Chapter XV.
Training of the Jesuit Teacher.
It is generally admitted that even at present the Jesuits exercise considerable influence in the world. What is the secret of their hold on Catholics? What the source from which their power springs? The real secret of the Jesuits' influence is to be found in their training. Dr. Freytag in his review of Father Duhr's work on the Ratio Studiorum remarked: "After the perusal of this learned work, one will understand that only highly talented young men can join that Order; for what is demanded of them [in the line of studies] is extraordinary."[1] We have to see how far this training of a Jesuit is a satisfactory preparation for his work as teacher in high schools and colleges, how far it tends to make the Jesuit teacher—in the words of the Hon. G. C. Brodrick—"a man of self-sacrifice," and whether it gives him a "solid knowledge of his subject and the art of teaching, through close attendance from a master of experience."
The first requisite is, that the original material, the candidate for the Order, is good. The statue, however deftly carved, will not be a success if the marble has serious defects. Therefore, such only are to be admitted into the ranks of the Society, as are capable of receiving the Jesuit 'form,' only those who show a capacity for imbibing its spirit and submitting
- ↑ In the Centralorgan für die Interessen des Realschulwesens. Berlin.
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