Chapter IV: Part 4

The name of this celebrated physician was Francisco, and not Juan, as
Cervantes styles him, apparently by mistake. Villalobos was a native
of Toledo, and one of the most distinguished men of his age. He was a
learned and skilful physician, a profound philosopher, and an elegant
poet. He was physician to King Ferdinand the Catholic, and afterwards
to the Emperor Charles V., in whose palace he resided until the death
of the Empress Isabel, in the year 1539. The cause of the empress’s
death is, by some authorities, alleged to have been a malignant
fever, whilst others state that she died in childbirth. But, be
that as it may, the event was a source of deep grief to Villalobos,
who reproached himself for not having succeeded in saving her life.
Having become very dejected in spirits, he solicited and obtained the
emperor’s permission to remove from court.

In his retirement Villalobos employed himself in writing several
works on medical and philosophic subjects. He conceived that
the services he had rendered to the Imperial family, were but
inadequately requited, and on this subject he gave vent to his
dissatisfaction both in verse and prose. In one of his writings he
makes the following reflections in allusion to the neglect with
which he felt himself treated: “Having served the court till the
age of seventy, I may say that my period of service has extended to
my death; for my remaining span of existence can scarcely be called
life, being merely the endurance of the pains and miseries of old
age. I have studied and exerted my faculties, not to enable poor
labourers to wear old men’s shoes, but to secure the blessings of
health to the greatest and best princes in the world. And to this
object I directed all my thoughts and efforts, often passing anxious
nights without sleep, and many times only resting my poor bones on
the floor. Their Majesties though knowing these facts which they
witnessed with their own eyes, neither afforded me the opportunity
of making my fortune nor of securing a subsistence for my son, which
might easily have been done. This neglect must be attributed to one
or two causes, or to both those causes conjointly. Either I have not
merited the reward to which I imagine myself entitled, or those by
whose advice and information their Majesties were guided, forgot me,
remembering others more near to them but whom perchance I preceded
both in priority of service as well as of age.”

Villalobos was the author of some notes and commentaries on _Pliny’s
Natural History_, which were published, but many other works which he
wrote in Latin were never submitted to the press. In noticing these
works, he himself says:--“Spanish printers will not print Latin books
unless the author himself defrays the expense from his own pocket.
And as I am not a bookseller, I hold it to be a hardship to study
and labour in the production of the work, and then to spend my money
for the advantage of those who after all will shew me but little
gratitude.”

In addition to his learning and scientific attainments, Villalobos
was distinguished for his humorous and satirical disposition, a
quality which is conspicuous in his spirited translation of the
_Amphytrion_ of Plautus. Moratin observes, that no other translator
has so happily transferred to the Spanish language the jests and
humorous sallies of the great comic dramatist of antiquity.

(C).

“Or a Nicolao Monardes of the present time.” (Page 103).

Monardes was a native of Seville, and an eminent physician in the
time of Cervantes. He was the author of several works on medicine and
natural history which enjoy well deserved celebrity. The following
are the titles of a few of his most celebrated writings:--

“_Primera Segunda i tercera partes de la Historia Medicinal de las
cosas que se traen de nuestras Indias Occidentales que serven en
Medicina._” (First, second, and third parts of the medical history of
those objects, the growth of our Western Indies, which are made use
of in medicine.)

“_Tratado de la piedra Bezoar, i de la yerba escuerzonera._”
(Treatise on bezoar stone, and on the poison of the toad.)

“_Diálogo de las grandezas del hierro, i de sus virtudes
medicinales._” (Treatise on the importance of iron and its medicinal
properties.)

“_Tratado de la nieve, i del beber frío._” (Treatise on snow and on
cold drinks.)

The _Historia Medicinal_, rendered Monardes celebrated throughout
Europe. It was translated into Italian by Anibal Briganti di Chieti,
an eminent physician of the time, and the translation was published
in Venice, in the year 1576. Carlo Clusio transferred it to the Latin
tongue, and published it at Antwerp, in 1574. An English translation
by Mr. Frampton, appeared in 1577, and a French one by Antonio
Collin, in 1619.

In the preface Monardes makes the following observations: “From
the new regions, new kingdoms, and new provinces, which Spaniards
have discovered, they have brought home with them new medicines and
new remedies for the cure of many diseases, which if neglected,
would prove incurable. These things, though some few persons are
acquainted with them, are not known to every one; for which reason I
propose to treat in this work of those substances, the products of
our Western Indies,[66] which are employed in medicine as remedies
against the diseases and infirmities to which the human frame is
liable. By this means I may render no small service and benefit to
my contemporaries, as well as to future generations, and my labours
will serve as a groundwork for those who may follow me, and who may
add their increased knowledge and experience to mine. This city of
Seville, being the port for vessels coming from the Western Indies,
the products of those regions are brought hither before they reach
other parts of Spain, so that we obtain here the earliest knowledge
and experience of them. In addition to my own experience in the use
of those articles in the forty years during which I have practised
medicine in this city, I have carefully collected information from
those who have brought them to Spain, and I have with great assiduity
and attention observed their effects on many and various individuals.”

Though the works whose titles are quoted, are the most celebrated
writings of Monardes, yet he is the author of many others on the
subject of Medicine. In the _Biblioteca Hispana_, the learned Nicolás
Antonio, gives a list of his writings.

In the Museum of Gonzalo Argote de Molina, at Seville, there is a
portrait of Monardes; and under a drawing of an Armadillo, in the
same collection, Monardes himself wrote some lines of which the
following is a translation:--“This drawing is from an animal in the
Museum of Gonzalo de Molina of this city; which museum contains a
great number of books on various subjects, together with many kinds
of animals, birds, &c., from Eastern and Western India and other
parts of the world: also a great quantity of coins, antique stones,
and different kinds of arms which have been collected together by
dint of much curious research and liberal expense.”

