The History of the Inquisition of Spain from the Time of its Establishment to the Reign of Ferdinand Part 23

_Canuelo_ (Don Louis), advocate of the king's council during the reign of Charles III. He was subjected to a penance, and abjured, _de levi_, for having inserted certain propositions in some numbers of a periodical work called _The Censor_, which appeared without the name of the author.

Canuelo often published declamations against superst.i.tion in the _Censor_, in which he proved the evil which might be produced by a blind and vain confidence in the indulgences and pardons obtained by those who wore the scapulary of our Lady of Mount Carmel, in reciting _neuvaines_, and in the other outward exercises of devotion, which he said were detrimental to the purity of religion. He also presumed to ridicule the pompous t.i.tles given by the monks to the saints of their orders: thus St. Augustine was called the _Eagle of Doctors_; St. Bernard, _Honied_; St. Thomas, _Angelic_; St. Buonaventure, _Seraphic_; St. John de la Cruix, _Mystic_; St. Francis, _Cherubim_; and St. Dominic, _Burning_. He one day offered a recompense to any one who would apply the name of _Cardinal_ to St. Jerome, and that of _Doctor_ to St. Theresa de Jesus.

The monks whom he ridiculed could not forgive his boldness, and they persecuted him with virulence. The numbers of his work were prohibited, although they were already published; and he was forbidden to write on any subject which had the least relation to doctrine, morals, or the received opinions on piety and devotion.

_Cantalapiedra_ (Martin Martinez de), professor of theology, and very learned in the Oriental tongues. He was prosecuted during the reign of Philip II. for publis.h.i.+ng a book called _Hippotiposeon_, &c.; it was prohibited, and inserted in the _Index_ of Cardinal Quiroga in 1583.

This author was suspected of Lutheranism, from having too much enforced the necessity of consulting the original books of the Holy Scriptures, in preference to the interpretations: he abjured _de levi_, submitted to a penance, and was forbidden to write again. This example gives us an idea of the judgment and discrimination of the judges and qualifiers.

_Carranza_ (Don Bartholomew), archbishop of Toledo. See Chapters 32, 33, and 34.

_Casas_ (Don Fray Bartholomew de Las), a Dominican, bishop of Chiapa and afterwards of Cuzco, resigned his see to live in Spain; he was the defender of the right and liberty of the native Indians. He wrote several excellent works which are mentioned by Nicholas Antonio. In one of these, he endeavours to prove that the kings have not the power of disposing of the property and liberty of their American subjects, and of giving them to other masters, either under a feodal tenure, or from a right of conquest. This work was denounced to the Inquisition as opposed to the declarations of St. Paul and St. Peter, concerning the submission of serfs and va.s.sals to their lords. The author was much grieved when he heard that it was intended to prosecute him; but the council only required of him, in an official manner, the remittance of the work and the ma.n.u.script. It was afterwards printed several times in other countries, which is mentioned by M. Peignot in his _Dictionnaire Critique, et Bibliographique des Livres remarquables qui ont ete brules, supprimees ou censures_. Casas died at Madrid in 1566 at the age of ninety-two. He had the pleasure of seeing another of his works in favour of the Americans approved by the censors, although it had been criticised by Juan Gines de Sepulveda. Charles V. ordered this writing to be suppressed, although it was favourable to the royal authority: he likewise made several ordinances in favour of the Americans, and if they had been executed, fewer reproaches would have been bestowed on the Spaniards who governed the new world.

