The History of the Inquisition of Spain from the Time of its Establishment to the Reign of Ferdinand Part 17

_Second Auto-da-fe._

The second _Auto-da-fe_ of Valladolid took place on the 8th of October, in the same year, 1559; it was still more splendid than the first, on account of the presence of Philip II. The inquisitors had waited his return from the Low Countries, to do him honour in this grand festival.

Thirteen persons, with a corpse and an effigy, were burnt, and sixteen admitted to reconciliation. The king was accompanied by his son, his sister, the Prince of Parma, three amba.s.sadors from France, the Archbishop of Seville, the Bishops of Palencia and Zamora, and other bishops elect; there were also present, the constable and admiral, the Dukes de Naxara and d'Arcos, the Marquis de Denia, afterwards Duke of Lerma, the Marquis d'Astorga, and the Count de Urena, afterwards Duke of Ossuna, the Count de Benavente, the Count de Buendia, the last grand-master of the military order of Montesa, Don Louis Borgia, the Grand Prior of Castile and Leon, a knight of the order of St. John of Jerusalem, Don Antonio de Toledo, son and brother to the Dukes of Alva; several other grandees of Spain, not named in the verbal-process of this execution, and many persons of lower rank: the Countess de Ribadabia, and other ladies of distinction, besides the councils, the tribunals, and other authorities.

The sermon on the faith was preached by the Bishop of Cuenca: the Bishops of Palencia and Zamora degraded the condemned priests; and the inquisitor-general, the Archbishop of Seville, demanded and received from the king the same oath which had been administered to Don Carlos.

The condemned persons were:--

Don Carlos de Seso, a n.o.ble of Verona, son to the Bishop of Placenza in Italy, and one of the most n.o.ble families in the country; he was forty-three years of age, pa.s.sed for a learned man, who had rendered great services to the emperor, and had held the office of Corregidor of Toro. He married Donna Isabella de Castilla, daughter of Don Francis de Castilla, who were descended from the king Don Pedro _the Cruel_. After his marriage he settled at Villamediana, near Logrono. He there openly preached heresy, and was the princ.i.p.al author of the progress of Lutheranism at Valladolid, Palencia, Zamora, and the boroughs depending on those cities. He was arrested at Logrono, and taken to the secret prisons of Valladolid. He answered the requisition of the fiscal on the 28th of June, 1558. His sentence was communicated to him on the 7th of October, 1559, and he was told to prepare to suffer death on the following day. De Seso asked for ink and paper, and wrote his confession, which was entirely Lutheran; he said that this doctrine, and not that taught by the Roman Church, which had been corrupted for several centuries, was the true faith of the gospel; that he would die in that belief, and that he offered himself to G.o.d in memory of the pa.s.sion of Jesus Christ. It would be difficult to express the vigour and energy of his writing, which filled two sheets of paper. De Seso was exhorted during the night, and on the morning of the 8th, but without success; he was gagged, that he might not have the power of preaching his doctrine. When he was fastened to the stake, the gag was taken from his mouth, and he was again exhorted to confess himself; he replied with a loud voice, and great firmness: "If I had sufficient time, I would convince you that you are lost, by not following my example. Hasten to light the wood which is to consume me." The executioners complied, and De Seso died impenitent.

Pedro de Cazalla, curate of the parish of Pedrosa; he was the brother of Augustin Cazalla, and aged thirty-three. He was arrested on the 23rd of April, 1558, and confessed that he was a Lutheran. He demanded to be reconciled, but was sentenced to be _relaxed_ because he had preached the heretical doctrine. On the 7th of October he was informed of his sentence, but refused to confess; when he was fastened to the stake, he asked for a confessor, and was then strangled, and afterwards burnt.

Dominic Sanchez, a priest of Villamediana, adopted the Lutheran heresy, after having heard De Seso and read his books. He was condemned to be burnt, and followed the example of Pedro de Cazalla.

