The works of John Dryden, now first collected in eighteen volumes. Volume 16

In Short

This biography details the life of St. Francis Xavier, a foundational figure of the Society of Jesus. It follows his journey from his early days in Europe to his profound, often grueling missionary work in the East Indies, Japan, and the islands of the Pacific. The narrative is structured as a testament to his piety, his struggles against the moral decay of colonial settlers, and his efforts to convert local populations to Christianity. The book has endured as a primary source for the hagiography of Xavier, reflecting the seventeenth-century perspective on faith, expansion, and the nature of the Jesuit mission. It captures a worldview defined by absolute conviction, depicting a man whose perceived miracles and unwavering discipline served to define the early global footprint of his order.

The Story

The narrative begins with Xavier in Venice, already under the influence of his mentor, Ignatius of Loyola. Before departing for the East, he serves in hospitals, practicing extreme self-denial and acts of charity. His development is defined by his ability to conquer his own natural disgust and physical limitations, such as tending to the most grotesque, ulcerous patients with profound tenderness. These early trials forge a character suited for the hardships of travel and the isolation of distant mission fields.

Upon reaching the Indies, Xavier finds the situation far more complicated than simple spiritual expansion. He encounters a landscape where the Portuguese colonists—supposedly Christian—often live in greater moral corruption than the native populations they seek to convert. The narrative highlights the rampant greed, systemic abuse of women, and the selling of justice by colonial administrators. Xavier’s mission is twofold: he must act as a spiritual physician to these wayward settlers, often forcing them back to the sacraments through rigorous counseling and, occasionally, sharp moral rebuke, while simultaneously attempting to bring the Gospel to the local inhabitants.

His travels take him from the coast of India to the Moluccas and eventually to Japan. In Japan, the challenges shift from moral reform to intellectual and cultural confrontation. He encounters the Bonzas, the Buddhist priests, who engage him in complex theological debates. Xavier is depicted as a man of calm, almost supernatural patience, weathering insults and threats with a mildness that surprises his enemies. He navigates the hierarchies of the Japanese court, befriending local princes and lords, though he is often frustrated by those whose intellectual curiosity is thwarted by their attachment to worldly pleasures or political standing.

The arc of his life is one of escalating intensity. He displays an ever-increasing range of miraculous interventions, from calming storms and healing the dying to foretelling the deaths of merchants and the outcomes of naval battles. These events, documented with the gravity of historical record, serve to solidify his authority in the eyes of both the faithful and the skeptical.

His final years are marked by a deep, restless desire to reach China, which he views as the ultimate field for the Church. He travels toward the mainland with a sense of urgent, prophetic purpose. However, his mission ends on the island of Sancian, where, despite the support of fellow travelers and the continued devotion of those he has guided, his physical strength finally fails. The narrative concludes with the return of his remains to Goa. The funeral procession is presented as a grand public spectacle, characterized by the overwhelming grief of the populace and the reported healing of the sick who simply touched his bier. The work finishes by framing Xavier’s entire life not merely as an individual biography, but as a definitive, living proof of the truth and divine favor of the Catholic Church.

How It Unfolds

The path of self-denial Xavier begins his spiritual ascent in Venice by serving in the hospital for the incurable, overcoming his natural revulsion to nurse the sick. This early period of service serves as a crucible, testing his resolve and cementing his obedience to the principles of the Jesuit order.

The mission to the Indies Upon arriving in Portuguese India, he finds a society that has largely abandoned its faith for avarice and moral laxity. He directs his energy toward reforming these colonists, convinced that the example of the settlers is the primary barrier to the conversion of the local people.

The struggle in Japan He travels to Japan to engage with its sophisticated religious structures, encountering the Bonzas, who challenge him with their own philosophical traditions. He navigates these high-stakes debates with composure, even as he finds himself caught between the curiosity of the elite and the entrenched resistance of the priests.

The manifestation of divine power Throughout his travels, Xavier’s mission is punctuated by occurrences that are presented as miracles, including the healing of the dying and the prophetic foresight of distant events. These incidents are framed as essential reinforcements to his authority, allowing him to be heard by a dissolute and often skeptical audience.

