Its merit and its perfection lay in this, that so complex an instrument could be moved by a single finger of the General in Rome.

He consistently employed its delicate system of wheels and pulleys for the aggrandizement of the Order in the first place, in the second place for the control of the Catholic Church, and always for the subjugation and cretinization of the mind of Europe.
The training of a Jesuit began with study of the _Exercitia Spiritualia_.[166] This manual had been composed by Loyola himself at intervals between 1522 and 1548, when it received the imprimatur of Pope Paul III.

He based it on his own experiences at Manresa, and meant it to serve as a perpetual introduction to the mysteries of the religious life.

It was used under the direction of a father, who prescribed a portion of its text for each day's meditation, employing various means to concentrate attention and enforce effect.

The whole course of this spiritual drill extended over four weeks, during which the pupil remained in solitude.