as
by an accident, Francis Xavier to India, detached from the Jesuit
society the man who, had he remained at home, must have imparted his own
character to its constitutions, and have guided its movements, and who
probably would have dislodged Loyola from the generalship, and have held
Lainez and Faber in a subordinate position. Not merely did Xavier's
departure allow Jesuitism to take its form from the hands of these
three, but it conferred upon the society, from a very early date, the
incalculable advantage of that reflected power and reputation which the
Indian missions secured for it. Xavier's apostleship in the East, with
its real and with its romantic and exaggerated glories, was a fund upon
which the society at home allowed itself to draw without limit. If it be
admitted that Xavier effected something real for Christianity in pagan
India, it may be affirmed that he accomplished at the same time, though
indirectly, far more for Jesuitism throughout Europe. This course of
events, so signal in its consequences as favoring the development and
rapid extension of the Jesuit scheme throughout Christendom, and which
yet could not be attributed to any forethought or machination on the
part of Loyola, is well deserving of a distinct notice.

The train of circumstances, as related and affirmed by the Jesuit
writers, excludes the supposition of its taking its rise in any plot or
intention. John III of Portugal--a religious prince--had long
entertained the project of stretching the empire of the Church over
those regions which his valiant and enterprising people were subjecting
to his secular sway. In modern phraseology, he piously desired to
consecrate his military triumphs in the East by spreading the Gospel
among the subjugated heathen. His royal wish and intention had become
known to Loyola's friend Govea, who wrote to him from Paris on the
subject. This letter was as a spark at contact with which Loyola's zeal
burst forth in a flame. He replied, however, that, as he and his
companions had now solemnly surrendered themselves to the absolute and
unconditional disposal of the Vicar of Christ, they could attempt
nothing spontaneously. It is easy to imagine how speedily this
declaration, conveyed to Govea, would produce its effect, would come
round to its destination, and would assume the form of a pontifical
injunction addressed to Loyola to despatch some of the fathers to the
court of John, there to await the pleasure of so