Chapter XOf the entry of the religious into the city of Manila, and of their occupations there until they went on their various missions.The previous chapter has caused some digression; but it was necessary, in order to give an account of the voyage, and of the career of these important religious. We now return to those on the other ship, which we left at the port of Cavite—whence the news was immediately carried to Manila, which is two leguas from that port. The bishop of this city, Don Fray Domingo Salazar, was, as has already been said, a religious of this order. He was greatly delighted when he learned that religious of his own order had come to found a province, which was thething that he most desired in this life. He sent immediately to a nephew of his to ask him to welcome them and to bring them to the city, which they entered on the day of the apostle St. James. This was a happy omen for those who came with so great a desire to imitate the great zeal of this holy apostle, by which he was so distinguished among the other apostles that the enemies of the gospel opposed him more than the others, and that he was the first among the apostles to lose his life. When they entered the city there came out to meet them Doctor Sanctiago de Vera, governor and captain-general of these islands, together with the most noble and illustrious of the city, showing in the joy of their faces and their loving words the delight that they felt at the arrival of the brethren—of whose sanctity they had already been informed and felt assured by the modesty of their appearance, faithful witness to the heart. Accompanied by these friends, they went to the chief church, where the bishop was waiting for them; and he gave them his benediction, full of tears of joy. Here they offered to the Lord the thanks they owed to Him for having brought them to the destination which they had so long desired; and for the great honor which, as to His servants and for His sake, had been shown them. Immediately after, the holy bishop took them to his house, and, making them welcome to everything in it, entertained them as well as he could; for he desired for occasions such as this and for giving to the poor, that his episcopate should be rich. Since this day was wholly given up to visits, it was not very pleasant for him; but when he was alone with his brethren he lifted up his voice with tears, like another Joseph, and said to them: “Is itpossible that I have seen the order of my father St. Dominic established in this country? Is it possible that my eyes have seen the thing which I so much desired?” After he had said these words, he remained for a long time unable to speak, his words being followed by an abundance of tears, which he shed from tenderness and the emotion of his soul. Everything else that followed was conformable to this, both in his conversation and his acts, which were those of an affectionate father. He gave them all their sustenance in his house, without growing weary of such guests. They, however, were not seeking comfort such as the good bishop provided them, but labors for themselves and souls for God; and after resting a few days they begged the bishop to put them in the way of attaining what they had come to find, as his bishopric was so rich in it. The festival of our father St. Dominic was at hand; and they resolved to celebrate it before separating, asking the blessing of the Great Father on that important act. Having no convent, they celebrated the festival in church, with the utmost solemnity and devotion; and in the evening they had some theological discussions, father Fray Pedro de Soto maintaining several positions, in which he displayed his admirable ability and great learning. Father Fray Miguel de Venavides presided, a man who surpassed those who in that period were of mark in virtue and scholarship, by the shoulders and more, like Saul in bodily presence among his subjects. The purpose of the discussions was to show that preaching the gospel (which was to be their occupation), even to the simple race of Indians, does not interfere with scholarship, but requires it, and much study; the contrary is a manifesterror, for the smaller the capacity of the Indian, the greater should be the capacity of the minister. He is called on to make the Indian capable of the loftiest mysteries taught by the faith; and we see by daily experience among Indians cases and matters which cannot be solved except by a man of great knowledge, learning, and ability. Since all cannot be so highly endowed, it is essential to have some ministers of superior attainments to whom the others may resort with their difficulties, and whose responses they may safely follow. The good bishop took particular pleasure in being present at and encouraging the discussions, and in perceiving that those who sustained theses and the others (who likewise exhibited their abilities) might aid him in weighty matters in the difficult duties of his office. This was afterward proved to be true in this province and in España, where he who presided accompanied the bishop and was of great assistance to him, as we shall see. After the festival was over, it was determined that father Fray Christoval de Salvatierra, who was the bishop’s companion—and who was of the same pattern in virtue, prudence, and zeal for the common good and especially for the good of souls (as will hereafter be recounted)—should take some of these fathers to some villages of Indians who had no one to instruct them, and whom he therefore had taken under his own charge. He went to visit and teach them when he had leisure from his heavy labors as vicar-general. The labor of his office, being in a new country, full of entanglements with regard to the conquistadors and new encomiendas and the collection of tributes, would have been intolerable for others; yet he took his vacation by working at otherkinds of labor, teaching new Indians, working with them, and introducing among them Christian policy and civilization so far as they were capable of receiving them. This avocation of his would have sufficed most men for their full duty, but he did it in addition to his regular work as vicar-general. The villages were at such a distance from Manila that it took more than a day to go there by sea, and much more by the rivers.14In order to teach the new fathers the manner of working with the Indians, and to begin to acquaint them with the language of the natives, which he knew very well, he went with them to the villages commonly known as Bataan. Those who had the fortune to go with father Fray Christoval were very well pleased, inasmuch as they were beginning to obtain that which they had followed with such desire from España. The rest of them, desiring greater convenience for living according to the custom of friars than could be afforded them in the house of the bishop (although he was a holy man), went to the convent of St. Francis, where they were received and entertained as might have been expected of fathers so religious and so zealous in following the rules of their great father and ours, which we accepted exactly as if we were of the same habit. Nothing less could have been expected, since those fathers then had as custodian the holy Fray Pedro Baptista, afterwards the most glorious martyrin Iapon, and as guardian father Fray Vicente Valero—another Nathaniel in guilelessness of soul, joined with a most solid virtue and devotion to his vows, which caused him to be esteemed and venerated among lay and religious. Some days afterward the Indians of Pangasinan were entrusted to our religious. They lived forty leguas distant, and, being all heathen, had need of someone to labor among them. The order likewise took charge of the Indians of Bataan, to whom, as has been said, the father provisor ministered because he had no one to send; as also of the Chinese or Sangleys, who up to that time had had no ministry. Many thousands of them had come and were still coming every year from their own country, on account of their trade and commerce in this colony, which is very great. Many of them were traders, and many were mechanics. No one desired to undertake the ministry to them, because of the great labor and the little fruit; but since the new laborers had come fresh, and were eager for work, this claim of itself was sufficient for them to regard it as a great favor to be permitted to occupy themselves where the toil was greatest. The father vicar-general sent for the absent brethren, and gathered all together in the convent of St. Francis; and there offered a long prayer for them, asking for the grace of the Holy Spirit. He then made them a spiritual and devout address. After it was concluded, he who in lesser things had never been accustomed to proceed without consultation, now, without further consultation than that which he had had with God, assigned and distributed them after the following manner. To the district of Bataan he sent as vicar father Fray Juan de Sancto Thomas (or de Ormaça),with three associates: father Fray Alonso Ximenez and Fray Pedro Bolaños, and Fray Domingo de Nieva. To the province of Pangasinan he assigned, as vicar, father Fray Bernardo Navarro (or de Sancta Cathalina), with five associates: fathers Fray Gregorio de Ochoa, Fray Juan de Castro (nephew of the vicar-general), Fray Pedro de Soto, Fray Marcos de San Antonio, and father Fray Juan de la Cruz. The father vicar-general remained with the others in the convent which was to be established in Manila, and was intended for the conversion of the Chinese. It was only necessary for him to give the directions and to arrange all things, every man doing that which fell to his lot. The reason was not only their great virtue of obedience, but the fact that the holy old man had held this chapter in a manner so spirited and so extraordinary as to convince them that in his address he had said to them that which it was their duty to do, and that it was God who had thus given them their commands. The father vicar-general immediately began to give his attention to the convent which was to be established in Manila; but when he looked for a situation he did not find a suitable one. That part of the city that was submerged at high tide did not seem desirable; but that which was not submerged was so taken up by the cathedral and the other convents that the matter was a very difficult one. Being such, the good bishop laid it before the Lord in his prayers; and having earnestly besought His help, he arose from prayer with great happiness, and went, though it was late at night, to his sub-chaplain and steward, Francisco Zerbantes, telling him that he had the site for the friars, and directing him to see if he could obtainthree hundred pesos, which the owner asked for the place; for the bishop had not even one peso with him. The steward—whose accounts were always indicating a deficit, because every third of their yearly income15scarcely fell due before the poor took it away from the bishop—frankly responded that he did not dare attempt to get that sum and did not see how he could, because even for their ordinary subsistence the means were frequently insufficient, so that he was embarrassed. The bishop was not disconcerted by this, but (though it is not known how or where) he quickly procured the three hundred pesos; and he told the steward to give the money to a Spaniard called Gaspar de Isla, who was diking a small place which was all flooded, and much more the land about it. For this reason, though many had looked at it, no one had regarded it as good for a convent. But the bishop, with great insistence, directed the steward to take the next morning a stole, some holy water, and two sticks to make a cross; and he embarked in a banca, or little canoe, and went to the place (for it was overflowed to that extent), and blessed it. He took possession on August 16, 1587, and set up a cross in token that the convent should be built there, as it was; and the site has turned out to be very healthful, with very pleasant views. It has been surrounded by very good houses, and has had other advantages. The bishop gave for the building two thousand pesos—a thing apparently impossible, because of his poverty, but worthy of his great soul, and of the great affection which he felt toward the friars. They immediately began to builda house there and a poor little wooden church. They finished soon, and the religious began to occupy it on the first day of the following year, 1588, to the great joy of themselves and of the whole city. The first superior of the convent, with the title of vicar, was father Fray Diego de Soria, a great preacher, and a very devout man, so that he immediately made many persons greatly devoted to him. The new convent began to be very much frequented, and to be so well assisted by alms that for many years there was no occasion to cook food; because every day the amount of cooked food which was provided was too great rather than too small. There were many who came to its assistance with alms, some one day, some another; but Captain Francisco Rodriguez sent every day, so that the religious were as sure of this supply of food as if they cooked it at home. The Lord paid His accounts, as He is accustomed to, promptly. The captain had lived for ten years in marriage without any children, for whom both husband and wife were most desirous, and they had some in payment for these alms; for there is nothing that the Lord denies to those who have mercy on the poor. As the number of the religious increased, it became necessary to do the cooking in the convent; but the devotion of the city and the contribution of alms has always continued and still continues. Thus the convent has been and is maintained solely by them, having been unwilling always to accept an endowment, though many have been offered to it. Thus without endowment or possessions they get what they need, with greater certainty than if they had these. For, however certain such things may be imagined to be, they may fail, as many others have failed; but the word ofGod, in whom the fathers trust, cannot fail. This has been so clearly observed that when our lord the king commanded that this convent, like the others in the city, should receive as a contribution to its support four hundred pesos a year and four hundred fanegas of rice (which takes the place of wheat in this country), they for a long time declined to collect it, since it seemed to them that it was in the nature of an endowment, as being something sure and certain; yet afterward, when they saw that it was pure charity, and that he who gave it could take it away when he chose, they accepted it—on condition, however, that if the ministers of the king take it from us, even unjustly, we shall not ask for