The Museum of Argote de Molina, at Seville, was one of the first
institutions of its kind in Europe, and at that time probably the
only one existing in Spain.

(D).

“Now, had it so happened that instead of going from Madrid to Toledo,
we had been journeying from Toledo to Madrid, I could have shewn you
two excellent books, which have been sent to me as a present from
Señor Arcediano. These books are so full of knowledge, and they treat
of so many things that are or may be in this world, &c. (Page 109).”

Don Adolpho de Castro supposes that allusion is here made to two
curious old books, respecting which he furnishes the following
bibliographical particulars:--

One of the first books printed in Spain was entitled _De
Proprietatibus Rerum_, originally written in Latin, by Father Vicente
de Burgos, and afterwards translated into Castilian by the author,
under the title of _Libro de las Propiedades de las Cosas_. It is
described as a “Natural History, which treats of the properties
of all things--a Catholic and very useful work, containing much
theological doctrine in reference to God; and much moral and natural
philosophy in reference to his creatures--accompanied by great
secrets relating to astrology, medicine, surgery, geometry, music and
cosmography, together with other sciences, the whole in twenty books,
as here subjoined:--

“I. Of God and his essence. II. Of the angels, good and bad. III. Of
the soul. IV. Of matter and element. V. Of man and the parts of the
human body. VI. Of ages. VII. Of diseases. VIII. Of heaven, earth,
and the planets. IX. Of time. X. Of substance and form. XI. Of the
air and its impressions. XII. Of birds. XIII. Of water. XIV. Of
the earth and mountains. XV. Of the divisions of the world. XVI.
Of stones and metals. XVII. Of trees, plants, and herbs. XVIII.
Of minerals. XIX. Of colours, smells and tastes. XX. Of numbers,
measures, weights, instruments and sounds.”

At the end of the work is the following note:--

“Printed in the noble city of Toulouse, by Henry Meyer of Germany,
for the honour of God, and of our Lord, and for the benefit of many
ignorant persons. Finished in the year of our Lord, one thousand four
hundred and forty-nine, and the nineteenth day of September.”

This curious Encyclopædia was reprinted some years afterwards. At the
end of this second edition are the following words:--

“Thus ends the Catholic and very useful book of the properties of
all things, translated from the Latin into the Romance (Castilian)
language, by the Reverend Father Vicente de Burgos, and now newly
edited and reprinted in the city of Toledo, by Gaspar de Ávila,
printer of books, at the cost and expense of the most noble Juan
Tomás Fabio Milanés, of Segovia. Finished on the tenth day of July,
in the year one thousand, five hundred and twenty.”

Hence there is no doubt that the _Libro de las Propiedades de las
Cosas_ was originally written in the Latin tongue, by Father Vicente
de Burgos, and after being translated into Castilian by the author,
it was a second time submitted to the press, with the view of
rendering it more accessible to the mass of readers.

The dates of the Latin edition, and of the first Castilian edition,
were unknown to Nicolás Antonio, who was also ignorant of the name of
the author of this work, to which, in the _Biblioteca Hispana_, he
affixes the word _Anonimus_.

Indeed, some of the most learned Spanish Bibliographers appear to
have known very little about it. It is mentioned by the celebrated
Ambrosio Morales, in his narrative of the journey he undertook in
the year 1572, by command of King Don Philip II.,[67] when speaking
of the MS. works he examined in the monastery of the Order of San
Geronimo de la Mejorada, near Olmeda, says:--“_De proprietatibus
rerum_ in Latin, and the same in Castilian; very ancient and rare
books.”

Father Vicente de Burgos concludes his work with the following
observations:--

“I here protest, as I affirmed at the beginning of this work, that
the facts mentioned and contained in it, are not inferred by me,
but that I have cited the sayings and opinions of learned saints
and philosophers, who are allowed to have been profoundly versed in
the subjects of which they treat. I have done this, to the end that
persons who, by reason of their indigence, cannot obtain sight of
many books, may be made acquainted with the properties of things
mentioned in Holy Writ, by having them all brought together in this
one book.”

Don Tomás Fabio Milanés, at whose cost the _Libro de las propiedades
de las cosas_ was printed in 1529, in his dedication to Don Diego de
Ribera, Bishop of Segovia, says:--

“No little honour is due to the author by whom this book was
compiled, for though it does not contain much new information
proceeding from himself; yet he has, on every subject, given the best
intelligence supplied by ancient authors, and he has served up the
whole so free from errors and prejudiced opinions, that it is at once
savory to the taste, and wholesome to the understanding.”

The other book supposed to be alluded to by the bachelor in
that passage of the text to which the present note refers, is
entitled _Suma de todas las cronicas del mundo_. According to some
authorities, its author was Frai Diego de Bérgano, and according
to others, Filipo Jacobo Bérgano. A translation from Latin into
Castilian, by Narcis Viñoles, was printed in Valencia in the year
1510.

To these two old works, the one a sort of Enciclopœdia, and the other
a History of the World from the time of the Creation, there is reason
to believe that Cervantes alludes in that part of the _Buscapié_ in
which the student mentions the two excellent books sent to him “as a
present from Señor Arcediana.”

(E).

“Pedro de Ezinas.” (Page 109).

