Part 11

Shortly after this Constantino took a step which naturally excited great astonishment among the Jesuits. He made a formal application to be admitted as a member of the College which the brotherhood had established in Seville. Whether he took this step with the view of evading the danger of rapidly increasing suspicion; or whether he had conceived the design of attempting to convert the Jesuits to Protestantism, it is impossible to determine, but it can scarcely be imagined he was sincere in his wish to join the fraternity. Father Santibañez, in his _Historia de la Compañïa de Jesús_, furnishes the following particulars relating to Constantino’s application and its result.

“Constantino came to our college and discoursed with Padre Bartolomé de Bustamante, then exercising the functions of Provincial. He declared that his mind was beginning to be disabused of the world and its vanities; at the same time he feigned the utmost contempt for all mundane concerns, and expressed his wish to retire wholly from them. He declared his resolution to devote himself to religion, to do penance for his sins, and to correct the vanity and presumption of his sermons, by which he said he had gained more applause to himself than souls to God.--Several days elapsed, during which the Fathers discussed together Constantino’s proposition, but without coming to any agreement on the question. In the meanwhile Constantino’s frequent visits to our college were observed, and it began to be reported about that some secret scheme was in agitation. These reports reached the ears of the Inquisitor Carpio, and he desired to make himself acquainted with the facts of the case. He thought it best to address himself privately to Father Juan Suárez, with whom he was on friendly terms. Accordingly he invited Suárez to dinner, and during the repast he turned the conversation on matters concerning the Jesuits. He asked several questions respecting some of the probationers; which questions Suárez answered; and thereupon the Inquisitor said--

“‘I have heard that Doctor Constantino proposes to join the society.’

“‘He has,’ replied the Padre; ‘but what of that, señor, though his proposition has been listened to and entertained, yet we have come to no decision upon it.’

“‘He is,’ resumed the Inquisitor, ‘a person of weight and influence, and much looked up to by reason of his great learning;--yet I doubt whether a man at his age, and one who has always been accustomed to think and act according to his own will and pleasure, could easily submit to the restraints of a noviciate, and to the rigour of monastic rules. Instead of conforming to the regulations of your society he will, on the plea of his own superior merit, lay claim to, and possibly obtain some of those dispensations so odious in religious communities, whose high character can be maintained only by the perfect equality of duties and privileges. Believe me, when Constantino has fairly entered your college, he will give much to get out of it, and to bid you all farewell. To permit him to remain there with exemptions, would be a dangerous relaxation of the religious discipline so inviolably maintained by your society. It is by this sort of relaxation that monastic laws lose their force, and thereby many congregations suffer in the integrity of their principles. I assure you,’ pursued the Inquisitor, ‘that it gives me pain to communicate these doubts; but if the affair concerned me as it does you, I would decline Constantino’s proposition.’

“These words made a deep impression on Father Juan Suárez, and they excited in his mind suspicions which however he very artfully concealed, and he calmly replied to Carpio--

“‘Your observations are perfectly just, most reverend señor; the affair demands serious counsel and deliberation. I shall think well on what you have said.’

“Suárez then took leave of the Inquisitor, and on his return to the College he related to the Father Provincial (Bustamente) what had taken place. The next time that Constantino came to visit the College, Father Bustamente gave a decided denial to his application for admittance, and to check any unpleasant rumours that might be spread by those who either knew or suspected his object, the Father Provincial begged that he would come to our college as seldom as possible. Constantino departed much disappointed and mortified, and shortly after he was arrested by order of the Inquisition.”

Such are the details of this affair as given by Father Santibañez, in his History of the Jesuits; but he furnishes no clue whereby we may arrive at any satisfactory conclusion respecting the real object which Constantino had in view. It still remains questionable whether, by joining the Jesuits, he hoped to conciliate the friendship of those bitterest persecutors of the Lutherans; or whether, finding his own doom sealed, he was desirous of bringing discredit on the College, which, after his reception might have been regarded by the Inquisition as a cradle of Protestantism.

