Chapter VIII (6)

The ignorance in which the force of adverse circumstances had sunk the Spaniards, and their inactivity, both bodily and mental, would be utterly incredible, if it were not attested by every variety of evidence. Gramont, writing from personal knowledge of the state of Spain, during the latter half of the seventeenth century, describes the upper classes as not only unacquainted with science or literature, but as knowing scarcely any thing even of the commonest events which occurred out of their own country. The lower ranks, he adds, are equally idle, and rely upon foreigners to reap their wheat, to cut their hay, and to build their houses.[1379] Another observer of society, as it existed in Madrid in 1679, assures us that men, even of the highest position, never thought it necessary that their sons should study; and that those who were destined for the army could not learn mathematics, if they desired to do so, inasmuch as there were neither schools nor masters to teach them.[1380] Books, unless they were books of devotion, were deemed utterly useless; no one consulted them; no one collected them; and, until the eighteenth century, Madrid did not possess a single public library.[1381] In other cities professedly devoted to purposes of education, similar ignorance prevailed. Salamanca was the seat of the most ancient and most famous university in Spain, and there, if anywhere, we might look for the encouragement of science.[1382] But De Torres, who was himself a Spaniard, and was educated at Salamanca, early in the eighteenth century, declares that he had studied at that university for five years before he had heard that such things as the mathematical sciences existed.[1383] So late as the year 1771, the same university publicly refused to allow the discoveries of Newton to be taught; and assigned as a reason, that the system of Newton was not so consonant with revealed religion as the system of Aristotle.[1384] All over Spain, a similar plan was adopted. Everywhere, knowledge was spurned, and inquiry discouraged. Feijoo, who, notwithstanding his superstition, and a certain slavishness of mind, from which no Spaniard of that age could escape, did, on matters of science, seek to enlighten his countrymen, has left upon record his deliberate opinion, that whoever had acquired all that was taught in his time under the name of philosophy, would, as the reward of his labour, be more ignorant than he was before he began.[1385] And there can be no doubt that he was right. There can be no doubt that, in Spain, the more a man was taught, the less he would know. For, he was taught that inquiry was sinful, that intellect must be repressed, and that credulity and submission were the first of human attributes. The Duke de Saint Simon, who, in 1721 and 1722, was the French ambassador at Madrid, sums up his observations by the remark, that, in Spain, science is a crime, and ignorance a virtue.[1386] Fifty years later, another shrewd observer, struck with amazement at the condition of the national mind, expresses his opinion in a sentence equally pithy and almost equally severe. Searching for an illustration to convey his sense of the general darkness, he emphatically says, that the common education of an English gentleman would, in Spain, constitute a man of learning.[1387]

[1379] 'Leur paresse, et l'ignorance non seulement des sciences et des
arts, mais quasi généralement de tout ce qui se passe hors de
l'Espagne, et on peut dire même hors du lieu où ils habitent,
vont presque de pair, et sont inconcevables. La pauvreté est
grande parmi eux, ce qui provient de leur extrême paresse; car
si nombre de nos Français n'alloient faucher leurs foins, couper
leurs blés et faire leurs briques, je crois qu'ils courroient
fortune de se laisser mourir de faim, et de se tenir sous des
tentes pour ne se pas donner la peine de bâtir des maisons.' ...
'L'éducation de leurs enfans est semblable à celle qu'ils ont eu
de leurs pères, c'est-à-dire sans qu'ils apprennent ni sciences
ni exercices; et je ne crois par que parmi tous les grands que
j'ay pratiqués, il s'en trouvât un seul qui sût décliner son
nom.' ... 'Ils n'ont nulle curiosité de voir les pays
étrangers, et encore moins de s'enquérir de ce qui s'y passe.'
_Mémoires du Maréchal de Gramont_, vol. ii. pp. 77, 78, 82, 83,
in _Collection des Mémoires par Petitot et Monmerqué_, vol.
lvii. See also _Aarsens de Sommerdyck_, _Voyage d'Espagne_,
Paris, 1665, 4to. p. 124. 'La terré mesme n'y est pas toute
cultiuée par des gens du pays: au tempe du labourage, des
semailles et de la recolte, il leur vient quantité de paysans du
Bearn et d'autres endroits de France, qui gagnent beaucoup
d'argent, pour leur mettre leurs bleds en terre et pour les
recueillir. Les architectes et charpentiers y sont aussi pour la
plûpart estrangers, qui se font payer au triple de ce qu'ils
gagneroient en leur pays. Dans Madrid on ne voit pas un porteur
d'eau qui ne soit estranger, et la plûpart des cordonniers et
tailleurs le sont aussi.'

[1380] 'Mais aussi de quelle manière les élève-t-on? Ils n'étudient
point; on néglige de leur donner d'habiles précepteurs; dès
qu'on les destine à l'épée, on ne se soucie plus qu'ils
apprennent le latin ni l'histoire. On devroit au moins leur
enseigner ce qui est de leur mestier, les mathématiques, à faire
des armes et à monter à cheval. Ils n'y pensent seulement pas.
Il n'y a point ici d'Académie ni de maîtres qui montrent ces
sortes de choses. Les jeunes hommes passent le tems qu'ils
devroient emploïer à s'instruire dans un oisiveté pitoïable.'
Letter from Madrid, dated 27th June 1679, in _D'Aulnoy_,
_Relation du Voyage d'Espagne_, Lyon, 1693, vol. ii. pp. 232,
233.

[1381] 'Madrid étant la capitale d'une monarchie aussi vaste, il n'y eut
dans cette ville jusqu'à l'époque du règne de Philippe V aucune
bibliothèque publique.' _Sempere_, _De la Monarchie Espagnole_,
Paris, 1826, vol. ii. p. 79.

