The History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic Volume II Part 15

"Scritta cos come la penna getta, Per fuggir l'ozio, e non per cercar gloria."

It is true, he is occasionally betrayed by verbal subtilties and other affectations of the age; [26] but even his liveliest sallies are apt to be seasoned with a moral, or sharpened by a satiric sentiment. His defects, indeed, are of the kind most opposed to those of the Italian poet, showing themselves, especially in the more elaborate pieces, in a certain tumid stateliness and overstrained energy of diction.

On the whole, one cannot survey the "Cancionero General" without some disappointment at the little progress of the poetic art, since the reign of John the Second, at the beginning of the century. The best pieces in the collection are of that date, and no rival subsequently arose to compete with the masculine strength of Mena, or the delicacy and fascinating graces of Santillana. One cause of this tardy progress may have been the direction to utility manifested in this active reign, which led such as had leisure for intellectual pursuits to cultivate science, rather than abandon themselves to the mere revels of the imagination.

Another cause may be found in the rudeness of the language, whose delicate finish is so essential to the purposes of the poet, but which was so imperfect at this period that Juan de la Encina, a popular writer of the time, complained that he was obliged, in his version of Virgil's Eclogues, to coin, as it were, a new vocabulary, from the want of terms corresponding with the original, in the old one. [27] It was not until the close of the present reign, when the nation began to breathe awhile from its tumultuous career, that the fruits of the patient cultivation which it had been steadily, though silently experiencing, began to manifest themselves in the improved condition of the language, and its adaptation to the highest poetical uses. The intercourse with Italy, moreover, by naturalizing new and more finished forms of versification, afforded a scope for the n.o.bler efforts of the poet, to which the old Castilian measures, however well suited to the wild and artless movements of the popular minstrelsy, were altogether inadequate.

We must not dismiss the miscellaneous poetry of this period, without some notice of the "Coplas" of Don Jorge Manrique, [28] on the death of his father, the count of Paredes, in 1474 [29]. The elegy is of considerable length, and is sustained throughout in a tone of the highest moral dignity, while the poet leads us up from the transitory objects of this lower world to the contemplation of that imperishable existence, which Christianity has opened beyond the grave. A tenderness pervades the piece, which may remind us of the best manner of Petrarch; while, with the exception of a slight taint of pedantry, it is exempt from the meretricious vices that belong to the poetry of the age. The effect of the sentiment is heightened by the simple turns and broken melody of the old Castilian verse, of which perhaps this may be accounted the most finished specimen; such would seem to be the judgment of his own countrymen, [30]

whose glosses and commentaries on it have swelled into a separate volume.

[31]

I shall close this survey with a brief notice of the drama, whose foundations may be said to have been laid during this reign. The sacred plays, or mysteries, so popular throughout Europe in the Middle Ages, may be traced in Spain to an ancient date. Their familiar performance in the churches, by the clergy, is recognized in the middle of the thirteenth century, by a law of Alfonso the Tenth, which, while it interdicted certain profane mummeries that had come into vogue, prescribed the legitimate topics for exhibition. [32]

The transition from these rude spectacles to more regular dramatic efforts, was very slow and gradual. In 1414, an allegorical comedy, composed by the celebrated Henry, marquis of Villena, was performed at Saragossa, in the presence of the court. [33] In 1469, a dramatic eclogue by an anonymous author was exhibited in the palace of the count of Urena, in the presence of Ferdinand, on his coming into Castile to espouse the infanta Isabella. [34] These pieces may be regarded as the earliest theatrical attempts, after the religious dramas and popular pantomimes already noticed; but unfortunately they have not come down to us. The next production deserving attention is a "Dialogue between Love and an Old Man," imputed to Rodrigo Cota, a poet of whose history nothing seems to be known, and little conjectured, but that he flourished during the reigns of John the Second, and Henry the Fourth. The dialogue is written with much vivacity and grace, and with as much dramatic movement as is compatible with only two interlocutors. [35]