The final journey His life reaches its conclusion on the island of Sancian as he prepares to enter China. Though he dies before realizing this final ambition, his death is treated as a moment of transition, confirming his status as an apostle and validating the enduring strength of the faith he planted.

The People

Francis Xavier is the central figure, a man driven by a singular, consuming desire to serve God and expand the influence of the Church. He begins as a refined, scholarly figure and evolves into a hardened, ascetic missionary who finds "love in pain and sufferings." He remains consistent in his pursuit of humility, constantly urging his followers to despise their own pride and to submit entirely to the will of their superiors.

Ignatius of Loyola acts as the distant but omnipresent moral compass. Though he remains in Europe, his letters and maxims provide the framework for Xavier’s behavior. The relationship is less a dialogue than a reflection; Xavier acts as the extension of Ignatius’s will, and the two are depicted as sharing a single, unified soul.

The Bonzas of Japan serve as the primary intellectual adversaries. They represent the established religious order of Japan, and their opposition is both physical and argumentative. Unlike the simple "libertines" Xavier encounters in colonial ports, the Bonzas are sophisticated opponents who attempt to protect their social and spiritual status by manipulating the political machinery of the local kings.

The Portuguese Governors and Colonists represent the moral obstacle of the mission. They are often depicted as proud, wealthy, and deeply corrupt. Xavier’s interactions with them—ranging from stern reprimands to gentle persuasion—reveal the friction between his spiritual mission and the pragmatic, often cruel, reality of colonial administration.

In Its Own Voice

Describing the harsh, self-sacrificial nature of his early mission in the hospital of the incurables:

He embraced the sick person, applied his mouth to the ulcer, surmounted his natural loathing, and sucked out the corruption.

Writing to Ignatius from the court of Portugal, expressing his exhaustion and his commitment to the sacrament of penance:

We are sitting on the confession-seat all the day long, and part of the night, though none but courtiers are permitted to come to us.

Advising a fellow Jesuit on how to handle the shame of those seeking confession:

Insinuate into them, that you have heard in confession sins of a much more crying nature: and, lest they should despair of pardon for their faults, speak to them of the infinite mercies of the Lord.

What It's Really About

At its core, the text is an argument for the transformative power of absolute, self-abnegating faith. It posits that a life of total submission—not just to God, but to the hierarchy of the Society of Jesus—can overcome any obstacle, whether it be personal moral failure, cultural isolation, or the physical dangers of the high seas.

The work explores the tension between the "civilized" world and the "idolatrous" one, ultimately arguing that the only valid response to a world consumed by avarice is a radical, missionary poverty. It is also deeply concerned with the authority of the Church, using Xavier’s life as a proxy for the legitimacy of Catholicism itself. By documenting his actions, the text seeks to convince the reader that the Roman Church is the direct inheritor of the apostolic mission, and that the success of its expansion is proof of its divine mandate.

Why Read It Today

Readers interested in the history of global exploration, the early foundations of globalized religious orders, or the evolution of hagiographic literature will find this book a significant artifact. It offers a rare, if highly stylized, view of the seventeenth-century Jesuit mindset—an uncompromising blend of intense physical discipline and intellectual zeal. The prose is elegant and formal, reflecting a period when language was used to create a sense of monumental, almost mythic importance.

However, the reader must be prepared for the realities of the text’s age. The narrative is heavily filtered through the perspective of a European author writing in a specific, devout tradition; it relies on concepts of "idolatry" and "barbarism" that are entirely of its time. Modern readers may find the accounts of miraculous events and the totalizing view of religious conversion challenging or even alienating. It is not an objective historical account in the contemporary sense; it is a devotional biography designed to inspire and confirm, rather than to problematize or examine.

Despite these barriers, there is a certain fascination in the portrait of Xavier as a man of extreme willpower, operating with the confidence of someone who believes he is acting at the direct command of the divine. The book captures the sheer momentum of the Jesuit mission, conveying a sense of the scale, the loneliness, and the relentless intensity that characterized these early cross-cultural encounters. It remains a powerful study in the nature of conviction and the cost of total dedication to an ideal, reminding the modern reader of how differently the world was viewed and navigated by those who believed they held the map to the eternal.