it as a right. At this time this has been done, the allowance having been taken away; but the Lord in return has given much more than that. In these first years Doña Ana de Vera, wife of the master-of-camp Pedro de Chaves, and Doña Marina de Cespedes were great benefactors of the religious; and to them the convent, in gratitude, has given chapels in the church for their interment. In general, both poor and rich have given alms to the convent out of good-will; and the religious have paid them all very fully, not only by commending them to the Lord in all their masses and prayers, but by earnestly laboring for the good of their souls with sermons, advice, and exhortation, as well as other spiritual exercises. This was soon evident in the reformation that began to be seen in their habits, and in the improvement in their life. Accordingly, one of the citizens wrote to Captain Chacon (who was at that time governor of the province of Nueva Segovia) telling him as news that the Dominican friars had come to Manila; and that thecity was turned into a monastery in the reformation of the lives and morals of the inhabitants, and, in particular, in the abstraction of the women from worldly concerns. This was indeed the case; one reason was, that the example given by the religious was of great influence, and, though they were few in number, they effected as much as if they were many. They acted in harmony, and devoted themselves to the divine offices as systematically as in great and well-ordered convents. They were all men of education (some of very superior education), all virtuous men, all given to prayer, all very penitent, very harmonious, very zealous for the salvation of souls, very poor, and disengaged from the things of this world. Therefore, all esteemed them and desired them as guides of their souls; and they performed this office with so much care and diligence that the reformation of the aforesaid city resulted. For those who confessed to them were either obliged to reform, or were dismissed by them; for in the conduct of the penitents they refused to consent to deceit, in the collection of tributes they would not allow extortion, in women they would not suffer frivolity or impropriety of manners. As learned men, they revealed the evils in such acts, and could make these understood by their penitents; and as men without any personal motive they held themselves ready to dismiss those who with vain and plausible reasons, with the pretext of evil customs, or with other like cloaks strove to cover their acts of injustice, and to justify the wrongs which they committed through evil desires. Hence those persons who confessed in the Dominican convent came to be known and esteemed, as they still are; and there came toexist in the city more light in regard to things to which previously no attention had been given, and more care was taken of conduct. This was the reason why they said that the city had become a monastery; and in truth, in many cases the conduct of those who confessed there deserved that name—for example, that of Doña Ana de Vera, Doña Marina de Cespedes, Catalina de Villegas, and many other women very well known and esteemed in the city on account of their virtue. In this they all owed no little to the aid of their holy confessors, who with great care, much teaching, and their own examples, did the work of God, and succeeded in attracting many people to the knowledge of Him and to His service. Many, in health, did not follow their counsels, regarding them as too severe, and sought for confessors who feared to lose their penitents, and who, by making their theology liberal, unburdened the consciences of those who confessed to them. Yet even these persons in the hour of death, when their desires had lost some of their force, called for the Dominicans and gave to them the charge of their souls, fearing to lose them by following the road which they had taken in health. And this freedom and courage has always been maintained in this convent; and they have used it without respect of persons—with rich and poor, with governors and other officials. Hence it is necessary for them to live in such a manner that no reproach can be cast upon them, and to be content with but little for their sustenance, since that little cannot fail them. Withal they have no regard to pleasing men, for to Saint Paul it seemed that with that desire it was impossible to unite the service of God—mankind being in generalgreater lovers of themselves than of God, and hence he who is very desirous to please men being necessarily at enmity with God. Therefore, these religious were very careful in this respect, and strove so to conduct themselves toward men that the supreme place should always be held by God; and on this account they had the reputation of rigor—though they were not rigorous, except to those who through their own desires or selfishness tried to cast aside their duties to God.
Chapter XOf the entry of the religious into the city of Manila, and of their occupations there until they went on their various missions.The previous chapter has caused some digression; but it was necessary, in order to give an account of the voyage, and of the career of these important religious. We now return to those on the other ship, which we left at the port of Cavite—whence the news was immediately carried to Manila, which is two leguas from that port. The bishop of this city, Don Fray Domingo Salazar, was, as has already been said, a religious of this order. He was greatly delighted when he learned that religious of his own order had come to found a province, which was thething that he most desired in this life. He sent immediately to a nephew of his to ask him to welcome them and to bring them to the city, which they entered on the day of the apostle St. James. This was a happy omen for those who came with so great a desire to imitate the great zeal of this holy apostle, by which he was so distinguished among the other apostles that the enemies of the gospel opposed him more than the others, and that he was the first among the apostles to lose his life. When they entered the city there came out to meet them Doctor Sanctiago de Vera, governor and captain-general of these islands, together with the most noble and illustrious of the city, showing in the joy of their faces and their loving words the delight that they felt at the arrival of the brethren—of whose sanctity they had already been informed and felt assured by the modesty of their appearance, faithful witness to the heart. Accompanied by these friends, they went to the chief church, where the bishop was waiting for them; and he gave them his benediction, full of tears of joy. Here they offered to the Lord the thanks they owed to Him for having brought them to the destination which they had so long desired; and for the great honor which, as to His servants and for His sake, had been shown them. Immediately after, the holy bishop took them to his house, and, making them welcome to everything in it, entertained them as well as he could; for he desired for occasions such as this and for giving to the poor, that his episcopate should be rich. Since this day was wholly given up to visits, it was not very pleasant for him; but when he was alone with his brethren he lifted up his voice with tears, like another Joseph, and said to them: “Is itpossible that I have seen the order of my father St. Dominic established in this country? Is it possible that my eyes have seen the thing which I so much desired?” After he had said these words, he remained for a long time unable to speak, his words being followed by an abundance of tears, which he shed from tenderness and the emotion of his soul. Everything else that followed was conformable to this, both in his conversation and his acts, which were those of an affectionate father. He gave them all their sustenance in his house, without growing weary of such guests. They, however, were not seeking comfort such as the good bishop provided them, but labors for themselves and souls for God; and after resting a few days they begged the bishop to put them in the way of attaining what they had come to find, as his bishopric was so rich in it. The festival of our father St. Dominic was at hand; and they resolved to celebrate it before separating, asking the blessing of the Great Father on that important act. Having no convent, they celebrated the festival in church, with the utmost solemnity and devotion; and in the evening they had some theological discussions, father Fray Pedro de Soto maintaining several positions, in which he displayed his admirable ability and great learning. Father Fray Miguel de Venavides presided, a man who surpassed those who in that period were of mark in virtue and scholarship, by the shoulders and more, like Saul in bodily presence among his subjects. The purpose of the discussions was to show that preaching the gospel (which was to be their occupation), even to the simple race of Indians, does not interfere with scholarship, but requires it, and much study; the contrary is a manifesterror, for the smaller the capacity of the Indian, the greater should be the capacity of the minister. He is called on to make the Indian capable of the loftiest mysteries taught by the faith; and we see by daily experience among Indians cases and matters which cannot be solved except by a man of great knowledge, learning, and ability. Since all cannot be so highly endowed, it is essential to have some ministers of superior attainments to whom the others may resort with their difficulties, and whose responses they may safely follow. The good bishop took particular pleasure in being present at and encouraging the discussions, and in perceiving that those who sustained theses and the others (who likewise exhibited their abilities) might aid him in weighty matters in the difficult duties of his office. This was afterward proved to be true in this province and in España, where he who presided accompanied the bishop and was of great assistance to him, as we shall see. After the festival was over, it was determined that father Fray Christoval de Salvatierra, who was the bishop’s companion—and who was of the same pattern in virtue, prudence, and zeal for the common good and especially for the good of souls (as will hereafter be recounted)—should take some of these fathers to some villages of Indians who had no one to instruct them, and whom he therefore had taken under his own charge. He went to visit and teach them when he had leisure from his heavy labors as vicar-general. The labor of his office, being in a new country, full of entanglements with regard to the conquistadors and new encomiendas and the collection of tributes, would have been intolerable for others; yet he took his vacation by working at otherkinds of labor, teaching new Indians, working with them, and introducing among them Christian policy and civilization so far as they were capable of receiving them. This avocation of his would have sufficed most men for their full duty, but he did it in addition to his regular work as vicar-general. The villages were at such a distance from Manila that it took more than a day to go there by sea, and much more by the rivers.14In order to teach the new fathers the manner of working with the Indians, and to begin to acquaint them with the language of the natives, which he knew very well, he went with them to the villages commonly known as Bataan. Those who had the fortune to go with father Fray Christoval were very well pleased, inasmuch as they were beginning to obtain that which they had followed with such desire from España. The rest of them, desiring greater convenience for living according to the custom of friars than could be afforded them in the house of the bishop (although he was a holy man), went to the convent of St. Francis, where they were received and entertained as might have been expected of fathers so religious and so zealous in following the rules of their great father and ours, which we accepted exactly as if we were of the same habit. Nothing less could have been expected, since those fathers then had as custodian the holy Fray Pedro Baptista, afterwards the most glorious martyrin Iapon, and as guardian father Fray Vicente Valero—another Nathaniel in guilelessness of soul, joined with a most solid virtue and devotion to his vows, which caused him to be esteemed and venerated among lay and religious. Some days afterward the Indians of Pangasinan were entrusted to our religious. They lived forty leguas distant, and, being all heathen, had need of someone to labor among them. The order likewise took charge of the Indians of Bataan, to whom, as has been said, the father provisor ministered because he had no one to send; as also of the Chinese or Sangleys, who up to that time had had no ministry. Many thousands of them had come and were still coming every year from their own country, on account of their trade and commerce in this colony, which is very great. Many of them were traders, and many were mechanics. No one desired to undertake the ministry to them, because of the great labor and the little fruit; but since the new laborers had come fresh, and were eager for work, this claim of itself was sufficient for them to regard it as a great favor to be permitted to occupy themselves where the toil was greatest. The father vicar-general sent for the absent brethren, and gathered all together in the convent of St. Francis; and there offered a long prayer for them, asking for the grace of the Holy Spirit. He then made them a spiritual and devout address. After it was concluded, he who in lesser things had never been accustomed to proceed without consultation, now, without further consultation than that which he had had with God, assigned and distributed them after the following manner. To the district of Bataan he sent as vicar father Fray Juan de Sancto Thomas (or de Ormaça),with three associates: father Fray Alonso Ximenez and Fray Pedro Bolaños, and Fray Domingo de Nieva. To the province of Pangasinan he assigned, as vicar, father Fray Bernardo Navarro (or de Sancta Cathalina), with five associates: fathers Fray Gregorio de Ochoa, Fray Juan de Castro (nephew of the vicar-general), Fray Pedro de Soto, Fray Marcos de San Antonio, and father Fray Juan de la Cruz. The father vicar-general remained with the others in the convent which was to be established in Manila, and was intended for the conversion of the Chinese. It was only necessary for him to give the directions and to arrange all things, every man doing that which fell to his lot. The reason was not only their great virtue of obedience, but the fact that the holy old man had held this chapter in a manner so spirited and so extraordinary as to convince