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* JESUITS. 192 JESUITS. tation of the Order was made. Since then the Jesuits have continued to spread all over the world. There were, in 1!)02, l.),U5 .Jesuits tliroughout the world, of whom ti047 were priests, 4545 scholastics, and 3953 lay brothers. In America there were over 2100, of whom about 780 were priests, 735 scholastics, and 585 lay broth- ers. In the Philippine Islands there were 102 Jesuits, and 55 in Cuba. Among the works of the Jesuits there is none to which they devoted themselves with more ■/x-a, nor, we may add, with greater success, than that of the education of youth. Saint Igiuitius him- self insisted on this, and was the tirst to make education the special ministry of a religious Order. The principles to guide the Society in its educational work were laid down by Ignatius in the fourth part of the Constitution. This was, however, only an outline of a system of educa- tion. At first the Jesuits adopted the methods of teaching then followed in the various Catholic schools of Europe, drawing chiefly from the tra- ditions of the great I'niversity of Paris, the alma mater of Saint Ignatius and his first com- panions, though with due attention also to the developing methods of the humanistic schools of the Netherlands, then justly celebrated. The theory that the Jesuits' method of education was borrowed largely from the "Plan of Studies" of John Sturm of Strassburg is now admitted to be false. From 1540 to 1509 the Society was en- gaged in forming a complete system of studies. Plans were drawn up and put in practice in vari- ous colleges, as for example those of Xadal and I.edesnia. The practical system thus created was completed under Acquaviva, the fifth gen- eral of the Society, who ruled during its most brilliant period (1581-1015). In 1584 a com- mittee of six experienced .Jesuit teachers of dif- ferent nationalities drew up a preliminary plan which was tried in all the colleges of the Society. The results of this five-year trial were reported to Rome and the suggestions made were employed in drawing up a modified plan which was sent to the various colleges in 1591. After this plan had been tested for over five years, the final plan was drawn up and formally issued in 1599. This is the famous Ratio Studiorum, which was the fruit of long and patient efforts, and the result of the combined wisdom of the whole Society. The .system is iivided into three parts — (1) I'^tudia inferiora. inferior studies, which consist chiefly of linguistics, the literary study of the classical languages with history, archtpology, etc., as coU.ateral branches; (2) arts, or philosophy, consisting of philosophy, mathematics, and the natural sciences as far as they were known and cultivated in those times; (3) theology. In the lower course, that of humanities, there were ordinarily five classes, in some places six. Tliese were called the grammar classes, first, second, and third, then humanities, or poetry and rhetoric. After the restoration of the Society at the begin- ning of the nineteenth century, the needs of the times demanded a change in the educational sys- tem. Father Roothaan, then general, proceeded with the same care as Acquaviva in securing the opinions of the I)est educators in various coun- tries. The revised Ratio fitudinrum was pub- lished in 1332. This was not definitive, but was considered subject to such further changes as might prove advisable in the course of time, and the progress of education. The principles of the old Ratio Studiorum are preserved, but greater attention is recommended to the natural sciences and special care is to be devoted to the teaching of the mother tongue. The Jesuits have always iH'en markedly successful in the teaching of Latin and Greek. The essence of their method is the prelection or preliminary exjdanalion of a pas- sage by the teacher, followed by tlie pupil's study of it and then by recitation, which includes gram- raatic, historic, and other details. Imitative themes are a prominent feature, and, as far as knowledge of the language studied. Frequent repetitions are recommended. The thoroughness of this system is exemplified by tlieir own mas- tery of the Latin tongue, and the lasting knowl- edge acquired by their students, especially in the classic langtiages. How well the recommenda- tion to devote more attention to the sciences has been carried out is shown by the fact that such great astronomers of the nineteenth Cfnlury as De Vico, Perry, and Secehi were Jesuits. The number of the colleges increased very rapidly. Within fifty years after the Papal ap- probation, the Jesuits had colleges all over the wcrld, not only in Kurope, but in the Indies, China, Japan, Jlexico, and Brazil. At the time of the death of Acquaviva (1015) the Society had 372 colleges. Shortly before the su])pression of the Society, about the middle of the eighteenth century, there were 728 colleges, many of which had an average attendance of 1.500 or more, while in some the number of students was from 2000 to 3000, and no college is mentioned with a lower number than 300. Taking the lowest possible average, the 700 .Jesuit colleges must have had about the middle of the eighteenth century 300.000 students. This influence was all the more impor- tant as they insisted on moral and religious training. Such Protestant writers as Kanke, Paulsen, Quick, and others, candidly admit that the .Jesuits during these centuries were the best educators, so that many parents not of the Catholic faith intrusted the education of their sons to them. The spread and development of Jesuit colleges during the nineteenth century was slow but steady. The Order had to struggle against great difficulties. The colleges which it possessed before the suppression were in the hands of the civil authorities. The persecutions and expulsions of the Society from various countries prevented the establishment of new colleges, and put an end to those already in being. Notwith- standing this, in the year 1900 the Jesuits had more tlian 60,000 students in their colleges all over the world. In the United States they have colleges with the privileges of universities at Worcester, ilass., Boston. Fordham, X. Y., New ■^'ork City. Georgeto«-n, D.C.. .Jersey City, N. J., Washington. D. C. Baltimore. Chicago. Cincin- nati. Detroit. Milwaukee. Omaha, Saint Louis, .Saint Mary's, Kan., Galveston, Mobile, New Orleans, Denver, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Cal.. Buffalo. Cleveland. Spokane, and Manila, P. I. The attendance at .Jesuit colleges through- out the world has doubled in the last twenty-five years. Besides their colleges and missions the Jesuits have charge of the Apostleship of Prayer, or League of the Sacred Heart (q.v.). The .Jesuit missions are the source of the great- est honor to the Order. Saint Francis Xavier's (q.v.) work in the Indies recalled the Apostolic times. He knew how to organize his manv mis-
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