Loyola and Jesuitism In Its Rudiments

LOYOLA and Jesuitism at its Rudiments, by Isaac Taylor. There has been a great many books written about the Jesuits - the Society of Jesus - of the Roman Catholic church, many by ex-Jesuits, and most tell of a secret, or semi-secret society, that goes about its business in ways that has became known as Jesuitical, and this word is applied to any organization or individual, religious or not, that operated in a secret or sneaky way. Therefore I have made an effort to collect books about the Jesuits whenever they come my way. This one is not as antagonistic as most by non-Catholics, and takes a more middle ground of objective observation. The Preface tells us: "It might be supposed that I had wished, at a moment of political and ecclesiastical commotion, to step forward and signalize my Protestant zeal, in an assault upon the ever to be dreaded “Society of Jesus.” This is not the fact. I have little or no faith in the beneficial tendency of assaults upon particular systems, supposed to be of mischievous quality. Nor, even if I might hope to render some service to Protestantism by attempting a direct attack upon its opponents, do I think that Jesuitism, in particular, could, at this time, substantiate its claim to be singled out as the most to be feared among the antagonists of truth. Although far from entertaining the belief that Jesuitism is about presently to disappear, I could not consent to give it a formidable place in the list of things especially formidable." The observation that the Jesuits are not, at that time, a formidable is not true for all time of any religious society, all have their periods of greater influence and periods of decline. The Jesuits are very much with us today, and we must be aware of their history and their ultimate purpose.
Emmett F. Fields