them that in his address he had said to them that which it was their duty to do, and that it was God who had thus given them their commands. The father vicar-general immediately began to give his attention to the convent which was to be established in Manila; but when he looked for a situation he did not find a suitable one. That part of the city that was submerged at high tide did not seem desirable; but that which was not submerged was so taken up by the cathedral and the other convents that the matter was a very difficult one. Being such, the good bishop laid it before the Lord in his prayers; and having earnestly besought His help, he arose from prayer with great happiness, and went, though it was late at night, to his sub-chaplain and steward, Francisco Zerbantes, telling him that he had the site for the friars, and directing him to see if he could obtainthree hundred pesos, which the owner asked for the place; for the bishop had not even one peso with him. The steward—whose accounts were always indicating a deficit, because every third of their yearly income15scarcely fell due before the poor took it away from the bishop—frankly responded that he did not dare attempt to get that sum and did not see how he could, because even for their ordinary subsistence the means were frequently insufficient, so that he was embarrassed. The bishop was not disconcerted by this, but (though it is not known how or where) he quickly procured the three hundred pesos; and he told the steward to give the money to a Spaniard called Gaspar de Isla, who was diking a small place which was all flooded, and much more the land about it. For this reason, though many had looked at it, no one had regarded it as good for a convent. But the bishop, with great insistence, directed the steward to take the next morning a stole, some holy water, and two sticks to make a cross; and he embarked in a banca, or little canoe, and went to the place (for it was overflowed to that extent), and blessed it. He took possession on August 16, 1587, and set up a cross in token that the convent should be built there, as it was; and the site has turned out to be very healthful, with very pleasant views. It has been surrounded by very good houses, and has had other advantages. The bishop gave for the building two thousand pesos—a thing apparently impossible, because of his poverty, but worthy of his great soul, and of the great affection which he felt toward the friars. They immediately began to builda house there and a poor little wooden church. They finished soon, and the religious began to occupy it on the first day of the following year, 1588, to the great joy of themselves and of the whole city. The first superior of the convent, with the title of vicar, was father Fray Diego de Soria, a great preacher, and a very devout man, so that he immediately made many persons greatly devoted to him. The new convent began to be very much frequented, and to be so well assisted by alms that for many years there was no occasion to cook food; because every day the amount of cooked food which was provided was too great rather than too small. There were many who came to its assistance with alms, some one day, some another; but Captain Francisco Rodriguez sent every day, so that the religious were as sure of this supply of food as if they cooked it at home. The Lord paid His accounts, as He is accustomed to, promptly. The captain had lived for ten years in marriage without any children, for whom both husband and wife were most desirous, and they had some in payment for these alms; for there is nothing that the Lord denies to those who have mercy on the poor. As the number of the religious increased, it became necessary to do the cooking in the convent; but the devotion of the city and the contribution of alms has always continued and still continues. Thus the convent has been and is maintained solely by them, having been unwilling always to accept an endowment, though many have been offered to it. Thus without endowment or possessions they get what they need, with greater certainty than if they had these. For, however certain such things may be imagined to be, they may fail, as many others have failed; but the word ofGod, in whom the fathers trust, cannot fail. This has been so clearly observed that when our lord the king commanded that this convent, like the others in the city, should receive as a contribution to its support four hundred pesos a year and four hundred fanegas of rice (which takes the place of wheat in this country), they for a long time declined to collect it, since it seemed to them that it was in the nature of an endowment, as being something sure and certain; yet afterward, when they saw that it was pure charity, and that he who gave it could take it away when he chose, they accepted it—on condition, however, that if the ministers of the king take it from us, even unjustly, we shall not ask for it as a right. At this time this has been done, the allowance having been taken away; but the Lord in return has given much more than that. In these first years Doña Ana de Vera, wife of the master-of-camp Pedro de Chaves, and Doña Marina de Cespedes were great benefactors of the religious; and to them the convent, in gratitude, has given chapels in the church for their interment. In general, both poor and rich have given alms to the convent out of good-will; and the religious have paid them all very fully, not only by commending them to the Lord in all their masses and prayers, but by earnestly laboring for the good of their souls with sermons, advice, and exhortation, as well as other spiritual exercises. This was soon evident in the reformation that began to be seen in their habits, and in the improvement in their life. Accordingly, one of the citizens wrote to Captain Chacon (who was at that time governor of the province of Nueva Segovia) telling him as news that the Dominican friars had come to Manila; and that thecity was turned into a monastery in the reformation of the lives and morals of the inhabitants, and, in particular, in the abstraction of the women from worldly concerns. This was indeed the case; one reason was, that the example given by the religious was of great influence, and, though they were few in number, they effected as much as if they were many. They acted in harmony, and devoted themselves to the divine offices as systematically as in great and well-ordered convents. They were all men of education (some of very superior education), all virtuous men, all given to prayer, all very penitent, very harmonious, very zealous for the salvation of souls, very poor, and disengaged from the things of this world. Therefore, all esteemed them and desired them as guides of their souls; and they performed this office with so much care and diligence that the reformation of the aforesaid city resulted. For those who confessed to them were either obliged to reform, or were dismissed by them; for in the conduct of the penitents they refused to consent to deceit, in the collection of tributes they would not allow extortion, in women they would not suffer frivolity or impropriety of manners. As learned men, they revealed the evils in such acts, and could make these understood by their penitents; and as men without any personal motive they held themselves ready to dismiss those who with vain and plausible reasons, with the pretext of evil customs, or with other like cloaks strove to cover their acts of injustice, and to justify the wrongs which they committed through evil desires. Hence those persons who confessed in the Dominican convent came to be known and esteemed, as they still are; and there came toexist in the city more light in regard to things to which previously no attention had been given, and more care was taken of conduct. This was the reason why they said that the city had become a monastery; and in truth, in many cases the conduct of those who confessed there deserved that name—for example, that of Doña Ana de Vera, Doña Marina de Cespedes, Catalina de Villegas, and many other women very well known and esteemed in the city on account of their virtue. In this they all owed no little to the aid of their holy confessors, who with great care, much teaching, and their own examples, did the work of God, and succeeded in attracting many people to the knowledge of Him and to His service. Many, in health, did not follow their counsels, regarding them as too severe, and sought for confessors who feared to lose their penitents, and who, by making their theology liberal, unburdened the consciences of those who confessed to them. Yet even these persons in the hour of death, when their desires had lost some of their force, called for the Dominicans and gave to them the charge of their souls, fearing to lose them by following the road which they had taken in health. And this freedom and courage has always been maintained in this convent; and they have used it without respect of persons—with rich and poor, with governors and other officials. Hence it is necessary for them to live in such a manner that no reproach can be cast upon them, and to be content with but little for their sustenance, since that little cannot fail them. Withal they have no regard to pleasing men, for to Saint Paul it seemed that with that desire it was impossible to unite the service of God—mankind being in generalgreater lovers of themselves than of God, and hence he who is very desirous to please men being necessarily at enmity with God. Therefore, these religious were very careful in this respect, and strove so to conduct themselves toward men that the supreme place should always be held by God; and on this account they had the reputation of rigor—though they were not rigorous, except to those who through their own desires or selfishness tried to cast aside their duties to God.
Chapter XOf the entry of the religious into the city of Manila, and of their occupations there until they went on their various missions.The previous chapter has caused some digression; but it was necessary, in order to give an account of the voyage, and of the career of these important religious. We now return to those on the other ship, which we left at the port of Cavite—whence the news was immediately carried to Manila, which is two leguas from that port. The bishop of this city, Don Fray Domingo Salazar, was, as has already been said, a religious of this order. He was greatly delighted when he learned that religious of his own order had come to found a province, which was thething that he most desired in this life. He sent immediately to a nephew of his to ask him to welcome them and to bring them to the city, which they entered on the day of the apostle St. James. This was a happy omen for those who came with so great a desire to imitate the great zeal of this holy apostle, by which he was so distinguished among the other apostles that the enemies of the gospel opposed him more than the others, and that he was the first among the apostles to lose his life. When they entered the city there came out to meet them Doctor Sanctiago de Vera, governor and captain-general of these islands, together with the most noble and illustrious of the city, showing in the joy of their faces and their loving words the delight that they felt at the arrival of the brethren—of whose sanctity they had already been informed and felt assured by the modesty of their appearance, faithful witness to the heart. Accompanied by these friends, they went to the chief church, where the bishop was waiting for them; and he gave them his benediction, full of tears of joy. Here they offered to the Lord the thanks they owed to Him for having brought them to the destination which they had so long desired; and for the great honor which, as to His servants and for His sake, had been shown them. Immediately after, the holy bishop took them to his house, and, making them welcome to everything in it, entertained them as well as he could; for he desired for occasions such as this and for giving to the poor, that his episcopate should be rich. Since this day was wholly given up to visits, it was not very pleasant for him; but when he was alone with his brethren he lifted up his voice with tears, like another Joseph, and said to them: “Is itpossible that I have seen the order of my father St. Dominic established in this country? Is it possible that my eyes have seen the thing which I so much desired?” After he had said these words, he remained for a long time unable to speak, his words being followed by an abundance of tears, which he shed from tenderness and the emotion of his soul. Everything else that followed was conformable to this, both in his conversation and his acts, which were those of an affectionate father. He gave them all their sustenance in his house, without growing weary of such guests. They, however, were not seeking comfort such as the good bishop provided them, but labors for themselves and souls for God; and after resting a few days they begged the bishop to put them in the way of attaining what they had come to find, as his bishopric was so rich in it. The festival of our father St. Dominic was at hand; and they resolved to celebrate it before separating, asking the blessing of the Great Father on that important act. Having no convent, they celebrated the festival in church, with the utmost solemnity and devotion; and in the evening they had some theological discussions, father Fray Pedro de Soto maintaining several positions, in which he displayed his admirable ability and great learning. Father Fray Miguel de Venavides presided, a man who surpassed those who in that period were of mark in virtue and scholarship, by the shoulders and more, like Saul in bodily presence among his subjects. The purpose of the discussions was to show that preaching the gospel (which was to be their occupation), even to the simple race of Indians, does not interfere with scholarship, but requires it, and much study; the contrary is a manifesterror, for the smaller the capacity of the Indian, the greater should be the capacity of the minister. He is called on to make the Indian capable of the loftiest mysteries taught by the faith; and we see by daily experience among Indians cases and matters which cannot be solved except by a man of great knowledge, learning, and ability. Since all cannot be so highly endowed, it is essential to have some ministers of superior attainments to whom the others may resort with their difficulties, and whose responses they may safely follow. The good bishop took particular pleasure in being present at and encouraging the discussions, and in perceiving that those who sustained theses and the others (who likewise exhibited their abilities) might aid him in weighty matters