pect of _God's greater glory_;
they must, therefore, be perfectly weaned from self-interest; they are
required to yield continual service to persons, from whom they must receive
none; they must impart virtue and knowledge, but never sell {205} either;
they must inspire gratitude, and never profit by it; they must prove
themselves deserving of every thing, and accept nothing[69].

The society, in every period of its existence, possessed, in every country,
many excellent and distinguished professors and masters, in every science
which it professed to teach; and the {206} uniformity and steadiness of
their education raised the bulk of its masters much above the rate of
decent mediocrity. It is apparent, that, in the conducting of public
education throughout a large kingdom, a body of men, well compacted
together, and properly trained to the work, must possess superior
advantages; and the world has long since agreed, that no other body of men
ever did, or could furnish so many able and useful teachers, as the society
of Jesuits constantly presented for the public service. There were, no
doubt, elsewhere, masters, able to balance, perhaps to eclipse, the
reputation of those of the society; but these men were seldom found, except
in the first chairs of great universities; they did not diffuse learning
throughout a kingdom, and the succession of them was not uniformly
continued. The Jesuits were universally spread throughout a country, and
every town had a chance of enjoying their best masters. Even in the first
universities it has been allowed, that the Jesuits' schools were of use to
the other colleges, and reciprocally {207} received great advantages from
them. The spirit of laudable emulation stimulated both to generous
exertions, and the general interests of learning were thereby promoted.

During the five or six years which the Jesuits employed in teaching, many
of them obtained renown, and all, it may be presumed, had acquired the
ready use of the Latin language; had discovered the bent of their talents;
and had attained maturity of judgment and love of application. At the end
of their course these masters, aged from twenty-five to thirty years, were
now once more remanded to the benches, and applied, during four years, to
the study of theology, under able professors, in the principal city and
college of their province; thus forming a perpetual colony of forty or
fifty mature and improved students, such as rival colleges