Cambridge Library CoLLeCtion Books of enduring scholarly value Religion For centuries, scripture and theology were the focus of prodigious amounts of scholarship and publishing, dominated in the English-speaking world by the work of Protestant Christians. Enlightenment philosophy and science, anthropology, ethnology and the colonial experience all brought new perspectives, lively debates and heated controversies to the study of religion and its role in the world, many of which continue to this day. This series explores the editing and interpretation of religious texts, the history of religious ideas and institutions, and not least the encounter between religion and science. The Missionary Life and Labours of Francis Xavier Taken from his own Correspondence A founding member of the Jesuit order, Francis Xavier (1506–1552) travelled as a missionary to India, Japan and China in the mid-sixteenth century. He is traditionally associated with legends of miraculous works and the conversion of tens of thousands of people. This controversial 1862 biography by the Anglican missionary clergyman Henry Venn (1796-1873) uses Xavier’s own words to examine the future saint’s character and private thoughts. Xavier’s correspondence reveals a sensitive, energetic and occasionally vengeful man who was not averse to employing aggressive means. Containing numerous letters printed in full, Venn’s chronicle provides an analysis of Xavier’s mission, methods and achievements from a non-Catholic perspective. Venn also explores Xavier’s close friendship with the Jesuits’ founder Ignatius Loyola, and probes the facts behind previous biographers’ tales of miracles. The book ends with detailed and challenging appraisal of the overall success of the worldwide Roman Catholic mission since the sixteenth century. 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The Missionary Life and Labours of Francis Xavier Taken from his own Correspondence With a Sketch of the General Results of Roman Catholic Missions among the Heathen Henry Venn CAMbRIDgE UnIVERsITy PREss Cambridge, new york, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, singapore, são Paolo, Delhi, Dubai, Tokyo Published in the United states of America by Cambridge University Press, new york www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9781108011822 © in this compilation Cambridge University Press 2009 This edition first published 1862 This digitally printed version 2009 Isbn 978-1-108-01182-2 Paperback This book reproduces the text of the original edition. The content and language reflect the beliefs, practices and terminology of their time, and have not been updated. Cambridge University Press wishes to make clear that the book, unless originally published by Cambridge, is not being republished by, in association or collaboration with, or with the endorsement or approval of, the original publisher or its successors in title. —---£---*hri I, t isstmrarj 3Rfe and Jabtirs FRANCIS XAVIER TAKEN FROM HIS OWN CORRESPONDENCE: WITH A SKETCH Of (general B ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONS AMONG THE HEATHEN. BY HENRY VENN, B.D., PREBENDARY OF ST. PAUL'S, HONORARY SECRETARY OF THE CHURCH MISSIONARY SOCIETY. LONDON: LONGMAN, GREEN, LONGMAN, ROBERTS, & GREEN. 1862. P KEF ACE. THE history of modern Roman Catholic Missions to heat en countries forms an important subject of in- quiry with all who take an interest in the progress of Christianity. One of the most remarkable periods in this history is that which extends from the middle of the sixteenth to the middle of the seventeenth centuries. It was then that Jesuit Missionaries and some of the ablest men appeared in the field. The great influence and wealth of Portugal were at that time exerted to give effect to the work of evangelizing India, Japan, China, and America. It is difficult to calculate the number of Missionaries which the Church of Rome maintained during that period in all parts of the known world. Long after the work had declined, by the expulsion of the Portuguese from their Eastern supremacy, Niecamp, who wrote a History of the Danish Mission in South India, states, that when the first two Protestant Mis- sionaries were sent out (in 1706), the number of Ro- mish Missionaries then in the East was estimated at two thousand. Yet our information of Roman Catholic Missions is very meagre and unsatisfactory. The sources of in- formation are either various collections of letters of a 3