in the difficult duties of his office. This was afterward proved to be true in this province and in España, where he who presided accompanied the bishop and was of great assistance to him, as we shall see. After the festival was over, it was determined that father Fray Christoval de Salvatierra, who was the bishop’s companion—and who was of the same pattern in virtue, prudence, and zeal for the common good and especially for the good of souls (as will hereafter be recounted)—should take some of these fathers to some villages of Indians who had no one to instruct them, and whom he therefore had taken under his own charge. He went to visit and teach them when he had leisure from his heavy labors as vicar-general. The labor of his office, being in a new country, full of entanglements with regard to the conquistadors and new encomiendas and the collection of tributes, would have been intolerable for others; yet he took his vacation by working at otherkinds of labor, teaching new Indians, working with them, and introducing among them Christian policy and civilization so far as they were capable of receiving them. This avocation of his would have sufficed most men for their full duty, but he did it in addition to his regular work as vicar-general. The villages were at such a distance from Manila that it took more than a day to go there by sea, and much more by the rivers.14In order to teach the new fathers the manner of working with the Indians, and to begin to acquaint them with the language of the natives, which he knew very well, he went with them to the villages commonly known as Bataan. Those who had the fortune to go with father Fray Christoval were very well pleased, inasmuch as they were beginning to obtain that which they had followed with such desire from España. The rest of them, desiring greater convenience for living according to the custom of friars than could be afforded them in the house of the bishop (although he was a holy man), went to the convent of St. Francis, where they were received and entertained as might have been expected of fathers so religious and so zealous in following the rules of their great father and ours, which we accepted exactly as if we were of the same habit. Nothing less could have been expected, since those fathers then had as custodian the holy Fray Pedro Baptista, afterwards the most glorious martyrin Iapon, and as guardian father Fray Vicente Valero—another Nathaniel in guilelessness of soul, joined with a most solid virtue and devotion to his vows, which caused him to be esteemed and venerated among lay and religious. Some days afterward the Indians of Pangasinan were entrusted to our religious. They lived forty leguas distant, and, being all heathen, had need of someone to labor among them. The order likewise took charge of the Indians of Bataan, to whom, as has been said, the father provisor ministered because he had no one to send; as also of the Chinese or Sangleys, who up to that time had had no ministry. Many thousands of them had come and were still coming every year from their own country, on account of their trade and commerce in this colony, which is very great. Many of them were traders, and many were mechanics. No one desired to undertake the ministry to them, because of the great labor and the little fruit; but since the new laborers had come fresh, and were eager for work, this claim of itself was sufficient for them to regard it as a great favor to be permitted to occupy themselves where the toil was greatest. The father vicar-general sent for the absent brethren, and gathered all together in the convent of St. Francis; and there offered a long prayer for them, asking for the grace of the Holy Spirit. He then made them a spiritual and devout address. After it was concluded, he who in lesser things had never been accustomed to proceed without consultation, now, without further consultation than that which he had had with God, assigned and distributed them after the following manner. To the district of Bataan he sent as vicar father Fray Juan de Sancto Thomas (or de Ormaça),with three associates: father Fray Alonso Ximenez and Fray Pedro Bolaños, and Fray Domingo de Nieva. To the province of Pangasinan he assigned, as vicar, father Fray Bernardo Navarro (or de Sancta Cathalina), with five associates: fathers Fray Gregorio de Ochoa, Fray Juan de Castro (nephew of the vicar-general), Fray Pedro de Soto, Fray Marcos de San Antonio, and father Fray Juan de la Cruz. The father vicar-general remained with the others in the convent which was to be established in Manila, and was intended for the conversion of the Chinese. It was only necessary for him to give the directions and to arrange all things, every man doing that which fell to his lot. The reason was not only their great virtue of obedience, but the fact that the holy old man had held this chapter in a manner so spirited and so extraordinary as to convince them that in his address he had said to them that which it was their duty to do, and that it was God who had thus given them their commands. The father vicar-general immediately began to give his attention to the convent which was to be established in Manila; but when he looked for a situation he did not find a suitable one. That part of the city that was submerged at high tide did not seem desirable; but that which was not submerged was so taken up by the cathedral and the other convents that the matter was a very difficult one. Being such, the good bishop laid it before the Lord in his prayers; and having earnestly besought His help, he arose from prayer with great happiness, and went, though it was late at night, to his sub-chaplain and steward, Francisco Zerbantes, telling him that he had the site for the friars, and directing him to see if he could obtainthree hundred pesos, which the owner asked for the place; for the bishop had not even one peso with him. The steward—whose accounts were always indicating a deficit, because every third of their yearly income15scarcely fell due before the poor took it away from the bishop—frankly responded that he did not dare attempt to get that sum and did not see how he could, because even for their ordinary subsistence the means were frequently insufficient, so that he was embarrassed. The bishop was not disconcerted by this, but (though it is not known how or where) he quickly procured the three hundred pesos; and he told the steward to give the money to a Spaniard called Gaspar de Isla, who was diking a small place which was all flooded, and much more the land about it. For this reason, though many had looked at it, no one had regarded it as good for a convent. But the bishop, with great insistence, directed the steward to take the next morning a stole, some holy water, and two sticks to make a cross; and he embarked in a banca, or little canoe, and went to the place (for it was overflowed to that extent), and blessed it. He took possession on August 16, 1587, and set up a cross in token that the convent should be built there, as it was; and the site has turned out to be very healthful, with very pleasant views. It has been surrounded by very good houses, and has had other advantages. The bishop gave for the building two thousand pesos—a thing apparently impossible, because of his poverty, but worthy of his great soul, and of the great affection which he felt toward the friars. They immediately began to builda house there and a poor little wooden church. They finished soon, and the religious began to occupy it on the first day of the following year, 1588, to the great joy of themselves and of the whole city. The first superior of the convent, with the title of vicar, was father Fray Diego de Soria, a great preacher, and a very devout man, so that he immediately made many persons greatly devoted to him. The new convent began to be very much frequented, and to be so well assisted by alms that for many years there was no occasion to cook food; because every day the amount of cooked food which was provided was too great rather than too small. There were many who came to its assistance with alms, some one day, some another; but Captain Francisco Rodriguez sent every day, so that the religious were as sure of this supply of food as if they cooked it at home. The Lord paid His accounts, as He is accustomed to, promptly. The captain had lived for ten years in marriage without any children, for whom both husband and wife were most desirous, and they had some in payment for these alms; for there is nothing that the Lord denies to those who have mercy on the poor. As the number of the religious increased, it became necessary to do the cooking in the convent; but the devotion of the city and the contribution of alms has always continued and still continues. Thus the convent has been and is maintained solely by them, having been unwilling always to accept an endowment, though many have been offered to it. Thus without endowment or possessions they get what they need, with greater certainty than if they had these. For, however certain such things may be imagined to be, they may fail, as many others have failed; but the word ofGod, in whom the fathers trust, cannot fail. This has been so clearly observed that when our lord the king commanded that this convent, like the others in the city, should receive as a contribution to its support four hundred pesos a year and four hundred fanegas of rice (which takes the place of wheat in this country), they for a long time declined to collect it, since it seemed to them that it was in the nature of an endowment, as being something sure and certain; yet afterward, when they saw that it was pure charity, and that he who gave it could take it away when he chose, they accepted it—on condition, however, that if the ministers of the king take it from us, even unjustly, we shall not ask for it as a right. At this time this has been done, the allowance having been taken away; but the Lord in return has given much more than that. In these first years Doña Ana de Vera, wife of the master-of-camp Pedro de Chaves, and Doña Marina de Cespedes were great benefactors of the religious; and to them the convent, in gratitude, has given chapels in the church for their interment. In general, both poor and rich have given alms to the convent out of good-will; and the religious have paid them all very fully, not only by commending them to the Lord in all their masses and prayers, but by earnestly laboring for the good of their souls with sermons, advice, and exhortation, as well as other spiritual exercises. This was soon evident in the reformation that began to be seen in their habits, and in the improvement in their life. Accordingly, one of the citizens wrote to Captain Chacon (who was at that time governor of the province of Nueva Segovia) telling him as news that the Dominican friars had come to Manila; and that thecity was turned into a monastery in the reformation of the lives and morals of the inhabitants, and, in particular, in the abstraction of the women from worldly concerns. This was indeed the case; one reason was, that the example given by the religious was of great influence, and, though they were few in number, they effected as much as if they were many. They acted in harmony, and devoted themselves to the divine offices as systematically as in great and well-ordered convents. They were all men of education (some of very superior education), all virtuous men, all given to prayer, all very penitent, very harmonious, very zealous for the salvation of souls, very poor, and disengaged from the things of this world. Therefore, all esteemed them and desired them as guides of their souls; and they performed this office with so much care and diligence that the reformation of the aforesaid city resulted. For those who confessed to them were either obliged to reform, or were dismissed by them; for in the conduct of the penitents they refused to consent to deceit, in the collection of tributes they would not allow extortion, in women they would not suffer frivolity or impropriety of manners. As learned men, they revealed the evils in such acts, and could make these understood by their penitents; and as men without any personal motive they held themselves ready to dismiss those who with vain and plausible reasons, with the pretext of evil customs, or with other like cloaks strove to cover their acts of injustice, and to justify the wrongs which they committed through evil desires. Hence those persons who confessed in the Dominican convent came to be known and esteemed, as they still are; and there came toexist in the city more light in regard to things to which previously no attention had been given, and more care was taken of conduct. This was the reason why they said that the city had become a monastery; and in truth, in many cases the conduct of those who confessed there deserved that name—for example, that of Doña Ana de Vera, Doña Marina de Cespedes, Catalina de Villegas, and many other women very well known and esteemed in the city on account of their virtue. In this they all owed no little to the aid of their holy confessors, who with great care, much teaching, and their own examples, did the work of God, and succeeded in attracting many people to the knowledge of Him and to His service. Many, in health, did not follow their counsels, regarding them as too severe, and sought for confessors who feared to lose their penitents, and who, by making their theology liberal, unburdened the consciences of those who confessed to them. Yet even these persons in the hour of death, when their desires had lost some of their force, called for the Dominicans and gave to them the charge of their souls, fearing to lose them by following the road which they had taken in health. And this freedom and courage has always been maintained in this convent; and they have used it without respect of persons—with rich and poor, with governors and other officials. Hence it is necessary for them to live in such a manner that no reproach can be cast upon them, and to be content with but little for their sustenance, since that little cannot fail them. Withal they have no regard to pleasing men, for to Saint Paul it seemed that with that desire it was impossible to unite the service of God—mankind being in generalgreater lovers of themselves than of God, and hence he who is very desirous to please men being necessarily at enmity with God. Therefore, these religious were very careful in this respect, and strove so to conduct themselves toward men that the supreme place should always be held by God; and on this account they had the reputation of rigor—though they were not rigorous, except to those who through their own desires or selfishness tried to cast aside their duties to God.
