to the judgment of my 
 readers. By our own Italian historians it is 
 said that the Cardinal asked for the Rule of 
 the Institute, saw, and considered it, and it 
 appeared to him so excellent that whilst he re- 
 tained his general opinion as to the introduction 
 of new orders into the Church he would make 
 this an exception. Not content with his own 
 approval, he procured that of the two other Car- 
 dinals, and afterwards interceded with the Pope 
 for his approbation. The Holy Father having 
 closely examined each article in the documents 
 presented by the Cardinals, issued his appro- 
 val of the foundation in the bull "regimini mil- 
 itantis ecclesice," given at Tivoli on the 27th of 
 September, 1540. He proceeded with great cau- 
 tion, and, as it were, to prove them he limited 
 the number of the professed to sixty ; but two 
 years and a half afterwards, overjoyed at the 
 marvellous good which was wrought for the 
 Church by this little band of men, he took away 
 
250 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 their restriction by another bull, " injunctum 
 nobis," on the 14th of March, 1543. 
 
 It is impossible to say how great was the 
 Saint's happiness when after his laborious pil- 
 grimages, his long studies, and cruel persecu- 
 tions, his prayers and his tears, he now at last 
 saw his desires fulfilled, and had perpetuated his 
 own zeal in the church for the glory of God 
 and the good of souls. He rendered humble 
 thauks to God with all his powers, and without 
 any delay he began with the help of his com- 
 panions to pay the three thousand masses which 
 he had promised. He also showed his gratitude 
 to the house of Contarini, and in a letter to 
 Signor Pietro he made use of these expressions 
 of Cardinal Gasparo Contarini : "He has support- 
 ed our cause in all these matters which we have 
 had so much at heart." And this admission of 
 the Saint I have made public, thinking to do 
 what is pleasing to him, and for the eternal 
 praise of that illustrious house, and as a memorial 
 of our own obligations. 
 
 When this new society was established in the 
 church many learned men in various countries 
 were of opinion that this was the order whose 
 foundation was predicted by St. Vincent Ferrer. 
 Simon Rodriguez in his brief narrative speaks 
 of this in these words, which I have taken from 
 Bartoli: "At this time persons of great weight 
 and consideration used continually to be inquir- 
 ing, if we formed the Society whose foundation 
 was revealed to Vincent Ferrer, who predicted 
 that there would hereafter appear in the world 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 253 
 
 a most holy society of evangelical men, full of 
 zeal for our holy faith and conspicuous in all 
 other virtues. None of us had before read or 
 heard anything of this prophecy of St. Vincent, 
 nor could we give any answer to those who ques- 
 tioned us, unless it were a smile, for it seemed 
 to us to be a dream to suppose that such ex- 
 cellent things had been foretold of us, for the 
 fathers of the society were ' non alta sapientes, 
 sed humilibus consentientes.' Some years after- 
 wards when I was in Portugal Don Giovanni 
 Soarez, an Augustinian monk, who was then 
 Bishop of Coimbra, gave me the text of St. Vin- 
 cent to read, being persuaded that our society 
 was therein described. Now would to God that 
 our lives were such as to warrant the applica 
 tion of these words to us ; but the virtue which 
 St. Vincent ascribes to these apostolic men is 
 too high for us, and I do not know how religious 
 modesty can ever admit that they are to bo 
 understood of ourselves. The Saint in his 
 prophecy describes the virtues of poverty of spirit, 
 purity of heart, humility, and perfect brotherly 
 love ; speaks of their being unable to speak or 
 to think of aught but Jesus, or to love aught 
 except Jesus crucified ; of their caring nought 
 for the world, nor for themselves, of their breath 
 ing and sighing continually after the glories of 
 heaven, and being so full of desires as to wait 
 impatiently for death. Who can ever say all 
 this of himself? The Saint has good reason to 
 add to all this an exhortation to those of his own 
 times to think highly of the virtues of these evan 
 
252 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 gelical men. 'Haec imaginatio ducet te plus 
 quam credi potest, in quoddam impatiens desi- 
 derium adventus illorum temporum.' I cannot 
 deny that these praises will apply to St. Ignatius 
 and to some of his first companions whose virtues 
 are written in our annals ; and it will apply also 
 to many of his children and saintly imitators. 
 Let it be our part to follow closely the great 
 examples which they have left for us, and act 
 up to the perfection of our institute, and then 
 whether St. Vincent Ferrer spoke these words 
 of the Society of Jesus or no, we shall at least 
 fulfil his prophecy." 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 A SHORT NOTICE OP THE INSTITUTE, AND OF THE 
 NAME OF THE SOCIETY OF JESUS. 
 
 Ignatius's ardent desire of following as nearly 
 as possible the example of Jesus, had urged 
 him to found the Society, and to this end he 
 now directed it. As our Blessed Lord came 
 into the world and laboured all his life long for 
 the salvation of man, so he proposed the sal- 
 vation and perfection of others, in addition 
 to that of each man's own soul, as the end of 
 his Institute, as he declares in the following 
 words : " The end of this Society is with the 
 aid of God's grace, not only to give heed to 
 the salvation and perfection of our own souls, 
 but especially to procure the salvation and per- 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 253 
 
 fection of our neighbour." And in another place 
 he says, " All things are ordered for the greater 
 glory of God and for the universal good and 
 advantage of souls." In like manner in the first 
 bull of Paul III. the Society is said to be chiefly 
 instituted to "attend to the profit of souls in 
 Christian life and doctrine, and to the propa- 
 gation of the Faith," and words to the same 
 effect may be found in the bull of Gregory XIII. 
 " Ascendente Domino." 
 
 To accomplish this end the Saint made certain 
 special regulations, which were not practised 
 by any other religious order, or else not put 
 forward in so prominent a manner, and these 
 he enjoined upon his children. First, the in- 
 struction of children and of the lower orders 
 in Christian doctrine, as appears in the formula 
 of the Institute approved by Paolo III. and 
 Giulio III. Certainly this is a duty which apper- 
 tains to the parochial clergy, but at that period 
 this useful and laborious work was so much 
 neglected by them, that the Council of Trent 
 thought good to admonish them of it, and stimu- 
 late them to its performance, and as Negroni 
 observes, there was no congregation then exist- 
 ing in the Church which applied itself to remedy 
 this want, for the Congregation of Clerics who 
 now labour in so praiseworthy a manner in this 
 field, did not commence till twenty years after- 
 wards, as we are told by Rutilio Benzoni. The 
 professed of our Society make special mention 
 of this in their solemn vows, for after taking 
 the vow of perpetual obedience, they add that 
 
254 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 they will "pay special attention to the instruction 
 of children." These words, although they do not 
 impose any stricter obligation to this than to 
 their other ministerial duties, are still very 
 prudently inserted in the formula, because, as 
 it is said in the Constitutions, " This holy exer- 
 cise is recommended in a particular manner, 
 and is to be most devoutly and carefully prac- 
 tised, because by thus helping their souls, a 
 special obedience is paid to God, and because 
 lighter duties are more likely to be forgotten 
 and to fall into disuse, than the more solemn 
 offices of religion, as preaching and the like." 
 In this humble labour not only the novices, 
 scholars, and fathers in the third period of pro- 
 bation, but the professed also were to employ 
 themselves. These, as also the rectors during 
 the first year of their governance, are bound 
 to explain Christian doctrine upon forty days 
 within that space of time. It is not to be won- 
 dered at that our holy founder should have had 
 this so greatly at heart, for as the bull of Paul 
 III. expresses, it is impossible to engage in a 
 more fruitful labour. By this means men are 
 taught the commencement of a Christian life, 
 and this simple method of instruction is more 
 profitable to the young and the ignorant than 
 preaching. By this means the purity of the 
 Faith is preserved in the Church, which at that 
 time the heretics were endeavouring to corrupt 
 by every subtle contrivance, and besides these 
 motives the holy father adopted this as a means 
 of preserving his children in humility, which 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 255 
 
 might be exposed to danger amidst higher em- 
 ployments. 
 
 Secondly, the defence and propagation of the 
 Catholic Faith. The Holy Father Ignatius well 
 knew that in former times almost all the rclL 
 gious orders, especially the Preachers, Minors, 
 Auffustinian Hermits and other mendicant orders, 
 
 o 
 
 had sent out men full of holiness and religious 
 zeal, who with a good will and under obedience 
 to their suporiors or to the Pope, had gone into 
 the lands of the heathen to sow the good seed 
 of the Gospel, and that many of them had wa- 
 tered it with their blood. He knew when he 
 first instituted his Society that some of these 
 men were labouring for the conversion of the 
 barbarous nations in India, and in the New 
 World ; but he found that there existed no reli- 
 gious order which had taken this as their chief 
 object and principle, and who had bound them- 
 selves by oath to go wherever the Pope should 
 send them without offering any excuse, whether 
 it were among the Turks, or heretics, or among 
 the Indian people, and this vow he caused his 
 children to take upon their profession. It is 
 not my task to show how the childrcu of Igna- 
 tius have fulfilled this obligation, the difficulties, 
 the cruel tortures, imprisonments, and bitter 
 deaths they have suffered in obedience to this 
 vow. 
 
 Thirdly, the instruction of the young in let 
 ters and in piety without payment. Certainly, 
 previously to the foundation of the Society of 
 Jesus, there were many religious who gave public 
 
256 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 instruction in philosophy, in scholastic theology, 
 and in the sacred scriptures. But there were 
 none who made it a principle of their institute 
 to labour in the instruction of boys of all classes 
 of society, teaching every thing from the first 
 principles of grammar up to the most abstruse 
 sciences, and if at the present day this is done 
 by any of the regular orders, they were after 
 us in point of time, if they have exceeded us 
 in their exertions. 
 
 Fourthly. The assistance of men's souls by 
 giving religious exercises. In a certain sense the 
 giving of religious exercises is as ancient as the 
 Church itself ; but I do not think that there can 
 be found any religious directors who before Ig- 
 natius professed to make a systematic use of 
 retreats and of methodical meditations, or at least 
 if there ever was such a system established it 
 had then fallen into disuse and been forgotten. 
 It will be seen in other parts of this biography 
 how the Society of Jesus has in a marvellous 
 manner wielded this weapon to the good of the 
 Church. In the draft of the Institute presented 
 to Paul III. and Julius III. and also in the brief 
 of Gregory XIII. confirming the Institute, special 
 mention is made of these religious exercises. 
 
 Fifthly. The attending and ministering to the 
 sick in the hospitals and to prisoners. Neither 
 was this duty embodied in the rule of any reli- 
 gious before the foundation of this Society. In 
 after times two orders arose which devoted them- 
 selves exclusively to these good works. The first 
 had its beginning in Spain, under St. John of 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 257 
 
 God, and is called the Order of Hospitality. The 
 other in Italy founded by St. Camillus of Lellis, 
 a society of clerks called Ministers of the Sick, 
 which begun under the pontificate of Pope Six- 
 tus V. These works of mercy are prescribed in 
 the Constitutions in these words : " Let them 
 attend to and minister to the sick, especially in 
 the hospitals, by visiting them and sending some 
 to wait upon them. Let them act in the same 
 manner towards the poor and the prisoners, ren- 
 dering all the assistance that they are able, and 
 procuring for them the assistance of others. 
 
 Sixthly. The preaching of missions, hearing 
 of confessions, and setting on foot pious works 
 for the inhabitants of hamlets and country vil- 
 lages, who are more in need of spiritual help than 
 those who live in populous cities. These apos- 
 tolic missions were common in the early ages of 
 the Church, as is testified by Origen of the age in 
 which he lived. In modern times St. Vincent 
 Ferrer, of the Order of Preachers, and St. Bernar- 
 dino of Siena, of the Minors, were conspicuous 
 for their zeal in this respect. St. Ignatius fol- 
 lowing the footsteps of these apostolic men, in- 
 cluded the giving of missions in villages as part 
 of his institute, and the vow which is made by 
 the professed of obedience to the Pope extends 
 also to these missions. Indeed where this vow 
 is mentioned in the bull of Julius III., though 
 it is stated, that they are to go in obedience to 
 the commands they receive among the infidels, 
 the Indians, heretics, and schismatics, it is after- 
 wards said, or among the faithful, in whatever 
 17 
 
258 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 parts. St. Vincent of Paul, who died in the year 
 1660, September 27, that is, more than one hun- 
 dred years after the death of Ignatius, instituted 
 a congregation of missionaries, to labour char- 
 itably in this part of Christ's vineyard, and for 
 this end they were to be employed in the coun- 
 try districts eight months in every year, accord- 
 ing to the account given by Ippolito Eliot, a wri- 
 ter who also makes mention of other priests who 
 are called missionaries. 
 
 But to return to the Society of Jesus, the six 
 different characteristics above enumerated, when 
 taken together, divide our order from all others, 
 and to use the words of the Psalmist, gives a spe- 
 cial variety to the royal mantle of the Church. 
 Neither have I represented this for the sake of 
 magnifying my own community ; but to give to 
 Ignatius the honour which is due to him, for by 
 establishing these works of mercy in his Society 
 and perpetuating their practice, he has adorned 
 the mystical tower of David, that is, the Church, 
 with many strong bulwarks. 
 
 If any one should desire fuller information on 
 the subject of our Institute, and the mode in 
 which its members are trained to perfection, of 
 the beauty and strictness of its discipline, of the 
 reasons which induced our holy founder to make 
 various regulations which are not to be found 
 in other religious orders, and to omit other 
 admirable customs which are by them embraced, 
 together with other particulars, I refer him to 
 the fourth volume of the tenth treatise of the 
 excellent work, "De Religione," where he may 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 250 
 
 collect abundant information on all these sub- 
 jects. 
 
 We now come to the name of the Society of 
 Jesus. This name, as we before said, was taken 
 by St. Ignatius and his companions at Vincenza, 
 before they were regularly incorporated into a 
 religious order. The appearance of the Lord 
 Jesus to St. Ignatius at Storta, and many 
 other divine illuminations which he received, so 
 deeply impressed this holy name upon the mind 
 of the Saint, that he resolved to give it to his 
 Order. Accordingly in the form of the Institute 
 presented to Paul III., and in the beginning of 
 the bull of that Pope, his desire that the Society 
 should be allowed to bear the holy name is 
 clearly expressed. The following reasons com- 
 bined in bringing our holy father to this deter- 
 mination. First, his humility urged him to ask 
 this in order that the order might not be called 
 after his name, and that, if possible, he might 
 not appear to be the author of it ; another rea- 
 son we have before touched upon. Since he 
 had chosen Jesus as the Captain under whose 
 standard he was to fight the battle of the Lord, 
 he thought that he ought to do as other soldiers 
 who call themselves by the name of the leader 
 under whose banner they are enrolled. His 
 third and principal reason was, that all who 
 should enter this religious order might under- 
 stand that they are not called to the order of 
 Ignatius, but so to speak are received into the 
 troop and into the pay of Jesus, and that being 
 enrolled under so great a Captain they might 
 
260 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 fight more boldly against vice and against the 
 powers of darkness, and with their eyes fixed 
 upon Jesus might joyfully bear the cross, 
 like Him despising the shame for the joy that 
 was set before them ; to encourage them with 
 the certainty that amidst all their perils and 
 hard warfare their Captain was present with 
 them, and that He would be as propitious to 
 them as He was to Ignatius and his first com- 
 panions. From this we may see that the So- 
 ciety of Jesus does not boast itself to be in the 
 special familiarity of Jesus Christ, but that 
 they are a band of soldiers who fight for the 
 salvation of souls under Him as their divine 
 Leader. 
 
 Although Ignatius's reasons for adopting this 
 name for his Society were so admirable, there 
 were many who took offence at it. Amongst 
 this number was a learned theologian who, in 
 expounding the apostle's words, "Fidelis Deus, 
 per quern vocati estis in Societatem Filii ejus 
 Jesu Christi," made this ill-natured comment: 
 " Doubtless this Society is the Church of Christ, 
 and those who arrogate such a title to them- 
 selves ought to look well to it, lest like the 
 heretics they come to say that the Church con- 
 sists in themselves alone." The ancient doctors 
 of the Sorbonne were also offended by it, and 
 the decree which they issued against us begins 
 with these words : " This new Society appropri- 
 ates to itself the name of Jesus, contrary to all 
 previous custom." But if this appellation was 
 displeasing to these distinguished divines whose 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 261 
 
 learning we account so highly, it was otherwise 
 with the Holy See which has approved and con- 
 firmed it in various bulls. It gave no offence 
 to the Council of Trent, which called us by this 
 name ; and above all it has pleased God Himself 
 who revealed this title to our holy founder, 
 insomuch that Ribadeneira testifies that St. 
 Ignatius openly protested that he would never 
 have yielded up this point, and that although 
 he had done this with the consent of the So- 
 ciety, he should, if necessary, have done it 
 against their consent ; moreover he was heard 
 to say by his secretary Giovanni Polanco, that 
 if he had acted differently he would have been 
 fighting against the evident will of God, and 
 have been guilty of grievous sin. 
 
 Seeing the will of God so clearly in this 
 matter, he never doubted that the name of Jesus 
 would be retained by the Society for ever. This 
 is testified by Andrea di Cazzorla, a religious of 
 nearly eighty years of age, who had held high 
 and responsible offices in the Society during a 
 term of forty years, in a document dated from 
 our probationary house at Seville on the 29th of 
 January, 1641. "I remember to have heard it 
 said, and I also have it in writing, given to me 
 by Father Diego di Guzman, a most honourable 
 and holy man, who during a term of two years 
 held familiar intercourse with St. Ignatius, and 
 never passed a day without enjoying his sweet 
 discourse, how he was commanded by our holy 
 Father Ignatius to go with another Jesuit father 
 and visit his friend the Cardinal Cueva, and as 
 
262 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 they conversed together upon our affairs, the 
 Cardinal said that he did not approve of the 
 name of the Society, because it excited the 
 envy of other religious orders. When they re- 
 turned home, they reported this opinion to St. 
 Ignatius, who replied, 'If it is not called the 
 Society of Jesus, it might be called the Con- 
 gregation of Jesus, or the Religion of Jesus, or 
 Order of Jesus ; but I do not believe that the 
 name of Jesus will ever be taken from it;' thus 
 giving him clearly to understand that the name 
 of Jesus was given by Jesus Himself." 
 
 This prediction has been verified by time ; for 
 to pass over a number of vain attempts, I will 
 only mention that of Pope Sixtus V., who ac- 
 tuated by the best motives proposed to expunge 
 this name. He thought that it savoured of ar- 
 rogance, and was invidious to the other religious 
 orders and to the faithful in general, that it 
 caused the holy name to be profanely used by 
 the vulgar and in the courts of law, and that 
 it was imposing too great a burden upon pious 
 people if they were to uncover the head or to 
 bow whenever the Society was named. The 
 work proceeded to such lengths that the gen- 
 eral of the Society, Claudio Acquaviva, was com- 
 pelled by the Pope's command to write a decree 
 annulling the ancient name, which decree re- 
 mained in the hands of the Pope ; but whether 
 it was through forgetfulness or from some other 
 cause, it remained in the keeping of Sixtus and 
 was never published, and his death taking place 
 very shortly afterwards, the affair was broken 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 2G3 
 
 off. His successor Gregory XIV. confirmed the 
 Society and its mode of government by tho sta- 
 tute, " Ecclesia? Catholics " on the 28th of June, 
 1591, and proceeds to say, "That the name of 
 Jesus which was given to this honourable So- 
 ciety at its first beginning by the Holy See, 
 and by which it has been ever since distin- 
 guished, shall be henceforth retained by it for 
 ever." 
 
 But previously to this decree of the Vicar of 
 Christ, Jesus Christ Himself may be said to have 
 ratified the title ; for it happened that Pope 
 Gregory XIII. for certain private reasons per- 
 suaded Jacopo Sanchez to become a monk of 
 our Society, but he feeling great repugnance 
 and difficulty in taking this step went to the 
 church of St. Peter, and kneeling before the 
 Holy Sacrament earnestly prayed that God would 
 make known His will unto him, when ho sud- 
 denly heard a voice issuing from the Ciborium, 
 which spoke these words, " Enter into the Society 
 which is called by my Name." On first hearing 
 this voice he was filled with reverential fear, 
 as is generally the case under like circumstances, 
 and he fell upon the ground trembling, as the 
 Apostles did when they heard the voice upon 
 Mount Thabor ; but very soon so great a change 
 was wrought within him, that whereas he had 
 before looked upon that Order as a land full 
 of horrors which devoureth the inhabitants there- 
 of, he now regarded it as a land flowing with 
 milk and honey, and every hour seemed to bo 
 a thousand till he was received into it. More- 
 
264 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 over a sudden light was infused into his soul 
 by which he discovered the immensity and great- 
 ness of the Name of Jesus, and the unsearchable 
 treasures contained therein, so that whenever 
 he uttered himself or heard it spoken by another 
 he was filled with wonder and admiration. This 
 story is narrated by the venerable Father Lu- 
 dovico da Ponte in his Spiritual Guide without 
 the mention of any name ; but Negroni was 
 informed of his name by Giovanni Oliva, an 
 intimate friend of Sanchez, whom he conversed 
 with on his journey through France. 
 
 Although such great clamour has been raised 
 with regard to the name which Ignatius gave 
 his Society, it is nevertheless true that his 
 was not the first congregation which took this 
 title. In the year 1459, that is eighty-one 
 years previous to the bull of Paul III. Pope Pius 
 II. wrote a letter to Charles II. king of France, 
 in which he says, "We have heard that our 
 beloved son, Gulielmo della Toretta, has taken 
 a vow to enter into the congregation called the 
 Society of Jesus, which has been newly formed 
 to the honour of God and against the infidels." 
 From this it appears that the masters of the Sor- 
 bonne were incautious in saying that this title 
 was without precedent. Nor did our holy Father 
 think that he could be fairly accused of arro- 
 gance, seeing that it has ever been customary in 
 the Church for pious and grateful hearts to distin- 
 guish themselves by names which are common 
 to others. Thus the apostle St. John calls him- 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 265 
 
 self the "disciple whom Jesus loved," without 
 doing any injury to his fellow disciples, and 
 St. Paul speaks of himself as the apostle of the 
 Gentiles. So also other religious orders have 
 appropriated names, as the Religious of the Most 
 Holy Trinity, of the Holy Spirit, others are called 
 Serfs of Mary, and this not certainly to exclude 
 the rest of the faithful, but simply to exhibit 
 their own special devotion. Thus also the Pa- 
 triarch St. Dominic called his religion the Or- 
 der of Preachers, without giving offence to any, 
 not even to the Bishops whose particular office 
 it is to preach the word of God. With what 
 reason then can our Society be blamed for taking 
 the name of Jesus in grateful remembrance of 
 the eternal Father's having recommended and 
 consigned us to His Son, and as a memorial 
 of the obligations we are under to imitate the 
 life of our divine Saviour by labouring for the 
 salvation of men with all our strength? Besides 
 this, as our holy founder desired that we should 
 derive from this divine name only a fresh incite- 
 ment to virtue, he used to call his congregation, 
 the least Society of Jesus, meaning that all other 
 religious orders are in reality Societies of Jesus, 
 though they are not called by His name, and 
 that his differed from the others in being the 
 least of them all. He also wished his children 
 to feel and understand their own littleness, and 
 show that they did so by their actions. There 
 is nothing more left me to remark on this sub- 
 ject, except to address myself to my brethren, 
 
266 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 and beseech them ever to bear in mind what 
 were the intentions of our Father in giving us 
 so great a name, and perfectly to fulfil them 
 by their ardent gratitude, unwearied zeal, un- 
 bending confidence, and true humility. 
 
2G7 
 
 BOOK III 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 ST. IGNATIUS IS ELECTED GENERAL OF THE ORDER. 
 HIS PROFESSION AND THAT OF HIS COMPANIONS. 
 
