begged for bread, often scourged himself, and spent many hours a day in prayer and meditation. What he meditated upon, God only knows. After a few months of this ascetic life, he published a little book, which much increased his fame for sanctity. It is a small octavo volume, and bears the title of Spiritual Exercises. As this work, the only one he has left, is the acknowledged standard of the Jesuits' religious practice, and is by them extolled to the skies, we must say some few words about it.

First of all we shall relate the supernatural origin assigned to it by the disciples and panegyrists of its author.

He (Ignatius) had already done much for God's sake, and God now rendered it back to him with usury. A courtier, a man of pleasure, and a soldier, he had neither the time nor the will to gather knowledge from books. But the knowledge of man, the most difficult of all, was divinely revealed to him. The master who was to form so many masters, was himself formed by divine illumination. He composed the Spiritual Exercises, a work which had a most important place in his life, and is powerfully reflected in the history of his disciples.

This quotation is from Cretineau Joly, (vol. i, p. 18,) an author who professes not to belong to the society but whose book was published under the patronage of the Jesuits, who, he says, opened to him all the depositories of unpublished letters and manuscripts in their principal convent, the Gesu at Rome; he wrote also a virulent pamphlet against the great Pontiff Clement, XIV, the suppressor of the Jesuits. Hence we consider ourselves fairly entitled to rank the few quotations we shall make from him as among those emanating from the writers that belong to the Order; and we are confident that no Jesuit would ever think of repudiating Cretineau Joly. This author proceeds to state that in the manuscript in which Father Jouvency narrates in elegant

Q By the term Spiritual Exercises, Catholics understand that course of solitary prayer and religious meditation, generally extended over many days, which candidates for holy orders have to perform in the seclusion of a convent, previous to being consecrated. Again, when a priest incurs the displeasure of his Superior, he is sent as a sort of prisoner to some convent, there to perform certain prescribed spiritual exercises, which, in this case, may last from one to three weeks.

Latin those strange events, it is said this light shed by the divine will upon Ignatius showed him openly and without vail the mystery of the adorable Trinty and other arcana of religion. He remained for eight days as if deprived of life. What he witnessed during this ecstatic trance, as well as in many other visions which he had during life, no one knows. He had indeed committed these celestial visions to paper, but shortly before his death he burned the book containing them, lest it should fall into unworthy hands. A few pages, however, escaped his precautions, and from them one can easily conjecture that he must have been from day to day loaded with still greater favors. Chiefly was he sweetly ravished in contemplating the dignity of Christ the Lord, and his inconceivable charity toward the human race. As the mind of Ignatius was filled with military ideas, he figured to himself Christ as a general fighting for the divine glory, and calling on all men to gather under his standard. Hence sprang his desire to form an army of which Jesus should be the chief and commander, the standard inscribed-"Ad majorem Dei Gloriam."

With deference to M. Joly, we think that a more mundane origin may be found for the "Exercises," in the feverish dreams of a heated imagination. Be this as it may, however, we shall proceed to lay before our readers a short analysis of it, extracted from Cardinal Wiseman's preface to the last edition. He says: "This is a practical, not a theoretical work. It is not a treatise on sin or on virtue; it is not a method of Christian perfection, but it contains the entire practice of perfection, by making us at once conquer sin and acquire the highest virtue. The person who goes through the Exercises is not instructed, but is made to act; and this book will not be intelligible apart from this view."

The reader will observe that it is divided into four weeks; and each of these has a specific object, to advance the exercitant an additional step toward perfect virtue. If the work of each week be thoroughly done, this is actually accomplished. "The first week has for its aim the cleansing of the conscience from past sin, and of the affections from their future dangers. For this purpose, the soul is made to convince

The italics here are our own.

itself deeply of the true end of its being-to serve God and be saved, and of the real inutility of all else. This consideration has been justly called by St. Ignatius, the principle or foundation of the entire system." The Cardinal assures us that the certain result of this first week's exercises is, that "sin is abandoned, hated, loathed."

