II
Revista Agustiniana (Madrid, 1882), vol. III, p. 127. 'Lope Alvarez Ponce de Leon, Regidor de Segovia... casó dos veces: la primera con Doña Leonor Sánchez de Olivares, hija de Díez Sánchez de Olivares y hermana de aquel valiente caballero Don Pedro de Olivares, comendador del Olmo, del orden de Calatrava en tiempo del Maestro D. Rodrigo Téllez Girón. De este matrimonio tuvieron tres hijos. En segundas nupcias casó con Doña Leonor de Villanueva, y tuvieron dos hijos; pero no declaran quienes fueron del primer matrimonio, y quienes del segundo. Solo de D. Gómez consta que es del primer matrimonio.'
Proceso original que la Inquisicion de Valladolid hizo al maestro Fr. Luis de Leon, religioso del orden de S. Agustin. This proceso, edited by D. Miguel Salvá and D. Pedro Sainz de Baranda, occupies the tenth volume and pp. 5-358 of the eleventh volume of the Coleccion de Documentos inéditos para la historia de España (Madrid, 1847).
Ex. gr. Documentos inéditos, vol. X, pp. 96-97, 184-185, 255-256; vol. XI, pp. 38, 131, 350.
It is established beyond doubt, however, that some members of the family used the name Ponce. The works of Luis de Leon's eminent nephew, Basilio, an Augustinian like himself, bear on their title-pages the words 'Basilius Pontius Legionensis'.
This assertion is made emphatically by Diego de Haedo, the prosecuting counsel on behalf of the Inquisition; he calls Luis de Leon a 'descendiente de generacion de judíos' (Documentos inéditos, vol. X, p. 206). An echo of the charge is faintly audible in Luis de Leon's own testimony. It is repeated with violence by Leon de Castro: '...enojado de la porfía el dicho fray Luis, despues le dijo á este declarante que le habia de hacer quemar un libro que imprimia sobre Exsahías, y este declarante le respondió que con la gracia de Dios que ni él, ni su libro no prenderia fuego, ni podia; que primero prenderia en sus orejas y linaje; y queste declarante no queria ir mas á las juntas' (Documentos inéditos, vol. X, p. 12).
Documentos inéditos, vol. X, p. 157.
See note [1].
Luis de Leon apparently took no special interest in his family history. Before the Inquisitionary Tribunal at Valladolid on April 15, 1572, he traced his descent no further back than his grandparents, adding that, as he entered religion when he was fourteen years old, 'no tiene entera noticia de qué casta vienen los dichos sus padres y agüelos, mas de haber oido decir que ciertos contrarios que tuvo su padre, le pusieron en su hidalguía que venia de casta de conversos.
E preguntado si sabe que alguno de los de su descendencia ó trasversalía haya seido preso ó peniado ó condenado por este Santo Oficio; dijo que no lo sabe' (Documentos inéditos, vol. X, p. 182).
By May 14, 1573, Luis de Leon had recalled further particulars: 'Porque mi padre fué un hombre muy católico y muy principal como conoció todo el reino, y su padre que se llamó Gomez de Leon lo fué no menos que él en su lugar, y este tuvo un hermano de padre y madre que se llamó el licenciado Pedro de Leon, que fué collegial en el collegio del Cardenal desta villa como se puede luego saber; y el padre de ambos, visagüelo mio, se llamó Lope de Leon muy católico y de los mas honrados y principales de su lugar; y el padre de este y visagüelo mio, se llamó Pero Fernandez de Leon que le trujo el primer Señor de Belmonte consigo á aquel lugar, y fué alcaide en la fortaleza dél todo el tiempo que vivió, y el mas principal y mas limpio que habia en él, desto que el mundo llama limpieza, como siendo necesario probaré bastantemente' (Documentos inéditos, vol. X, pp. 385-386). This challenge was never taken up.
It is not free from doubt because, though some of the witnesses, whose testimony is given in Documentos inéditos, vol. X, pp. 146-174, are doubtless in good faith in their evidence as to Luis de Leon's Jewish descent, they refer to events which happened long before; and their memories are apt to play them false and their narratives are muddled. Luis de Leon appears to point to these depositions when he says: 'Y no se hallará en memoria de hombres ni de escrituras ciertas, que nombrada y señaladamente alguno de todos mis antecesores se haya convertido á la fe de nuevo' (Documentos inéditos, vol. X, p. 386). In common fairness, it should be said that the statement of P. Mendez [see note [1]] is more in the nature of assertion unsupported by full evidence.
Documentos inéditos, vol. X, p. 180.
M.R.P. Francisco Blanco García, Fr. Luis de León: estudio biográfico del insigne poeta agustino, p. 254.
Blanco García, op. cit., p. 23. On April 15, 1572, Luis de Leon stated that he was about forty-four (Documentos inéditos, vol. X, p. 180): '...de edad de cuarenta é cuatro años, poco mas ó menos tiempo'. This is perhaps too vague to furnish a basis for a conclusion.
Documentos inéditos, vol. X, p. 173.
Documentos inéditos, vol. X, p. 182. Luis de Leon states that he made up his mind as to his religious vocation within four or five months of reaching Salamanca.
'El licenciado Lope de Leon, oidor que fué de la Chancillería de Granada, defunto, y Doña Inés de Alarcon su muger, que agora vive en Granada.' So Luis de Leon described his parents at the first sitting of the Inquisitionary Tribunal at Valladolid (Documentos inéditos, vol. X, p. 180).
'Y en lo que toca á mi vida, aunque estoy lleno de faltas y pecados mas que otro alguno; pero esto es verdad que yo tomé el hábito de religion que tengo, de 14 años de mi edad, y dejé cuatro mill ducados de renta que mi padre tenia vinculados en mi cabeza como en el mayor de sus hijos' (Documentos inéditos, vol. X, p. 386).
Luis de Leon seems to have arranged that his brother Miguel should pay him annually a small sum which was, apparently, to be spent on books. This is a fair inference from Luis de Leon's reply to a claim lodged against him by one Lucas Junta, a bookseller of Salamanca, on March 17, 1575 (Documentos inéditos, vol. XI, pp. 51, 52). It seems doubtful whether Miguel reached Luis's standard of punctuality in the matter of payment (Documentos inéditos, vol. XI, p. 196). Luis de Leon had two sisters, Mencía de Tapia and María de Alarcon. The latter had died before April, 1572. So had another brother, Antonio, who was a priest (Documentos inéditos, vol. X, p. 182).
Revista Agustiniana (Madrid, 1882), vol. I, p. 414.
Blanco García, op. cit., pp. 47-48.
Documentos inéditos, vol. X, p. 182.
J. Gonzalez de Tejada, Vida de Fray Luis de Leon, Madrid, 1863, p. 10.
Blanco García, op. cit., p. 59.
Blanco García, op. cit., p. 59, note I.
Blanco García, op. cit., p. 60.
Blanco García, op. cit., p. 62, note 4. Grajal was so greatly struck with his opponent's ability that he supported Luis de Leon in all his subsequent candidatures. On this point we have an explicit statement from Luis de Leon: 'Es verdad que el maestro Grajal ha sido y es mi amigo, y querelle yo bien comenzó de que habiendo sido primero competidores en la cátreda de Biblia que él llevó, en las demas oposiciones que yo hice, sin sabello yo, trató en mi favor con tanto cuidado y con tan gran encarecimiento de buenas palabras, que cuando lo supe quedé obligado á tratalle, y del trato resultó conocer en él uno de los hombres de mas sanas y limpias entrañas y mas sin doblez que yo he tratado; y ansí nuestra amistad fué siempre, no como de hombres de letras para comunicar y conferir nuestros estudios, sino como de dos hombres que trataban ambos de ser hombres de bien, y por conocer esto el uno del otro se querian bien' (Documentos inéditos, vol. X, pp. 326-327).