A much more memorable production is referred to the same author, the tragicomedy of "Celestina," or "Calisto and Melibea," as it is frequently called. The first act, indeed, const.i.tuting nearly one-third of the piece, is all that is ascribed to Cota. The remaining twenty, which however should rather be denominated scenes, were continued by another hand, some, though to judge from the internal evidence afforded by the style, not many years later. The second author was Fernando de Roxas, bachelor of law, as he informs us, who composed this work as a sort of intellectual relaxation, during one of his vacations. The time was certainly not misspent. The continuation, however, is not esteemed by the Castilian critics to have risen quite to the level of the original act. [36]

The story turns on a love intrigue. A Spanish youth of rank is enamoured of a lady, whose affections he gains with some difficulty, but whom he finally seduces, through the arts of an accomplished courtesan, whom the author has introduced under the romantic name of Celestina. The piece, although comic, or rather sentimental in its progress, terminates in the most tragical catastrophe, in which all the princ.i.p.al actors are involved.

The general texture, of the plot is exceedingly clumsy, yet it affords many situations of deep and varied interest in its progress. The princ.i.p.al characters are delineated in the piece with considerable skill. The part of Celestina, in particular, in which a veil of plausible hypocrisy is thrown over the deepest profligacy of conduct, is managed with much address. The subordinate parts are brought into brisk comic action, with natural dialogue, though sufficiently obscene; and an interest of a graver complexion is raised by the pa.s.sion of the lovers, the timid, confiding tenderness of the lady, and the sorrows of the broken-hearted parent. The execution of the play reminds us on the whole less of the Spanish, than of the old English theatre, in many of its defects, as well as beauties; in the contrasted strength and imbecility of various pa.s.sages; its intermixture of broad farce and deep tragedy; the unseasonable introduction of frigid metaphor and pedantic allusion in the midst of the most pa.s.sionate discourses; in the unveiled voluptuousness of its coloring, occasionally too gross for any public exhibition; but, above all, in the general strength and fidelity of its portraiture.

The tragicomedy, as it is styled, of Celestina, was obviously never intended for representation, to which, not merely the grossness of some of the details, but the length and arrangement of the piece, are unsuitable.

But, notwithstanding this, and its approximation to the character of a romance, it must be admitted to contain within itself the essential elements of dramatic composition; and, as such, is extolled by the Spanish critics, as opening the theatrical career of Europe. A similar claim has been maintained for nearly contemporaneous productions in other countries, and especially for Politian's "Orfeo," which, there is little doubt, was publicly acted before 1483. Notwithstanding its representation, however, the "Orfeo," presenting a combination of the eclogue and the ode, without any proper theatrical movement, or attempt at development of character, cannot fairly come within the limits of dramatic writing. A more ancient example than either, at least as far as the exterior forms are concerned, may be probably found in the celebrated French farce of Pierre Pathelin, printed as early as 1474, having been repeatedly played during the preceding century, and which, with the requisite modifications, still keeps possession of the stage. The pretensions of this piece, however, as a work of art, are comparatively humble; and it seems fair to admit, that in the higher and more important elements of dramatic composition, and especially in the delicate, and at the same time powerful delineation of character and pa.s.sion, the Spanish critics may be justified in regarding the "Celestina" as having led the way in modern Europe. [37]

Without deciding on its proper cla.s.sification as a work of art, however, its real merits are settled by its wide popularity, both at home and abroad. It has been translated into most of the European languages, and the preface to the last edition, published in Madrid, so recently as 1822, enumerates thirty editions of it in Spain alone, in the course of the sixteenth century. Impressions were multiplied in Italy, and at the very time when it was interdicted at home on the score of its immoral tendency.