Father Pedro de Ezinas, a monk of the order of the Predicadores, in
the Convent of St. Domingo at Huete, was preparing to submit several
of his poems to the press when he suddenly died. Some monks of his
order, determined on carrying out the intention of the writer, and
the poems were accordingly printed under the following title, Versos
espirituales que tratan de la convercion del pecador, menosprecio del
mundo, y vida de Nuestro Señor, con unas sucintas declaraciones sobre
algunos pasos del libro, compuestos por el Reverende Padre, Fray
Pedro de Ezinas de la orden de Santo Domingo. En Cuenca en casa de
Miguel Serrano de Vargas, año de, 1597.

(F).

“Greatly as you admire the verses of Ezinas, I must confess that they are not so pleasing to me, nor do they sound so harmoniously to my ear as the poetry of Aldana, or that of an Aragonian writer named Alonzo de la Sierra.” (Page 112).

Francisco de Aldana, the writer here alluded to was honoured by his
contemporaries with the surname of the Divine. He had, however, but
little claim to that distinction, for his versification is frequently
inharmonious and his language harsh. A collection of his poems was
published at Milan, in the year 1589, under the following title, _La
primera parte de las obras que hasta agora se han podido hallar del
Capitan Francisco de Aldana, Alcaide de San Sebastian, el qual murio
peleando en la jornada de Africa. Agora nuevamente puestas en luz por
su hermano Cosme de Aldana gentil hombre del Rey Don Felipe nuestro
Señor, &c._ The first part of the works (hitherto found) of Captain
Francisco de Aldana, Alcalde of San Sebastian, who died in battle in
Africa. Now published by his brother, Cosme de Aldana, Gentleman in
the service of King Don Philip, our Lord, &c.

(G).

“Al buen callar llaman Sago.” (Page 118).

The meaning of this proverb is that it is wise to know when to hold
one’s tongue. As _sabio_, not _sago_, is the Spanish adjective
meaning _wise_, it has been conjectured that _sago_ is a corruption
of some other word. This appears the more probable, as the proverb,
both in speaking and writing is frequently quoted thus, “Al buen
callar llaman _Sancho_,” which literally construed is, _he who knows
when to hold his tongue is called Sancho_, possibly in allusion to
King Don Sancho of Navarre, surnamed _The Wise_. But be this as it
may, the proverb occurs in the poem of the Conde Lucanor, and in
other old Spanish writings with the word _Sago_, as it is given by
Cervantes in the _Buscapié_.

A shrewd French writer has observed that proverbs are the wisdom of a
nation, and with equal truth it may be said that no people possess so
large a share of this sort of national wisdom as the Spaniards. There
is scarcely one of their countless stock of every day proverbs that
is not a wise maxim founded on experience and truth. Two classes
of proverbs with which the Spanish language abounds, viz.: those
embodying philosophic and medical maxims, have furnished materials
for two curious old treatises, the one entitled _La Filosofía
vulgar_, by Juan de Mal Lara, published at Salamanca in 1568, the
other, _La Medecina española contenida en proverbios vulgares de
nuestra lengua_[68] by Doctor Juan Sorapan de Rieros, Granada, 1616.

In the preface to this last mentioned work, the author states that
he has opened a new road, previously unknown to any author, ancient
or modern, Greek, Latin, or Spanish. For though it is true that
many have collected proverbs and made comments on them, yet no
one has written a word on the proverbs of the class to which this
work refers: no one has collected the Spanish proverbs relating to
medicine and formed upon them a system for preserving human health.
“I have,” he says, “been the first to enter upon this new path, in
which, short and crooked though it be, the reader will find all the
essential knowledge transmitted to us by the Arab and Greek masters
of rational medicine; the superfluous knowledge being left to those
who are disposed to travel by the broad and even path which learning
has opened.”

“Inasmuch as it has been my wish to exempt mankind from the
prescription of the physician, the spatula of the apothecary, and
the tape of the barber, I have deemed it expedient to write this
book in my mother tongue, to render it more useful to my nation,
in which though there are many latinists, yet there are many more
romancistas;[69] and there is no reason why the latter should not
enjoy the benefit of those old Spanish aphorisms on which I have
commented. These maxims coming as they do from our forefathers ought
to be venerated instead of being despised; and to show that this
book is derived therefrom, I have given it the title of _Medecina
Española_. If among my readers there should be any who despise their
genuine native language, they will find on the margin in Latin, the
substance of what is written in the text, together with references to
the works of learned authors who have written on the subject.”

(H).

“He presented himself after the victory to the illustrious emperor, who was at that moment engaged in dictating to his _Maestre de Campo_, Alonzo Vivas, the three notable words of Julius Cæsar, altering the third as became a Christian prince, &c.” (Page 120).

In the commentary on the war in Flanders, by Luis de Ávila y
Zuñiga,[70] the following passage occurs:--

“This great victory (which terminated the battle fought on the river
Albis, on the 24th of August, 1547), his Majesty attributed to God,
as a thing wrought by God’s hand, and therefore he repeated those
three words of Cæsar, changing the third as became a Christian
prince, acknowledging the favour which God conferred on him, _Vine,
vi y Dios venció_.”

This and other allusions to Charles V., would seem to have given rise
to the idea that the _Buscapié_ contained the avowal of Cervantes
that his principal object in writing _Don Quixote_, had been to
satirize certain acts of the renowned emperor, no less extravagant
than those which are recorded of the knights-errant of old. This
idea, though wholly unfounded, received some degree of confirmation
from a letter of Don Antonio Ruidiaz, published by Vicente de los
Ríos, in his Life of Cervantes. In that letter Ruidiaz mentions
having had an opportunity of perusing a copy of the Buscapié,[71] and
that it appeared to him to be merely a satire on several celebrated
individuals, among whom were the Emperor Charles V., and the Duke de
Lerma. Cervantes, doubtless means to censure the taste cherished by
those personages for chivalrous entertainments, when, in allusion to
the famous festivities at Binche, he says in the _Buscapié_:--“The
knights actually performed these feats or rather these fooleries,
and they were approved by the Emperor and the Prince Don Philip, who
derived therefrom much entertainment. And will it be said that there
are not other madmen in the world besides the ingenious Knight of La
Mancha, when such madness finds favour in the eyes of emperors and
kings?”