Gonzalez de Tejada, op. cit., pp. 21-22.
Documentos inéditos, vol. XI, pp. 261-262.
Blanco García, op. cit., p. 63.
Blanco García, op. cit., p. 64.
Not altogether, for though Luis de Leon had, in an eminent degree, the knack of success in all open competitions, the students took part in the elections of professors at Salamanca, and this element disturbed calculations.
This is a fair inference from Luis de Leon's assertion: 'en aquella universidad yo tengo muchos enemigos por causa de mis pretendencias' (Documentos inéditos, vol. X, p. 574).
On this head, Luis de Leon's acquittal by the Supreme Inquisition speaks for itself.
'Es muy santo... Tiene mucho caudal de Dios'. These encomiastic phrases of the pious nun's are quoted by Blanco García (op. cit., p. 245) from Angel Manrique, Vida de la Venerable Ana de Jesús (Bruselas, 1632), p. 328. Manrique's biography is not within my reach.
Luis de Leon's probity was not free from a touch of brusqueness. This is disclosed by his own description of his behaviour to a dullard who made his life at Salamanca a burden: 'Acerca del capítulo cuarto, demás de lo dicho digo que creo que este testigo es un bachiller Rodriguez, y por otro nombre el doctor Sutil que en Salamanca llaman por burla; y sospécholo de que dice en este capítulo que le dejé sin respuesta, porque jamás dejé de responder á ninguna persona de aquella universidad que me preguntase algo, sino a éste que digo, con el cual por ser falto de juicio y preguntar algunas veces cosas desatinadas, y colligir disparates de lo que oia y no entendia, me enojaba y le decia que era tonto. Y otras veces por no enojarme ni desconcertarme con él no le respondia nada, sino huia dél' (Documentos inéditos, vol. X, pp. 357-358).
This was the contention of the prosecuting counsel. Luis de Leon, however, declared that, highly as he thought of Martinez de Cantalapiedra's patristic learning, there was no marked intimacy between them, and that he often did not meet Martinez de Cantalapiedra for a year or two. 'Ni yo tenia con él trato ni conversacion ordinaria; antes se pasaba un año y dos años que no le veia ni hablaba.... Y siempre le tuve y tengo por el hombre mas leido en los sanctos de cuantos hay en aquella universidad' (Documentos inéditos, vol. X, p. 227).
Leon de Castro's first appointment at Salamanca is dated March 28, 1549: he was 'jubilado' on July 5, 1561. See Vicente de la Fuente, Historia de las universidades, colegios y demas establecimientos en España (Madrid, 1884-1889), vol. II, p. 250.
Francisco Sanchez, possibly El Brocense, testified to Castro's saying: 'isti judæi et judaizantes me han echado á perder, y por eso no se vende mi libro'. Sanchez bluntly told the Inquisitors that he did not believe this, and attributed the book's failure to its size and price (Documentos inéditos, vol. XI, pp. 299-300). It is suggested by Vicente de la Fuente (op. cit., vol. II, p. 289, note 3) that there was some basis for Castro's opinion. Luis de Leon implicitly denied the charge, which he manifestly thought beneath contempt: 'Y si yo hubiera tratado como Leon cree de que la Inquisicion vedara su libro, yo hiciera que se advirtiera. Y aunque el doctor Valbas en Alcalá á quien fué cometido por el Consejo Real, al principio le quitó grandes pedazos adonde trataba á San Hierónimo como me trata á mí agora, no le pudo quitar esto que yo digo, por que era quitalle todo el libro,...' (Documentos inéditos, vol. X, p. 352). Luis de Leon tried in a friendly way to convince Castro about the errors in his book before it was published and as soon as the printing began (Documentos inéditos, vol. X, p. 351). This intervention would nettle Castro, who seems to have had Jewry on the brain; he mentioned, apparently, that Vatable, St. Jerome, and St. John Chrysostom were all Jews or Judaizers (Documentos inéditos, vol. X, p. 294). What probably nettled Castro still more was that Luis de Leon found fault with his knowledge of Latin and Greek: 'lo cual él sentia mucho porque tocaba en propio de su profesion.' Luis de Leon proposed to call five witnesses on this point (Documentos inéditos, vol. XI, pp. 256-257), but this was ruled out as irrelevant (impertinente) by the Inquisitionary Tribunal.
The Chairman of this Committee was Francisco Sancho, Dean of the Theological Faculty of Salamanca. The other members—at any rate those who signed Sancho's copy of Vatable (Documentos inéditos, vol. X, pp. 521-522)—were Juan de Almeida, Don Carlos, García del Castillo, Diego Gonzalez, Grajal, Juan de Guevara, Martinez de Cantalapiedra, Bartolomé de Medina, Muñiz, and Juan Vique. As the names of Luis de Leon and Juan Gallo are omitted, the list cannot be thought exhaustive. So, also, are the names of Bravo and Muñon absent from the list. These last two omissions are readily explained. Bravo and Muñon had both died before December 26, 1571 (Documentos inéditos, vol. X, p. 10).
Castro's statement was: 'Porfió de tal manera [fray Luis de Leon] que no era el sentido este deste lugar, y despues de visto que era ansí, porfió... que tambien podia ser verdadero el sentido de los judíos...; dijo este testigo que aunque viniesen todos los letrados del mundo, no podrian hacer que aquel sentido de los judíos pudiese venir ni cuadrar con la letra griega, ni hebrea ni latina,... y enojado de la porfía el dicho fray Luis, despues le dijo á este declarante que le habia de hacer quemar un libro que imprimia sobre Exsahías, y este declarante le respondió que con la gracia de Dios que ni él, ni su libro no prenderia fuego, ni podia; que primero prenderia en sus orejas y linaje; y queste declarante no queria ir mas á las juntas' (Documentos inéditos, vol. X, pp. 11-12). Though far from friendly to Luis de Leon, the Dominican Juan Gallo was provoked into saying that he would pare Castro's claws till the blood streamed from him: 'queriendo decir por las uñas que era este declarante áspero porque les decia que era aquello de judaizantes, y que no lo decia por ellos, sino porque defendian las cosas de judíos;...' (Documentos inéditos, vol. X, P. 15).
'Y el colegio de teólogos envió al maestro fray Juan de Guevara y á otro maestro, á pedirle y mandarle que no faltase de allí porque no podían hacer nada sin las lenguas.' This is Castro's version. (Documentos inéditos, vol. X, p. 12.)
Castro states (Documentos inéditos, vol. X, p. 16) that this pious student was Bernardino de Mendoza, son of the Marqués de Mondéjar.
[42] Bartolomé de Carranza mentions (Documentos inéditos, vol. XI, p. 279) Castro's muddle-headed knack of misunderstanding what was said to him, and his propensity to argue points, imagining that his opponents had said the very reverse of what they had said. As to Castro's lack of expository power, Luis de Leon states, 'tiene falta de lengua' (Documentos inéditos, vol. X, p. 327).
This is established by the evidence of Mancio, a professor who came to Medina's rescue: '...vió este testigo quel dicho fray Luis de Leon arguyó al dicho fray Bartolomé de Medina muy bien, é que no le concluyó, y ques verdad que tuvo el dicho fray Bartolomé de Medina padrino en este testigo para ayudalle y le ayudó para los argumentos que se le ofrecieron; é que lo queste testigo contó á los estudiantes fué que tuvo necesidad el dicho fray Bartolomé de Medina que le ayudase, aunque sin padrinos pudiera él responder' (Documentos inéditos, vol. XI, p. 317). This must be dated before February, 1570, when Medina took his degree as Master of Theology (Documentos inéditos, vol. XI, p. 340). In May-June, 1571, Luis de Leon and Medina had a squabble as to the distribution of lectures. The Rector of Salamanca decided in Medina's favour: Luis de Leon appealed to the Consejo Real at Madrid, and won his case on September 23, 1566 (Documentos inéditos, vol. XI, pp. 323-327).