[1382] The university was transferred from Palencia to Salamanca, early
in the thirteenth century. _Forner_, _Oracion Apologética por la
España_, Madrid, 1786, p. 170. By the beginning of the fifteenth
century, it had become very prosperous (_Sempere_, _De la
Monarchie Espagnole_, vol. i. p. 65); and in 1535, it is
described as 'a great Universitie, conteyning seven or eight
thowsand students.' See a letter from John Mason, dated
Valladolid, 3rd July, 1635, in _Ellis's Original Letters_, second
series, vol. ii. p. 56, London, 1827. But, like every thing else
which was valuable in Spain, it declined in the seventeenth
century; and Monconys, who carefully examined it in 1628, and
praises some of its arrangements which were still in force,
adds, 'Mais je suis aussi contraint de dire après tant de
loüanges, que les écoliers qui étudient dans cette université
sont des vrais ignorans.' _Les Voyages de Monsieur de Monconys_,
Quatrième Partie, vol. v. p. 22, Paris, 1695. However, their
ignorance, of which Monconys gives some curious instances, did
not prevent Spanish writers, then, and long afterwards, from
deeming the University of Salamanca to be the greatest
institution of its kind in the world. 'La mayor del orbe, madre
gloriosísima de todas las ciencias y de los mas vehementes
ingenios, que han ilustrado las edades.' _Vida de Calderon de la
Barca_, pp. iii. iv., reprinted in Keil's edition of _Calderon_,
Leipsique, 1827. Compare Davila (_Felipe Tercero_, p. 81),
'Salamanca, madre de ciencias y letras;' Yañez (_Memorias_, p.
228), 'Universidad insigne, y Oficina de las buenas Letras de
España;' Bacallar (_Comentarios_, vol. i. p. 238), 'El emporio
de las ciencias;' and Ximenez (_Vida de Ribera_, p. 6),
'Salamanca, cathedra universal de las artes, y emporio de todas
ciencias.'

[1383] 'Says, that, after he had been five years in one of the schools
of the university there, it was by accident he learned the
existence of the mathematical sciences.' _Ticknor's History of
Spanish Literature_, vol. iii. p. 223. A celebrated Spanish
writer of the eighteenth century, actually boasts of the
ignorance of his countrymen concerning mathematics, and
discerns, in their neglect of that foolish pursuit, a decisive
proof of their superiority over other nations. 'No se dexe
deslumbrar con los ásperos calculos é intrincadas demostraciones
geométricas, con que, astuto el entendimiento, disimula el
engaño con los disfraces de la verdad. El uso de las matemáticas
es la alquimia en la fisica, que da apariencias de oro á lo que
no lo es.' _Forner_, _Oracion Apologética por la España y su
Mérito Literario_, Madrid, 1786, p. 38. Compare his contemptuous
notice (p. 66) of those insignificant persons, who 'con título
de filósofos han dado algun aumento á las matemáticas;' and his
comparison (p. 222) of Mercado with Newton.

[1384] 'L'université de Salamanque, excitée par le Conseil, à réformer
ses études, en l'année 1771, lui répondit "qu'elle ne pouvait se
séparer du péripatétisme, parce que les systèmes de Newton,
Gassendi et Descartes, ne concordent pas autant avec les vérités
révélées que ceux d'Aristote."' _Sempere_, _Monarchie
Espagnole_, vol. ii. p. 152. This reply, says M. Sempere, p.
153, may be found 'dans la collection des ordonnances royales.'
In _Letters from Spain by an English Officer_, London, 1788,
vol. ii. p. 256, it is stated, that, in all the Spanish
universities, 'Newton, and modern philosophy, is still
prohibited. Nothing can supplant Aristotle, and the
superstitious fathers and doctors of the Church.'

[1385] Or, as he, in one place, expresses himself, would know 'very
little more than nothing.' 'El que estudió Logica, y
Metaphysica, con lo demás que, debaxo del nombre de Philosofia,
se enseña en las Escuelas, por bien que sepa todo, sabe muy poco
mas que nada; pero suena mucho. Dicese, que es un gran
Philosofo; y no es Philosofo grande, ni chico,' _Feijoo_,
_Theatro Critico Universal_, vol. ii. p. 187, quinta impression,
Madrid, 1741.

[1386] 'La science est un crime, l'ignorance et la stupidité la première
vertu.' _Mémoires du Duc de Saint Simon_, vol. xxxv. p. 209,
Paris, 1840. Elsewhere (vol. xxxvi. p. 252) he says, 'Les
jésuites savants partout et en tout genre de science, ce qu ne
leur est pas même disputé par leurs ennemis, les jésuites,
dis-je, sont ignorants en Espagne, mais d'une ignorance à
surprendre.'

[1387] 'The common education of an English gentleman would constitute a
man of learning here; and, should he understand Greek, he would
be quite a phenomenon.' _Swinburne's Travels through Spain in
1775 and 1776_, vol. ii. pp. 212, 213, 2d edit., London, 1787.

Those who know what the common education of an English gentleman was eighty years ago, will appreciate the force of this comparison, and will understand how benighted a country must have been, to which such a taunt was applicable. To expect that, under such a state of things, the Spaniards should make any of the discoveries which accelerate the march of nations, would be idle indeed; for they would not even receive the discoveries, which other nations had made for them, and had cast into the common lap. So loyal and orthodox a people had nothing to do with novelties, which, being innovations on ancient opinions, were fraught with danger. The Spaniards desired to walk in the ways of their ancestors, and not have their faith in the past rudely disturbed. In the inorganic world, the magnificent discoveries of Newton were contumeliously rejected; and, in the organic world, the circulation of the blood was denied, more than a hundred and fifty years after Harvey had proved it.[1388] These things were new, and it was better to pause a little, and not receive them too hastily. On the same principle, when, in the year 1760, some bold men in the government proposed that the streets of Madrid should be cleansed, so daring a suggestion excited general anger. Not only the vulgar, but even those who were called educated, were loud in their censure. The medical profession, as the guardians of the public health, were desired, by the government, to give their opinion. This, they had no difficulty in doing. They had no doubt that the dirt ought to remain. To remove it, was a new experiment; and of new experiments, it was impossible to foresee the issue. Their fathers having lived in the midst of it, why should not they do the same? Their fathers were wise men, and must have had good reasons for their conduct. Even the smell, of which some persons complained, was most likely wholesome. For, the air being sharp and piercing, it was extremely probable that bad smells made the atmosphere heavy, and in that way deprived it of some of its injurious properties. The physicians of Madrid were, therefore, of opinion that matters had better remain as their ancestors had left them, and that no attempts should be made to purify the capital by removing the filth which lay scattered on every side.[1389]

[1388] So late as 1787, Townsend, a very accomplished man, who travelled
through Spain with the express object of noting the state of
knowledge, as well as the economical condition of the country,
and who, by previous study, had well qualified himself for such
an undertaking, says, 'I have observed in general, that the
physicians with whom I have had occasion to converse, are
disciples of their favourite doctor Piquer, who denied, or at
least doubted of, the circulation of the blood.' _Townsend's
Journey through Spain_, 2d ed., London, 1792, vol. iii. p. 281.
At that time, the Spanish physicians were, however, beginning to
read Hoffmann, Cullen, and other heretical speculators, in whose
works they would find, to their astonishment, that the
circulation of the blood was assumed, and was not even treated
as a debatable question. But the students were obliged to take
such matters on trust; for, adds Townsend, p. 282, 'In their
medical classes, they had no dissections.' Compare _Laborde's
Spain_, vol. i. p. 76, vol. iii. p. 315, London, 1809, and
_Godoy's Memoirs_, London, 1836, vol. ii. p. 157. Godoy,
speaking of the three colleges of surgery at Madrid, Barcelona,
and Cadiz, says that until his administration in 1793, 'In the
capital, even that of San Carlos had not a lecture-room for
practical instruction.'