A popularity thus extending through distant ages and nations, shows how faithfully it is built on the principles of human nature. [38]

The drama a.s.sumed the pastoral form, in its early stages, in Spain, as in Italy. The oldest specimens in this way, which have come down to us, are the productions of Juan de la Encina, a contemporary of Roxas. He was born in 1469, and, after completing his education at Salamanca, was received into the family of the duke of Alva. He continued there several years, employed in the composition of various poetical works, among others, a version of Virgil's Eclogues, which he so altered as to accommodate them to the princ.i.p.al events in the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella. He visited Italy in the beginning of the following century, and was attracted by the munificent patronage of Leo the Tenth to fix his residence at the papal court. While there, he continued his literary labors. He embraced the ecclesiastical profession; and his skill in music recommended him to the office of princ.i.p.al director of the pontifical chapel. He was subsequently presented with the priory of Leon, and returned to Spain, where he died in 1534. [39]

Encina's works first appeared at Salamanca, in 1496, collected into one volume, folio. [40] Besides other poetry, they comprehend a number of dramatic eclogues, sacred and profane; the former, suggested by topics drawn from Scripture, like the ancient mysteries; the latter, chiefly amatory. They were performed in the palace of his patron, the duke of Alva, in the presence of Prince John, the duke of Infantado, and other eminent persons of the court; and the poet himself occasionally a.s.sisted at the representation. [41]

Encina's eclogues are simple compositions, with little pretence to dramatic artifice. The story is too meagre to admit of much ingenuity or contrivance, or to excite any depth of interest. There are few interlocutors, seldom more than three or four, although on one occasion rising to as many as seven; of course, there is little scope for theatrical action. The characters are of the humble cla.s.s belonging to pastoral life, and the dialogue, which is extremely appropriate, is conducted with facility; but the rustic condition of the speakers precludes anything like literary elegance or finish, in which respect they are doubtless surpa.s.sed by some of his more ambitious compositions. There is a comic air imparted to them, however, and a lively colloquial turn, which renders them very agreeable. Still, whatever be their merit as pastorals, they are ent.i.tled to little consideration as specimens of dramatic art; and, in the vital spirit of dramatic composition, must be regarded as far inferior to the "Celestina." The simplicity of these productions, and the facility of their exhibition, which required little theatrical decoration or costume, recommended them to popular imitation, which continued long after the regular forms of the drama were introduced into Spain. [42]

The credit of this introduction belongs to Bartholomeo Torres de Naharro, often confounded by the Castilian writers themselves with a player of the same name, who flourished half a century later. [43] Few particulars have been ascertained of his personal history. He was born at Torre, in the province of Estremadura. In the early part of his life he fell into the hands of the Algerines, and was finally released from captivity by the exertions of certain benevolent Italians, who generously paid his ransom.

He then established his residence in Italy, at the court of Leo the Tenth.

Under the genial influence of that patronage, which quickened so many of the seeds of genius to production in every department, he composed his "Propaladia," a work embracing a variety of lyrical and dramatic poetry, first published at Rome, in 1517. Unfortunately, the caustic satire, levelled in some of the higher pieces of this collection at the license of the pontifical court, brought such obloquy on the head of the author as compelled him to take refuge in Naples, where he remained under the protection of the n.o.ble family of Colonna. No further particulars are recorded of him except that he embraced the ecclesiastical profession; and the time and place of his death are alike uncertain. In person he is said to have been comely, with an amiable disposition, and sedate and dignified demeanor. [44]

His "Propaladia," first published at Rome, pa.s.sed through several editions subsequently in Spain, where it was alternately prohibited, or permitted, according to the caprice of the Holy Office. It contains, among other things, eight comedies, written in the native _redondillas_; which continue to be regarded as the suitable measure for the drama. They afford the earliest example of the division into _jornadas_, or days, and of the _introito_, or prologue, in which the author, after propitiating the audience by suitable compliment, and witticisms not over delicate, gives a view of the length and general scope of his play. [45]

