Chapter II: Part 2

It must have been shortly after the handbooks of Plasencia received the seal of ecclesiastical approval that Salazar wrote the King speaking of the action taken, and got back in answer the cedula, quoted before, giving the Bishop and Audiencia the right of censorship over such works. The question of chronological precedence [80] between Quiñones and Plasencia is not important, for the specific approval of Plasencia's texts by the Synod, attended by Quiñones himself, shows that Plasencia's books were accepted, and in conformity with the ruling of the Synod would have been the only texts allowed to be used generally in the Philippines.

Another reference to writers in the native tongues in an anonymous manuscript of 1649 introduces the names of other linguists:

"The first missionaries left many writings in the Tagalog
and Bicol languages, the best of which are those left by
Fathers Fray Juan de Oliver, Fray Juan de Plasencia, Fray
Miguel de Talavera, Fray Diego de la Asuncion, and Fray
Gerónimo Monte. Mention is here made of the above fathers
because they were the first masters of the Tagalog language,
and since their writings are so common and so well received
by all the orders. They have not been printed, because they
are voluminous, and there are no arrangements in this kingdom
for printing so much." [81]

Miguel de Talavera we have spoken of before. That he helped Plasencia in the compilation of his earliest works in Tagalog is clear, and to him in part must be attributed the miracle of the production by Plasencia of the texts "in so short a time and with so few years in the country." Martínez says specifically that Talavera "was the first interpreter among our priests, and greatly helped Fr. Juan de Plasencia in the composition of the _Arte y Vocabulario_." [82] Juan de Oliver was in somewhat the same relationship to Plasencia, but instead of helping with the initial attempts, he carried on from where Plasencia left off. Oliver came to the Philippines on the same expedition which brought Bishop Salazar in 1581. According to Huerta [83] he worked in various Tagalog villages, and mastered the Tagalog and Bicol languages, in which he wrote twenty-two works, which Huerta lists. Of these three are of particular interest to us. The first entry says that he "corrected the Tagalog grammar written by Fr. Juan de Plasencia, and added the adverbs and particles;" [84] the second that "he perfected and augmented the Spanish-Tagalog dictionary, written by the said Fr. Juan de Plasencia;" and the sixteenth lists a _Catecismo de doctrina Cristiana esplicado_.

Several authors, attempting to establish the priority of Quiñones' dictionary, question the existence of one by Plasencia at the Synod of 1582 in the face of his own statement in 1585 that he "was then making a dictionary." [85] To us there seems to be no inconsistency, if Plasencia in 1585 was referring to a revision, unquestionably made with his knowledge and help, by Juan de Oliver. In short, it is reasonable to assume that Plasencia, burdened with administrative duties from 1583 to 1586, during which time he was custodian of his order, secured the aid of Oliver in reediting and continuing his linguistic studies. Plasencia died in 1590.

The other two Franciscans listed by the anonymous historian of 1649 are elsewhere recorded as having written various works in Tagalog. To both Diego de la Asuncion [86] and Gerónimo Montes y Escamillo [87] were attributed grammars and dictionaries, and the latter also wrote a _Devotional tagalog_, said to have been printed at Manila in 1610. In speaking of these early linguistic texts, it is not necessary to believe that each was a completely original work, but rather that they were based upon a recognized model, which was at first the Talavera-Plasencia-Oliver text, and that the individual missionaries used their experience in the field to produce, as it were, new editions. That this was the case is borne out by the notes of Pablo Rojo to his bibliography of Plasencia where speaking of the grammar and dictionary he says that "perfected by other missionaries, they have been the base for such grammars and dictionaries of Tagalog as have been written, but in the form in which they came from the hands of their author, they have not come down to us." [88] More important still is Rojo's statement [89] that he found a portion of Plasencia's Doctrina which had been believed lost, and from which he quotes the Pater Noster. Since he does not say where the manuscript was or how it was known to be Plasencia's text, we cannot put too much reliance on the statement, but the text as there printed, while similar to that of the present Doctrina, is not identical.

THE JESUITS

Before passing on to the Dominicans we shall mention briefly the linguists of the Society of Jesus. In the early days there were not many Jesuits in the Philippines. However, there were some linguists among them, chiefly of the Visayan tongue, in which they are said to have printed a Doctrina [90] as early as 1610. Limiting ourselves to a note of those who knew Chinese and Tagalog, we find that the first mentioned by Chirino as an outstanding master of one of these was Francisco Almerique, who arrived with Santiago de Vera in 1583. Shortly thereafter he "began the study of the Chinese language in his zeal to aid in the conversion of the many Chinese who came to Manila and whom we in the Philippines call Sangleys." [91] And Colin says "his principal occupation was with the Tagalog Indians, being the first of the Company to learn their language." [92] Nothing further is said of his accomplishments in these languages, but his knowledge would have been available in 1593, for he was then still active in the islands.

Chirino himself landed at Manila in 1590 shortly after Dasmariñas, and went almost immediately to Taytay where he learned Tagalog and was joined in 1592 by Martin Henriquez. At the time Juan de Oliver was preaching in that district, and it is exceedingly probable that he helped the newcomers with the language, for Chirino speaks of him in terms of highest praise. Henriquez "learned the language in three months and in six wrote a catechism in it, a confessionary, and a book of sermons for all the gospels of the year in the said idiom," [93] but he died on February 3, 1593 at Taytay. How thoroughly Chirino himself had grasped the fundamentals of Tagalog is evident from his three chapters [94] on the language and letters of the natives in which he prints the Ave Maria in Tagalog and reproduces the Tagalog alphabet--its first appearance in a European publication. But Chirino, who remained in the provinces until 1595, would have mentioned his participation and that of Henriquez in the Doctrina of 1593, so we record them as possible but not probable consultants.

