Though it was a good man who thought of it, in the hope of saving the
Indians and making the negroes Christians, it came to most horrible
cruelty, and was a disgrace to Christian Europe.
However, these faithful priests worked hard in teaching and converting
the Indians all over South America. One brotherhood, called the Jesuits,
had great establishments, where they trained up large villages of
Indiana in Christian habits, and taught them to be very faithful and
industrious. But at home, in Europe, these Jesuits did harm by stepping
out of their work as ministers, interfering with governments more than
was right, and trying to keep up the authority of the Pope more than
real Catholic truth. They taught so many false stories as articles of
faith, that at last clever people, wise in their own conceit, began to
believe nothing, and became like the fool who said in his heart, "There
is no God." So there came to be a bad feeling against all the clergy,
and the Jesuits, who had made themselves very meddling and troublesome,
were put down at the entreaty of several kings. When they were taken
away from their converts in South America, it turned out that the poor
Indians had not steadfastness enough to take care of themselves; so all
their well-ordered establishments were broken up, and the people ran
wild again.
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