Some time after his arrest, and before the investigation of his case had brought about any result, an accidental circumstance occurred, which clearly convicted Constantino of being a Lutheran. A widow named Isabel Martínez was declared guilty of heresy, and the Inquisition, according to custom, issued an order for the sequestration of her property. Through the evidence of a treacherous servant, it was ascertained that many of her valuables were concealed in sundry coffers in the possession of her son, Francisco Beltran. Accordingly Luis Soltelo, an alguazil in the service of the Holy Inquisition, was directed to proceed to the house occupied by Beltran, and there to search for the hidden goods. No sooner had the alguazil entered the house, than Beltran, without waiting till a question was addressed to him, said, “Señor, there appears to be some mistake here! You have doubtless been directed to search my mother’s house, where some things are concealed, and if you will promise that no harm shall befal me for not having revealed this matter sooner, I will show you where the articles are hidden.” Without a moment’s delay, Beltran conducted Soltelo to the house of his mother, Isabel Martínez, and taking a hammer, he forced open a trap door, communicating with a cellar. In this cellar were found hidden a great number of printed books and manuscripts; the books were the works of Luther, Calvin and other Reformers, and the manuscripts were in the handwriting of Constantino Ponce de la Fuente. When denounced by the Inquisition, Constantino knowing that his books and papers would go far to convict him, had bethought himself of this means of preventing them from falling into the hands of his persecutors. With this view he consigned them to the care of his friend Isabel Martínez, a woman of virtuous and honourable character and a Protestant. But through the indiscretion of her son, both she and Constantino were sacrificed. Soltelo, not a little surprised at the booty he had unexpectedly discovered, took possession of the books and papers, at the same time telling Beltran that the objects he had been sent to search for, were his mother’s jewels and money. Beltran was dismayed by this information, and he then saw, when too late, the unfortunate result of his precipitancy. Fearing lest he might expose himself to danger by any further attempt to conceal these valuables, he surrendered them all into the hands of the alguazil Soltelo.

Constantino’s books and papers having been conveyed to the Inquisition and examined, it was found that the manuscripts were full of the most decided Lutheran doctrines; treating of the true Church, its spirit and character, and declaring that nothing could be more remote from it than the Church of Rome. Some of these papers contained discussions on the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, and the Sacrifice of the Mass;--others treated of justification, of pontifical bulls and decrees; of indulgences; of rewards of grace and glory; of auricular confession, and various other subjects respecting which Catholics and Protestants are widely at variance. To sum up all, Constantino called purgatory, _Una cabeza de lobo inventada por los frailes para tener que comer_.[94]

Constantino was now removed from the place in which he had heretofore been confined, and he was incarcerated in one of the secret dungeons of the Inquisition. The manuscripts were shown to him, and he acknowledged them to be in his handwriting, adding that he fervently believed all that they contained. The Inquisitors urgently pressed him to disclose who had been his coadjutors in disseminating his doctrines in Seville; but all their endeavours were vain. Constantino firmly refused to betray his Protestant friends and associates. After a lingering confinement in a damp subterraneous cell, this noble-minded man was seized with dysentery, which disease speedily terminated his life. Mortified at finding their victim thus wrested from their grasp, the Inquisitors circulated among the public a report that Constantino had terminated his own existence, in order to evade the just punishment which he knew awaited him.[95]

(X).

“The knights ascertained that the said enchanter dwelt in a palace, which, being continually enveloped in a hazy cloud, was invisible even to those who had the courage to seek to discover it.” (Page 140.)

In writing this passage Cervantes would seem to have had in his thoughts the extravagantly fantastic description of an enchanted palace, which occurs in a romance called _La Genealogía de la Toledana discreta_. Like the invisible abode of the Magician of Binche, this palace is represented as inaccessible. Its huge columns were of transparent crystal with capitals and bases of purest silver; and on the highest point of its towering arches was a lofty portal which none could enter save he who knew the secret.[96] The First Part of the _Toledana Discreta_ was published in the year 1604, but prior to the appearance of _Don Quixote_. The Second Part was never published, and possibly never written; for the satire dealt out by Cervantes on books of chivalry might well have deterred the author from the completion of his task. Almost all the commentators on _Don Quixote_ state that the last book of chivalry published in Spain, was _La Crónica del Príncipe Don Policisne de Boecia_. But this is a mistake; for the _Genealogía de la Toledana discreta_ appeared in 1604. The name of its author is Eugenio Martínez, and it is one of the most extravagant of the Spanish _libros caballerescos_.

