"'Why did I not think of granting indulgencies with the fish I sold, when a fisherman? We would have been rich, and Judas, instead of selling the Master, would have sold sardines and tinapa! [6] I would not have been obliged to cowardly apostatize, and would not have suffered martyrdom. Verily, I say, that my friend down Below leaves me behind in the matter of knowing how to make money; and yet I am a Jew.'
"'Of course, don't you know that your friend Below is a Gallego?' [7] Said a little old man who had been Up There but a few years. His name was Tasio, and, addressing himself to me, he continued:
"'You are a great Doctor, and although you have contradicted yourself many times, I hold you as a privileged character of vast erudition, for, having written your books, Retractationum, and Confesiones; and since you are so different from your sons who try, when defending themselves, to make black appear white, and white green, I will state my complaints, so that you, as their Father, may put a stop to it all.
"'There exists on earth an unfortunate, who, amongst many foolish acts, has committed the following:
"'1st. He holds solidary of all that I have said during my earthly life, an Indian called Rizal, only because said Indian has quoted my words in a book that he wrote. As you can see, should we follow such a system of reasoning, Rizal would also agree with the views expressed by friars, policemen, etc., and you, yourself, Holy Doctor, would also be solidary of all that you ascribe to heretics, Pagans, and above all, to Manichees.
"'2nd. He wants me to think as he himself does, since he quotes me as saying 'The Bible and the Holy Gospel.' It may be well that he, as all fanatics, should believe that these are one and the same thing. But I, having studied the original Hebraic Bible, know, that it does not contain the Gospel. That the Jewish Bible, being a history of creation, treasure and patrimony of Jewish people, the Jews, who do not accept the Gospel, should be authority. That as the Latin translation is incorrect, the Catholics could not lay down the Law, notwithstanding their habit of appropriating everything to themselves, and of misconstruing to their advantage the translation of the original text. Besides, the Gospels, with the exception of that written by Saint Mathew, were written in Greek later than the Bible, and conflict in every respect with the Law of Moses, as proved by the enemity between Jews and Christians. How, then, could I, knowing all this, express myself as a fanatic, or as an ignorant monk? I do not exact from any monk the speech of a free-thinker and therefore, they should not exact that I express myself as a monk would. Why do they want me to consolidate under one name two distinct things, which, to a certain extent contradict each other? Let the Christians do so, but I must not, and cannot. If I call them separately, it is in accordance with the thought inspiring two works, two legislations, two religions, on which they want to found the Catholic Religion. Your son, moreover, reasons finely, when he says: 'I did not know that the Gospels were different from the Bible, and not a principal part of it.' Tell him, Holy Father, that in every country a part, no matter how principal may it be, is always different from the whole, for instance: The principal thing in Friar Rodriguez is his habit: but his habit is different from Friar Rodriguez, as otherwise there would be one dirty Friar Rodriguez, another shining, another creased, another wide, short, long, greasy, etc. On the other hand, the habit is different from the monk, because a piece of cloth, no matter how dirty, could never be presumptuous, despotic, ignorant or obscurantistic.
"'3d. To prove the existence of a Purgatory, he quotes: 'Saint Mathew says in Chapter twelfth, thirty-sixth verse——.' But he quotes wrongly, as from that verse cannot be derived the existence of a Purgatory, nor anything of its kind. The Hebrew text says: 'Wa 'ebif 'omar lakam kij 'al kal abar reg ashar idabbru 'abaschim yittbu heschboun biom hammischphat'; the Greek text, 'Lego de hynun hote pan rema argon, ho ean lalesosin hoi anthropoi, apodosousi peri auton logon en hemera kriseos.' All these translated into Latin say: 'Dicto autem vobis, quoniam omne verbum otiosum quod locuti fucrint homines, reddent rationem de co in die judicii,' which, translated into English means, 'And I say to you, that on the Day of Judgment, men shall have to account for every idle word.' From all these texts, you can see, Holy Doctor, that the only thing to be derived is that on the Day of Judgment, Friar Rodriguez will have to give such an account of himself, that very likely it will take him two days to account for all the nonsense he has said.
"'I imagine that your son, instead of the thirty-sixth verse, meant to quote the thirty-second, which says: "And all who shall say word against the son of man will be forgiven; but he who says word against the Holy Ghost, shall not be pardoned; neither in this life nor in the next." From this they have tried to derive the existence of a Purgatory. What a fertile imagination!
"'4th. Because Saint Ireneus, St. Clement of Alexandria, and Origenes, three in all, although not being the first Christian, had some remote idea of Purgatory, it does not follow that the Christians of the first century did believe in it, unless it could be previously established that three persons represent a totality, even if amongst such a totality existed, contradictory ideas. But, as a proof that was it not so, you, yourself, Holy Doctor, being their father, having flourished in the fourth and fifth century, and supposed to be the greatest amongst the Fathers of the Church, denied most emphatically, in various instances, the existence of a Purgatory. In your CCXCV cermon, beginning by: 'Frecuenter charitatem vestra,' etc., you said very decidedly: 'Nemo se slecipiat fratres; Duo cuim loca sunt et terius non est ullus. Qui cum Christo reguare non meruerit, cum diabolo absque dubitatione ulla perebit.' This translated means, 'Do not deceive yourselves, brethren; there are but two places for the soul and there is no third place. He who should not deserve to live with Christ, undoubtedly will perish.'
"'Further on, in de Consolatione mortuorum, you say: 'Sed recedus anima quoe carnalibus oculis non videtur, ab angelis susciptur et collocatur, aut in sinu, Abrahae, si fidelis est, aut in carcerio inferni custodia si peccatrix est.' This means, 'But at the departure of that soul which the eyes of the flesh cannot see, the angels will receive and carry it to the Bosom of Abraham, if it has been faithful; or to Hell, if sinful.' On the other hand, I could quote a large number of your own texts showing that for you, Purgatory was not an impossibility. Add to all this what Saint Fulgentius, who flourished after you during the fifth and sixth century, says in Chapter XIV., of his 'de incarnatione et gratia,' etc.: 'Quicumque regnum Dei non ingreditur, poenis oeternis cruciatur.' That is to say, 'He who could not enter the Kingdom of God, will suffer eternal punishment.'