Dominic de Roxas, a Dominican priest; he was a disciple of Bartholomew Carranza. His father was the Marquis de Poza, who had two children punished in the first _auto-da-fe_. Brother Dominic was forty years of age. He was taken at Calahorra, disguised as a layman; he had taken the habit to conceal himself from the agents of the Inquisition, until he could escape to Flanders, after an interview which he wished to have with Don Carlos de Seso. He made his first declaration before the Holy Office, on the 13th of May, 1558; he was obliged to make several others, because he retracted in one what he advanced in another; he was condemned to the torture for these recantations. Brother Dominic intreated that he might be spared the horrors of the question, as he dreaded it more than death. This request was granted on condition that he would promise to reveal what he had hitherto concealed; he consented, and added several new declarations to the first; he afterwards demanded to be reconciled. On the 7th of October, he was exhorted to prepare for death; he then made some discoveries in favour of persons against whom he had spoken in the preceding examinations; but he refused to confess, and when he descended from the scaffold of the _auto-da-fe_, he turned towards the king, and exclaimed, that he was going to die for the true faith, which was that of Luther. Philip II. commanded that he should be gagged. He was still in that situation when he was fastened to the stake; but when they began to light the fire his courage failed, he demanded a confessor, received absolution, and was strangled.

Juan Sanchez, a servant of Pedro de Cazalla, and Donna Catherine Hortega; he was thirty-three years of age. The fear of being arrested by the Inquisition induced him to go to Valladolid, in order to escape to the Low Countries, under the forged name of Juan de Vibar. The inquisitors were informed of his intention by his letters written at Castrourdiales, addressed to Donna Catherine Hortega, while she was in prison. The inquisitors gave information to the king, who commissioned Don Francis de Castilla Alcalde, of the court, to arrest him. Sanchez was taken at Turlingen, and transferred to Valladolid, where he was condemned to _relaxation_, as a dogmatizing and impenitent Lutheran. He was gagged until he was fastened to the stake. As he did not ask for a confessor, the pile was lighted, and when the cords which held him were burnt, he darted to the top of the scaffold, from whence he could see that several of the condemned confessed, that they might avoid the flames. The priests again exhorted him to confess, but seeing that De Seso remained firm in his resolution, he returned and told them to add more wood, for that he would die like Don Carlos de Seso. The archers and executioners obeyed his injunctions, and he perished in the flames.

Donna Euphrosyne Rios, a nun of the order of Santa Clara of Valladolid, was convicted of Lutheranism by twenty-two witnesses; she continued impenitent until she was fastened to the stake, when she confessed, and was strangled and burnt.

Donna Marina de Guevara, a nun of the convent of Belen at Valladolid, of the order of Cistercians; she was related to the family of Poza. Marina confessed the facts, but could not avoid her condemnation, though she demanded to be reconciled. This was the more surprising, as the inquisitor-general made great efforts to save her life; he was the intimate friend of several of her relations, and being informed that the inquisitors of Valladolid intended to condemn her, he authorized Don Alphonso Tellez Giron, Lord of Montalban and cousin to Marina, and the Duke of Ossuna, to visit the accused, and press her to confess what she denied, and the witnesses affirmed; but Marina said that she could not add anything to what she had already declared.

She was condemned to be _relaxed_, but the sentence was not immediately published, as it was the custom to do so only on the day before the _auto-da-fe_; and as the rules of 1541 allow the sentence of death to be revoked if the criminals repent before they are given up to secular justice, the inquisitor-general sent Don Alphonso Giron a second time to his cousin, to exhort her to confess all, and avoid death. This conduct of Valdes displeased the inquisitors of Valladolid, who spoke of it as a singular and scandalous preference. Valdes applied to the Supreme Council, which commanded that the visit should be made in the presence of one or two inquisitors. This last attempt did not succeed better than the first; Marina persisted in her declaration, and was burnt.

Donna Catherine de Reinoso, a nun in the same convent, Donna Margaret de Santisteban, and Donna, Maria de Miranda, nuns of Santa Clara at Valladolid, were likewise strangled and burnt as Lutherans.

Pedro de Sotelo and Francis d'Almarzo suffered the same punishment for Lutheranism, with Francis Blanco, a New Christian; who had abjured Mahometanism, and had afterwards fallen into error.

