[70] Desiderius Erasmus was born at Rotterdam October 28, 1467. When a boy, he was sent to a convent; and in 1492 was ordained a priest, at Utrecht. He afterward devoted himself to the study of the classics and of divinity, and to literary work; he resided successively in Paris, England, and Basle. His Colloquies offended zealous Catholics, by attacking the superstitions and abuses in the Church; but he was not a supporter of Luther. Erasmus died on July 12, 1536.
[71] They took Father Samper to the island of Paragua, and abandoned him there. When this event was learned in Manila, they sent for him; but on the way he fell into the hands of the Camucon pirates, who took his life.—Fray Tirso López.
[72] Basilitano obviously refers to some suppressed or extinct see in pagandom, and Fray López would now be styled a “titular bishop.” The word cannot be found in the lexicons or gazetteers of classical, mediæval, and early Christian geographical terms; and it is evidently an adjective of local meaning.—Rev. T. C. Middleton, O.S.A.
[73] See the Epodes of Horatius, i, 2, l. 14; at first referring to the Greeks before Troy, but afterward becoming a general proverb—“Whatever errors the great may commit, the people must atone for.”
[74] Father Fray Joaquín Martínez de Zúñiga, in his Historia de Filipinas (pp. 384 et seq.), relates the foundation of the curacy of Mariquina, its separation from that of Pasig, and the means by which this was effected, as also the incorporation [that is, again with Pasig] which is here mentioned, and their final separation. And as his account differs considerably from that of Father Diaz, and we lack the data for deciding which of them is correct, we refer the reader to that work that he may examine, compare, and decide. Father Diaz, however, may have remained silent on the vexed questions to which that establishment gave rise, through consideration of prudence and of respect to the living; and in that case there is no contradiction, but justifiable omissions.—Fray Tirso López.
The Jesuit account of this controversy is presented by Murillo Velarde in Hist. de Philipinas, fol. 344 b, 345.
[75] Melchor Portocarrero, Lasso de la Vega, Conde de Monclove (misprinted in our text Mondova), succeeded the Marqués de la Laguna as viceroy of Mexico, on November 30, 1686; his administration lasted nearly two years, and he was an upright and vigilant ruler. He failed, however, to protect the Indian natives from cruel oppressions by the Spaniards. He was commonly known as Brazo de la Plata, or “Silver Arm,” on account of wearing a false arm, his own having been lost in battle. (Bancroft, Mexico, iii, p. 221.)
[76] “An antiquated term, signifying a togated judge, one of those who in the court composed what was called “the tribunal of alcaldes,” who, together, constituted the fifth tribunal of the famous Council of Castilla. These alcaldes no longer exist, nor does the tribunal which they formed; because an Audiencia has been established at Madrid, according to a decree of January 20, 1834.” (Dominguez.)
[77] Reference is here made to the Book of Wisdom, which is found in the Douay Bible next after Solomon’s “Canticle of Canticles” (“Song of Songs,” in the Protestant Bible); it does not, however, occur in the Vulgate. The passage here cited (in Latin, in Diaz’s text) reads thus in the Douay (English) version: “Learn, ye that are judges of the ends of the earth. Give ear, you that rule the people, and that please yourselves in multitudes of nations. For power is given you by the Lord, and strength by the Most High, who will examine your works, and search out your thoughts: because being ministers of his kingdom, you have not judged rightly, nor kept the law of justice, nor walked according to the will of God. Horribly and speedily will he appear to you: for a most severe judgment shall be for them that bear rule.” These words are found in verses 2–6 of chapter vi.
[78] Gaspar de la Cerda Sandoval Silva y Mendoza, Conde de Galve, assumed the office of viceroy of Nueva España on November 20, 1688. The coasts were infested with corsairs up to 1692, but Galve’s preparations to exterminate them seem to have frightened them away. In 1690 and 1695 he sent expeditions against the French in Santo Domingo; in 1689, one to search for La Salle’s Texas colony; and in 1693–94, to establish the town of Pensacola, Florida. At his own request, he was relieved from the office of viceroy, which he left February 27, 1696. He then returned to Spain, where he died soon afterward.