BOOK THE FIRST.

NO SOONER HAD THE SOCIETY of Jesus found birth in Europe, than God was pleased to summon it to Asia, there to be employed, not in the toils of youth or manhood, but in the labors of a giant. Numerically insignificant as was the little band of the first ten Fathers, (of whom His Holiness Pope Paul III. soon formed a new Religious Order,) they were found sufficient, through the special predilection of Almighty God, to the necessities of the two most distinguished divisions of the globe; restoring Christian piety in the one, and planting the Faith in the other: so true it is that virtue, not numbers, imparts value and power to men. And in fact, one single man, full of spirit and vigor, like Samson or Daniel, is, in the army of God, equivalent to ten thousand others who are not thus qualified.

A man of this stamp was Francis Xavier, one of the first companions of Saint Ignatius, admirable in the eyes of the very idolaters, men without laws, men scarcely human. He astonishes us by the prodigious length of his land journeys, over all-but impassable roads; by his voyages across tempestuous seas; by his enduring patience and constancy amidst continual toil and suffering; by his gift of tongues in such a variety of barbarous nations; by his stupendous miracles; by the exalted character of his many virtues; by converting to the true faith such innumerable multitudes of souls; things which have acquired for him the glorious surname of an Apostle; a title first conferred on him by the unanimous consent of the people, and afterward confirmed by Pontifical authority.

Francis Xavier was the first who introduced the Society of Jesus into the East; opening the path to the many who followed his footsteps; less as the guide of their journey, than as their model of the virtues requisite to so high an office as the Apostolate. This great saint, the glory of the Society of Jesus, and the bright light of the Church, sprung in legitimate descent from the royal blood of the kings of Navarre, as we are informed by credible authors, as well as by the attestation made by Cardinal Anthony Zappata in his solemn examination. His father was Don John Giasso, a jurisconsult of renown, noble both in rank and virtue, and created by King John III., who was much attached to him, auditor of the royal council. The saint’s mother was Donna Maria d’Azpilqueta and Xavier, two of the most illustrious families in the kingdom. As this lady was the last remnant of the family of Xavier, and as it was of importance to perpetuate the name, some of her sons assumed the maternal name of Xavier; Francis was one of these, and he was the last born of a numerous family. His mother gave birth to this child of benediction in the castle of Xavier, distant about six leagues from the town of Pampeluna: this castle gave its name to the family, which abandoned its ancient cognomen of Asuarez when King Theobald bestowed the territory upon them.

Father Orasius Torsellino, who was the first to publish his life, and who has been copied by subsequent biographers, tells us that he was born about the year 1497; but it must be owned that on this point Torsellino and his followers have been mistaken. The error was occasioned by an old family manuscript, where it was negligently noted down that he was believed to have been born in that year; and Torsellino relied on this information; but later, when fresh researches were made in the family archives, the same manuscript was found, with the following correction written in Spanish on the margin:—“The holy Father Francis Xavier was born on the 7th of April, 1506.” And the same notice was found in the manual of his brother, Captain John Azpilqueta, who copied it from a book belonging to their father, Don John Giasso. This latter opinion would appear the most probable, because, as the saint finished his course of philosophy in 1530, this date would bring him, according to his earliest biographers, to the thirty-third year of his age, which we can scarcely suppose to have been the case: a man of his powerful intellect and uninterrupted application to study would surely have been more advanced at the age of thirty-three: however this may be, the reader who wishes for more exact information on the subject may consult the work entitled Petri Posini, e Societate Jesu, de anno natali S. Francisci Saverii dissertatio.

