[857] See the argument to the “Década de los Césares.”
[858] Watt, in his “Bibliotheca Britannica,” and Brunet, in his “Manuel du Libraire,” give quite curious lists of the different editions and translations of the works of Guevara, showing their great popularity all over Europe. In French, the number of translations in the sixteenth century was extraordinary. See La Croix du Maine et du Verdier, Bibliothèques, (Paris, 1772, 4to, Tom. III. p. 123,) and the articles there referred to.
[859] There are editions of the Cartas del Bachiller Rua, Burgos, 1549, 4to, and Madrid, 1736, 4to, and a life of him in Bayle, Dict. Historique, Amsterdam, 1740, folio, Tom. IV. p. 95. The letters of Rua, or Rhua, as his name is often written, are respectable in style, though their critical spirit is that of the age and country in which they were written. The short reply of Guevara following the second of Rua’s letters is not creditable to him.
[860] Antonio, in his article on Guevara, (Bib. Nova, Tom. I. p. 125,) is very severe; but his tone is gentle, compared with that of Bayle, (Dict. Hist., Tom. II. p. 631,) who always delights to show up any defects he can find in the characters of priests and monks. There are editions of the Relox de Principes, of 1529, 1532, 1537, etc.
[861] La Fontaine, Fables, Lib. XI. fab. 7, and Guevara, Relox, Lib. III. c. 3. The speech which the Spanish Bishop, the true inventor of this happy fiction, gives to his Rústico de Germania is, indeed, too long; but it was popular. Tirso de Molina, after describing a peasant who approached Xerxes, says in the Prologue to one of his plays,—
In short,
He represented to the very life
The Rustic that so boldly spoke
Before the Roman Senate.
Cigarrales de Toledo, Madrid, 1624, 4to, p. 102