 At the request of various great personages, 
 Pope Paul III. had sent many of our Fathers 
 into different parts of Italy. Pascasio Broet and 
 Simon Rodriguez had gone to Siena for the re- 
 formation of a convent of nuns, and so difficult 
 was the affair, that without God's special help 
 they would never have brought it to a happy 
 conclusion. They also kindled in many other 
 souls holy desires of serving God. Claudio Jajo 
 had gone to Brescia, where by the holiness of his 
 life and the sweetness of his manners he gained 
 a great number of souls for God's service. Peter 
 Faber and James Lainez had gone to Parma 
 and Piacenza in the suite of the Cardinal Legate 
 Santo Angelo, and in these towns they gath- 
 ered much fruit, and also procured some chosen 
 souls for the new society. Faber afterwards went 
 to the Diet of Vormazia with Pietro Ortiz, where 
 he also laboured with great success, and gave 
 powerful support to the Catholic Faith. Nicolas 
 
268 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 Bobadiglia had his work assigned to him amongst 
 the rude and ill-instructed inhabitants of Calabria. 
 The mission of Xavier I must notice more at 
 length, as it belongs more intimately to the his- 
 tory of St. Ignatius. Shortly before this time 
 the Portuguese, after coasting along the continent 
 of Africa, through unknown and dangerous seas, 
 had discovered the passage to India, and opened 
 to European navigators all the coast which 
 stretches from the Cape of Good Hope to China. 
 The good King John III. of Portugal cherished 
 in his heart a firm desire of enlightening this 
 people of darkness with the torch of faith, by 
 sending amongst them apostolic men full of holi- 
 ness and zeal ; and he had with the most ardent 
 zeal and at great cost been searching all over 
 Europe for men fitted for this high task. The 
 king's desires were known to Diego Govea, who 
 in former times when he was rector of the college 
 at Paris, wished to have Ignatius publicly beaten, 
 but had made timely discovery of his sanctity. 
 Diego Govea was now in Portugal, and held in 
 high consideration by the king, and he told the 
 king that Ignatius and his companions were men 
 adapted for this design. But before speaking 
 to the king he wished in a friendly manner to 
 ascertain the wishes of Ignatius, and wrote him 
 a letter showing him what a wide field was now 
 open to his zeal in the East, and if he approved 
 of the enterprise he offered to manage the affair 
 with the king. Ignatius made answer that both 
 he and his companions had made over themselves 
 entirely to the Vicar of Christ ; that they must 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 2G9 
 
 therefore wait his will and treat with him on 
 the subject. On receiving this reply Govea wrote 
 to the king and inclosed the letter of Ignatius, 
 earnestly recommending him to avail himself of 
 the services of these distinguished men for the 
 conversion of India, for if he let this opportu- 
 nity escape him another such was not likely 
 to present itself. 
 
 The fame of Ignatius and his Society had 
 already reached the king's ears, so that his 
 own desires as well as the advice of Govea 
 made him enter warmly into the affair; and 
 he commanded Pietro Mascaregna, his am- 
 bassador at the Papal court, to use his most 
 diligent endeavours both with the Pope and 
 with Ignatius, that at least six of his distin- 
 guished Society might be sent to him for this 
 undertaking; and he told the ambassador who 
 was shortly about to return home, not to leave 
 till he had succeeded in this negociation, and 
 could bring them along with him. The ambas- 
 sador went and made himself known to Ignatius, 
 and immediately made known to him the king's 
 request. Ignatius gave him the same reply that 
 he had given Govea, he referred him to the 
 Pope in whose hands he had placed himself and 
 his Society; but he told him that it appeared to 
 him, that as to the number he should not be 
 able to send more than one or two. Still the 
 ambassador continued to urge him, endeavouring 
 to persuade him that they could not bestow 
 their labours more advantageously; but Igna- 
 tius, whose mind embraced the whole world, ex- 
 
270 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 claimed, " Jesus ! my Lord ambassador, if six 
 out of ten go to India, what is there left for all 
 the rest of the world? " The ambassador then 
 carried the request of his master to the Pope, 
 who gave his permission with readiness and af- 
 fection ; but left the number of the missionaries 
 to the judgment of Ignatius ; this appeared right 
 to our gracious lord the Pope, for seeing that 
 all of these men were ready to obey his slightest 
 sign, he would exercise his power with gentle- 
 ness and discretion, and moreover he had the 
 fullest confidence in the wisdom of Ignatius. 
 Mascaregna was not content with the Pope's 
 decision, but still as he could not obtain more 
 he accepted what was granted to him. Ignatius 
 then held counsel with his companions, and 
 after many fervent prayers Simon Rodriguez 
 and Nicolas Bobadiglia were sent as deputies to 
 the king. Simon Rodriguez having been sum- 
 moned from Siena to Rome, was consumed with 
 desire to carry the name of Jesus to these poor 
 barbarous people, and without taking any thought 
 of a painful quartan ague from which he was 
 suffering, he embarked at Civita Vecchia for 
 Portugal without waiting for the return of the 
 ambassador. Bobadiglia when he returned from 
 Naples was so worn with fatigues and suffered 
 so much from sciatica, that he could not accom- 
 pany the ambassador who was on the point of 
 sailing, and to his grievous disappointment was 
 obliged to yield the combat to Francis Xavier, 
 who took his place in the apostolic lists. 
 
 Thus was it ordained by God's unsearchable 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 271 
 
 Providence, that the man whom he had appointed 
 by his eternal decrees to be the great apostle of 
 the Indies, whose selection for that mission lie 
 had revealed to his servant, the sister of Xavier, 
 and which he had represented to Xavier him- 
 self under the figure of a negro whom he had to 
 carry upon his shoulders with great fatigue, 
 should be sent away to his work, as it were, by the 
 chance occurrence of his taking the place of 
 another man. 
 
 Francis then was as happy as a man could be 
 in this prospect, and he availed himself of the 
 short space of time that remained to him to take 
 leave of his friends and patch up his tattered 
 clothes. When the day arrived he went to kiss 
 the Pope's feet, and having received his blessing 
 he departed with the ambassador without taking 
 any provision for his long journey except his 
 breviary. This memorable event took place in 
 the middle of Lent, a. d. 1540. Orlandini says, 
 that he was at Loreto on Palm Sunday, which 
 in that year fell upon the 21st of March. Hence 
 it appears that the mission of Xavier took place 
 before the negotiations for founding the Society 
 were completed. 
 
 It now became necessary to collect the votes 
 of the Society for the election of a general, and 
 Ignatius summoned all the members who were in 
 Italy to come to Rome, so that about the be- 
 ginning of Lent, 1541, the following were assem- 
 bled : Ignatius, Alfonso Salmerone, and Giovan- 
 ni Codurio, who were there before ; and Pascasio 
 Broet, Jacopo Lainez, and Claudio Jajo, who 
 
272 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 came from Siena, Parma, and Brescia ; four of 
 the ten members were absent ; viz. Xavier and 
 Rodriguez ; Faber who had gone to Germany, 
 and Nicolas Bobadiglio, who had returned to the 
 kingdom of Naples, and remained at Bisignano 
 by the Pope's command. Xavier and Rodriguez 
 had left their votes sealed up in writing before 
 their departure ; and Faber had done the same, 
 or else sent it by letter from Germany. Boba- 
 diglia, who had not foreseen any impediment to 
 his return, had neither left his vote, nor did he 
 send it by post. The fathers assembled in Rome, 
 as they were charged with new missions by the 
 Pope, judged it right to proceed at once to the 
 election without caring for the absence of a sin- 
 gle voter. That they might obtain God's bless- 
 ing upon this measure they passed three days 
 in prayer, during which time they were not to 
 speak to each other on the subject of the election. 
 When this time had elapsed the votes were all 
 locked up in an urn, and three more days de- 
 voted to prayer. Upon the seventh day the pa- 
 pers were opened, and it appeared that Ignatius 
 was unanimously elected general by every vote 
 except his own, for he with all the prudence of 
 a father avoided the difficulty of showing a pre- 
 ference for any one before another, and gave 
 his vote for the general who should be found to 
 have been elected by the majority. Francis 
 Xavier had written to the same effect, giving in 
 his adherence to all that should be determined 
 by the Society. This document I will give in 
 full. 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 273 
 
 "I, Francis, declare that when his Holiness 
 approves our rule of life, I will abide by all that 
 shall be determined by the Society assembled 
 in Rome relative to our rules and constitutions. 
 And since his Holiness has sent many of us 
 out of Italy, so that it is impossible for all to 
 assemble, I affirm and promise by this writing 
 to approve whatsoever may be determined by 
 those who assemble at the meeting, whether 
 they be two or three, or whatever may be their 
 number. And by this my sign manual I pro- 
 mise to ratify all that they shall do. Written 
 at Rome, March 15th, 1540. Francesco." 
 
 " Moreover, I, Francis, affirm and declare, that 
 without having in any way been counselled by 
 man, I believe in my conscience that we ought 
 to elect as the head of our Society, to whom 
 we are to yield our obedience, our ancient and 
 true Father Ignatius, who in former times as- 
 sembled us together with such great difficulty, 
 and who is best able to govern, preserve, and 
 promote the good of our Society, from having 
 the most intimate knowledge of us all. And 
 speaking according to the feelings of my mind, 
 and as if I were at the point of death, I say 
 that after the death of Ignatius we ought to 
 elect Father Peter Faber. God is my witness 
 that in this matter I have spoken only as I really 
 feel, and in confirmation thereof I subscribe it 
 with my own hand. Rome, March 15th, 1540. 
 Francesco." 
 
 " In like manner whensoever the assembled 
 Society shall have elected their President, I, 
 
274 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 Francis, from thenceforward promise perpetual 
 obedience, poverty, and chastity. And I beseech 
 Lainez, my dear Father in Christ, that in the 
 service of the Lord our God, you will in my 
 absence offer these my three vows of religion 
 to the President you shall have elected. For I 
 promise to keep these vows from that day for- 
 ward, in testimony whereof I affix my signa- 
 ture to this paper. Written at Rome, March 
 15th, 1540." 
 
 This paper was addressed in the Saint's hand- 
 writing, " This is the letter of Francis for the 
 members of the Society." The original may 
 still be seen in our archives at Rome. 
 
 After Ignatius the votes were given to Peter 
 Faber, by Xavier, Codurio, and Rodriguez, and 
 a talented writer remarks upon this, that all 
 would have done the same if they had given 
 any second votes at all, so pre-eminent and 
 manifest to all was the virtue of this great 
 man. 
 
 When Ignatius found that the votes of his 
 companions had fallen upon him, he was the 
 only one who did not share the general joy, and 
 was greatly cast down in mind, for he believed 
 firmly that they were deceived in their judgment, 
 and had made a mistake which would be very 
 prejudicial to the interests of the Society. He 
 enumerated all his infirmities of mind and body, 
 and tried with all his power to show them that 
 he was not fit to undertake the office of govern- 
 ment. Nor would his humility allow him to 
 perceive that his reluctance to accept the charge 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. , 275 
 
 would only have the effect of confirming them 
 in their decision, because it gave an additional 
 proof of his worthiness. Nevertheless after a long 
 and vehement debate they yielded to his en- 
 treaties, and consented that four more days 
 should be set apart for prayer and penance, and 
 that the question should then be again put to 
 the vote. The issue of the second election was 
 exactly the same. When Ignatius still mani- 
 fested his sorrow and repugnance, James 
 Lainez comprehending the necessity of the case, 
 rose up and said, " Either you, my Father, 
 must accept the burden which God imposes upon 
 you, or else I will quit the Society, for I will 
 accept of no other head but the one whom God 
 has appointed." Upon this Ignatius fearing 
 on the one hand his own inability for the task, 
 and at the same time not venturing to oppose 
 himself to the divine will, determined that the 
 question should be determined by the priest 
 who heard his confessions and regulated his con- 
 science, and who therefore had the most intimate 
 knowledge of his soul. The Fathers were not 
 satisfied that there should be any further delay 
 after his twice repeated election, still they gave 
 way to his entreaties, probably because they 
 judged that his confessor could not come to a 
 different decision, and so it proved. The holy 
 Father had been in the habit of confessing to a 
 Franciscan Monk of St. Pietro Montorio, named 
 Father Theodosio, a man of distinguished virtue 
 and good sense. Into this convent Ignatius 
 retired and passed the three days before Easter 
 
270 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 Sunday in making the most minute narration 
 that he was able of all his sins and imperfec- 
 tions bodily and mental. After this he demand- 
 ed his opinion as to his acceptance of the gov- 
 ernment of the Society. The good monk an- 
 swered him without a moment's delay, that he 
 ought to accept it, and no longer upon any ac- 
 count resist the Holy Ghost. Ignatius repeated- 
 ly implored that he would take counsel on the 
 matter with God ; and when the same answer 
 was always returned to him, he at last begged 
 that he would send his opinion in writing to 
 his companions, and that in case he so judged, 
 he would declare him unfit for the charge, and 
 that in order to satisfy them he would also state 
 his reasons for so judging ; and after making 
 this request, not knowing what more he could do, 
 he returned to his own house on Easter Day. 
 
 God had so willed his election that, if I may 
 so speak, he recorded his vote by miraculously 
 proving the merit of Ignatius. The Fathers had 
 in their house a young servant of the name of 
 Mathew, a native of Biscay. Whilst Ignatius 
 was at St. Pietro Montorio, this youth was sud- 
 denly attacked and fiercely tormented by the 
 devil. He rolled himself on the earth, and clung 
 to it so firmly that it sometimes required ten 
 men to lift him up. His features were hideously 
 swollen, and when the exorcist made the sign 
 of the cross upon him the swelling disappeared 
 and descended to his throat, and when it was 
 driven thence by the virtue of the cross it again 
 fixed itself on some other part. Some of the 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 277 
 
 bystanders threatened the evil spirit, by saying 
 that Ignatius would soon come back and chase 
 him away. Upon this the spirit breaking out 
 into fury, uttered fearful shrieks, saying, " Do 
 not utter his name, for he is the greatest enemy 
 I have in the world." When Ignatius returned, 
 he took the young man aside, and after making 
 some short prayers, he brought him back en- 
 tirely free. It is true that the devil in revenge 
 tried to suffocate the Saint whilst he slept, and 
 bound his jaws so tightly that when he tried 
 to invoke the name of Jesus he could not speak, 
 but making a great effort he forced out this 
 name of salvation, and the monster fled in con- 
 fusion, leaving him with so great a hoarseness 
 that for some days afterwards he could hardly 
 speak. On the third day after Ignatius 's return 
 his confessor came bringing a paper with him, 
 which was read before the assembly, and which 
 contained his command that Ignatius should 
 yield at once to the wishes of the Society and 
 accept the office of general. Upon this the 
 Saint humbly bowed his head, and undertook 
 the government upon the Tuesday in Easter week, 
 April 19th, 1541. 
 
 On the Friday of the same week the Fathers 
 made their preparation for taking their solemn 
 vows of profession in the Basilica of St. Paul 
 without the walls, because they had undertaken 
 to live the same life as that great apostle, and 
 because the spot was retired. On the Friday 
 morning they visited the Stations of the Seven 
 Churches, and when they came to St. Paul's 
 
278 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 they made their confessions one to another, and 
 St. Ignatius said mass. At the time of com- 
 munion Ignatius turned towards them, and 
 holding the Lord's body in one hand over the 
 paten, and in the other the form of profession, 
 he recited it aloud upon his knees, and then 
 took the communion. Then he again turned 
 towards his companions, and holding up the 
 consecrated host in the same manner, he re- 
 ceived their professions in the same form, ex- 
 cept that Ignatius's vow of obedience was to the 
 Pope alone, whereas the rest vowed obedience 
 to Ignatius as their general, and then they re- 
 ceived the communion at his hands. After ma- 
 king a devout thanksgiving they visited the 
 privileged altars, and then assembled before the 
 high altar. Here each of them embraced their 
 new chief and humbly kissed his hand, whilst 
 he wept tears of affection, and they tears of joy 
 in seeing this long -desired commencement of 
 their Society. Their profession was made at 
 the altar where the Blessed Sacrament is re- 
 served, which is dedicated to the Mother of God 
 and situated to the left of the high altar at the 
 foot of the stairs. The image of our Lady which 
 stood there was afterwards transported to the 
 right side, to the altar opposite the altar of the 
 Miraculous Crucifix which is said to have spoken 
 to St. Bridget. At last both these altars fell 
 into ruins, and the crucifix was moved over to 
 the gospel side, and the image of our Lady was 
 placed at the foot of it, in which position it 
 has remained since the year 1725. An account 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 279 
 
 of this memorable profession may be seen let 
 into the wall at the upper end of the church 
 on the gospel side. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 WHAT IGNATIUS DID UPON BEING MADE GENERAL: 
 SOME EVENTS WHICH HAPPENED ON THAT DAY. 
 
 When the foundation of the Society was con- 
 firmed by the Apostolic See, it consisted, besides 
 the ten Fathers, of a few novices, the greater 
 number of whom were studying at Paris. Some 
 also had gone into Spain to settle their private 
 affairs, in which country the fame of the new 
 order had greatly spread ; and about twelve were 
 staying in Rome, of which number was Pietro 
 Ribadeneira, who offered himself to Ignatius 
 about nine days before the foundation of the 
 order. 
 
 When Ignatius had undertaken the guidance 
 of the new flock he first of all devoted his atten- 
 tion to the establishment of domestic discipline. 
 He began this task by himself setting the exam- 
 ple, and as St. Augustin says, that humility is 
 the foundation of every spiritual edifice, he fixed 
 this truth in the mind of his novices by taking 
 upon himself for a considerable time the office 
 of cook, and he also worked diligently in all 
 the humblest duties of the establishment, as if 
 he was a novice who had just quitted the world 
 burning with newly kindled zeal. The many 
 
280 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 high and important matters of business which 
 he had to discharge did not interfere with these 
 lowly labours, for he apportioned his time in so 
 provident a manner that nothing was neglected. 
 He was also conspicuous for his love for pover- 
 ty, he was sparing in his food and clothing, 
 and displayed more than paternal tenderness in 
 caring for the wants of his children. This bright 
 example, combined with his private and public 
 exhortations, his mingled gentleness and severity 
 in requiring every one to perform their duty, 
 easily brought about among his zealous disci- 
 ples, a habit of life which might be said to 
 resemble that of an assembly of angels in human 
 form. So did their light shine before men, that 
 they saw their good works and glorified their 
 heavenly Father. 
 
 There was at that time in Rome a young man 
 endowed with great natural abilities, but infected 
 with the Lutheran heresy, which he endeavoured 
 with all his powers to diffuse into the minds of 
 others. As opportunities offered he mixed in 
 the Society of ecclesiastics, and endeavoured to 
 overthrow their belief by railing at their man- 
 ner of life, and when the way was thus opened, 
 he began openly to disseminate false doctrine, 
 so that when the magistrates were informed of 
 it he was imprisoned. Notwithstanding all the 
 endeavours of the most learned divines they 
 could not by any means succeed in bringing 
 him to a sense of his errors. Still they were 
 so mercifully inclined to him by reason of his 
 youth and his talents, that before suffering the 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 281 
 
 law to take its course they handed him over 
 to Ignatius, who gladly received him and took 
 him home to his own house. Here he was kindly 
 treated by all, and when he perceived after close 
 observation the innocence of their lives, he began 
 to feel affection for them, and then to receive 
 the spiritual medicine which Ignatius adminis- 
 tered with a gentle hand. At last the poison 
 was drawn away from his mind, he acknowledged 
 his errors and publicly renounced them, and 
 was reconciled to the church to the joy and as- 
 tonishment of all. When he was asked how it 
 was that he who had resisted the exhortations 
 of so many others, had been so easily overcome 
 by the words of Ignatius and his companions, 
 to which he at once answered that he had not 
 yielded so much to their arguments, (though he 
 had heard many and weighty ones,) as to the 
 holiness and virtues which he had there wit- 
 nessed; for he had concluded that it was quite 
 impossible that lives so pure and sanctified could 
 be found any where except in union with a true 
 faith. This answer ought to be a convincing 
 proof to us, that although intelligence and sound- 
 ness of understanding are of great value in gain- 
 ing souls to God, still the example of a holy 
 life is of far greater weight and value. The 
 parents of another young man, when they found 
 that all other means had failed in restraining 
 the unbridled license of their son, placed him 
 as a last resource in the hands of Ignatius. By 
 the gentle and skilful treatment he here receiv- 
 ed, his pride and self-will where by degrees 
 
282 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 abated to the astonishment of all who knew him, 
 the wolf was changed into a lamb. Besides these 
 examples, numbers of others of all ages and 
 conditions were in a similar manner brought 
 back from paths of vice and wickedness to the 
 ways of purity and virtue. 
 
 Ignatius did not delay to enforce the obliga- 
 tions of the professed in preaching Christian doc- 
 trine. The Society already possessed a church 
 of their own, situated at the foot of the Capito- 
 line hill, not far from St. Mark's Church. It 
 was called the Church of Santa Maria della 
 Strada, and had formerly been the parish Church. 
 Giovanni Polanco tells us that Ignatius was pleas- 
 ed with the situation, because it was in so popu- 
 lous a district, but it was inconveniently small. 
 It came into our hands through the good offices 
 of Pietro Codacio about the close of the year 
 1540, so that we may say that our Blessed 
 Lady received the Society into her own house 
 almost as soon as it came into existence. The 
 Church was made use of to hear confessions 
 in and for preaching. Ignatius used to preach 
 from an elevated spot, and multitudes of the 
 rich and poor, learned and ignorant, flocked 
 together to hear him, and many nobles con- 
 gratulated themselves and boasted of not having 
 missed hearing any of his discourses. The fol- 
 lowing was his method of preaching. First, he 
 gave a full explanation of the mysteries of the 
 faith and of the commandments adapted to the 
 capacity of the vulgar, repeating his statements 
 over and over again as he thought necessary ; 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 283 
 
 and after this he enlarged upon some Christian 
 truth which was fitted to move the affections, 
 and it was truly wonderful to see how his audi- 
 ence were moved to tears and filled with hatred 
 of their sins. Many of them when the sermon 
 was finished crowded to the confessional to lay 
 open their sins, but were unable amidst their 
 tears and sobbings to utter a single word. There 
 was nothing artificial in his manner, but his 
 words were plain and simple, and his idiom and 
 accent somewhat foreign. Pietro Ribadeneira, 
 who used to repeat to the people what Ignatius 
 had taught them on the previous day, tells us 
 that he was fearful lest his mistakes and impro- 
 prieties of language should prevent his being 
 understood and diminish the effect of his ser- 
 mons, and in all simplicity he admonished Ig- 
 natius that he ought to study the art of speak- 
 ing in Italian a little more. The Saint in his 
 humility immediately replied, " Certainly you 
 are right, and I pray you to note my faults 
 carefully, that I may take care to mend them." 
 One day accordingly the young man began 
 writing them down upon paper ; but when he 
 found that the corrections would almost equal 
 the number of the words, he left off his task and 
 told Ignatius how the matter stood. The Saint 
 upon this said to him with his accustomed gen- 
 tleness of manner, "What then, Peter, can I 
 do for God?" As if he would say, "Ought we to 
 be silent because God has not given us greater 
 powers of speech, or do Him service with what 
 He has given us ?" But just as the speech of the 
 
284 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 apostle was not with persuasive words of human 
 wisdom, but full of spiritual energy and divine 
 force ; so was the speech of Ignatius naked, and 
 wanting as to all earthly ornament and eloquence, 
 but rich in heavenly and spiritual virtue. His 
 countenance was lit up with ardour, and he 
 seemed to shoot forth fire into the hearts of his 
 hearers instead of words, so that they melted like 
 wax before the flames of divine love. 
 
