ness is not kept, as the Bible says: "Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished" (Prov. XIII, 11). And not only is it diminished, but it is a stumbling matter: "He that hasteneth with his feet, sinneth" (Prov. XIX, 2), and if he falls, the greater the height the greater the danger, for he will not stop till he reach the bottom of the stairs.

Third. Avoid the risk of overloading your boat; for though it be dangerous to take it empty, for it will flounder about amid temptations, do not load it so that it shall sink. Fourth. It may come about, that in crucifying the old man, you crucify the new, so that from sheer weakness he cannot practise the virtues. .

Besides, there are other inconveniences, such as carrying weapons so heavy that you cannot use them, as David with Saul's armor; or putting on spurs, but no bridle, to ride a fiery horse. So you see that discretion is necessary, in order to keep virtuous practices between the two extremes.

And after quoting various proverbial sayings, such as Spaniards delighted in, Ignatius continues: "I would not have you think from the things I have just written, that I do not approve of what has been told me of your mortifications; for I know that the saints made use of such, and of other holy follies (locuras sanctas), to their advantage, and that they are useful in order to overcome self and acquire grace, especially in the beginning; but for those who have most control over self-love, what I have written concerning the middle way of discretion, I hold to be the better course, not forgetting obedience, which I commend to you most earnestly, and that summary of all virtue, which Jesus Christ enjoins 'This is my Commandment, that ye love one another'" (St. John, XV, 12). And he concludes with the general rule that the way to help one's fellows is to practise virtue and set an example of a truly Christian life.

I do not think that rebuke could be expressed more tactfully or more kindly, than in this letter. Rodriguez, however, did not profit by it as he should have done. His behaviour caused much dissatisfaction, and he was finally

recalled and sent into a sort of exile near Venice. This is a lamentable episode, which I need not expatiate upon; and, after all, it was but an episode in a long life, dedicated to the service of what he believed to be the cause of righteousness.

CHAPTER XXIV

SPAIN AND FRANCE

BEFORE the charter was granted Ignatius had established the headquarters of the Society in Rome, and he himself always lived there, never going away, except for exceedingly brief absences, such as a visit to the Pope at Tivoli, all his life. From the very first he had an unbounded faith in the future of the Society-Roma Ego vobis propitius ero always rang in his ears-and, as a consequence, he never entertained the thought of establishing its seat of government in any place but Rome, the capital of Christendom, the abode of the Supreme Pontiff. In Rome he had many local duties, but I shall defer an account of them, until I shall have completed my little sketch of the beginnings of the Society in Europe and across the seas.

To my mind the most brilliant achievement of these First Fathers was in Spain; Xavier's mission in India and Japan impresses the imagination more, but his heroic labors secured much less solid and permanent results. It is characteristic of Ignatius that he did not launch the Spanish campaign until chance circumstances had given the Society a foothold there; this was partly because the Fathers had their hands full with what they had to do in Italy, Germany, and elsewhere, and it was not Loyola's way to undertake more than he was likely to accomplish; and partly, because he waited for some sign that he could interpret as the finger of God pointing to what he should do. Perhaps his mind lacked inventiveness, did not prowl about to find new matter for thought and action, but lay couchant waiting for opportunity to come in its way. It was so with the missions to Portugal and India. However, as soon as first one, and then a second, Jesuit happened to go to Spain,

and reported that the harvest was ripe for the reapers, Ignatius directed the campaign with the foresight and thoroughness that were the two wings of his genius. He understood better than anybody else that the surest way to beat back heretics to the north and infidels to the east, was not to send theologians, preachers, or missionaries to the confines of Catholic Christendom where the enemy were, though that was well, but rather to rouse the enthusiasm and resolution of the faithful to the fighting pitch throughout the length and breadth of Catholic lands. Then, as now, international issues were to be determined by the faith and pertinacity of the populations at home. If the Roman Church was to maintain itself against the Teutonic rebels, it needs must draw upon stores of religious energy in the Latin lands and chiefly in Spain, which, flushed with adventure and self-confidence, was ready to answer the call of any leader that should touch her imagination. As Menendez y Pelayo says, Spain put herself at the head of the Catholic party, and kept back the northern flood within the dykes that it has never passed; and it would be rash to deny that the Jesuits are entitled to the lion's share of the credit for her doing so.

The chance circumstances to which I alluded are these: A young relation of Loyola's, Antonio de Araoz, who had recently joined the Society, went to Spain in the year 1539, to attend to some family matters. Loyola undoubtedly gave him instructions, bade him reconnoitre the ground and report his observations. Two years later Dr. Ortiz had occasion to go from Germany back to Spain on some ecclesiastical matters, and took Pierre Lefèvre with him. These were the haphazard causes that laid the first foundation for the Jesuit missions in Spain. Both Fathers were highly accomplished missionaries; they knew their business, and faithfully followed Loyola's tactics. They preached, they heard confession, they visited the sick, they gave the Spiritual Exercises, and, where it was possible, they made friends with people of importance. Ignatius never lost sight of the fact that power, position, and wealth are potent factors for good as well as for evil, and always took the

greatest pains, and charged his disciples to do the same, to win the favor and assistance of princes and noblemen. I shall not recount the doings of Father Araoz and Father Lefèvre in Spain, or of their comrades and followers. The directing mind of Loyola was always there; his will was their North Star. One fact deserves to be recorded, because it shows how soon Loyola's reputation had reached his native province. When Araoz went to Azpeitia to preach, the people flocked in multitudes from all the villages roundabout to hear him, the church could not hold a tithe of the congregation. A pulpit was set up in the open, and listeners climbed into trees and on the roofs of houses.

Araoz and Lefèvre led the way, but new members, Nadal Villanueva, Miron, Oviedo, and others, ably seconded them. Suffice it to say that within fifteen years, in Loyola's own lifetime, colleges had been founded, most of them no doubt in a small way, at Alcalá, Valladolid, Valencia, Gandia, Barcelona, Salamanca, Medina del Campo, Onato, Cordoba, Avila, Burgos, Zaragoza, and elsewhere. This extraordinary success was due to several co-operating causes: the directing genius of Ignatius; the zeal, devotion, tact and ability of the missionaries; the favor of princes; the accession of Francis Borgia, duke of Gandia; and the temperamental ardor of the Spanish people that to so great an extent found its outlet in religion.

Francis Borgia was one of the principal nobles of Aragon, great-grandson to Rodrigo Borgia (Pope Alexander VI, the father of Cæsar and Lucretia,) and also to King Ferdinand, the husband of Queen Isabella. No Spanish lineage could be more illustrious. He was a serious, pious, hard-working, painstaking, conscientious man. On the death of his wife, he laid aside his dukedom, and asking Lefèvre's advice, decided to become a Jesuit. It was a great day for the young Order when the descendant of a line of kings dismounted at its house in Rome and took up his lodgings there. He stayed three months, "in deep humility and self-abnegation, and in complete obedience and reverence to Padre Ignacio"; and when Ignatius dined in his apartment, he waited on the table, serving the meats and pouring the wine, and he