Abady-la-Sierra (D. Augustin), bishop of Barbastro. See Chapter 29.
Abady-la-Sierra (D. Manuel), archbishop of Selimbria, ibid.
Almodobar (Duke of). See following Chapter.
Aranda (Count d'). Ibid.
Arellano (D. Joseph Xavier Rodriguez d'), archbishop of Burgos. See Chapter 29.
Avila (the venerable Juan d'), secular priest, born at Almodovar del Campo, surnamed the Apostle of Andalusia. See Chapters 13 and 14.
Azara (Doctor Nicholas d'). See the following Chapter.
Balvoa (Doctor Juan de), doctoral canon of the cathedral of Salamanca, and law professor in the university of that city. He was one of the most distinguished literati of his age. Nicolas Antonio only mentions one of his works, entitled Salmantine Lessons. He composed several others, one of which would have caused him to be arrested by the Inquisition, if he had not been protected by the inquisitor-general, Cardinal Don Antonio Zapata, and by some of the councillors of the tribunal. It was a memoir which he had drawn up and presented in 1627, to Philip IV., in the name of the universities of Salamanca, Valladolid and Alcala. The object of this memoir was to induce the king to refuse the permission which the Jesuits had requested, to change the Imperial College of Madrid into a university.
The Jesuits denounced the work, and qualified some of the propositions as erroneous, offensive to pious ears, scandalous and injurious to the government, and to the regular ecclesiastics of the Society of Jesus.
The council caused the memoir to be examined by qualifiers, who declared that it did not merit theological censure, and the council abandoned the affair. The Jesuits then employed the influence of the Count Duke d'Olivarez with the king, but the attempt was unsuccessful. The other work which is attributed to Balvoa, is perhaps that which was printed at Rome in 1636, in the printing-office of the apostolic chamber. It is written in Latin, in quarto, and bears the name of Alphonso de Vargas de Toledo, with this title: An Exposition made by Alphonso de Vargas to the Christian Kings and Princes, of the Stratagems and political Artifices which the Members of the Society of Jesus employ to establish a universal Monarchy in their favour, a Work which proves the Deceit of the Jesuits towards the Kings and Nations who have received them favourably; their Perfidy and Disobedience, even to the Pope, and the immoderate Desire of Innovation which they have always shown in Matters of Religion. It has been said that this work was printed at Frankfort, with the exception of the justificatory pieces. The author advances and proves heavy charges against the Jesuits.