 On the 19th of August, about four months 
 after the election of Ignatius, Giovanni Codurio, 
 one of the original Fathers of the Society, died. 
 He had been the first of the ten after Ignatius 
 to take the oaths, and so powerful on that occa- 
 sion were his devout emotions, and the spiritual 
 sweetness which inundated his soul, that he was 
 unable to restrain his sighs and tears. When 
 they went to visit the Seven Churches he walked 
 with James Lainez before all the rest, and the 
 cries and sobs which broke from him seemed 
 as if they would burst his very heart, so that 
 each thought within himself, that a soul thus 
 prepared must soon be disjoined from the mor- 
 tal body and be taken to God. John Codurio 
 was born on the Feast of the Nativity of St. John 
 Baptist, and was baptized by his name ; he was 
 ordained a priest on the same day, and he died on 
 the anniversary of the decollation of St. John 
 Baptist, and at the exact age of that Saint. St. 
 Ignatius was on his way to St. Pier Montorio 
 to say mass for Codurio 's recovery, when he 
 suddenly stopped on the Sistine bridge, and 
 turning to his companion John Baptist Viola, 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 280 
 
 he said, " Let us turn back, for Codurio is dead." 
 When they reached the house they found that 
 he had expired at that very moment. It is 
 thought that as the entrance of Ozzes into hea- 
 ven was shown to Ignatius, the entrance of 
 Codurio was likewise revealed to him. Certain 
 it is that in writing to Faber of his death, he 
 tells him that a pious person whilst occupied 
 in prayer had seen his happy soul quitting the 
 body, and received with joy by the choirs of 
 angels. During the same year Stefano Baroelio 
 was at the point of death, and it is believed 
 that the prolongation of his life was in like 
 manner revealed to the Saint. Ignatius was 
 offering the holy sacrifice for him in the Church 
 of St. Pier Montorio, when upon his return with 
 his companion Pietro Ribadeneira, he said with 
 every mark of joy, " Stefano will not die of 
 this illness." Very soon afterwards the pro- 
 phecy was verified by his recovery, and Stefano 
 during all the remainder of his life, (and he 
 lived to be eighty-seven,) considered himself in- 
 debted for it to Ignatius. 
 
 On the authority of Maffei, I will here state 
 how Ignatius regulated his time every day after 
 he became General. As soon as he rose in the 
 morning he passed a certain fixed time in prayer, 
 and then proceeded to say mass, having care- 
 fully read over the service appointed in the 
 Missal on the evening before ; but so great was 
 the strain upon his mind in offering the Holy 
 Sacrifice, and so weak was his bodily health, 
 that he was frequently obliged to omit saying 
 
286 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 his mass. After the mass he used to go out 
 if necessary on business with a single companion, 
 if not, he used to give audience at home, receiv- 
 ing all with calm and quiet manners ; he was 
 full of foresight and caution without being either 
 timid or suspicious, and it was almost impossi- 
 ble to deceive his penetration. When the 
 thanksgiving after dinner was concluded, he 
 used to join in cheerful conversation, and the 
 discourse used generally to turn upon the affairs 
 in which they were engaged, or else he would 
 instruct them in the art of governing. After 
 this he attended to public business and to 
 the reading and answering of letters, sometimes 
 writing with his own hand and sometimes em- 
 ploying the aid of others. After supper he gave 
 his orders for the following day, calling every 
 one to him in turn and giving them their direc- 
 tions, and then conversed quietly with his secre- 
 tary. When the secretary was dismissed he 
 used to walk about during a great part of the 
 night leaning upon his stick, immersed in deep 
 thought and meditation; and, finally, he yielded 
 to the necessities of nature, and gave the four 
 remaining hours of the night to sleep. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE SKILL OF ST. IGNATIUS IN THE ART OF 
 GOVERNMENT. 
 
 St. Ignatius was distinguished for a marvellous 
 wisdom and sagacity united with extreme dili- 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 287 
 
 gence and an entire surrender of himself to God. 
 From the great care which he gave to his affairs 
 you would suppose that he looked to this alone 
 for their prosperity. He studied the dispositions 
 and the way to influence those with whom he 
 had to treat, and looked to every obstacle which 
 might interfere with his designs. In matters of 
 importance after long and deep reflection he 
 used to consult others, and that the matter 
 might be well considered, he limited these con- 
 sultations to the space of one hour by the glass, 
 during which time no other topic was to be in- 
 troduced. With such habits of deliberation, he 
 could not suffer the ways of some who no sooner 
 hear a question propounded than they are ready 
 to give their decision ; this sort of men he used 
 to call "decretalisti." He used to look rather 
 to the ends than the principles of things, and 
 his keen-sightedness in foreseeing these effects 
 differed from that of other men, as does the 
 ken of a man who examines a country from the 
 mountain top, from that of a man who stands 
 upon the plain. 
 
 When a matter of great importance was to 
 be discussed, and there was no necessity for 
 speedy decision, he did not pronounce his de- 
 termination at the end of the hour, but allowed 
 his mind to dwell upon it for some days, and then 
 renewed the discussion; and that he might not 
 be misled by passion, he used to regard the sub- 
 ject as if it were another man's business and 
 not his own. These matured counsels combined 
 with his keen perception of consequences, often 
 
288 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 made his opinions seem strange, and his means 
 of action incongruous to short-sighted men. But 
 the subsequent course of events always proved 
 his wisdom. Still whilst he disposed all things 
 with such consummate foresight and prudence, 
 the holy man acknowledged that he was but a 
 useless servant, abandoning all to God and 
 looking only to Him for the success of his opera- 
 tions, and whenever any point was determined 
 by the opinion of his counsellors, he used to 
 add, now it remains that we retire to rest and 
 then treat with God upon this matter in prayer, 
 and he never used to carry anything into effect 
 till it had been concluded in this manner. 
 
 I shall hereafter show what a wonderful com- 
 mand over his passions St. Ignatius possessed, 
 a quality without which the most prudent coun- 
 sels and the most acute penetration would be 
 of little value. At present I shall only say that 
 his affections, whether of love or anger, were so 
 fully under his control, that he exhibited them 
 only in such proportions as the time, the per- 
 sons, or the place demanded. Sometimes it hap- 
 pened that when he was in company with other 
 Fathers, and some person came before him whose 
 conduct required a severe reproof, he was seen 
 suddenly to assume an appearance so terrible 
 and to speak with such severity, that the very 
 walls of the chamber seemed to tremble ; and 
 then when the culprit had been dismissed, he 
 returned to the conversation which had been 
 interrupted with the same serenity as before, 
 as if he had done no more than administer a 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 289 
 
 slight reprimand. At the same time, even whilst 
 he gave vent to his indignation, he never lost 
 his decorum of behaviour, but made men trem- 
 ble before his majesty rather than his anger. 
 A thoughtless expression never escaped his lips, 
 or a syllable that was expressive of contempt or 
 abuse, nor did he ever call men by offensive names. 
 This prudence and self-control made him ex- 
 ceedingly quick in perceiving people's character 
 and dispositions, and in accommodating himself 
 to each. First of all he observed the manner 
 of life, the natural dispositions and affections 
 of men, with a penetration which nothing could 
 deceive, and then he either treated them with 
 gentleness or severity, with openness or reserve, 
 as their characters required, and these manners 
 he was able to assume towards each as if they 
 were the only ones natural to him. Many could 
 not understand why his behaviour varied so much 
 with different persons, and even with the same 
 person at different times, but in the course 
 of time events proved the wisdom and necessity 
 of these variations. In % order that others whom 
 he sent out from Rome to be Superiors of dif- 
 ferent establishments might adopt the same me- 
 thod of management, he used to give them an 
 accurate description of the character of their sub- 
 jects. Moreover, this insight into the hearts of 
 men enabled him to guide each one towards 
 perfection in the path best suited to him. He 
 used to blame those who judge of other men 
 only by themselves, and consider all men to be in 
 the wrong who decline those means by which they 
 19 
 
290 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 have themselves made progress in virtue, and in 
 like manner he never made his own experience the 
 exact rule for another. He was also very careful 
 never to burden any one beyond the degree of his 
 spiritual strength. To him who was strong and 
 exercised in virtue he allotted laborious under- 
 takings, painful and difficult journeys, which ex- 
 posed them to poverty, suffering, and persecu- 
 tion, but to the weak, who were generally novi- 
 ces, he gave tasks proportioned to their pow- 
 ers, that they might be willing to make greater 
 efforts instead of being discouraged. Thus for 
 instance when brother Bernard of Japan was sent 
 to Europe by St. Francis Xavier, as he was a 
 novice both in the faith and in the Society, he 
 refused to give him any difficult duties to per- 
 form, though he earnestly entreated for them, 
 except upon condition, that he would inform 
 him of it directly he experienced any weariness 
 or disgust of mind. So also in the administra- 
 tion of punishment he paid great attention to 
 the disposition of his subjects. Very often his 
 only correction to the gentle was that which 
 Christ gave to St. Peter, one look of reproach : 
 and very often his words were rather expres- 
 sions of praise than admonitions. Thus to a cer- 
 tain novice who made too free a use of his eyes, 
 he said, "Brother Giovan Domenico, why do you 
 not join modesty of looks with that modesty 
 which God has given to your soul ?" On the 
 other hand he imposed a very severe penance 
 upon Olivier Manareo, for a very slight fault of 
 the same kind, because he was a man who had 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 291 
 
 grown old in religion and of distinguishing virtue. 
 He acted in the same manner in refusing the re- 
 quests of his subjects. When Nicholas Bobadig- 
 lia, one of the nine original Fathers, who had 
 begged to exchange his cell for one of larger 
 dimensions, fearing lest such an example might 
 lead others to fly from the trials of poverty, he 
 answered that he must remain where he was, and 
 also make room for two others whom he intended 
 to lodge there, and Bobadiglia at once yielded a 
 willing obedience. But to others whose virtue 
 had not struck such deep roots he gave so sweet 
 a refusal, and showed them so convincingly and 
 gently why he must refuse them, that they went 
 away more content than if they had obtained 
 their request. The novices, especially at their 
 first entrance into the Society, he treated as 
 tender plants, and exacted little from them. A 
 certain youth entered the Society who had 
 when in the world been rich and well off, and 
 he brought with him a very valuable crucifix with 
 the Madonna standing at the foot of the cross. 
 The Saint perceiving that the novice prized this 
 crucifix both as a work of art and from devotional 
 motives, left him in possession of it without show- 
 ing him that such a precious object was incon- 
 gruous with his religious poverty ; but very soon 
 he made such advances in perfection, and espe- 
 cially in mortification and contempt of self, that 
 he surpassed not only his equals but some of his 
 elders in religion. Then the Saint said, " Now 
 that this young man has got the crucifix in his 
 heart, it is time to take it out of his hands." 
 
292 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 And he accordingly took it from him, whilst 
 the youth felt pleasure rather than regret in 
 losing it. In like manner when men who were 
 illustrious either for station, birth, or learning 
 joined the Society, he used to treat them with 
 great respect, and call them by the titles they 
 had borne in the world, till he was satisfied of 
 their growth in virtue, or till they begged them- 
 selves from feelings of shame to be treated like 
 the rest. But so soon as he perceived that they 
 were able to bear it, he used to subject them to 
 the same humiliations as the others, and this 
 he did for many reasons; first, in order that 
 they might understand, that virtue is the only 
 thing of any real value in the Lord's house, and 
 that worldly greatness is a thing of nought ; and 
 secondly, because the good or bad conduct of 
 these distinguished men brings either great bene- 
 fit or great scandal upon religion ; and, lastly, 
 because should it be necessary to dismiss them 
 from the Society it would be attended with 
 many evil consequences, and on this account it 
 is most needful to use the greatest caution in 
 admitting them, and to be especially careful in 
 training them. Amongst those whom the Saint 
 disciplined in a particular manner by these trials 
 was Gasparo Loarte, a celebrated Spanish divine, 
 and one of the many who were brought into 
 the Society through the instrumentality of the 
 holy Giovanni d' Avila. When he thought the 
 time had arrived for trying the experiment he 
 desired Luigi Gonzales, the steward of the house, 
 to treat him with great severity, and to observe 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 293 
 
 how ho bore this treatment. Meanwhile Igna- 
 tius himself behaved towards him with the 
 greatest kindness, as if he knew nothing of the 
 matter. This was a skilful mode of proceeding 
 calculated to prevent the person under trial from 
 giving way to despair. One of the two superiors 
 in every house was directed to show kindness 
 whilst the other affected severity, whilst his only 
 motive in these observations of men's conduct 
 and in administering correction, was a zeal for 
 their private or for the public good. This system 
 of opposite treatment had the best effect upon 
 Loarte. And one day when Luigi Gonzales 
 asked him what he thought of Ignatius, he re- 
 plied that he was a fountain of oil ; and then, 
 upon his adding, "And what do you think of 
 me;" he answered, " You are like a fountain of 
 vinegar." Ignatius was highly pleased with this 
 answer, but at the same time desired that for 
 the future he should abate somewhat from his 
 severity. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 HIS METHOD OF GIVING SPIRITUAL HELP TO HIS 
 SUBJECTS. 
 
 The holy father used to give spiritual succour 
 to his children in such modes as were suggested 
 to him by his own charity and spiritual expe- 
 rience. First, with regard to those who were 
 urged by the devil to forsake the service of God 
 
294 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 and return to the world. For one of these men 
 he fasted for three entire days praying and la- 
 menting unceasingly in the sight of God. With 
 another he stayed nearly the whole night, reason- 
 ing with him and persuading him, alternately 
 working upon his fears and comforting him, till 
 he broke out into cries of fear and tears of contri- 
 tion. In like manner he broke through the hard 
 heart of another who threw himself at the Saint's 
 feet, imploring him not to dismiss him, and sub- 
 mitting himself to any penance he might impose. 
 But Ignatius embraced him, and said, " Your pen- 
 ance shall be that you never again repent of serv- 
 ing God, and I will pay your debt by my pains 
 in the stomach whenever I am afflicted by 
 them." When he thought that this disincli- 
 nation for religion and the service of God origi- 
 nated in some grave fault which was concealed 
 in the heart, he exhorted them to a sincere 
 confession. With those who were stubborn he 
 had recourse to an expedient he had before tried, 
 which was to confess to them the greatest sin 
 of his past life, which he did with a contrition 
 so great, that the hearing him moved the affec- 
 tions of these unfortunate men with reciprocal 
 grief. Thus did he win them over, and then he 
 immediately sent them to confession, often making 
 the confessor rise to hear them in the middle of 
 the night. Strange to say they were set free at 
 the same time from the sin and from the temp- 
 tation. In the following remarkable case God 
 endued the word of St. Ignatius with a super- 
 natural power. Pietro Ribadeneira, whom I 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 295 
 
 have so frequently made mention of, and who 
 illustrated the Society both by piety and by 
 his excellent writings, was once upon the point 
 of forsaking it. The devil began his snares 
 by filling his mind with a strange aver- 
 sion to Ignatius, so that when he first began 
 to live with him in a familiar way he could not 
 bear even to look at him. These rancorous 
 feelings went on increasing from day to day, so 
 that at last he proposed to himself to return 
 into the world. Some of the elder fathers had 
 used their influence with Ignatius to have him 
 rejected, because of the puerile frivolities which 
 he sometimes indulged in, and since the Saint 
 had not hearkened to their counsels, they now 
 regarded it as providential that he proposed going 
 of his own accord. But the holy Father whose 
 sagacity had discovered in the deluded youth 
 those high qualities which he afterwards evinced, 
 was greatly afflicted at this resolve ; and since 
 the youth was not to be moved by any reasoning 
 or persuasion, he had recourse to God, and beg- 
 ged that he might have him as a gift. He was 
 assured that he should have him. Accordingly 
 he sent for the youth, and by only speaking 
 a few words so pierced his heart, that he burst 
 into tears, and exclaimed, " I will do it, Father, 
 I will do it ! " meaning that he would go through 
 the Spiritual Exercises, which up to that mo- 
 ment he had refused. Ribadeneira himself says, 
 "I felt my heart so powerfully moved, that it 
 seemed impossible for me to refuse him." No 
 sooner had he be^un the Exercises, than he 
 
296 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 expressed his desire of making a general con- 
 fession and unburdening his mind. The Saint 
 heard his confession and dismissed him with 
 these words, "I implore you, Peter, not to be 
 ungrateful to God who has given you so many 
 gifts and graces." "After this," Ribadeneira 
 continues, "the darkness was dissipated from 
 my mind, and my heart was so entirely changed, 
 that during the fifty-two years which have elapsed 
 since then, never has the slightest thought of 
 quitting the Society entered my mind." 
 
 In a similar way he worked a change in 
 another novice who meditated a return to the 
 world. This man's name was Balduino ab An- 
 gelo, and the temptation which the devil made 
 use of to seduce him was his affection for his ne- 
 phew. Ignatius was informed of this, and having 
 first recommended the matter to God in prayer, 
 he suddenly sent to call him ; he caused him 
 to sit down, and kindly addressing him he said, 
 "When I first gave myself up to the service of 
 God, I had to sustain a violent assault from the 
 devil, which God taught me how to overcome. 
 Amongst the pictures in my book of the little 
 office of the Blessed Virgin, which I was in the 
 habit of saying every day, was one which bore 
 a close resemblance to a female relation of mine ; 
 and whenever my eye fell upon it, it moved 
 worldly thoughts in my heart and tender feel- 
 ings towards my relatives and home. At first I 
 thought of leaving off the devotion, but on more 
 mature consideration, I remembered that the 
 devil would be a great gainer by my losing the 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 297 
 
 merit of this good work. As the temptation was 
 a childish one, I could not show my contempt 
 for it better than by pasting a piece of blank 
 paper over the picture, for my thoughts were 
 led astray by my eye." After having thus spo- 
 ken he got up without saying another word, and 
 as his custom was on such occasions, he gave 
 him a tender embrace and dismissed him. The 
 rest I will relate in the words of Balduino who 
 has deposed to the story upon oath. " Suddenly 
 I felt the tears spring from my eyes, and such 
 spiritual sweetness and divine affections flowed 
 into my heart, that all my love for my ref- 
 lations was directed towards God ; and ever af- 
 terwards my nephew was no more to me than 
 if he had been an unknown stranger." A Ger- 
 man novice who was firmly resolved upon quit- 
 ting the Society, was retained by his saintly 
 wisdom. When he perceived that sound reason 
 had no more effect upon him than if he were 
 a madman, he affected to yield as if he were 
 overcome, leaving it to him either to go away 
 or stay. He only begged him to remain only 
 four days more, without his being bound to 
 obey any rule, but with full permission to eat, 
 sleep, or talk whenever and as much soever as 
 he pleased. The novice with more thought ac- 
 cepted these easy conditions. But as Ignatius 
 had foreseen, contrary to all his expectations, 
 this taste of worldly liberty made him detest 
 it, and confirmed him in his religious vocation. 
 First, it had the effect of opening his heart, and 
 relieving him of the load of melancholy which 
 
2 ( J8 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 was occasioned by the thought that he was 
 chained up in prison for the rest of his life. 
 Having indulged his caprices for a couple of 
 days he retired in the evening to his cell, and 
 found his mind oppressed with that feeling of dis- 
 gust which is the inseparable companion of an 
 irregular life. Salutary thoughts then followed, 
 so that at the end of the fourth day he threw 
 himself at the feet of Ignatius confessing his 
 folly and beseeching him in spite of his unwor- 
 thiness to admit him once more in the number 
 of his children. The same wonderful foresight 
 was manifested in the case of a Flemish priest 
 named Andrea. When he was resolved upon 
 going, Ignatius begged that he would at least 
 return into Flanders by way of Loreto, and that 
 he would within those sacred walls consider 
 with himself for a time upon all that God had 
 done for him, and upon what he was himself 
 about to do ; he told him that when the sacred- 
 ness of the place had brought him to a better 
 mind he would return to his embrace, which 
 would be all the more affectionate, as he should 
 look upon him as a son that was dead but had 
 come again to life, was lost but now was found. 
 For his journey he gave him only three pauls, 
 and when some of the brethren begged that 
 he would give him some better provision for so 
 long a journey, he made this memorable answer, 
 "It is not well to encourage temptations in one 
 for whose return we look," and reminding him 
 of all his wants on the journey from Rome to 
 Flanders. 
 
- 
 
 His method of treating a young novice from 
 Siena who had joined the Society about four 
 months, is also most instructive. The novice 
 -ent to beg alms in the streets of Rome, 
 and met with one of his relations, who supposing 
 that his family was brought to shame by an act 
 which was done for the honour of God, reproach- 
 ed him with indignation, begging him to forsake 
 a mode of life which did not become a man of 
 gentle birth, offering at the same time to procure 
 him some benefice, so that he might be able to 
 Goi without bringing disgrace upon his 
 famil y. The weak virtue of the novice could 
 not resist this flattering appeal. He returned 
 to the house discontented, and after brooding 
 the matter in his though! me time, 
 
 he came to a sudden determination of quitting 
 a state of life in which he could not find any 
 peace. When the Saint was informed of this 
 he pei at once that an evil of this nature 
 
 was not to be cured by common remedies, and 
 he adopted others adapted to the nature of the 
 case. We never suffered him to be left alone ; 
 and as people are generally attacked by melan- 
 choly and strange fancies during the night, he 
 gave him a companion in his cell, making him 
 promise to wake him up as often as he should 
 awaken himself, and chase away his own thoughts 
 bv conversing with him. When he still contin- 
 ued in the same resolve, he made him promise 
 that he would postpone his departure for a fort- 
 night, during which time he was to be released 
 from all observance of the rule, and when alter 
 
300 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 this he was still fixed in his resolution, Ignatius 
 assembled all the Fathers of the house, and 
 made him give an account of his temptations to 
 the assembly, and tell them why it was that he 
 wished to abandon the Lord's house, and that 
 he should there listen to what they advised. 
 He thought that the public recital of his evil 
 thoughts might make him see more truly, or 
 that God, in reward for this act of humiliation, 
 might put words into the mouth of some of the 
 Fathers which might win him over. The young 
 man was recovered by this wise treatment, but 
 the cure was not permanent, to his greater con- 
 demnation. 
 
 The labours of the Saint to preserve Lorenzo 
 Mazzi were less toilsome and more successful. 
 This was a youth of noble family from Brescia, 
 whose early years had given promise of his future 
 greatness. During his noviciate he was nearly 
 yielding to the temptations by which he was 
 assailed to quit the Society, but being a youth 
 of innocent mind he revealed these temptations 
 to Ignatius. Without speaking much on the 
 subject the Saint answered, that if their man- 
 ner of life was too severe for him, he was far from 
 opposing his departure, only he added, "I desire 
 that when you first awake this night, at what- 
 ever hour it may be, you lay yourself out upon 
 your bed as if you were in your last agony, and 
 imagine as far as it is possible to do so, that you 
 have only a quarter of an hour more to live be- 
 fore you shall quit this world and appear in the 
 presence of your Judge ; then ask yourself, ' What 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 301 
 
 life should I now wish to have passed, a secular 
 or a religious one V then when you have heard 
 the answer of your soul, say to yourself, 'Must 
 not I sooner or later come to this pass V " The 
 young man consented, and honourably fulfilled 
 what he had undertaken. By this means he 
 was not only confirmed in his vocation, but would 
 have besought the Saint earnestly to help him 
 even if he had none. I will now only add an 
 example of his prudent caution, by which he 
 saved another novice from this dangerous temp- 
 tation. A wall was being built on the side of the 
 public way to inclose the house upon that side, 
 and the Saint gave directions that the novices 
 should assist in this humble labour. Amongst the 
 number was a young man of noble birth and very 
 well known in Rome, who although in truth the 
 city would have been greatly edified by such a 
 sight, and he would have gained great honour 
 by it, yet being overcome with shame, he kept 
 as far away as he could, and turned his back 
 upon the passers-by. Ignatius came to visit the 
 spot, thinking far more of the labourers than of 
 the work, and perceiving a novice standing apart, 
 and recognizing him as well as the danger of his 
 situation, he called the superintendent whom he 
 had ordered to employ the novices on this work, 
 and said to him, "Do you not perceive, my 
 brother, that that novice who is standing at a 
 distance is tempted by shame?" The superin- 
 tendent excused himself by saying, that he had 
 been ordered to employ all the novices upon the 
 work ; to which the Saint replied, " What ! 
 