THE DOMINICANS

Had Aduarte written that the first books printed at Manila were two Doctrinas issued by the Dominicans at San Gabriel in 1593, and given some details of their production, we could conclude our study with a quotation from him, but nowhere does he mention them. In fact, his inference was that the first book was that printed for Blancas de San José, and yet we know that this Doctrina preceded anything that Blancas de San José could have written, since he did not come to the Philippines until 1595. We can assume, as Retana did, that by printing Aduarte meant printing from movable type, but this does not explain away the fact that Aduarte, who recorded in detail events of far less significance, did not speak of the Doctrinas at all. The best--and it is a most unsatisfactory best--that we can do is ascribe the omission to the frailty of man, and record that there is no notice of the Dominican Doctrina of 1593 in the most complete contemporary Dominican history of the Philippines.

The first members of the Order of St. Dominic [95] to land in the Philippines were Bishop Salazar and his assistant, Christoval de Salvatierra. But they were fully occupied with the administration of the bishopric and could not devote themselves to regular missionary work. It was not until July 25, 1587 that working Dominican missionaries came. Then fifteen [96] under the leadership of Juan de Castro arrived, and established the first Dominican province [97] of the Philippines and China, thus consummating the hope expressed as early as 1579. [98]

In consultation with the other orders it was decided that the Dominicans should be given the ministry of the territories of Pangasinan and Bataan, which had theretofore been spiritually exploited by few priests. Almost immediately, on September 15, 1587, the vicariate of Bataan was founded and settled. In speaking of it, Aduarte stressed the importance of a knowledge of the language of the natives, which there would have been Tagalog, to the success of the mission. Domingo de Nieva, one of the four members of the mission, learned it rapidly and well, and soon began to preach to the Indians in their own tongue. His aptitude for languages and its usefulness to the Dominicans must have been very great, for Aduarte in listing the priests who originally volunteered in Spain makes few comments about individuals, but of Nieva he remarks that he "was afterwards of great importance because of the great ease and skill with which he learned languages, whether Indian or Chinese." [99] Unfortunately Nieva was only a deacon, and so could not hear confession, a fact which was greatly deplored, because during that first year no other priest mastered the language sufficiently well to do it, but in September 1588 he reached the requisite age and was ordained. About that time the friars in Bataan--one had died and another was ailing--were joined by Juan de la Cruz, "who, being young, succeeded very well with the language," [100] and also succeeded in surviving the climate.

Early in 1588 Juan Cobo [101] arrived from Mexico. Shortly thereafter, on June 12, 1588, the Dominican chapter held its first convocation. It elected Juan de Castro the first provincial, adopted the general ordinances [102] already made in Mexico, gave the convent at Manila the title of priory, and designated as parts of the province four vicariates. Of primary importance was the appointment then of Juan Cobo to the mission for the Chinese.

From the very earliest days of the Spanish occupation of Manila, the governors had had trouble with the Chinese and Sangleys. [103] These people had long conducted a profitable trade between China and the Philippines, and many had settled permanently near Manila, while others stayed there regularly between trading voyages. The Chinese merchants were in full control of the shops of the city, and so monopolized retail trade that the early governors legislated [104] against them to give the Spaniards a chance to establish themselves in business. In 1588 there were as many as seven thousand of them in and around Manila.

No one had objected to the Pangasinan and Bataan assignments, but when it was suggested that the Dominicans also assume the responsibility for the ministry over the Chinese and Sangleys in the suburbs of Manila, the Augustinians vehemently resented what they considered an invasion of their prior rights. Aduarte omits any account of a disagreement, merely saying that since the Chinese had had no one to minister to them the Dominicans assumed that responsibility, but in a letter [105] from the Licentiate Gaspar de Ayala to Philip II, dated from Manila, July 15, 1589, full details of the squabble are given. From this source we learn that the Augustinians had a convent in the village of Tondo in the Chinese district. There they had ministered to the natives in their own language, but had rather neglected their Chinese-speaking parishioners. Consequently after the arrival of the Dominicans the Audiencia passed an ordinance requiring that the Bishop appoint ministers of one order to administer to the Chinese in their own language within thirty days. To meet the deadline the Augustinians began to study Chinese at breakneck speed, but when the Bishop came to Tondo to hear one of the friars, who was supposed to know the language, preach in it, there was some trouble as a result of which the Augustinian would not, or indeed could not, preach. Naturally, when it was decided to award the territory to the Dominicans, the Augustinians accused the Bishop of favoritism towards his own order.

The whole situation is best described in the report on the Chinese made by Salazar to the King on June 24, 1590:

"When I arrived in this land, I found that in a village called
Tondo--which is not far from this city, there being a river
between--lived many Sangleys, of whom some were Christians,
but the larger part infidels. In this city were also some
shops kept by Sangleys, who lived here in order to sell the
goods which they kept here year by year. These Sangleys were
scattered among the Spaniards, with no specific place assigned
to them, until Don Gonzalo Ronquillo allotted them a place
to live in, and to be used as a silk-market (which is here
called _Parián_), of four large buildings. Here, many shops
were opened, commerce increased, and more Sangleys came to this
city.... When I came, all the Sangleys were almost forgotten,
and relegated to a corner. No thought was taken for their
conversion, because no one knew their language or undertook
to learn it on account of its great difficulty; and because
the religious who lived here were too busy with the natives of
these islands. Although the Augustinian religious had charge
of the Sangleys of Tondo, they did not minister to or instruct
them in their own language, but in that of the natives or this
land; thus the Sangley Christians living here, were Christians
only in name, knowing no more of Christianity than if they
had never accepted it.... Then I appealed to all religious
orders to appoint some one of their religious to learn the
language and take charge of the Sangleys. Although all of them
showed a desire to do so, and some even began to learn it,
yet no one succeeded; and the Sangleys found themselves with
no one to instruct them and take up their conversion with the
necessary earnestness, until, in the year eighty-seven, God
brought to these islands the religious of St. Dominic." [106]

So we find, as the Dominicans undertook their mission, a large settlement of Chinese, including both a settled and a floating population, concentrated in the Parián, across the Pasig river from the main city of Manila.