(Y).

“And will it be said that there are not other madmen in the world besides the ingenious Knight of La Mancha, when such as these find favour in the eyes of emperors and kings.” (Page 142).

A narrative of a visit made to the Netherlands, by Philip II., (when Infante) in company with his father, the Emperor Charles V., was written by Don Calvate de Estrella. This curious work contains an account of the festivities at Binche alluded to by Cervantes in _El Buscapié_. During those entertainments many of the jousts and tournaments described in books of chivalry were represented, and great attention was bestowed on the accuracy of the costumes, &c. The reader will find the title of Estrella’s curious work quoted, at length, in Note S, page 213.

THE END.

FOOTNOTES:

[66] The Spaniards were accustomed to call their South American possessions _Indias Occidentales_.

[67] This narrative was published in Madrid in the year 1763, by Father Henrique Florez, under the title of _Viaje de Ambrosio Morales, por orden del Rey Don Felipe II., a los reinos de León y Galicia, y principado de Asturias, para reconocer las reliquias de santos &c._--(Journey made by Ambrosio Morales, by command of King Phillip II., to the Kingdoms of León and Galicia, and the Principality of Asturias, to discover the reliques of saints).

[68] “Spanish Medicine comprised in the common proverbs of our language.”

[69] Meaning persons who speak and understand the Castilian language, which was called the Romance.

[70] El primer comentario del muy ilustre señor, Don Luis de Ávila y Zuñiga, en la guerra de Alemania en el año de MDXLVI, y MDXLVII. Venice 1550, Antwerp 1552, Venice 1553.

[71] This copy of the _Buscapié_, Ruidiaz says he read many years prior to the date of his letter to Vicente de los Ríos. He states that it belonged to the late Conde de Saceda.

[72] An English translation of this work was published in London, in 1816, under the following title, “The Inquisition Unmasked”; by Don Antonio Puigblanch. Translated from the author’s enlarged edition, by William Walton, Esq.

[73] “The history of the very valiant knight, Palmerin of England, son of King Edward, and of his great prowess; and the history of Floriano of the Desert, his brother; with some account of Prince Florendos, son of Primaleon.”

[74] “Second Book of the History of Palmerin of England, in which is continued and brought to an end the story of his love for the Infanta Polinarda, shewing how he achieved many adventures and gained immortality by his great deeds.” Also the History of Floriano of the Desert, with some account of Prince Florendos.

[75] “A new system of philosophy, concerning the nature of the human frame, not known or touched upon by the great philosophers of antiquity, whereby human life may be prolonged and health improved.” Don Adolfo de Castro states that he does not know the date of the first edition of this work, but that the second edition was printed in Madrid, in the year 1588.

[76] Dialogue between Charon and the shade of Peter Lewis Farnesio, son of Pope Paul III.

[77] Moral Letters by M. Narveza, translated from the French language into Spanish, by Madama Francisca de Passier, dedicated to Don Pedro Enríquez de Acevedo, Count de Fuentes. Printed in 1605.

[78] The book of the Paso Honroso which was defended by the excellent Knight Suero de Quiñones; compiled from an old manuscript book by Juan de Pineda, a monk of the order of San Francisco.

[79] In the early ages of Christianity the Spaniards claimed St. James as their Apostle, and alleged that his remains were interred in Galicia, contrary to the generally received tradition which assigns Jerusalem as his burial-place. Under the appellation of Santiago, St. James is the tutelary saint of the Spaniards.

[80] Ferdinand and Isabella are the Catholic King and Queen here referred to.

[81] Polemic Dialogues between War and Learning.

[82] Eight Plays and Eight Interludes never performed.

[83] The term _rufián_ is still in use in the Spanish language, though it now bears a signification widely different from that attached to it by the dramatic writers of the 16th and 17th centuries. Quevedo’s “Gran Tacaña,” the “Rufián dichoso,” of Cervantes, and the “Rufián Castrucho,” of Lope de Vega, sufficiently show to what class of characters the term was applied, viz., a compound of the thief and the bravo. In short, the meaning attached to the term in the old Spanish dramas seems to correspond precisely with the English word _ruffian_.