302 ST. IGNATIUS, 
 
 when I give you an order, do I deprive you of 
 your charity and discretion ?" Then a little while 
 after he advanced to the novice as if he had not 
 observed him before, and pretending to remark his 
 delicate looks, he said to him with a sweet voice, 
 "What ! are you engaged on this work also ? Go 
 back to the house and do not come here any more; 
 this is not an employment for you." The young 
 man afterwards acknowledged that the Saint had 
 drawn him from the brink of a precipice, for that 
 he had already begun to think of abandoning a 
 religious life. 
 
 Thus it was that the holy father charitably 
 aided his children to persevere in their vocation, 
 and he was equally diligent in assisting them to 
 advance towards perfection. If he found that 
 any one was remiss in his efforts, he used con- 
 tinually to meet them with his exhortations, and 
 gave them spiritual exercises, penances, or other 
 remedies as he saw best adapted to the case. 
 When any particular branch of study was hurtful 
 to a man, either because it was fruitless, or 
 encouraged him in strange opinions, whatever 
 the talents of the student might be, he put a 
 stop to it ; for he used to say that it was not 
 enough a man was well adapted for letters, if 
 letters were not well adapted for him. If any 
 were careless in their personal deportment he 
 used to make them publicly declare the rules 
 of modesty, and make a public exhortation upon 
 that subject, in order that they might learn 
 themselves whilst they taught others, and be 
 stimulated to observe the rule by inciting others 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 303 
 
 to its observance. If any one came out of the 
 world with some bad habit upon him he used 
 to commit him to the censorship of some wise 
 and spiritual man, who was to write down his 
 faults for him every evening with fidelity, that 
 he might ponder them at leisure and study to 
 correct them. It is true that in the time of 
 Ignatius it was the general custom for all mu- 
 tually to tell each other of their failings; for 
 it was their practice to assembly every Friday 
 to hear their faults told them by four of the 
 number deputed for that purpose. At the Ro- 
 man College Martino Olave, since he was placed 
 in authority over the rest, was the first to 
 submit to this humiliation, and every evening 
 he made some of his companions tell him how 
 often he had fallen into a certain fault which 
 he was endeavouring to overcome, and he used 
 to compare the account of one day with another 
 that his advantages or failures might encourage 
 him to renew his struggle. Sometimes one who 
 was placed in high authority submitted himself 
 to public examination. Thus Girolamo Natale 
 has left us an account how his conduct and 
 administration were submitted to the judgment 
 of forty of the fathers, and of his having re- 
 ceived a severe rebuke from St. Ignatius for being 
 too hard and severe with his subjects. As some 
 of the members of the Society were destined by 
 the Pope for foreign missions, or important char- 
 ges and trusts, the Saint manifested the most 
 wonderful skill in preparing them for their va- 
 rious duties. In our archives at Rome there 
 
304 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 are certain records entitled, " The Viaticum of 
 the Blessed Father Ignatius, containing five 
 things to be kept in mind by those who go to 
 foreign countries, from the MS. of the Rev. 
 Father Canisius." 1. "Remember, my brother, 
 that you are sent by Christ on a pilgrimage, that 
 you are his steward, and a labourer in his vine- 
 yard. 2. Take care of yourself, and be always 
 on your guard, because you are surrounded by 
 dangers and enemies. 3. Especially refrain your 
 senses, and above all your eyes. 4. Be the same 
 at all times, and keep an equal mind amidst 
 prosperous and adverse circumstances, and do 
 not be disturbed by joy or sorrow. 5. Never 
 let your soul starve for lack of holy thoughts, 
 but lift it up to God, when you are journeying 
 and when you are transacting business: at your 
 meals especially, and in conversation, try to keep 
 a quiet mind and a collected spirit, so that you 
 may never lose a right intention or a wise fore- 
 sight in your labours." 
 
 He had given other general instructions which 
 are placed at the beginning of the Spiritual Ex- 
 ercises, and translated into Latin elegiacs, either 
 by Father Andrea Frusio or F. Pietro Cardulo. 
 I will here give them in prose. 
 
 "Do not argue with any one, however much 
 your inferior ; and although you are in the right, 
 prefer to appear vanquished rather than victor. 
 Try to obey blindly in all things, and willingly 
 submit your own judgment, however superior it 
 may be. 
 
 " Do not remark the faults of others, and cover 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 305 
 
 them when they are seen : search into your own 
 and be glad when they are made manifest. 
 Whatever you do, say, or think, consider in the 
 first place whether it be for your neighbour's good 
 and pleasing in God's sight. 
 
 "Preserve always your liberty of mind, and 
 see that you do not lose it by the authority of 
 any person, or the power of any accident. Do 
 not lightly bind yourself in friendship with any 
 man whatever ; let the judgment and reason first 
 try the person. 
 
 "Always exercise the mind or the body in 
 good actions. Be a fool in the opinion of men, 
 and so will you be wise before God. Keep these 
 things in your mind day and night; and when 
 you go to bed, arm yourself by prayer." 
 
 In Bartoli's history some short rules are given 
 which the holy Father sent to a new society as 
 a supplement to the Constitutions, the formation 
 of which is a work so laborious, so deeply consid- 
 ed, and so matured by experience, that it was 
 the fruit of many years. 
 
 I. Whether you be alone or in public, look 
 upon yourself as always in God's presence. Love 
 Him alone, think of Him alone, talk to Him alone. 
 Let His holy will originate and guide all your 
 actions. Neither seek or accept any reward for 
 your labours, content with pleasing Him and 
 glorifying Him. Let the life of Christ be the 
 model by which each endeavours to form his 
 own. 
 
 II. See God in your superiors : so shall you 
 learn to revere their will and follow their com- 
 
 20 
 
306 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 raands. Be well assured that obedience is the 
 safest guide and most faithful interpreter of 
 the divine will. Pour out your hearts as freely 
 as water to them, or to whomsoever it be that 
 has the direction of your souls. Keep back 
 nothing, lest the devil who works in secret over- 
 come you by his art. Above all, do not be 
 your own master, relying on your own prudence, 
 contrary to the caution of the wise man. 
 
 III. When you converse with sinners to draw 
 them out of perdition, behave as a man who 
 throws himself into the water to save another 
 from drowning, taking care lest you yourself 
 perish whilst you hold out your hand to another. 
 Love each other in the Lord, as brethren, and 
 preserve this mutual charity with all your 
 strength. To this end let all abstain from ob- 
 stinate disputes, and where there is a difference 
 of opinion, bring forward your reasons humbly 
 from a desire to make known the truth, and not 
 from a desire to overcome. 
 
 IV. Keep silence, except when your own wants 
 or those of another require speech, and when 
 you converse let no word of pride, or of worldly 
 novelty, or of fault-finding, mockery, or jesting 
 enter into your discourse. 
 
 V. Although God has counted you worthy 
 to be His servant, still do not lose your low 
 esteem of yourself, and do not usurp that glory 
 which, as Isaias says, does not belong to the axe, 
 but to him who handles it. Do not boast of 
 your intellect, or eloquence, or skill in affairs, 
 and rejoice when the world pays your services, 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 307 
 
 as it paid the deeds of Christ, with shame and 
 contempt. 
 
 VI. When you have committed a public fault 
 which has brought upon you shame and reproof, 
 do not be cast down ; but praise God, who by 
 permitting such an error has exposed your in- 
 ward misery and the weakness of your virtue. 
 Let the faults of your companion move you to 
 greater watchfulness, and pray to God for the 
 amendment of those who are to blame. 
 
 VII. In the time given to recreation be care- 
 ful, as the Apostle says, that modesty appear 
 in every word and act, and avoid the two ex- 
 tremes of immoderate mirth and excess of gravity. 
 
 VIII. Do not exchange an opportunity of 
 present good for an uncertain hope of future 
 good. Know that it is a subtle malice of the 
 devil to give a desire for great things which will 
 never come to pass, in order that we may for- 
 bear to do what we have in hand. 
 
 IX. Lastly, let each persevere in their own 
 vocation ; for the devil is wont to put desires 
 of solitude into the hearts of those who labour 
 for the good of their neighbour, and the wish 
 to be missonaries into the hearts of such as live 
 in solitude, in order that he may lead both astray 
 from the path assigned by God. 
 
 To kindle this desire of Christian perfection 
 in the hearts of his children, he also wrote many 
 letters which lit up the fire of divine love wher- 
 ever they were sent. Father Martin of Santa 
 Croce, writing to a friend at Rome, speaks in 
 the following terms of one of these letters which 
 
308 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 he had sent to the College of Coimbra : "I have 
 received a long-expected and desired letter from 
 Father Ignatius. Besides the consolation it has 
 brought to all, it is impossible either to explain 
 or believe how powerfully it has stimulated every 
 one to apply themselves more intently to the 
 study of letters and of Christian perfection. The 
 reading it over once was not sufficient, but many 
 begged that it might be publicly read every week ; 
 and many also have copied it out that they may 
 keep it always before their eyes. And with good 
 reason, for it levels all those difficulties which 
 obstruct men in the path of virtue, and is full 
 of encouragement and comfort." The same sen- 
 timents are expressed with regard to another let- 
 ter by Father Luigi of Mendoza. But the most 
 excellent and astonishing of all was the letter 
 which he wrote to the Province of Portugal in the 
 year 1553, upon the virtue of obedience, and I be- 
 lieve that this subject has never been treated by 
 any other man with the same fulness, clearness, 
 and order. On this account St. Francis Borgia, 
 having a pastoral letter to write, could not add 
 anything to this letter of the holy general, for 
 he said that since we are called the sons of 
 perfect obedience we need nothing more than to 
 put this teaching into execution. 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 309 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 HIS CHARITY TO HIS CHILDREN IN TEMPORAL THINGS. 
 
 Having spoken of the paternal care of Ignatius 
 for the souls of his subjects, I must now speak 
 of his attention to their corporal wants, and the 
 waj in which he assisted them in all their 
 labours and troubles. He gave orders that if 
 any were sick he should be immediately informed 
 of it, and he generally inquired after them every 
 day. The infirmarian always came with the 
 other officers of the house to give his report 
 every evening after supper. 
 
 He gave command that whatever the doctor 
 ordered should be exactly attended to, and the 
 steward went twice every day to receive his di- 
 rections, and any who failed in this duty were 
 severely punished. One night having inquired 
 of the infirmarian if he had provided everything 
 which the doctor had ordered, and the man 
 having humbly confessed that certain things had 
 not been procured for a sick man according to 
 order, he sent him out to search for them with 
 two companions, forbidding his return till he 
 had found them. The articles required were 
 some soft and delicate skins to wrap round the 
 loins, which it was not difficult to procure. 
 Another time the infirmarian and the steward 
 having forgotten to send for the doctor in good 
 time for a sick man, he sent them out at mid- 
 
310 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 night, saying that they should not enter the 
 house again till they brought him with them. 
 And since this was not possible at that hour, 
 they were obliged to seek refuge in a hospital 
 till the morning. Two novices, one of them a 
 Frenchman named Gulielmo, the other a Span- 
 iard named Alfonso, fell sick immediately after 
 their entrance into the house, which having at 
 that time more than seventy occupants, was 
 so full that all the rooms were crowded, and 
 the Society was also so poor that they had 
 barely sufficient for their support. Some thought 
 that the novices ought to be sent to the public 
 hospital, the more so, as they had never dwelt 
 with the rest in the house. But the Saint re- 
 plied, " By no means, by no means ; can we not 
 find room in God's house for men who have 
 quitted the world for his sake? Let them re- 
 main in the house and be provided with all that 
 they need." Both were unprovided with letters, 
 and Alfonso had only a short time before been 
 confined in a hospital by sickness, and the other 
 had begged to wait upon him, and this was well 
 known to Ignatius. On another occasion one 
 of the assistant brethren was sick, and required 
 some delicate food. The steward found that he 
 had only three pauls in his possession to provide 
 for the whole house, and informed the Saint 
 of it. "Spend them," he answered, "for the 
 sick man, bread is sufficient for us who are 
 well. Another time when they were in want 
 of money, he had the pewter plates, and dishes, 
 and bed-coverings sold. To one who was op- 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 311 
 
 pressed by melancholy under his illness he sent 
 some of the novices who were skilled in music 
 to refresh his mind by their songs. Besides 
 showing these marks of attention to the sick, 
 he used himself to visit them from time to time, 
 and greatly consoled them by his sweet and 
 divine discourse. If the malady increased, or 
 if blood was to be drawn, he used to assist 
 himself, fearing lest the bandages might become 
 loosened, or some dangerous accident occur. 
 Ribadeneira relates that one night when he was 
 bled, Ignatius stayed all the night to watch 
 him, and not content with this, examined his 
 arm two or three different times, to see that 
 the bandages remained firm. The general of 
 the Society used himself to arrange the beds, 
 shake the mattresses and coverings, and take 
 part in all the service of the house, however low 
 or dirty. "I have myself seen him," says Ri- 
 badeneira, "cleanse the beds of the sick from 
 vermin and kill them, that he might relieve 
 the sufferers from this plague." When from 
 extreme weakness he was forced to yield to the 
 entreaties of his children, and withdraw from the 
 cares of his government till his recovery, he used 
 still to retain his superintendence of the sick. He 
 used to say that God's providence had made him 
 weak and of feeble health that he might be taught 
 by his own experience to compassionate the sick. 
 He gave directions that no burden should be 
 imposed upon the newly-recovered without his 
 own permission. Moreover, though they were 
 dismissed from the infirmary, he directed that 
 
312 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 their meals shoud be provided by the infirmarian, 
 and not by the cook, and that they should re- 
 main under the care of the physician till their 
 health and strength were quite established. 
 
 To the sick who were at a distance from him 
 he used to write consolatory letters. Alfonso 
 Salmerone, who had fallen ill from over-exerting 
 himself at Padua, received a letter of this sort, 
 and in his answer he says, "The letter of your 
 Reverence has made me to understand what are 
 your feelings towards me under my infirmity. I 
 perceive the yearnings of your affection, and the 
 paternal love which is written on your heart ; and 
 I doubt not that your prayers have obtained for 
 me from heaven that which neither the skill of 
 the physician or the power of medicine could 
 effect. God, who is rich in mercy towards His 
 poor servants, has given me strength to respond 
 to the love with which your Reverence is wont, 
 as a true father, to give comfort to all." In a 
 small chapel at Rome, which formerly was the 
 chamber in which the Saint died, may be seen a 
 letter in Italian hung on the wall written in his 
 own hand, which testifies his diligent care for 
 those at a distance who were in sickness. 
 
 Such was the loving care of our father for his 
 children in time of illness, and he was no less 
 careful to remove all occasions of sickness. It 
 happened that Girolamo Otteili, who was then a 
 preacher in Rome, entirely lost his health through 
 the greatness of his labours, and Ignatius took 
 such measures for his recovery with the utmost 
 care, so that by his exertions this eloquent and 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 313 
 
 apostolic man was enabled for many years after 
 to continue his labours, to the great advantage 
 of both Italy and Sicily. Again, upon meeting 
 a novice who looked unusually pale, he immedi- 
 ately ordered that he should take a longer time 
 for sleep. When he found that a number of the 
 young students lost their lives or impaired their 
 health by excessive application, he caused a 
 house to be built in a vineyard within the city 
 walls, in which they might live for a certain time 
 for the establishment of their health. When it 
 was objected by some that they were hardly able 
 to support life and could not undertake to build, 
 he answered, "I set more store by the health of 
 a brother than on all the treasures of the world ;" 
 nor was any one able to make him give way in 
 this resolution. It was his desire that his children, 
 and especially the weak, should forego, or at all 
 events moderate their penitential practices, lest 
 the body should receive injury, and prevent the 
 spirit also from doing such good service to God. 
 At the approach of Lent he sent for the physician, 
 and each was summoned before him in the pre- 
 sence of Ignatius to examine if they were able 
 to fast, and what was adapted to their strength, 
 and he implored the doctor to forbid those to 
 fast whom he thought in his maternal affection 
 were too weak to do so, or those who could not 
 do it without great difficulty : nor did he leave 
 the matter entirely to the care of the minister, 
 because he had not full confidence in his compas- 
 sion. This account has been left in writing by the 
 minister himself, Luigi Gonzales. When he heard 
 
314 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 that in the Jesuits' house in Sicily the young men 
 were to live by the same rule as the rest during 
 Lent, he sent a severe reprimand to the superi- 
 ors. In the year 1545, Pietro Ribadeneira was 
 forbidden to fast by the physician, and when he 
 spoke to the holy father of it, doubting lest this 
 permission might give offence to his companions, 
 the Saint replied, "Who ought to be offended? 
 ought they not rather to give God thanks that 
 they are not under the same necessity?" In the 
 year 1546, having heard that some persons had 
 blamed him on this account, he threatened to 
 dismiss from the Society any one who opened 
 their mouth to blame a permission so justly given 
 and so necessary, and these threats were read 
 publicly in the refectory at Toledo, as Riba- 
 deneira himself affirms. 
 
 It is true that although he was so tender in 
 his treatment of the sick and weakly, he would 
 not have them tender of themselves, or querulous 
 or discontended with the care which was taken 
 of them, but patient and tractable, and resigned 
 to the hand of God and of their superiors. 
 When any one failed in these duties, he gently 
 admonished him whilst the sickness remained, 
 or else passed over the fault in silence, and ad- 
 ministered the chastisement afterwards. The 
 punishment imposed on Silvestro Landini, a 
 priest of Margrado in Lunigiana, is well 
 worth relating. During his noviciate Landini 
 fell into a long but not a dangerous illness, 
 during which he was treated with all custo- 
 mary kindness and attention by the holy fa- 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 6 15 
 
 ther. Nevertheless, Landini, who had little cou- 
 rage, bore his pains very ill, was disagreeable, 
 and full of anger and complaints, and what- 
 ever was to be done for him he would have 
 done after his own fashion, which was a thing 
 unheard-of in the school of St. Ignatius. Still 
 the Saint overlooked all this ill conduct until 
 his health was sufficiently established for him to 
 undertake a journey. He then sent for him and 
 desired him to return to Margrado into his own 
 country ; and there was so much ambiguity in 
 the expression of his countenance and his words, 
 that he was full of doubt and confusion whether 
 he was sent away for change of air or for another 
 reason. Landini had so great a love for the 
 Saint and for the Society that he could not 
 have received a more severe or efficacious pen- 
 ance. To this affection the Saint looked, and 
 his intentions were wonderfully fulfilled. At 
 first this bitter separation drew tears from his 
 eyes, and these new feelings and resolutions 
 were wrought within him by the divine grace, 
 so that he became quite a different man. He 
 devoted his life to austerities and to apostolic 
 labours, which were at the same time toilsome 
 and fruitful in good. Both on his journey and du- 
 ring his stay at Margrado and in the neighbour- 
 ing countries, he lit up the flames of divine love 
 by his teaching and example ; he put an end 
 to evil customs, and substituted more Christian 
 ones in their stead, and he waged war against 
 the heretics, who at that time were creeping like 
 serpents in various parts of Italy. All this did 
 
316 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 not move the resolution of the holy father, who 
 perceived the good effect of the treatment, and 
 was unwilling to discontinue it till it had es- 
 tablished him more firmly and produced still 
 greater good. Landini wrote nine letters to 
 him, humbly showing his repentance and implo- 
 ring pardon, but without extracting a syllable 
 from him in reply. But in the meantime by 
 the directions of the Saint some of the other 
 fathers wrote to encourage him and sustain his 
 hopes ; and at last one of them recommended 
 him to engage Father Pietro Codacio to inter- 
 cede in his behalf, because he was very dear 
 to Ignatius, and he would not refuse him any 
 favour. This expectation was not deceived, for 
 the Saint sent him a kind letter, assuring him 
 that he still continued to be a member of the 
 Society. No sooner did Landini see this letter 
 of the holy father, than he threw himself on his 
 knees in tears to read it, kissing again and 
 again the holy signature ; and as he had before 
 offered many sacrifices to God to obtain this fa- 
 vour, so did he now offer many sacrifices of 
 thanksgiving. It would fill a great volume, says 
 Orlandini, to give an account of the virtues of 
 his life after this time, and his labours for the 
 good of souls in Spoleto, Modena, Ferrara, Bo- 
 logna, Florence and Lucca, and above all in 
 the island of Corsica, where he was employ- 
 ed during the last seven years of his life. God 
 illustrated him during his life with the gift 
 of prophecy and of miracles, and he was hon- 
 oured by the Corsicans after his death, as is 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 317 
 
 customary with the most distinguished of God's 
 servants. I will only add on this subject, that 
 whenever the Saint met with any one who 
 abused their natural strength, who was sour 
 tempered, unwilling to obey, little given to spi- 
 ritual things and to mortification, he used with 
 prudent severity to impose upon him labours 
 which might bring his soul into a state of 
 health. If the patient fell ill it gave him little 
 concern, because the malady of the body tended 
 to his spiritual advantage. 
 
 The paternal love of Ignatius extended in like 
 manner to the other temporal wants of his chil- 
 dren. He anticipated their wants and prevented 
 their requests, and made a note of each partic- 
 ular, that it might not escape his memory; and 
 when he was obliged by important business to 
 commit anything to the ministration of others, 
 he himself declared their wants, so that they 
 might be properly provided for. Whatever 
 labours, persecution, poverty, or fatigue his 
 subjects were exposed to, he felt it more than 
 if he had to bear it himself, whilst he offered 
 continual prayers for them and poured out his 
 tears for them in the sight of God. 
 
 He was especially moved on account of some 
 who suffered a great deal in France in the year 
 1555, and were threatened by a powerful faction 
 of ecclesiastics ; and such courage did his let- 
 ters afford them, that they declared themselves 
 willing to suffer death rather than withdraw 
 from their labours for the good of souls which 
 brought these persecutions upon them. When- 
 
318 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 ever his ingenuity and his affection prompted 
 any means of succour, he attempted it at once. 
 It happened that Giovanni Guttano, a French- 
 man who was famous both for his learning and 
 his virtues, on his return from Candia, where he 
 had been reading philosophy, was wrecked in 
 a violent storm off the coast of Sicily, and fell 
 into the hands of the Saracens, who carried him 
 into Africa as a slave. The holy father was 
 overcome by this sad intelligence, and wrote the 
 most pressing letter to the Viceroy of Sicily, who 
 was very friendly to him, and he commanded all 
 the fathers within that kingdom to spare neither 
 labour or expense for his ransom. He also 
 laid an obedience on the rectors of the colleges 
 at Messina and Palermo, to write to him every 
 week, telling him what they had done. But be- 
 fore he could succeed in freeing Guttano from 
 his captivity, it pleased God to liberate his soul 
 from its mortal prison-house. 
 