The dominating figure of the Chinese mission from the time of his arrival in the Philippines was Juan Cobo. In a letter, written by him from the Parián of Manila, July 13, 1589, probably to ecclesiastical authorities in Mexico, he gives an account of the early days of the mission:

"The Order took a site next to this Parián, since there was
not a single house between Santo Domingo and the Parián. And
because of this opportunity the Order presently charged
itself with the Chinese, both Christians and infidels. And
upon P. Fr. Miguel de Benavides and P. Fr. Juan Maldonado was
imposed the responsibility for the care of the Chinese and for
learning their language. P. Fr. Miguel was less occupied with
other matters than Fr. Juan Maldonado, so that he progressed
in the language enough to begin to catechize in it. This was
the first year the Order was in Manila.

"Presently in the second year when I came, the Order moved
P. Fr. Miguel and myself into another separate house at the
other edge of the Parián. So that there stood between Santo
Domingo and San Gabriel, which is the name of this church
of the Chinese, the whole of the Parián of the Sangleys. And
there a poor little church was built under the protection of
San Gabriel, to whom it fell by lot, and a poor house where
we two lived. We entered into it at the beginning of September
1588. This was the first church for the Chinese built, and we
believe that there is today not another parish church [for
the Chinese] but that.... And P. Fr. Miguel catechized them
and preached to them in their Chinese language, and taught
the doctrine in it. I myself did not yet know the language,
but the Lord has been served, so that in a short time I
progressed in it." [107]

The account of Aduarte is not so accurate in some details, but it supplies others not mentioned by Cobo. The first mission which Benavides and Maldonado (or de San Pedro Martyr as he was later known) built was near the village of Tondo, in a new settlement specially founded for Christian Chinese, called Baybay, and it was named for Our Lady of the Purification. The second mission which was established by Benavides and Cobo was at first a palm-leaf hut. The name of San Gabriel was decided upon by making lots with the names of various saints on them and then drawing. San Gabriel came out three times in a row, and "all were persuaded that the Lord was pleased to have the patronage belong to this holy archangel." Soon, because of the good works of the fathers who established a hospital there for the care of the sick and poor, the demands upon the hut became so great that a larger building was planned. At first it was to have been erected on the site of the hut, but the inhabitants protested that a stone building so near native houses might do them great damage in the event of an earthquake, so the friars went to the other side of the river, and there built a temporary building of wood which was later completed in stone. It was here then that the Doctrina was printed, in the Church of San Gabriel, near the Parián of Manila, at the edge of the Chinese settlement.

Under the care of Benavides and Cobo the mission flourished, and the two fathers became increasingly proficient in the Chinese language. When the provincial Juan de Castro began making preparations for an inspection tour of his Chinese vicariate in 1590, he chose as his companion Miguel de Benavides. The account of the events leading up to this expedition is given in the already quoted letter of Salazar on the Chinese:

"Of the Dominican religious who came to these islands, four
are engaged in ministering to the Sangleys. Two of these
four officiate in the Church of San Gabriel, which, together
with the house where the religious live, stands close to the
Parián. Another church with its house is on the promontory
of Baybay, near Tondo--which a river divides, separating it
from Manila. Two of the four have learned the language of
the Sangleys so well, and one of these two how to write also
(which is the most difficult part of the language), that the
Sangleys wonder at their knowledge.... After due consideration
of the matter, the Dominican fathers and myself decided that
it was necessary to go to China.... Thus we decided upon the
departure, sending at present no more than two religious: Fray
Miguel de Benavides, who was the first to learn the language
of the Sangleys; and Father Juan de Castro, who came as vicar
of the religious and who was made provincial here. We preferred
these two, as one is well acquainted with the language, and the
other is much loved and esteemed by the Sangleys on account of
his venerable gray locks and blessed old age; and we know that
in that land old people are much respected and revered." [108]

They sailed on May 22, 1590, but Juan de Castro before he left appointed Cobo acting superior of the province with full authority during his absence, and in the latter's place as head of the Chinese mission sent Juan de San Pedro Martyr.

There is no doubt but that at this time Benavides and Cobo were the two outstanding Chinese linguists among the Spaniards in the Philippines. To Benavides has been attributed [109] a Chinese dictionary, and Schilling [110] uses the already quoted letter of Cobo to prove that he also wrote a Doctrina in Chinese, but, granting that such works were written by him, there is no evidence that they were written in Chinese characters, and not in Chinese transliterated into roman letters. The available evidence points to the fact that Cobo was the only one who could then write in Chinese characters. Salazar in his above quoted letter had said that "one of these two [have learned] how to write also," and in the same letter he continued, "Fray Juan Cobo, the Dominican religious--who, as I have said before, knows the language of the Sangleys and their writing, and who is most esteemed by them--is sending to Your Majesty a book, one of a number brought to him from China." [111] Further witness to Cobo's amazing knowledge of Chinese writing is given by Aduarte:

"He knew three thousand Chinese characters, each different
from all the rest, for the Chinese have no definite number
of letters nor alphabet.... He translated a number [of
Chinese books]; for like those of Seneca, though they are
the work of heathens, they contain many profound sayings
like ours. He taught astrology to some of them whom he found
capable of learning; and to bring them by all means to their
salvation also taught them some trades that are necessary
among Spaniards, but which, not being used by the Chinese,
they did not know--such as painting images, binding books,
cutting and sewing clothes, and such things--doing all to
win men to God." [112]

Finally, as a more definite proof that Cobo could have been the author of the Chinese Doctrina of 1593, we have the record [113] of a _Catecismo de la Doctrina Cristiana en Lengua China_ written by him, as well as many other works in Chinese.

