Jesuit Education: Its History and Principles Viewed in the Light of Modern Educational Problems

This book was published in 1904.. PREFACE. . Mr. Quick, the English educationist, asserts that "since the Revival of Learning, no body of men has played so important a part in education as the Jesuits. ' ' And yet, as the same author says, "about these Jesuit schools there does not seem to be much information accessible to the English reader." {Educational Re- formers, pp. 33 34.) It is true, indeed, that during the past few years much has been said and written about the Jesuit schools; in fact, they have occupied the attention of the public more, perhaps, than ever before. However, with the exception of the excellent book of Father Thomas Hughes, S. J. (Loyda and the Educational System of the Jesuits, 1892), most of what has been offered to American and English readers is entirely untrustworthy. The account given of the Jesuit system in Histories of Education used in this country, as those of Compayre, Painter, and Seeley, is a mere caricature. Instead of drawing from the original sources, these authors have been content to repeat the biased assertions of unreliable secondary authorities. Some observations on American Histories of Education will be found at the end of this book (p. 649 sqq.). The publication of a new work on the educational system of the Jesuits may be justified at the present day. During the last decade, educational circles in this country have been greatly agitated about various questions of the utmost importance: the elective system, the value of the study of the classthe function of the college and its relation to the high school and university, and the problem of moral and religious training. It has been the author's intention to view the Jesuit system chiefly in the light of these modern problems. These important educational ques- tions have been treated at some length, and it is hoped that on this account the work may engage the atten- tion of all who are interested in education. . I feel almost obliged to apologize for one feature of the book, the numerous quotations and references. Though aware that there is among American and English readers a sort of antipathy against many references, I have yet deemed it necessary to quote freely from various sources. This course I am forced to adopt, as I do not wish to lay before the reader my own opinions about the educational system of the Jesuits, but I want to show what this system is accord- ing to the original sources. These are, above all, the Constitutions of the Society of Jesus, and the Ratio Studiorum, which, however, must be supplemented by other documents. . .