[1389] This little episode is noticed by Cabarrus, in his _Elogio de
Carlos III._, Madrid, 1789, 4to. p. xiv. 'La salubridad del
ayre, la limpieza y seguridad de las calles,' ... 'Pero ¿quién
creerá que este noble empeño produxo las mas vivas quejas: que
se conmovió el vulgo de todas clases; y que tuvo varias
autoridades á su favor la extraña doctrina de que los vapores
mefiticos eran un correctivo saludable de la rigidez del clima?'
But the fullest detail will be found in the recently published
and very elaborate History of Charles III. by M. Rio, from which
I will give one or two extracts. 'Para la limpieza de las calles
poseia mayores ó menores fondos el ayuntamiento, y cuando el Rey
quiso poner la mano en este ramo de policía, le presentaron
dictámenes de médicos en que se defendia el absurdo de ser
elemento de salubridad la basura.' _Rio_, _Historia del Reinado
de Carlos III._, Madrid, 1856, vol. iv. p. 54. See also vol. i.
pp. 267, 268, where it is mentioned, that when the minister,
Esquilache, persevered in his attempts to have the streets of
Madrid cleaned, the opponents of the scheme made inquiries into
the opinions of their fathers on that subject; and the result
was, 'que le presentaron cierta originalísima consulta hecha por
los médicos bajo el reinado de uno de los Felipes de Austria, y
reducida á demostrar que, siendo sumamente sutil el aire de la
poblacion á causa de estar próxima la sierra de Guadarrama,
ocasionaria los mayores estragos si no se impregnara en los
vapores de las inmundicias desparramadas por las calles.' That
this idea had long been entertained by the physicians of Madrid,
we also know from another testimony, with which none of the
Spanish historians are acquainted. Sir Richard Wynne, who
visited that capital in 1623, describes a disgusting practice of
the inhabitants, and adds, 'Being desirous to know why so
beastly a custom is suffered, they say it's a thing prescribed
by their physicians; for they hold the air to be so piercing and
subtle, that this kind of corrupting it with these ill vapours
keeps it in good temper.' _The Autobiography and Correspondence
of Sir Simonds D'Ewes_, edited by J. O. Halliwell, London, 1845,
vol. ii. p. 446.

While such notions prevailed respecting the preservation of health,[1390] it is hardly to be supposed that the treatment of disease should be very successful. To bleed and to purge, were the only remedies prescribed by the Spanish physicians.[1391] Their ignorance of the commonest functions of the human body was altogether surprising, and can only be explained on the supposition, that in medicine, as in other departments, the Spaniards of the eighteenth century knew no more than their progenitors of the sixteenth. Indeed, in some respects, they appeared to know less. For, their treatment was so violent, that it was almost certain death to submit to it for any length of time.[1392] Their own king, Philip V., did not dare to trust himself in their hands, but preferred having an Irishman for his physician.[1393] Though the Irish had no great medical reputation, anything was better than a Spanish doctor.[1394] The arts incidental to medicine and surgery, were equally backward. The instruments were rudely made, and the drugs badly prepared. Pharmacy being unknown, the apothecaries' shops, in the largest towns, were entirely supplied from abroad; while, in the smaller towns, and in districts remote from the capital, the medicines were of such a quality, that the best which could be hoped of them was, that they might be innocuous. For, in the middle of the eighteenth century, Spain did not possess one practical chemist. Indeed, we are assured by Campomanes himself, that, so late as the year 1776, there was not to be found in the whole country a single man who knew how to make the commonest drugs, such as magnesia, Glauber's salts, and the ordinary preparations of mercury and antimony. This eminent statesman adds, however, that a chemical laboratory was about to be established in Madrid; and although the enterprise, being without a precedent, would surely be regarded as a portentous novelty, he expresses a confident expectation, that, by its aid, the universal ignorance of his countrymen would in time be remedied.[1395]

[1390] Even thirty years later, it was said, with good reason, that 'es
menester _deshacer todo lo que se ha hecho_,' and 'confiar
exclusivamente el precioso depósito de la sanidad pública á las
manos capaces de conservarlo y mejorarlo.' _Cartas por el Conde
de Cabarrus_, Madrid, 1813, p. 280. These letters, which, though
little known, contain some interesting statements, were written
in 1792 and 1793. See p. 34, and Prologo, p. i.

[1391] Bleeding, however, had the preference. See the curious evidence
in _Townsend's Journey through Spain in 1786 and 1787_, vol. ii.
pp. 37-39. Townsend, who had some knowledge of medicine, was
amazed at the ignorance and recklessness of the Spanish
physicians. He says, 'The science and practice of medicine are
at the lowest ebb in Spain, but more especially in the
Asturias.' Compare _Sprengel_, _Histoire de la Médecine_, vol.
iii. p. 217, Paris, 1815, with _Winwood's Memorials_, London,
1725, folio, vol. ii. p. 219. The last reference shows the
terrible 'purging and letting blood,' to which the unfortunate
Spaniards were exposed in the reign of Philip III. Another
observer, much later, states that 'La saignée leur est assez
familière. Ils se la font faire hors du lit tant que leurs
forces le permettent, et _lorsqu'ils en usent par précaution,
ils se font tirer du sang deux jours de suite du bras droit et
du gauche, disant qu'il faut égaliser le sang_. On peut juger de
là, si la circulation leur est connue.' _Voyages faits en
Espagne, par Monsieur M****_, Amsterdam, 1700, p. 112. See
further _Clarke's Letters concerning the Spanish Nation_,
London, 4to. 1763, p. 55, and _Spain by an American_, London,
1831, vol. ii. p. 321.

[1392] In 1790, poor Cumberland, when in Madrid, was as nearly as
possible murdered by three of their surgeons in a very few days;
the most dangerous of his assailants being no less a man than
the 'chief surgeon of the Gardes de Corps,' who, says the
unfortunate sufferer, was 'sent to me by authority.' See
_Memoirs of Richard Cumberland, written by himself_, London,
1807, vol. ii. pp. 67, 68.