But because Cervantes has here censured Charles V.’s taste for
chivalrous diversions, by what process of reasoning is it to be
inferred that he intended _Don Quixote_ as a satire on that monarch?
It may also be asked what acts in the life of Charles V. bear any
resemblance to the achievements of the Knight of La Mancha? Certainly
none! yet, nevertheless, some able critics have racked their
ingenuity in endeavouring to discover allusions where none exist.

On the other hand, it must be admitted that in _Don Quixote_ there
is no lack of ridicule and censure on many customs and abuses
which prevailed in the time of Cervantes. An amusing satire on
the Inquisition occurs in vol. iv., where Don Quixote and Sancho
are overtaken and made prisoners by the duke’s servants, who ever
and anon address them thus:--“Go on, ye Troglodytes! peace, ye
barbarians! pay, ye Anthropophagi! complain not, ye Scythians! open
not your eyes, ye muttering Polyphemuses! ye carnivorous lions!”
&c. Thereby imitating the language which the ministers of the holy
tribunal were wont to address to criminals, or presumed criminals.
Then follows the description of the _auto de fe_ which takes place
when Don Quixote and Sancho are conducted to the court-yard of the
castle, “around which about a hundred torches were placed in sockets,
and in the galleries of the court there were more than five hundred
lights, insomuch that in spite of the night, which was somewhat dark,
there seemed to be no want of the day.”

The arrangement of the place is minutely described, and the seats
allotted to the different personages present at the _auto_ are
specified thus: “On one side of the court a sort of stage or platform
was erected, and on it were two chairs. On these chairs were seated
two personages (Minos and Rhadamanthus, the presiding judges in
Pandemonium), whose crowns on their heads and sceptres in their
hands denoted them to be kings, either real or feigned. And now, two
great persons ascended the platform with a numerous attendance whom
Don Quixote presently knew to be the Duke and Duchess whose guest
he had been:”--The following passage is intended as a parody on the
cruel threats which the inquisitors held out to criminals. “At this
juncture an officer crossed the place, and coming to Sancho, threw
over him a robe of black buckram, all painted over with flames, and
taking off his cap, put on his head a pasteboard mitre three feet
high, like those used by penitents, and whispering in his ear bade
him not to open his lips because if he did they would put a gag in
his mouth or kill him.” A little further on is depicted the refinement
of cruelty with which the Inquisition excited the merriment as well as
the terror of the populace, by showing the criminals dressed up in
masquerade, and covered with fantastic emblems and devices. “Sancho
viewed himself from top to toe, and saw himself all covered with
flames, but finding that they did not burn him he cared not two
_ardites_. He took off his mitre and saw it all painted over with
devils; he then put it on again saying within himself, well these
flames do not burn me, nor do these demons carry me away. Don Quixote
also surveyed him, and though dismay suspended his senses, he could
not but smile to behold Sancho’s figure.” And in the conclusion of
the chapter, the scene descriptive of the resurrection of Altisidora,
Cervantes evidently ridicules the fatuity of the inquisitorial
judges, who after having tormented a prisoner into the confession
of a crime of which he was innocent, would gravely congratulate
themselves on having effected a conversion.

Those who wish to verify the truthfulness of the satire dealt out
by Cervantes on the _Autos de fe_, may be referred to a work by
a learned Spanish writer, better known to foreigners than to the
author’s own countrymen. It is entitled _La Inquisicion sin Mascara_,
by the late Don Antonio Puigblanch, published at Cádiz, in the year
1811; the author screening himself under the fictitious name of
Natanael Jomtob.[72]

Clemencin doubts whether, in painting the burlesque scene in the
duke’s court-yard, Cervantes had any intention of ridiculing the
Inquisition; but his doubt is grounded merely on the fact that
Cervantes, in several of his other works, eulogizes this barbarous
tribunal. However, in the chapter of _Don Quixote_, above commented
on, Cervantes pays himself the compliment of saying that all the
arrangements for the pretended resurrection of Altisidora were made
“so to the life, that there was but little difference between them
and reality.” His avowed aim was to exhibit the inquisitors in no
less ridiculous a light than Don Quixote and Sancho, for he makes the
grave historian, Cid Hamet Benengeli, observe, that “to his thinking
the mockers were as mad as the mocked.”--(_Afirmando que tiene para
si ser tan locos los burladores como los burlados._)

(I).

“Hereupon the bachelor ran into a string of questions worthy of that most indefatigable questioner, the lately defunct Almirante.” (Page 122).

Our author no doubt here alludes to the questions addressed by Don
Fadrique Enríquez, who filled the high post of Admiral of Castile, to
Luis de Escobar, a Franciscan Monk. Escobar published, at Saragossa,
in the year 1543, the first volume of a work, entitled _Preguntas
del Almirante_, (Queries of the Admiral.) The favour with which this
volume was received by some of the most learned men of the age,
encouraged the author to submit to the press a second part, which
terminates with a curious paragraph, of which the following is a
translation:--

“To the honour and glory of Our Lord and Saviour, and of his blessed
Mother Our Lady, here ends the second part of the four hundred
replies to the Admiral of Castile, Don Fadrique Enriques, and other
persons answered but not named by the author. To these are added two
hundred answers, which, with the four hundred of the first part, and
the four hundred of this second part, complete one thousand. This
work was printed in the most noble city of Valladolid (anciently
called Pincia.) Finished on the second of January of this present
year, MDLII.”