The scenes of Naharro's comedies, with a single exception, are laid in Spain and Italy; those in the latter country probably being selected with reference to the audiences before whom they were acted. The diction is easy and correct, without much affectation of refinement or rhetorical ornament. The dialogue, especially in the lower parts, is sustained with much comic vivacity; indeed, Naharro seems to have had a nicer perception of character as it is found in lower life, than as it exists in the higher; and more than one of his plays are devoted exclusively to its ill.u.s.tration. On some occasions, however, the author a.s.sumes a more elevated tone, and his verse rises to a degree of poetic beauty, deepened by the moral reflection so characteristic of the Spaniards. At other times, his pieces are disfigured by such a Babel-like confusion of tongues, as makes it doubtful which may be the poet's vernacular. French, Spanish, Italian, with a variety of barbarous _patois_, and mongrel Latin, are all brought into play at the same time, and all comprehended, apparently with equal facility, by each one of the _dramatis personae_.

But it is difficult to conceive how such a jargon could have been comprehended, far more relished, by an Italian audience. [46]

Naharro's comedies are not much to be commended for the intrigue, which generally excites but a languid interest, and shows little power or adroitness in the contrivance. With every defect, however, they must be allowed to have given the first forms to Spanish comedy, and to exhibit many of the features which continued to be characteristic of it in a state of more perfect development under Lope de Vega and Calderon. Such, for instance, is the amorous jealousy, and especially the point of honor, so conspicuous on the Spanish theatre; and such, too, the moral confusion too often produced by blending the foulest crimes with zeal for religion. [47]

These comedies, moreover, far from blind conformity with the ancients, discovered much of the spirit of independence, and deviated into many of the eccentricities which distinguish the national theatre in later times; and which the criticism of our own day has so successfully explained and defended on philosophical principles.

Naharro's plays were represented, as appears from his prologue, in Italy, probably not at Rome, which he quitted soon after their publication, but at Naples, which, then forming a part of the Spanish dominions, might more easily furnish an audience capable of comprehending them. [48] It is remarkable that, notwithstanding their repeated editions in Spain, they do not appear to have ever been performed there. The cause of this, probably, was the low state of the histrionic art, and the total deficiency in theatrical costume and decoration; yet it was not easy to dispense with these in the representation of pieces, which brought more than a score of persons occasionally, and these crowned heads, at the same time, upon the stage. [49]

Some conception may be afforded of the lamentable poverty of the theatrical equipment, from the account given of its condition, half a century later, by Cervantes. "The whole wardrobe of a manager of the theatre, at that time," says he, "was contained in a single sack, and amounted only to four dresses of white fur trimmed, with gilt leather, four beards, four wigs, and four crooks, more or less. There were no trapdoors, movable clouds, or machinery of any kind. The stage itself consisted only of four or six planks, placed across as many benches, arranged in the form of a square, and elevated but four palms from the ground. The only decoration of the theatre was an old coverlet, drawn from side to side by cords, behind which the musicians sang some ancient _romance_, without the guitar." [50] In fact, no further apparatus was employed than that demanded for the exhibition of mysteries, or the pastoral dialogues which succeeded them. The Spaniards, notwithstanding their precocity, compared with most of the nations of Europe, in dramatic art, were unaccountably tardy in all its histrionic accompaniments. The public remained content with such poor mummeries, as could be got up by strolling players and mountebanks. There was no fixed theatre in Madrid until the latter part of the sixteenth century; and that consisted of a courtyard, with only a roof to shelter it, while the spectators sat on benches ranged around, or at the windows of the surrounding houses. [51]

A similar impulse with that experienced by comic writing, was given to tragedy. The first that entered on this department were professed scholars, who adopted the error of the Italian dramatists, in fas.h.i.+oning their pieces servilely after the antique, instead of seizing the expression of their own age. The most conspicuous attempts in this way were made by Fernan Perez de Oliva. [52] He was born at Cordova, in 1494, and, after many years pa.s.sed in the various schools of Spain, France, and Italy, returned to his native land, and became a lecturer in the university of Salamanca. He instructed in moral philosophy and mathematics, and established the highest reputation for his critical acquaintance with the ancient languages and his own. He died young, at the age of thirty-nine, deeply lamented for his moral, no less than for his intellectual worth. [53]