_Castillo_ (Fray Ferdinand del), a Dominican, and one of the most ill.u.s.trious men of his order. He was implicated in the proceedings against the Lutherans at Valladolid in the year 1559. Fray Dominic de Roxas, Pedro Cazalla, and Don Carlos de Seso, wis.h.i.+ng to prove that their opinions on _justification_ were orthodox, declared that they were the same as those of Fray Ferdinand del Castillo, who was universally acknowledged to be eminent for virtue and wisdom; he had been a member of the College of St. Gregory at Valladolid; afterwards professor of philosophy and theology at Grenada: he was at this time a preacher of great eminence at Madrid. The three witnesses ratified their declarations on the 3rd, 4th, and 5th of October, 1559; they were to be burnt on the 8th of the same month. Fortunately for Fray Ferdinand, the three witnesses had not positively a.s.serted that he had maintained the doctrine of _justification_ in the manner that they did, or in the same sense, but that he had expressed himself in such a manner that it might be supposed. Fray Ferdinand was ordered to repair to Valladolid, where he was confined in the College of St. Gregory, and was summoned to appear before the tribunal. He cleared himself from the charges brought against him, and even obtained a certificate of his acquittal, that his honour and reputation might not be affected. He returned to Madrid, where he was made a prior, and was afterwards sent to Medina with the same dignity; lastly he was appointed preacher to Philip II. This prince often consulted him on difficult affairs, and appointed him to accompany the Duke of Ossuna in his emba.s.sy to Lisbon. Castillo was one of those who took the greatest part in inducing the Cardinal King, Don Henry, to call Philip II. to succeed him on the throne of Portugal, and he was subsequently made preceptor to the infant Don Ferdinand. He wrote the history of the order of St. Dominic, a work which is much esteemed by the learned of the present day. Castillo died on the 29th of March, 1593: his life had been a model of austerity, and he fasted on bread and water three times a week.

_Centeno_ (Fray Pedro), an Augustine monk. He was one of the most learned men of his order, and one of the most distinguished literati in Spain, during the reigns of Charles III. and Charles IV. Centeno incurred the hatred of all the monks, priests, and seculars, by his periodical work, ent.i.tled, _The Universal Apologist for all unfortunate Authors_. Centeno attacked the bad taste which predominated in literature, with the most delicate irony, so that the scholastic theologians, who knew nothing of good taste, dreaded to come under his examination. The ironical praise which he lavished on them, was more to be feared than his sharpest satire: his papers were universally read with pleasure, and his decisions generally adopted by his readers. The prejudices which prevailed in Spain did not fail to create him many enemies. He relied on the purity of his religious opinions, and the extent of his knowledge; but he was denounced at the holy office, and the denunciations were as different as the stations and characters of those who attacked him. He was accused of _impiety_ (a crime then considered in Spain as equal to _atheism_, or _materialism_), at the same time that others accused him of being a Lutheran and a Jansenist.

The great reputation enjoyed by the accused, the protection which the Count de Florida Blanca, first secretary of state, afforded him, the fear that hatred, envy and resentment had induced the accusers to invent calumnies, and the impossibility that Centeno could be at the same time an atheist and a Lutheran, prevented the tribunal from sending him to their dungeons; they therefore confined him in the Convent of St.

Philip, where he dwelt, commanding him to appear before the tribunal when summoned. His great knowledge of doctrine enabled him to defend himself with advantage: if his discourse had been printed, his fame must have much increased by it; yet he was condemned as _violently_ suspected of heresy, and was compelled to abjure and perform different penances.

This treatment plunged Centeno into a profound melancholy, which alienated his reason; he died in this state in the convent of Arenas, where he was confined.