The evidence of Alonso Rejon (Documentos inéditos, vol. X, p. 51) seems conclusive: '...preso ya el maestro Grajal, se llegó á este declarante el maestro fray Luis de Leon... quejándose de algunos maestros de esta universidad y particularmente del maestro fray Juan Gallego, que admitian dichos de estudiantes, los cuales decian algunas cosas diferentemente de lo que las habian leido los maestros,...' As to Medina's action, Luis de Leon wrote (Documentos inéditos, vol. X, p. 228): 'Tambien me acuerdo que vino un estudiante á mí, y tomándome palabra de secreto, me dijo que fray Bartolomé de Medina andaba haciendo pesquisa de Grajal y Martinez, aunque no me los nombró, pero entendílo de las señas que dió; y que á él le habia preguntado, y él le habia dicho cinco ó seis cosas que les habia oido, y acuérdome de dos dellas, porque me pareció que me tocaba á mí tambien. La una era de la Vulgata que se podria hacer otra mejor, y yo le dije riendo: pues quieren atar las manos á Dios que no pueda hacer un profeta en su iglesia. Y la otra era que los Cantares eran Carmen amatorium, y le dije: Carmen amatorium ni dice bien ni mal. Si dice Carmen amatorium carnale, eso es mal; pero si dice Carmen amatorium spirituale, eso verdad es. Y á lo demás que me dijo, me encogí, como cosa que oia entonces, y no entendia bien lo que queria decir, á todo cuanto me acuerdo;...'
These data, given by Blanco García (op. cit., pp. 111-115), are derived from the record of Grajal's trial.
The seventeen propositions are printed in Documentos inéditos, vol. X, pp. 286-287; they are reproduced by Blanco García (op. cit., p. 111). According to Bartolomé de Medina (Documentos inéditos, vol. X, p. 66), the teaching of the doctrines embodied in the seventeen propositions scandalized the Salamancan students.
Documentos inéditos, vol. X, pp. 5-7.
Blanco García, op. cit., p. 113.
Documentos inéditos, vol. X, pp. 7-18.
Documentos inéditos, vol. X, pp. 96-102.
See Documentos inéditos, vol. LXVIII.
Blanco García, op. cit., pp. 114-115.
III
Though, in accord with the customary procedure in such cases, each witness who appeared before Gonzalez was sworn to secrecy, it is evident that there was no mystery in Salamanca as to the intention of the Valladolid Inquisitors. On March 25, 1572, a day before the formal order for the arrest of Luis de Leon was actually signed, Diego de Valladolid was accepted as bail to the amount of two thousand ducats, that the said Luis de Leon would go quietly to prison in Valladolid without making any attempt at escape.[53] A document to this effect was drawn up and was duly signed by three witnesses, of whom one was a Familiar of the Inquisition, Francisco de Almansa. It seems likely that Almansa may have suspected that, for the time being, the hours of Luis de Leon's comparative freedom were already numbered; for, on the following day (March 26, 1572), Almansa was appointed alguacil of the Valladolid Inquisitionary court, was directed to arrest Luis de Leon wherever he might be—'in church, or monastery, or other hallowed place'—and was further ordered to sequestrate any arms, cash, jewels, or papers which the prisoner might have about him. [54] Almansa, to whom Luis de Leon was perfectly well known, [55] obeyed instructions, and reached the Valladolid jail with his captive at about six o'clock in the evening of Thursday, March 27, 1572.[56] After being carefully searched, Luis de Leon was lodged in the secret cells of the Inquisition, and there, except for his appearances in court, he was detained for over four years and eight months.[57]
Though he was notoriously in weak health, the prisoner does not seem to have received any special consideration. On the other hand, it cannot be maintained that, at the outset, his judges treated him with inhumanity. That Luis de Leon was nervous about himself, and that he believed it possible he might die without warning is the impression conveyed by a fervent act of faith which, though undated, was probably written almost as soon as his imprisonment began. On March 31, Luis de Leon asked for various things besides four books: one of them a box of powder with which he was usually provided by a nun named Ana de Espinosa to alleviate his heart-attacks.[58] This petition was granted. Luis de Leon's request for a knife to cut his food with was so clearly against all prison regulations that he can scarcely have expected a favourable reply.[59] The Inquisitors met him half-way by ordering that he should at once be supplied with a rounded spoon, sufficient for his purpose, though useless to a prisoner of suicidal tendencies.[60] At this stage, it cannot be said that Luis de Leon was treated with any want of lenity. There was no reason why he should be. He was arrested mainly on suspicion of being concerned in the (purely imaginary) Jewish propaganda imputed to his colleagues Grajal and Martinez de Cantalapiedra; the evidence against him was second-hand and meagre.
Before long matters began to take a graver aspect. A definite charge[61] emerged that some ten or eleven years earlier[62] Luis de Leon had translated from the Hebrew into Spanish the Song of Solomon, to which he appended a commentary, also in Spanish. This he did at the request of a nun whose name is incidentally revealed as 'Doña Isabel Osorio, monja de Sancti Espíritu de Salamanca'.[63] That Luis de Leon's proceeding was most imprudent is undeniable. With characteristic courage and candour, in his first confesion of March 6, he volunteered the admission that he had made such a rendering.[64] At this moment he was apparently unaware that the existence of this rendering had been already brought to the notice of the Inquisition by Medina.[65] Nobody questions Luis de Leon's good faith. Nevertheless one gets the impression that he felt this to be a weak point in his case. It was. He had committed a serious indiscretion by infringing the general prohibition of vernacular versions of any part of Scripture. No doubt it might be contended that his rendering of the Song of Solomon, and his commentary on it, were originally meant to be used by only one private person; that the prohibition referred to the circulation of vernacular versions; that this particular version, made for the exclusive use of Doña Isabel Osorio, did not amount to circulation (within the four corners of the general prohibition); and that such circulation as had taken place had occurred against the will of the translator. This is not mere sophistry. What seems to have happened was this. It appears that a lay brother, named Diego de Leon, part of whose business it was to tidy Luis de Leon's cell, stumbled one day upon the original manuscript of the vernacular version of the Song of Solomon, copied it without leave or licence, and allowed so many transcriptions of his copy to be made that it became absolutely impossible for the translator to control or recall them afterwards.[66] Manifestly Diego de Leon did not venture to remove the original manuscript from its resting-place; it was still in Luis de Leon's monastery-cell on November 7, 1573.[67] Search being made for it, the version was found, handed over to the Inquisitionary authorities, and retained by them when judgement was pronounced.[68] There is evidence to show that many manuscript copies of the vernacular Song of Solomon stole into existence and were widely distributed. On March 6, 1572, Luis de Leon, whose references to this matter are tinged with regret, uses words which seem to imply that a copy had reached Portugal; and an inquiry, opened at Cuzco in the autumn of 1575, revealed the fact that a transcription of the Cantares que llaman de fray Luis de Leon had been made by Fray Luis Alvarez and conveyed by him to South America. This transcription, after being recopied by a Lima graduate, who appears to have left for Spain to continue his studies at the University of Alcalá de Henares, was deposited in the public library of Quito which was housed in the Augustinian monastery there.[69] This episode denotes a morbid curiosity which must have been revolting to Luis de Leon's austere nature. He candidly avowed doubts as to the prudence of facilitating the reading of the Song of Solomon in Spanish, and would have cancelled all manuscript copies if he could.[70] In this respect, however, he was powerless, and no better remedy occurred to him than to set to work on a Latin version which, when printed, should supplant the Spanish rendering. This he hoped to be able to disown. But fate was hostile to his design. Constant ill-health hindered him from making rapid headway with his projected Latin translation. He submitted himself to the Court which, naturally enough, vouchsafed no reply to his request for alternative suggestions as to how he could make amends for a preliminary error of judgement.[71]
If Luis de Leon's opponents expected to overwhelm him by the suddenness, vehemence, or volume of their attack, they must speedily have been disillusioned. The mystic poet proved to be a formidable fighting-man. Before very long it must have dawned upon the Inquisitionary deputies at Valladolid that they had caught a Tartar. Unversed in the ways of the world, Luis de Leon came of a legal stock, and was thoroughly at home in a law-court. A master of dialectics, he was always alert, always prompt to criticize the evidence, always ready to deal with every point as it arose, always prepared to furnish elaborate written or verbal explanations as to every detail concerning which the tribunal could harbour a reasonable doubt. The official secretaries of the Court—Celedon Gustin and the rest of them—must have grown to dread Luis de Leon's continual demands for sheets of paper on which to write his long, considered replies. It would be idle to attempt to summarize the technical arguments advanced by each side in support of conflicting views on doctrinal or exegetical problems. In this place, it will suffice to advert to points which help to illuminate the character of Luis de Leon, or to exemplify the attitude of the court towards him.