His various works were published by the learned Morales, his nephew, some fifty years after his death. Among them are translations in prose of the Electra of Sophocles, and the Hecuba of Euripides. They may with more propriety be termed imitations, and those too of the freest kind. Although they conform, in the general arrangement and progress of the story, to their originals, yet characters, nay whole scenes and dialogues, are occasionally omitted; and in those retained, it is not always easy to recognize the hand of the Grecian artist, whose modest beauties are thrown into shade by the ambitious ones of his imitator. [54] But with all this, Oliva's tragedies must be admitted to be executed, on the whole, with vigor; and the diction, notwithstanding the national tendency to exaggeration above alluded to, may be generally commended for decorum and an imposing dignity, quite worthy of the tragic drama; indeed, they may be selected as affording probably the best specimen of the progress of prose composition during the present reign. [55]

Oliva's reputation led to a similar imitation of the antique. But the Spaniards were too national in all their tastes to sanction it. These cla.s.sical compositions did not obtain possession of the stage, but were confined to the closet, serving only as a relaxation for the man of letters; while the voice of the people compelled all who courted it, to accommodate their inventions to those romantic forms, which were subsequently developed in such variety of beauty by the great Spanish dramatists. [56]

We have now surveyed the different kinds of poetic culture familiar to Spain under Ferdinand and Isabella. Their most conspicuous element is the national spirit which pervades them, and the exclusive attachment which they manifest to the primitive forms of versification peculiar to the Peninsula. The most remarkable portion of this body of poetry may doubtless be considered the Spanish _romances_, or ballads; that popular minstrelsy, which, commemorating the picturesque and chivalrous incidents of the age, reflects most faithfully the romantic genius of the people who gave it utterance. The lyric efforts of the period were less successful. There were few elaborate attempts in this field, indeed, by men of decided genius. But the great obstacle may be found in the imperfection of the language and the deficiency of the more exact and finished metrical forms, indispensable to high poetic execution.

The whole period, however, comprehending, as it does, the first decided approaches to a regular drama, may be regarded as very important in a literary aspect; since it exhibits the indigenous peculiarities of Castilian literature in all their freshness, and shows to what a degree of excellence it could attain, while untouched by any foreign influence. The present reign may be regarded as the epoch which divides the ancient from the modern school of Spanish poetry; in which the language was slowly but steadily undergoing the process of refinement, that "made the knowledge of it," to borrow the words of a contemporary critic, "pa.s.s for an elegant accomplishment, even with the cavaliers and dames of cultivated Italy;"

[57] and which finally gave full scope to the poetic talent, that raised the literature of the country to such brilliant heights in the sixteenth century.

I have had occasion to advert more than once in the course of this chapter to the superficial acquaintance of the Spanish critics with the early history of their own drama, authentic materials for which are so extremely rare and difficult of access, as to preclude the expectation of anything like a satisfactory account of it out of the Peninsula. The nearest approach to this within my knowledge is made in an article in the eighth number of the American Quarterly Review, ascribed to Mr. Ticknor, late Professor of Modern Literature in Harvard University. This gentleman, during a residence in the Peninsula, had every facility for replenis.h.i.+ng his library with the most curious and valuable works, both printed and ma.n.u.script, in this department; and his essay embodies in a brief compa.s.s the results of a well-directed industry, which he has expanded in greater detail in his lectures on Spanish literature, delivered before the cla.s.ses of the University. The subject is discussed with his usual elegance and perspicuity of style; and the foreign, and indeed Castilian scholar, may find much novel information there, in the views presented of the early progress of the dramatic and the histrionic art in the Peninsula.