 He was even urged by his charity to ask a mi- 
 racle from God on behalf of one of his children. 
 A brother of distinguished humility and morti- 
 fication, named John Baptist, used to serve in 
 the kitchen. The sight of the fire, which was 
 always before him, used often to make him me- 
 ditate upon the eternal fire of hell, and the 
 dreadful nature of mortal sin, which merited so 
 horrible a punishment, and one day he was so 
 overcome with the recollection of the sins which 
 he had committed during his worldly life, that 
 in the excess of his feeling he thrust his hand 
 into the flames, so that it was shockingly burnt. 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 319 
 
 The stench which proceeded from the burnt flesh 
 brought the house steward into the kitchen, and 
 upon his asking the meaning of such a smell, 
 John Baptist threw himself on his knees before 
 him in an agony of pain, and showing his burnt 
 hand implored his pardon. The news quickly 
 spread through the house, and the Saint hastened 
 to the spot. Many said that a man who had 
 incapacitated himself from all service by such 
 an act of madness ought to be dismissed from 
 the Society. But the Saint, who thought more 
 of the motive than the act, was moved to pity 
 instead of anger, and during the night he prayed 
 to God for him. In the morning his hand was 
 entirely healed. This miracle was publicly nar- 
 rated by the Cardinal del Monte before Gregory 
 XV. in consistory. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 HIS GENTLENESS IN GOVERNING. 
 
 There were many circumstances which tended 
 to make the government of the general easy 
 and beloved. First, the high esteem in which 
 his subjects held his wisdom, for men suffer 
 themselves to be ruled more willingly by those 
 who are reputed wise. Secondly, because each 
 perceived in what high esteem he was indi- 
 vidually held by the general ; for it was 
 strange to see how he spoke of every one 
 
320 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 as if they were perfect men and far in advance 
 of himself. Neither did they forfeit this esteem 
 from any light cause, for his great charity made 
 it difficult for suspicion to enter his mind. If 
 possible he put a good interpretation upon every- 
 thing, so that it passed into a proverb, that 
 Ignatius's interpretation is like a father's. In 
 like manner he was slow to receive any bad 
 account which was given him of any of his sub- 
 jects. But since a superior would be acting 
 wrong in rejecting all such information, he used 
 often to command, and especially if he perceived 
 that there was any excitement of feeling, that 
 the report should be brought to him in writing, 
 "For," said he, "the pen ponders what it writes 
 better than the tongue does what it speaks." 
 He was still more slow to give judgment against 
 those who were at a distance. Thus when 
 Silvestro Landini, who was effectually labouring 
 in Corsica, was traduced by some disguised here- 
 tics as a turbulent man, he sent thither one of 
 the fathers in disguise, who was a man of great 
 penetration, that he might secretly observe his 
 behaviour, and collect authentic testimonies of 
 his conduct from the principal people in the 
 island. Knowing that any preference for one 
 above another excites envy, and causes some to 
 think that they are despised, he took great care 
 never, except in cases of absolute necessity, to 
 give any reason by any act or word of his, for 
 having it supposed that he thought more high- 
 ly of the learning, understanding, or virtue of 
 one than of another. Thus when Pope Mar- 
 
ST. IGNATirs. 321 
 
 cellus II. requested that he might have two 
 members of the Society to aid him in the pa- 
 lace and give him the benefit of their advice 
 in the public reforms among the clergy which 
 he had in contemplation, he committed the 
 selection to be determined by the votes of a 
 numerous assembly. It is true that in order 
 to provide for what was required by the neces- 
 sities of the case, that he explained to the council 
 what were the qualities which were requisite 
 to the task, which lie did in so skilful a manner 
 that although the election was not made by 
 him, still their choice fell upon those whom his 
 own judgment would have approved. 
 
 The love of St. Ignatius to his subjects was 
 no less evident than his high esteem for them. 
 Besides the proofs I have already given of 
 this, we have the testimony of some of the 
 fathers who were often with him, and who 
 tell us that such was his affection for all that 
 when he met any of them his countenance and 
 his words exhibited the feelings of his heart. 
 He never suffered any opportunity to pass of 
 doing them a pleasure. Though his own diet 
 was very austere, he took care that the younger 
 brethren should be well fed, and that the food 
 should be palatable as far as the customs of a re- 
 ligious house permitted, and he was glad whenever 
 he saw any one eat their meals with pleasure. 
 Thus when he saw Benedetto Palmia, who was 
 then full of youth and vigour, eating with a 
 good appetite, he called him to him, and said with 
 a glad countenance, "Now continue to nourish 
 21 
 
322 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 yourself well and get up strength to labour for 
 the glory of God." After appointing many 
 different rectors of the Roman College, he found 
 one who was remarkable for the sweetness of 
 his disposition and the maternal feelings of 
 his heart; he rejoiced that the College would 
 now be governed in this spirit, and he expressed 
 a wish that he might continue in that office 
 all his life; "For," he said, "when I am dead, 
 you will not easily find one who equals him in 
 charity." No shadow of pride was ever seen 
 in the general, or of animosity towards any one. 
 That he might render the obedience of his 
 subjects more easy and more durable, and that 
 things might be better performed, it was his cus- 
 tom never to give a stringent precept except in 
 extreme cases : but he used in giving the simplest 
 orders to explain his reasons so graciously, that 
 whilst they obeyed his orders, they seemed to 
 themselves to be doing their own will rather than 
 his. In like manner when he was obliged to re- 
 fuse any request he explained why it was not in 
 his power to grant it, and if he granted it he 
 also gave his reasons for doing so. And this he 
 did fearing lest those who were refused might go 
 away discontented, or lest the successful suitors 
 should be overjoyed, or return too often with the 
 same requests. He weighed the strength of each, 
 and neither burdened the mind or the body above 
 measure. Moreover, though he wished that all 
 should be willing and ready to undertake any 
 charge or office, he at the same time studied the 
 natural inclinations of each in making his appoint- 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 323 
 
 ments. For this purpose he used to propose three 
 questions to them, which they were bound to an- 
 swer as in the sight of God. First, whether they 
 were ready to obey, whatever way they might 
 be employed in ; secondly, if they felt that they 
 were better fitted for one office than another; 
 thirdly, whether under such and such circumstan- 
 ces they would prefer one office rather than ano- 
 ther. When he found that their only inclination 
 was to obey, he was greatly delighted: of this 
 number were Olivier Menareo and Girolamo Na- 
 tale, who made answer that they had no inclina- 
 tion for one employment above another. 
 
 He also won the favour of his subjects by the 
 confidence which he always showed in their abili- 
 ties. When he had selected competent men for 
 any business or duty, he first gave them full in- 
 structions either in writing, or by word of mouth, 
 and then left them free to follow the course which 
 the occasion suggested, without any respect to him- 
 self. In this way he acted towards St. Francis 
 Borgia, when he made him his commissary gen- 
 eral in Spain and India, and in the year 1553, 
 when he despatched Michele Torres, who had not 
 been long in the order, into Portugal upon urgent 
 business ; although he furnished him with written 
 instructions, still knowing the probity and wisdom 
 of his agent, he not only gave him permission 
 when he came into the country to adapt his 
 counsels according to his own judgment on the 
 state of affairs, but he also gave him a number 
 of blank papers with his own signature attached, 
 which he might fill up as he pleased, and send in 
 
324 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 his name as found expedient. He acted in this 
 manner not only on great occasions but in every 
 day matters, liberally making over his own power 
 to his subalterns, and not tying up their hands by 
 minute directions and restrictions. Thus it often 
 happened, that when his advice was asked, he 
 replied, "Do your duty." He could not bear the 
 conduct of those provincials and rectors who in- 
 terfered too much in the administration of their 
 inferiors. He wrote in the following terms to 
 the provincial of Portugal, who fell into this 
 fault : "It is not the duty of a provincial or of 
 a general to charge himself with each particular 
 business ; and even if he had the ability to do 
 so, it would be safer to commit it to others, who 
 must afterwards bring a report of what they 
 have done to be approved by him. But if the 
 agent can determine for himself, it is better to 
 leave it to him whether it be a matter of tempo- 
 ralities or spirituals, and in the former case es- 
 pecially. This is what I do myself, and I expe- 
 rience the relief and the comfort of it. If you 
 are bound by the duties of your station to watch 
 over the general good of your province by ma- 
 king wise regulations, and to this end, just as it 
 is right that you should listen to the best counsels, 
 so it is better that you should not interfere in the 
 execution of them. It is your duty as the first 
 mover of the social machine to regulate the 
 motions of each part, but let this suffice for you ; 
 and by this means you will both do more and 
 do better, and will be acting more in accordance 
 with your station, than if you yourself were to 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 325 
 
 carry your designs into practice. And when 
 your inferiors happen to fail in anything, I 
 would rather forbid you to correct them than 
 that you yourself should incur correction for 
 having erred, which would often be the case if 
 you mixed yourself up in the particular business 
 of others." 
 
 When any of the fathers returned from any 
 commission, the Saint used to meet them with 
 an affectionate welcome, and ask them what suc- 
 cess they had had, and how the affair had pro- 
 ceeded. If they had succeeded he congratulated 
 them, and if otherwise consoled and encouraged 
 them with gentle words. Whenever he spoke 
 of the fruit which proceeded from the labours 
 of his sons, or heard others speak of it, he testi- 
 fied great joy; and the letters which brought 
 these good accounts he caused to be read over 
 several times, to incite the emulation of others. 
 If any one performed a praiseworthy action he 
 showed every mark of gratitude and joy, ex- 
 pressing his approbation and holding it out as 
 an example ; he studied to please and to reward 
 the author of it, and omitted nothing which a 
 worthy son has a right to expect from the kind- 
 est and most indulgent father. 
 
 It would have been a strange thing if such 
 universal charity was not responded to by the 
 love and reverence of his subjects. Ribadeneira 
 says in speaking of this subject, " Our holy fa- 
 ther being so full of love for his children, they 
 on their side behaved as obedient sons, placing 
 their hearts in his hands, to be disposed of in all 
 
326 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 things as lie saw fit. Such was his affection 
 for them that he was rather their slave than 
 their father. Whilst they on the other hand 
 never thought of themselves or their own health, 
 but wearied themselves out with labour, relying 
 upon his fatherly care for them; and if they 
 ever needed any relief, they were sure to obtain 
 it in abundance from his hands. Then a holy 
 contest was carried on between them : the chil- 
 dren laboured beyond their force, and were 
 reverent and obedient, whilst the father bestowed 
 on them a love and care which it is impossible 
 to explain. Maffei also says, "James Lainez, 
 who afterwards succeeded Ignatius as general, 
 and the other fathers of the Society, although 
 Ignatius used to behave towards them in so kind 
 and familiar a manner, yet so great was the 
 reverence they had for his exalted virtue, that 
 they appeared before him like good children in 
 the presence of their father, or like scholars be- 
 fore their master." And Bartoli quotes the testi- 
 mony of many of the ancient fathers, that per- 
 haps there never existed any father so beloved 
 by his children as was Ignatius, so that in the 
 whole of that numerous Society there was not 
 one whose heart did not burn with affection 
 towards him, and who would not feel the pain 
 of a separation from him more than from any 
 other. 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 327 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 HIS SEVERITY IN UPHOLDING RELIGIOUS DISCIPLINE. 
 
 After having spoken so much of the suavity 
 and kindness of Ignatius, it may appear new to 
 the reader to speak of the severity by which it 
 was accompanied, and I will therefore prefix a 
 few observations. First, as is remarked by Rib- 
 adeneira, in founding a new religious order it 
 is necessary to extirpate irregularities with a 
 strong hand when they first begin to strike root, 
 and to make an exemplary punishment of the 
 first transgressors. Moreover the Saint in his 
 wisdom used to proportion the punishment to the 
 fault, and to the consequences derived from it, 
 as well as to the degree of virtue of the guilty 
 person. Thus he would visit with the severest 
 reproof and penance one who was established in 
 spiritual strength, for the smallest shadow of a 
 sin, in order that others might be edified by 
 their submission, and that themselves might ad- 
 vance in perfection. We must also remember 
 what method of punishing he devised, by inform- 
 ing the guilty person of the exact amount and 
 nature of his sin, and then commanding him 
 to impose the punishment upon himself, and if 
 he considered it excessive he used to moderate 
 it himself. Afterwards when they had amended 
 their fault, he once more embraced them as his 
 children, and forgetting all that had passed, ho 
 
328 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 treated them as if nothing of the kind had oc- 
 curred. So that Diego Mirone used to saj, that 
 Ignatius healed men's wounds without even leav- 
 ing a scar. Sometimes certainly he dismissed 
 men from the Society for sins which appeared 
 trivial in themselves, but in such cases there 
 were always aggravating circumstances, and his 
 keen sagacity discovered in these trifles the roots 
 of evils which could never be cut off by paternal 
 treatment. In such cases therefore he did no 
 more than deliver the Society at once from the 
 presence of men who would only do injury by 
 their remaining members of it. On the same 
 principle because he perceived that the levities 
 of Pietro Ribadeneira were only the faults of 
 his youth and vivacity of spirits, and that he 
 would eventually become a distinguished man 
 in the order, he would never consent to his dis- 
 missal, notwithstanding the requests of the fa- 
 thers of the house. On another occasion, as we 
 shall presently see, when two persons had fallen 
 into exactly the same fault, he dismissed the 
 one who appeared least to blame, and retained 
 the other who seemed most guilty. I have before 
 described his great mercy and charity towards 
 those who desired to quit the Society, and there- 
 fore when Bartoli tells us that one day after 
 having expelled a considerable number he was 
 observed to be remarkably joyful; it is very cer- 
 tain that his spirits were not raised by the con- 
 demnation of these unfortunate men, but besides 
 having a wish to encourage his subjects after so 
 rigorous an example which made him assume 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 329 
 
 this appearance, he rejoiced in the public good 
 which would result to the Society from cutting 
 away these rotten members which infected the 
 body with evil humours. In any case those 
 who lived under his goverment bear witness, that 
 his severity was always tempered with clemency, 
 and Ribadeneira tells us that among all the 
 multitude and variety of men who were rebuked 
 or punished by Ignatius with severity however 
 great, none were ever angry with him, but all 
 their sorrow and anger were concentrated upon 
 their own fault. 
 
 Now to proceed, in the matter of penances he 
 used to say that where the fault was not a public 
 one it was right to be indulgent, and it was 
 his wish that those in authority should some- 
 times remit it altogether. When the gravity 
 of the sin, or the necessity of giving an example 
 to others required severity, he summoned the 
 offender before him, and clearly showed the 
 nature, the quality, and the consequences of his 
 sin, so that he was touched to the quick. After 
 this he used sometimes to dismiss him with a 
 very severe expression of countenance, with the 
 word "depart," and this was generally his man- 
 ner with those whom he loved most tenderly, 
 and this punishment was felt more severely 
 than any other. Maffei tells a story to this 
 effect of one of our Society who was a very 
 distinguished man, but at the same time of a 
 turbulent character. To bring him back to his 
 duty, the Saint at first had recourse to the most 
 gentle admonitions ; but when he discovered 
 
330 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 that these produced no good effect, he threatened 
 him with the divine anger and vengeance, with 
 a zeal so tremendous that the very walls and 
 roof seemed to tremble. Those who stood around 
 him were so terrified that they threw themselves 
 on their knees and began to cry aloud to God 
 for mercy. The culprit himself fell at the feet 
 of Ignatius more dead than alive, stammering 
 out entreaties for pardon and promises of amend- 
 ment. Maffei remarks that it very seldom hap- 
 pened that the Saint was moved to such a fear- 
 ful expression of his indignation. 
 
 When the occasion required, his actions were 
 as strong as his words. A young man who was 
 a native of Venice having made use of some 
 unadvised language, which had occasioned scan- 
 dal to others, in order to show what restraint 
 he required in this respect, he sent him on a 
 pilgrimage for three months to beg his way alone 
 and on foot. He also imposed a severe penance 
 upon a priest who had repeated jestingly the 
 follies which had been spoken by one of his 
 companions who was delirious. Another time 
 two who were serving in the kitchen threw water 
 into each other's face in sport. This levity he 
 made them atone by a long discipline. They 
 were obliged to eat their meals for many days 
 in the stable with the animals, to throw dirt at 
 each other in the presence of every body instead 
 of water. The Saint then told them that they 
 were free to depart if they desired it. During 
 the ten or twelve years which they afterwards 
 passed in the Society their conduct was so dis- 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 331 
 
 graceful that it was very evident that they were 
 religious in nothing but the dress. Luigi Gon- 
 zales has left us this account of the holy father. 
 He speaks of his great gentleness in dealing 
 with the novices when they were under temp- 
 tation, and his rigour towards such as ought to 
 have made great progress in virtue from having 
 been so long in the Society, and especially with 
 those who found it hard to obey and were ob- 
 stinate in their own opinions. A certain Flem- 
 ish priest had predicted the fall of a certain 
 kingdom as a revelation made to him by 
 God. The holy Father sent for him to Rome 
 from France, and kept him in the house as a 
 stranger till the revelation had been examined 
 by six fathers of approved wisdom, and till he 
 saw whether he was willing to yield himself up 
 entirely to their judgment. Being in other re- 
 spects a man of good sense and ability, he im- 
 mediately yielded his opinion and consented, in 
 accordance with their unanimous vote to regard 
 the whole as a delusion. Nevertheless, in pun- 
 ishment for the obstinacy he had before exhi- 
 bited in resisting the advice of his superiors in 
 France, he was made to wait upon the sick for 
 six months in a public hospital, without ever 
 putting his foot outside the walls, and then 
 for another six months he was employed in the 
 most servile occupations in the house. The 
 good priest fulfilled this penance with such dis- 
 tinguished humility that he merited to return 
 to France with the office of rector. Sometimes 
 when he was doubtful of the amendment of 
 
332 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 some, or if they deserved some chastisement, he 
 kept them in the house no longer in the cha- 
 racter of members, or else excluded them from 
 it for a time. This penance was inflicted on 
 the good Father Cornelio Vissaven, who, on the 
 same day that he arrived in Rome from Flan- 
 ders, had his staff returned to him, and was 
 sent to beg till such time as he had collected 
 the money required for a certain dispensation 
 which he had imprudently promised. The 
 same punishment fell upon Antonio Moniz, a 
 Portuguese of high birth, whose noble recovery 
 after a shocking fall is worthy of perpetual me- 
 mory in the Society. On his first entrance 
 amongst us and for some months afterwards, he 
 gave promise of extraordinary virtue ; but af- 
 terwards he grew weary and slackened in his 
 obedience, and determined to go away. Still 
 being pricked in conscience on account of the 
 offering which he had made of himself to God, 
 he resolved upon a middle course, by which he 
 thought to reconcile the claims of God's service 
 and of self-will, and this was to pass his life in 
 making pious pilgrimages. The most likely 
 means of recovering the misguided youth seemed 
 to be to send him from Valencia to Coimbra, 
 and put him into the hands of Peter Faber, 
 which was accordingly done ; but he secretly 
 made his escape and fled. His first journey was 
 to St. James of Gallizia, whither he proceeded 
 alone on foot, excepting that the pangs of con- 
 science kept him company. From St. James 
 he went to our Lady of Monserrato. But when 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 333 
 
 there he could no longer resist the attacks of 
 remorse, or bear the discomforts of his cold win- 
 ter journeys without any means of supporting 
 himself, and besides this, the merciful eyes of 
 the Mother of God were turned upon him, and 
 he wisely resolved to leave off his pilgrimages 
 and go and cast himself at the feet of St. Igna- 
 tius at Rome, and earnestly implore to be again 
 admitted into the Society. He therefore began 
 his return, and set out with the words of the 
 prodigal in his mouth, "I will arise and go to 
 my father," whilst he resembled him in his re- 
 pentance and his misery. 
 
 An illness which overtook him at Avignon 
 confirmed his good resolutions, though it nearly 
 prevented their execution by bringing him to the 
 grave. At the end of two months however he was 
 so far recovered as to be able to resume his jour- 
 ney. Still he did not venture on his arrival in 
 Rome to appear in the presence of the holy father 
 till he had written a letter full of penitence and 
 contrition from the hospital of St. Antony of 
 Portugal, whither he had repaired for lodging. 
 Ignatius was moved with compassion on reading 
 the letter, and sent to remove him from the 
 hospital, and placed him in a house in the 
 neighbourhood of ours, not thinking it expe- 
 dient to receive him at once amongst his chil- 
 dren after so disgraceful a flight. But this 
 appeared as nothing to the fervent penitent, 
 and of his own accord he went out into the 
 city of Rome stripped naked to the waist, and 
 scourging himself in so cruel a manner, that 
 
334 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 as the Saint wrote word to a certain duchess 
 who was related to the young man, the ground 
 at the stations which he was performing was 
 bathed with his blood, and this discipline he 
 would have repeated many times if he had 
 not been forbidden by Ignatius. Soon after- 
 wards the Saint sent for him, and embraced 
 him with such tender affection, that the good 
 youth who had fallen at his feet in tears and 
 full of shame was as one raised from the dead 
 and wept for joy. From that time forward 
 he commenced a life of severe regularity, as 
 if he expected a speedy end. Shortly afterwards 
 a slow hectic fever manifested itself, and after 
 a long period of suffering he died. 
 
 From the anecdotes I have already related 
 it appears that it was the custom of the Saint 
 to adapt the punishment he imposed to the 
 nature of the fault, and this will be better il- 
 lustrated by what follows. He one day found 
 two lay-brothers who were wasting their time 
 in telling stories. He called them to him, and 
 desired them to carry a great quantity of stones 
 from the court-yard to the top of the house, 
 as if he wanted them there immediately ; and 
 whenever he found them employed in the same 
 amusement, he made them carry these stones 
 up and down, till they at length discovered that 
 it was not because he required this work to 
 be done, but that it was as a cure for their 
 idleness that the task was imposed, upon which 
 they were careful to spend their time in a more 
 becoming way. His correction of Lorenzo Tris- 
 

 ST. IGNATIUS. 335 
 
 tano was of a milder sort. This man was a 
 mason, and distinguished for his habits of pray- 
 er and mortification, and so strict was he in 
 the observance of silence, that the Saint used 
 to say it was a greater thing for him to speak 
 a word than to set a stone. Whilst he was 
 paving a platform on the terrace, Lorenzo let 
 fall an apple which had been given him to re- 
 fresh him, and being ashamed of the accident 
 on account of the presence of Ignatius he pre- 
 tended not to remark it ; but the Saint as if 
 in jest rolled it before him with his stick, and 
 whenever the man blushed and tried to escape 
 by turning another way, he did the same. Ano- 
 ther brother who had very little experience of 
 the spiritual life, having done great mischief 
 by undertaking to guide the souls of others, 
 he obliged to stand with two false wings stuck 
 to his shoulders, whilst he was reminded with 
 a loud voice that he had better not fly till his 
 wings had grown. He made another whose 
 room was in great disorder, put all his books 
 and manuscripts and clothes into a sack, and 
 go through the house with it on his shoulder, 
 telling every body of his fault. 
 
 I will here relate the correction he used to- 
 wards a boy, the son of a converted Jew, who had 
 been recommended by his father to Ignatius to 
 learn a Christian life in the house. One day 
 the boy in a passion said, that he wished some 
 one might have the cancer. Ignatius, to show 
 him the horrible nature of this speech, said to 
 him, "Do you know what this cancer is which 
 
336 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 you have prayed may be sent to this person; 
 you shall see for yourself and experience it." He 
 then had his hands tied behind him, and sent 
 out to buy a large live craw-fish, which was hung 
 round his neck. The little urchin feeling the 
 gripe of the animal's claws, and fearing that he 
 should be torn to pieces, began to cry and ex- 
 claim that he would never say such a thing 
 again ; and when the punishment was sufficient 
 Ignatius had it removed. The boy afterwards 
 became a Dominican monk and Bishop of Forli, 
 and in telling this story used to commend the 
 Saint for having imposed a punishment so well 
 suited to his age and his fault, that it had 
 wrought a cure so entire that he had never again 
 made use of this evil expression. In Maffei's 
 History and in the memorials left by Father Ani- 
 bale Codretti, are related various penances which 
 the Saint used to impose for slight faults, 
 amongst which are the following. He made some 
 person who was at hand describe a circle on 
 the ground, within which the culprit was confi- 
 ned till such time as he allowed him to leave it; 
 he permitted the person so confined to stand up 
 or sit down if there was space to do so. Some- 
 times he sent the offender to pray before the 
 blessed Sacrament for one, two, or three hours, 
 or till he was sent for, in which latter case 
 he used to add, " Pray God that I may not for- 
 get it." Sometimes he forbid any conversation 
 with such and such a person ; and he used 
 often to order the discipline assigning the amount 
 of it. It was also his custom to make the offend- 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 337 
 
 er stand at the low table in the refectory, whilst 
 some sharp and satirical person was selected 
 from amongst the lowest members of the house 
 to expose his defects in public with biting words, 
 and reproach him with the many years he had 
 lived in religion without having made better 
 progress : and this method he made use of as a 
 means of giving an unexpected castigation to 
 others also, making the punishment subservient 
 to the humiliation of some, and as a stimulant 
 to urge men on to perfection. 
 