At the outset, as already stated, there seems to have existed no decided prejudice against Luis de Leon in the minds of his judges: they apparently administered the existing system in a not illiberal spirit. There are indications, however, that this position of relative impartiality was not maintained. That the court became gradually biased against the accused seems to follow from the small but eloquent fact of its rejecting Luis de Leon's petition that his University chair should not be declared vacant till the end of his trial.[72] It cannot be argued that the judges were concerned for the efficiency of the teaching in the University of Salamanca—a matter in which they took no sort of interest. The decision of the court in Luis de Leon's case was in direct conflict with the ruling of the same court as regards Barrientos, another Salamancan professor who was in custody of the Valladolid Inquisition on May 20, 1572.[73] It was then settled that Barrientos should not be disturbed, and that no successor to him should be appointed so long as he was imprisoned. Luis de Leon's chair was declared vacant as soon as his normal tenure of four years had expired; the ordinary course of unquestioned renewal was not followed; and, to make matters worse, his implacable opponent, Bartolomé de Medina, was appointed to succeed Luis de Leon in his chair.[74] For this appointment, no doubt, the University of Salamanca is entitled to claim such credit as is due. But no such appointment would have been possible had the Valladolid Inquisitors been consistent. What caused the court to be more severe to Luis de Leon than to his colleague Barrientos?
This instance of inconsiderateness is not unique. As time went on the bias of the court against the accused waxed rather than waned. Luis de Leon's ill-health was notorious and, in fact, so obvious that it is recorded by the court in an official minute.[75] His state did not improve in jail. Suffering from fever—'como á sus mercedes les consta'—so he says plaintively—he had nobody to look after him in his secret cell save a sleepy-headed boy, a fellow-prisoner who was half a simpleton. Luis de Leon had fainted from lack of food, and, in the circumstances, it is not surprising that he should have asked to be allowed the companionship of a monk of his order—preferably Fray Alonso Siluente—or anybody else whom the court should think fit to name.[76] Somewhat later, while still suffering from fever, Luis de Leon begged that, on his providing satisfactory bail, he might be transferred from his prison-cell to some neighbouring monastery, where he could be detained till the end of his trial. So depressed was he at this moment that he even welcomed the idea of being placed in a Dominican monastery; it was true that the Dominicans were hostile to him, yet if he died among them, he should be dying like a Christian, surrounded by religious—not like a heathen with a blackamoor at his bedside.[77] The first of these two requests was made to the Valladolid judges, who passed it on to the Supreme Inquisition at Madrid; the reply of this body was discouraging, for, though the request was granted in principle, impossible conditions, tantamount to a refusal, were imposed.[78] Luis de Leon's second request was addressed direct to the Inquisitor-General: this petition was disregarded. In other matters, less urgent but not less important from an orthodox point of view, the Inquisitionary judges at Valladolid made no concession to the prisoner. He asked to be allowed to go to confession, and to say Mass once a fortnight in the hall where his case was heard.[79] Apparently a deaf ear was turned to his entreaties. A hostile critic might be tempted to say that a vindictive spirit prevailed in the deliberations of the Valladolid tribunal.
It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that, as the case developed, the attitude of the Valladolid judges became less and less favourable to Luis de Leon. Judges are mortals and liable to error. The very pertinacity of the prisoner may have impressed them badly.[80] It is in the highest degree improbable that they attached any importance to his few slips. He speaks of having a naturally weak memory which, so he declares, had grown worse while he was in prison,[81] and he was frankly sceptical as to the possibility of any man's recalling every incident in squabbles that happened years before.[82] As it happens, his memory seems to have been excellent. No doubt it failed him now and then; but seldom did it mislead him on any essential point.[83] It is conceivable that Luis de Leon's judges at Valladolid thought him lacking in deference. Though perfectly respectful, his attitude to them was anything but subservient. The judges were accustomed to see prisoners who were brought before them crushed with awe and a sense of impending doom. Conscious of the baselessness of the charges against him, the accused seemed to take his acquittal as certain; and he stood so little in awe of his judges that he announced his intention of appealing over their heads to the members of the Supreme Inquisition.[84] Timidity was not among his failings. A priest of Astudillo, formerly a student at Salamanca, had occasionally strayed into Luis de Leon's densely-packed lecture-room, and retained an abiding impression of the professor's desenvoltura in his chair.[85] Luis de Leon had not become wholly subdued during the intervening years. He did not mince words in court, and indulged in sweeping denunciations of large groups of men; he branded all Dominicans as 'enemies';[86] he was scarcely more indulgent in speaking of the Jeromites (who resented his opposition to the candidature of their representative, Hector Pinto, for a chair at Salamanca);[87] and on general grounds, not unconnected with ancient academic rancours, he objected to the entire faculty of theology at the University of Alcalá de Henares.[88] The evidence of such persons should, he suggested, be discounted in advance. Slow to think evil of his neighbours, Luis de Leon was apt, once his suspicions were aroused, to fling his net widely. He had some inkling that he and his had the fatal gift of rousing antagonism. His uncle had been a practising lawyer, and Luis de Leon argued that all who had suffered through the professional activities of his kinsman should be debarred from testifying in his case.[89] The unworldly man manifestly took it for granted that witnesses who harboured any such grudge against him would willingly admit it, if pressed on the point.