Since the publication of this article, Moratin's treatise, so long and anxiously expected, "Origenes del Teatro Espanol," has made its appearance under the auspices of the Royal Academy of History, which has enriched the national literature with so many admirable editions of its ancient authors. Moratin states in his Preface, that he was employed from his earliest youth in collecting notices, both at home and abroad, of whatever might ill.u.s.trate the origin of the Spanish drama. The results have been two volumes, containing in the First Part an historical discussion, with ample explanatory notes, and a catalogue of dramatic pieces from the earliest epoch down to the time of Lope de Vega, chronologically arranged, and accompanied with critical a.n.a.lyses, and copious ill.u.s.trative extracts from pieces of the greatest merit. The Second Part is devoted to the publication of entire pieces of various authors, which from their extreme rarity, or their existence only in ma.n.u.script, have had but little circulation. The selections throughout are made with that careful discrimination, which resulted from poetic talent combined with extensive and thorough erudition. The criticisms, although sometimes warped by the peculiar dramatic principles of the author, are conducted in general with great fairness; and ample, but not extravagant, commendation is bestowed on productions, whose merit, to be properly appreciated, must be weighed by one conversant with the character and intellectual culture of the period. The work unfortunately did not receive the last touches of its author, and undoubtedly something may be found wanting to the full completion of his design. On the whole, it must be considered as a rich repertory of old Castilian literature, much of it of the most rare and recondite nature, directed to the ill.u.s.tration of a department, that has. .h.i.therto been suffered to languish in the lowest obscurity, but which is now so arranged that it may be contemplated, as it were, under one aspect, and its real merits accurately determined.

It was not till some time after the publication of this History, that my attention was called to that portion of the writings of Don Martinez de la Rosa, in which he criticizes the various departments of the national literature. This criticism is embodied in the annotations and appendix to his elegant "Poetica" (Obras Literarias, (Paris, 1827,) tom. i. ii.) The former discuss the general laws, by which the various kinds of poetry are to be regulated; the latter presents a very searching and scientific a.n.a.lysis of the princ.i.p.al productions of the Spanish poets, down to the close of the last century. The critic exemplifies his own views by copious extracts from the subjects of his criticism, and throws much collateral light on the argument by ill.u.s.trations borrowed from foreign literature.

In the examination of the Spanish drama, especially comedy, which he modestly qualifies as a "succinct notice, not very exact," he is very elaborate; and discovers the same taste and sagacity in estimating the merits of individual writers, which he had shown in discussing the general principles of the art. Had I read his work sooner, it would have greatly facilitated my own inquiries in the same obscure path; and I should have recognized, at least, one brilliant exception to my sweeping remark on the apathy manifested by the Castilian scholars to the antiquities of the national drama.

FOOTNOTES

[1] Eichhorn, Geschichte der Kultur und Litteratur der Neueren Europa, (Gottingen, 1796-1811,) pp. 129, 130.--See also the conclusion of the Introduction, Sec. 2, of this History.

[2] Nic. Antonio seems unwilling to relinquish the pretensions of his own nation to the authors.h.i.+p of this romance. (See Bibliotheca Nova, tom. ii.

p. 394.) Later critics, and among them Lampillas, (Ensayo Historico- Apologetico de la Literatura Espanola, (Madrid, 1789,) tom. v. p. 168,) who resigns no more than he is compelled to do, are less disposed to contest the claims of the Portuguese. Mr. Southey has cited two doc.u.ments, one historical, the other poetical, which seem to place its composition by Lobeira in the latter part of the fourteenth century beyond any reasonable doubt. (See Amadis of Gaul, pref.,--also Sarmiento, Memorias para la Historia de la Poesia y Poetas Espanoles, Obras Posthumas, (Madrid, 1775,) tom. i. p. 239.) Bouterwek, and after him Sismondi, without adducing any authority, have fixed the era of Lobeira's death at 1325. Dante, who died but four years previous to that date, furnishes a negative argument, at least, against this, since, in his notice of some doughty names of chivalry then popular, he makes no allusion to Amadis, the best of all.

Inferno, cantos v., x.x.xi.