Chapter XOf the entry of the religious into the city of Manila, and of their occupations there until they went on their various missions.The previous chapter has caused some digression; but it was necessary, in order to give an account of the voyage, and of the career of these important religious. We now return to those on the other ship, which we left at the port of Cavite—whence the news was immediately carried to Manila, which is two leguas from that port. The bishop of this city, Don Fray Domingo Salazar, was, as has already been said, a religious of this order. He was greatly delighted when he learned that religious of his own order had come to found a province, which was thething that he most desired in this life. He sent immediately to a nephew of his to ask him to welcome them and to bring them to the city, which they entered on the day of the apostle St. James. This was a happy omen for those who came with so great a desire to imitate the great zeal of this holy apostle, by which he was so distinguished among the other apostles that the enemies of the gospel opposed him more than the others, and that he was the first among the apostles to lose his life. When they entered the city there came out to meet them Doctor Sanctiago de Vera, governor and captain-general of these islands, together with the most noble and illustrious of the city, showing in the joy of their faces and their loving words the delight that they felt at the arrival of the brethren—of whose sanctity they had already been informed and felt assured by the modesty of their appearance, faithful witness to the heart. Accompanied by these friends, they went to the chief church, where the bishop was waiting for them; and he gave them his benediction, full of tears of joy. Here they offered to the Lord the thanks they owed to Him for having brought them to the destination which they had so long desired; and for the great honor which, as to His servants and for His sake, had been shown them. Immediately after, the holy bishop took them to his house, and, making them welcome to everything in it, entertained them as well as he could; for he desired for occasions such as this and for giving to the poor, that his episcopate should be rich. Since this day was wholly given up to visits, it was not very pleasant for him; but when he was alone with his brethren he lifted up his voice with tears, like another Joseph, and said to them: “Is itpossible that I have seen the order of my father St. Dominic established in this country? Is it possible that my eyes have seen the thing which I so much desired?” After he had said these words, he remained for a long time unable to speak, his words being followed by an abundance of tears, which he shed from tenderness and the emotion of his soul. Everything else that followed was conformable to this, both in his conversation and his acts, which were those of an affectionate father. He gave them all their sustenance in his house, without growing weary of such guests. They, however, were not seeking comfort such as the good bishop provided them, but labors for themselves and souls for God; and after resting a few days they begged the bishop to put them in the way of attaining what they had come to find, as his bishopric was so rich in it. The festival of our father St. Dominic was at hand; and they resolved to celebrate it before separating, asking the blessing of the Great Father on that important act. Having no convent, they celebrated the festival in church, with the utmost solemnity and devotion; and in the evening they had some theological discussions, father Fray Pedro de Soto maintaining several positions, in which he displayed his admirable ability and great learning. Father Fray Miguel de Venavides presided, a man who surpassed those who in that period were of mark in virtue and scholarship, by the shoulders and more, like Saul in bodily presence among his subjects. The purpose of the discussions was to show that preaching the gospel (which was to be their occupation), even to the simple race of Indians, does not interfere with scholarship, but requires it, and much study; the contrary is a manifesterror, for the smaller the capacity of the Indian, the greater should be the capacity of the minister. He is called on to make the Indian capable of the loftiest mysteries taught by the faith; and we see by daily experience among Indians cases and matters which cannot be solved except by a man of great knowledge, learning, and ability. Since all cannot be so highly endowed, it is essential to have some ministers of superior attainments to whom the others may resort with their difficulties, and whose responses they may safely follow. The good bishop took particular pleasure in being present at and encouraging the discussions, and in perceiving that those who sustained theses and the others (who likewise exhibited their abilities) might aid him in weighty matters in the difficult duties of his office. This was afterward proved to be true in this province and in España, where he who presided accompanied the bishop and was of great assistance to him, as we shall see. After the festival was over, it was determined that father Fray Christoval de Salvatierra, who was the bishop’s companion—and who was of the same pattern in virtue, prudence, and zeal for the common good and especially for the good of souls (as will hereafter be recounted)—should take some of these fathers to some villages of Indians who had no one to instruct them, and whom he therefore had taken under his own charge. He went to visit and teach them when he had leisure from his heavy labors as vicar-general. The labor of his office, being in a new country, full of entanglements with regard to the conquistadors and new encomiendas and the collection of tributes, would have been intolerable for others; yet he took his vacation by working at otherkinds of labor, teaching new Indians, working with them, and introducing among them Christian policy and civilization so far as they were capable of receiving them. This avocation of his would have sufficed most men for their full duty, but he did it in addition to his regular work as vicar-general. The villages were at such a distance from Manila that it took more than a day to go there by sea, and much more by the rivers.14In order to teach the new fathers the manner of working with the Indians, and to begin to acquaint them with the language of the natives, which he knew very well, he went with them to the villages commonly known as Bataan. Those who had the fortune to go with father Fray Christoval were very well pleased, inasmuch as they were beginning to obtain that which they had followed with such desire from España. The rest of them, desiring greater convenience for living according to the custom of friars than could be afforded them in the house of the bishop (although he was a holy man), went to the convent of St. Francis, where they were received and entertained as might have been expected of fathers so religious and so zealous in following the rules of their great father and ours, which we accepted exactly as if we were of the same habit. Nothing less could have been expected, since those fathers then had as custodian the holy Fray Pedro Baptista, afterwards the most glorious martyrin Iapon, and as guardian father Fray Vicente Valero—another Nathaniel in guilelessness of soul, joined with a most solid virtue and devotion to his vows, which caused him to be esteemed and venerated among lay and religious. Some days afterward the Indians of Pangasinan were entrusted to our religious. They lived forty leguas distant, and, being all heathen, had need of someone to labor among them. The order likewise took charge of the Indians of Bataan, to whom, as has been said, the father provisor ministered because he had no one to send; as also of the Chinese or Sangleys, who up to that time had had no ministry. Many thousands of them had come and were still coming every year from their own country, on account of their trade and commerce in this colony, which is very great. Many of them were traders, and many were mechanics. No one desired to undertake the ministry to them, because of the great labor and the little fruit; but since the new laborers had come fresh, and were eager for work, this claim of itself was sufficient for them to regard it as a great favor to be permitted to occupy themselves where the toil was greatest. The father vicar-general sent for the absent brethren, and gathered all together in the convent of St. Francis; and there offered a long prayer for them, asking for the grace of the Holy Spirit. He then made them a spiritual and devout address. After it was concluded, he who in lesser things had never been accustomed to proceed without consultation, now, without further consultation than that which he had had with God, assigned and distributed them after the following manner. To the district of Bataan he sent as vicar father Fray Juan de Sancto Thomas (or de Ormaça),with three associates: father Fray Alonso Ximenez and Fray Pedro Bolaños, and Fray Domingo de Nieva. To the province of Pangasinan he assigned, as vicar, father Fray Bernardo Navarro (or de Sancta Cathalina), with five associates: fathers Fray Gregorio de Ochoa, Fray Juan de Castro (nephew of the vicar-general), Fray Pedro de Soto, Fray Marcos de San Antonio, and father Fray Juan de la Cruz. The father vicar-general remained with the others in the convent which was to be established in Manila, and was intended for the conversion of the Chinese. It was only necessary for him to give the directions and to arrange all things, every man doing that which fell to his lot. The reason was not only their great virtue of obedience, but the fact that the holy old man had held this chapter in a manner so spirited and so extraordinary as to convince them that in his address he had said to them that which it was their duty to do, and that it was God who had thus given them their commands. The father vicar-general immediately began to give his attention to the convent which was to be established in Manila; but when he looked for a situation he did not find a suitable one. That part of the city that was submerged at high tide did not seem desirable; but that which was not submerged was so taken up by the cathedral and the other convents that the matter was a very difficult one. Being such, the good bishop laid it before the Lord in his prayers; and having earnestly besought His help, he arose from prayer with great happiness, and went, though it was late at night, to his sub-chaplain and steward, Francisco Zerbantes, telling him that he had the site for the friars, and directing him to see if he could obtainthree hundred pesos, which the owner asked for the place; for the bishop had not even one peso with him. The steward—whose accounts were always indicating a deficit, because every third of their yearly income15scarcely fell due before the poor took it away from the bishop—frankly responded that he did not dare attempt to get that sum and did not see how he could, because even for their ordinary subsistence the means were frequently insufficient, so that he was embarrassed. The bishop was not disconcerted by this, but (though it is not known how or where) he quickly procured the three hundred pesos; and he told the steward to give the money to a Spaniard called Gaspar de Isla, who was diking a small place which was all flooded, and much more the land about it. For this reason, though many had looked at it, no one had regarded it as good for a convent. But the bishop, with great insistence, directed the steward to take the next morning a stole, some holy water, and two sticks to make a cross; and he embarked in a banca, or little canoe, and went to the place (for it was overflowed to that extent), and blessed it. He took possession on August 16, 1587, and set up a cross in token that the convent should be built there, as it was; and the site has turned out to be very healthful, with very pleasant views. It has been surrounded by very good houses, and has had other advantages. The bishop gave for the building two thousand pesos—a thing apparently impossible, because of his poverty, but worthy of his great soul, and of the great affection which he felt toward the friars. They immediately began to builda house there and a poor little wooden church. They finished soon, and the religious began to occupy it on the first day of the following year, 1588, to the great joy of themselves and of the whole city. The first superior of the convent, with the title of vicar, was father Fray Diego de Soria, a great preacher, and a very devout man, so that he immediately made many persons greatly devoted to him. The new convent began to be very much frequented, and to be so well assisted by alms that for many years there was no occasion to cook food; because every day the amount of cooked food which was provided was too great rather than too small. There were many who came to its assistance with alms, some one day, some another; but Captain Francisco Rodriguez sent every day, so that the religious were as sure of this supply of food as if they cooked it at home. The Lord paid His accounts, as He is accustomed to, promptly. The captain had lived for ten years in marriage without any children, for whom both husband and wife were most desirous, and they had some in payment for these alms; for there is nothing that the Lord denies to those who have mercy on the poor. As the number of the religious increased, it became necessary to do the cooking in the convent; but the devotion of the city and the contribution of alms has always continued and still continues. Thus the convent has been and is maintained solely by them, having been unwilling always to accept an endowment, though many have been offered to it. Thus without endowment or possessions they get what they need, with greater certainty than if they had these. For, however certain such things may be imagined to be, they may fail, as many others have failed; but the word ofGod, in whom the fathers trust, cannot fail. This has been so clearly observed that when our lord the king commanded that this convent, like the others in the city, should receive as a contribution to its support four hundred pesos a year and four hundred fanegas of rice (which takes the place of wheat in this country), they for a long time declined to collect it, since it seemed to them that it was in the nature of an endowment, as being something sure and certain; yet afterward, when they saw that it was pure charity, and that he who gave it could take it away when he chose, they accepted it—on condition, however, that if the ministers of the king take it from us, even unjustly, we shall not ask for it as a right. At this time this has been done, the allowance having been taken away; but the Lord in return has given much more than that. In these first years Doña Ana de Vera, wife of the master-of-camp Pedro de Chaves, and Doña Marina de Cespedes were great benefactors of the religious; and to them the convent, in gratitude, has given chapels in the church for their interment. In general, both poor and rich have given alms to the convent out of good-will; and the religious have paid them all very fully, not only by commending them to the Lord in all their masses and prayers, but by earnestly laboring for the good of their souls with sermons, advice, and exhortation, as well as other spiritual exercises. This was soon evident in the reformation that began to be seen in their habits, and in the improvement in their life. Accordingly, one of the citizens wrote to Captain Chacon (who was at that time governor of the province of Nueva Segovia) telling him as news that the Dominican friars had come to Manila; and that thecity was turned into a monastery in the reformation of the lives and morals of the inhabitants, and, in particular, in the abstraction of the women from worldly concerns. This was indeed the case; one reason was, that the example given by the religious was of great influence, and, though they were few in number, they effected as much as if they were many. They acted in harmony, and devoted themselves to the divine offices as systematically as in great and well-ordered convents. They were all men of education (some of very superior education), all virtuous men, all given to prayer, all very penitent, very harmonious, very zealous for the salvation of souls, very poor, and disengaged from the things of this world. Therefore, all esteemed them and desired them as guides of their souls; and they performed this office with so much care and diligence that the reformation of the aforesaid city resulted. For those who confessed to them were either obliged to reform, or were dismissed by them; for in the conduct of the penitents they refused to consent to deceit, in the collection of tributes they would not allow extortion, in women they would not suffer frivolity or impropriety of manners. As learned men, they revealed the evils in such acts, and could make these understood by their penitents; and as men without any personal motive they held themselves ready to dismiss those who with vain and plausible reasons, with the pretext of evil customs, or with other like cloaks strove to cover their acts of injustice, and to justify the wrongs which they committed through evil desires. Hence those persons who confessed in the Dominican convent came to be known and esteemed, as they still are; and there came toexist in the city more light in regard to things to which previously no attention had been given, and more care was taken of conduct. This was the reason why they said that the city had become a monastery; and in truth, in many cases the conduct of those who confessed there deserved that name—for example, that of Doña Ana de Vera, Doña Marina de Cespedes, Catalina de Villegas, and many other women very well known and esteemed in the city on account of their virtue. In this they all owed no little to the aid of their holy confessors, who with great care, much teaching, and their own examples, did the work of God, and succeeded in attracting many people to the knowledge of Him and to His service. Many, in health, did not follow their counsels, regarding them as too severe, and sought for confessors who feared to lose their penitents, and who, by making their theology liberal, unburdened the consciences of those who confessed to them. Yet even these persons in the hour of death, when their desires had lost some of their force, called for the Dominicans and gave to them the charge of their souls, fearing to lose them by following the road which they had taken in health. And this freedom and courage has always been maintained in this convent; and they have used it without respect of persons—with rich and poor, with governors and other officials. Hence it is necessary for them to live in such a manner that no reproach can be cast upon them, and to be content with but little for their sustenance, since that little cannot fail them. Withal they have no regard to pleasing men, for to Saint Paul it seemed that with that desire it was impossible to unite the service of God—mankind being in generalgreater lovers of themselves than of God, and hence he who is very desirous to please men being necessarily at enmity with God. Therefore, these religious were very careful in this respect, and strove so to conduct themselves toward men that the supreme place should always be held by God; and on this account they had the reputation of rigor—though they were not rigorous, except to those who through their own desires or selfishness tried to cast aside their duties to God.