Jane Sanchez, of the cla.s.s of women called Beates, was condemned as a Lutheran: when she was informed of her sentence, she cut her throat with a pair of scissors, and died impenitent some days after in prison. Her corpse was taken to the _auto-da-fe_ on a bier, and burnt with her effigy.

Sixteen persons were condemned to penances. I shall only mention those distinguished for their rank or the nature of their trials.

Donna Isabella de Castilla, the wife of Don Carlos de Seso, voluntarily confessed that she had adopted some of her husband's opinions; she was condemned to wear the _san-benito_, to be imprisoned for life, and to be deprived of her property.

Donna Catherine de Castilla, the niece of the above, suffered the same punishment.

Donna Francisca de Zuniga Reinoso, sister to Donna Catherine, who was burnt in the same _auto-da-fe_, and a nun in the same convent was condemned, with Donna Philippina de Heredia and Donna Catherine d'Alcaraz, two of her companions, to be deprived of the power of voting in her community, and prohibited from going out of the convent.

Antonio Sanchez, an inhabitant of Salamanca, was punished as a false witness; it was proved that he had deposed falsely for the purpose of causing a Jew to be burnt: he was condemned to receive two hundred stripes; was deprived of half his property, and sent to the galleys for five years. The compa.s.sion of the inquisitors for this sort of criminals is an incontestable fact, although they did not hesitate to condemn heretics to death, if they had only concealment, or an insincere repentance to reproach them with.

Pedro d'Aguilar, a shearer, born at Tordesillas, pretended to be an alguazil of the Inquisition, and appeared at Valladolid with the _wand_ of the Holy Office on the day of the celebration of the first _auto-da-fe_; he afterwards went to a town in the province of Campos, where he said that he was commissioned to open the tomb of a bishop, and take the bones to be burnt in an _auto-da-fe_, as belonging to a man who had died in the Judaic heresy. Pedro was condemned to receive four hundred stripes, to have his property confiscated, and to be sent to the galleys for life. This affair proves that the inquisitors considered it a much greater crime to pretend to be an alguazil of the Holy Office, than to bear false-witness, and to cause the death of a man, the confiscation of his property, and the condemnation of his posterity to infamy!

Such is the history of the two celebrated _autos-da-fe_ of Valladolid, of which so much has been said, although nothing certain was known of them. It is an interesting circ.u.mstance that the Inquisition was at the same time proceeding against forty-five persons distinguished for their rank or personal qualities; of these forty-five persons, ten had been arrested. It is not to be supposed that the inquisitors only prosecuted these persons: the trial of Carranza, Archbishop of Seville, was the origin of a great number against bishops and other distinguished individuals. I have confined myself to those of which I could consult the papers; it would be a task beyond the strength of one man to read all that have acc.u.mulated in the archives.

CHAPTER XXI.

HISTORY OF TWO AUTOS-DA-FE, CELEBRATED AGAINST THE LUTHERANS IN THE CITY OF SEVILLE.

An _auto-da-fe_ was celebrated on the 24th of September, 1559, in the place of St. Francis, at Seville, not less remarkable for the rank of the condemned, than for the nature of their trials. Four bishops attended at it; the coadjutor of Seville, those of Largo and the Canaries, who happened to be in the city, and of Tarrazona, whom the king had authorized to reside at Seville as vice-inquisitor-general.

The inquisitors of the district of Seville were Don Michel del Carpio, Don Andres Gasco, and Don Francis Galdo; Don Juan de Obando represented the archbishop. I make this remark, to show that none of the judges were named _Vargas_, as the author of a romance ent.i.tled _Cornelia Bororquia_ has a.s.serted.

This _auto-da-fe_ was celebrated before the royal court of justice, the chapter of the cathedral, some grandees of Spain, and a great number of t.i.tled persons and gentlemen; the d.u.c.h.ess of Bejar was present with several ladies, and an immense concourse of people. Twenty-one persons were _relaxed_, with an effigy of a contumacious person, and eighty persons condemned to penances, the greatest number of whom were Lutherans; I shall mention the most remarkable instances.