[3] The excellent old romance "Tirante the White," _Tirant lo Blanch_, was printed at Valencia in 1490. (See Mendez, Typographia Espanola, tom. i.

pp. 72-75.) If, as Cervantes a.s.serts, the "Amadis" was the first book of chivalry printed in Spain, it must have been anterior to this date. This is rendered probable by Montalvo's prologue to his edition at Saragossa, in 1521, still preserved in the royal library at Madrid, where he alludes to his former publication of it in the time of Ferdinand and Isabella.

(Cervantes, Don Quixote, ed. Pellicer, Discurso Prelim.)

Mr. Dunlop, who has a.n.a.lyzed these romances with a patience that more will be disposed to commend than imitate, has been led into the error of supposing that the first edition of the "Amadis" was printed at Seville, in 1526, from detached fragments appearing in the time of Ferdinand and Isabella, and subsequently by Montalvo, at Salamanca, in 1547. See History of Prose Fiction, vol. ii. chap. 10.

[4] The following is Montalvo's brief prologue to the introduction of the first book. "Aqvi comienca el primero libro del esforcado et virtuoso cauallero Amadis hijo del rey Perion de Gaula; y dela reyna Elisena: el qual fue coregido y emendado por el honrado y virtuoso cauallero Garciordones de Montalvo, regidor dela n.o.ble uilla de Medina del campo; et corregiole delos antiguos originales que estauan corruptos, et compuestos en antiguo estilo: por falta delos diferentes escriptores. Quitando muchas palabras superfluas; et poniendo otras de mas polido y elegante estilo: tocantes ala caualleria et actos della, animando los coracones gentiles de manzebos belicosos que con grandissimo affetto abrazan el arte dela milicia corporal animando la immortal memoria del arte de caualleria no menos honestissimo que glorioso." Amadis de Gaula, (Venecia, 1533,) fol.

1.

[5] Nic. Antonio enumerates the editions of thirteen of this doughty family of knights-errant. (Bibliotheca Nova, tom. ii. pp. 394, 395.) He dismisses his notice with the reflection, somewhat more charitable than that of Don Quixote's curate, that "he had felt little interest in investigating these fables, yet was willing to admit, with others, that their reading was not wholly useless."

Moratin has collected an appalling catalogue of _part_ of the books of chivalry published in Spain at the close of the fifteenth and the following century. The first on the list is the _Carcel de Amor_, por Diego Hernandez de San Pedro, en Burgos, ano de 1496. Obras, tom. i. pp.

93-98.

[6] Cervantes, Don Quixote, tom. i. part. 1, cap. 6.

The curate's wrath is very emphatically expressed. "Pues vayan todos al corral, dixo el Cura, que a trueco de quemar a la reyna Pintiquniestra, y al pastor Darinel y a sus eglogas, y a las endiabladas y revueltas razones de su autor, quemara con ellos al padre que me engendro si andubiera en figura de caballero andante." The author of the "Dialogo de las Lenguas"

chimes in with the same tone of criticism. "Los quales," he says, speaking of books of chivalry, "de mas de ser mentirossissimos, son tal mal compuestos, a.s.si por dezir las mentiras tan desvergoncadas, como por tener el estilo desbaracado, que no ay buen estomago que lo pueda leer." Apud Mayans y Siscar, Origenes, tom. ii. p. 158.

[7] The labors of Bowles, Rios, Arrieta, Pellicer, and Navarrete would seem to have left little to desire in regard to the ill.u.s.tration of Cervantes. But the commentaries of Clemencin, published since this chapter was written, in 1833, show how much yet remained to be supplied. They afford the most copious ill.u.s.trations, both literary and historical, of his author, and exhibit that nice taste in verbal criticism, which is not always joined with such extensive erudition. Unfortunately, the premature death of Clemencin has left the work unfinished; but the fragment completed, which reaches to the close of the First Part, is of sufficient value permanently to a.s.sociate the name of its author with that of the greatest genius of his country.