"In the second, the life of Christ is made our model; by a series of contemplations of it, we become familiar with its virtues, enamored of his perfections; we learn, by copying him, to be obedient to God and man; meek, humble, affectionate; zealous, charitable, and forgiving; men of only one wish and one thought-that of doing ever God's holy will alone; discreet, devout, observant of every law, scrupulous performers of every duty. Every meditation on these subjects shows us how to do all this; in fact, makes us really do it. The third week brings us to this. Having desired and tried to be like Christ in action, we are brought to wish and to endeavor to be like unto him in suffering. For this purpose his sacred passion becomes the engrossing subject of the Exercises. But she (the soul) must be convinced and feel, that if she suffers, she also shall be glorified with him; and hence the fourth and concluding week raises the soul to the consideration of those glories which crowned the humiliations and suffering of our Lord." Then after a highly figurative eulogium upon the efficacy of the Exercises "duly performed," the reverend prelate proceeds to show that the one "essential element of a spiritual retreat," (for so the Exercises reduced to action are properly called,) "is direction." In the Catholic church no one is ever allowed to trust himself in spiritual matters. The sovereign pontiff is obliged to submit himself to the direction of another in whatever concerns his own soul. The life of a good retreat is a good director of it. This director modifies, (according to certain written rules,) the order of the Exercises, to adapt them to the peculiar character of the exercitant; regulates the time employed in them, watches their effects, and like a physician prescribing for a patient, varies the treatment according to the symptoms exhibited, encouraging those which seem favorable, and suppressing those which are detrimental to the

"Stephens.

desired result.

"Let no one," says the Cardinal, "think of undertaking these holy Exercises without the guidance of a prudent and experienced director."

It will be seen that the weeks of the Exercises do not mean necessarily a period of seven days. The original period of their performance was certainly a month; but even so, more or less time was allotted to each week's work according to the discretion of the director. Now, except in very particular circumstances, the entire period is abridged to ten days; sometimes it is still further reduced,

It will be observed from the above extracts that the Cardinal, ignoring the fact that the sinner's conversion must be effected entirely by the operation of the Holy Spirit, seems to regard the unregenerate human soul merely as a piece of raw material, which the "director" may, as it were, manufacture into a saint, simply by subjecting it to the process prescribed in the Exercises.

In regard to the merits of the book, I cannot agree either with Wiseman or a very brilliant Protestant writer, who, speaking of the approbation bestowed on it by Pope Paul III, says "Yet on this subject the chair of Knox, if now filled by himself, would not be very widely at variance with the throne of St. Peter." The book certainly does not deserve this high eulogium. However, it cannot be denied that, amidst many recommendations of many absurd and superstitious practices proper to the Popish religion, the little volume does contain some very good maxims and precepts. For instance, here are two passages to which I am sure that not even the most anti-Catholic Protestant could reasonably object. At page 16 it is said:

"Man was created for this end, that he might praise and reverence the Lord his God, and, serving him, at length be saved. But the other things which are placed on the earth were created for man's sake, that they might assist him in pursuing the end of creation, whence it follows, that they are to be used or abstained from in proportion as they benefit or hinder him in pursuing that end. Wherefore we ought to be indifferent toward all created things (in so far as they are subject to the liberty of our will, and not prohibited), so

* Stephens. †See the Shorter Catechism, Qu. 1.

that (to the best of our power) we seek not health more than sickness, nor prefer riches to poverty, honor to contempt, a long life to a short one. But it is fitting, out of all, to choose and desire those things only which lead to the end." And again, at page 33, "the third (article for meditation) is, to consider myself; who or what kind I am, adding comparisons which may bring me to a greater contempt of myself; as if I reflect how little I am when compared with all men, then what the whole multitude of mortals is, as compared with the angels and all the blessed after these things I must consider what, in fact, all the creation is in comparison with God, the Creator, himself; what now can I, one mere human being, be! Lastly, let me look at the corruption of my whole self, the wickedness of my soul, and the pollution of my body, and account myself to be a kind of ulcer or boil, from which so great and foul a flood of sins, so great a pestilence of vices has flown down.

"The fourth is to consider what God is, whom I have thus offended, collecting the perfections which are God's peculiar attributes and comparing them with my opposite vices and defects; comparing, that is to say, his supreme power, wisdom, goodness, and justice, with my extreme weakness, ignorance, wickedness, and iniquity."

But then the above Exercises are followed by certain Additions, which are recommended as conducing to their better performance. Some of these are very strange; for instance, the fourth is, "to set about the Contemplation itself, now kneeling on the ground, now lying on my face or on my back, now sitting or standing, and composing myself, in the way in which I may hope the more easily to attain what I desire. In which matter, these two things must be attended to; the first that if, on my knees or in any other posture, I obtain what I wish, I seek nothing further. The second, that on the point in which I shall have attained the devotion I seek, I ought to rest, without being anxious about pressing on until I shall have satisfied myself. The sixth, that I avoid those thoughts which bring joy, as that of the glorious resurrection of Christ; since any such thought hinders the tears and grief for my sins, which must then be sought by calling in mind rather death or judgment. The seventh, that, for the same reason, I deprive myself of all the brightness of the light,