 He never relaxed any of his severity because 
 the offender was one for whom he entertained a 
 great affection, or who was in a station of high 
 authority, or a man of great merit in the order. 
 Thus although brother John Baptist Borelli was 
 a man of great virtue and had served in the house 
 many years, yet because he took a blessed chap- 
 let from a small casket, and put another in its 
 place, he threatened him with expulsion for the 
 next offence, though for that once he was satis- 
 fied by his spontaneous confession of his fault 
 and with the severity of the reproof he adminis- 
 tered. He had a great affection for Martino 
 Olave, Luigi Gonzales, and Pietro Ribadeneira, 
 but when they absented themselves beyond the 
 hour which he had appointed in accompanying- 
 out of Rome two Bishops of the Society who were 
 going into Ethiopia, so that it was two o'clock 
 in the night before they returned, he imposed 
 a fast upon all three; moreover, as Luigi was 
 the minister of the house he reproved him sharp- 
 ly. "I do not know why I refrain from sending 
 22 
 
338 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 you away so far that you will never see me 
 again ;" and this was a speech which pierced 
 Gonzales, who loved him more than a father, 
 deeper than any other words had power to do. 
 He also experienced the effect of this threat in 
 some measure, for he sent him away for some 
 days to the Roman College. Ignatius had a 
 great affection for James Lainez, and said that 
 the Society was more indebted to him than to 
 any other man. Lainez, who was provincial of 
 Italy, complained more than once to the Saint 
 in his letters with great humility, that if all the 
 best subjects were summoned to Rome, the rest 
 of Italy would be impoverished. The Saint 
 replied that he was sorry that he had not been 
 satisfied with his answer, in which he had ex- 
 plained that the advantage of the few must give 
 way to the good of the many. He therefore 
 exhorted him to examine his conduct as in the 
 sight of God, and then if he found that he was 
 in error to write to him and offer himself for 
 penance. I must not omit to give the penitent 
 reply of Lainez, which was that he deeply con- 
 demned himself for what he had done, and that 
 after many prayers and tears he now begged that 
 the office of provincial might be taken away 
 from him, as well as all other authority or right 
 of preaching and teaching. Moreover that he 
 should beg his way back to Rome and there 
 spend the remainder of his life working in the 
 kitchen or the garden, and if his strength did 
 not allow this labour, that he should teach gram- 
 mar in the lowest class in the school, and that 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 330 
 
 ho should bo always disregarded and thought 
 nothing of. But if Ignatius did not seo fit to 
 accept the whole of this penance, he proposed 
 that ho should perform it for two or three years, 
 or for whatever term he judged fitting. And 
 if ho still rejected this proposal, that he should 
 at the least remove him from his government, 
 and appoint him a month's fasting with disci- 
 plines and other penances. The Saint however 
 rejected all his proposals, being satisfied with his 
 submission and the greatness of his offers. If 
 the Saint did not pass over faults out of respect 
 for persons, he kept a stricter watch over those 
 who were thought highly of on account of learn- 
 ing or birth, and he kept them in check as per- 
 sons whose conduct would do either much harm 
 or good to the Society. In this way he acted 
 towards Sabastiano Romei, rector of the Roman 
 College, who had allowed bread and wine to be 
 brought back for supper when the students went 
 to visit the Seven Churches. Romei excused 
 himself by saying that he did not originate this 
 custom. The Saint replied, "You are then to 
 blame in not having put a stop to it when you 
 found it existed, because faults grow worse and 
 are harder to eradicate when they become ha- 
 bitual. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 HIS SEVERITY IN EXrELLING THE UNWORTHY. 
 
 It was considered by our holy founder that 
 the dismissal of unfit subjects was one of the 
 
340 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 most efficacious means provided by God for 
 the preservation of the Society, and he used 
 therefore to exercise this means without ever 
 allowing himself to be restrained by what he 
 used to call an imprudent charity. When 
 therefore some would intercede with him in 
 behalf of one whom he was about to expel, he 
 used to say, "Would you have received him as 
 a member if you had known what he was ? 
 Certainly not ; allow me then to send him away ; 
 those who are accepted must be proved and dis- 
 missed if they do not abide the proof." Then 
 he added, " I will leave it to you to accept sub- 
 jects, do you leave it to me to dismiss them." 
 When he showed the house to any stranger he 
 used to say on coming to the door, " This house 
 is our prison, and we leave the door free that 
 we may have no prisoners." As expulsion was 
 not only a method of getting rid of the unworthy, 
 but an example to the good, he used sometimes 
 to increase the terrors of the punishment by the 
 mode of performing it. He had endeavoured 
 with gentle persuasions to prevent a novice from 
 departing, and afterwards sent him to seek coun- 
 sel from some of the other fathers ; but the man 
 was obstinate and at last said, that as it was 
 night he would remain for the time and go away 
 at daybreak. When Ignatius heard of this saying 
 he said, " Will he go to-morrow ? It shall not 
 be so, for he shall not sleep in the house this 
 night," and he gave orders that he should be 
 turned out without delay. He also expelled a 
 priest at an hour's warning, who had walked about 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 341 
 
 tho house in the day-time with a night-cap on, 
 and receiving a severe reproof for it from the 
 Saint, he replied, that he was the best judge 
 whether it was becoming or not. The fear in- 
 spired by these examples was the more effectual, 
 as it was evident that neither nobility of birth 
 or learning were any defence, but that when the 
 occasion required all were expelled without dis- 
 tinction. The expulsion of Don Teotonio, son 
 of the Duke of Braganza, and nephew of Eman- 
 uel king of Portugal, was a striking example 
 of this; and again when he dismissed a brother 
 who was cousin of the Duke of Bivona, and a 
 relation of his great friend Giovan de Vega, Vice- 
 roy of Sicily, nor would he relent though the 
 young man implored forgiveness with tears and 
 offered to submit to any chastisement. It is 
 probable that the Saint m his wisdom had an 
 intimate knowledge of the inconstancy of his 
 disposition, or that he judged the fault so great 
 that the example of pardon would be hurtful 
 to the Society. In the number of the learned 
 whom he dismissed was Christopher Lainez, a 
 brother of James Lainez, for whom he had so 
 great an affection. This young man had nothing 
 to live upon in Rome for the time, and no money 
 for his journey back into Spain ; but when Pietro 
 Ribadeneira begged that the Saint would furnish 
 him with money, he replied, "No, Pietro, if all 
 the gold in the world was mine, I would not 
 give a farthing to those who are expelled from 
 religion for their sins." 
 
 He would never allow any one who was proved 
 
342 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 guilty of a mortal sin, (except by sacramental 
 confession,) to remain in the Society, and this 
 was publicly given notice of by Martino Olave 
 at the Roman College. It was his wish that 
 the chastity of his children should approach 
 as nearly as possible to angelic purity, and he 
 never endured any offence of this kind. A 
 young man who was a great friend of the Duke 
 of Bivona was dismissed on this account, and 
 eight others with him, though their faults seemed 
 trifling, some of these also were of noble birth 
 and others good Greek and Latin scholars. 
 Another fault he esteemed most prejudicial to 
 the Society, was harsh judgment of others. Fran- 
 cesco Marino Andaluzzo was of this disposition ; 
 a very learned man and of great skill in tem- 
 poral affairs ; he was made minister of the house 
 of the professed in Ijtome, and showed himself 
 so harsh and obstinate in his opinions, that 
 Ignatius removed him from his office and put 
 him into retreat to see if this fault could be 
 corrected ; but he profited nothing, and the 
 words of Girolamo Natale were fulfilled, who said 
 that he feared he would bring disgrace on the 
 Spiritual Exercises, and that their virtue would 
 be rendered vain. On returning to his office he 
 returned to his former habits. When this was 
 reported to Ignatius he made him rise from his 
 bed in the middle of the night, and would not 
 listen to his prayers that he might remain at 
 least till the morning, and thus gave a practi- 
 cal exhibition of what he had threatened, that 
 he would not suffer an obstinate person to re- 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 343 
 
 main under the roof a single night. This was 
 the fault and also the punishment of Antonio 
 Marino, a native of Spain and a doctor of the 
 university of Paris, who was professor of philo- 
 sophy at the Roman college. He had some 
 peculiar opinions with regard to our Institute, 
 and used to support his ideas by argument. 
 The Saint sent for him and endeavoured all 
 that he could to withdraw him from his errors, 
 but as he perceived that all efforts were ineffec- 
 tual he dismissed him at once. In those early 
 times there were so few men of learning, that 
 after the departure of Marino the students fell 
 back, and one professor after another was ap- 
 pointed and removed. On this account Luigi 
 Gonzales condoled with the Saint upon his loss ; 
 but the Saint said with a smile, " Go you and 
 convert him," as much as to say, you are la- 
 menting over an impossibility. In truth, cha- 
 rity rather attempts than hopes for the cure of 
 this sort of persons. Another fault which he 
 could not endure was spiritual extravagance ; 
 for this Antonio Soldeviglia was dismissed, in 
 spite of many tears and lamentations, and though 
 he was afterwards readmitted into the Society, 
 it was only after having given plain proofs of a 
 change of mind and having ministered for six 
 months in a public hospital. About the same time 
 Andrea d' Oviedo, who was afterwards patriarch 
 of Ethiopia, and Francesco Onofrio, were at- 
 tracted by the charms of contemplation to retire 
 into the desert, and wrote to the holy father ex- 
 cusing what they had done, but at the samo 
 
34:4 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 time, for they were sincere in their intentions, 
 with entire resignation to his will. The Saint 
 reproved them and threatened them with seve- 
 rity, saying that he would cut them off from the 
 Society as they had -already departed from the 
 spirit of the Institute. He also wrote urgent 
 letters to St. Francis Borgia that he should 
 bring them back into the right way ; but it was 
 enough for these good men to know that in of- 
 fending him they gave offence to God who had 
 placed him in authority over them. 
 
 One day Girolamo Natale, for his own humili- 
 ation and for the good of others, preached at the 
 Banchi. This action was looked upon as dis- 
 graceful by a young man of noble family named 
 Francesco Zapata, and he went about the house 
 making a jest of it, and called the preacher a 
 Charlatan. When this came to the ears of 
 Ignatius, about the middle of the night, without 
 saying a word to any body, he made him get 
 up from his bed, and although he acknowledged 
 his fault with tears and begged forgiveness, he 
 made him quit the house at day-break. Zapata 
 afterwards became a Franciscan monk, and was 
 highly esteemed for his goodness and his learn- 
 ing, and he always regarded the Society of 
 Jesus with filial reverence and affection. 
 
 Neither did the Saint ever relent because the 
 blow must fall upon a great number. I have 
 already given an example of his expelling nine 
 all at once. Another day he dismissed ten, and 
 one of the number only because he had given 
 a blow to one of his companions in sport. Once 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 345 
 
 upon the Feast of Pentecost he expelled twelve, 
 and it was after this clearance that he was ob- 
 served to be in higher spirits than was his wont. 
 It was his wish that other superiors should follow 
 his example in this respect. When he heard 
 that there were some of the Society in Portugal 
 who were disinclined to obey, he sent a severe 
 reproof to the provincial for his ill-advised cha- 
 rity in tolerating this scandal, and he sent 
 general commands to him and all others in au- 
 thority, in virtue of the obedience they owed him, 
 to expel from the order without further delay 
 all who were rebellious, disobedient, and turbu- 
 lent. On the receipt of this general order, Leo- 
 nardo Clesselio, rector at Cologne, who had al- 
 together fifteen subjects, sent away more than 
 half of them. The good father was afterwards 
 afraid that he had done wrong, and wrote to 
 Ignatius, confessing the fault and begging par- 
 don, but instead of blaming him the Saint com- 
 mended him for this severity, and told him 
 that if those who remained were unworthy he 
 was to expel them also, even should he be the 
 only one remaining. Ignatius afterwards pro- 
 posed this conduct as an example for other pro- 
 vincials, "How much better it would be," he 
 wrote, "to cut off an unhealthy member from 
 the body, and so to secure the health of the 
 other members. I have already told you how 
 father Leonardo of Cologne expelled nine or 
 ten at once, and not long afterwards as many 
 more unworthy members ; and I have approved 
 it as a praiseworthy action, for if the knife is 
 
346 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 used in good time for cutting away one or two, 
 it may be the salvation of many." The reader 
 must not imagine from what is here said, that 
 such dismissals were common, for they were 
 never determined on without long and careful 
 consultation, and not by the rectors alone, but 
 with the consent of the general and his as- 
 sistants. 
 
 I will add two other examples to those already 
 given ; the first is the case of a jesting person, 
 which will illustrate the great care and charity 
 of the Saint in making these examples, rather 
 than his severity. The man I speak of was a 
 priest from Barenton in Normandy, named Gu- 
 lielmo Postelli. He was very learned in theology, 
 philosophy, and medicine, and still more so in 
 mathematics ; besides Latin he was skilled in 
 Greek, Hebrew, Syriac, and Chaldee, and many 
 other tongues, (of some of which he had compo- 
 sed grammars), so that he used to boast that he 
 could travel from France to China, and freely 
 converse in the language of every nation that he 
 met with on the journey. It is said that he 
 had wandered all over the earth, collecting the 
 various manners and customs, forms of govern- 
 ment and religion, which existed among different 
 nations. He was befriended by Francis I. King 
 of France, by Margaret of Navarre, and by many 
 of the Cardinals, and in Paris where he had 
 lived for some time he was regarded as a miracle 
 of cleverness and memory. This distinguished 
 man entered, the Society with great zeal, and 
 bound himself by vow, and one day he visited 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 347 
 
 the Seven Churches, and at the high altar of each 
 church ho ratified his vow, and expressly bound 
 himself to be ruled in all things by Ignatius, 
 and by all who were placed in authority over 
 him in God's stead. When he entered the So- 
 ciety he for a certain length of time fully acted 
 up to his good resolutions ; when on a sudden he 
 began to make prophecies, having been seduced 
 by the vanities of rabbinical learning and astrolo- 
 gy. Though Ignatius called in the aid of Lainez 
 and of Salmerone, and of other men distinguish- 
 ed for their learning, and though events fully 
 demonstrated the folly of his predictions, yet 
 he refused to give them up. It would occupy 
 too much space were I to relate all the different 
 methods by which the Saint endeavoured to cure 
 him of this folly ; and when all proved in vain 
 he at last consigned him to the care of the 
 Pope's Vicar, that by his wisdom and the au- 
 thority of his station, and by means of the 
 arguments of the most scientific men in 
 Rome, he might be freed from his delusion, 
 otherwise he refused to allow him ever again 
 to enter the house. This last expedient ap- 
 peared to succeed. He was convinced of his 
 error. He wrote a paper with his own hand 
 retracting all the predictions he had made up 
 to that moment, and engaging never to recur 
 to such absurdities. The Vicar was greatly 
 delighted at this, and sent him back to Ignatius, 
 assuring him that he would find him entirely 
 changed. The Saint received him with great 
 kindness, but not without caution, for he depriv- 
 
348 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 ed him of all books except the Sumraa of St. 
 Thomas, forbid him to say mass for a certain 
 period, and employed him in manual labour in 
 the house, all of which was cheerfully submitted 
 to by Postelli. But the man was unstable as 
 a reed, and after a little while he returned to 
 his follies, whereupon Ignatius gave him back 
 his own clothes and sent him out of the house ; 
 at the same time he forbid that any should speak 
 to him, or salute him if they met him, esteeming 
 him as a man who would rapidly hasten on into 
 some dangerous doctrine, and although the Car- 
 dinal besought him to pardon him once more, 
 the Saint would never relent. When he had 
 been expelled, Postelli was taken into the Car- 
 dinal's house, where he made a number of great 
 predictions. He afterwards went away suddenly 
 to Marca, where he commenced preaching false 
 and heretical doctrine. From thence he betook 
 himself to Venice, where he formed a connexion 
 with a certain woman whom he said in his 
 madness would be the Redeemer of the female 
 sex, as Christ had been of the male. At length 
 these vagaries were unexpectedly put a stop to 
 by his being sent in fetters to Rome, where he 
 had to endure a long and severe imprisonment. 
 Fearing the punishment which awaited his sins, 
 he made an attempt to escape, but he fell in 
 taking the leap, and besides other injuries broke 
 his arm ; his cries caused him to be discovered, 
 and he was taken back to the prison, and re- 
 mained many years in chains. When the term 
 of his punishment had elapsed, he again disap- 
 
ST. IUNATIUS. 
 
 349 
 
 pearcd and went to Basic. From whence he 
 proceeded to France, where ho lived as a diviner 
 and an infamous teacher of heresy. He lived 
 to bo nearly one hundred years old, and it is said 
 that he at last became a penitent, recanted his 
 errors, and died in the true faith at Paris. The 
 other example I shall mention is the terrible 
 expulsion of three members which the Saint ef- 
 fected after his entrance into Paradise, and I re- 
 late it now as a proof of the anxiety and care 
 with which he always watched over his flock, lest 
 any part of it should be corrupted. In the pro- 
 vince of Venice a very holy priest of our Society 
 was engaged in prayer at night before the Bless- 
 ed Sacrament, when he saw two of our fathers 
 beneath the light of the lamp at the high altar, 
 talking to each other aloud. Thinking that 
 they were two young students, he told them 
 that it was the hour of silence, and that they 
 ought to retire to their own rooms to repose. 
 To this one of them answered with something 
 of severity in his voice, " Tuum est dormire : 
 nostrum est vigilare vigilias gregis. You may 
 sleep, but we must keep watch over the flock." 
 Astonished at this answer he went back to 
 his cell, but hardly had he knelt down there, 
 than one of the two he had just seen knocked 
 at his door and called him into the Church : 
 he followed him in great fear. When he re- 
 turned to the Church he saw our holy father 
 sitting near the high altar with twelve reverent 
 fathers round him as judges and counsellors, 
 with severe and austere looks. Then he called 
 
350 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 before him a certain father who was of good 
 repute, and causing him to kneel down, he gave 
 him a severe rebuke for some secret fault ; then 
 he said to him, " You are unworthy of my So- 
 ciety," and he commanded that he should be 
 immediately stripped of his dress. The same 
 took place with two others. The father who 
 was witness of this fearful scene related the 
 whole as it had occurred to the provincial, and 
 when he had discovered the truth by diligent 
 examination, he found that the three whom he 
 had accused were guilty, and having admonished 
 them severely, he exhorted them to amendment. 
 But these wretched men upon whom the holy 
 patriarch had already passed sentence, received 
 this paternal admonition with anger, and were 
 expelled. An account of this event is preserv- 
 ed in our College at Bruges in two letters, one 
 written by Father Judoco Agebaert from Ant- 
 werp, to Father Ferdinando del Piano at Ghent, 
 and the other to the rector of the College 
 at Paris, by a French Father at Malta. One 
 of these letters is dated in April of the year 
 1643, and the other in November, and as they 
 both speak of the event having occurred re- 
 cently, it probably took place either in that 
 year or the year before. The truth of this 
 apparition is also confirmed by the unanimous 
 belief of all the ancient fathers of the Society 
 in the province of Venice, and the house where 
 it took place is still known. 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 351 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 HIS DEFENCE OF THE ORDER. 
 
 As tho holy father Ignatius took care to defend 
 the Society against the incursions of the disobe- 
 dient and relaxed, who are its internal and most 
 dangerous enemies, he also guarded against the 
 attacks of its external foes. In the first place 
 he was very careful that no occasion of slander, 
 hatred, or persecution should be offered by any 
 of his subjects. Before any one began to preach 
 or teach in public, he was obliged to make trial 
 in private before some experienced fathers, and 
 he used to be present himself on these occasions. 
 For the same reason it was that he drew up his 
 instructions for those who were sent out by the 
 Pope, or by himself on foreign misions, or upon 
 any other business of importance. That the 
 minds of certain monks might not be disturbed, 
 he forbid Martino Olave to dispute with them 
 upon particular points, because he had so per- 
 plexed them by his arguments that they were 
 left without a word to say : and on another oc- 
 casion he begged Olave to leave out one ques- 
 tion in a book that he was about to publish, 
 though it was piously and warmly defended in 
 the schools, lest it should embitter the minds 
 of those who supported the opposite side. At 
 that time certain arrangements with regard to 
 tho rites and doctrines of the Catholic Religion 
 
352 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 existed in Germany, to be adhered to till the de- 
 cision of the General Council, which arrangement 
 went by the name "Interim," and for the sake 
 of peace some things were permitted by this rule 
 which appeared incompatible with the duties of 
 Catholics, and beyond the authority of the civil 
 power to ordain. Nicholas Bobadiglia opposed 
 the truce which was arranged on these terms 
 with all his power both by speech and by writing, 
 and was accordingly banished from Germany in 
 the name of the emperor. He returned to Italy 
 rejoicing in having upheld the cause of God, 
 and with the approbation of the court of Rome 
 by which the "Interim" had been condemned. 
 But no sooner did the Saint hear of his banish- 
 ment, than doubtful lest Bobadiglia had been 
 carried too far in his zeal, he resolved to delay 
 admitting him into the house upon his return 
 to Rome, and adopted a course of conduct which 
 could neither offend the court of Rome or the 
 party of the emperor. The bishop's vicar at 
 Tivoli had unjustly and rigidly forbidden Michael 
 Navarro to make use of the privileges which 
 had been granted to the Society by the Apostolic 
 See, upon which a command was issued from 
 Rome both to the Bishop and his Vicar to cease 
 from their opposition. Nevertheless Navarro re- 
 ceived a reprimand from St. Ignatius for having 
 been too hot in the maintenance of his rights. 
 Having been informed by Adrian that there had 
 been a good deal of excitement at the city of 
 Leghorn on account of the wish of certain youths 
 to be admitted into the Society, he reprimanded 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 353 
 
 him sharply, and desired him to go and beg 
 pardon of one of the doctors there who was great- 
 ly vexed by the loss of his pupil. He used to 
 say that the Society contained two sorts of zea- 
 lous labourers ; first, those who do and do not 
 undo ; and these are they who temper their work 
 for the good of souls with prudence and foresight, 
 so that they may not cause any breach, and es- 
 pecially when they have to do with great people ; 
 edifying by their humility when they cannot do 
 so by their zeal. Others there are who build 
 up and pull down at the same time ; who un- 
 dertake things with greater zeal than wisdom, 
 and raise disturbances against those who oppose 
 them, whereby they sometimes lose everything 
 for the sake of gaining a very little. These 
 men of turbulent zeal were very displeasing to 
 the Saint, and when he could not restrain them 
 by his counsels he removed them from public 
 ministrations. 
 