This work is a collection of replies, some in verse, some in prose,
written in answer to questions addressed to the Padre Escobar by
various individuals. One of the principal interrogators is Dr.
Céspedes, who is distinguished by the titles of _medico famoso,
clérigo i catedrátigo in Valladolid_. The names of several monks
and Spanish grandees are attached to many of the queries, of which,
however, the majority emanates from the Almirante de Castilla, and
for that reason the book is called, _Preguntas del Almirante_. These
questions relate chiefly to points of religion and history, and
some refer to matters connected with medicine and the phenomena of
nature. The task of replying to many of them must have put Escobar’s
ingenuity and learning to a severe test.

(J).

“Can any one persuade himself into the belief that Palmerius of England, Florindos, and Floriandos are to be seen going about armed _cap-à-pie_, like the figures in old tapestry on tavern walls?” (Page 123).

The “History of Palmerin of England” is one of the curious old books
of chivalry once popular in Spain. It is entitled, _Libro del muy
esforzado caballero Palmerin de Inglaterra, hijo del Rey Don Duardos,
y de sus grandes provezas; y de Floriano del Desierto su hermano;
con algunos del Príncipe Florendos hijo de Primaleon. Toledo, año de
MDXLVII_.[73]

In the year following, a second part, entitled, _Libro segundo de
Palmerin de Inglaterra; en el cual se prosiguen y han fin los muy
dulces amores que tuvo con la Infanta Polinarda, dando cima à muchas
aventuras y ganando immortal con sus muchos fechos, y de Floriano del
Desierto, con algunos del Príncipe Florendos. Toledo, MDXLVIII_.[74]

Nicolás Antonio makes no mention of this edition of _Palmerin
of England_. After a time the two publications above-mentioned
became scarce, and a Portuguese translation of the work, also
published in the sixteenth century, got into general circulation.
This circumstance caused the authorship of _Palmerin_ to be by
some assigned to Don John II., King of Portugal, and by others to
the Infante Don Luis, who claimed the right of succession to the
Portuguese crown in opposition to King Philip II.

Neither Pellicer nor Clemencin, in their Commentaries on _Don
Quixote_, mention or allude to the above-cited editions of _Palmerin
de Inglaterra_, which were the first that were printed. Neither do
one or the other mention the name of Ferrer, the presumed author of
that celebrated book of knight-errantry. Cervantes, when speaking
of _Palmerin de Inglaterra_, says:--“This palm of England should
be kept and preserved as a thing unique. A case should be made
expressly to contain it, like that which Alexander found among the
spoil of Darius, and which the latter monarch had appropriated to the
preservation of the works of the poet Homer.”

(K).

“Moreover, you must know that I am a philosopher, and that I have studied in the new school of Doña Oliva.” (Page 123).

The Doña Oliva, here alluded to, was a woman of extraordinary talent
and learning. Her name was Doña Oliva de Nantes Sabuca Barrera, and
she was a native of the town of Alcaraz. This extraordinary woman
wrote a curious work, entitled, _Nueva filosofía de la naturaleza del
hombre, no conocida ni alcanzada de los grandes filósofos antiguos,
la cual mejora la vida y salud humana_.[75]

“This book,” says Doña Oliva, in her dedicatory epistle to King
Philip II. was “wanting in the world, though of many others there
are more than enough. The facts contained in this book, are not
touched upon by Galen, Plato or Hippocrates in their treatises
on human nature;--nor by Aristotle when he treats of the soul and
of life and death. Neither are they mentioned by Pliny, Ælian, or
other naturalists of antiquity. It is as clear and as obvious as the
light of the sun that the old system of medicine is erroneous in its
fundamental principles, inasmuch as the philosophers and physicians
of ancient times did not comprehend the nature of the human frame,
on the right understanding of which medicine is founded and has its
origin. My petition is that my system be tried only for the space
of one year: those of Hippocrates and Galen have been tried for two
thousand years, and they have proved ineffectual and uncertain in
their results. This is evident every day in cases of catarrh, fever,
small pox, plague and divers other diseases, against which the old
system furnishes no remedies; for out of a thousand individuals who
come into the world, not more than three go out of it by natural
death. The rest die prematurely, being carried off by diseases, for
which medicine, as practised on the old system, supplies no remedies.”

Notwithstanding the bombastic and conceited tone in which the _Nueva
Filosofía_ is written, the work contains much useful information,
and medical science is indebted to the authoress for some anatomical
discoveries, especially in relation to the nervous fluid.

(L).

“Without looking back to remoter times, I may mention the recently deceased Countess de Tendillo, the mother of the three Mendozas.” (Page 124).

Cervantes here refers to the three celebrated brothers Mendoza--Don
Diego, Don Antonio, and Don Bernardino.

The name of Diego de Mendoza is one of the most illustrious in
Spanish literature. Bouterwek pronounces him to be the third classic
poet and the first prose writer of Spain. Diego Hurtado de Mendoza
was a native of Granada, and was born about the beginning of the
sixteenth century. He was descended from one of the most ancient
families in Spain. His parents destined him for the clerical
profession, and with that object he studied at the University of
Salamanca. Besides the classical languages of antiquity, he made
himself master of Hebrew and Arabic, and he became well versed in
scholastic philosophy, theology and ecclesiastical law. Whilst a
student at Salamanca, he wrote his celebrated romance of Lazarillo
de Tormes. The Emperor Charles V., perceiving that his talents might
be advantageously employed in public business, drew him from his
university studies and appointed him imperial envoy to Venice. Whilst
filling this high post, Mendoza cultivated acquaintance with the
learned Italians of the age, and acquired an extensive knowledge of
Italian literature. But greatly as he admired the Italian poets, he
preferred the ancients, and his especial favourite was Horace.