The effigy was that of Francis Zafra, the beneficed priest of the parish of St. Vincent of Seville, who was condemned as a Lutheran, but had made his escape. Gonzalez de Montes gives a long account of this man, which I found to be correct, on examining the papers of the holy office. He says that Francis Zafra was well versed in the Scriptures; for some time he succeeded in concealing his inclination to Lutheranism, and was employed by the inquisitors to qualify denounced propositions, and that he was thus enabled to save many persons from being condemned. He had received into his house one of the women called _Beates_, who (after obstinately supporting the new doctrines) became so much deranged, that he was obliged to confine and scourge her, to calm her violence. In 1555, this woman escaped, and denounced three hundred persons as Lutherans to the Inquisition: the inquisitors drew up a list of them; Francis Zafra was summoned, and although he was mentioned as one of the princ.i.p.al heretics, proved that they could not receive the evidence of a person whose mind was so much disordered[20]. As the holy office never neglected anything that could a.s.sist in discovering heresy, this list caused the conduct of many persons to be strictly observed, and more than eight hundred were arrested; Francis Zafra was one of the prisoners, but he contrived to escape, and was burnt in effigy as contumacious.

The first person I shall mention as condemned to relaxation, was Donna Isabella de Baena, a rich lady of Seville. Her house was razed to the ground for having served as a temple to the Lutherans.

I find, among the other victims at Seville, Don Juan Ponce de Leon, youngest son to the Count de Baylen; he was cousin-german to the Duke d'Arcos, and related to the d.u.c.h.ess de Bejar, who were both present at his _auto-da-fe_. He was condemned as an impenitent Lutheran: he at first denied the charges, but confessed during the torture: the inquisitors sent a priest, with whom he was well acquainted, to persuade him that it would be to his advantage if he confessed the truth. Ponce was deceived, and made the confession they required; but on discovering his mistake, the day before the _auto-da-fe_, he made one truly Lutheran, and treated the priest who attended him with contempt.

Gonzalez de Montes pretends that he persisted in his sentiments, but he is mistaken, for Ponce confessed when he was fastened to the stake, and strangled before he was burnt.

Don Juan Gonzalez, a priest of Seville, and a celebrated preacher of Andalusia, embraced Mahometanism at twelve years of age, because his parents were Moors, but he was reconciled by the Inquisition. Some time after he was imprisoned as a Lutheran, but obstinately persisted in refusing to confess, even when tortured; affirming that his opinions were founded on the Holy Scriptures, and that, consequently, he could not be a heretic. This example was imitated by his two sisters, who suffered in the same _auto-da-fe_: When the gags were taken from their mouths, Don Juan told them to sing the 106th psalm. They died (say the Protestants) in the faith of Jesus Christ, and detesting the errors of the _Papists_.

Brother Garcia de Arias (surnamed the _White Doctor_, on account of the extreme whiteness of his hair) was a Jeronimite of the Convent of St.

Isidore, at Seville; he was condemned as an impenitent Lutheran, and perished in the flames. He had professed the doctrines of Luther for several years, but his sentiments were known only to the princ.i.p.al partisans of the heresy, such as Vargas, Egidius, and Constantine: his prudence was so great, that he was looked upon as an orthodox theologian and of the greatest piety: he even carried his dissimulation so far as to profess to be an enemy to the Lutherans. He was several times employed to qualify heretical propositions, and appeared to be so devoted to the inquisitorial system, that though he was denounced several times, the inquisitors declared that the informers acted out of hatred to him. However, the informations were communicated to him, that he might be more cautious in his conversations with suspicious persons.

His conduct towards Gregorio Riuz ought to be recorded. Riuz was denounced for some explanations of doctrine in a sermon; being obliged to appear and defend his doctrine before theologians, he applied to his friend, the White Doctor, who wished to hear his exposition of the principles he intended for his defence, and the solutions he had prepared for the difficulties which he might meet with. When the a.s.sembly took place, the Inquisitors commissioned Arias to argue against Riuz, who was much surprised to see him at this conference, and still more so, when he heard him speak in such a manner, that the answers he had prepared were entirely useless. Riuz sunk under this attack, and the doctor Arias was severely reproached for his treachery by the Lutheran doctors, Vargas, Egidius, and Constantine.

