decided to carry out his designs of Catholicizing the people. Ferdinand’s Religious Policy.By granting numerous favors, he succeeded in converting to his views some of the leaders among the Lutherans, and they subscribed to the innovations introduced by him. But when the matter was laid before the university, that body condemned the action as unscriptural. As Ferdinand just then had the Turkish war on his hands, for which he needed men and money from Bohemia, he dared not press his views too strongly, lest there should be an open rupture with the Diet, in which case he would have experienced some difficulty in securing the desired aid.
About this time the German princes gained a glorious victory, which freed them forever from the dominion of the Pope. This so encouraged the Protestants in Bohemia that they deposed the officers that had approved of the measures of Ferdinand, and appointed others who were known to be friendly to the most advanced views of the reformers.
Ferdinand, seeing that he could do nothing to prevent the spread of Protestantism by open measures, decided to work in another way. He invited into Bohemia large numbers of the newly-founded order of the Jesuits, to whom he gave the monastery of St. Clement in Prague. Here they established two colleges—one of theology, and one of philosophy. In course of time, these became formidable rivals to the old colleges of the Carolinum; for the Jesuits, with the zeal of a newly-organized order, spared no pains to win pupils, and, once within the walls of their college, they were not suffered to depart until they had been converted to the old faith.
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