 When he spoke of princes, and particularly of 
 the Pope, he used the greatest consideration, 
 and taught the same to his children. Far from 
 censuring and telling stories against them as 
 most men do, he never uttered a word of blame, 
 whatever their government might be, and how- 
 ever notorious were the stories current about them. 
 He did not even refer to matters which might 
 very well be noticed and produce public advan- 
 tage, in order that he might not appear to no- 
 tice their failings in prudence or equity. He 
 lived at Rome during the reign of four Popes, 
 one of whom both on account of his severity 
 23 
 
354 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 and for other reasons was very unpopular, and 
 his administration was greatly abused. But 
 Ignatius, on the contrary, endeavoured to dis- 
 cover every thing that was favourable, and put 
 it before those whom he heard complaining ; 
 and since this Pope was not inclined to favour 
 our Society, the Saint was severe in reproving 
 those who expressed their vexation ; and he 
 gave special command to one of our Fathers, 
 who was going from Rome into Flanders, that 
 he should speak nothing but good of the Pope's 
 dispositions towards us. The Father replied that 
 he did not know how he could put a favourable 
 interpretation upon some things. "Very well 
 then," said the Saint, "you must say nothing 
 about him, and speak only of Pope Marcello, 
 who during his short pontificate made himself for 
 ever memorable amongst us by the public expres- 
 sion of his love and admiration of the Society." 
 Girolamo Ottelli was labouring for the good of 
 souls in Rome with distinguished success, and 
 one day in his sermon whilst reproving the great 
 licentiousness of the times, he said that since Rome 
 was neither moved by love towards God or fear of 
 hell, the Pope ought to raise his arm and drive 
 away these abominations from the holy place. 
 Soon after the sermon Ignatius sent for the 
 preacher, and asked him how many Popes there 
 were in the world. Ottelli answered that there 
 was but one Pope who lived at Rome. "Then," 
 said the Saint, "do you venture to speak of 
 an individual from the pulpit, and of so exalted 
 a personage, and to give him instructions how 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 600 
 
 be ought to govern, as if you knew better 
 than him, and ought to admonish him from 
 the pulpit? Go and consider before God what 
 punishment you deserve, and then come back 
 to me with your determination." Ottelli retired 
 full of shame and grief, and when he returned 
 ho knelt down and presented a paper on which 
 he had written down a part of what he thought 
 that he deserved : he proposed that he should 
 go about the public streets and scourge himself 
 for many days, that he should walk barefoot on a 
 pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and fast for a certain 
 number of years on bread and water, with any 
 other penance Ignatius might see fit to impose. 
 The Saint however was satisfied with his offer, 
 and as an example to others, gave him in penance 
 certain disciplines privately in the house. James 
 Lainez, in preaching at St. Paul's in Rome to 
 the Spaniards, said something on the subject 
 of simony, which was not a certain and estab- 
 lished doctrine of the Church ; as this doctrine 
 might have been applied by the evil disposed 
 to some of the arrangements of the Pope, Ig- 
 natius reproved him, and threatened him with 
 severe punishment upon his return to the house, 
 because by such incautious language he had 
 exposed the court of Rome to the abuse and 
 hard judgment of men. 
 
 Still since these internal precautions were in- 
 sufficient to ward off calumny and persecution, 
 his foresight and sagacity resorted to other 
 methods as circumstances required them. When 
 the academy of the Sorbonne promulgated a 
 
356 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 severe censure againt the Institute, he forbid 
 that any answer should be given to it. Many 
 differed from him in this resolve, and when he 
 found that they were still unsatisfied after he 
 had quoted the words of Christ, "Pacem relinquo 
 vobis, pacem meam do vobis," he addressed to 
 them a public discourse, in which he showed 
 that revenge is not permitted by Christian cha- 
 rity nor counselled by prudence, and that it 
 would draw down upon us the perpetual hostility 
 of a powerful and renowned community. He 
 then wrote to all the houses of the Society in 
 all the different provinces, desiring them to col- 
 lect authentic testimony to their life and doc- 
 trine, from princes, prelates, magistrates, and 
 universities in their respective districts, and to 
 despatch them to him. It was the intention of 
 Ignatius, if need were, to oppose these documents, 
 which embodied the testimony of the whole 
 world, to the opinion of this handful of men 
 who knew but little of our affairs. From almost 
 every province and city where the Society ex- 
 isted, the clearest and most satisfactory testi- 
 monials were collected, but Ignatius had no 
 occasion to make use of them, for the calumny 
 was dissipated by the evidence of the facts 
 themselves, and in the course of a few days 
 not a word was heard of the decree of the 
 Sorbonne, and though there had been no college 
 of our Society in France previous to this at- 
 tack we soon afterwards had two, one at Paris 
 and the other at Biglion. When we opened public 
 schools in Rome, some teachers in the city, 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 357 
 
 seeing that their scholars and their stipends 
 were daily diminishing, made the most angry 
 and calumnious attacks upon our lecturers, but 
 as these attacks were met only by modest silence 
 the assailants were forced to retire in confusion. 
 Upon hearing that the same feelings were roused 
 in other places, he wrote word desiring that these 
 respectable men should be answered in no other 
 way than by humble words. And if we were 
 accused by them, as frequently happened, of ig- 
 norance, he did not allow any trials of learning 
 to take place, but bid us answer that we knew 
 ourselves to possess but little learning, but the 
 little which we did possess we willingly imparted 
 to others out of love to God. By the same wea- 
 pons Ignatius endeavoured to overcome a perse- 
 cution which had its origin in Salamanca, and 
 from thence spread over the whole of Spain. The 
 originator of it was a certain monk, whose credit 
 with his own order was so great that almost all the 
 members of it were drawn away by his influence. 
 These religious used to teach both in their pub- 
 lic and private discourses, that our life and doc- 
 trine were pernicious, and that we were the fore- 
 runners of Antichrist, affecting to prove their 
 position by the testimony of scripture. Ignatius 
 was greatly afflicted in having such adversaries 
 to contend against, and tried to undeceive them 
 by giving them an example of Christian meek- 
 ness. But when he found that his silence only 
 increased the storm, he was compelled by neces- 
 sity to claim the assistance of Pope Paul III. 
 The Pope accordingly appointed the Bishops 
 
358 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 of Cuenca and Salamanca to pronounce judg_ 
 ment, and by their censures and other punish- 
 ments restrain the violence of those who were 
 assailing a religious order approved by the Apos- 
 tolic See and founded by its authority. But 
 the Saint fearing also lest this appeal to the 
 Pope might occasion other scandals, desired 
 that Giovanni d' Avila, who was so famous a 
 master of spiritual science, should be charged to 
 justify what he had so uprightly performed. He 
 therefore wrote a very powerful letter to him, in 
 which he proved by the authority of the holy 
 fathers and of many learned divines, that it 
 was his duty to defend himself when the pub- 
 lic good required it. In the following case also 
 he thought fit that calumnies which were cir- 
 culated against him in Rome should be juridi- 
 cally repelled. A certain man named Mattia, 
 postmaster in the city of S. Cassiano, well know- 
 ing that Ignatius or one of his Society had de- 
 prived him of his mistress and brought her to 
 penance in the monastery of St. Martha, began 
 in his fury to throw stones into the monastery, 
 and he also published both by word of mouth 
 and by writing many horrible accusations against 
 Ignatius and his companions, so that whenever 
 they went out of their house on the performance 
 of their duties, they were assailed by the filthy 
 attacks of this man and his followers ; being a 
 person of some authority his tales found belief, 
 and the members of the institute were covered 
 with infamy. After being spread about among 
 the vulgar these calumnies reached the Roman 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 359 
 
 Trinces and the Cardinals, till they came to 
 the ears of the Pope Paul III. himself. At the 
 request of Ignatius the Pope commissioned Fran- 
 cesco Micheli, Governor of Rome, and Filippo 
 Archinti, his Vicar General, to procure authentic 
 information of these charges. The process was 
 accordingly commenced and brought to a con- 
 clusion on the 11th of August, 1546, when our 
 innocence was publicly declared, and great praise 
 bestowed upon us, whilst silence was imposed 
 on our calumniators under pain of severe pun- 
 ishment; and it was owing to the charitable in- 
 terposition of Ignatius alone that they were let 
 off so easily. The man who was chiefly guilty 
 was grateful for this kindness, and repaid it by 
 his future submission and love. After this storm 
 had been laid, which had been roused by the 
 passion of unlawful love, another was stirred up 
 by the no less furious passion of ambition. A 
 secular priest named Giovanni di Torano, who was 
 superintendent of the house of the Catechumens, 
 fearing lest Ignatius should oppose him in the 
 administration of his office, and seeing that more 
 account was made of his opinions, broke out 
 into anger so violent that he determined to try 
 and ruin the institute and have Ignatius burnt 
 alive. He accordingly accused him of heresy, of 
 revealing confessions and other shameful crimes. 
 Ignatius not considering that the service of God 
 required him to take any active step remained 
 silent, and prayed for the unfortunate wretch ; 
 but God himself avenged the honour of his hum- 
 ble servant. For the atrocious sins of his accuser 
 
360 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 were brought to light, and he was sentenced to 
 a perpetual suspension from the exercise of his 
 priestly functions, was deprived of his benefices, 
 imprisoned and afterwards exiled for life. 
 
 John Siliceo, Archbishop of Toledo, was a 
 great enemy of our Society in Spain, and Maffei 
 tells us that he detested the sight of any of 
 our brethren, and could not endure the mention 
 of the Spiritual Exercises. The liberality of 
 some pious men had enabled us to found a col- 
 lege at Alcala in the diocese of Toledo, and 
 almost all the students of that famous university 
 resorted to us. The Archbishop was greatly 
 vexed at this, and took away the power of hear- 
 ing confessions from all priests who had gone 
 through the Spiritual Exercises, and also forbid 
 any subject of his diocese under pain of excom- 
 munication to receive the Eucharist or any 
 other Sacrament at our hands. This novel pro- 
 ceeding caused great excitement, and was ru- 
 moured abroad over the whole of Spain. Some 
 defended our manner of life and the doctrine 
 of the Institute, whilst others were of opinion 
 that so distinguished a prelate would not have 
 taken such a step without good reasons and 
 mature consideration. The Society at Alcala, 
 although they trusted in God's protection, and 
 were encouraged by the testimony of their own 
 consciences, were nevertheless in great trouble, 
 and continued to offer the holy sacrifice, to- 
 gether with many prayers and penances, to 
 obtain mercy from God amidst the persecu- 
 tion. They communicated with the Arch- 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 301 
 
 bishop through some mutual friends, declaring 
 that they had done nothing to the injury of 
 the Church, or offensive to him, but had la- 
 boured for God's glory alone and the good of 
 their neighbour ; that if any information of their 
 misdeeds had reached his ears, they were ready 
 to exculpate themselves and make every proper 
 satisfaction, imploring him at the same time 
 to restrain his wrath until the matter was tho- 
 roughly sifted. As he still refused to abate 
 anything from his severity, they had recourse 
 to their holy Father Ignatius for succour, and 
 after much prayer and grave consideration he 
 answered them, that if the Archbishop per- 
 severed in his conduct they were to go to the 
 royal court and produce the Pope's bull, and 
 with all modesty and firmness uphold their cause, 
 which was also the cause of Christ. Mean- 
 time he himself laid the matter before Pope 
 Julius III. and besought the aid of the Apos- 
 tolic See. The king's council ascertained the 
 innocence of the Society, and issued its decree, 
 which together with a severe rebuke from the 
 Pope forced the Archbishop to revoke his edict. 
 When the Saint first heard of this tempest, 
 he turned to Pietro Ribadeneira, and said with 
 an expression of joy, " Since we are not to blame 
 we must look for some great success at Toledo." 
 He also said that as the Archbishop was old 
 and the Society was young, it would live longer 
 than him. Shortly after this the prelate died, 
 and we were kindly welcomed into the city of 
 Toledo, and the same house which the Arch- 
 
362 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 bishop had built for his own clergy was allotted 
 to us, so that whilst he wished to drive us out 
 of the country, and adopted such harsh mea- 
 sures against us, he was overruled by God's 
 providence, and was building a house for us in his 
 own metropolitan city. Many other storms were 
 raised against us in various places, which were 
 all brought to nought through the wisdom and 
 skill of the holy Father. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 THE SOCIETY IS FORBIDDEN TO UNDERTAKE THE GO- 
 VERNMENT OF WOMEN, AND ITS MEMBERS EXCLUDED 
 FROM ECCLESIASTICAL DIGNITIES. 
 
 Still more dangerous to the Society than the 
 opposition and insidious attacks of its enemies, 
 was the zeal and devotion of some of its friends, 
 and this even still more dangerous from its 
 having the semblance of doing service to God. 
 Isabella Roselli, a noble lady of Barcelona, who 
 had assisted Ignatius in his studies with such 
 pious liberality, travelled from Spain desiring to 
 see the Saint at Rome, and to live a religious 
 life under his government and that of the So- 
 ciety. The Saint, full of gratitude for past bene- 
 fits, offered every consolation in his power to 
 this pious lady which might not interfere with 
 the efficiency of his Institute ; but he said that 
 he could not himself undertake or charge his 
 companions with the care of women, because 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 363 
 
 this was a burden incompatible with the other 
 important duties in which they were engaged 
 for the glory of God ; nor would he in any way 
 yield to her repeated prayers. Isabella, how- 
 ever, who was a lady of considerable influence, 
 made use of some powerful interest at court to 
 obtain her desires, and the burden which Igna- 
 tius had refused was imposed upon him by Pope 
 Paul III. It was strange to see how great was 
 the care and occupation into which the Saint 
 was now plunged, insomuch that the govern- 
 ment and care for three women seemed to oc- 
 cupy him almost as much as that of the whole 
 Society of Jesus; when he perceived this he 
 made many prayers and offered many masses, 
 and then after mature consideration he went to 
 Paul III. and opened the whole affair to him, 
 humbly imploring him, that as the Society was 
 destined for the good of all nations, he would 
 liberate it for ever from so great a hinderance, 
 the more so as there existed others who were 
 well able to undertake this task. The represen- 
 tations of Ignatius were approved by the Pope, 
 and with his customary kindness he granted his 
 request, and issued apostolic letters, by which 
 the Society was exempted from undertaking the 
 government of any women who desired to live 
 in community under their obedience, or in any 
 other way whatsoever. Kibadeneira says, that 
 these letters were issued on the 20th of May, 
 1547, but in the "Acta Sanctorum" there is a 
 copy of a brief dated November 3rd, 1546, in 
 which Filippo Archinti, the Pope's vicar, testi- 
 
364 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 fies that his holiness relieves Ignatius and the 
 Society from the care of Isabella Roselli, a lady 
 of Barcelona, and Francesca Cruiglies her ser- 
 vant, who had made vows of obedience, poverty, 
 and chastity into the hands of Ignatius. No 
 other lady is mentioned. To soothe any feelings 
 of angry disappointment which might arise in 
 the mind of Isabella, he wrote the following 
 letter to her before the appearance of the brief: 
 "To the venerable Donna Isabella Roselli, our 
 mother and sister in the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 "Though it is my true and hearty desire to 
 perform your wishes and retain you under my 
 obedience, to direct your soul in the way of sal. 
 vation and perfection, still I do not see how it 
 is possible for me to do so. For I lack strength 
 for this labour, through my constant bodily in- 
 firmities, and I lack time for it, through the 
 numerous and important affairs in which I am 
 always bound up and involved, and which I 
 cannot neglect without damage to my own soul 
 and to the service which I owe to Christ my 
 Lord and to His vicar. Moreover I am urged 
 by conscience, because I perceive that the par- 
 ticular charge of women living under us and 
 bound by vows of obedience is not at all suitable 
 to this humble Society. It is now some months 
 since I have represented to the Supreme Pontiff 
 these my reasons and opinions. I therefore con- 
 clude and judge that (since it is consistent with 
 my obedience) it will more contribute to the 
 glory of God that I should lay down this burden, 
 which I also took upon me in obedience. Hence- 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 3G5 
 
 forward therefore I shall no longer have you as 
 a spiritual daughter living under my obedience, 
 but I will to God's greater glory render you all 
 service and honour as a good and pious mother, 
 which you have ever shown yourself to be tow- 
 ards me. With a single view then to God's 
 glory and to the praise and honour of his eter- 
 nal goodness, according to the best of my ability, 
 I lay down this government (save always my 
 duty of obedience) and I resign you, and in all 
 things abandon you to the most wise judgment, 
 and to the will and obedience of our most holy 
 lord the Pope, earnestly praying the Lord that 
 your soul may always have peace in that same 
 God who is the author of all peace and conso- 
 lation, and may abundantly enjoy the sweetness 
 of His divinity to His own greater glory. Rome, 
 1st of October, 1546." 
 
 When this troublesome affair was thus settled, 
 the Saint nevertheless did not yet feel himself 
 secure; but considering how many are the expe- 
 dients and importunities which pious women will 
 have recourse to in the ardour of their desires, 
 and fearing lest in process of time the defences 
 which he had raised might be beaten down, he 
 again made petition to the same Pope in the 
 year 1549, for apostolic letters granting to the 
 Society exemption from taking upon it the care 
 of houses of religious women, notwithstanding 
 any apostolic bull to the contrary, unless such 
 bull contained an express mention of our order. 
 In accordance with this grant, the Saint in his 
 Constitutions forbids us by any means to accept 
 
366 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 this charge. So determined was he upon this 
 point, that when our college was founded at 
 Ferrara, he refused the request of the duke of 
 that city, that we should only for a few days 
 undertake the care of the nuns who had been 
 founded there by the duke's own mother, and 
 this notwithstanding that the duke had been a 
 father and great benefactor to our Society, and 
 that he was most earnest in his entreaties, and 
 still held in his own hands the deeds of the 
 foundation of our college waiting his consent. 
 One of our fathers at Valladolid undertook the 
 government of a convent in that town at the 
 command of his superiors, who were overcome as 
 well by the tears and importunities of the nuns 
 as by the urgent prayers of many persons of dis- 
 tinction, but no sooner did Ignatius hear of it 
 than he had him removed. 
 
 His firmness was the same on the subject of 
 ecclesiastical dignities. Ferdinand, King of the 
 Romans, greatly desired to release Germany, 
 which was in great part ruined by the heresy 
 of Luther, and wisely judging that no means 
 could be more availing than to provide prelates 
 who by the example of their lives, by authority, 
 by learning, by sound judgment, and by zeal, 
 might make head against these sectarians, and 
 defend the people from their fury and their guile, 
 as well as repair the injuries of the Catholic 
 faith, sought out with great diligence for men 
 of this character. He cast his eyes upon Clau- 
 dio Jajo, one of the nine first companions of Igna- 
 tius, who whilst labouring in the Church's ser- 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 3G7 
 
 vice in Germany had signalized his honesty, 
 learning, and zeal ; him he destined to be Bishop 
 of Trieste in Istria, because that province was 
 greatly exposed to the influence of error from 
 its bordering upon Germany ; but before writing 
 to the Pope he communicated his intention by 
 letter to Claudio, who had already some sus- 
 picion of it before. Before receiving the king's 
 offer he had written a letter to Ignatius from 
 Venice, dated September 13th, 1545, telling 
 him how averse he was from accepting such a 
 dignity, how unfit he considered himself for it, 
 and how little it agreed with the humility and 
 poverty which the Society professed ; he there- 
 fore begged the assistance of his prayers, and 
 asked what method he was to adopt in refusing 
 the request of so powerful a king. On the 25th 
 of the same month he sent his answer to the 
 king, from which it evidently appeared how peri- 
 lous he considered this offer ; and when he per- 
 ceived that there was hardly any chance of his 
 escaping from it, he was nearly dying with vexa- 
 tion. Still these humble endeavours to avoid 
 dignity only had the effect of making his merit 
 more apparent, and making Ferdinand more 
 anxious to secure his services. Since he de- 
 spaired of gaining the consent of Claudio, he 
 resolved upon secretly negotiating with the Pope, 
 that he might be commanded to accept the ho- 
 nour; and with this object in view he sent strict 
 injunctions to his ambassador at Rome, Diego 
 Lasso, to manage this affair for him with all pos- 
 sible diligence and ingenuity. Ignatius was in- 
 
368 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 formed of this intrigue by persons about the 
 court, but he did not at first trouble himself 
 much about it, trusting to the constancy of 
 Claudio and to the equity and prudence of the 
 Pope, and also to the many prayers which he 
 had offered up to God. Still in order to ob- 
 tain fuller information he went immediately 
 to Bernardino Maffei, who was then the Pope's 
 Secretary and afterwards was made a Cardinal, 
 and he begged him to confide to him in a 
 friendly manner all that had been done in the 
 business. Bernardino immediately showed him 
 without making any difficulty, the letter which 
 King Ferdinand had written to the Pope, which 
 was filled with praises of Claudio, and whatever 
 else might best forward his design. Directly Ig- 
 natius had read this he went to the ambassador, 
 who put into his hand the letter which he had 
 received, which the king had written to him in 
 great part with his own hand, urging and com- 
 manding him to hasten the affair and send him 
 the Pope's bull. Ignatius fell into deep thought, 
 and then endeavoured to divert the ambassador 
 from a plot which he considered so prejudicial 
 to the Society, begging him to find some means 
 of turning aside the king's intentions ; but all 
 these solicitations were only received by the am- 
 bassador with a smile. When he returned home 
 St. Ignatius commended the matter to God with 
 ardent prayers, and after this he went to the 
 Pope, and strongly represented to him the evil 
 which would ensue both to the Society and to 
 the Church by his yielding to the wishes of the 
 king. 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 3G9 
 
 First, with regard to the Society, he said that 
 although he was far from blaming those ecclesi- 
 astical ranks which were instituted by God, he 
 still had great fears that if they found entrance 
 into the Society, the spirit of humility in 
 which it had been founded, and zeal for God's 
 glory which was its soul, would gradually di- 
 minish. Some perhaps, who had newly entered 
 the Society, as it were a port of safety, upon 
 seeing that they were again exposed to the dan- 
 gers of honours and riches which they had intend- 
 ed to escape from, would turn back again to the 
 world, and still more, perhaps with different dis- 
 positions, might seek admittance into the order 
 from ambitious motives, as a means of attain- 
 ing to dignity rather than religious perfection. 
 Many of its members, wearied with the obser- 
 vance of their rule and their apostolic labours, 
 would be moved to hope for liberty and earthly 
 rewards. Besides this, since bishoprics had 
 now been offered to four of our fathers with- 
 in the last few years, it was plain to see 
 that if this was not entirely stopped, first one 
 and then another of the men, who by their vir- 
 tues and high qualities were the chief stays of 
 the Society, would be taken away, and it would 
 fall into ruin and decay to the great loss of the 
 Church to whose service it was entirely dedi- 
 cated. He well knew, he said, that other reli- 
 gious orders, to the great advantage of Christi- 
 anity, had from ancient times, and still con- 
 tinued to fulfil these high duties, but that God 
 had shown to him, that He required a different 
 24 
 
370 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 course from the members of this Institute, who 
 were to be looked upon not as a guard of soldiers 
 fixed at any particular post, but so to say, as a 
 troop of cavalry always ready to hasten to any 
 spot which was threatened by the enemies' at- 
 tack. In this manner they would prove of great 
 service to the Church. For although the power 
 and authority of a bishop may be greater, still 
 it is confined within fixed limits, and does not 
 extend beyond his own diocese, and sometimes 
 it happens that he is unpopular among his own 
 people, and so is unable to be of great use to 
 them, whilst it is impossible for him to change 
 his place. Whereas, an apostolic man, not be- 
 ing bound to any fixed residence, when one city 
 will not receive him passes to another, sometimes 
 serving under one bishop, sometimes under ano- 
 ther ; now labouring for one people, now for 
 another. He would have regard also to the 
 good report of the Society, for when it was 
 seen, in its very commencement, obtaining bish- 
 oprics and high dignities, the world would never 
 believe (however true it might be) that it was 
 moved to the acceptance of them by a spirit 
 of charity or obedience rather than by ambition. 
 It would say that our labours for the good of 
 our neighbour were actuated, not by zeal for 
 God's glory and the salvation of souls, but by 
 the desire of riches and honours, so that our 
 efficiency would be greatly diminished. By these 
 reasons his holiness was convinced, and judged 
 that the injury which would hence ensue, would 
 not be compensated by the good which might 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 371 
 
 be hoped for not only from one but from many 
 bishops. 
 