Outspoken as was Luis de Leon with regard to groups, he was not less outspoken with regard to individuals, and in this respect it must be admitted that he does not appear at his best. Vehemence of language had been the rule in the Salamancan juntas of professors, and much of this intemperate tone clung to Luis de Leon. No doubt large allowances should be made for him. He knew that his honour was at stake and that his life was in peril.[90] As he was persuaded—perhaps rightly—he had been brought to this pass mainly through the intrigues of an unscrupulous pair.[91] His provocation was extreme. It was almost to be expected that he should use plain words when referring to foes as malignant as Medina and Castro. These two men he accused of deliberately organizing a conspiracy against him;[92] he spoke bluntly of Medina's 'hatred', 'rage', 'trickery', and 'lying';[93] he was not mealy-mouthed in describing Castro's 'malice', 'deceit', 'calumnies', and 'perjury'.[94] Luis de Leon dealt no less faithfully with some members of his own order who were spiteful or cowardly—or both. As early as the beginning of August 1572 Fray Gabriel Montoya, Prior of the Augustinian Monastery at Toledo, stated to the Inquisitors at Valladolid that, in his opinion, certain remarks on the Vulgate, made by Luis de Leon in the course of a lecture, were of an heretical savour.[95] The value of this opinion is somewhat diminished by the fact that Montoya had a personal grudge against Luis de Leon who, some four or five years previously, had prevented Montoya's election as Provincial of the Augustinians in Spain.[96] This check seems to have galled Montoya, who gives the impression of being a rancorous gossip, and, before leaving the court, he repeated a malignant rumour—derived he knew not whence—to the effect that Luis de Leon's father had enjoined his son to be submissive to his superiors and to follow the current opinion in matters intellectual.[97] Luis de Leon indulges in no circuitous phrases when he comes to deal with Montoya, whom he describes as an enemy notorious for his untruthfulness.[98] It would appear that much of Montoya's second-hand information came from another Augustinian, Francisco de Arboleda,[99] who had once been a student of Luis de Leon's,[100] and had been entrusted by the prisoner with the delicate mission of collecting from certain theologians in Seville opinions favourable to Luis de Leon's views upon the Vulgate.[101] This very sensible precaution scandalized Montoya. It is open to criticism solely on the ground that Luis de Leon chose his agent badly. To this criticism the real answer is that Luis de Leon had to employ what agents he could, and that nobody but Arboleda, who was not above flattering his old master,[102] was available at the time of his mission to Seville. Arboleda's evidence was not damaging; it was ill-intentioned and impertinent, inasmuch as it repeated vague rumours of the Jewish descent of the accused;[103] the gravest fact the witness could allege was Luis de Leon's view that a friar, despite his vow of poverty, might spend a couple of coppers without mortal sin in buying an Agnus Dei.[104] Arboleda gives the impression of being a dullard, and this is pretty much the description of him by another member of the Augustinian order—Pedro de Rojas,[105] son of the Marqués de Pozas and afterwards Bishop of Astorga and Osuna. Luis de Leon apparently agreed with Rojas in his estimate of Arboleda's ability, and this may account for his comparative leniency to the poor numbskull. More severe treatment is meted out to another Augustinian, Diego de Zúñiga, whom Luis de Leon brands as a deliberate perjurer.[106] Who was this Zúñiga? He has generally been identified with the Zúñiga who was among the first in Spain to declare in favour of the Copernican theory;[107] this action needed courage and Zúñiga has had his reward. As he is respectfully quoted by Galileo, he has attained something like immortality.[108] There is, however, no conclusive evidence to show that this enlightened writer is the Zúñiga who came under Luis de Leon's lash. The correctness of the current identification is, at least, doubtful.
The fact that Diego de Zúñiga is a frequent combination of names in Spain is an embarrassment to the investigator. It is noticeable that Luis de Leon's references seem to imply some doubt as to his opponent's real name; he is obviously uncertain whether his accuser should be called Zúñiga or Rodriguez,[109] and in this uncertainty he is not alone.[110] It appears that there were at least two Augustinians known as Diego de Zúñiga in Luis de Leon's time; it further appears that neither of the two inherited from his father the surname which he habitually used. Both men claimed relationship with the Duque de Béjar—it was to the seventh Duque de Béjar that Cervantes dedicated the First Part of Don Quixote in 1605—and both assumed the family name of that illustrious stock.[111] The original name of the more celebrated of these Zúñigas was Diego Arias;[112] the original name of the less celebrated was Rodriguez.[113] This is not decisive, but it may well be one of those small facts which speak volumes. Chronology confirms the conclusion to be drawn from these considerations. The Zúñiga who appeared against Luis de Leon at Valladolid was evidently professed as early as 1559 or 1560;[114] the more celebrated Zúñiga was not professed till 1566.[115] General considerations point in the same direction. The views of Zúñiga (alias Arias) were approximately those of Luis de Leon;[116] he viewed matters from the same standpoint, was himself a university professor,[117] and had something of Luis de Leon's fearlessness.[118] Zúñiga (alias Rodriguez) was a man of a very different type: pedantically attached to the letter of the law, morbidly scrupulous on points of discipline. There seems to be no touch of burlesque intention in Luis de Leon's presentment of the man. According to Luis de Leon, Zúñiga (alias Rodriguez) was half-crazed with vanity, much given to boasting of the esteem in which he was held at the Papal Court. On one occasion, the fatuous Zúñiga produced a short treatise entitled Manera para aprender todas las ciencias, and, stating that he proposed sending this pamphlet to the Pope, made bold to ask what his interlocutor thought of it. Can he have been vain enough to expect a favourable verdict? If so, he did not know his man. Luis de Leon drily expressed his regret that a work destined for the Pope should be so slight and should contain a number of rather commonplace passages such as might be found in any current book of reference—though, as he added politely, he assumed that these passages were the fruit of independent reading. This courteous assumption, which Zúñiga hastily assured Luis de Leon was exact,[119] could not alter the fact that the ambitious author had been severely snubbed, and this snub may well have rankled in the mind of a man who is described as 'vindictive'. Zúñiga had another grievance against Luis de Leon, who had taken a severe view of his companion's insolence to an official superior at a Provincial Chapter, and had joined in making representations the upshot of which was that the culprit was publicly and ignominiously punished.[120] It is well-nigh incredible that the Zúñiga who championed Copernicus, and displays vigilant self-restraint in his writings, should have been guilty of such flightiness as is brought home to his namesake; it is by no means inconceivable that the Zúñiga who deposed against Luis de Leon should have been guilty of occasional lapses. He is said to have been impetuous as well as vindictive;[121] he had the dangerous gift of pulpit eloquence[122] and may have acquired the trick of saying rather more than he meant. His evidence against Luis de Leon, though fluent and clear, is not what we should expect from a man of talent, who recognized the gravity of the charges against the prisoner. His testimony, such as it is, has less intellectual substance than the testimony of Castro and Medina; it turns mainly on petty personal questions or on points of morbid scrupulousness. The more closely his evidence is scrutinized, the more difficult is it to avoid the suspicion that Zúñiga was not a perfectly trustworthy witness. For instance, according to his sworn statement he was thirty-six years old when he deposed at Toledo on November 4, 1572.[123] The declaration is made positively without any of the qualifying phrases—'about', 'nearly', 'more or less'—so frequent on the part of witnesses. Nevertheless, it seems possible that this assertion is erroneous. Zúñiga refers to a discussion respecting Arias Montano which he had with Luis de Leon in the latter's cell some thirteen years previously. At this time Zúñiga would, on his own showing, be but twenty-three. From what we know of Luis de Leon, it seems improbable that he would admit to his confidential intimacy a man so much his junior. No doubt Zúñiga (or Rodriguez) was young at the time—hardly old enough, by his own reckoning, to be an ordained priest—a mancebo, as he seemed to Luis de Leon's retrospicient eyes.[124] Yet it is very hard to believe that Zúñiga was no more than twenty-three when he took it upon himself to cast doubts on the orthodoxy of Benito Arias Montano;[125] nor is it likely that Luis de Leon would discuss so delicate a topic with the most brilliant of youths. Let it not be said that the question of Zúñiga's accuracy in stating his age is relatively unimportant. It is highly relevant; for, if Zúñiga were capable of making a mistake on such a point, he was manifestly more liable to error when dealing with other matters on which he necessarily knew less. However, Zúñiga's evidence is not weighty enough to call for detailed examination. He may be left to bear the burden of Luis de Leon's scorn. I am more concerned here to suggest that, on the facts before us, we are not compelled to identify the Zúñiga who deposed against Luis de Leon with a namesake of a higher intellectual type. To us who read the testimony in cold blood, more than three centuries after it was given, it seems that Luis de Leon deals as impartially with his brethren as with members of other religious orders. This was not his intention, at any rate. He knew his fellow-Augustinians better than he could know the rest, and he himself tells us not obscurely that, out of consideration for his gown, he was silent on various matters which, if proclaimed aloud, would not make for edification.[126]
