ACY

AGAINST THE JESUITS,

_&c._ _&c._

INTRODUCTION.

If there were a question whether there should be a change in the religion
of the state, or whether the sceptre of Great Britain were better placed in
the hand of a protestant or a catholic prince, my voice, slender as it is,
should eagerly profess my attachment to the monarchy, and to the church of
England. But no such question exists, or is likely to exist, in the
contemplation of British subjects, of any persuasion or denomination
whatever. It is with this conviction {2} on my mind, that I have resolved
to publish the result of my inquiries respecting the Jesuits, and to show,
that they do not merit the virulent slanders with which they have been
attacked, or the treatment, horrid and inhuman, which they were made to
suffer. A violent pamphlet, entitled "A brief Account of the Jesuits,"
lately republished from a newspaper, shall serve to direct me over the mass
of abuse, which I purpose to clear away in such a manner as to enable the
reader to proceed, without prejudice, to the perusal of the following
Letters, to which partiality might otherwise be attributed. They are
replies to some of the charges of the writer of the pamphlet, and they also
appeared in a newspaper, with the signature of _Clericus_, the assailant
having assumed that of _Laicus_, which I mention, as it may be convenient
for me to use these names occasionally.

I purpose, 1st, to make some remarks on the objects of the author of the
pamphlet, in his attack upon the Jesuits, and on his mode {3} of conducting
his argument: 2dly, to examine the character of the authorities against the
Jesuits, called by the writer historical evidences; and of those in favour
of them; and to notice some of the charges against the society: 3dly, to
give a brief account of the order, and of the fundamental character of it,
with the prominent features of the Institute of Loyola, contrasted with the
libellous _Monita Secreta_: and, 4thly, to conclude with observations
arising out of the preceding subjects, and on the necessity of making
religion the basis of education.

* * * * *

{5}

CHAPTER I.

_Remarks on the Objects of the Author of "A brief Account of the
Jesuits," and on his mode of conducting his Argument._

The professed objects of the author of a pamphlet, entitled "A brief
Account of the Jesuits," as stated in a preface, are "to examine the
propriety of ext