[1393] Duclos says of Philip V., 'Il étoit fort attentif sur sa santé;
son médecin, s'il eût été intriguant, auroit pu jouer un grand
rôle. Hyghens, Irlandois, qui occupoit cette première place,
fort éloigné de l'intrigue et de la cupidité, instruit dans son
art, s'en occupoit uniquement. Après sa mort, la reine fit
donner la place à Servi, son médecin particulier.' _Mémoires par
Duclos_, 2^e édit. Paris, 1791, vol. ii. pp. 200, 201. 'Hyghens,
premier médecin, était Irlandais.' _Mémoires du Duc de Saint
Simon_, vol. xxxvi. p. 215, ed. Paris, 1841.

[1394] In the eighteenth century, the Spaniards, generally, began to
admit this; since they could not shut their eyes to the fact
that their friends and relations succumbed so rapidly under
professional treatment, that sickness and death were almost
synonymous. Hence, notwithstanding their hatred of the French
nation, they availed themselves of the services of French
physicians and French surgeons, whenever they had an opportunity
of doing so. In 1707, the Princess des Ursins writes from Madrid
to Madame de Maintenon, 'Les chirurgiens espagnols sont
mésestimés même de ceux de leur nation;' and, in another letter,
'Les Espagnols conviennent que les médecins français sont
beaucoup plus savants que les leurs; ils s'en servent même
très-volontiers, mais ils sont persuadés que ceux de la faculté
de Montpellier l'emportent sur les autres.' _Lettres inédites de
Madame de Maintenon et de la Princesse des Ursins_, vol. iii. p.
412, vol. iv. p. 90.

[1395] Campomanes (_Apendice á la Educacion Popular_, Madrid, 1776,
vol. iii. pp. 74, 75), speaking of a work on distillation, says,
'La tercera (parte) describe la preparacion de los productos
químicos sólidos: esto es la preparacion de varias sustancias
terreas, como argamasa, magnesia blanca, ojos de cangrejo, etc.,
la de varios sales, como sal de glaubero, amoniaco, cristal
mineral, borax refinado, etc., y la del antimonio, mercurio,
plomo, litargirio, etc., comunicando sobre todo lo expresado
varias noticias, que demuestran lo mucho que conducen á los
progresos del arte, las observaciones del fisico reflexivo:
unidas á la práctica de un profesor experimentado. _Este arte en
toda su extension falta en España._ Solo le tenemos para
aguardientes, rosolis, y mistelas. _La salud pública es
demasiado importante, para depender de los estraños en cosas
esenciales_; quando no estimulase nuestra industria la
manutencion de muchas familias.' ... 'Gran parte de estas cosas
se introducen de fuera, por no conocerse bien las operaciones
químicas. No son dificultosas en la execucion; pero _es
necesario enseñarlas, y conocer los instrumentos que son
aproposito_. Un laboratorio químico, que _se va á establecer en
Madrid_, producirá maestros para las capitales del reyno.'

Whatever was useful in practice, or whatever subserved the purposes of knowledge, had to come from abroad. Ensenada, the well-known minister of Ferdinand VI., was appalled by the darkness and apathy of the nation, which he tried, but tried in vain, to remove. When he was at the head of affairs, in the middle of the eighteenth century, he publicly declared that in Spain there was no professorship of public law, or of physics, or of anatomy, or of botany. He further added, that there were no good maps of Spain, and that there was no person who knew how to construct them. All the maps which they had, came from France and Holland. They were, he said, very inaccurate; but the Spaniards, being unable to make any, had nothing else to rely on. Such a state of things he pronounced to be shameful. For, as he bitterly complained, if it were not for the exertions of Frenchmen and Dutchmen, it would be impossible for any Spaniard to know either the position of his own town, or the distance from one place to another.[1396]

[1396] 'Su ministro el célebre Ensenada, que tenia grandes miras en
todos los ramos de la administracion pública, deseaba
ardientemente mejorar la enseñanza, lamentándose del atraso en
que esta se hallaba. "Es menester, decia hablando de las
universidades, reglar sus cátedras, reformar las superfluas y
establecer las que faltan con nuevas ordenanzas para asegurar el
mejor método de estudios. No sé que haya cátedra alguna de
derecho público, de física esperimental, de anatomía y botánica.
No hay puntuales cartas geográficas del reino y de sus
provincias, _ni quien las sepa grabar, ni tenemos otras que las
imperfectas que vienen de Francia y Holanda_. De esto proviene
que ignoramos la verdadera situacion de los pueblos y sus
distancias, que es una vergüenza."' _Tapia_, _Civilizacion
Española_, Madrid, 1840, vol. iv. pp. 268, 269. See also
_Biografia de Ensenada_, in _Navarrete_, _Coleccion de
Opúsculos_, Madrid, 1848, vol. ii. pp. 21, 22. 'Le parecia
vergonzoso que para conocer la situacion y distancias
respectivas de nuestros mismos pueblos y lugares, dependiésemos
de los franceses y holandeses, quienes por sus mapas imperfectas
de la península extraían de ella sumas considerables.' Eighty
years after this complaint was made by Ensenada, we find a
traveller in Spain stating that 'a decent map of any part, even
of the country round the gates of the capital, cannot be found.'
_Cook's Spain from 1829 to 1832_, London, 1834, vol. i. p. 322.
Compare _Notices of Geological Memoirs_, p. 1, at the end of the
_Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society_, vol. vi., London,
1850; 'even a good geographical map of the Peninsula does not
exist.'

The only remedy for all this, seemed to be foreign aid; and Spain being now ruled by a foreign dynasty, that aid was called in. Cervi established the Medical Societies of Madrid and of Seville; Virgili founded the College of Surgery at Cadiz; and Bowles endeavoured to promote among the Spaniards the study of mineralogy.[1397] Professors were sought for, far and wide; and application was made to Linnæus to send a person from Sweden who could impart some idea of botany to physiological students.[1398] Many other and similar steps were taken by the government, whose indefatigable exertions would deserve our warmest praise, if we did not know how impossible it is for any government to enlighten a nation, and how absolutely essential it is that the desire for improvement should, in the first place, proceed from the people themselves. No progress is real, unless it is spontaneous. The movement, to be effective, must emanate from within, and not from without; it must be due to general causes acting on the whole country, and not to the mere will of a few powerful individuals. During the eighteenth century, all the means of improvement were lavishly supplied to the Spaniards; but the Spaniards did not want to improve. They were satisfied with themselves; they were sure of the accuracy of their own opinions; they were proud of the notions which they inherited, and which they did not wish either to increase or to diminish. Being unable to doubt, they were, therefore, unwilling to inquire. New and beautiful truths, conveyed in the clearest and most attractive language, could produce no effect upon men whose minds were thus hardened and enslaved.[1399] An unhappy combination of events, working without interruption since the fifth century, had predetermined the national character in a particular direction, and neither statesmen, nor kings, nor legislators, could effect aught against it. The seventeenth century was, however, the climax of all. In that age, the Spanish nation fell into a sleep, from which, as a nation, it has never since awakened. It was a sleep, not of repose, but of death. It was a sleep, in which the faculties, instead of being rested, were paralyzed, and in which a cold and universal torpor succeeded that glorious, though partial, activity, which, while it made the name of Spain terrible in the world, had insured the respect even of her bitterest enemies.