The princ.i.p.al accusations against him were, 1st. That he had disapproved of the _Novenas_, the rosaries, processions, stations, and other pious exercises. This charge was supported by a quotation from the funeral oration of a n.o.bleman, in which he had said that beneficence was the favourite virtue of the deceased; that it was in the constant practice of it that true devotion consisted, and not in the mere exterior exercises of religion, which required neither care nor trouble, or any sacrifices of money, or other things. 2d. That he denied the existence of _limboes_, places destined to receive the souls of those who die before the age of reason, without receiving baptism: the argument brought to support this charge was the suppression of the question and answer on the article _Limbo_, which he had obliged the author of the Catechism to make. This work had been printed for the use of the charity-schools at Madrid, of which he had been appointed censor; the accused replied to the first accusation, by giving clear and perfect explanations, founded on the texts of Scripture and the Holy Fathers, and on the principles of true devotion: he proved the perfect connection of his defence with the expressions he had used in the sermon, of which he produced the original copy, as a proof of his innocence. On the second charge, he said that the existence of _Limbus_ was not defined as an article of faith; that it ought not to be mentioned in a catechism, where, according to his opinion, nothing ought to be considered but _doctrine_; and that he had suppressed the question, that the Christians might not confound this subject which was still an object of discussion among the Catholics, with those already decided by the Church. He was formally summoned to declare whether he believed in the existence of _Limbus_; he replied that he was not obliged to answer, because it did not relate to an article of faith; but that as he had no motives to conceal his opinions, he would confess that he did not believe in the existence. He demanded permission to compose a theological treatise, in which he offered to demonstrate the truth of what he advanced, humbly submitting to the decisions of the Church: this permission being granted, he wrote an hundred and twenty pages in folio, in close lines, so that it would form an octavo volume. I had the curiosity to read it, and was astonished at his immense and profound erudition: this writing contains all that the Fathers and the great theologians have said since the time of Jesus Christ, particularly since St. Augustine, on the future lot of those who die without receiving baptism, and before they have committed any mortal sin. His defence could not save him. A barefooted Carmelite and a Minime were the princ.i.p.al qualifiers, who censured Centeno as _violently suspected of heresy_.

_Cespedes_ (Doctor Paul de), born at Cordova, prebendary of the Cathedral of that city, and residing at Rome. The Inquisition of Valladolid tried him in 1560, for some letters which he had written to Don Bartholomew Carranza, archbishop of Toledo, and which were found among the papers of that prelate, with the copies of his replies. In one of these letters dated from Rome, on the 17th of February, 1559, he gives him an account of his proceedings in his favour, and allowed himself to speak ill of the inquisitor-general and the Inquisition of Spain. Cespedes was a great literati, a great painter, and poet, and a very clever modeller in wax: he composed a poem, in stanzas of eight verses, on _Repentance_. Juan de Verzosa and Francis Pacheco (both mentioned with approbation by Nicholas Antonio) have highly praised this poem. Cespedes continued to reside at Rome, and thus the inquisitors of Valladolid could not execute their projects of vengeance.

_Chumacero_ (Don Juan de). See the following Chapter.

_Clavijo y Faxardo_ (Don Joseph de), princ.i.p.al director of the museum of natural history at Madrid, and a learned man, who had a great taste for science. The Inquisition of the _Court_ tried him on the suspicion that he had adopted the antichristian principles of modern philosophy. He was confined to the city of Madrid, which was fortunate for him, as he thus preserved his honour and his office; he appeared privately before the tribunal, and was only condemned to private penances; he also made his abjuration, _de levi_, with closed doors, in the hall of the tribunal.

It is true that the proofs against him were weak, and he gave to his propositions an air of Catholicism. He had lived for some time in Paris, where he had been intimate with Buffon and Voltaire. He edited a journal, called _The Thinker_. M. Langle, in his _Travels in Spain_, says, that this work is without merit; if this author judged truly, it would, perhaps, be the only truth in his book. Clavijo was appointed editor of the _Mercury_, by the government, he also published a translation of "Buffon's Natural History," with notes. As this book is written with great purity of style, and without gallicisms, it is an important acquisition to those who seek a work rich in the beauties of the Spanish language. The Count d'Aranda also gave him the direction of a company of tragic actors: Clavijo endeavoured to fulfil the intention of the minister, but religious fanaticism arrested the progress of the design.

_Clement_ (Don Joseph), bishop of Barcelona. See the following Chapter.

_Corpus Christi_ (Fray Mancio de), Dominican, doctor and professor of theology, in the university of Alcala de Henares. He was tried by the Inquisition of Valladolid for having given a favourable opinion of the Catechism of Carranza. On the 21st of February, 1559, he remitted those of the doctors of his university, who had carefully examined some propositions of a doubtful nature, and of which they acknowledged the orthodoxy. He escaped the dungeons, by retracting, at the request of Philip II. A brief of Gregory XIII. obliged him to restore the definitive sentence which he had pa.s.sed on the Catechism and other works of Carranza, and in which he had condemned an hundred and thirty-one propositions of that prelate. On the 17th of October, 1559, he addressed a letter to the inquisitor-general, in which he asked pardon, and submitted to any penances which might be imposed on him.

