Page:Jesuit Education.djvu/441

Rh love to particular pupils. All these qualities and virtues, so necessary for the teacher, the young religious endeavors to acquire during the time of his preparation. The new school of educators may sneer at this "asceticism," still we know that godliness, although not sufficient for everything, is nevertheless profitable for everything, especially so for education.

The first two years of the life of the young Jesuit are principally devoted to this religious and moral training. However, his future life work is not lost sight of even during this time. Many exercises and practices of the novitiate have a direct bearing on his scientific preparation. As a rule, the students are admitted only after they have finished their classical course, in Germany and Austria for instance after completing the gymnasium, which is a classical course of nine years; in this country, after Sophomore class, which amounts to four years academic or high school work and two years of college properly so-called. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule, not a few enter after having finished a course of philosophy or after having taken special courses at a university, in addition to their classical studies, while sometimes students are admitted who have not completed the whole college course. During the first two years, novices have frequent oratorical exercises, they receive theoretical instructions on explaining Christian doctrine, and still more frequently – in accordance with the fundamental maxim of the Society, that practice and exercise are most important means of training – they have to give catechetical instructions. This exercise is an excellent preparation for explain-