[1397] M. Rio (_Historia del Reinado de Carlos III._, vol. i. p. 185)
mentions this in a very characteristic manner. 'Varios
extranjeros distinguidos _hallaron fraternidad entre los
españoles, y correspondieron hidalgamente al hospedaje_: Cervi
dió vida á las sociedades médicas de Madrid y Sevilla; Virgili
al colegio de Cirugía de Cádiz; Quer trabajó sin descanso para
que el Jardin Botánico no fuera un simple lugar de recreo, sino
principalmente de estudio; Bowles comunicó grande impulso á la
mineralogía,' &c.

[1398] I have mislaid the evidence of this fact; but the reader may rely
on its accuracy.

[1399] Townsend (_Journey through Spain in 1786 and 1787_, vol. ii.
p. 275) says, 'Don Antonio Solano, professor of experimental
philosophy, merits attention for the clearness and precision of
his demonstrations: but, unfortunately, although his lectures
are delivered gratis, such is the want of taste for science in
Madrid, that nobody attends them.'

Even the fine arts, in which the Spaniards had formerly excelled, partook of the general degeneracy, and, according to the confession of their own writers, had, by the beginning of the eighteenth century, fallen into complete decay.[1400] The arts which secure national safety, were in the same predicament as those which minister to national pleasure. There was no one in Spain who could build a ship; there was no one who knew how to rig it, after it was built. The consequence was, that, by the close of the seventeenth century, the few ships which Spain possessed, were so rotten, that, says an historian, they could hardly support the fire of their own guns.[1401] In 1752, the government, being determined to restore the navy, found it necessary to send to England for shipwrights; and they were also obliged to apply to the same quarter for persons who could make ropes and canvass; the skill of the natives being unequal to such arduous achievements.[1402] In this way, the ministers of the Crown, whose ability and vigour, considering the difficult circumstances in which the incapacity of the people placed them, were extremely remarkable, contrived to raise a fleet superior to any which had been seen in Spain for more than a century.[1403] They also took many other steps towards putting the national defences into a satisfactory condition; though in every instance, they were forced to rely on the aid of foreigners. Both the military and the naval service were in utter confusion, and had to be organized afresh. The discipline of the infantry was remodelled by O'Reilly, an Irishman, to whose superintendence the military schools of Spain were intrusted.[1404] At Cadiz, a great naval academy was formed, but the head of it was Colonel Godin, a French officer.[1405] The artillery, which like everything else, had become almost useless, was improved by Maritz, the Frenchman; while the same service was rendered to the arsenals by Gazola, the Italian.[1406]

[1400] 'La ignorancia reinante en los últimos años del siglo xvii.
depravó en tal manera el buen gusto, que á principios del xviii.
las artes se hallaban en la mas lastimosa decadencia.' _Tapia_,
_Civilizacion Española_, Madrid, 1840, vol. iv. p. 346. See
also, on this decline, or rather destruction, of taste,
_Valasquez_, _Origines de la Poesia Castellana_, Malaga, 1754,
4to. 'Un siglo, corrompido, en que las letras estaban
abandonadas, y el buen gusto casi desterrado de toda la nacion.'
p. 70. 'Al passo que la nacion perdia el buen gusto, y las
letras iban caminando á su total decadencia.' p. 107. 'Los
caminos por donde nuestros poetas en el siglo pasado se
apartaron del buen gusto en esta parte.' p. 170.

[1401] 'Solo cuatro navíos de línea y seis de poco porte dejaron los
reyes de orígen austriaco, y todos tan podridos que apenas
podian aguantar el fuego de sus propias baterias.' _Rio_,
_Historia del Reinado de Carlos III._, Madrid, 1856, vol. i.
p. 184.

[1402] 'Se mandaron construir 12 navíos á la vez, y se contrataron
otros. Por medio de D. Jorge Juan se trajeron de Inglaterra los
mas hábiles constructores y maestros para las fábricas de
jarcia, lona y otras.' _Biografía de Ensenada_, in _Navarrete_,
_Coleccion de Opúsculos_, Madrid, 1848, vol. ii. p. 18. M. Rio,
taking all this as a matter of course, quietly says, 'D. Jorge
Juan fue á Lóndres para estudiar la construccion de navíos.'
_Historia del Reinado de Carlos III._, Madrid, 1856, vol. iv. p.
485.

[1403] M. Lafuente says that Ensenada was the restorer, and almost the
creator, of the Spanish navy; 'de la cual fué el restaurador, y
casi pudiera decirse el creador.' _Lafuente_, _Historia de
España_, vol. xix. p. 344, Madrid, 1857.

[1404] 'C'est par un Irlandais aussi, Oreilly, que la discipline de
l'infanterie est réformée.' _Bourgoing_, _Tableau de l'Espagne
Moderne_, Paris, 1808, vol. ii. p. 142. 'Las escuelas militares
del puerto de Sta. Maria para la infanteria, que dirigió con
tanto acierto el general Ofarril bajo las ordenes del conde de
O'Reilly.' _Tapia_, _Civilizacion Española_, vol. iv. p. 128.

[1405] 'Vino á dirigir la academia de guardias marinas de Cadiz.'
_Tapia_, _Civilizacion Española_, vol. iv. p. 79. 'Godin figuró
como director del colegio de Guardias marinas.' _Rio_, _Historia
de Carlos III._, vol. i. p. 186. Compare _Biographie
Universelle_, vol. xvii. p. 564, Paris, 1816.

[1406] See the interesting remarks in _Bourgoing_, _Tableau de l'Espagne
Moderne_, Paris, 1808, vol. ii. pp. 96, 142. With good reason,
therefore, was it stated, some years afterwards, that 'c'est à
des étrangers que l'Espagne doit presque tous les plans, les
réformes utiles, et les connoissances dont elle a eu besoin.'
_Voyage en Espagne par le Marquis de Langle_, 1785, vol. ii.
p. 159.