Divine Providence, having selected Francis as an instrument for the promotion of His glory, endowed him with such prerogatives of soul and body as would enable him to succeed in the greatest enterprises. He was gifted with a strong, active mind, with an ardent desire of literary excellence: differing in this respect materially from his brothers, who, like their illustrious ancestors, devoted themselves to the military career. He was naturally docile, affable, and good-tempered, magnanimous, and somewhat haughty; of strictly pure morals, and of noble, yet engaging aspect, well calculated to win the esteem of those with whom he associated. His parents, who were both remarkably pious, studiously endeavored to form their children to habits of early virtue, especially little Francis, whom they called their Benjamin. It was less their object to make him a noble cavalier, than a worthy Christian; and perceiving, when he had finished his course of Humanities, that he was inclined to pursue his studies through the higher sciences, they sent him to the then famous University of Paris, hoping that he would illustrate his family by his success in literary attainments, as much as his nearer relatives had done by their daring feats of arms. Nor were his friends deceived in their expectations; for on his arrival in Paris he entered the college of S. Barbara, and after completing his Philosophy, he received the degree of Master, and immediately began to teach with great applause.

It would certainly seem little less than miraculous how this young man, naturally ardent and impetuous, can have preserved his virginal innocence in the midst of such unbridled license, and of such profligate companions, with which the university then abounded: temptations of the most dangerous nature were resorted to in order to entrap him: even his master was in the habit of conducting his scholars to abodes of vice; but never could he prevail on Don Francis to be the companion of their nocturnal revels. Close companionship with Peter Faber probably contributed much to the preservation of his innocence; the two shared the same lodging in the college of Saint Barbara. Faber was of lowly parentage, belonging to the neighborhood of Geneva: after studying Latin and Greek he resolved to try his fortune in the University of Paris. It was a subject of surprise to many to see the haughty spirit of Don Francis seeking to bind itself in confidential familiarity with the humble Savoyard; we shall, perhaps, find the key to this secret in the high intellectual powers and in the distinguished virtue of Peter Faber. At the early age of twelve years he consecrated his chastity to God by vow; and amidst the dissolute profligacy of Paris he aspired only to piety and perfection, leading the life of a cloistered religious.

For the complement of the graces destined to Don Francis, God was pleased to conduct Saint Ignatius, of Loyola, from Spain to Paris, who, a few years before, had been converted, and, having abandoned the army of his country, had thrown himself, heart and soul, into the militia of Jesus Christ. The motives which had led the saint to this celebrated academy were not only the greater facilities for progress in his studies, but also the chances of collecting a chosen band of young men suited to the sublime enterprise which he had in view. Singularly enough, he became the fellow-lodger of Xavier and Faber, and, discerning in both of them admirable natural dispositions to virtue, he deemed them fitted to his purpose. He had little or no difficulty in gaining Faber, already easily accessible to the impressions of grace. One day he disclosed to him his own intentions of devoting himself entirely to the conversion of souls. This was quite enough for the good youth, who immediately offered to become his follower; whereupon the saint, taking him to a retired spot, applied him to the Spiritual Exercises, a work composed by himself in the grotto of Manreza, in the first year of his conversion, and in the composition of which he had been materially assisted by the great Mother of God herself. Indescribable was the fervor derived by Faber in these new lessons of the most sublime of all sciences: suffice it to say, he spent several successive days without tasting any other food than the manna of Paradise. That the aspect of the heavens might the better raise his soul to God, he used, in the depth of winter, as it then was, and in the middle of the night, to kneel for many hours praying in an open court, so that he was often covered with icicles. He had provided a small heap of fuel against the excessive rigor of the season; but being warmed by a better fire, he only used his bundle of charcoal as a couch, on which he nightly allowed himself a few hours of what we scarcely know whether to call torture or repose. He would have carried these austerities to excess, had not the saintly master moderated the indiscreet fervor of his novice-scholar. Thus did Ignatius make the conquest of Faber, who afterward signalized himself by his noble deeds in Germany, and proved himself truly the worthy first-born of his illustrious spiritual Father.

But not so easily could he work on the soil of Don Francis, where earthly hopes and expectations of literary renown had taken deep root. His natural talents certainly justified his own expectations and those of his family. The penetrating eye of...