Arias taught the Lutheran doctrine to some monks of his convent: one of them (Brother Ca.s.siodorus) made so much progress in it, that he converted almost all the monks of the community, so that the monastic exercises were no longer practised. Twelve of these persons being alarmed at this state of things fled to Germany; the rest who remained at Seville, were condemned by the Inquisition. The same fate awaited Garcia d'Arias; the depositions against him continued to multiply, and he was at last arrested. Foreseeing the result of his trial, he made a confession of his faith, and undertook to prove, that the opinions of Luther were founded on the gospel. He persevered in his impenitence, and no Catholic could convert him, because he understood doctrine better than those who disputed with him.

Donna Maria de Virues, Donna Maria Cornel, and Donna Maria Bohorques, also perished in this _auto-da-fe_. They were all young, and of the highest cla.s.s of n.o.bility. The history of the last of these ladies ought to be made known, on account of some circ.u.mstances in her trial, and because a Spaniard has composed a _novel_ under the t.i.tle of _Cornelia Bororquia_, which he affirms to be rather a history than a romance, although it is neither the one nor the other, but a collection of scenes and events badly conceived, in which he has not even given the actors their true names, from not having understood the History of the Inquisition by Limborch. This historian has mentioned two of the ladies by the names of _Cornelia_ and _Bohorquia_, which means _Donna Maria Cornel_, and _Donna Maria Bohorquia_. The Spanish author has united these names, to designate _Cornelia Bororquia_ an imaginary person. He has supposed a love-intrigue between her and the inquisitor-general, which is absurd, since he was at Madrid. He has also introduced examinations which never took place in the tribunal; in short, the intention of the author was to criticise and ridicule the Inquisition, and the fear of being punished for it induced him to fly to Bayonne. A good cause becomes bad when falsehood is employed in its defence: the true history of the Inquisition is sufficient to show how much it merits the detestation of the human race, and it is therefore useless to employ fictions or satire. The same may be said of the _Gusmanade_, a French poem, containing a.s.sertions false and injurious to the memory of St.

Dominic de Guzman, whose personal conduct was very pure, though he may be blamed for his conduct to the Albigenses.

Donna Maria de Bohorques, was the natural daughter of Pedro Garcia de Xerez Bohorques of one of the first families of Seville, and from which sprung the Marquises de Ruchena, grandees of the first cla.s.s. She was not twenty-one years of age when she was arrested as a Lutheran. She had been instructed by the doctor, Juan Gil (or Egidius), was perfectly acquainted with the Latin language, and understood Greek; she had many Lutheran books, and had committed to memory the Gospels, and some of the princ.i.p.al works which explain the text in a Lutheran sense. She was conducted to the secret prisons, where she acknowledged her opinions, and defended them as Catholic. She said that some of the facts and propositions contained in the depositions were true, but denied the others, either because she had forgotten them, or was afraid to compromise others. She was then tortured, and confessed that her sister, Jane Bohorques, was acquainted with her sentiments, and had not disapproved them. The fatal consequences of this confession will be shown hereafter. The definitive sentence was p.r.o.nounced, and Maria Bohorques was condemned to _relaxation_. As the sentence was not communicated to the prisoner till the day before the _auto-da-fe_, the inquisitors desired that Maria should be exhorted during the interval.

