This work was written in the month of October, 1598, and Antonio Pérez addressed it to Philip III. in the hope of conciliating the favour of that monarch and obtaining permission to return to Spain. It is one of the ablest political essays of which the Spanish language can boast, and it is to be regretted that it has never been published.
4. Máximas de Antonio Pérez, Secretario del Rey D. Felipe II. al Rey Enrique IV. de Francia.[91]
Neither Nicolás Antonio nor any other writer notices this work of the astute politician. In these state maxims, which were written in May, 1600, Pérez betrays the vexation he experienced on finding Philip II. disinclined to permit his return to Spain. In his Conocimento de las naciones, Pérez intimates to King Philip the designs of the King of France, and the best mode of defeating them, and in his maxims, addressed to Henry IV., he recommends to that monarch various enterprises hostile to the King of Spain.
5. Breve compendio y elogio de la vida del Señor Rey D. Felipe II.[92] Nicolás Antonio and other writers state that Antonio Pérez was the author of this work. It is not an original production but a translation by that eminent man, and is extracted from a History of Henry IV. of France, written in the French language by Pedro Mateo.
(U).
“More malignant than Arcalaus.” (Page 139).
Proper names terminating in us, as Arcalaus, Arcus, and others, met with in books of chivalry are not in accordance with the true spirit of the Spanish language. In adopting Latin words having the terminations us and um, the Spaniards have transferred them to their own language through the medium of the ablative or dative case; thus from tetricus they derive tétrico, from templum, templo, &c. Don Adolfo de Castro observes that he recollects only one proper name in which the termination us is retained, namely, Nicodemus; but the us is changed to os in the following names;—Carlos for Carolus; Marcos for Marcus; Longinos for Longinus, and some others.
Not only in proper names do we find the terminations us and um converted into o, the same change is observable in compound words; thus cumsecum is converted into consigo; cumtecum into contigo, &c.
The Latin termination has been preserved in the word vade-mecum; and modern writers have attempted to introduce several other words of similar formation, such as album, consideratum, ultimatum, and desideratum, but these terminations are quite at variance with the genius of the Castilian language.