Chapter XOf the entry of the religious into the city of Manila, and of their occupations there until they went on their various missions.The previous chapter has caused some digression; but it was necessary, in order to give an account of the voyage, and of the career of these important religious. We now return to those on the other ship, which we left at the port of Cavite—whence the news was immediately carried to Manila, which is two leguas from that port. The bishop of this city, Don Fray Domingo Salazar, was, as has already been said, a religious of this order. He was greatly delighted when he learned that religious of his own order had come to found a province, which was thething that he most desired in this life. He sent immediately to a nephew of his to ask him to welcome them and to bring them to the city, which they entered on the day of the apostle St. James. This was a happy omen for those who came with so great a desire to imitate the great zeal of this holy apostle, by which he was so distinguished among the other apostles that the enemies of the gospel opposed him more than the others, and that he was the first among the apostles to lose his life. When they entered the city there came out to meet them Doctor Sanctiago de Vera, governor and captain-general of these islands, together with the most noble and illustrious of the city, showing in the joy of their faces and their loving words the delight that they felt at the arrival of the brethren—of whose sanctity they had already been informed and felt assured by the modesty of their appearance, faithful witness to the heart. Accompanied by these friends, they went to the chief church, where the bishop was waiting for them; and he gave them his benediction, full of tears of joy. Here they offered to the Lord the thanks they owed to Him for having brought them to the destination which they had so long desired; and for the great honor which, as to His servants and for His sake, had been shown them. Immediately after, the holy bishop took them to his house, and, making them welcome to everything in it, entertained them as well as he could; for he desired for occasions such as this and for giving to the poor, that his episcopate should be rich. Since this day was wholly given up to visits, it was not very pleasant for him; but when he was alone with his brethren he lifted up his voice with tears, like another Joseph, and said to them: “Is itpossible that I have seen the order of my father St. Dominic established in this country? Is it possible that my eyes have seen the thing which I so much desired?” After he had said these words, he remained for a long time unable to speak, his words being followed by an abundance of tears, which he shed from tenderness and the emotion of his soul. Everything else that followed was conformable to this, both in his conversation and his acts, which were those of an affectionate father. He gave them all their sustenance in his house, without growing weary of such guests. They, however, were not seeking comfort such as the good bishop provided them, but labors for themselves and souls for God; and after resting a few days they begged the bishop to put them in the way of attaining what they had come to find, as his bishopric was so rich in it. The festival of our father St. Dominic was at hand; and they resolved to celebrate it before separating, asking the blessing of the Great Father on that important act. Having no convent, they celebrated the festival in church, with the utmost solemnity and devotion; and in the evening they had some theological discussions, father Fray Pedro de Soto maintaining several positions, in which he displayed his admirable ability and great learning. Father Fray Miguel de Venavides presided, a man who surpassed those who in that period were of mark in virtue and scholarship, by the shoulders and more, like Saul in bodily presence among his subjects. The purpose of the discussions was to show that preaching the gospel (which was to be their occupation), even to the simple race of Indians, does not interfere with scholarship, but requires it, and much study; the contrary is a manifesterror, for the smaller the capacity of the Indian, the greater should be the capacity of the minister. He is called on to make the Indian capable of the loftiest mysteries taught by the faith; and we see by daily experience among Indians cases and matters which cannot be solved except by a man of great knowledge, learning, and ability. Since all cannot be so highly endowed, it is essential to have some ministers of superior attainments to whom the others may resort with their difficulties, and whose responses they may safely follow. The good bishop took particular pleasure in being present at and encouraging the discussions, and in perceiving that those who sustained theses and the others (who likewise exhibited their abilities) might aid him in weighty matters in the difficult duties of his office. This was afterward proved to be true in this province and in España, where he who presided accompanied the bishop and was of great assistance to him, as we shall see. After the festival was over, it was determined that father Fray Christoval de Salvatierra, who was the bishop’s companion—and who was of the same pattern in virtue, prudence, and zeal for the common good and especially for the good of souls (as will hereafter be recounted)—should take some of these fathers to some villages of Indians who had no one to instruct them, and whom he therefore had taken under his own charge. He went to visit and teach them when he had leisure from his heavy labors as vicar-general. The labor of his office, being in a new country, full of entanglements with regard to the conquistadors and new encomiendas and the collection of tributes, would have been intolerable for others; yet he took his vacation by working at otherkinds of labor, teaching new Indians, working with them, and introducing among them Christian policy and civilization so far as they were capable of receiving them. This avocation of his would have sufficed most men for their full duty, but he did it in addition to his regular work as vicar-general. The villages were at such a distance from Manila that it took more than a day to go there by sea, and much more by the rivers.14In order to teach the new fathers the manner of working with the Indians, and to begin to acquaint them with the language of the natives, which he knew very well, he went with them to the villages commonly known as Bataan. Those who had the fortune to go with father Fray Christoval were very well pleased, inasmuch as they were beginning to obtain that which they had followed with such desire from España. The rest of them, desiring greater convenience for living according to the custom of friars than could be afforded them in the house of the bishop (although he was a holy man), went to the convent of St. Francis, where they were received and entertained as might have been expected of fathers so religious and so zealous in following the rules of their great father and ours, which we accepted exactly as if we were of the same habit. Nothing less could have been expected, since those fathers then had as custodian the holy Fray Pedro Baptista, afterwards the most glorious martyrin Iapon, and as guardian father Fray Vicente Valero—another Nathaniel in guilelessness of soul, joined with a most solid virtue and devotion to his vows, which caused him to be esteemed and venerated among lay and religious. Some days afterward the Indians of Pangasinan were entrusted to our religious. They lived forty leguas distant, and, being all heathen, had need of someone to labor among them. The order likewise took charge of the Indians of Bataan, to whom, as has been said, the father provisor ministered because he had no one to send; as also of the Chinese or Sangleys, who up to that time had had no ministry. Many thousands of them had come and were still coming every year from their own country, on account of their trade and commerce in this colony, which is very great. Many of them were traders, and many were mechanics. No one desired to undertake the ministry to them, because of the great labor and the little fruit; but since the new laborers had come fresh, and were eager for work, this claim of itself was sufficient for them to regard it as a great favor to be permitted to occupy themselves where the toil was greatest. The father vicar-general sent for the absent brethren, and gathered all together in the convent of St. Francis; and there offered a long prayer for them, asking for the grace of the Holy Spirit. He then made them a spiritual and devout address. After it was concluded, he who in lesser things had never been accustomed to proceed without consultation, now, without further consultation than that which he had had with God, assigned and distributed them after the following manner. To the district of Bataan he sent as vicar father Fray Juan de Sancto Thomas (or de Ormaça),with three associates: father Fray Alonso Ximenez and Fray Pedro Bolaños, and Fray Domingo de Nieva. To the province of Pangasinan he assigned, as vicar, father Fray Bernardo Navarro (or de Sancta Cathalina), with five associates: fathers Fray Gregorio de Ochoa, Fray Juan de Castro (nephew of the vicar-general), Fray Pedro de Soto, Fray Marcos de San Antonio, and father Fray Juan de la Cruz. The father vicar-general remained with the others in the convent which was to be established in Manila, and was intended for the conversion of the Chinese. It was only necessary for him to give the directions and to arrange all things, every man doing that which fell to his lot. The reason was not only their great virtue of obedience, but the fact that the holy old man had held this chapter in a manner so spirited and so extraordinary as to convince them that in his address he had said to them that which it was their duty to do, and that it was God who had thus given them their commands. The father vicar-general immediately began to give his attention to the convent which was to be established in Manila; but when he looked for a situation he did not find a suitable one. That part of the city that was submerged at high tide did not seem desirable; but that which was not submerged was so taken up by the cathedral and the other convents that the matter was a very difficult one. Being such, the good bishop laid it before the Lord in his prayers; and having earnestly besought His help, he arose from prayer with great happiness, and went, though it was late at night, to his sub-chaplain and steward, Francisco Zerbantes, telling him that he had the site for the friars, and directing him to see if he could obtainthree hundred pesos, which the owner asked for the place; for the bishop had not even one peso with him. The steward—whose accounts were always indicating a deficit, because every third of their yearly income15scarcely fell due before the poor took it away from the bishop—frankly responded that he did not dare attempt to get that sum and did not see how he could, because even for their ordinary subsistence the means were frequently insufficient, so that he was embarrassed. The bishop was not disconcerted by this, but (though it is not known how or where) he quickly procured the three hundred pesos; and he told the steward to give the money to a Spaniard called Gaspar de Isla, who was diking a small place which was all flooded, and much more the land about it. For this reason, though many had looked at it, no one had regarded it as good for a convent. But the bishop, with great insistence, directed the steward to take the next morning a stole, some holy water, and two sticks to make a cross; and he embarked in a banca, or little canoe, and went to the place (for it was overflowed to that extent), and blessed it. He took possession on August 16, 1587, and set up a cross in token that the convent should be built there, as it was; and the site has turned out to be very healthful, with very pleasant views. It has been surrounded by very good houses, and has had other advantages. The bishop gave for the building two thousand pesos—a thing apparently impossible, because of his poverty, but worthy of his great soul, and of the great affection which he felt toward the friars. They immediately began to builda house there and a poor little wooden church. They finished soon, and the religious began to occupy it on the first day of the following year, 1588, to the great joy of themselves and of the whole city. The first superior of the convent, with the title of vicar, was father Fray Diego de Soria, a great preacher, and a very devout man, so that he immediately made many persons greatly devoted to him. The new convent began to be very much frequented, and to be so well assisted by alms that for many years there was no occasion to cook food; because every day the amount of cooked food which was provided was too great rather than too small. There were many who came to its assistance with alms, some one day, some another; but Captain Francisco Rodriguez sent every day, so that the religious were as sure of this supply of food as if they cooked it at home. The Lord paid His accounts, as He is accustomed to, promptly. The captain had lived for ten years in marriage without any children, for whom both husband and wife were most desirous, and they had some in payment for these alms; for there is nothing that the Lord denies to those who have mercy on the poor. As the number of the religious increased, it became necessary to do the cooking in the convent; but the devotion