Few poets have divided themselves between literature and politics
with so much ability and success as Diego de Mendoza. Charles V.
selected him as the fittest person he could make choice of to go to
the Council of Trent. This commission Mendoza executed in a manner
perfectly satisfactory to the Emperor. In the year 1547, Mendoza
appeared at the Papal Court as Imperial Ambassador, and he was at
the same time appointed Captain-General and Governor of Sienna
and other strong places in Tuscany. The repeated insurrections in
that part of Italy called for severe measures of repression. These
measures Mendoza adopted, and consequently the Italians, who were not
reconciled to the introduction of Spanish garrisons, regarded him as
a tyrant, and repeated attempts were made to assassinate him. But his
intrepidity continued unshaken, and he steadily governed Italy for
the space of six years, occupying himself, at intervals, with his
literary labours. At length, the complaints raised against Mendoza
induced the Emperor to recall him to Spain, whither he returned in
1554. He died at Valladolid, in the year 1575.

Some very curious particulars, relating to Diego de Mendoza, have
been collected by Don Adolfo de Castro from unpublished documents
in his possession. These documents throw considerable light on the
conduct and policy pursued by that extraordinary man in the discharge
of his important functions in Italy.

It is well known how zealously Mendoza exerted himself in the
early sittings of the Council of Trent. The Emperor Charles V.
had solicited the Pope to assemble that Council with the view of
effecting certain reforms in the Church, and thereby preventing
the dissatisfaction of many of the Princes of Germany, who, with
their subjects, were beginning to dissent from the Catholics on
some points of faith. Whilst, on the one hand, Charles waged a war
of fire and sword against the rebels of the empire, he exerted, on
the other hand, his most strenuous efforts to prevail on the Pope
to allow the Church to meet in Council. But so little inclination
was manifested by the Court of Rome to entertain the question of
reform, that the Council was not assembled till the year 1545, and
even then not without great reluctance on the part of the Papal
Government. After a time the sittings of the Council were transferred
from Trent to Bologna; the alleged reasons for this removal being
that the plague was reported to have broken out in Trent, and that
by reason of the war in Germany the Council could assemble with
greater security in Bologna. But Mendoza, who by this time filled the
post of Ambassador from Spain to the See of Rome, acted with great
sagacity and firmness. Before entering on his appointment he shewed
that he knew perfectly well how to deal with the churchmen of that
age. In a conversation between him and his friend, Juan de Vega,
(his predecessor in the ambassadorial post) de Vega said--“I warn
your Excellency that you must not expect to find truth where you are
going; for the principal personages in that Court abjure it.” “Then,”
replied Mendoza, “they will meet with their match, and for every
falsehood they tell me I will pay them back with two dozen.”

Many were the discussions and arguments maintained between Mendoza
and Paul III.; for that Prelate was not on friendly terms with
the Emperor, Charles V., and he sought by all possible means to
interrupt the meetings of the Council. Diego de Mendoza incessantly
remonstrated against this mode of proceeding, and importuned his
Holiness to desist from it.

One day, when he was more than usually emphatic in his arguments, and
unreserved in his language, the Pope felt offended at the freedom
and boldness of his manner. Fancying that sufficient respect was
not rendered to his presence, the Holy Father petulantly observed
to Mendoza,--“You forget where you are, you speak as if you were
at home in your own house!” To this rebuke the Spanish Ambassador
returned for answer, “that he was a Knight, and that his father had
been one before him, and as such he felt himself entitled to repeat
literally what his sovereign had commanded him to say without fear of
His Holiness, though always desirous of observing the reverence due
to the Vicar of Christ; but that, as the Emperor’s minister, he felt
himself at home and in safety wheresoever he chose to go.”

About this time the Pope had several interviews with the Emperor,
and though it was currently reported that these interviews had for
their object to bring about peace between the King of France (Francis
I.) and Charles V., yet it was well understood that the sole object
Paul had in view was that of gratifying his desire of purchasing the
State of Milan. The Emperor urged immediate payment of the money,
which however the Holy Father would not venture to disburse for fear
of being cheated. Charles, moreover, wished to retain possession of
the fortresses of Milan and Cremona, but the Pope insisted that the
purchase should include both fortresses and territories. However,
the negotiations having proceeded very far, and the Pope’s money
coming very opportunely to aid the Emperor in his difficulties, it
was found desirable to bring the matter to a close, and the bargain
was on the point of being ratified. But Diego de Mendoza, who had
the Emperor’s real interests at heart, and who was adverse to this
bargain, addressed to Charles V. an eloquent letter, full of forcible
reasoning against the sale of Milan, and in consequence, Charles was
induced to break off the negotiations.

This letter, which is quoted by Sandoval, in his History of Charles
V., bears evidence of Mendoza’s thorough acquaintance with the Papal
Court, and his accurate perception of the character of Paul III. The
following extract will afford a good specimen of the style of this
curious epistle:--

“What prince, or man,” says Mendoza, “ever offered greater offence to
your Majesty? Certainly none:--for a little reflection on past events
will enable even the blind to see that all the injury that you have
sustained from the French was through his (the Pope’s) instigation
and scheming; and that all the mischief you may expect from the Turks
will have its origin in the same source. And finally, what good
service did he ever render you willingly, and not on compulsion,
or for his own interest? Your Majesty may rest assured that if the
King of France has three _fleurs de lis_ in his ’scutcheon, the Pope
has six in his--and, what is more, he has six thousand in his heart.
Besides, he will never see a safe opportunity of gratifying his
enmity, but that he will take advantage of it. Much more reasonably
may your Majesty trust to the King of France in these affairs; for
he was born a Prince, and he will act like a Prince, but the other
is a man of low origin, and though raised to the greatness which he
now holds, he will never cease to be what he is. Does your Majesty
require proof of this? Behold his insolent effrontery; for after
having offended you as he has done, he is not ashamed to appear in
your presence--and he even moreover makes demands, which he would
have no right to make, if he had ransomed your Majesty from the Turk.
The cowardly fear which possesses him on seeing you approach with an
army, does not diminish his evil and perverse feeling, or change his
mischievous designs. But he fears and suspects every one; and since
your Majesty has him thus far in your power, I once more implore you
not to let the opportunity slip. Pay little attention to him. Treat
him as a man whose safety and greatness depend on your will.”

