The groveling apology of such an eminent apostle, dictated as it was by hypocrisy and cunning, sufficed to procure his pardon, and remained among the archives of the Jesuits as a model for the spirit in which obedience should be manifested by them.
Obedience was, in fact, the cardinal and dominant quality of the Jesuit Order.

To call it a virtue, in the sense in which Ignatius understood it, is impossible.

The _Exercitia_, the Constitutions, and the Letter to the Portuguese Jesuits, all of which undoubtedly explain Loyola's views, reveal to us the essence of historical Jesuitry, the _fons et origo_ of that long-continued evil which impested modern society.

Let us examine some of his precepts on this topic.

'I ought to desire to be ruled by a superior who endeavors to subjugate my judgment and subdue my understanding.'-- 'When it seems to me that I am commanded by my superior to do a thing against which my conscience revolts as sinful, and my superior judges otherwise, it is my duty to yield my doubts to him, unless I am constrained by evident reasons.'-- 'I ought not to be my own, but His who created me, and his too through whom God governs me.'-- 'I ought to be like a corpse, which has neither will nor understanding; like a crucifix, that is turned about by him that holds it; like a staff in the hands of an old man, who uses it at will for his assistance or pleasure.'-- 'In our Company the person who commands must never be regarded in his own capacity, but as Jesus Christ in him.'-- 'I desire that you strive and exercise yourselves to recognize Christ our Lord in every Superior.'-- 'He who wishes to offer himself wholly up to God, must make the sacrifice not only of his will but of his intelligence.'-- 'In order to secure the faithful and successful execution of a Superior's orders, all private judgment must be yielded up.'-- 'A sin, whether venial or mortal, must be committed, if it is commanded by the Superior in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, or in virtue of obedience.' Of such nature was the virtue of obedience within the Order.[163] It rendered every member a tool in the hands of his immediate Superior, and the whole body one instrument in the hand of the General.