Of all the various human combinations that have ever risen to adorn or to disgrace humanity, the Society of the Jesuits is perhaps the most remarkable. The great men of the world have constructed mighty schemes for its government, and the utmost powers of the human mind have again and again been called out in order to combine men for the attainment of some given end; but of all these varied schemes, I believe it may be safely affirmed that there never yet has been known one so admirably suited to its end, so beautifully adjusted in its parts, so wonderfully adapted to the real condition of society, or possessing so extraordinary a capability of applying its movements, so as to meet the ways and wishes of all those countless characters upon whom its action is employed. The question whether such an institution is a curse or a blessing to the human race must, of course, depend on two things, viz., the object to which its efforts are directed, and the principles by which they are controlled. If that object be the honour of the Lord Jesus Christ, and if those principles be in harmony with the Word of God, then, clearly, so varied and effective an instrumentality must act most powerfully for the benefit of man; but if, on the other hand, its object be to pervert the truth and impede its progress,—if, again, the principles of its action be flatly opposed, not merely to the Word of God, but also to the most elementary maxims of even natural morality,—then it is equally clear that the perfection of the instrument merely adds to its fatal power, and just in proportion to the completeness of the machinery will be the deadliness of the blight which it will produce upon society.
Now the avowed object of the Order of Jesuits is the support of the See of Rome. In the original plan submitted by Loyola to Pope Paul III. it was stated, “The Society of Jesus shall constitute a trained host, ready at all times to fight for God’s vicegerent, the holy Roman Father, and for the Roman Catholic Church, in which alone is salvation.” To this declaration of their original designs, the Society has to this day avowedly adhered; and although their countless intrigues against the other Orders have shown very clearly that, in professing to serve the Pope, they have had an ulterior end, viz., the aggrandizement and exaltation of their own Order, yet we must always regard this as their professed design, and form our estimate of the object of the Society by our estimate of the value of the Popedom. There are, alas, those who, trying it by this test, would pronounce its object good; but, thanks be to God! there is, I verily believe, a vast, and vastly increasing, multitude who have been driven by recent events to bring Popery to the test of Scripture, and who have risen from the study with the deep and indelible conviction that, instead of being our Lord’s vicegerent, the Pope of Rome is the usurper of his sovereignty; and that, therefore, if this be the object of Jesuitism, Jesuitism must be bad; and if this be the end of its action, the better its machinery the worse its effects upon the world.
The full principles of the Society it is extremely difficult to discover or to describe, inasmuch as there appears to be a very wide difference between the system as exhibited in its public documents and as carried out in the practice of its members. There are countless facts in the history of the order which prove conclusively that there is one code for the world to look at, and another for the world to feel; a uniform for inspection days, and a plain dress for common life. The constitutions and other acknowledged documents are open to the world, but if we want to know how the Jesuit will act when he has secretly wormed his way into the confidence of our family, or to discover any real moral principle by which the conduct of such an one will be guided, I believe that we shall be utterly at a loss. He has his own secret instructions from his superiors, and what they are will probably be never known out of the Order, till the great day shall come when the secrets of all hearts shall be made known.
We must be content, therefore, with only superficial information upon the subject; but there is enough in the undoubted avowals of the Society to amaze the conscience of any honest mind. It is true that we are able to examine merely its authorized documents as prepared to meet the world’s eye, and that when we have been through them all we shall know but a fragment of the system; but at the same time we shall learn enough to discover that, in order to the attainment of its object, the Society is prepared to set aside all the dictates either of conscience or of Scripture; and we shall also obtain ample evidence to convict the Church of Rome of the awful guilt of abandoning honesty in order to secure power, and of sacrificing moral virtue in order to attain supreme dominion.
The Members of the Society are arranged in the following classes:—[10]
The Professed, who, in fact, constitute the real body of the Order. The property of the Society is vested in them, and they only have a right to attend a general congregation, or to vote at the election of a General. They are all priests, and none are admitted till the age of twenty-five. They are distinguished from the other classes by having taken four instead of three vows, the rest having vowed three things, viz., obedience, poverty, and chastity, but the professed having added a fourth promise, viz., absolute obedience to the Pope, as the Vicar of Christ.
Spiritual Coadjutors, whose office is to assist the professed in spiritual things; such as preaching, hearing confessions, superintending Colleges, &c. These, likewise, must all be priests.
Secular Coadjutors. These are all laymen, and their office is to fill such secular offices as may be required, in order to promote the objects of the Society. They act as servants and inferior officers in the Colleges and other houses; but they are employed, when qualified, for higher and more important duties. [11a] They are expected also to influence their neighbours by conversation and other means. [11b] They are drawn from all ranks, some being unable to read, and others educated men. [11c] It is clear that this class must supply the Society with one of the most effective of its agencies. The lay coadjutor may act in any capacity, as a merchant, statesman, mechanic, or anything else which his Superior may deem expedient, and may thus secure a powerful influence without any person having the least idea that a Jesuit is in his neighbourhood.
Approved scholars, or those youths who have been selected as likely to prove suitable for the future purposes of the Society, and are being trained in Jesuit Colleges. Although their education is not yet complete, these scholars have been required to take the three vows, and moreover to add the promise that they will be ready, when required, to devote themselves to the service of the Society.
Those whose future rank is not yet decided, but who are admitted upon the condition that they shall be employed in whatever way the Society shall deem most suited to their talents.
To this list Mr. Duller adds another class, which he terms affiliated members, or adjuncts, which he states includes even ladies. [12a] From his account they appear to be bound to the Order by a compact that on their part they will act as spies and agents in all their intercourse with those amongst whom they dwell, while the Society undertakes in return to guarantee to them a share in all those spiritual privileges which, as it vainly pretends, it is the Jesuits’ prerogative to bestow. [12b] The effect of these affiliated members and lay coadjutors is, of course, enormous. They are like the thin fibres to the root, through whose power the whole plant is nourished. They impart to the Order an ever-penetrating power. They enable it to act without awakening the least suspicion of its presence, to worm its way into the very heart of Protestantism, and to secure the unsuspecting confidence of those whom they desire to betray and ruin.