The mines, which form one of the greatest natural sources of the wealth of Spain, had likewise suffered from that ignorance and apathy into which the force of circumstances had plunged the country. They were either completely neglected, or if worked, they were worked by other nations. The celebrated cobalt-mine, situated in the valley of Gistan, in Aragon, was entirely in the hands of the Germans, who, during the first half of the eighteenth century, derived immense profit from it.[1407] In the same way, the silver-mines of Guadalcanal, the richest in Spain, were undertaken, not by natives, but by foreigners. Though they had been discovered in the sixteenth century, they, as well as other matters of importance, had been forgotten in the seventeenth, and were reopened, in 1728, by English adventurers; the enterprise, the tools, the capital, and even the miners, all coming from England.[1408] Another, and still more famous, mine is that of Almaden in La Mancha, which produces mercury of the finest quality, and in great profusion. This metal, besides being indispensable for many of the commonest arts, was of peculiar value to Spain, because without it the gold and silver of the New World could not be extracted from their ores. From Almaden, where every natural facility exists for collecting it, and where the cinnibar in which it is found is unusually rich, vast supplies had formerly been drawn; but they had for some time been diminishing, although the demand, especially from foreign countries, was on the increase. Under these circumstances, the Spanish government, fearing that so important a source of wealth might altogether perish, determined to institute an inquiry into the manner in which the mine was worked. As, however, no Spaniard possessed the knowledge requisite for such an investigation, the advisers of the Crown were obliged to call on foreigners to help them. In 1752, an Irish naturalist, named Bowles, was commissioned to visit Almaden, and ascertain the cause of the failure. He found that the miners had acquired a habit of sinking their shafts perpendicularly, instead of following the direction of the vein.[1409] So absurd a process was quite sufficient to account for their want of success; and Bowles reported to the government, that if a shaft were to be sunk obliquely, the mine would, no doubt, again be productive. The government approved of the suggestion, and ordered it to be carried into effect. But the Spanish miners were too tenacious of their old customs to give way. They sank their shafts in the same manner as their fathers had done; and what their fathers had done must be right. The result was, that the mine had to be taken out of their hands; but as Spain could supply no other labourers, it was necessary to send to Germany for fresh ones.[1410] After their arrival, matters rapidly improved. The mine, being superintended by an Irishman, and worked by Germans, assumed quite a different appearance; and, notwithstanding the disadvantages with which new comers always have to contend, the immediate consequence of the change was, that the yield of mercury was doubled, and its cost to the consumer correspondingly lowered.[1411]

[1407] 'Como los del pais entendian poco de trabajar minas, vinieron de
Alemania algunos prácticos para enseñarlos.' ... 'Los Alemanes
sacaron de dicha mina por largo tiempo cosa de 500 á 600
quintales de cobalto al año.' _Bowles_, _Historia Natural de
España_, Madrid, 1789, 4to. pp. 418, 419. See also _Dillon's
Spain_, Dublin, 1781, pp. 227-229.

[1408] 'In 1728, a new adventurer undertook the work of opening the
mines of Guadalcanal. This was Lady Mary Herbert, daughter of
the Marquis of Powis.' ... 'Lady Mary departed from Madrid for
Guadalcanal, to which miners and engines had been sent from
England at her expense, and at that of her relation, Mr. Gage,
who accompanied her, and of her father, the marquis.' _Jacob's
Historical Inquiry into the Production and Consumption of the
Precious Metals_, London, 1831, vol. i. pp. 278, 279.

[1409] 'Los mineros de Almaden nunca hicieron los socavones siguiendo la
inclinacion de las betas, sino perpendiculares, y baxaban á
ellos puestos en una especie de cubos atados desde arriba con
cuerdas. De este mal método se originó todo al desórden de la
mina, porque al paso que los operarios penetraban dentro de
tierra, era forzoso que se apartasen de las betas y las
perdiesen.' _Bowles_, _Historía Natural de España_, Madrid,
1789, 4to. p. 14.

[1410] 'Fué mi proyecto bien recibido del Ministerio, y _habiendo hecho
venir mineros Alemanes_, le han executado en gran parte con
mucha habilidad. Los mineros Españoles de Almaden son atrevidos
y tienen robustez, maña y penetracion quanta es menester, de
suerte que _con el tiempo serán excelentes mineros, pues no les
falta otra cosa que la verdadera ciencia de las minas_.'
_Historia Natural de España_, p. 16. The latter part of this
sentence is an evident struggle between the interests of truth,
and the exigencies of a book printed at the Royal Press of
Madrid, and licensed by the Spanish authorities.

[1411] 'Encargado por el gobierno el laborioso extrangero Bowles de
proponer los medios convenientes para beneficiar con mas acierto
las famosas minas de azogue del Almaden, descubrió algunos
nuevos procedimientos por medio de los cuales casi se duplicaron
los productos de aquellas, y bajó una mitad el precio de los
azogues.' _Tapia_, _Civilizacion Española_, vol. iv. p. 117.

Such ignorance, pervading the whole nation, and extending to every department of life, is hardly conceivable, considering the immense advantages which the Spaniards had formerly enjoyed. It is particularly striking, when contrasted with the ability of the government, which, for more than eighty years, constantly laboured to improve the condition of the country. Early in the eighteenth century, Ripperda, in the hopes of stimulating Spanish industry, established a large woollen manufactory at Segovia, which had once been a busy and prosperous city. But the commonest processes had now been forgotten; and he was obliged to import manufacturers from Holland, to teach the Spaniards how to make up the wool, though that was an art for which in better days they had been especially famous.[1412] In 1757, Wall, who was then minister, constructed, upon a still larger scale, a similar manufactory at Guadalajara in New Castile. Soon, however, something went wrong with the machinery; and as the Spaniards neither knew nor cared anything about these matters, it was necessary to send to England for a workman to put it right.[1413] At length the advisers of Charles III., despairing of rousing the people by ordinary means, devised a more comprehensive scheme, and invited thousands of foreign artisans to settle in Spain; trusting that their example, and the suddenness of their influx might invigorate this jaded nation.[1414] All was in vain. The spirit of the country was broken, and nothing could retrieve it. Among other attempts which were made, the formation of a National Bank was a favourite idea of politicians, who expected great things from an institution which was to extend credit, and make advances to persons engaged in business. But, though the design was executed, it entirely failed in effecting its purpose. When the people are not enterprising, no effort of government can make them so. In a country like Spain, a great bank was an exotic, which might live with art, but could never thrive by nature. Indeed, both in its origin and in its completion, it was altogether foreign, having been first proposed by the Dutchman Ripperda,[1415] and owing its final organization to the Frenchman Cabarrus.[1416]

[1412] _Memoirs of Ripperda_, 2d ed., London, 1740, pp. 23, 62, 91, 104.
'A ship arrived at Cadiz with fifty manufacturers on board, whom
the Baron de Ripperda had drawn together in Holland.' ... 'The
new manufactures at Segovia, which, though at this time wholly
managed by foreigners, he wished, in the next age, might be
carried on by the Spaniards themselves, and by them only.'