Two Jesuits and two Dominicans were successively sent to her. They returned full of admiration at the learning of the prisoner, but displeased at her obstinacy, in explaining the texts of Scripture which they proposed, in a Lutheran sense. On the day before the _auto-da-fe_, two other Dominicans went with the first, to make a last effort to convert Maria, and they were followed by several other theologians of different religious orders. Maria received them with as much pleasure as politeness, but she told them, that they might spare themselves the trouble of speaking to her of their doctrines, as they could not be more concerned for her salvation than she was herself; that she would renounce her opinions if she felt the least uncertainty; but that she was still more convinced that she was right, since so many _popish_ theologians had not been able to advance any arguments, for which she had not prepared a solid and conclusive answer. At the place of execution, Don Juan Ponce de Leon, who had abjured heresy, exhorted Maria to do the same. She received his advice very ill, and called him _ignorant, an idiot, and a babbler_: she added, that it was no longer a time to dispute, and that the few moments they had to live ought to be employed in meditating on the pa.s.sion and death of their Redeemer, to reanimate the faith by which they were to be justified and saved.

Although she was so obstinate, several priests, and a great number of monks, earnestly entreated that she might be spared, in consideration of her extreme youth and surprising merit, if she would consent to repeat the _Credo_. The inquisitors granted their request; but scarcely had Maria finished it, than she began to interpret the articles on the Catholic faith, and the judgment of the quick and the dead, according to the opinions of Luther: they did not give her time to conclude; the executioner strangled her, and she was afterwards burnt. Such is the true history of Maria Bohorques, according to the writings of the Inquisition.

Paul IV. died at Rome on the 18th of August, 1559, a few days before the _auto-da-fe_ at Seville. When the Romans learnt this event, they went in crowds to the Inquisition, set all the prisoners at liberty, and burnt the house and the archives of the tribunal. It cost much money and trouble to prevent the enraged populace from burning the convent _De la Sapienza_ of the Dominicans, who conducted all the affairs of the Roman Inquisition. The princ.i.p.al commissioner was wounded, and his house burnt. The statue of Paul IV. was taken from the capitol and destroyed; the arms of the house of Carafa were everywhere defaced, and even the mortal remains of the Pope would have been abused, if the Canons of the Vatican had not interred him secretly, and if the guards had not defended the pontifical residence[21]. This revolt of the Romans did not alarm the inquisitors of Spain, where the people had been brought up by the monks in different principles from those professed by their ancestors under the reign of Ferdinand, and the first ten years of that of Charles V.

_Auto-da-fe of the year 1560._

The inquisitors of Seville, who had perhaps depended on the presence of Philip II., prepared another _auto-da-fe_ for him similar to that of Valladolid. When they had lost all hope of that honour, the ceremony was performed: it took place on the 22nd of December, 1560. Fourteen individuals were burnt in person (_i. e._ relaxed), and three in effigy; thirty-four were subjected to penances, and the reconciliation of three other persons was read before the _auto-da-fe_. The effigies were those of the Doctors Egidius, Constantine, and Juan Perez.

Constantine Ponce de la Fuente was born at _San Clemente de la Mancha_, in the diocese of Cuenca; he finished his studies at Alcala de Henares, with the Doctor Juan Gil, or _Egidius_; and with Vargas, who died during his trial. These three theologians were the princ.i.p.al chiefs of the Lutherans at Seville, whom they secretly directed, enjoying at the same time the reputation of good Catholics and virtuous priests. Egidius preached much in the metropolitan church; Constantine was less ardent in his zeal, but he obtained as much applause; Vargas explained the Scriptures in the pulpit of the munic.i.p.ality. Constantine refused the dignity of magisterial canon, which was offered to him both by the Chapter of Cuenca and that of Toledo. Charles V. appointed him his almoner and preacher; in this quality he took him to Germany, where he made a long stay. On his return to Seville, he directed the College _de la Doctrina_, and there established a pulpit to preach the Holy Scriptures, of which he appointed the salary: he undertook to fill the office, and during this period the Canons' corporation offered him the place of magisterial canon; exempting him from the usual compet.i.tion.

Some of the canons recollecting the unfortunate consequences of the election of Juan Gil (who was appointed in the same manner), wished that the compet.i.tion should take place. Constantine was requested to submit to it, and a.s.sured that he would triumph over the compet.i.tors. This, in fact, took place in 1556, in opposition to the appeals and intrigues of the only person who had the courage to compete with him. While Constantine continued to enjoy general esteem, the declarations of a great number of prisoners who were arrested for Lutheranism, caused his arrest in 1558, some months before the death of Charles V. During the time that he was preparing his defence, an accident happened which rendered it useless.