In May 1590, then, the most accomplished Sinologist yet to work in the Philippines was in charge of the Dominican province. "His first act," wrote Aduarte, "was to strengthen the ministry to the Chinese by appointing to it Father Domingo de Nieva, a priest of great virtue and very able--which was tremendously important there--and one who best mastered that language, as well as that of the Indians in which he had had experience; and he worked in both of them, and wrote much to the great advantage of those who came after him." [114] It is surprising that no previous writer has emphasized the presence of Domingo de Nieva, whose proficiency in Tagalog we have already noted, at San Gabriel during the years when the printing of the Doctrinas must have been planned and executed. His works are cited by Fernández, [115] and after giving a summary of his career, Aduarte added:

"He wrote much in the language of the Indians and other things
in the language of the Chinese for whom he had printed in
their language and characters a memorial upon the Christian
life, with other brief tracts of prayer and meditation, in
preparation for the holy sacraments, of confession and the
sacred communion. He was an enemy of sloth, and so worked
much in Chinese, in which he wrote a practically new grammar
of the Chinese language, a vocabulary, a manual of confession
and many sermons, in order that those who had to learn this
language might find it less difficult." [116]

Medina [117] records these various works as Manila imprints of unknown date, and to this indefinite information about them we can add nothing positive. However, it is apparent that some time before 1606, when Nieva died on his way to Mexico, he had had books printed, and since they were in Chinese they must have been printed from wood-blocks, for at that early date it would have been impossible to have cast the number of characters necessary to print in Chinese with movable type.

With Nieva was Maldonado, or San Pedro Martyr. He had been one of the first associates of Benavides in the first Chinese mission at Baybay, but after the arrival of Cobo he had been sent by order of the first chapter to Pangasinan. When Cobo was appointed acting provincial San Pedro Martyr was again assigned to the Chinese ministry. He had learned Tagalog, and after his return to the Parián "he learned more words of the Chinese language than any other member of the order, though he was not successful with the pronunciation." [118]

On May 31, 1592, the Governor received a letter from the Emperor of Japan demanding that an ambassador be sent to offer him the fealty of the Philippines. Juan Cobo, as the best speaker of Chinese, was chosen to represent the Spaniards, and he left Manila on July 29, 1592. After successfully convincing the Japanese Emperor of the amity of the Spaniards, he left to come back to Manila, but his ship was wrecked in November on the coast of Formosa, and there Cobo was killed by hostile natives. Meanwhile Benavides had gone back to Spain with Bishop Salazar in 1591, and did not return to the Philippines until after his appointment as Bishop of Nueva Segovia in 1595.

That left as the only two remaining experts in the Chinese language, Domingo de Nieva and Juan de San Pedro Martyr, both of whom were at San Gabriel in 1592. _Moreover, both of them knew Chinese and Tagalog._ A text in Tagalog was available, based on the Talavera-Plasencia-Oliver model, which had circulated freely, and this, we believe, was further edited--hence the "corrected by the religious of the orders"--by these two Dominicans. In their editorial work they may have been helped by Juan de la Cruz, who, we have noted, was sent to Bataan in 1588, there learned Tagalog, and "succeeded so perfectly with it that Father Fr. Francisco San Joseph, who was afterwards the best linguist there, profited by the papers and labors of P. Fr. Juan de la Cruz." [119] Juan de Oliver, the pioneer Franciscan Tagalist was still living and available for consultation, and the polylingual Jesuit, Francisco Almerique, also was in Manila at the time. A Chinese text had been written by Juan Cobo, and both Nieva and San Pedro Martyr were capable of preparing this for publication, again possibly aided by Almerique, and also Diego Muñoz, if as an Augustinian he had been willing to cooperate with the Dominicans. Nothing remained to be done but have the blocks cut and the impressions pulled.

THE PRINTING OF THE BOOKS

The stage was set for the production of the Doctrinas. That there were Chinese xylographic models upon which the books could be based is evidenced by the account of Mendoza of the considerable number of Chinese books brought to Manila by Martin de Rada as early as 1575. A more likely model was a bilingual text in Spanish and Chinese which Cobo describes in his letter of July 13, 1589, where speaking of the Jesuits in China he says:

"Moreover the Father of the Company who was in China wrote and
printed in Chinese letters a whole book of the unity of God,
the creation of the world, and the commandments explained;
and in this book has gotten as far as the incarnation of
the Son of God. Concerning this I am not speaking of things
heard, for I have it, and am thus certain of it, as of all
the things that happened. How far I have progressed with the
Chinese letters I shall say later. This book was printed in
China in 1584. It circulates freely in China whence we have
our copy, and because of the writing, contrary to what others
have misleadingly said about the Chinese, they have done him
no ill: from which it may be inferred that the lion is not
so wild as they paint him." [120]

There is no direct evidence to support our belief that it was during the brief period after Castro returned, probably late in 1590, and relieved Cobo of his executive responsibilities, and June 1592 when he left for Japan, that Cobo began intensive plans for the production of bilingual texts. His recorded interest in such books, his influence with the Chinese, his energy and his own linguistic aptitude would naturally have stimulated him to undertake the task. Whether he actually began work on the blocks from which the books were printed, or merely suggested the feasibility of the idea, we do not know, but we feel sure that Juan Cobo was the father of the production of books in the Philippines.

There is no need here to go into the history of printing in China; the method used there and its antiquity have been fully described by others. [121] That there were Chinese in Manila who understood this age-old process would seem obvious from the reports of skilled craftsmen whose presence was noted by all the writers of the period. We have already quoted a reference to Juan Cobo's teaching them European trades, and Salazar in his already cited letter speaks of them further:

"They are so skillful and clever, that, as soon as they see
any object made by a Spanish workman, they reproduce it with
exactness. What arouses my wonder most is, that when I arrived
no Sangley knew how to paint anything; but now they have
so perfected themselves in this art that they have produced
marvelous works with both the brush and the chisel.... What has
pleased all of us here has been the arrival of a bookbinder
from Mexico. He brought books with him, set up a bindery,
and hired a Sangley who had offered his services to him. The
Sangley secretly, and without his master noticing it, watched
how the latter bound books, and lo, in less than [lacuna in
MS.] he left the house, saying that he wished to serve him
no longer, and set up a similar shop." [122]

To turn over a manuscript copy of a book to a Chinaman who had already some familiarity with the production of books in China, or who with a given text could carve the blocks according to tradition, was then not a matter of great difficulty. There were Chinese books which showed what the result would be; there were Spanish books, definitely some from Mexico, which provided samples of European characters and format.

