at they will; and _their great
care not to change or alter any thing in their institute will be the
cause of their stability and long continuance_. The vow of obedience
they make {78} to the pope will not subject them more to his will, than
the oath of allegiance they have taken to me will bind them not to
undertake any thing against their natural sovereign. But their vow does
not extend to every thing, as is vainly pretended; they only make a vow
of obeying the pope, when he is pleased to send them to labour for the
encouragement of infidels; and, in fact, the Indies are converted by
them. As to the opinion of the pope, I know he esteems them greatly; so
do I. But you do not tell me, that the pope was upon the point of
seizing cardinal Bellarmine's Works, at Rome, for not allowing him as
great an extent of jurisdiction as other divines do: and you studiously
conceal what the Jesuits have lately maintained, that, though the pope
could not err, Clement might be mistaken. Upon the whole, I am
persuaded, that they say no more than others of the papal authority;
and that, if opinions are to be tried, you must quarrel with those of
the catholic church. It is said, that the king of Spain employs
Jesuits; I tell you, that I am {79} determined to do the same; why
should France fare worse than Spain? Since all the world judges them
useful to the public, let me tell you, I think them necessary to my
kingdom. As to the doctrine, imputed to them, of withdrawing churchmen
from obedience to sovereigns, or teaching subjects to attempt on their
lives, it is proper to see, on one side, what they say, and, on the
other, what they teach their scholars. What convinces me there is no
such thing is, that, for these thirty years past, that they have taught
in France, above fifty thousand scholars have been brought up in their
colleges, have conversed and lived with them, and not one has yet been
found, in that vast number, who pretends to have heard any such
discourse among them, or any thing coming up to the doctrine with which
they are reproached. What is more, ask protestant ministers, that have
lived and studied under them, how the Jesuits live: to be sure, they
will not spare them, were it only to justify their leaving the society.
I know the question has been put to many, and nothing {80} could ever
be got