[84] That which bears the title of _Auto Chamada da Lusitania_. (The Auto called Lusitania).

[85]

Gil Vicente the author Makes me his ambassador.

[86] _History of Portuguese Literature_, by Frederick Von Bouterwek.

[87] The Resolute Knight, translated from the French language into the Castilian, by Don Hernando de Acuña; and dedicated to the Emperor Charles V., King of Spain, &c. (Published at Antwerp in the year, 1553.)

[88] “Commentaries on the Spanish war,” and “History of King Philip V.,” surnamed _el animoso_.

[89] “Extraordinary Life of King Don Pedro of Castile, commonly called the Cruel.”

[90] “The Knowledge of Nations; by Antonio Pérez, formerly Secretary of State to King Philip II.: A political discourse founded on reasons of state and government, and addressed to the King our Lord, Don Philip III., concerning the condition of his realms and dependencies, and those of his friends and his enemies, together with some hints on the mode of procedure and government to be adopted towards both.”

[91] “Maxims of Antonio Pérez, Secretary to King Don Philip II., addressed to King Henry IV. of France.”

[92] “Brief Notice and Eulogium of the Life of King Philip II.”

[93] It may not be unnecessary to explain, for the information of the English reader, that the Spanish word _capilla_, chapel, signifies also a monk’s cowl or hood. This double meaning is implied in the observation attributed to Constantino. The words, _Me robaban la voz estas capillas_ might be interpreted two ways, viz: _These chapels drown my voice_, or _these monks cowls prevent me from speaking out_.

T. R.

[94] A wolf’s head, invented by the monks in order to obtain food for their own rapacity.

[95] The impeachment of Constantino by the Inquisition spread the utmost dismay throughout Spain. When the event reached the ears of the Emperor Charles V., in his retirement in the monastery at Yuste, he observed:--“If Constantino be a Heretic, he is indeed a _great_ Heretic.” (_Si Constantino es hereje, es grande hereje._)

[96] The original passage may be transcribed here, as it affords a good specimen of the Spanish _octava rima_.

“Sobre gruesas columnas levantadas De cristal más que el vidrio transparente, Basas y capiteles de apurada Plata, que siempre está resplandeciente Sobre todos los arcos fabricada Estaba una alta puerta y eminente, Por donde ningún hombre entrar podía Sino quien los secretos entendia.”

The _Toledana Discreta_ is written throughout in the _octava rima_, a form of Spanish verse which originated with Boscan, who first introduced the Italian style into Castilian poetry.

ERRATA.

Page

3 (Note) line 2 for Notic_s_a read Notic_i_a. 12 " 10 " instance_s_ " instance. 16 " 23 " Parna_d_o " Parna_s_o. 46 " 7 " barbad_a_ " barbad_o_. 63 " 12 " _Œ_schylus " _Æ_schylus. 68 (Note) " 2 " ci_ri_dad " ci_u_dad 91 (Note) " 1 " len_en_gua " lengua. 96 " 8 " Es_e_ritor " Es_c_ritor. 109 (Note) " 1 " conver_c_ion " conver_s_ion. 116 " 17 " you _are_ " you _were_ 121 " 11 " nonsen_c_e " nonsen_s_e. 132 " 5 " Hernande_x_ " Hernande_z_ 141 " 22 " misch_e_v_i_ous " misch_ie_vous. 144 " 7 " be " be_en_. 161 (Note) " 3 " Ambros_t_o " Ambro_s_io 165 " 16 " po_a_ " po_r_ 167 " 8 " nueutra " nue_s_tra. 167 " 21 " I have " “I have,” _he says_. 173 " 14 " A little on " A little _further_ on. 178 " 3 " esforzdo " esforz_a_do. 178 " 12 " much_o_s " much_a_s 180 " 1 " Morever " More_o_ver. 186 " 20 " petul_e_ntly " petul_a_ntly. 191 " 19 " tra_sl_ucidas " tra_d_ucidas 205 " 22 " se_n_ " se_u_ 213 " 9 " Espaa " Espa_ñ_a. 217 " 15 " Felipe II. " Felipe II_I_. 217 " 17 " pr_a_ceder " pr_o_ceder. 233 (Note) " 3 " c_a_lumnas " c_o_lumnas.