[172. Analytical Summary. 1. In the history of the three great teaching congregations we have an illustration of the supposed power of education over the destinies of men.
2. To resist the encroachments of Protestantism that followed the diffusion of instruction among the people, Loyola organized his teaching corps of Catholic zealots; and this mode of competition for purposes of moral, sectarian, and political control has covered the earth, in all Christian countries, with institutions of learning.
3. The tendency towards extremes, and the difficulty of attaining symmetry and completeness, are seen in the preference of the Jesuits for form, elegance, and mere discipline, in their excessive use of emulation; and in the pessimism of the Jansenists, their distrust of human nature, and their fear of human pride.]
[109] Religious congregations, as known in France, are associations of persons who, consecrating themselves to the service of God, make a vow to live in common under the same rule. Many of these congregations devote themselves to the work of teaching, and these are of two classes, the authorized and the unauthorized. For example, the “Brethren of the Christian Schools,” founded by La Salle, is an authorized, and the “Society of Jesus” an unauthorized, congregation. From statistics published in 1878, it appears that there were then in France, 24 congregations of men authorized to teach, and controlling 3096 establishments; and 528 similar congregations of women, controlling 16,478 establishments. At the same time there were 85 unauthorized congregations of men, and 260 unauthorized congregations of women, devoted to teaching. (P.)
[110] The congregation of the Doctrinaries founded at a later period establishments of secondary instruction. Maine de Biran, Laromiguière, and Lakanal were pupils of the Doctrinaries.
[111] Leibnitii Opera, Genevæ, 1768, Tome VI. p. 65.
[112] Bacon de Augmentis Scientiarum, Lib. VI. chap. IV.
[113] See the fourth book of the Constitutions.
[114] See note to § 141.
[115] Letter to Madame Montglat, Nov. 14, 1607.
[116] Saint Simon, Mémoires, Tome IX. 83.
[117] Entretiens sur les Sciences, p. 197.
[118] For the Little Schools of Port Royal, see a recent account by Carré (Revue Pédagogique, 1883, Nos. 2 and 8).
[119] No more pathetic piece of history has ever been written than that which relates the vindictive and relentless persecution of the peaceful and pious solitaries of Port Royal: “The house was razed to the ground, and even the very foundations ploughed up. The gardens and walks were demolished; and the dead were even torn from their graves, that not a vestige might be left to mark the spot where this celebrated institution had stood.”—Lancelot’s Tour to La Grande Chartreuse, p. 243. See also Narrative of the Demolition of Port Royal (London, 1816). (P.)
[120] Du choix et de la méthode des études.
[121] See Cousin, Jacqueline Pascal, p. 262.
[122] Version: translation from Latin or Greek into French. Theme: translation of French into Latin or Greek. (P.)