of the city and the contribution of alms has always continued and still continues. Thus the convent has been and is maintained solely by them, having been unwilling always to accept an endowment, though many have been offered to it. Thus without endowment or possessions they get what they need, with greater certainty than if they had these. For, however certain such things may be imagined to be, they may fail, as many others have failed; but the word ofGod, in whom the fathers trust, cannot fail. This has been so clearly observed that when our lord the king commanded that this convent, like the others in the city, should receive as a contribution to its support four hundred pesos a year and four hundred fanegas of rice (which takes the place of wheat in this country), they for a long time declined to collect it, since it seemed to them that it was in the nature of an endowment, as being something sure and certain; yet afterward, when they saw that it was pure charity, and that he who gave it could take it away when he chose, they accepted it—on condition, however, that if the ministers of the king take it from us, even unjustly, we shall not ask for it as a right. At this time this has been done, the allowance having been taken away; but the Lord in return has given much more than that. In these first years Doña Ana de Vera, wife of the master-of-camp Pedro de Chaves, and Doña Marina de Cespedes were great benefactors of the religious; and to them the convent, in gratitude, has given chapels in the church for their interment. In general, both poor and rich have given alms to the convent out of good-will; and the religious have paid them all very fully, not only by commending them to the Lord in all their masses and prayers, but by earnestly laboring for the good of their souls with sermons, advice, and exhortation, as well as other spiritual exercises. This was soon evident in the reformation that began to be seen in their habits, and in the improvement in their life. Accordingly, one of the citizens wrote to Captain Chacon (who was at that time governor of the province of Nueva Segovia) telling him as news that the Dominican friars had come to Manila; and that thecity was turned into a monastery in the reformation of the lives and morals of the inhabitants, and, in particular, in the abstraction of the women from worldly concerns. This was indeed the case; one reason was, that the example given by the religious was of great influence, and, though they were few in number, they effected as much as if they were many. They acted in harmony, and devoted themselves to the divine offices as systematically as in great and well-ordered convents. They were all men of education (some of very superior education), all virtuous men, all given to prayer, all very penitent, very harmonious, very zealous for the salvation of souls, very poor, and disengaged from the things of this world. Therefore, all esteemed them and desired them as guides of their souls; and they performed this office with so much care and diligence that the reformation of the aforesaid city resulted. For those who confessed to them were either obliged to reform, or were dismissed by them; for in the conduct of the penitents they refused to consent to deceit, in the collection of tributes they would not allow extortion, in women they would not suffer frivolity or impropriety of manners. As learned men, they revealed the evils in such acts, and could make these understood by their penitents; and as men without any personal motive they held themselves ready to dismiss those who with vain and plausible reasons, with the pretext of evil customs, or with other like cloaks strove to cover their acts of injustice, and to justify the wrongs which they committed through evil desires. Hence those persons who confessed in the Dominican convent came to be known and esteemed, as they still are; and there came toexist in the city more light in regard to things to which previously no attention had been given, and more care was taken of conduct. This was the reason why they said that the city had become a monastery; and in truth, in many cases the conduct of those who confessed there deserved that name—for example, that of Doña Ana de Vera, Doña Marina de Cespedes, Catalina de Villegas, and many other women very well known and esteemed in the city on account of their virtue. In this they all owed no little to the aid of their holy confessors, who with great care, much teaching, and their own examples, did the work of God, and succeeded in attracting many people to the knowledge of Him and to His service. Many, in health, did not follow their counsels, regarding them as too severe, and sought for confessors who feared to lose their penitents, and who, by making their theology liberal, unburdened the consciences of those who confessed to them. Yet even these persons in the hour of death, when their desires had lost some of their force, called for the Dominicans and gave to them the charge of their souls, fearing to lose them by following the road which they had taken in health. And this freedom and courage has always been maintained in this convent; and they have used it without respect of persons—with rich and poor, with governors and other officials. Hence it is necessary for them to live in such a manner that no reproach can be cast upon them, and to be content with but little for their sustenance, since that little cannot fail them. Withal they have no regard to pleasing men, for to Saint Paul it seemed that with that desire it was impossible to unite the service of God—mankind being in generalgreater lovers of themselves than of God, and hence he who is very desirous to please men being necessarily at enmity with God. Therefore, these religious were very careful in this respect, and strove so to conduct themselves toward men that the supreme place should always be held by God; and on this account they had the reputation of rigor—though they were not rigorous, except to those who through their own desires or selfishness tried to cast aside their duties to God.
Chapter XOf the entry of the religious into the city of Manila, and of their occupations there until they went on their various missions.
The previous chapter has caused some digression; but it was necessary, in order to give an account of the voyage, and of the career of these important religious. We now return to those on the other ship, which we left at the port of Cavite—whence the news was immediately carried to Manila, which is two leguas from that port. The bishop of this city, Don Fray Domingo Salazar, was, as has already been said, a religious of this order. He was greatly delighted when he learned that religious of his own order had come to found a province, which was thething that he most desired in this life. He sent immediately to a nephew of his to ask him to welcome them and to bring them to the city, which they entered on the day of the apostle St. James. This was a happy omen for those who came with so great a desire to imitate the great zeal of this holy apostle, by which he was so distinguished among the other apostles that the enemies of the gospel opposed him more than the others, and that he was the first among the apostles to lose his life. When they entered the city there came out to meet them Doctor Sanctiago de Vera, governor and captain-general of these islands, together with the most noble and illustrious of the city, showing in the joy of their faces and their loving words the delight that they felt at the arrival of the brethren—of whose sanctity they had already been informed and felt assured by the modesty of their appearance, faithful witness to the heart. Accompanied by these friends, they went to the chief church, where the bishop was waiting for them; and he gave them his benediction, full of tears of joy. Here they offered to the Lord the thanks they owed to Him for having brought them to the destination which they had so long desired; and for the great honor which, as to His servants and for His sake, had been shown them. Immediately after, the holy bishop took them to his house, and, making them welcome to everything in it, entertained them as well as he could; for he desired for occasions such as this and for giving to the poor, that his episcopate should be rich. Since this day was wholly given up to visits, it was not very pleasant for him; but when he was alone with his brethren he lifted up his voice with tears, like another Joseph, and said to them: “Is itpossible that I have seen the order of my father St. Dominic established in this country? Is it possible that my eyes have seen the thing which I so much desired?” After he had said these words, he remained for a long time unable to speak, his words being followed by an abundance of tears, which he shed from tenderness and the emotion of his soul. Everything else that followed was conformable to this, both in his conversation and his acts, which were those of an affectionate father. He gave them all their sustenance in his house, without growing weary of such guests. They, however, were not seeking comfort such as the good bishop provided them, but labors for themselves and souls for God; and after resting a few days they begged the bishop to put them in the way of attaining what they had come to find, as his bishopric was so rich in it. The festival of our father St. Dominic was at hand; and they resolved to celebrate it before separating, asking the blessing of the Great Father on that important act. Having no convent, they celebrated the festival in church, with the utmost solemnity and devotion; and in the evening they had some theological discussions, father Fray Pedro de Soto maintaining several positions, in which he displayed his admirable ability and great learning. Father Fray Miguel de Venavides presided, a man who surpassed those who in that period were of mark in virtue and scholarship, by the shoulders and more, like Saul in bodily presence among his subjects. The purpose of the discussions was to show that preaching the gospel (which was to be their occupation), even to the simple race of Indians, does not interfere with scholarship, but requires it, and much study; the contrary is a manifesterror, for the smaller the capacity of the Indian, the greater should be the capacity of the minister. He is called on to make the Indian capable of the loftiest mysteries taught by the faith; and we see by daily experience among Indians cases and matters which cannot be solved except by a man of great knowledge, learning, and ability. Since all cannot be so highly endowed, it is essential to have some ministers of superior attainments to whom the others may resort with their difficulties, and whose responses they may safely follow. The good bishop took particular pleasure in being present at and encouraging the discussions, and in perceiving that those who sustained theses and the others (who likewise exhibited their abilities) might aid him in weighty matters in the difficult duties of his office. This was afterward proved to be true in this province and in España, where he who presided accompanied the bishop and was of great assistance to him, as we shall see. After the festival was over, it was determined that father Fray Christoval de Salvatierra, who was the bishop’s companion—and who was of the same pattern in virtue, prudence, and zeal for the common good and especially for the good of souls (as will hereafter be recounted)—should take some of these fathers to some villages of Indians who had no one to instruct them, and whom he therefore had taken under his own charge. He went to visit and teach them when he had leisure from his heavy labors as vicar-general. The labor of his office, being in a new country, full of entanglements with regard to the conquistadors and new encomiendas and the collection of tributes, would have been intolerable for others; yet he took his vacation by working at otherkinds of labor, teaching new Indians, working with them, and introducing among them Christian policy and civilization so far as they were capable of receiving them. This avocation of his would have sufficed most men for their full duty, but he did it in addition to his regular work as vicar-general. The villages were at such a distance from Manila that it took more than a day to go there by sea, and much more by the rivers.14In order to teach the new fathers the manner of working with the Indians, and to begin to acquaint them with the language of the natives, which he knew very well, he went with them to the villages commonly known as Bataan. Those who had the fortune to go with father Fray Christoval were very well pleased, inasmuch as they were beginning to obtain that which they had followed with such desire from España. The rest of them, desiring greater convenience for living according to the custom of friars than could be afforded them in the house of the bishop (although he was a holy man), went to the convent of St. Francis, where they were received and entertained as might have been expected of fathers so religious and so zealous in following the rules of their great father and ours, which we accepted exactly as if we were of the same habit. Nothing less could have been expected, since those fathers then had as custodian the holy Fray Pedro Baptista, afterwards the most glorious martyrin Iapon, and as guardian father Fray Vicente Valero—another Nathaniel in guilelessness of soul, joined with a most solid virtue and devotion to his vows, which caused him to be esteemed and venerated among lay and religious. Some days