_Cruz_ (Father Louis de la), Dominican, disciple of Don Bartholomew Carranza de Miranda, a member of the college of St. Gregory, at Valladolid, and extremely well versed in doctrine and theology. He was imprisoned in the dungeons of the Inquisition at Valladolid, for being implicated in the affair of Cazalla and his companions. The quotations made by the friends of Cazalla from his works, created a suspicion that he was a Lutheran: it is true that he had held a regular correspondence with Carranza, and had given him his opinion of his Catechism. He was accused of having bribed the minister of the holy office to obtain information of his old master; but he vindicated himself by proving that he had acquired some knowledge of the affair, in his conversations with Melchior Cano, and with one of the condemned Lutherans whom he had exhorted. Fray Louis was arrested in the month of June, 1559, and on the 7th of August he drew up a writing of six pages, in which he made many confessions. He soon became subject to fits of insanity, owing to his anxious thoughts during his trial. In June, 1560, he was removed to the ecclesiastical prison of the bishop, that he might be taken care of. It was impossible to prove any of the charges against him, yet the Inquisition kept him in prison until Carranza was released. At last, after five years of captivity, he abjured, _de levi_, and was sentenced to a seclusion of a few years as a penance.

_Cuesta_ (Don Andres de la). See Chapter 29.

_Cuesta_ (Don Antonio de la), archdeacon of the cathedral of Avila. The Inquisition of Valladolid ordered him to be arrested in 1801, as suspected of Jansenism and heresy; but he fled to Paris, where he lived during the five years of his trial: it would have been much longer if government had not interposed, as will be seen in the following article.

_Cuesta_ (Don Jerome de la), penitentiary canon of the cathedral of Avila. He was arrested for Jansenism, and heresy, while his brother Antonio was pursued, to whom he furnished the means of flight, at the expense of his own safety. He pa.s.sed five years in the prisons of the Inquisition, and he would have been detained for a much longer time, but for the solicitations addressed to Charles IV., by persons of the highest rank, who obtained permission to cause the original writings of the trial to be laid before his majesty. Don Jerome proved that the prosecution of himself and his brother originated in the intrigues of Don Raphael de Muzquiz, bishop of Avila, and formerly confessor to the queen, and archbishop of Santiago, and of Don Vincent Soto de Valcarce, bishop of Valladolid. When the depositions of the witnesses were read to Don Jerome, his great penetration enabled him to recognise them, and he clearly proved their injustice. The archbishop of Santiago made many representations to the king against the two brothers, the Inquisitors of Valladolid, and some members of the Supreme Council; he did not even spare Don Ramon Joseph de Arce, archbishop of Saragossa, patriarch of the Indies, and inquisitor-general: he accused them all of partiality in favour of the two brothers, who were, besides, countrymen of the chief of the holy office. The tribunal of Valladolid p.r.o.nounced Don Jerome innocent; the votes were divided in the council: the king then examined the writings, and declared, that, from the reports he had received, the two brothers were innocent of the crimes of which they were accused. He authorized Don Antonio to return to Spain, created him and his brother knights of the order of Charles III., and commanded the inquisitor-general to appoint them honorary inquisitors. Don Francisco de Salazar, bishop of Avila, (who in quality of Inquisitor of Valladolid, and member of the council, had taken a great part in this intrigue,) received an order from his majesty to reinstate the brothers in their stalls. This is one of the very rare instances, where the King of Spain took an active part in the affairs of the Inquisition, and one of the still more rare occurrences where innocence has triumphed.

_Delgado_ (Don Francis), archbishop of Santiago. See Chapter 29.

