Tamariz, who lived in the latter part of the sixteenth century, is noticed in terms of encomium by Don Argote de Molina, in his Discourse on Castilian Poetry, which he published with an edition of the old poem of the Conde Lucanor. Don Adolfo de Castro mentions having seen several works of Tamariz in manuscript, and among them were several novels; but of the stanzas alluded to in the text, he states he has no knowledge.

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.

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.

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 Enciclopoedia, 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.”

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.

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.

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.”

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.)

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.

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.”

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.

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.)