Books more dangerous to Rome than those of Erasmus reached Spain. A printer of Basel, the very year in which Charles was elected emperor (1519), packed up carefully for transport beyond the Pyrenees some precious merchandise not yet prohibited in the peninsula, because as yet unknown there. It consisted of various Latin works of Luther.[9] In 1520 the 'Commentary on the Galatians,' and afterwards other writings of the reformer, were translated into Spanish.[10] The union existing between Spain and the Netherlands had led many Spaniards to settle in the latter country, and it may possibly have been one of these who translated them. It is at least certain that they were printed at Antwerp, and that merchant vessels carried them thence into Spain.
Many noble minds were stirred up and became attentive to what was passing in Germany. Francis de Angelis, provincial of the Order of the Angeli, who had been present at the coronation of the emperor, was still more enlightened than Valdès himself. Being sent back to Spain after the Diet of Worms upon an important mission, he stopped at Basel. There he visited Pellican, and in a conversation which he had with him he showed himself almost in agreement with Luther.[11] All these circumstances arousing the attention of Rome, Leo X. sent (March 20, 1521) two briefs to Spain to demand that the introduction of the books of the German reformer and his partisans into that country should be checked; and Adrian VI., the successor of Leo, called upon the government to assist the Inquisition in the accomplishment of this duty.[12]
But in Spain itself evangelical truth was then preached with earnestness, though not with the fulness, clearness, and purity of the reformers. There was in Andalusia a young priest who from about 1525 preached with extraordinary power. His name was John d'Avila. 'The fervor,' says one of his biographers, 'with which he exerted himself to sow the heavenly seed of the Word of God in the hearts of men was almost incredible.'[13] He strove both to convert souls estranged from God, and to lead those who were converted to go forward courageously in the service of God. He employed no more time in the composition of his morning addresses than he did in delivering them. A long preparation would in his case have been impossible, on account of the numerous engagements which his charity drew upon him from all quarters. 'The Holy Spirit enlightened him with his light and spoke by his mouth; so that he was obliged to be careful not to extend his discourses too much, so abundant was the source from which they flowed.'
JOHN D'AVILA.
Seeing the great number of souls converted by his word, the question was asked, what was the chief source of his power? Is it, they said, the force of the doctrine, or the fervor of his charity, or the tenderness of his fatherly kindness, joined to ineffable humility and gentleness? He has himself decided this important point, and answered the inquiry. A preacher, struck by D'Avila's success, and desiring the like for himself, begged him for some advice on preaching, and on the way to render it efficacious. 'I know no better way,' he replied, 'than to love Jesus Christ.' This is the true science of homiletics.
Jesus Christ and his love was indeed the strength of his eloquence. It was by setting before sinners a dying Jesus that he called them to repentance. 'We, Lord,' he cried, 'have transgressed, and thou bearest the punishment! Our crimes have loaded thee with all kinds of shame, and have caused thee to die upon the cross! Oh! what sinner would not at this sight lament over his sins!'[14] But D'Avila pointed out at the same time in this death a means of salvation. 'They bind him with cords,' he said; 'they buffet him; they crown him with thorns; they nail him on the cross, and he suffers death thereon. If he is thus treated it is because he loved you, and would wash away your sins in his own blood! O Jesus, my Saviour, thou wast not content with these outward sufferings; it has pleased thee to endure also inward pain far surpassing them. Thou hast submitted to the stern decree of thy Father's justice; thou hast taken upon thee all the sins of the world. O Lamb of God, thou hast borne the burden alone; thou hast sufficed thereto, and hast obtained for us redemption by thy death. We have been made the righteousness of God in thee, and the Father loves us in his well-beloved Son. Let us not be afraid of praising him too much for the entire blotting out of our sins, the privilege bestowed by God on those whom he justifies by the merits of Jesus Christ. This exalts the greatness of those merits which have procured them so much blessedness, although they were so unworthy of it. O Lord, be glorified forever for this.'[15]
Nevertheless, John d'Avila, while he recognized the necessity of justification by the death of Christ, had a less distinct conception of it than the reformers, and gave it a less prominent place in his teaching than they did. It was on its efficacy for sanctification that he especially dwelt. He committed indeed the error of placing love in the chapter of justification, instead of placing it, like the reformers, in that of sanctification, which is its true place. But he could not too much insist on the transformation which must be wrought in the character and life of the Christian. 'What,' he cried, 'is it conceivable that Jesus Christ should wash, purify, and sanctify our souls with his own blood, and that they should still remain unrighteous, defiled, impure?' ... He sometimes employed strange figures to inculcate the necessity of this work. 'A creature having but the head of a man,' he said, 'all the rest of its body being that of a beast, would be considered a horrible monster. It would be no less monstrous, in the sphere of grace, that God who is righteousness and purity itself should have for his members unrighteous, defiled, and corrupt men.'[16]
D'Avila labored not only by his discourses, but likewise by his conversations and letters in promoting the kingdom of God in the souls of men. He was benevolence itself. He consoled the afflicted, encouraged the timid, aroused the cowardly, stirred up the lukewarm, fortified the weak, sustained those who were tempted, sought to raise up sinners after their falls, and humbled the proud. His letters are mostly far superior to those of Fénélon. They are at least much more evangelical.[17] 'I tell you this,' he wrote to some friends in affliction, 'only in order to assure you that Jesus Christ loves you. Ought not these words, that a God loves us, to fill with joy such poor creatures as we are?'[18] 'Read the sacred writings,' said he in another letter to those who wished for instruction, 'but remember that if he who has the key of knowledge, and who alone can open the book, does not give the power to comprehend, you will never understand it.'[19]
ST. THERESA.