Members of the Valladolid Court could see for themselves that while Luis de Leon's opponents—Dominicans, Jeromites, and the rest—were banded solidly against him, the Augustinians were by no means unanimous in his favour. That he was difficult to deal with personally the Court had opportunities of knowing. His unbending fidelity to principle and his impetuosity probably produced on the tribunal an impression of obstinacy combined with caprice. On May 6, 1573, a certain Dr. Ortiz de Funes was, as is recorded, nominated counsel to the prisoner;[127] there is no reason to suppose that Ortiz de Funes was in ability below the average level of the bar, but he was no match for his client, and though he may have given valuable advice on purely legal points, when these arose, it soon became plain that Luis de Leon was the brain of the defence and that he meant to conduct that defence in his own way. Ortiz de Funes became a nullity or, at least, a mere figure-head whose main duty consisted in signing papers which the prisoner had drawn up. A time came when, according to the practice of the Inquisition, it became necessary for Luis de Leon to nominate patronos, and in this matter Ortiz de Funes intervened somewhat more prominently than was usual with him. A patrono has no exact counterpart in English ecclesiastical law; it was his business, within narrow limits, to defend the interests of the accused from the theological point of view. On June 26, 1574, Luis de Leon was brought into court, and was told that he was to choose two patronos out of four men whose names were given him.[128] He was obviously taken aback at this proposal, and replying that, since he did not know any of the four, he was ignorant as to their qualifications, added that he had already requested the appointment of Sebastian Perez, professor of Theology at Párraces, as patrono. He renewed his request, adding that either Dr. Cáncer or the Dominican Hernando del Castillo could be appointed with Perez; but before any determination was taken, he begged leave to consult his legal adviser.[129] As might have been expected, Ortiz de Funes fell in with his client's view and two days later made a formal application to the Court that Perez be appointed patrono, with either Cáncer or Castillo to help him.[130] No appointment was made at the moment and, as it turned out, this was perhaps just as well; for by June 30 Luis de Leon had changed his mind, and appeared in court to ask that Castillo's name be removed from the list of acceptable patronos.[131] On July 14 Ortiz de Funes announced his client's intention of appealing to the Inquisitor-General against the decision forcing him to select patronos from a list of persons unknown to him.[132] Neither Luis de Leon nor Ortiz de Funes seemed to have guessed that the Valladolid judges were acting on instructions from the Supreme Inquisition at Madrid.[133] For a moment the step taken by Ortiz de Funes and his client appeared to have some slight effect. Luis de Leon was informed that he would be allowed to appoint Perez as his patrono but on two conditions: (1) he must undertake to pay all the travelling expenses of his patrono, and (2) an inquiry must be held to establish the limpieza of Perez. This last proceeding, it was significantly added, would be slow.[134] Again Ortiz de Funes was consulted; but it is difficult to believe that he had more than a technical responsibility for the startling decision which he announced: the decision to accept as patronos Fray Mancio de Corpus Christi and either Bartolomé de Medina or Dr. Cáncer.[135] Mancio, whose pupil Luis de Leon had once been at Alcalá, was a Dominican;[136] hence he would be suspect—perhaps doubly 'suspect'—in the prisoner's eyes. Medina, also a Dominican, was an overt foe; Cáncer, of whom Luis de Leon knew nothing except that he was a professor at Salamanca, proved to be not over friendly. Luis de Leon may conceivably have thought that Mancio's undoubted learning would ensure his treading in the strict path of justice, and that Mancio's advanced age[137] would enable him to press his views on his coadjutor. It is more likely, however, that the three names were put forward in a paroxysm of impatience—at a moment when Luis de Leon was willing to fall in with any arrangement which might hasten a decision of his case.
Mancio was appointed patrono, and was duly sworn in at Valladolid on October 9, 1574;[138] on October 13 he made a report favourable to the accused.[139] The prisoner was not informed of this (as he should have been), and took umbrage at what he thought was an act of insolent remissness. He appeared in court on October 16, and protested against any of his papers being entrusted to Mancio, lest he should take them to his Dominican monastery where they ran the risk of being scanned by hostile eyes.[140] On October 22 the prisoner showed signs of increasing distrust, for he then requested the return of thirty-two sheets of paper, covered with notes for his defence, which he himself had handed to Mancio.[141] Luis de Leon's suspicions deepened rapidly. On October 25 he asked to be allowed to cancel his nomination of Mancio as patrono.[142] The local judges referred the application to the Supreme Inquisition, and were instructed to proceed as though nothing unusual had happened; Mancio, however, was to be told to stay away still further notice.[143] On December 7 Luis de Leon handed in a written explanation of his recent action. With regard to Mancio, he complained of his patrono's omission to confer with him, expressed some suspicion that Mancio might have become a party to Medina's plot, declined to accept as valid Mancio's excuse for not attending—that he had to lecture in Salamanca—and vehemently declared that Mancio's negligence amounted to very grave sin.[144] These phrases can scarcely have been used in their natural sense, for Luis de Leon concluded his written petition by stating that he was still willing to accept Mancio as his patrono, if Mancio were able to be present at Valladolid. Should this be impossible, the prisoner asked that Dr. Vadillo, Canon of Plasencia, and the Augustinian Fray Francisco Cueto should be assigned to him as patronos. A working arrangement thus became possible, and the General Inquisitor at Madrid ordered that Mancio should be given due facilities. These orders were received on December 13.[145] It appears that Mancio picked up the dropped threads of this business on December 23, and spent another day or two in reviewing the general situation.[146] Mancio's cautious policy was doubtless sound; but to Luis de Leon, who maintained that the matters on which his patrono had to pronounce were as simple as could be, these tactics seemed mistaken, and on January 13, 1575, he begged the Court to press Mancio to give an opinion without delay.[147] On March 6 Luis de Leon once more complained of being unable to confer with his patrono; but now, rather late in the day, he came nearer to putting the blame on the right shoulders. Hitherto he had been prone to ascribe all manner of evil motives to Mancio, whom he should have known better: at last it vaguely dawned on him that the obstacles might come (as, in fact, they did come) from the tribunal which was trying him.[148] On March 15 Mancio wrote a letter to the judges, promising to attend at Valladolid unless absolutely prevented from doing so.[149] Four days later the General Inquisition wrote to the same judges, hinting that a decision might be given shortly.[150] The Valladolid Court was stirred into temporary activity. A sitting was held on March 30; Mancio was present; a consultation took place between him and his client;[151] and henceforth we hear no more of difficulties in connexion with Luis de Leon's patrono. Nearly six months had been wasted owing to want of tact on the part of the Inquisitionary officials.