_Feyjoo_ (Benedict), Benedictine, born in the Asturias, and a distinguished literati. He was one of the first who restored good taste in Spain: the works which he has composed, have been enumerated by Don Juan Sempere y Guarinos in the _Catalogue of the Authors who flourished during the Reign of Charles III._ This learned man was denounced at the different tribunals of the Inquisition, as being suspected of the different heresies of the fifteenth century, and of that of the ancient Iconoclasts; most of his accusers were ignorant and prejudicial monks, of whom he had made enemies by the arguments in his _Critical Theatre_ against false devotion, false miracles, and some superst.i.tious customs.

It was fortunate for the author that the council of the Inquisition was well acquainted with the purity of his principles and Catholicism.

Although the progress of knowledge has been extremely slow in Spain, it must be confessed that it has even penetrated into the interior of the _Holy House_ during the last part of the eighteenth century.

_Fernandes_ (Juan), doctor of theology, prior of the cathedral of Palencia. He was prosecuted from the declarations of some Lutherans who were executed in 1559, particularly that of Fray Dominic de Roxas, who quoted several propositions of Fernandez, in which he pretended to find, especially on the subject of justification, the same opinions as his own. The fiscal presented Fray Dominic as a witness in the trial of Fernandez: he persisted in his declaration (he was already condemned to _relaxation_, but did not know it), and expected to be reconciled as a penitent. Fernandez, however, only received a reprimand for not having observed, in his discourse, the prudence which became a doctor of theology, at a period when heresy was so common in the kingdom.

_Frago_ (Don Pedro), bishop of Jaca. See Chapter 29.

_Gonzalo_ (Don Vitorian Lopez), bishop of Murcia. _Ibid._

_Gorrionereo_ (Don Antonio), bishop of Almeria. _Ibid._

_Guerrero_ (Don Pedro), archbishop of Grenada. _Ibid._

_Grenada_ (Fray Louis de). _Ibid._

_Gracian_ (Fray Jerome), Carmelite, born at Valladolid, and the son of Diego Gracian, secretary to Charles V., and Jane Dantisqui, daughter of the amba.s.sador of Poland, at the court of the emperor. He was a doctor of theology, and professor of philosophy at the university of Alcala. He wrote several works of a mystical nature, and some others on literary subjects, which are mentioned by Nicolas Antonio. He was prior of a convent of barefooted Carmelites at Seville, which he founded when St.

Theresa and her community, of whom he was the director, were attacked by the Inquisition. The tribunal of Seville prosecuted him as a heretic, of the sect of the _Illuminati_; but his trial failed for want of proof.

Father Jerome experienced many vicissitudes; but as they have been related by historians it is unnecessary to mention them here.

_Gudiel de Peralta_. See the following Chapter.

_Gonzalez_ (Gil), Jesuit, born at Toledo in 1532. He was prosecuted by the Inquisition of Valladolid, in 1559, for having begun a Latin translation of the Catechism of Carranza. When this prelate was informed that his work was to be translated into the language of theologians, he made some corrections in it, thinking it not sufficiently clear, and in July requested Gil Gonzalez to undertake the task. St. Francis de Borgia, having heard of the trial of the archbishop, commanded Gonzalez to communicate to the Inquisition all that he had been requested to do.

He obeyed; and in August informed the inquisitor-general of the order he had received, and his prompt.i.tude in submitting to it. In September he renewed his declarations, gave up the Castilian copy of the Catechism, with the corrections of Carranza, and all that he had written of the translation. He thus escaped persecution, and died in peace at Madrid in 1596.

_Illescas_ (Gonsalvo de). See Chapter 13.

_Iriarte_ (Don Thomas), born in the island of Canary, master of the archives of the minister for foreign affairs, and of the first secretary of state, author of a poem on _Music_, a volume of _Fables_, and other poetical works. He was prosecuted by the Inquisition of Madrid, during the last years of the reign of Charles III., as suspected of professing the antichristian philosophy. He was confined to the city, and received an order to appear when he was summoned: the proceedings were private, and he replied in a satisfactory manner to the accusations, but the inquisitors did not think fit to acquit him; they declared him to be _slightly suspected_: he abjured and obtained absolution in private, the penance imposed was likewise private, and few persons knew that he had been tried. Don Thomas Iriarte had two brothers, one called Don Dominic, who concluded a treaty of peace with the French Republic at Basle; and the other, Don Bernard, counsellor of the Indies, and knight of the order of Charles III.

