Page - 330 - in Maximilian Hell (1720–92) - And the Ends of Jesuit Science in Enlightenment Europe

Chapter 7330 the suppression of the Society of Jesus and the overall context of reform and Enlightenment in the Habsburg monarchy meant the breakdown of the har- mony that had existed among these various loyalties, and the air around him became thinner. Hell could either choose to accommodate to the new cultural– political climate and make the most out of it, or try to remain in contact with a network of loyal ex-Jesuits and other conservative forces. In a way, he did both. Above all, he reacted actively, feeling a need to create new institutional lever- ages, to forge new social alliances, and to develop new intellectual allegiances in order to maintain the status of authority he had attained during his career up to that time. Before following him on this path, let us briefly consider gener- ally the impact of the suppression of the Society of Jesus on the personnel and infrastructure of Jesuit learning, particularly in Hell’s field, in the Habsburg lands. 3 Ex-Jesuit Astronomy: Institutions and Trajectories Between the suppression of the Society of Jesus and the death of Hell in 1792, new conditions for astronomical activity arose in the former Austrian province of the order. As mentioned above, Hell remained at his workplace after the suppression, but his case was special since his institution had been founded and was funded by the state. Other observatories and observers experienced a different plight. These include the Jesuit observatories of Vienna, Cluj, Buda, Graz, and Trnava; and other locations of institutionalized astronomy, such as Lviv, Melk, and Lambach, where ex-Jesuits54 had a role to play. While authors with pro-Jesuit leanings have usually emphasized the detri- mental effect of the suppression on the cause of science,55 others have argued that at least as far as the “favorite pet” of Jesuit scientific activity—astronomy— is concerned, “the status of ex-Jesuits [in it] remained unchallenged,”56 and 54 “Ex-Jesuit” has been used in at least two different meanings: those who, through voluntary exit or as the result of expulsion, left the Society after having delivered their vows, usually after spending a relatively long part of their life as a member; and those who, through the suppression of the order sanctioned by the church in 1773, were freed from their vows and forced to take another direction in their life. Cf. Hermann Haberzettl, Die Stellung der Exjesuiten in Politik und Kulturleben Österreichs zu Ende des 18. Jahrhunderts, Disserta- tionen der Universität Wien 94 (Vienna: Verband der wissenschaftlichen Gesellschaften Österreichs, 1973), 9. Here, it is used only in the second sense. 55 See, e.g., John (Johann) Schreiber, “Jesuit Astronomy,” parts 1–2, Popular Astronomy 12 (1904): 9–19, 94–112; Steinmayr, “Geschichte der Universitätssternwarte.” 56 Haberzettl, Stellung der Exjesuiten, 196.