Thomas J. Campbell - The Jesuits, 1534-1921: A History of the Society of Jesus from Its Foundation to the Present Time

Some years ago the writer of these pages, when on his way to what iscalled a general congregation of the Society of Jesus, was asked by afellow-passenger on an Atlantic liner, if he knew anything about theJesuits. He answered in the affirmative and proceeded to give an accountof the character and purpose of the Order. After a few moments, he wasinterrupted by the inquirer with, "You know nothing at all about them,Sir; good day." Possibly the Jesuits themselves are responsible for thisattitude of mind, which is not peculiar to people at sea, but is to bemet everywhere.

As a matter of fact, no Jesuit has thus far ever written a complete oradequate history of the Society; Orlandini, Jouvancy and Cordaraattempted it a couple of centuries ago, but their work never got beyondthe first one hundred years. Two very small compendiums by Jesuits havebeen recently published, one in Italian by Rosa, the other in French byBrucker, but they are too congested to be satisfactory to the averagereader, and Brucker's stops at the Suppression of the Society by ClementXIV in 1773. Crtineau-Joly's history was written in great haste; he isoften a special pleader, and even Jesuits find him too eulogistic. Atpresent he is hopelessly antiquated, his last volume bearing the date of1833. B. N. (Barbara Neave) published in English a history of theSociety based largely on Crtineau-Joly. The consequence of this lack ofauthoritative works is that the general public gets its informationabout the Jesuits from writers who are prejudiced or ill-informed or,who, perhaps, have been hired to defame the Society for politicalpurposes. Other authors, again, have found the Jesuits a romantictheme, and have drawn largely on their imagination for their statements.

Attention was called to this condition of things by the Congregation ofthe Society which elected Father Martin to the post of General of theJesuits in 1892. As a result he appointed a corps of distinguishedwriters to co-operate in the production of a universal history of theSociety, which was to be colossal in size, based on the most authenticdocuments, and in line with the latest and most exacting requirements ofrecent scientific historiography. On the completion of the variousparts, they are to be co-ordinated and then translated into severallanguages, so as to supply material for minor histories within the reachof the general public. Such a scheme necessarily supposes a veryconsiderable time before the completion of the entire work, and, asmatter of fact, although several volumes have already appeared inEnglish, French, German, Spanish and Italian, the authors are stilldiscussing events that occurred two centuries ago. Happily theirresearches have thrown much light on the early history of the Order; animmense number of documents indits, published by Carayon and others,have given us a more intimate knowledge of the intermediate period; manybiographies have been written, and the huge volume of the "Liberscularis" by Albers brings the record down to our own days. Thus,though much valuable information has already been made available for thegeneral reader the great collaborative work is far from completion.Hence the present history of the Jesuits.

Institutum Societatis Jesu.
JOUVANCYEpitome histori Societatis Jesu.
JOUVANCYMonumenta Societatis Jesu.
CRTINEAU-JOLYHist. relig., pol. et litt. de la Comp. de Jsus.
B. N.The Jesuits: their foundation and history.
ROSA, I Gesuiti dalle origini ai nostri giorni.
MESCHLER, Die Gesellschaft Jesu.
BHMER-MONODLes Jsuites.
FEVAL,Les Jsuites.
HUBERDer Jesuitenorden.
DUHRJesuiten-Fabeln.
BROULes Jsuites et la lgende.
BELLOC, Pascal's Provincial Letters.
FOLEYJesuits in Conflict.
FOUQUERAYHistoire de la compagnie de Jsus en France.
BOURNICHONLa Compagnie de Jsus en France: 1814-1914.
ALBERSLiber scularis ab anno 1814 ad annum 1914.
TACCHI-VENTURIStoria della compagnia di Ges in Italia.
MONTILa Compagnia di Ges.
DUHRGeschichte der Jesuiten in den Lndern deutschen Zunge.
KROESSGeschichte der bhmischen Provinz der Gesellschaft Jesu.
ASTRAINHist. de la Comp. de Jess en la asist. de Espaa.
HUGHESHistory of the Society of Jesus of North America.
ALEGRELa Compaa de Jess en la Nueva Espaa.
FRIASLa Provincia de Espaa de la compaa de Jess, 1815-63.
POLLARDThe Jesuits in Poland.
HOGANIbernia Ignatiana.
TANNERSocietas Jesu prclara.
Lives of Jesuit Saints.
Menologies of the Society of Jesus.
SOUTHWELLBibliotheca Scriptorum Societatis Jesu.
SOMMERVOGELBibl. des crivains de la comp. de Jsus.
CHANDLERYFasti breviores Societatis Jesu.
MAYNARDThe Studies and Teachings of the Society of Jesus.
DANIELLes Jsuites instituteurs.
WELDSuppression of the Society of Jesus in Portugal.
DE RAVIGNANDe l'existence et de l'institut des Jsuites.
DE RAVIGNANClment XIII et Clment XIV.
THEINERGeschichte des Pontifikats Klemens XIV.
ARTAUD DE MONTORHistoire du pape Pie VII.
CARAYONDocuments indits concernants la Compagnie de Jsus.
BERTRANDMmoires sur les missions.
BROULes Missions du xix^e sicle.
SEAMANMap of Jesuit Missions in the United States.
MARSHALLChristian Missions.
BANCROFTNative Races of the Pacific States.
CAMPBELLPioneer Priests of North America.
CHARLEVOIXHistoire du Japon.
CHARLEVOIXHistoire du Paraguay.
CHARLEVOIXHistoire de la Nouvelle-France.
CRASSETHistoire de l'glise du Japon.
AVRILVoyage en divers tats d'Europe et d'Asie.
THWAITESJesuit Relations.
BOLTONKino's Historical Memoir.
JANSSENHistory of the German People.
LAVISSEHistoire de France.
RANKEHistory of the Popes.
LINGARDHistory of England.
TIERNEY-DODDChurch History of England.
POLLENThe Institution of the Archpriest Blackwell.
HAILE-BONNEYLife and Letters of John Lingard.
POLLOCKThe Popish Plot.
GUILDAYEnglish Catholic Refugees on the Continent.
MACGEOGHEGANHistory of Ireland.
FLANAGANEcclesiastical History of Ireland.
O'REILLYLives of the Irish Martyrs and Confessors.
ROCHEFORTHistoire des Antilles.
EYZAGUIRREHistoria de Chile.
TERTREHistoire de St. Christophe.
ROHRBACHERHistory of the Church.
HBNERSixte-Quint.
HUCChristianity in China, Tartary and Tibet.
ROBERTSONHistory of Charles V.
SHEAThe Catholic Church in Colonial Days.
PACCAMemorie storiche del ministero.
SAINTE-BEUVECauseries.
PETIT DE JULLEVILLEHistoire de la littrature franaise.
GODEFROYLittrature franaise.
SCHLOSSERHistory of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries.
CANTStoria universale.
The Cambridge Modern History, Vols. VIII, XII.
The Month.
The Catholic Encyclopedia, passim.
The Encyclopedia Britannica, passim.