_Isla_ (Francis de), Jesuit. He was the author of several works, during the reign of Charles III.; and also published, under a feigned name, the _History of the famous Preacher Fray Gerund de Campazas otherwise called Zotes, written at Madrid in 1750 and 1770, by the Licentiate Don Francis Lobon de Salazar_. This work is a fine satire, in two volumes, against the preachers who make a bad use of texts by quoting them in the wrong place, and distorting their meaning to support an extravagant proposition. This work produced very beneficial effects in Spain; all the preachers dreaded the epithet of _Fray Gerund_. This fict.i.tious hero might be called the Don Quixote of the pulpit, since the effects of this romance were the same as those of Don Quixote de la Mancha, which was intended to cure the Spaniards of their ridiculous mania for books of chivalry. The monks united against this work; they declared it to be impious, injurious to the ecclesiastical state, and the author suspected of all the heresies of those who speak with contempt of mendicant friars. The holy office received an infinite number of denunciations against this work. The qualifiers were of opinion that it ought to be prohibited, because the author, in ridiculing those who made a bad use of the sacred text, had fallen into the same error in composing the sermons preached by his hero. These volumes were consequently forbidden, but a publisher at Bayonne reprinted them with a third volume composed of the different essays which had appeared in Spain, either for or against the history of Fray Gerund. The true author did not put his name to the work, but he was known, and the Inquisition having arrested him, reproached him for what he had done. Isla alleged his laudable intention of correcting the defects which had been introduced into the pulpit by bad preachers, and the affair finished there. The Jesuits at that time had still some power at Madrid, and many of their society were judges of the holy office.

_Jesus_ (St. Theresa de). See Chapter 27.

_Jovellanos._ See Chapter 43.

_Joven de Salas_ (Don Joseph Ignacio), born in one of the towns of the Pyrenees, advocate to the king's councils, and a very learned man. He was chosen by several grandees of Spain to defend the right of their families to the succession of the elder branches, and for other interesting trials. He was denounced to the Inquisition for having read prohibited books: the inquest did not furnish sufficient proof to authorize imprisonment. His aversion for popular commotions, his love for social order, the absence of all the royal family, and the impossibility of resisting the invasion, induced him in 1808 to submit to the conqueror. The great merit of Joven obtained him the office of a counsellor of state under King Joseph: for this reason the political inquisitors who surround the throne of Ferdinand VII. induced him to banish this respectable old man, who lives at Bordeaux full of years and virtues.

_Lainez_ (Diego). See Chapter 29.

_Laplana_ (Don Joseph), bishop of Tarrazona. _Ibid._

_Lara_ (Don Juan Perez de). See the following Chapter.

_Lebrija_ (Antonio de). See Chapter 10.

_Ledesma_ (Fray Juan de), Dominican, professor of theology in the college of St. Peter Martyr, at Toledo. He was tried by the Inquisition of Valladolid in 1559, for having expressed a favourable opinion of the Catechism of Carranza; the proceedings were transferred to the tribunal of Toledo, which continued the trial without imprisoning Fray Juan, who was only confined to his college. Fray Juan declared that he had not perceived the heresies in Carranza's work, for that relying on the learning, virtue, and zeal of the author, he had read it without examining it particularly; he added, that as he had not fallen into any error knowingly, which he acknowledged as such, he abided by the censures of the qualifiers. He abjured _de levi_; a small private canonical penance was imposed on him to be performed in secret, and he received the absolution _ad cautelam_.