As the event proved, the prisoner's protests in this matter were thoroughly justified. It is easy to perceive this now. We cannot be sure that we should have taken the same view had we been contemporary spectators. If appearances were not actually against Luis de Leon, they combined to reveal him in his least attractive posture. His comparative promptitude in accepting Mancio as patrono, his unwillingness to abide by his choice, his sudden hostility to Mancio, his final acceptance of Mancio, are all explicable variations. Nevertheless they showed a disregard for superficial consistency which might easily be misinterpreted as caprice. The bias of the court had been veering away from the prisoner for some time. His series of actions with respect to Mancio lost him all judicial favour. His judges considered him as an unreasonable man, a gifted sophist fertile in inventing objections in and out of season, a hair-splitter perpetually arguing for argument's sake. Luis de Leon was, as a rule, so unaccommodating that some of his judges may have begun to think they understood why he was not universally popular with members of his own order. Nor did Luis de Leon's demeanour in court serve to dissipate the atmosphere of almost arrogant rectitude which enveloped him. He felt bound to criticize the machinery of the Inquisition. He may easily have seemed to be criticizing those engaged in working the machinery. At the best of times the procedure of the Court was not expeditious. For example, though Luis de Leon was arrested on March 27, 1572, the first hearing of his formal defence did not take place till April 14—more than a fortnight later. More than once Luis de Leon complained of the Court's delays without going into questions of motive.[152] In this he was clearly right, for, as we have seen, the Supreme Inquisition was not wholly satisfied with the progress made. At other times the prisoner stressed the fact that constant postponements were apt to do him injury, and he hinted rather plainly that there was an intention to wear him down by deliberately prolonging the proceedings.[153] In this conjecture he was almost certainly wrong. The Valladolid judges had no power to alter the system which they found in existence; possibly, becoming accustomed to it, they ended by thinking well of it. Its weak points were naturally more evident to Luis de Leon, and his torrent of critical remarks may have seemed to reflect on the intelligence and probity of the Court. Administrators, however exalted, are human, and even the lowliest of magistrates is prone to take offence, if given to understand that he is considered dull and dishonest. Luis de Leon never was betrayed into using disrespectful language; but his polite formulae could not conceal the fact that he had no very high opinion of those in whose hands his fate lay. Nor did the well-meant observance of established forms on the part of the Court do anything to modify his sentiments. It was in strict conformity with precedent that he should be adjured to make a clean breast of it and should be informed that, while truthfulness would meet with clemency, lying would be severely dealt with.[154] It is strange that it should have been thought necessary to use this formula in the case of Luis de Leon—a highly-strung, sensitive man, with an almost morbid passion for truth. The sole excuse for the Inquisitors is that this warning was given at the first sitting. But, at the second sitting, the warning was repeated in almost identical terms.[155] It seems scarcely possible to show less tact in the conduct of a difficult case. No doubt the explanation is that none of the Valladolid judges was sufficiently independent to set a precedent of his own.
Large allowances must be made for those unhappy men. They cannot reasonably be blamed for not taking it upon themselves to alter the established procedure of the Court in which they sat. Their position was always difficult, and it did not become easier as time went on. They had good reason to know that a vocal group of influential persons in Salamanca confidently expected them to condemn Luis de Leon; yet some of them, at least, were uncomfortably aware that the evidence before them would not warrant a conviction on the major charges. The most damaging witnesses—Medina, Castro, and Zúñiga—had been called at a very early stage of the proceedings. These heavy guns had been fired without destroying the adversary. There was nothing for it now but to hope for the worst from the reports of the official calificadores, Dr. Cáncer, Fray Nicolas Ramos, and Dr. Frechilla, who did their utmost to fulfil expectations.[156] Lest the pronouncements of this trio proved unconvincing, the precaution was taken of excluding evidence. At the beginning of the case, any sort of second-hand gossip was admitted as evidence on the chance that its cumulative effect might be damaging to the accused. At Murcia, on February 4, 1573, a hostile Augustinian, Fray Juan Ciguelo, a man of doubtful character, was permitted to retail idle chatter on the part of another Augustinian who averred that Luis de Leon was prone to saying Requiems too often, and was in the habit of reading Latin too quickly.[157] Ciguelo's testimony, though malignant, had done no harm; later on, it was thought more prudent to adopt the opposite policy and to prevent as many as possible of the witnesses for the defence from being heard. As late as July 7, 1576, no less than three interrogatories[158] by Luis de Leon were rejected on the ground that they were irrelevant (impertinentes).[159] It is difficult to reconcile these decisions, except on the hypothesis that the later ruling was thought to be more likely to damage Luis de Leon than the earlier one. In their despair, his adversaries trumped up an assertion which was easily disproved.[160]
Disorderly and incoherent as it is, the record of the case enables us to corroborate and, in one or two trifling particulars, to supplement the details reported by Francisco Pacheco who, in his youth, may easily have met Luis de Leon and must later have known many who had seen him. According to that painter's Libro de Descripcion de verdaderos Retratos de illustres y memorables varones, Luis de Leon was below the middle height; he had a large but shapely head, covered with thick and rather curly hair which grew densely on the crown; his brow was broad; his features were more blunt than aquiline; his complexion was darkish; his green eyes were bright; his aspect was grave; and, we may add, he was prone to walk quickly. Pacheco, indeed, regarded Luis de Leon as something of a universal genius: an expert in mathematics, in jurisprudence, in medicine—and, though self-taught as a painter—an artist of considerable skill. (This last was a compliment, coming as it did from the future father-in-law of Velazquez.) Evidently Pacheco was a whole-hearted admirer whose enthusiasm needs discounting. However, so far as we can check it, his account seems to be correct in the matter of direct observation. The fact that there is scarcely one flash of humour in the interminable record of the Valladolid trial confirms Pacheco's report of the prisoner's habitual gravity. No doubt the tragic circumstances in which he found himself were not conducive to displays of humour. When being tried for his life, the merriest of men does not dwell on the innate absurdity of things. Humour was, however, one of the few gifts which nature had denied to Luis de Leon. He was aware of this himself, to judge from his statement that he had nothing of the jester or scoffer in him.[161] But if Luis de Leon was relatively poor in humour, he had an abundant store of mordant sarcasm and a faculty for ironic banter, as Medina and Castro learned to their chagrin.[162] Pacheco's opinion of Luis de Leon's versatile talent is borne out by the scrap of evidence given at the trial by Francisco de Salinas—the sightless dedicatee of El aire se serena. Salinas bore witness that some of Luis de Leon's admirers were persuaded that he could carry any University chair against all competition.[163] Evidently to those who met him frequently Luis de Leon conveyed the impression of irresistible talent. Though students voted in professorial elections at Salamanca, and supported Luis de Leon loyally, he did nothing to conciliate them, and expressed his opinion of them with unquestionable candour. We gather that he was profoundly attached to the ancient order of things[164] and that, though accused of interpreting the Bible in a rabbinical sense, he had never read a rabbinical book.[165] We learn that among his teachers were Guevara, Mancio, Cipriano, and Melchor Cano;[166] of these he would seem most to have esteemed Cano.[167] With such masters, and being the man he was, Luis de Leon would naturally have got together a good theological library, and he was allowed to have some of his books in his prison-cell; it is but natural that most of his requests should be for theological works which would be of service in preparing his defence on technical points. Reading was his sole solace during his imprisonment, and it is noticeable that, whenever he asks for a book he speaks of it—not with the dry, meticulous precision of a bibliographer but—with all the caressing detail of a genuine book-lover. He indicates the sizes of the various works which he needs, describes their bindings, and mentions in what part of his monastery-cell they will be found. He wants a Vatable with gilt edges, bound in black; it should be found in a case for smaller volumes which lies on his writing-table. He asks for a Bible, printed by Plantin, bound in black leather and fastened with black silk ribbons. He demands a Biblical concordance which is in folio. This lies on a high shelf near the window.[168] He begs to have the works of St. Justin, which will be found in the shelves on the left as you enter his monastery-cell. But not all his requests are for theological works. A true son of the Renaissance, he finds entertainment or instruction in communing with the best of antiquity. When in this mood he asks for his Aristotle bound in sheep's-skin; it will be found in the shelves on the right as you enter the monastery-cell. He would like a Horace and a Virgil—of which there are a great many ('de que hay hartos'), so that he does not particularize. He wants his Homer (in Greek and Latin) bound in sheep's-skin, and with red edges; it will be found in the shelves where the works of St. Justin are.[169] Again, besides the works of St. Leo, bound in parchment, he asks for his Sophocles in black calf; for a Pindar (in Greek and Latin), bound partly in black leather, with gilt edges; and for Le prose dil Bembo, a volume in small quarto with a parchment binding.[170] This throws light on Luis de Leon's progress as a linguist. An imprisoned man who asks for an Italian book to becalm his fever may be safely presumed to know that language. In or about 1569 when Arias Montano read aloud the anonymous Italian work which disturbed Zúñiga's scrupulous conscience, Luis de Leon, though of course able to catch the author's drift, did not really know Italian at that time.[171] This deficiency had been made good, as he gives us to understand, previous to March 12, 1573—twenty eight months, or more, before Luis de Leon asked that his copy of Le prose dil Bembo should be given to him in prison.