Mendoza seized every opportunity that presented itself to endeavour
to open the eyes of the Emperor to the schemes of Paul III. In the
year 1547, Peter Lewis Farnesio, Duke of Placentia, was assassinated
by some noblemen who had joined a conspiracy which his tyranny
provoked. Farnesio was a natural son of Paul III., who conferred
on him the dignities of Duke of Parma and Placentia, Marquess of
Novarra, Captain-General, and Standard-Bearer to the Church. On the
occasion of Farnesio’s death, Mendoza wrote a clever little work,
entitled, _Diálogo entre Caronte y el ánima de Pedro Luis Farnesio,
hijo del Papa Paulo III_.[76] Fenelon and Fontenelle were not
therefore, as is generally supposed, the first who wrote dialogues of
the dead in one of the modern languages.

The two brothers of Diego de Mendoza, were both eminent statesmen and
writers. Don Antonio succeeded Hernán Cortés, and the Licentiate Luis
Ponce in the Government of Mexico; and he was the first Governor
who had the titles of Viceroy and Captain-General of New Spain. From
Mexico he proceeded to Peru, where he also exercised the vice-regal
authority. Antonio de Mendoza is the author of a work entitled, _De
las cosas maravillosas de Nueva España_. (On the Wonders of New
Spain.)

Don Bernardino de Mendoza was at once a soldier, a statesman, and a
poet. He also wrote a history of the Spanish campaigns in Flanders.
(_Historia de las guerras de Flandes._)

(M).

“There is a book of letters by Madama Passier, full of erudition and sound morality, which I would recommend to the attention of the author of _Don Quixote_.” (Page 124).

The volume here alluded to is entitled: _Cartas Morales del Señor
Narveza traducidas de lengua francesa en la española por Madama
Francisca de Passier, dirigidas al excelentísimo Señor Don Pedro
Enríquez de Acevedo, Conde de Fuentes_.[77]

The name of Francisca de Passier, is not recorded as it deserves
to be in the annals of Spanish literature. The celebrated Nicolás
Antonio, makes no mention of her in the _Biblioteca hispana nova_.
Some few particulars of her life are given by Doctor Francisco Garci
López, who published an edition of the _Cartas Morales_. She was a
native of Savoy, in which country her father, a man distinguished
for his literary attainments, filled a government appointment. She
was a great linguist, and she spoke and wrote several languages
with perfect fluency and correctness. “She spoke Castilian,” says
her biographer, Dr. López, “so correctly and with such purity of
accent, that to hear her no one could have imagined she had been born
among the snowy mountains of Savoy, but rather would have supposed
her to have been a native of Spain, and all her life accustomed to
the courteous conversation of noble ladies and knights in royal
palaces.” She died before she had completed her nineteenth year. Her
husband, who was a Counsellor of State to the Prince of Savoy, was
inconsolable for her loss, and a singular manifestation of his grief
was shown in the destruction, instead of the preservation, of his
wife’s papers, most of which, after her death, he consigned to the
flames. At the urgent solicitation of Dr. Garci López, he was however
induced to spare the manuscript of the _Cartas Morales_. The funeral
obsequies of Madama Passier which are alluded to in the _Buscapié_,
lasted nine days. Several eloquent orations in Latin and French were
delivered at her interment, and many elegies to her memory were
composed in Latin, French, and Spanish.

(N).

“The Battle of the Paso Honroso is narrated in a book written by a Friar, named Pineda, who abridged it from an old manuscript work.” (Page 126.)

In Salamanca, in the year 1588, was published, a curious old book
of Knight-errantry, entitled _El Libro del Paso Honroso, defendido
por el excelente caballero Suero de Quiñones, copilado de un libro
antiguo de mano, por fray Juan de Pineda, religioso del orden de San
Francisco_.[78]

The petition addressed by Suero de Quiñones to King John of Castile
ran thus--“It is just and reasonable that prisoners and bondsmen
should wish to recover their liberty. Even so it is with me, your
Majesty’s vassal and subject, who have long been the captive of a
lady, in token of which captivity I wear every Thursday round my neck
a collar of iron. This fact is notorious in your Majesty’s court and
throughout all this kingdom, as well as in foreign parts, where my
heralds have proclaimed it. But now, most powerful Prince, I have
in the name of the Apostle St. James, devised a plan for effecting
my deliverance, in this present year, of which this is the first
day. My proposal is to break three hundred lances, with such knights
and gentlemen as may accept my challenge--breaking three with
every and each knight or gentleman who enters the lists;--the first
blood drawn to be counted as one lance broken. The combats to be
maintained during fifteen days prior to the festival of the Apostle
St. James, (the guide and defender of your Majesty’s subjects) and
during fifteen days after the said festival, unless my ransom be
accomplished before the expiration of that period. The lists to be
planted on the high road, along which most persons pass on their
way to the city wherein is the Saint’s sacred sepulchre,[79] and
that it be certified to all the foreign knights and gentlemen who
may there assemble that they will find at the place of encounter,
armour, horses, and above all lances with points of such good Milan
steel, that it will require no light stroke to shiver them. And I
pray that it be notified to every virtuous lady of rank, who may
be in the vicinity of the scene of combat, that she must summon a
knight to perform a passage of arms in her behalf, under pain of
forfeiting her right hand glove. All these propositions I pray may be
agreed to;--saving two conditions, which are--that neither your Royal
Majesty nor the most noble Señor Constable, Don Álvaro de Luna, take
part in these encounters.”