_Leon_ (Fray Louis de), an Augustine. He was born in 1527, of Lope de Belmonte, a judge and member of the chancery of Grenada, and of Donna Inez de Valera, his wife. He distinguished himself by the purity of his language and the beauty of his verses, which are looked upon as models of elegance. He took the monastic habit at Salamanca in 1544. His discernment was very great, and his knowledge of theology was so profound, that he was not surpa.s.sed by any of his contemporaries, and had very few rivals. He understood the Greek and Hebrew languages sufficiently to read them, and wrote Latin with peculiar elegance. He composed several works in verse and prose, which are mentioned by Nicolas Antonio. Experience has shown that it is impossible to possess superior talents without exciting envy; it is not therefore surprising that he was denounced to the holy office of Valladolid as being suspected of Lutheranism, at the time that he was professor of theology at Salamanca. Although he was innocent, he was kept in prison for five years. The solitude in which he lived during this period was so painful to him, that he could not help commemorating it in one of his works, taking for his text the 26th Psalm. Having been acquitted, he resumed his professors.h.i.+p; but his long captivity, the inaction in which he had lived, and his grief at being dishonoured, had considerably injured his health. He however had still sufficient strength to compose, in 1558, rules for the use of his order. He died at Madrid on the 23rd of August, 1591, during the chapter of which he was named vicar-general.

_Lerma_ (Pedro de), doctor, professor of theology and first chancellor of the university of Alcala. He was very learned in the oriental languages, which he had studied at Paris, where he had obtained the degree of Doctor in Theology: he was also one of the Junta convoked at Valladolid in 1527, by the inquisitor-general Manrique, to examine the works of Erasmus. He endeavoured to revive good taste in ecclesiastical literature in the university of Alcala, exhorting every one to take their opinions from the ancient sources. The scholastic theologians who did not understand the oriental languages, and who were accustomed to read the councils and the Holy Fathers only in the quotations of other authors, adopted the usual resource of the envious; they denounced him to the Inquisition of Toledo as suspected of Lutheranism. Pedro, being informed that he would be arrested, fled to Paris, where he died dean of the doctors of the Sorbonne, and professor of theology in that school.

_Ludena_ (Fray Juan). See Chapter 29.

_Linacero_ (Don Michael Raymond), canon of Toledo, preceptor of the archbishop of that city, the Cardinal de Bourbon. In 1768 he received an admonition from the holy office, while he was only cure of Ugena, because he had in his possession the _Ecclesiastical History_ written by Racine. This work had not yet been prohibited; but an order of the king forbade any person to read it, and the inquisitors compelled Linacero to give it up. After the king's death the tribunal prohibited this work as infected with Jansenism.

_Melendez Valdez_ (Don Juan), a native of Estremadura; after having been a professor at Salamanca, he was appointed judge of the royal court of appeal at Valladolid, by Charles III. Charles IV. promoted him to the office of the king's attorney in the royal Council of Castile, the chamber of the alcades of the royal house and of the Court of Madrid. He was the Spanish Anacreon of the nineteenth century, and the fame of his odes will last while good poetry is made. One of these gave rise to several denunciations in 1796, and Melendez was accused of conversing like a man who had read prohibited books, such as Filangieri, Puffendorf, Grotius, Rousseau, Montesquieu, and others. This attack failed from want of proof. In 1808 Melendez was barbarously treated by a.s.sa.s.sins of the same description as those who ma.s.sacred the Marquis de Perales and the intendant Truxillo, at Madrid; the Marquis del Socorro, at Cadiz; the Count del Aguila, at Seville; the Count de Torre del Fresno, at Badajoz, and many distinguished Spaniards in other places.

Melendez survived almost by a miracle, and sought safety in the French army. King Joseph appointed him a counsellor of state. Melendez accepted the place for the same reasons as _Joven de Salas_; he afterwards incurred the same fate, and died at Montpelier in 1817. The _Mercury_ of France and the other Parisian journals have published his panegyric. I shall therefore only add that at Valladolid in 1788 he gave me a small poem of his own composition to read; it was called _The Magistrate_.

When the second edition of his poems appeared, this poem was inserted, and on my inquiring the reason, he gave me the following account of it.