Isabella Martinez, a widow of Seville, was arrested as a Lutheran. Her property was sequestrated; but it was soon found, that Francis Beltran, her son, had concealed several chests of valuable effects before the inventory was taken. Constantine had committed some prohibited books to the care of this woman, who concealed them in her cellar. The inquisitors sent Louis Sotelo, the alguazil of the holy office, to Francis Beltran, to claim the effects which he had concealed. Francis, on seeing the alguazil, did not doubt that his mother had declared the concealment of the books given to her care by Constantine, and without waiting until Sotelo should tell him the cause of his visit, he said, _Senor Sotelo, I suppose that you come for the things deposited in my mother's house. If you will promise that I shall not be punished for not giving information of them, I will show you what there is hidden there._ Beltran then conducted the alguazil to his mother's house, and pulled down part of the wall, behind which the Lutheran books of Constantine had been concealed; Sotelo, astonished at this sight, told him that he should take possession of the books, but that he did not consider himself bound by his promise, as he only came to claim the effects which he had concealed. This declaration increased the alarm of Beltran, and he gave everything up to the alguazil, on condition that he might remain free in his house. This denunciation had been made by a servant, who hoped to obtain the benefit of the act of Ferdinand V., which a.s.signs the fourth part of the concealed effects to the informer.

Among the prohibited books, were found several writings by Constantine Ponce de Fuente, which treated of the true church according to the principles of the Lutherans, and proved in their manner, that this church was not that of the _papists_: he also discussed in them several other points on which the Lutherans differed from the Catholics.

Constantine could not deny these papers, as they were in his own hand-writing; he confessed that they contained the profession of his faith, but refused to name his accomplices and disciples. The inquisitors, instead of decreeing the torture, plunged him into a deep, humid, and obscure dungeon, where the air, impregnated with the most dangerous miasma, soon altered his health. Overcome by this persecution, he exclaimed, "_My G.o.d, were there no Scythians or cannibals into whose hands to deliver me, rather than to let me fall into the power of these barbarians!_" This situation could not last long; Constantine fell sick, and died of a dysentery: it was reported, when the _auto-da-fe_ was celebrated, that he had killed himself to avoid his punishment. His trial was as celebrated as his person. The inquisitors caused the _merits_ or charges against him to be read in a pulpit close to their seats, where the people could not hear them; the Corregidor Calderon remarked the circ.u.mstance twice, and they were obliged to begin it again where those of the other trials were read. Constantine had published the first part of a catechism; the second was not printed. The following works of Constantine were inserted in the prohibitory Index, published in 1559, by Don Ferdinand Valdes:--An Abridgment of the Christian Doctrine; a Dialogue on the same subject, between a Master and his Disciple; The Confession of a Sinner to Jesus Christ; A Christian Catechism; An Exposition of the Psalm, _Beatus qui non abiit in concilio impiorum_. Alphonso de Ulloa, in his Life of Charles V., gives the highest praise to the works of Constantine, particularly his Treatise on the Christian Doctrine, which was translated into Italian[22]. The effigy of Contantine was not like those of the other condemned persons (which were an unformed ma.s.s surmounted by a head); it was an entire figure with the arms spread, as Constantine was accustomed to do when preaching, and was clothed in garments which appeared to have belonged to him. After the _auto-da-fe_, this figure was taken back to the Holy Office, and a common effigy was burnt with the bones of the condemned.

Another prisoner died in the dungeons of the Inquisition; he was (according to Gonzalez de Montis) a monk of the Convent of St. Isidore, named Ferdinand. The same author affirms, that one Olmedo, a Lutheran, was likewise carried off by an epidemic disease which ravaged the prisons, and that he uttered groans similar to those of Constantine when he was dying. I have not found that any Inquisition in Spain has, of late years, condemned any person to this sort of dungeon, unless the torture was decreed; the inquisitors of that time cannot be pardoned for making them a common prison.