311 



ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 



presume, was not too curiously inspected. It was, per- 

 y; naps, deemetl unnecessary to examine it; and some who 

 might wish to satisfy themselves, might be unable, 

 through the ignorance which prevailed, to decypher its 

 content*. 



The crusade '" consequence of the zeal and the labours of the 

 under God- Hermit, a very considerable sensation was produced in 

 flt f- many parts of Europe. It seemed to lie just and rea- 



sonable that the pilgrims should be relieved; and it was 

 acknowledged as the will ot' heaven, that the holy se- 

 pulchre should no longer be defiled. Urban II. the 

 reigning Pope, availed himself of the predominating 

 feeling. He assembled a council at Clermont, in Au- 

 vergne. The prelates, great lords, and princes of Eu- 

 rope, with their numerous retainers, hastily obeyed the 

 summons. No house could be found large enough to 

 receive the multitude that were met together, and the 

 deliberations took place in the open air. The pojx; 

 himself, the head of all the churches, and representa- 

 tive of the true God, addressed the council : he made a 

 powerful and deep impression upon the audience, es- 

 pecially the French who were present, and whose cha- 

 racter, naturally susceptible and impetuous, rendered 

 them the most proper subjects for the papal oratory. 

 The hermit in his turn was not deficient. Plenary in- 

 dulgence, and full absolution, were proclaimed to all 

 who should devote themselves to the service of the 

 orost. And such was the effect, that the whole as- 

 sembly, as if moved by some divine impulse, cried out 

 with one voice, " It is the will of God! it is the will of 

 God !" Nor were these, by any means, words without 

 import or consequence. An incredible number en- 

 listed themselves in the sacred cause : peasants and ar- 

 tisans, nobles with extensive domains, and sovereigns 

 renowned for their romantic valour, eagerly pressed 

 forward, and requested permission to fight under the 

 consecrated banner. Early in the year 1 096, no fewer 

 than 300,000 men, under the orders of Peter the Her- 

 mit, and Gautier or Walter the Moneyless, set out from 

 the confines of France and Lorraine, and marched 

 through Hungary and Bulgaria, to the capital of the 

 Grecian empire. These, however, were an undisci- 

 plined rabble ; labourers, indolent tradesmen, malefac- 

 tors let loose from prison, monks and slaves; all, in 

 short, to whom warfare was an amusement, or plunder 

 was desirable. Many of them were partially armed, 

 others were utterly anprovided with any military wea- 

 pon. Behind this promiscuous and noisy assemblage, 

 more like the collected banditti of Europe than a con- 

 stituted soldiery, the regular troops advanced. These 

 were men properly trained and appointed ; conducted 

 by the leaders of their respective nations or provinces, 

 eager for the combat, as well as experienced in the 

 field. By universal consent, the supreme command 

 was conferred on the illustrious Godfrey of Bouillon, 

 duke of Lorraine. He was supported by Baldevin his 

 brother ; Robert, duke of Normandy ; Hugh, count of 

 Vermaindois ; Raymond, count of Tholouse ; and Ste- 

 phen, count of Blois. When the troops were numbered 

 on the plains of Asia, they amounted to 700,000 fight- 

 ing men. The fortune of the crusaders was various. 

 Many of the soldiers died in battle, or perished through 

 fatigue, and the diseases incident to the climate. In 

 the end, however, the holy city wa taken, and puri- 

 fied from infidel pollution ; and Omlfrey was saluted 

 " King of Jerusalem" by .ill the troops uiiiU-r his com- 

 mand. The expedition itself has formed the subject of 

 the well known epic poem of Tasso, a work inferior 

 only to tkat of Milton, in modern times, if it be at aJl 



inferior; and ever to be named with those of Homer Ecclenatu- 

 and Virgil, among the ancients, when we are verifying, <! History. 

 by examples, the extent nf the human genin-. """Y"^ 



If Peter the Hermit was remarkable, as an indivi- ThcJesuiu. 

 dual, for the effects which he produced on the opinions 

 and conduct of men, the Jesuits were not less so as a 

 society. The order now mentioned was founded by 

 Ignatius Loyola, a Spanish gentleman, about the year 

 It differed in many n -perls from ull the other 

 monastic institutions; its form of government, or eccle- 

 siastical rule, was peculiar to itself; a great proportion 

 of its members were trained to business, as well as to 

 literature ; and, instead of cultivating retirement, it 

 was, from the beginning, a chief part of their duty to 

 mingle with the world. 



I .. ivola was equal to any of his predecessors in monk- character of 

 ish austerity. He suffered his liair to grow, and die- Ignatius 

 rislied his nails to an extraordinary length ; he begged Loyola. 

 from door to door fasted, according to the statement 

 of hi* biographer, six days in the tvetk whipped him- 

 self oilen lay upon die ground without bedding and 

 spent seven hours of each day " in vocal prayer." To 

 the austerity of the monk, he added the usual portion 

 of fanatical zeal. He undertook a pilgrimage to Jeru- 

 salem a circumstance which seems to have been neces- 

 sary, in those days, to form the character of a perfect 

 saint ; and, in the course of his journey, he had many 

 visions and miraculous adventure*. Some >ay he had 

 more than the requisite number of personal conflicts 

 with the devil. His chief ambition, however, was to 

 become the founder of a religious community. For 

 this purpose, lie produced a plan, or order, suggested, 

 as he allirmed, by immediate inspiration ; and hasten- 

 ing to Rome, presented it to the pope for his accept- 

 ance. Paul 111. who at that time filled the chair of St 

 Peter, appeared at first inclined to reject the proposal 

 of the zealous monk. Loyola, however, recommended 

 his plan by a",offer too powerful to be resisted. Be- 

 sides the thfe, monastic vows, of poverty, chastity, and 

 submission to the rules of the order, he engaged, that 

 all his followers should swear fealty and devoted obe- 

 dience to the see of Rome that they should acknow- 

 ledge themselves the servants of the Pope, ready, upon 

 the earliest signification of his wishes, to execute his 

 commands, and to support his authority. The advan- 

 tages to be derived from such an offer were instantlv 

 perceived. Paul III. immediately confirmed the insti- 

 tution, endowed the society with ample privili 

 and appointed Loyola himself the first general of the 

 order. 



Among the Jesuits, the ecclesiastical rule put on the 

 appearance of a simple and unlimited monarchy. The ,,f t he 

 most implicit obedience was required from all the mem- Jesuits, 

 bers of the society to the will of the superior. They 

 were bound to yield up to him the very faculties and 

 sentiments of tliiii mindw. They were to listen to 

 his injunctions as if they had been the coiiiiiianclimntn 

 of Christ. Under his direction, they were to be mere 

 passive instruments, like clay in the hands of the pot- 

 ter, or like dead carcasses incapable of resistance." The 

 general himself was responsible to none but the Pope. 

 In him were vested ull the revenues and funds belong- 

 ing to the society. He nominated, without partner, 

 and without controul, die provincials, rectors, and other 

 functionaries of the order, and could remove them at 

 pleasure. To him every novice was obliged to mani- 

 J'cit his conscience ; that is, to confess his sins and 

 strongest propensities, and to lay open the inmost re- 

 cesses of the soul. And to him also, or to a person 

 5 



