The main argument of the book is that the Jesuits, in placing rhetoric at the heart of their educational system, were following in the footsteps of Ciceronian humanism, as explained in the introduction (1-19). To break with medieval Scholasticism, the humanists devised a teaching program centered on grammar, poetry, history, moral philosophy, and rhetoric. In the wake of Isocrates and Cicero, the Jesuits set themselves the goal of training informed citizens, involved in civic life (vita civilis) and capable, through their intellectual and moral training, of working for the common good (commune bonum). This presupposes a certain conception of rhetoric associated with wisdom: in adopting this program, the Jesuits reconciled the definitions given by Cicero (the art of persuasion) and Quintilian (the art of speaking well).

The following chapters are of unequal length. Tracing the origins of ancient rhetoric and the beginnings of humanism, Chapter 2 (20-55) shows that the Society of Jesus, by adopting the humanist educational model of the studia humanitatis and the modus parisiensis of the University of Paris, helped Italian humanism to flourish beyond the sixteenth century, especially within the Roman College, founded in 1551. The dual tradition of antiquity and Christianity, inherited from the first centuries of the church, is characteristic of the Renaissance. Latin appears to be the key to all learning in the colleges, as shown in Chapter 3 (56-69), which describes the pedagogy implemented in grammar classes prior to the teaching of the humanities and rhetoric. Chapter 4 (70-120) delves into other aspects of Jesuit education, dealing with the role of manners and politeness, then the common good and the democratization of education, culminating in a more general reflection on the humanistand therefore Jesuit-association between education and virtue. Finally, the implementation of the teaching of rhetoric (pedagogical principles and hundred years, they are, as Harnett puts it, "a source of grace for us, for the Society of Jesus and for all the Ignatian family" (128).