Who cut the blocks--that is exactly what Chinaman--we do not know, nor do we know who handled the presswork, but it is logical to assume that the whole process took place under the supervision of the fathers of San Gabriel, Juan Cobo if work had begun before 1592, and certainly Nieva and San Pedro Martyr. One further aide may have been the lay brother, Pedro Rodriguez, who had been sent to San Gabriel with Nieva, and who was a handyman or skilled mechanic, for Aduarte credits him with rebuilding and restoring the hospital.

In speaking of the book printed for Blancas de San José, Aduarte said that the printing had been done by "a Chinaman, a good Christian," [123] but in this particular account he does not give the Chinaman's name. Yet, where he describes the founding of a second church of San Gabriel in Binondo, sometime after March 28, 1594 [124] and before June 15, 1596 when it was admitted to the chapter, he tells in some detail of printing done by Juan de Vera. [125]

"There have been in this town [Binondo, then called Minondoc]
many Chinese of very exemplary lives. Juan de Vera was
not only a very devout man, and one much given to prayer,
but a man who caused all his household to be the same. He
always heard mass, and was very regular in his attendance at
church. He adorned the church most handsomely with hangings
and paintings, because he understood this art. He also,
thinking only of the great results to be attained by means
of holy and devout books, gave himself to the great labor
necessary to establish printing in this country, where there
was no journeyman who could show him the way, or give him an
account of the manner of printing in Europe, which is very
different from the manner of printing followed in his own
country of China. The Lord aided his pious intentions, and
he gave to this undertaking not only continued and excessive
labor, but all the forces of his mind, which were great. In
spite of the difficulties, he attained that which he desired,
and was the first printer in these islands; and this not from
avarice--for he gained much more in his business as a merchant,
and readily gave up his profit--but merely to do service to
the Lord and this good to the souls of the natives." [126]

It is interesting to note that this narrative, which is in substance similar to that about the books of Blancas de San José, nowhere mentions the name of the priest in connection with Vera. It is probable that Juan de Vera was, as Retana believed, the first typographer, and it may be that he also printed the Doctrinas of 1593. It is impossible to say with certainty, but it is not too fanciful to suppose that Juan de Vera tried xylographic printing under the supervision of Nieva and San Pedro Martyr, and after some experimenting achieved typography in the time of Blancas de San José.

Since we have here dealt with a volume printed entirely from wood-blocks it does not seem necessary to discuss in detail the subsequent typographical books. However, just as this goes to press, a copy of the _Ordinationes Generales prouintiae Sanctissimi Rosarij Philippinarum_, [127] printed at Binondo by Juan de Vera in 1604, has been discovered, and also presented by Mr. Rosenwald to the Library of Congress. This is the volume described by Remesal [128] as being printed "in as fine characters and as correctly as if in Rome or Lyon." No copy of the book had been described since his day, although Medina [129] and Retana [130] both listed it from references which probably derived from Remesal. Its discovery--almost unbelievable coming so close on the heels of that of the Doctrina--helps to close the gap between the latter and the two Bataan imprints [131] of 1610, the _Arte y Reglas de la Lengva Tagala_ and the _Librong Pagaaralan nang manga Tagalog nang uicang Castilla_.

The full story of the early typographical products of the Philippines must wait upon another occasion, for the questions posed by the scanty records and the handful of surviving books are extremely knotty. Where did the type come from? Medina suggested it was imported from Macao; Retana believed it to have been cut in the Philippines. Fernández said that the first works of Blancas de San José were printed at Bataan and the two 1610 books have that place of printing, yet in 1604 the _Ordinationes_ issued from Binondo. Remesal wrote that this book was printed by Francisco de Vera, and the book itself bears the name of Juan. Indeed, the history of the early typographers and the output of their presses, as it has so far been written, presents many problems, but they are problems which we feel are outside the scope of this study.

To summarize what we have learned of the earliest printing in the Philippines: we have the possibility, but not a likely one, that an _Arte_ by Juan de Quiñones was printed xylographically in 1581; we know that in the first half of the year 1593 two Doctrinas were printed xylographically--although we have no way of telling which came first--one in Tagalog from the Talavera-Plasencia-Oliver text, and one in Chinese written by Juan Cobo, both edited and printed under the supervision of Domingo de Nieva and Juan de San Pedro Martyr; we surmise that between 1593 and 1602 other works were also printed xylographically, such as the small tracts of Juan de Villanueva and some of the books of Blancas de San José, Nieva and others; and in 1602 was printed by Juan de Vera, in all likelihood from movable type, the book of Our Lady of the Rosary by Blancas de San José. The known facts are not many, and we can only hope that time and further research will discover new ones to make the history of the earliest Philippine imprints more complete and more satisfactory.

Philadelphia, January 20, 1947 EDWIN WOLF 2ND.

The most frequently cited authorities will be referred to as follows:

ADUARTE--Diego Aduarte, _Historia de la Provincia del Sancto Rosario de la Orden de Predicadores en Philippinas, Iapon, y China_, Manila, 1640.

B. & R.--Emma Helen Blair and James Alexander Robertson, _The Philippine Islands 1493-1898_, Cleveland, 1903-09.

CANO--Gaspar Cano, _Catalogo de los Religiosos de N.P.S. Agustin de la Provincia del Smo. Nombre de Jesus de Filipinas_, Manila, 1864.

CHIRINO--Pedro Chirino, _Relacion de las Islas Filipinas_, Rome, 1604.

COLÍN--Francisco Colín, _Labor Evangélica, Ministerios Apostólicos de los Obreros de la Compañia de Jesus, Fundacion, y Progressos de su Provincia en las Islas Filipinas_ (ed. Pablo Pastells), Barcelona, 1900-02.

HUERTA--Felix de Huerta, _Estado Geográfico, Topográfico, Estadístico, Histórico-Religioso, de la Santa y Apostólica Provincia de S. Gregorio Magno ... de N.S.P.S. Francisco, en las Islas Filipinas_, Binondo, 1865.

MEDINA--José Toribio Medina, _La Imprenta en Manila desde sus Orígenes hasta 1810_, Santiago de Chile, 1896.

MEDINA (Juan de)--Juan de Medina, _Historia de los Sucesos de la Orden de N. Gran P. S. Agustin de estas Islas Filipinas_, Manila, 1893.

