At present there are four hundred and fifty Spanish religious in Filipinas, and seven hundred Filipino secular priests, or thereabouts. More than three per cent of the Spaniards die annually; so that, in order that their present number may not diminish, it is necessary for fifteen to go there annually.
As a conclusion to this chapter, I cannot resist the desire to insert the words of a wise religious of Filipinas of former days, Father Pedro Murillo Velarde, as it may be useful to the ministers of the present time who may read these pages.
“To take the mean of the proportion in the administration of the Indians is one of the most difficult matters of the prudence. The parish priest must be in the village the loving father, the hospitable tutor, the master and diligent teacher of his parishioners; and as such he must not treat them as if he were a seignior of vassals. He must be dignified, but without affecting majesty. He should always strive to be loved, rather than feared. He must be affable, but not vulgar. He must not separate himself far from intercourse with his parishioners, nor be too familiar. He should visit them in charity rather than in affection. He should listen to their complaints, but not to their malicious reports. He should settle their controversies, but not in a partial manner. He should not be altogether credulous, nor despise everything. If one Indian accuses another, he should ascertain, before all else, whether they have quarreled. He must not be all honey, nor all gall. He should punish, but not flay off the skin. If the Indian knows that there is no whip near, the village will be quickly lost. A good beating at the proper time is the best antidote for all sorts of poisons; for, in the end, fear guards the vineyard. In punishments, let him show himself a father, not a hangman; and, in case of doubt, let him incline rather to mildness than to severity. Let him hear quarrels and discussions with the alcaldes, but let him not allow them to fleece his sheep. Let him defend his own jurisdiction, but not usurp that of another. Let him not become an alcalde unless the alcalde tries to become a cura. If he is unable to settle the quarrels of the Indians satisfactorily, he shall allow them to go to the alcalde, who will quickly render them harmonious by laughing at the matter of the quarrel. Let him handle books, but not cards.[13] Let him [not] direct the Indians in the government of his village, but let him leave them to those who govern them; for the wish to command is a sort of itch in Filipinas. Consequently, let him leave to each one the care of what God has given him. Let him check sins, but not lawful games and amusements, since thereby other and illicit amusements will be prevented. Let him eradicate drunkenness, but not prohibit all use of wine to all; for, if the cura drinks wine, why should not the Indian drink it in moderation? Let him not pour out the wine or break the wine-jars; for who has given him any authority for that? Because of some of these acts of imprudence, certain foolish laymen say that the ministers who come from Europa to become martyrs, become more than kings in their villages.
“Let him attend to the affairs of God, and not obstruct those of Caesar. Let him be the mirror of the village, so that all may imitate him; but not a telescope, to register foolish trifles. Let him get from the Indian what the latter is able to give; for he who tries to get everything loses everything. If the Indians learn that their sins are unpardonable, many will take to the hills. If the father is very harsh in the confessional, many sacrileges may be feared. In assigning penance, let him incline to mildness rather than to rigor, if he wishes the penance to be observed. Let his diligence when he preaches be not long, but fervid; for one onza of gold is worth more than an arroba of straw. Let him explain to the Indians what is necessary for their salvation, and let him not play the discreet among them. Let him use similes and examples in his sermons that they can understand, and not plunge into depths of abstract ideas, for that is a jargon which they do not understand; and they especially detest Latin phrases. The statement that the Indians have no faith is a pretext of the devil, to discourage the gospel ministers. Let him do with fervor whatever he finds to do, that the corresponding fruit may not be lacking; and even when there should be no fruit, God will reward his zeal. Let him not raise difficulties in taking the sacraments to the fields, but let it be with the reverence due. Let him insist on the presence of the boys at the school, for the good that follows from that is great; but let him not urge them so much that he wearies them. Let him receive the fees of the Church, but let him not collect with the severity of a warrant-holder. Let the Indians know that the cura is looking after their souls, not their purses; and let him remember that he came from Europa to remove disease from the sheep, not to take their wool. Let him give alms, but let him not scatter the patrimony of Christ uselessly. It will be a suitable alms to provide his parishioners with medals, rosaries, catechisms, and bulls [of the crusade].[14] Let him not permit idle spongers in the village, who are goblins of cursed consequences; and the whiter they are, the worse. Let the cura be found more often in the houses of the sick and dying, than in weddings, games, and dances. He should let the customs of the villages alone, when they involve no grave disadvantages, for innovations alter men’s dispositions; and more than anything else must he shun causing innovation in the prayer, and in matters pertaining to the Church and the method of administration. Let him encourage congregations, devotions, and novenas, frequent confession, daily mass, and the rosary, but let him warn the Indians that these are not for obligation but for devotion, since perhaps they sin through ignorance, when there is no guilt. The soul of the missionary or parish priest has a thousand dangers in the solitude of a village; but with prayer and mortification he can overcome all. Chastity is a flower so delicate that it takes but little to make it wither: the heart of man, the opportunity for temptations, the frequency of errors, and the ease with which men stumble, are as tinder and fire, which are kindled, whoever blows. Do not believe that in this regard there is any caution that is too great in the Indias. In the external encounters that may arise with alcaldes or with others, let the cura endeavor to conquer them by patience rather than by arrogance. Let him remember that Jesus Christ says we should offer the other cheek to him who smites us; and let him reflect that in the tribunal of God, and even that of men, more is to be gained by humility than by valor. Let him reflect that he is a secular or a religious; and that the weapons of such are tears, prayer, and penance.”
[1] Ordinarios: an appellation of ecclesiastical judges who try causes in the first instance, and, by antonomasia, of the bishops themselves, regarded as judges in their respective dioceses (Dominguez’s Dicc. nacional).
[2] These ordinances were a revision of former laws, and addition of new ones, by Don José Raon, governor of the islands; they were promulgated on February 26, 1768. This code will receive attention in a later volume.
[3] Spanish, comer la sopa boba; literally, “to eat fool soup”—that is, to live at another’s expense; perhaps alluding to the former custom of maintaining fools or jesters in the households of the rich.
[4] These are games of cards, the name of the latter indicating the number of points which win the game.
[5] “This argument for the reason of the insanity of many friars, seems to me completely false. It would be sufficient to compare the friars who are insane with the insane found also among the other Spaniards, in order to declare quite the contrary. Quite different do I believe the origin of the insanity, both of the religious and of the other Spaniards. He who has had anything to do with the Indian will have observed that his nature is quite contrary to that of the Spaniard. The latter is generally lively, acute, and full of fire, while that of the Indian, on the contrary, is dull, somber, and cold as snow. The Spaniard who does not arm himself with patience and forbearance, is liable to become, I do not say insane, but desperate. Another reason even may be assigned, in what pertains to the religious. As a general thing, their insanity has as its primal cause melancholy; and this is very common to the regular curas who are alone, and who, experiencing the ingratitude of the Indian, his fickleness in virtue, and his indifference in matters of religion, think that their sacrifice for the natives is in vain. Consequently, the curas need great courage in order to calm themselves and to persevere in the even tenor of their life. In my opinion these two reasons can fully account for the origin of the cases of insanity among many.” (Note by Father Juan Ferrando, written on the margin of the manuscript of this chapter.)—Mas.