Jesus' Army

The Jesuit order is one of the most unique formations in world history: it united all the contradictions of the violent and witty, fanatical and sinful-criminal transitional era that gave birth to it and, in turn, shaped its very face.
Its founder, Ignatius of Loyola, was a phenomenon of the post-medieval period, a mix of a daring knight and a saint living in the midst of ecstasy. The central characteristic of his being was his withdrawn, world-aloof dreaming; yet with this very quality, he conquered half of Europe: his ecstatic fantasies were more powerful than reality, they violated the facts. His central idea was the conviction that the spirit is sovereign, a great master, and that our entire physical existence is merely an instrument, a tool that, if the right willpower and self-discipline are present, can be played upon as one desires. The spirit can shape the entire world in its own image; what matters is that it is resolutely determined in its intention, in short: that the soul is stronger than matter.
Loyola started his career as a charming, courtly man, and was a triumphant, death-defying soldier. During the siege of Pamplona, in such a daring battle, a large stone crushed his left foot, breaking both his legs. Some clumsy doctor set one of his legs so badly that it had to be broken again. Even so, this leg remained shorter than the other. Loyola had to walk for months with enormous weight weights. Amidst these pains, the decision formed in him that he would become a martyr for the Catholic Church. Once he had recovered somewhat, he set off on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. He distributed the money necessary for the journey, which he received from his brother, among the poor. On the ship, he preached repentance; the rough sailors mocked him for it. He whipped himself three times a day, spent seven hours in prayer, ate bread, drank water, and slept on the bare ground or the ship's floor. Upon returning to Spain, he became a wandering preacher, with an ever-growing audience. Soon, he realized that knowledge was also necessary to lead people: so, at the age of 33, he hastily learned Latin, and after this arduous task, he enrolled at the University of Alcalá.
From a devout student association, the Compañía de Jesús began to take shape, which the pope officially approved in 1540. The name indicates that this was an organization modeled on the military. At the head was the order's general, who was accountable to no one except the pope. Beneath him were the generals of the provinces, and from them, countless ranks led down to the simple "soldier." The Jesuits were strictly prohibited from holding any ecclesiastical dignity or office, so all their strength could be dedicated to serving the order. The main oath they had to take was one of obedience. The principle of subordination was followed with the same rigor as in the army: they were trained to school and exercise their blind obedience to superiors, which became the famous Jesuit "corpse-like obedience." To strengthen their willpower—so that they could withstand such tests—Loyola devised numerous exercises, and these meticulously targeted the regulation of desires, pleasures, moods, emotions, and even thoughts and memories.

Egon Friedell "Az újkori kultúra története III." Holnap Kiadó, Budapest, 1989