Jesuit School Productions of Roman Comedy in the 19th-century U.S.

Abstract

Abstract: In this article I examine productions of Roman comedy in Latin at the end of the 19th century by several Jesuit schools in the United States. I show that they used these plays to demonstrate the high quality of Catholic education, to gain public support and private patronage, and to defend themselves within the hostile landscape of largely-Protestant U.S. education in this period. I also argue that these Jesuit schools saw Roman comedy as a way to link themselves not only to ancient culture, but also to traditions that once formed the core of the Society of Jesus’s educational model.