The record of the Valladolid trial likewise reveals to us some of Luis de Leon's intellectual foibles. But these were extremely few. Towards the end of the proceedings at Valladolid the Inquisitionary judges there summoned before them Juan Galvan, a young theological student who lodged with Salinas, the blind musician. Galvan testified that for about two years he had discussed matters of theology, mathematics, and astrology with Luis de Leon.[172] It may astonish some that Luis de Leon toyed with the pseudo-science of astrology: it cannot have surprised his judges for, on April 18, 1572, while still bewildered as to the cause of his arrest, he had stated to them in writing that he had read a compilation on astrology which had been lent to him by a student named Poza, a licentiate in canon law. Poza seems to have doubted whether he ought to keep such a work, and consulted Luis de Leon on the question. Luis de Leon dipped into the book, and came finally to the conclusion that the whole thing was rubbish. But he found in the work some curious observations, and was tempted to make at least one experiment which involved the use of a pious formula. The owner of the book left Salamanca to avoid an epidemic which was then raging there. Luis de Leon had expected a visit from Poza that day, and had intended to burn the volume in Poza's presence. He carried out the main part of his intention by burning the work in the presence of Fray Bartolomé de Carranza, to whom he explained the meaning of this holocaust. No more was heard of Poza; yet it seems that Luis de Leon's curiosity as to the possibilities of astrology continued with but little abatement.[173] This half-belief in astrology as a kind of black art was widespread during the sixteenth century, and vestiges of this ingenuous credulity have survived in unexpected quarters till our own time. It was perhaps unwise of Luis de Leon thus to furnish his adversaries with ammunition which they might use against him; but could anything bespeak conscious innocence more strongly than his voluntary avowal?
Luis de Leon heaped one indiscretion on another. In his protestations of innocence, he went so far as to suggest to the Court what course it should take. He told the judges plainly that they ought to order Leon de Castro to be prosecuted for perjury.[174] Later on, he declared with vehemence that his detention was without a shadow of legality, that his imprisonment ought not to continue for a single day, and that he ought to be compensated for the injury done him.[175] These may have been truths; but they were decidedly unpalatable, and the expediency of making these assertions to a prejudiced bench is at least doubtful. But expediency was not an arm that Luis de Leon could bring himself to use. He complained again and again of delays, attributing this loss of time to official mismanagement and incidentally reflecting on the competency of the judges. As time went on, and as the prisoner's health grew weaker, he lost patience, making his complaints of delay more frequently and with increasing vehemence.[176] He impressed on his hearers the fundamental absurdity of certain charges against him, and, waxing indignant at the statement that he had thrown doubt on the coming of Christ, he objected to having so senseless a jest fathered on him. There was always the alternative that he might be supposed to have used in earnest the words imputed to him; in which case, even if the evidence on this point were far more decisive than it actually was, 'before believing it, it would be your duty to ascertain whether I had gone out of my mind at the time, or were drunk'.[177] It is, no doubt, difficult to meet a contention of this kind; but such a contention is not calculated to capture the sympathies of a wavering Court. Nor should it be overlooked that the judges were subjected to continual pressure from the attacking parties. The official calificadores took a serious view of Luis de Leon's opinions on the authority of the Vulgate; they showered reports upon the judges; naturally these reports did not always agree with one another, but they were unanimous in one respect; they declared against the teaching of Luis de Leon,[178] and this perhaps decided the tribunal in giving judgement. We may think that the court unconsciously allowed itself to be swayed by personal prejudice against a prisoner who was at no great pains to conceal his estimate of its capacity. However that may be, it must be admitted that the decision of the Court had behind it a great body of what may be called expert opinion. The question of the authority due to the Vulgate was skilfully kept in the foreground; and the report of even so liberal-minded a man as the Dominican Hernando del Castillo was not wholly favourable. Castillo, indeed, came to the conclusion that Luis de Leon had uttered nothing against faith; but while he acquitted the prisoner of teaching 'erroneous, temerarious or scandalous doctrine', he held that Luis de Leon was much to blame for dealing with the question when and where he did.[179] The opinion of other calificadores was still more hostile, though it is to be noted that their hostility diminished as time went on and the hour for the delivery of a decision drew near.[180]
That decision had at last to be given. It had been put off year after year. This series of postponements—ordered, despite the wishes of the prisoner and (as he contended) against his interests—had got on to Luis de Leon's nerves, had led to occasional moods of depression, and had betrayed him into a few irritable or intemperate outbursts. But these results were unintentional. The Valladolid judges were well aware from the outset that no time was to be lost. As early as July 29, 1572, they delegated a piece of work to one of their commissaries in Salamanca, and impressed on him the urgency of dispatch.[181] They secured from Benito Rodriguez, the commissary in question, greater speed than they attained themselves. This may have been due to accident, or to incompetence on their part. But the policy of continual adjournment could not be prolonged for ever. It had lasted too long for the patience of the Supreme Inquisition:[182]
...even the weariest river
Winds somewhere safe to sea.
On September 28, 1576, a vote was taken on Luis de Leon's case. Seven members at least were present: Francisco de Menchaca, Andrés de Álava, Luis Tello Maldonado, and Francisco de Albornoz voted that Luis de Leon should be put to the torture—a moderate amount of torture in view of his frail health—and, when this was done, the court should sit again and determine accordingly. Dr. Guijano de Mercado and Dr. Frechilla took a more lenient view, recommending that, in consideration of the more exculpatory reports recently given by the calificadores, in consideration also of the replies made by the prisoner and by Mancio, Luis de Leon should be reprimanded for dealing with so grave a matter (as the authority of the Vulgate) at an unsuitable time, before an unsuitable audience; that he should be called upon to renounce publicly certain views which seemed ambiguous; that he should be told by his bishop to occupy himself with matters of general interest; that he should cease lecturing altogether; and that his Song of Solomon, done into Spanish, should be seized. The Licentiate Pedro de Castro undertook to give his decision in writing.[183] It may not have been committed to paper: at any rate, it does not appear in the record. Even the milder judgement of Guijano and Frechilla seemed excessive to the Supreme Inquisition, which curtly ordered its deputies at Valladolid to acquit Luis de Leon, to reprimand him and warn him to be more careful in future, and to confiscate the manuscript copy of his Spanish version of the Song of Solomon.[184] These orders, dated at Madrid on December 7, 1576, were, of course, obeyed.[185] As the senior member of the Court, Dr. Guijano gave the reprimand to which Luis de Leon listened, standing up while it was pronounced.[186] The date is not stated, but it cannot have been later than December 15, 1576; for on this day Luis de Leon applied in writing for an official certificate of acquittal, and for an order on the accountant of Salamanca University instructing that officer to pay him arrears of salary from the date of his arrest till his chair was vacated owing to the lapse of his four years' tenure.[187] Both applications were granted. But the Ethiopian cannot change his skin, and it was not till August 13, 1577, that the petitioner received full satisfaction.[188]