of witch panic, some Protestant writers charged the Jesuits with using secret charms in order to attach the pupils to themselves and to advance them in learning.[1] Indeed, the Jesuits as educators have a spell, and make no secret of it, but they will be glad if others wish to borrow it. This spell is nothing but ardent devotion to their work, a devotion which springs from the conviction of the importance and usefulness of their work. This devotion is their strongest motive to action and it urges them to use all the resources within their reach.
Although the teacher does not seek himself in his work, nevertheless he labors also for himself. What better compensation can there be than the thought of performing so important a work, the conviction that through his instrumentality noble characters are formed, that some youths are preserved in their innocence and others led back from evil paths on which they had trodden in their ignorance and levity? The teacher may not receive much recognition and gratitude for his efforts – youths do not reflect on the debts they owe to a zealous teacher –, nor is it this that he is looking for in his labors. However, some pupils will show their thankfulness by a lifelong affection for their former master. If one wishes to know with what reverence, devotion, and frequently with what attachment Jesuit pupils regard their teachers, let him read the biographies of Jesuit educators. The letters written by former pupils sufficiently testify to the impressions made by their religious teachers.
If one wishes to see beautiful specimens of the relation of Jesuit pupils to their teachers, he may read
- ↑ See above pp. 147-148.