 The pope as well as the cardinals had freely 
 approved the king's choice, and was well inclined 
 to the appointment of Claudio ; and now that 
 he had given ear to the discourse of Ignatius 
 it was not easy for him to change his course, 
 and he quoted the text in the book of Proverbs, 
 that the hearts of kings are in the hand of God ; 
 meaning to say that the wishes and the zeal of 
 king Ferdinand were moved by God, and that he 
 should be acting in opposition to the Divine will 
 by refusing him. Observing that Ignatius was 
 disappointed by this remark, with his usual kind- 
 ness the pope dismissed him, saying that he would 
 nevertheless consider the matter, and they must 
 both seek counsel from God. As soon therefore 
 as Ignatius returned to the house he gave orders 
 that all the fathers should offer the holy sacrifice, 
 and all the brethren make prayer for this inten- 
 tion, and he himself made supplication to the 
 Divine Majesty with many tears, that the Society 
 might be delivered from this pressing danger. 
 Meanwhile the ambassador executed his commis- 
 sion with all zeal, and Ignatius was employed day 
 and night in going from one cardinal to ano- 
 ther, and urging upon them the same arguments 
 which he had represented to the pope. Still 
 however he continued firmly inclined to favour 
 the king in this affair of the election of Claudio, 
 and considered that it was required by the ne- 
 cessities of the church. Nothing therefore re- 
 mained for him except to write to Ferdinand 
 
372 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 himself and endeavour to withdraw him from 
 the pursuit of this object ; but the following day 
 was fixed for declaring in consistory the appoint- 
 ment to the bishopric of Trieste. In this ex- 
 tremity God, who witnessed the upright intentions 
 of his servant, and was willing to grant conso- 
 lation to his fervent prayers, put it into his heart 
 to have recourse to Margaret of Austria, daughter 
 of the emperor Charles V. who used to confess 
 to him ; and he accordingly begged her to in- 
 terpose that the affair might be postponed till 
 such time as he could procure an answer from 
 the king. This pious lady at once assented to 
 his request, and begged the delay of the Pope. 
 Ignatius then wrote to King Ferdinand, and urged 
 his suit with such strong reasons, that this wise 
 and good king, who had a paternal affection for 
 the Society, yielded up his wishes for the good 
 of the city of Trieste, because he was unwilling 
 that this should be purchased by any injury to 
 us, and he instructed his ambassador to relin- 
 quish all proceedings in the matter. Thus at 
 the moment, when all hope seemed to have fled, 
 the Society escaped this peril, and our holy fa- 
 ther commanded that masses of thanksgiving 
 should be celebrated and a Te Deum sung. The 
 Cardinal di Carpi and Claudio of Trent also wrote 
 to Ferdinand on the same subject on the 4th 
 and the 10th of December, 1546. 
 
 Thus were the intentions of Ferdinand chang- 
 ed, and the Society was preserved from the ad- 
 mission of ecclesiastical dignities, but in the course 
 of time the great calamities of Germany caused 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. .')"."> 
 
 him again to recur to this design, and in the 
 year 1552 he nominated Pietro Canisio to the 
 bishopric of Vienna. Julius III. who was then 
 Pope, took part with Ignatius, and perceived 
 this would be injurious to the Society and open 
 the way to ambition ; but on the other hand it 
 appeared a hard thing to refuse the request of 
 so great a king, who cried out for help in the 
 midst of the sufferings of Germany. Through 
 the opposition of Ignatius, or other causes, the 
 affair was delayed for two years. At the end 
 of this time the Pope, unwilling to displease 
 the king or to injure the Society, proposed, 
 with the consent of Ignatius, that Canisius should 
 be deputed to administer the affairs of the dio- 
 cese for the space of one year, within which 
 period some fit person was to be provided, and 
 a brief was issued accordingly on the 3rd of 
 November, 1554. At the same time that Fer- 
 dinand was negotiating for the appointment of Ca- 
 nisius to Vienna, his brother, the Emperor Charles 
 V. begged that Francis Borgia might be made a 
 cardinal. But so great was the influence of Ignatius 
 with Julius III. and such the efficacy of the pray- 
 ers which he offered up to God for three days con- 
 secutively, and the masses of the Fathers of 
 the Society, that the Pope determined not to 
 make him a cardinal without his own consent, 
 and so the matter dropped. 
 
 After this Ignatius perceived so clearly that 
 the admission of church dignities into the Society 
 was contrary to God's will, that he said that he 
 would continue to oppose it, even if the whole 
 
374 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 world were to kneel at his feet and implore him 
 not to interfere. Afterwards when he heard 
 that Paul IV. was about to bestow the Cardinal's 
 hat upon Lainez, he said to one of our Fathers : 
 "Perhaps in a few days we shall see Lainez a 
 Cardinal, and if it is so I will make such a noise 
 that all the world shall know how the Society 
 accepts dignities." He obtained permission from 
 the Holy See, and laid it down in the Constitu- 
 tions, that no member of the Society should re- 
 ceive any dignity without the consent of the 
 general ; and he was never to grant his consent 
 unless compelled by the Pope's command ; and 
 every professed member of the Society was bound 
 to this by oath. Nevertheless all the Saint's 
 opposition could not avail to prevent Julius III. 
 from appointing a Patriarch of Ethiopia and 
 two Jesuit Bishops, when the Emperor of that 
 country held out hopes of reconciling himself 
 to the Roman Church ; and the King of Portugal 
 urged these appointments. Our holy Father 
 and all persons of sound judgment were of opinion 
 that these dignities would bring suffering and 
 danger upon their possessors instead of riches, 
 as the event proved; but still in the tenth part 
 of the Constitutions, he has declared for the 
 perpetual memory of the fact, that he yielded 
 in this matter only because resistance was use- 
 less. Girolamo Natale, in commenting upon 
 this declaration, observes, "It is not possible to 
 resist the Pope's will and command." 
 
 With regard to this subject I will here men- 
 tion what happened to Martino Olave, with Mar- 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 375 
 
 cello Cervino, Cardinal of Sante Croce, who suc- 
 ceeded Julius III. in the Papacy with the title 
 of Marcellus II. Although this great Cardinal 
 was a great friend of St. Ignatius, and favoured 
 the Society, he differed with him upon this point, 
 and a little before he became Pope he had a 
 dispute with Olave upon this subject. Ho main- 
 tained that the Society would render greater 
 service to God and the Church by furnishing good 
 bishops than skilful preachers and confessors, 
 and that men's souls would be more benefited 
 in proportion as the powers of a bishop exceed 
 those of a priest, and in proof of this he argued 
 at great length. Olave endeavoured to reply, 
 but in spite of his learning and ability the Car- 
 dinal was not to be moved from his opinion, and 
 he at last concluded, "If these reasons do not 
 appear sufficient to your eminence because they 
 are contrary to your own opinion, to us Jesuits 
 the authority of F. Ignatius is sufficient, because 
 we believe that to be the best." "Well," an- 
 swered the Cardinal, "to that I yield myself, for 
 the opinion of Ignatius has more weight with me 
 than all the arguments in the world. For how 
 is it possible to believe that other men know the 
 will of God better than the man to whom He has 
 given such light and such aid to found and 
 to spread within His Church a religious order 
 of such wonderful utility?" 
 
37G ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 THE SAINT'S ENDEAVOURS TO PROMOTE FRATERNAL 
 UNION AND DUE SUBJECTION IN THE SOCIETY. HIS 
 CARE IN APPOINTING SUPERIORS. 
 
 The holy father made use of three efficacious 
 means of confirming the Society. First, he en- 
 deavoured by every means in his power to unite 
 the minds of his subjects in the bonds of perfect 
 charity. He desired that each should recognise 
 in his brother an image of Jesus Christ, so that 
 love for the object represented might overcome 
 any feelings of aversion which his defects might 
 give rise to. He directed that all should, as far 
 as possible, avoid diversities of opinion, seeing 
 that the wills of men are very often drawn into 
 the disputes in which the intellect is engaged. He 
 took away all motives for worldly ambition and 
 all hope of gain, the fruitful causes of rivalry 
 and contention, by excluding his subjects from 
 ecclesiastical dignities. He forbid any one to 
 reprove another, or to interfere with the duties 
 of another, unless he was in authority or had 
 received a special commission to do so. He re- 
 quired them to strip from their hearts all na- 
 tional predilections and love of country, so that 
 they might bear a stronger affection to men of 
 different nations ; and since the news of the 
 various wars which were carried on among Chris- 
 tian potentates might occasion animosities, he 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 377 
 
 banished all such subjects from the Society. By 
 these careful provisions of the holy father an 
 excellent spirit of fraternal love was kept up 
 rftnong his children. " Nothing consoles me 
 more," says an early father of our Society, 
 "than to see amidst such variety of disposi- 
 tions such uniformity of wills, such complete 
 equality among such different ranks, such har- 
 monious feelings and friendly concurrence among 
 so many of divers tongues and nations. You 
 cannot hero discover who is in authority, and 
 who is learned, or who amongst us whilst living 
 in the world was rich or noble, poor or base. If 
 any were to say this man is my friend, or I am 
 beloved by such a one, this worldly language 
 would be regarded as strange and be heard with 
 astonishment, for when all love each other as 
 themselves, all are friends. When some depart 
 in obedience to various parts of the world what 
 affectionate farewells, what loving embraces and 
 joyous welcome in receiving those who return ! 
 Every house of the Society to which we come is 
 our own house, and its inhabitants are so many 
 brothers. Let us with gratitude acknowledge 
 God's grace in these things. Let us rejoice that 
 this mutual love is still maintained amongst us, 
 and hope that it may continue for ever, and to 
 accomplish this let each of us perform his own 
 share in the work heartily." E. Luigi Strada, 
 a holy monk of the order of St. Bernard, writes 
 as follows : " Certainly, what I have witnessed in 
 some places in this holy company is very won- 
 derful, and appears like divine enchantment ; 
 
378 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 men not of different lineage only, but of divers 
 nations and languages ; young students and 
 aged teachers become in a short time so con- 
 formed in mind, and so united by mutual charity, 
 that they have in truth one mind and one heart, 
 so that any one who did not know who they 
 were would say that they were children of the 
 same parents, or at least persons of similar dis- 
 positions." To this end the various colleges 
 were not composed of the subjects of the same 
 sovereign, but even of subjects whose sovereigns 
 were at war. When the college of Messina was 
 founded in the year 1548, out of twelve fathers 
 there were hardly two of the same country, and 
 for the most part they were of different tongues, 
 so that the city was greatly astonished and 
 edified to witness their concord. So manifest 
 was this absence of national feeling, that even 
 princes when they entrusted us with the direc- 
 tion of their souls had no regard to our being 
 their own subjects or foreigners ; thus, when 
 Diego Mirone was going to Portugal to be con- 
 fessor to King John III., he replied to those who 
 objected to his being a foreigner, that he did 
 not esteem any member of the Society of Jesus 
 as a stranger. 
 
 Whilst our holy father had thus united his chil- 
 dren in the bonds of charity, he sought also to 
 unite them to their superiors by obedience, and la- 
 boured strenuously to effect this object. " It was 
 his desire," he said, "that we should excel in 
 all virtues, but above all other moral virtues , 
 we were to endeavour to attain to perfect obe- 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 379 
 
 dience. lie was content that we should be 
 excelled by other religious orders, in the length 
 of prayers, the severity of retirement, and other 
 austerities, but he wished us to be distinguished 
 from all others by the signal excellency of our 
 obedience. This was the foundation of the So- 
 ciety, and this was to be maintained with all 
 possible rigour. He manifested the high value 
 of this virtue and its several degrees. The 
 lowest degree consists in the execution of what 
 is imposed, and this by itself does not merit even 
 the name of obedience. In the second degree 
 the will accompanies the execution, and the 
 pleasure of the superior is performed with plea- 
 sure. But even such obedience as this is low 
 and unstable unless there is added to it the 
 third degree, which consists in the submission 
 of the understanding as well as the will, which 
 esteems the command of the superior to be 
 good whatever it may be, and blindly executes 
 it without pausing to examine either the na- 
 ture or the reason of the command. This perfects 
 our obedience and renders complete the sacri- 
 fice of ourselves which we have made to God. 
 He used also to say, particularly when he re- 
 ceived any new member, that they who obey 
 only with the will alone, without submitting 
 the judgment, must know that they have but one 
 foot in the Society. He pointed out many me- 
 thods by which we might attain to this perfection, 
 and amongst others the following : 
 
 " 1st. You must surrender yourselves entirely 
 into God's hands, and trust to His sweet Provi* 
 
ST. IGNATIUS, 
 
 dence which confers grace on every man ac- 
 cording to his condition. As He guides the 
 superior that he inay command rightly, so He 
 assists the subject to obey well. 
 
 ••2ndly. You must keep your eyes firmly fixed 
 upon your vocation, and not look upon him who 
 governs, but upon Jesus Christ in whose stead he 
 governs. 
 
 •• Srdly. You must not listen to those reasons 
 which are suggested by the sensual part of your 
 nature, but piously search out those which in- 
 duce to obedience. 
 
 '• -khly. Look continually to the examples of 
 the Saints who were distinguished for their per- 
 fect obedience, and above all to the example 
 hrist, who for our sakes was obedient unto 
 death, even the death of the cross. 
 
 ••othly. Be fervent in prayer, and in mortify- 
 ing self-love and self-esteem, considering how 
 often our conceited opinions of ourselves are 
 the delusions of our own thoughts, and resolving 
 with the Apostle not to know more than it 
 is needful for us to know." 
 
 These are some of the chief instructions given 
 by cur holy Father on the subject of obedience, 
 but about a year before his death, feeling that 
 his end was approaching, not content with the 
 wonderful letter he had written on this subject, 
 and with what he had afterwards laid down in 
 the Constitutions, he called one of the brethren 
 to him, whose name, according to Bartoli, was 
 Giovanno Filippo Viti, a companion of the secre- 
 tary, and said to him, "Write that it is my 
 
[QHATIU8. 381 
 
 desire to leave in writing for the Society my 
 sentiments on the subject of obedience," and 
 he dictated to him the following points : 
 
 " 1. On my first entrance into religion, and 
 at all subsequent times soever, I ought to resign 
 myself up into the hands of the Lord my I 
 and of him who governs me. 
 
 "2. I ought to desire to be ruled by a su- 
 perior who endeavours to subjugate my judg- 
 ment and subdue my understanding. 
 
 "3. In all things, except sin. I ought to do 
 the will of my superior, and not my own. 
 
 " 4. There are three sorts of obedience. The 
 first, when a strict obligation is imposed upon me, 
 and this is good. The second, when the simple 
 command of the superior without any addition suf- 
 fices for me, and this is better. The third, when 
 I do a thing without waiting for any express com- 
 mand, from a knowledge that it will be pleas- 
 ing to him, and this is best of all. 
 
 "5. I ought not to look to him who gives 
 the order, whether he be the chief, or the de- 
 putv, or an underling, but to God alone, in whose 
 place he stands, otherwise the merit of obedience 
 is diminished. 
 
 " 6. When it seems to me that I am commanded 
 by my superior to do a thing which my con- 
 science revolts against as sinful, and my superior 
 judges otherwise, it is my duty to yield my 
 doubts to him, unless I am otherwise constrained 
 by the evidence. If submission does not ap- 
 pease my conscience, I must impart my doubts 
 to two or three persons of discretion, and 
 
382 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 abide by their decision. If this does not con- 
 tent me, I am very far from having attained 
 that perfection which is required in a religious 
 life. 
 
 " 7. In a word, I ought not to be my own, but 
 His who created me, and his by whose means 
 He governs me, yielding myself up to be moulded 
 in his hands like soft wax ; whether it be in the 
 matter of writing or receiving letters, of con- 
 versing with this person or that, and other like 
 things, placing all my devotion in performing 
 whatever is required of me. 
 
 " 8. I ought to be like a corpse which has nei- 
 ther will nor understanding ; or like a little cru- 
 cifix which is turned about at the will of him 
 who holds it ; or like a staff in the hands of an 
 old man who makes use of it as it may assist 
 him most, or please him better. Such ought 
 I to be under my religious rule, doing whatever 
 service is judged best. 
 
 " 9. I must not request or pray the superior to 
 send me to such a place, or appoint me to such 
 an office. It is permitted me to acquaint him 
 with my intentions and desires, but with entire 
 abandonment of myself to him, and a disposition 
 to approve whatever he may determine. 
 
 " 10. Nevertheless in unimportant matters, such 
 as going to the stations, or praying to God for 
 some grace and the like, it is well not to ask 
 permission, if so be that I am prepared to esteem 
 it the best whether I am permitted or refused. 
 
 " 11. So with regard to poverty, I must depend 
 on my superior, and possess nothing which I es- 
 
ST. IGNATH 3. 383 
 
 teem as my own; and I ought to behave just as 
 would a statue, which makes no resistance to him 
 that strips it, whatever the occasion may be." 
 
 These rules of perfect obedience Ignatius used 
 to give to religious of other orders who came 
 to seek counsel on this subject, and he endea- 
 voured with all his power to carry them out 
 in practice in the Society. He was resolute in 
 never putting up with obstinate men, whatever 
 talents and other valuable qualifications they 
 might possess; on this account he often expelled 
 a great number at once, even though it might 
 empty the colleges. He wrote a very strong 
 letter to the students at Ghent who had gone 
 somewhat astray, concluding as follows : " "Who- 
 ever is not prepared to obey in the manner here 
 laid down, whether he be now in the college 
 or whether he come hereafter, (the rector also 
 included,) must think of some other mode of life, 
 for this Society is not for any man who is unable 
 or unwilling to submit to the form of obedience 
 which I have here declared." 
 
 That he might accustom his subjects to a 
 blind obedience, he used to order things that 
 were useless or unseasonable, and some which 
 were apparently impossible, as to be at the same 
 time preacher and procurator, teacher of phil- 
 osophy and of grammar ; or that the cook 
 should be ready to teach theology and the the- 
 ologian become cook. Sometimes he would 
 send for priests who were prepared to celebrate, 
 and having made them take off their vestments 
 sent them back again. One priest was clothed 
 
384 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 in his sacred vestments, and with the chalice 
 in his hand was just stepping out of the sacristy 
 when Ignatius who had been watching him sud- 
 denly sent for him, and bidding him take off his 
 vestments, told him to put on his cloak to 
 leave the house. Without a word of reply he 
 obeyed, and came to the Saint with his cloak 
 on. He then asked him if he had been at all 
 disturbed by the command. "Not in the least," 
 answered the priest. "Know then," he replied, 
 "that I gave the command, not because I had 
 need of you, but to establish you in obedience ; 
 and rest assured that you have merited more 
 by leaving the sacrifice than if you had ac- 
 complished it ; for though the value of the 
 sacrifice be above all price, still we read in 
 the Scripture, that * obedience is better than 
 sacrifice.' " Another who was slow in execu- 
 ting the command of his superior, and would 
 not understand his desires, was suddenly sent 
 for even whilst he was hearing confessions and 
 dismissed without delay. Another priest who 
 was too eager in asking leave to perform a 
 pilgrimage, not only had his request refused, but 
 a discipline imposed upon him as a penance. To 
 another priest who came to ask permission to 
 go out of the house with his cloak on, he said, 
 " Go back to your cell and take off your cloak, 
 and then come back to me and ask leave." He 
 forbid any secular interference in our internal 
 arrangements. If any one threw himself at his 
 feet for any cause whatever, if he did not im- 
 mediately rise upon his bidding he went away 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 385 
 
 and left him on his knees, that he might teach 
 him that humiliation is not good when it is against 
 obedience. An assistant brother was ashamed 
 to sit down in the presence of a knight, though 
 the Saint had made him a sign to do so ; upon 
 which he desired him to put the chair upon his 
 head, and he had to remain in that position 
 whilst Ignatius conversed with the gentleman for 
 a long time. One who does not understand the 
 virtue of obedience, would be astonished at the 
 conduct he adopted with Father Emerico de 
 Bonis, who was then a young man. A woman 
 of bad reputation who lived opposite our church, 
 used to throw the sweepings of the house upon 
 Ignatius as he passed by. The Saint when he 
 had endured this for some length of time, told 
 Emerico (who was then sacristan) to beg her 
 to cease from doing so ; but from feelings of mo- 
 desty and shame he had this message taken to 
 her by another person. But the Saint, though 
 he praised his modesty, punished his disobedi- 
 ence, and commanded him to go every day to 
 the refectory with a bell hung round his neck, 
 and cry aloud, "Volo, et nolo, non habitant in 
 hoc dorno." 
 
 But amidst all the expedients which the Saint 
 resorted to to establish the practice of obedi- 
 ence in his order, I know of none to compare 
 with his conduct to Francis Xavier. He con- 
 sidered that it would be for the greater glory of 
 God, and for the good of the Society, if the 
 duties of government were committed to Xavier, 
 and that he should succeed him as general. He 
 25 
 
386 ST. IGNATIUS. 
 
 therefore recalled him to Europe, and put an 
 obedience upon him, as his custom was, that his 
 merit might be increased, and that nothing 
 might hinder the execution of his desire. In 
 writing to the holy Father, Xavier had expressed 
 his willingness to return. But it did not please 
 God that the letter which bore the order of Ig- 
 natius should find him alive. If death had not 
 intervened Rome would have seen this apostle, 
 who was the conqueror of so many realms and pro- 
 vinces, drawn to her from the other side of Asia. 
 a distance of eighteen thousand miles, when he 
 was at the very height of his expectations of 
 gaining the vast empire of China. The Society 
 would then have had a sovereign example by 
 which to teach her sons never to delay obedience 
 for causes which must be infinitely less avail- 
 ing. 
 
 Since the maintenance of order and the gen- 
 eral well-being of the Society depends chiefly 
 on the superiors, the Saint was particularly care- 
 ful in qualifying them for their duties. First, 
 he paid great attention to their selection, and 
 examined into their characters and dispositions, 
 their prudence,' industry, and manners. These 
 virtues did not content him unless they were 
 also accompanied by a mastery over their own 
 passions, a punctual observance of religious dis- 
 cipline, firmness of mind, paternal charity, ready 
 obedience, and other like virtues, without which 
 the Society might possess excellent political rulers, 
 but bad religious ones. Whenever he found any 
 man possessed of these qualifications he inwardly 
 
ST. IGNATIUS. 387 
 
 resolved to place him in authority. After this, 
 that they might not have to learn the art of go- 
 verning by the experience of their own errors, 
 to the injury of their subjects, he used to instruct 
 them himself beforehand. He summoned them 
 to assist at councils ; he entrusted particular 
 persons, who were difficult to manage, and were 
 tempted as to their vocation or in other ways, 
 to their superintendance ; he committed delicate 
 affairs to their hands, giving them at the same 
 time fitting instructions for their guidance, and 
 then leaving the execution entirely to their 
 judgment, well knowing that men are glad to 
 look upon themselves as the authors of works 
 of which they are only the agents. When the 
 affair was completed he made them give their 
 report of it, praising them where they had done 
 well, and teaching them better where they had 
 failed. When he felt secure of their abilities he 
 placed them in authority. If it afterwards hap- 
 pened that they did some injury to public dis- 
 cipline, whatever the occasion might be, he re- 
 moved them with a strong arm. He did not 
 hesitate to do so even with two of his nine orig- 
 inal companions, who notwithstanding the holi- 
 ness of their lives and their good intentions, were 
 not equally successful in the art of government. 
 One was removed from Naples, and the other 
 from Portugal. 
 
 END OF VOL. I. 
 
 KICHARDSON AND SON. bEUKY. 
 
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