[1413] 'The minister, Wall, an Irishman, contrived to decoy over one
Thomas Bevan, from Melksham, in Wiltshire, to set the machinery
and matters to rights.' _Ford's Spain_, London, 1847, p. 525.

[1414] 'Ademas de la invitacion que se hizo á millares de operarios
extrangeros para venir á establecerse en España,' &c. _Tapia_,
_Civilizacion Española_, vol. iv. pp. 112, 113. In 1768, Harris,
who travelled from Pampeluna to Madrid, writes, 'I did not
observe a dozen men either at plough or any other kind of
labour, on the road.' _Diaries and Correspondence of James
Harris, Earl of Malmesbury_, London, 1844, vol. i. p. 38.

[1415] 'A national bank, a design originally suggested by Ripperda.'
_Coxe's Bourbon Kings of Spain_, vol. v. p. 202.

[1416] Bourgoing, not aware of Ripperda's priority, says (_Tableau de
l'Espagne Moderne_, vol. ii. p. 49), 'L'idée de la banque
nationale fut donnée au gouvernement par un banquier français,
M. Cabarrus.' Compare _Rio_, _Historia del Reinado de Carlos
III._, vol. iv. pp. 122, 123: 'Banco nacional de San Cárlos;
propúsolo Cabarrús, apoyólo Floridablanca, y sancionólo el
Soberano por Real cedula de 2 de junio de 1782.' This sounds
well; but the inevitable catastrophe soon came. 'Charles IV.,'
says the Prince of the Peace, 'had just ascended the throne; the
bank of St. Carlos was rapidly falling, and on the verge of
bankruptcy.' _Godoy's Memoirs_, London, 1836, vol. i. p. 124.

In everything, the same law prevailed. In diplomacy, the ablest men were not Spaniards, but foreigners; and during the eighteenth century the strange spectacle was frequently exhibited, of Spain being represented by French, Italian, and even Irish ambassadors.[1417] Nothing was indigenous; nothing was done by Spain herself. Philip V., who reigned from 1700 to 1746, and possessed immense power, always clung to the ideas of his own country, and was a Frenchman to the last. For thirty years after his death, the three most prominent names in Spanish politics were, Wall, who was born in France, of Irish parents;[1418] Grimaldi, who was a native of Genoa; [1419] and Esquilache, who was a native of Sicily.[1420] Esquilache administered the finances for several years; and, after enjoying the confidence of Charles III. to an extent rarely possessed by any minister, was only dismissed, in 1766, in consequence of the discontents of the people at the innovations introduced by this bold foreigner.[1421] Wall, a much more remarkable man, was, in the absence of any good Spanish diplomatist, sent envoy to London in 1747; and after exercising great influence in matters of state, he was placed at the head of affairs in 1754, and remained supreme till 1763.[1422] When this eminent Irishman relinquished office, he was succeeded by the Genoese, Grimaldi, who ruled Spain from 1763 to 1777, and was entirely devoted to the French views of policy.[1423] His principal patron was Choiseul, who had imbued him with his own notions, and by whose advice he was chiefly guided.[1424] Indeed, Choiseul, who was then the first minister in France, used to boast, with exaggeration, but not without a considerable amount of truth, that his influence in Madrid was even greater than it was in Versailles.[1425]

[1417] 'A Londres, à Stockholm, à Paris, à Vienne et à Venise, le
souverain est réprésenté par des étrangers. Le prince de
Masserano, Italien, ambassadeur en Angleterre; le comte de Lacy
Irlandais, ministre à Stockholm; le marquis de Grimaldi,
ambassadeur en France, avant de parvenir au ministère; le comte
de Mahoni, Irlandais, ambassadeur à Vienne; le marquis de
Squilaci, ambassadeur à Venise, après sa retraite du ministère.'
_Bourgoing_, _Tableau de l'Espagne_, vol. ii. pp. 142, 143. To
this, I may add that, in the reign of Philip V., an Italian, the
Marquis de Beretti Landi, was the representative of Spain in
Switzerland, and afterwards at the Hague (_Ripperda's Memoirs_,
1740, pp. 37, 38); and that in, or just before, 1779, Lacy
filled the same post at St. Petersburg. _Malmesbury's Diaries
and Correspondence_, 1844, vol. i. p. 261. So, too, M. Rio
(_Historia de Carlos III._, vol. i. pp. 288, 289) says of the
important negotiations which took place in 1761, between Spain,
England, and France, 'Y así de las negociaciones en que Luis XV.
trataba de enredar á Carlos III. quedaron absolutamente
excluidos los españoles, como que por una parte las iban á
seguir el duque de Choiseul y el marques de Ossun, franceses, y
por otra el irlandés D. Ricardo Wall, y el genovés marques de
Grimaldi.' About the same time, Clarke writes (in his _Letters
concerning the Spanish Nation_, London, 1763, 4to. p. 331),
'Spain has, for many years past, been under the direction of
foreign ministers. Whether this hath been owing to want of
capacity in the natives, or disinclination in the sovereign, I
will not take upon me to say; such as it is, the native nobility
lament it as a great calamity.'

[1418] Lord Stanhope, generally well informed on Spanish affairs, says
that Wall was 'a native of Ireland.' _Mahon's History of
England_, vol. iv. p. 182, 3d edit., London, 1853; but in
_Mémoires de Noailles_, vol. iv. p. 47, edit. Paris, 1829, he is
called 'irlandais d'origine, né en France.' See also _Biografía
de Ensenada_, in _Navarrete_, _Opúsculos_, Madrid, 1848, vol.
ii. p. 26, 'D. Ricardo Wall, irlandés de orígen, nacido en
Francia.' Swinburne, who knew him personally, and has given some
account of him, does not mention where he was born. _Swinburne's
Travels through Spain_, second edition, London, 1787, vol. i.
pp. 314-318.

[1419] 'A Genoese, and a creature of France.' _Dunham's History of
Spain_, vol. v. p. 170.

[1420] 'Era siciliano.' _Rio_, _Historia del Reinado de Carlos III._,
vol. i. p. 244.