P. & G.--Angel Pérez and Cecilio Güemes, _Adiciones y Continuacion de "La Imprenta en Manila" de D.J.T. Medina_, Manila, 1904.

PÉREZ--Elviro Jorde Pérez, _Catálogo Biobibliográfico de los Religiosos Agustinos de la Provincia del Santísimo Nombre de Jesús de las Islas Filipinas_, Manila, 1901.

REMESAL--Antonio de Remesal, _Historia de la provincia de S. Vincente de Chyapa y Guatemala de la orden de nro glorioso padre Sancto Domingo_, Madrid, 1619.

RETANA--Wenceslao Emilio Retana y Gamboa, _La Imprenta en Filipinas Adiciones y Observaciones á La Imprenta en Manila de D.J.T. Medina_, Madrid, 1897.

SAN AGUSTIN--Gaspar de San Agustin, _Conquistas de las Islas Philipinas_, Madrid, 1698.

SAN ANTONIO--Juan Francisco de San Antonio, _Chronicas de la Apostolica Provincia de S. Gregorio de Religiosos Descalzos de N.S.P. Francisco en las Islas Philipinas_, Manila, 1738-44.

SANTA INÉS--Francisco de Santa Inés, _Crónica de la Provincia de San Gregorio Magno de Religiosos descalzos de N.P. San Francisco en islas Filipinas, China, Japón, etc. escrita ... en 1676_, Manila, 1892.

SANTIAGO VELA--Gregorio de Santiago Vela, _Ensayo de una Biblioteca Ibero-Americana de la Orden de San Agustin_, Madrid, 1913-31.

SCHILLING--Dorotheus Schilling, _Vorgeschichte des Typendrucks auf den Philippen_, Gutenberg-Jahrbuch, 1937, pp. 202-16.

TORRES--Pedro Torres y Lanza, _Catálogo de los documentos relativos á las Islas Filipinas existentes en el Archivo de Indias de Seville_, Barcelona, 1925-34.

VIÑAZA--Cipriano Muñoz y Manzano, Conde de la Viñaza, _Escritos de los Portugueses y Castellanos referentes á las lenguas de China y el Japón_, Lisbon, 1892.

This facsimile of the Doctrina Christiana printed at Manila in 1593 was printed by Edward Stern & Company, Inc., Philadelphia, in an edition of twenty-five hundred copies, and published by the Library of Congress, February 1947. The type used on the title page and for headings is Forum, and that in the text Italian Old Style.

Doctrina Christiana, en
lengua española ytagala, cor
regida por los Religiosos de las
ordenes Impressa con licencia, en
S. gabriel. de la orden de. S. Domigo
En Manila. 1593

Tassada endos rreales
Juandecuellaz

A. a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. ij. l. m. n. o.
p. q. rr. s. s. t. u. v. x. y. z. z.
vocales. a. e. i. o. u.
Ba. be. bi bo bu. Ça çe çi. ço. çu.
Da. de di do du. Fa fe fi fo fu.
Gua gue gui guo gu. Ha he hi.
ho hu. Ja je ji jo ju. La le li.
lo lu. Ma me mi mo mu. Na.
ne ni no nu. Pa pe pi po pu.
Qua que qui quo qu. Ra re.
ri ro ru. Sa se si so su. Ta te ti.
to tu. Ua ue ui uo uu. Xa xe xi.
xo xu. Ya ye yi yo yu. Za ze zi.
zo zu.

Ban ben bin bon bun. Çan çen
çin çon çun. Dan den din don.
dun. Fan fen fin fon fun. Guan
guen guin guon gun. Han hen
hin hon hun. Jan jen jin jon jun.
Lan len lin lon lun. Man me
min mon mun. Nan nen nin non.
nun. Pan pen pin pon pun. Quã
quen quin quon qun. Ran ren
rin ron run. San sen sin son su.
Tan ten tin ton tun. Uan uen.
uin uon. uun. Xan xen xin xon
xun. Yan yen yin yon yun. Zan
zen zin zon zun.

Bã be bi bõ bu. Çã çe çi çõ çu.
Dã de di dõ du. Fã fe fi fõ fu.
Guan guen guin guon gun. Hã.
he hi hõ hu. Jã je ji jõ ju. Lã le.
li lõ lu. Mã me mi mõ mu. Nã.
ne ni nõ nu. Pã pe pi põ pu. Quã.
que qui quõ qu. Rã re ri rõ ru. Sã.
se si sõ su. Xã xe xi xõ xu. Yã ye.
yi yõ yu. Zã ze zi zõ zu.

¶El abc. en legua tagala.

A O E HA PA KA SA LA TA NA BA MA GA DA YA
NGA WA.

¶El paternoster.
PADRE nuestro que estas en
Los cielos, sanctificado sea el tu
nombre. Venga anos el tu reyno.
hagase tu voluntad, asi en la tierra
como en el cielo. El pan nuestro
de cada dia da noslo oy. Y per
donanos nuestras duedas. asi como
nosotros las perdonamos á
nuestros deudores. Y no nos de
xes caer en la tentacion. Das
libranos de mal. Amen.

Ang ama namin.
Ama namin nasa langit ca
y pasamba mo ang ngalã
mo, mouisa amin ang pagcahari
mo. Y pasonor mo ang loob mo.
dito sa lupa parã sa langit, bigyã
mo cami ngaion nang amin caca
nin. para nang sa araoarao. at pa
caualin mo ang amin casalanã,
yaing uinaualan bahala nami
sa loob ang casalanan nang
nagcasasala sa amin. Houag
mo caming ceuan nang di cami
matalo nang tocso. Datapo
uat ya dia mo cami sa dilan ma
sama. Amen Jesus.

