The sixteenth century which regarded (as I have tried to
show you) bodily illness as much less important than sickness
which threatened the soul, organised a system of spiritual
preventive medicine. As soon as a child was old enough to spell
his first words, he was educated in the true (and the ``only
true'') principles of the Faith. Indirectly this proved to be a
good thing for the general progress of the people of Europe.
The Protestant lands were soon dotted with schools. They
used a great deal of very valuable time to explain the Catechism,
but they gave instruction in other things besides theology.
They encouraged reading and they were responsible
for the great prosperity of the printing trade.
But the Catholics did not lag behind. They too devoted
much time and thought to education. The Church, in this matter,
found an invaluable friend and ally in the newly-founded
order of the Society of Jesus. The founder of this remarkable
organisation was a Spanish soldier who after a life of unholy
adventures had been converted and thereupon felt himself
bound to serve the church just as many former sinners, who
have been shown the errors of their way by the Salvation Army,
devote the remaining years of their lives to the task of aiding
and consoling those who are less fortunate.
The name of this Spaniard was Ignatius de Loyola. He
was born in the year before the discovery of America.
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