The purpose of this article is to understand the psychic strength of the "understanding", some specific temperament features and the functions the individual with those features was supposed to perform, outlined in the Society of Jesus Catalogues throughout the 17th and 18th centuries. It evidences these associations as a common place in the Jesuit literature of that period, the importance of the understanding as a feature required to work in relevant ministries of the Order, and the need for individuals to have an appropriate physical complexion for these requirements.
Jesuit knowledge; temperaments; undestanding