A MA NA MI. NA SA LA NGI KA. I PA SA BA
MO. A NGA LA MO. MO WI SA A MI. A
PE KA HA RI MO. I PE SO NO MO. A LO O MO.
DI TO SA LU PA. PA RA SA LA NGI. BI YA MO KA MI.
NGA O. NA A MI KA KA NI. PA RA NA SA A RA A RA.
A PA KA WA I MO. A A MI KA SA LA NA. YA YA
WI NA WA LA BA HA LA NA MI SA LO O. A KA SA LA NA.
NA NA KA SA SA LA SA A MI. HO WA MO KA MI E WA. NA
DI KA MI MA TA LO NA TO SO. DA TA PO WA. I A
YA MO KA MI. SA DI LA MA SA MA. A ME SE SO.

El aue Maria.
Dios te salue Maria. lle
na degracia. El senõr es
contigo. bendita tu, estretodas
las mugeres. Y bendito el fructo.
deus vientre Jesus. Santa Ma
ria uirgen y madre de Dios rue
ga por nosotros peccadores. aora
y en la ora denuestra muerte
amen. Jesus.

Ang aba guinoo Ma
Aba guinoo Maria ma
toua cana, napopono ca
nang graçia. ang panginoon di
os, ce, nasayyo. Bucor cang pinag
pala sa babaying lahat. Pinag
pala naman ang yyong anac si
Jesus. Santa Maria yna nang,
dios, ypanalangin mo camima
çasalanan ngaion at cun mama
tai cami. Amen Jesus.

A BA GI NO O MA RI YA. MA TO WA KA NA. NA PO
PO NO KA NA GA RA SI YA. A PA NGI NO O DI
YO NA SA I YO. BO KO KA PI NA PA LA. SA BA BA YI.
LA HA. PI NA PA LA NA MA. A I YO A NA SE SE SO.
SA TA MA RI YA. I NA NA DI YO. I PA NA LA NGI MO
KA MI. MA KA SA LA NA. NGA O. A KU MA MA TA KA MI.
A ME SE SO.

El credo en Romãce

Creo en dios padre, todo
poderoso. Criador del çie
lo y dela tierra. Y en Jesuchristo,
su unico hijo senõr nro. Que fue
conçebido del elpiritusancto. Y
Y naçio de la uirgen sancta Ma
ria. Padesçio so el poder depõcio
Pilato. Fue crucificado, muer
to, y sepultado, descendio alos
infiernos, y alterçero dia resuscito,
dentre, los muertos. Subio a los cie
los, y esta asentado ala diestra de
dios padre todo poderoso, dende
uerna ajuzgar alos uiuos y alos
muertos. Creo en el espiritusãto.
y la sancta yglesia catholica, la
comuniõ de los sanctos. La remi
sion de los peccados. La refuree
çion de la carne. La uida perdu
rable, que nunca seacaba. Ame.

Ang sumãgpalataia

Sumasangpalataia aco sa di
os ama, macagagaua sa lahat,
mangagaua nang langit at nang lu,
pa. Sumasangpalataia aco naman
cai Jesuchristo yysang anac nang
dios panginoon natin lahat. Nag
catauan tauo siya salang nang es
piritusancto. Ypinanganac ni Sã
cta Maria uirgen totoo. Nasactã
otos ni poncio Pilato. Ypinaco
sa cruz. Namatai, ybinaon, nana
og sa manga infierno, nang ma
ycatlong arao nabuhai na naguli.
naquiat sa langit nalolocloc sa ca
nan nang dios ama, macagagaua
sa lahat. Sa caparito hohocom sa
nabubuhai, at sa nanga matai na
tauo. Sumasangpalataia aco na
man sa dios Espiritusancto. At
mei sancta yglesia catholica, at
mei casamahan ang manga sãtos.
At mei ycauauala nang casala
nan. At mabubuhai na maguli
ang na nga matai na tauo. At
mei buhai na di mauala mag pa
rating saan. Amen Jesus.

SU MA SA PA LA TA YA A AKO. SA DI YO A MA.
MA KA GA GA WA SA LA HA. MA GA GA WA NA LA NGI.
A NA LU PA. SU MA SA PA LA TA YA A KO NA MA. KA SE SO.
KI RI TO. I I SA A NA NA DI YO. PA NGI NO O NA TI
LA HA. NA KA TA A TA WO SI YA. LA LA NA E PI RI TO SA TO.
I PI NA NGA NA. NI SA TA MA RI YA. BI SE TO TO O. NA SA
TA O TO NI PO SI YO. PE LA TO. I PI NA KO SA KU RU.
NA MA TA. I BI NA O. NA NA O SA MA NGA I PE NO. NA MA
I KA LO A RA. NA BU HA NA NA O LI. NA YA SA LA NGI.
NA LO LO LO SA KA NA. NA DI YO A MA. MA KA GA GA WA SA
LA HA. SA KA PA RI TO. HO HO KO. SA NA BU BU HA. A SA
NA NGA MA TA NA TA WO. SU MA SA PA LA TA YA A KO NA
MA SA DI YO E PI RI TU SA TO. A MA SA TA I LE SI
YA KA TO LI KA. A MA KA SA MA HA. A MA NGA SA TO.
A MA I KA WA WA LA. NA KA SA LA NA. A MA BU BU HA
NA MA U LI. A NA NGA MA TA NA TA WO. A MA BU HA
NA DI NA MA WA LA. MA PA RA TI SA A. A ME SE SO.

La salue Regina

Salue te dios reyna y ma
dre demisericordia, uida
dulçura y esperança nra. Dios
te salue atillamamos los deste
ruados hijos de Gua. Atisuspi
ramos gimiendo yllorando en
aqueste ualle de lagrimas. Ga
pues abogada nuestra, buelue
anostros ellos tus misericor
diosos ojos. Y despues dea.
queste destierro muestra nos aje
sus bendito fruto de tu ueintre. O
clemente. O piadosa. O dulce uir
gen Maria. Ruega por nos sãta
madre de dios quescamos dig
nos de las promisiones de Chris
to Amen.

Ang aba po.

