Joseph de Maistre, Considerations on France (1796), ch. V
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[Friends of order] are often heard to say that the Jesuits must be reestablished. Without disputing the merits of this order, one must say that this suggestion for their reestablishment indicates a lack of deep reflection. Do they mean that St Ignatius is at hand ready to serve our purposes? If the order were destroyed, perhaps it could be reestablished by some lay brother with the same inspiration that created it originally, but all the sovereigns in the world would never succeed.

— Joseph de Maistre

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "[Friends of order] are often heard to say that the Jesuits must be reestablished. Without disputing the merits of this order, one must say that this suggestion for their reestablishment indicates a lack of deep reflection. Do they mean that St Ignatius is at hand ready to serve our purposes? If the order were destroyed, perhaps it could be reestablished by some lay brother with the same inspiration that created it originally, but all the sovereigns in the world would never succeed." in the context of "Joseph de Maistre, Considerations on France (1796), ch. V" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

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Source: Wikiquote: "Ignatius of Loyola" (Quotes about Ignatius of Loyola) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Ignatius of Loyola

About Ignatius of Loyola

Saint Ignatius of Loyola (December 24, 1491 – July 31, 1556), also known as Ignacio (Iñigo) López de Loyola, was the principal founder and first Superior General of the Society of Jesus, a religious order of the Catholic Church professing direct service to the Pope in terms of mission. Members of the order are called Jesuits.