[1421] The fullest account of his dismissal is given by M. Rio, in the
first chapter of the second volume of his _Historia del Reinado
de Carlos III._, which should, however, be compared with _Coxe's
Bourbon Kings of Spain_, vol. iv. pp. 340-346. Coxe terms him
Squilaci; but I follow the orthography of the Spanish writers,
who always call him Esquilache. Such was his influence over the
King, that, according to Coxe (vol. iv. p. 347), Charles III.
'publicly said that, "if he was reduced to a morsel of bread, he
would divide it with Squilaci."'

[1422] _Coxe's Kings of Spain_, vol. iv. pp. 15, 135. _Rio_, _Historia
de Carlos III._, vol. i. pp. 246, 247, 400, 401. _Navarrete_,
_Biografía de Ensenada_, pp. 26-28.

[1423] He resigned in 1776, but held office till the arrival of his
successor, Florida Blanca, in 1777. _Rio_, _Historia de Carlos
III._, vol. iii. pp. 171, 174. In reference to his appointment,
in 1763, M. Rio observes (vol. i. p. 402), 'De que Grimaldi
creciera en fortuna se pudo congratular no Roma, sino Francia.'
In 1770, Harris, the diplomatist, who was then in Spain, writes,
'His doctrine is absolutely French; guided in everything by the
French closet,' &c. _Malmesbury's Diaries and Correspondence_,
vol. i. p. 56, London, 1844.

[1424] 'Guided in his operations by the counsels of Choiseul.' _Coxe's
Bourbon Kings of Spain_, vol. iv. p. 339. 'The prosecution of
the schemes which he had concerted with Choiseul.' p. 373. 'His
friend and patron.' p. 391, and vol. v. p. 6.

[1425] 'Personne n'ignoroit le crédit prodigieux que M. de Choiseul
avoit sur le roi d'Espagne, dont il se vantoit lui-même, au
point que je lui ai ouï dire, qu'il étoit plus sûr de sa
prépondérance dans le cabinet de Madrid, que dans celui de
Versailles.' _Mémoires du Baron de Besenval_, _écrits par
lui-même_, vol. ii. pp. 14, 15, Paris, 1805.

However this may be, it is certain that four years after Grimaldi took office, the ascendency of France was exhibited in a remarkable way. Choiseul, who hated the Jesuits, and had just expelled them from France, endeavoured also to expel them from Spain.[1426] The execution of the plan was confided to Aranda, who, though a Spaniard by birth, derived his intellectual culture from France, and had contracted, in the society of Paris, an intense hatred of every form of ecclesiastical power.[1427] The scheme, secretly prepared, was skilfully accomplished.[1428] In 1767, the Spanish government, without hearing what the Jesuits had to say in their defence, and indeed, without giving them the least notice, suddenly ordered their expulsion; and with such animosity were they driven from the country, in which they sprung up, and had long been cherished, that not only was their wealth confiscated, and they themselves reduced to a wretched pittance, but even that was directed to be taken from them, if they published anything in their own vindication; while it was also declared that whoever ventured to write respecting them, should, if we were a subject of Spain, be put to death, as one guilty of high treason.[1429]

[1426] M. Muriel (_Gobierno del Rey Don Carlos III._, Madrid, 1839,
pp. 44, 45) terms their expulsion from Spain 'este acto de
violencia hecho meramente por complacer al duque de Choiseul,
ministro de Francia y protector del partido filosófico.' See
also _Crétineau-Joly_, _Histoire de la Compagnie de Jésus_, vol.
v. p. 291, Paris, 1845; and _Georgel_, _Mémoires pour servir à
l'Histoire des Évènemens depuis 1760_, vol. ii. p. 95, Paris,
1817.

[1427] Archdeacon Coxe, in a somewhat professional tone, says of Aranda,
'In France he had acquired the graces of polished society, and
_imbibed that freedom of sentiment_ which then began to be
fashionable, _and has since been carried to such a dangerous
excess_.' _Coxe's Bourbon Kings of Spain_, vol. iv. p. 402. His
great enemy, the Prince of the Peace, wishing to be severe,
unintentionally praises him; and observes, that he was
'connected with the most distinguished literary Frenchmen of the
middle of the last century,' and that he was 'divested of
religious prejudices, though swayed by philosophical
enthusiasm.' _Godoy's Memoirs_, London, 1836, vol. i. p. 319.
The hostility of some men is extremely valuable. The Prince
further adds, that Aranda 'could only lay claim to the inferior
merit of a sectarian attachment,' forgetting that, in a country
like Spain, every enlightened person must belong to a miserably
small sect.

[1428] Cabarrus (_Elogio de Carlos III._, Madrid, 1789, 4to. p. xxiv.)
says, rather magniloquently, 'El acierto de la execucion que
correspondió al pulso y prudencia con que se habia deliberado
esta providencia importante, pasará á la ultima posteridad.'

[1429] _Coxe's Bourbon Kings of Spain_, vol. iv. p. 362. M. Rio, in the
second volume of his _History of Charles III._, Madrid, 1856,
has given a long, but not very philosophical, nor very accurate,
account of the expulsion of the Jesuits, which he considers
solely from the Spanish point of view; overlooking the fact,
that it was part of an European movement headed by France. He
denies the influence of Choiseul, p. 125; censures the perfectly
correct statement of Coxe, p. 123; and finally ascribes this
great event to the operation of causes confined to the
Peninsula. 'De ser los jesuitas adversarios del regalismo emanó
su ruina en España, cuando triunfaban las opiniones sostenidas
con heróico teson desde mucho ántes por doctísimos
jurisconsultos.' p. 519.

Such boldness on the part of the government[1430] caused even the Inquisition to tremble. That once omnipotent tribunal, threatened and suspected by the civil authorities, became more wary in its proceedings, and more tender in its treatment of heretics. Instead of extirpating unbelievers by hundreds or by thousands, it was reduced to such pitiful straits, that between 1746 and 1759, it was only able to burn ten persons; and between 1759 and 1788, only four persons.[1431] The extraordinary diminution during the latter period, was partly owing to the great authority wielded by Aranda, the friend of the encyclopædists and of other French sceptics. This remarkable man was President of Castile till 1773,[1432] and he issued an order forbidding the Inquisition to interfere with the civil courts.[1433] He also formed a scheme for entirely abolishing it; but his plan was frustrated, owing to its premature announcement by his friends in Paris, to whom it had been confided.[1434] His views, however, were so far successful, that after 1781, there is no instance in Spain of a heretic being burned; the Inquisition being too terrified by the proceedings of government to do anything which might compromise the safety of the Holy Institution.[1435]