Aba po sancta. Mariang ha
ri yna nang aua. Ycao ang
yquinabubuhai namin, at ang pi
nananaligan. Aba ycao nga ang
tinatauag namin pinapapanao
na tauo anac ni Gua. ycao din
ang ypinagbubuntun hininga na
min nang amin pagtangis dini sa
lupã baian cahapishapis. Ay
aba pintacasi namin, ylingo mo
sa amin ang mata mong maauai.
At saca cun matapos yering pag
papanao sa amin. ypaquita mo
sa amin ang yyong anac si Jesus.
Ay Sancta Maria maauain, ma
alam, uirgen naman totoo, yna
nang Dios. Cami ypanalangin
mo, nang mapatoloi sa amin
ang panga ngaco ni Jesuchristo.
Amen Jesus.

A BA PO SA TA MA RI YA HA RI. I NA NA A WA
I KA A I KI NA BU BU HA NA MI. A A PI
NA NA NA LI GA. A BA I KA NGA. A TI NA TA WA NA MI. PI
NA PA PA NA NA TA WO. A NA NI E BA. I KA DI. A I PI
NA BU BU TU HI NI NGA NA MI. NA A MI PA TA NGI. DI NI
SA LU PA. BA YA KA HA PI HA PI. A A BA. PI TA KA
SI NA MI. I LI NGO MO SA A MI. A MA TA MO MA A WA
I. SA KA KU MA TA PO. YA RI PA PA PA NA SA A MI.
I PA KI TA MO SA A MI. A I YO A NA SI SE SO. SA TA
MA RI YA. MA A WA I. MA A LA. BI SE NA MA TO TO O.
I NA NA DI YO. KA MI I PA NA LA NGI MO. NA MA PA
TO LO SA A MI. A PA NGA NGA KO. NI SE SO KI TO.
A ME SE SO.

Los Articulos dela fee,
son catorze. Los siete pertenesçe
ata diuinidad, ylos otros siete
a la humanidad denrõ senõr Je
suchristo Dios y hombre uerda
dero. ylos siete que pertenesçen
ala diuinidad son estos.

El primero, creer en un so
lo dios todo poderoso.
El segundo creer que es dios pa
dre. El tercero, creer qes dios hi
jo. El quarto, creer que es Dios
Espiritusancto. El quinto, creer
que es criador. El sexto, creer
qes satuador. El septimo, creer
que es glorificador.

Los que pertenesçenatasa
ta humanidad. Son estos.

El Primero, creer que nues
tro senõr Jesuchristo, en quãto
hombre fue conçebido del sptri
tu sancto. El segundo, que nasçro
del uientre uirginal de la uirgen
sancta Maria, siendo ella uirge
antes del parto, yenelparto, y des
pues del parto. El terçero, que
rescibio muerte y pasion porsal
uar anosotros peccadores. El quar
to: que desçendio alos infiernos,
ysacolas animas de los sanctos
padres que asta estauan esperan
do su sancto aduenimiento. El
quinto, que resuscito alterçero
dia. El sexto, creer que subio
alos cielos, yseassento ala dies
tra de dios padre todo poderoso.
El septimo, que uerna ajuzgar
alos uinos y alos muertos. Con
uiene asaber, alos buenos paradar
la gloria, porq guardaron susmã
damientos: yalos malos pena
percurable porque nolos guar
daron. Amen:

Ang pono nang sinasangpa
lataianan nang manga chris
tiano labin apat na bagai. Ang
pitong naona ang sabi ang Dios
ang pagcadios niya. Ang pitõg
naholi ang sabi,a, ang atin pangi
noon Jesuchristo ang pagcatauo
niya. Ang pitong naona ang sa
bi, ce ang Dios ang pagca dios ni
ya ay yceri.

Ang naona sumangpalataia
sa ysang Dios totoo. Ang ycalua,
sumangpalataia, ycering dios si
yang ama. Ang ycatlo, Sumãpalataia.
ycering dios siyang anac. Ang
ycapat sumangpalataia, ycering
dios siyang spiritusancto. Ang
ycalima, sumangpalataia, ycerig
dios siyang mangagaua nang la
hat. Ang ycanim, sumangpala
taia ycering dios siyang naca
uauala nang casalanan. Ang
ycapito sumangpalataia ycering
dios siyang nacalulualhati.

Ang pitong naholi ang
sabi ce ang ating pãgninoon
Jesuchristo ang pagcatauo ni
ya ay yari.

Ang naona sumangpala
taia ang atin pagninoon
Jesuchristo, ypinaglehe ni San
cta Maria lalang nang spiritu
sancto. Ang ycalua sumang
palataia, ang atin pagninoon
Jesuchristo y pinanganac ni
sancta maria uirgen totoo, nã
dipa nanganac, nang macapa
nganac na uirgen din totoo.
Ang ycatlo sumangpalataia,
ang atin panginoon Jesuchris
to nasactan, ypinaco sa cruz.
namatai sacop nang atin casa
lanan. Ang ycapat sumang
palataia, ang atin panginoon Je
suchristo nanaog sa manga in
fierno, at hinango doon ang ca
loloua nang manga sanctos nag
hihintai nang pagdating niya.
Ang ycalima sumangpalataia
ang atin panginoon Jesuchristo,
nang magycatlong arao nabu
hai nanaguli. Ang ycanim su
mangpalataia ang atin pangino
on Jesuchristo nacyat sa langit
nalolocloc sa canan nang dios
ama macagagaua sa lahat. Ang
ycapito sumangpalataia ang a
tin panginoon Jesuchristo saca
parito hohocom sa nabubuhai at
sa nangamatai na tauo. Ang ba
nal na tauo gagantihin niya nãg
caloualhatian nang langit, ang
nacasonor silla nang caniyang
otos. Ang di banal pacasasamin
sa infierno ang di silla sumonor
nang otos niya. Ame. Jesus.

A PO NO NA SI NA SA PA LA TA YA NA. NA
MA NGA KI NI TI YA NO. LA BI A PA NA
BA GA. A PI TO NA O NA. A SA BI I A DI YO. A
PA KA DI YO NI YA. A PI TO NA HO LI. A SA BI I.
A A TI PA NGI NO O SE SO KI TO. A PA KA TA WO NI YA.
A PI TA NA O NA. A SA BI A DI YO. A PA KA DI YO
NI YA. A PA DI.