o the service of God. They formed
themselves into the "Order of Jesus," with the avowed purpose at first
of rescuing Jerusalem from the hands of the infidels. This was not to
be done by force of arms, as in case of the crusaders, but by peaceful
means. This purpose was abandoned, but the zealous missionary spirit of
the Jesuits endured. In 1540 Pope Paul III. recognized the new order and
gave it the sanction of the Church. The organization was military in
character, Loyola becoming its first general.

=The Growth of the Society= was remarkable from the outset. In 1600 it
had 200 schools; in 1710, 612 colleges, 157 boarding or normal schools,
59 houses for novitiates, 340 residences, 200 missions, and 24
universities. The college at Clermont had, in 1651, 2000 students, and
in 1675, 3000 students. These institutions controlled the education of
the Catholic Church in all Europe, and many Protestant young men also
were attracted to the Jesuit schools by their superior teachers and
their thorough training.

The society became so strong that various attempts were made to check
its power. It spread, however, to China and Hindustan, to the Indian
tribes of North America, and to South America. Its spirit and its
practices aroused the suspicion of princes and people, of many Catholics
as well as Protestants. In 1773 the Jesuits were in possession of 41
provinces, and had 22,589 members, of whom 11,295 were priests. Since
that time popes have suppressed them, rulers have expelled them from
their countries, their property and power have been taken from them,
until their influence has been greatly lessened and their progress
checked.

=Jesuit Education.=--Unlike the monastics, the Jesuits mingled with the
world; they assumed no peculiarities of dress, and held themselves ready
to act as missionaries to the most remote parts of the world, as agents
of the Church to which they so fully consecrated themselves, and as
teachers of youth. They established schools everywhere, and placed them
in charge of teachers of remarkable skill and pedagogical training.[64]
We have seen that their efforts were chiefly directed to higher
education, their schools being designed for boys not less than fourteen
years of age. In general, primary education did not enter into their
scheme. Schwickerath thinks that the "Jesuits could not undertake
elementary education" because "they had never men enough to supply the
demands for higher education."[65] Thi