Don Adolpho de Castro supposes that allusion is here made to two curious old books, respecting which he furnishes the following bibliographical particulars:—
One of the first books printed in Spain was entitled De Proprietatibus Rerum, originally written in Latin, by Father Vicente de Burgos, and afterwards translated into Castilian by the author, under the title of Libro de las Propiedades de las Cosas. It is described as a “Natural History, which treats of the properties of all things—a Catholic and very useful work, containing much theological doctrine in reference to God; and much moral and natural philosophy in reference to his creatures—accompanied by great secrets relating to astrology, medicine, surgery, geometry, music and cosmography, together with other sciences, the whole in twenty books, as here subjoined:—
“I. Of God and his essence. II. Of the angels, good and bad. III. Of the soul. IV. Of matter and element. V. Of man and the parts of the human body. VI. Of ages. VII. Of diseases. VIII. Of heaven, earth, and the planets. IX. Of time. X. Of substance and form. XI. Of the air and its impressions. XII. Of birds. XIII. Of water. XIV. Of the earth and mountains. XV. Of the divisions of the world. XVI. Of stones and metals. XVII. Of trees, plants, and herbs. XVIII. Of minerals. XIX. Of colours, smells and tastes. XX. Of numbers, measures, weights, instruments and sounds.”
At the end of the work is the following note:—
“Printed in the noble city of Toulouse, by Henry Meyer of Germany, for the honour of God, and of our Lord, and for the benefit of many ignorant persons. Finished in the year of our Lord, one thousand four hundred and forty-nine, and the nineteenth day of September.”
This curious Encyclopædia was reprinted some years afterwards. At the end of this second edition are the following words:—
“Thus ends the Catholic and very useful book of the properties of all things, translated from the Latin into the Romance (Castilian) language, by the Reverend Father Vicente de Burgos, and now newly edited and reprinted in the city of Toledo, by Gaspar de Ávila, printer of books, at the cost and expense of the most noble Juan Tomás Fabio Milanés, of Segovia. Finished on the tenth day of July, in the year one thousand, five hundred and twenty.”
Hence there is no doubt that the Libro de las Propiedades de las Cosas was originally written in the Latin tongue, by Father Vicente de Burgos, and after being translated into Castilian by the author, it was a second time submitted to the press, with the view of rendering it more accessible to the mass of readers.
The dates of the Latin edition, and of the first Castilian edition, were unknown to Nicolás Antonio, who was also ignorant of the name of the author of this work, to which, in the Biblioteca Hispana, he affixes the word Anonimus.