The petition having been assented to by the King, Suero de Quiñones,
accompanied by nine knights his followers, set out on his romantic
enterprise. He proclaimed himself the defender of the Honroso Paso
of the Bridge of Orbigo. Sixty-eight adventurers, and not seventy
as stated in the _Buscapié_, combated for the conquest of the
Honroso Paso, and Suero, on being declared the victor, presented to
the Umpires of the Field a petition, which was responded to in the
following manner:--

“Virtuous Knight and Señor, we have heard your proposition and
appeal, and it appears to us to be just. Considering that we ought no
longer to delay pronouncing our judgment, we hereby declare that your
arms have been triumphant and that your deliverance has been bravely
purchased. And moreover, we hereby notify to you, as well as to all
others here present, that of the three hundred lances specified in
your petition to the king there remain only a few unbroken, and that
there would not be even those few, but that on several days there
could not be any passage of arms by reason of no knights having
presented themselves to oppose the challenger. We accordingly decree
that you be released from the iron collar, which we forthwith order
the King-at-Arms, and the Herald to remove from your neck; and we
declare that you have duly accomplished your emprise, and that you
are henceforth delivered from bondage.”

In obedience to the command of the Umpires, the King-at-Arms and
the Heralds descended from the platform and before the eyes of all
present, took from the neck of Suero de Quiñones the iron ring which
he wore as the sign and token of his bondage.

The records of Spanish chivalry mention numerous adventures, no less
whimsical and extravagant than that of the doughty knight who was
the hero of the Honroso Paso.--Several instances of the same kind
are narrated by Hernán Pérez del Pulgar in his _Claros Varones de
Castilla_. (Illustrious men of Castile).

(O).

“Have you not heard of the adventure of the Canon Almela who was at the conquest of Grenada, with two horsemen and seven followers on foot. He wore girded at his side a sword which he affirmed had belonged to the Cid Ruy Díaz.” (Page 126).

The individual referred to in the above passage is Diego Rodríguez
de Almela, who ultimately attained the ecclesiastical dignity of
Arcipreste (Archpriest). He was a native of the city of Murcia,
and the author of some learned historical works, one of which
is entitled: _El Valerio de las estorias escolásticas é de
España_.--(The Valerius of the Scholastic History and of Spain). The
first edition of this work is exceedingly rare, and at its close
appears the following note.

“To the glory and honour of our Blessed Savior and Redeemer,
the printing of this book, called _El Valerio de las estorias
escolásticas é de España_ was finished in the noble city of Murcia,
by maestre Lope de la Roca, a German and a printer of books, on
Thursday the sixth day of November, in the year one thousand four
hundred and eighty-seven.”

In the certificate of the King-at-Arms attached to the royal letters
patent conferring the rank of nobility on Don Francisco Xavier de
Almela i Peñafiel, there is a paragraph relating to the lineage of
the Almela family. It is there set forth that “Diego Rodríguez de
Almela, Canon of the Holy Cathedral Church of Carthegena, Chaplain
to the Catholic Queen, and Her Majesty’s Chronicler, who served
personally with two esquires and six men on foot at the conquest of
Grenada, presented to the Catholic King[80] the sword of the Cid Ruy
Díaz.”

(P).

“The Great Emperor finding himself challenged with all the solemnity of the laws of the duelo, took counsel of his cousin, Don Diego, Duke del Infantado, as to the course he ought to pursue.” (Page 128).

The letter addressed on this occasion by the Emperor to the Duke del
Infantado, and the Duke’s reply to it, are mentioned but not given by
Sandoval, in his History of Charles V. These two letters are printed
in an exceedingly scarce work, entitled, _Diálogos de contención
entre la milicia y la ciencia_.[81] by Francisco Núñez de Velasco.
The following extract from the Duke’s letter, precisely verifies that
passage of the _Buscapié_ to which this note has reference.

“Truly, Señor, it would be a fine example, if the great debt which
all the world knows is due to you from the King of France, were to be
paid by a challenge to your imperial person. Such a proceeding, if
sanctioned by your Majesty, would go far to establish throughout your
dominions a law to the effect that all debts may be paid by recourse
to arms; which would tend more to the shedding of blood than to the
vindication of justice and mercy. All this I write to your Majesty
that you may deliberate on my opinion, and I beg you will be assured
that if, on more mature reflection I see reason to alter my opinion,
I will forthwith advise your Majesty thereof, with all the fidelity
I owe you. For this is a matter which concerns my honour, together
with that of all the grandees of these realms.”

(Q).

“Such absurd encounters have no existence save in silly books of chivalry and in plays which in our time have been taken from them; but which in the time of Lope de Rueda, Gil Vicente and Alonzo de Cisneros, would not have been tolerated on the stage.” (Page 128).

Cervantes highly appreciated the genius of Lope de Rueda, who was
a celebrated actor as well as a dramatic writer. He styles him _el
gran Lope de Rueda, insigne varón, &c._ Some curious particulars
respecting Lope de Rueda and the state of the Spanish stage in his
time are related by Cervantes in the _Prólogo_ or Preface to his
_Ocho comedias y ocho entremeses nunca representadas_,[82] from
which the following extract is translated--