afterward the Indians of Pangasinan were entrusted to our religious. They lived forty leguas distant, and, being all heathen, had need of someone to labor among them. The order likewise took charge of the Indians of Bataan, to whom, as has been said, the father provisor ministered because he had no one to send; as also of the Chinese or Sangleys, who up to that time had had no ministry. Many thousands of them had come and were still coming every year from their own country, on account of their trade and commerce in this colony, which is very great. Many of them were traders, and many were mechanics. No one desired to undertake the ministry to them, because of the great labor and the little fruit; but since the new laborers had come fresh, and were eager for work, this claim of itself was sufficient for them to regard it as a great favor to be permitted to occupy themselves where the toil was greatest. The father vicar-general sent for the absent brethren, and gathered all together in the convent of St. Francis; and there offered a long prayer for them, asking for the grace of the Holy Spirit. He then made them a spiritual and devout address. After it was concluded, he who in lesser things had never been accustomed to proceed without consultation, now, without further consultation than that which he had had with God, assigned and distributed them after the following manner. To the district of Bataan he sent as vicar father Fray Juan de Sancto Thomas (or de Ormaça),with three associates: father Fray Alonso Ximenez and Fray Pedro Bolaños, and Fray Domingo de Nieva. To the province of Pangasinan he assigned, as vicar, father Fray Bernardo Navarro (or de Sancta Cathalina), with five associates: fathers Fray Gregorio de Ochoa, Fray Juan de Castro (nephew of the vicar-general), Fray Pedro de Soto, Fray Marcos de San Antonio, and father Fray Juan de la Cruz. The father vicar-general remained with the others in the convent which was to be established in Manila, and was intended for the conversion of the Chinese. It was only necessary for him to give the directions and to arrange all things, every man doing that which fell to his lot. The reason was not only their great virtue of obedience, but the fact that the holy old man had held this chapter in a manner so spirited and so extraordinary as to convince them that in his address he had said to them that which it was their duty to do, and that it was God who had thus given them their commands. The father vicar-general immediately began to give his attention to the convent which was to be established in Manila; but when he looked for a situation he did not find a suitable one. That part of the city that was submerged at high tide did not seem desirable; but that which was not submerged was so taken up by the cathedral and the other convents that the matter was a very difficult one. Being such, the good bishop laid it before the Lord in his prayers; and having earnestly besought His help, he arose from prayer with great happiness, and went, though it was late at night, to his sub-chaplain and steward, Francisco Zerbantes, telling him that he had the site for the friars, and directing him to see if he could obtainthree hundred pesos, which the owner asked for the place; for the bishop had not even one peso with him. The steward—whose accounts were always indicating a deficit, because every third of their yearly income15scarcely fell due before the poor took it away from the bishop—frankly responded that he did not dare attempt to get that sum and did not see how he could, because even for their ordinary subsistence the means were frequently insufficient, so that he was embarrassed. The bishop was not disconcerted by this, but (though it is not known how or where) he quickly procured the three hundred pesos; and he told the steward to give the money to a Spaniard called Gaspar de Isla, who was diking a small place which was all flooded, and much more the land about it. For this reason, though many had looked at it, no one had regarded it as good for a convent. But the bishop, with great insistence, directed the steward to take the next morning a stole, some holy water, and two sticks to make a cross; and he embarked in a banca, or little canoe, and went to the place (for it was overflowed to that extent), and blessed it. He took possession on August 16, 1587, and set up a cross in token that the convent should be built there, as it was; and the site has turned out to be very healthful, with very pleasant views. It has been surrounded by very good houses, and has had other advantages. The bishop gave for the building two thousand pesos—a thing apparently impossible, because of his poverty, but worthy of his great soul, and of the great affection which he felt toward the friars. They immediately began to builda house there and a poor little wooden church. They finished soon, and the religious began to occupy it on the first day of the following year, 1588, to the great joy of themselves and of the whole city. The first superior of the convent, with the title of vicar, was father Fray Diego de Soria, a great preacher, and a very devout man, so that he immediately made many persons greatly devoted to him. The new convent began to be very much frequented, and to be so well assisted by alms that for many years there was no occasion to cook food; because every day the amount of cooked food which was provided was too great rather than too small. There were many who came to its assistance with alms, some one day, some another; but Captain Francisco Rodriguez sent every day, so that the religious were as sure of this supply of food as if they cooked it at home. The Lord paid His accounts, as He is accustomed to, promptly. The captain had lived for ten years in marriage without any children, for whom both husband and wife were most desirous, and they had some in payment for these alms; for there is nothing that the Lord denies to those who have mercy on the poor. As the number of the religious increased, it became necessary to do the cooking in the convent; but the devotion of the city and the contribution of alms has always continued and still continues. Thus the convent has been and is maintained solely by them, having been unwilling always to accept an endowment, though many have been offered to it. Thus without endowment or possessions they get what they need, with greater certainty than if they had these. For, however certain such things may be imagined to be, they may fail, as many others have failed; but the word ofGod, in whom the fathers trust, cannot fail. This has been so clearly observed that when our lord the king commanded that this convent, like the others in the city, should receive as a contribution to its support four hundred pesos a year and four hundred fanegas of rice (which takes the place of wheat in this country), they for a long time declined to collect it, since it seemed to them that it was in the nature of an endowment, as being something sure and certain; yet afterward, when they saw that it was pure charity, and that he who gave it could take it away when he chose, they accepted it—on condition, however, that if the ministers of the king take it from us, even unjustly, we shall not ask for it as a right. At this time this has been done, the allowance having been taken away; but the Lord in return has given much more than that. In these first years Doña Ana de Vera, wife of the master-of-camp Pedro de Chaves, and Doña Marina de Cespedes were great benefactors of the religious; and to them the convent, in gratitude, has given chapels in the church for their interment. In general, both poor and rich have given alms to the convent out of good-will; and the religious have paid them all very fully, not only by commending them to the Lord in all their masses and prayers, but by earnestly laboring for the good of their souls with sermons, advice, and exhortation, as well as other spiritual exercises. This was soon evident in the reformation that began to be seen in their habits, and in the improvement in their life. Accordingly, one of the citizens wrote to Captain Chacon (who was at that time governor of the province of Nueva Segovia) telling him as news that the Dominican friars had come to Manila; and that thecity was turned into a monastery in the reformation of the lives and morals of the inhabitants, and, in particular, in the abstraction of the women from worldly concerns. This was indeed the case; one reason was, that the example given by the religious was of great influence, and, though they were few in number, they effected as much as if they were many. They acted in harmony, and devoted themselves to the divine offices as systematically as in great and well-ordered convents. They were all men of education (some of very superior education), all virtuous men, all given to prayer, all very penitent, very harmonious, very zealous for the salvation of souls, very poor, and disengaged from the things of this world. Therefore, all esteemed them and desired them as guides of their souls; and they performed this office with so much care and diligence that the reformation of the aforesaid city resulted. For those who confessed to them were either obliged to reform, or were dismissed by them; for in the conduct of the penitents they refused to consent to deceit, in the collection of tributes they would not allow extortion, in women they would not suffer frivolity or impropriety of manners. As learned men, they revealed the evils in such acts, and could make these understood by their penitents; and as men without any personal motive they held themselves ready to dismiss those who with vain and plausible reasons, with the pretext of evil customs, or with other like cloaks strove to cover their acts of injustice, and to justify the wrongs which they committed through evil desires. Hence those persons who confessed in the Dominican convent came to be known and esteemed, as they still are; and there came toexist in the city more light in regard to things to which previously no attention had been given, and more care was taken of conduct. This was the reason why they said that the city had become a monastery; and in truth, in many cases the conduct of those who confessed there deserved that name—for example, that of Doña Ana de Vera, Doña Marina de Cespedes, Catalina de Villegas, and many other women very well known and esteemed in the city on account of their virtue. In this they all owed no little to the aid of their holy confessors, who with great care, much teaching, and their own examples, did the work of God, and succeeded in attracting many people to the knowledge of Him and to His service. Many, in health, did not follow their counsels, regarding them as too severe, and sought for confessors who feared to lose their penitents, and who, by making their theology liberal, unburdened the consciences of those who confessed to them. Yet even these persons in the hour of death, when their desires had lost some of their force, called for the Dominicans and gave to them the charge of their souls, fearing to lose them by following the road which they had taken in health. And this freedom and courage has always been maintained in this convent; and they have used it without respect of persons—with rich and poor, with governors and other officials. Hence it is necessary for them to live in such a manner that no reproach can be cast upon them, and to be content with but little for their sustenance, since that little cannot fail them. Withal they have no regard to pleasing men, for to Saint Paul it seemed that with that desire it was impossible to unite the service of God—mankind being in generalgreater lovers of themselves than of God, and hence he who is very desirous to please men being necessarily at enmity with God. Therefore, these religious were very careful in this respect, and strove so to conduct themselves toward men that the supreme place should always be held by God; and on this account they had the reputation of rigor—though they were not rigorous, except to those who through their own desires or selfishness tried to cast aside their duties to God.
The previous chapter has caused some digression; but it was necessary, in order to give an account of the voyage, and of the career of these important religious. We now return to those on the other ship, which we left at the port of Cavite—whence the news was immediately carried to Manila, which is two leguas from that port. The bishop of this city, Don Fray Domingo Salazar, was, as has already been said, a religious of this order. He was greatly delighted when he learned that religious of his own order had come to found a province, which was thething that he most desired in this life. He sent immediately to a nephew of his to ask him to welcome them and to bring them to the city, which they entered on the day of the apostle St. James. This was a happy omen for those who came with so great a desire to imitate the great zeal of this holy apostle, by which he was so distinguished among the other apostles that the enemies of the gospel opposed him more than the others, and that he was the first among the apostles to lose his life. When they entered the city there came out to meet them Doctor Sanctiago de Vera, governor and captain-general of these islands, together with the most noble and illustrious of the city, showing in the joy of their faces and their loving words the delight that they felt at the arrival of the brethren—of whose sanctity they had already been informed and felt assured by the modesty of their appearance, faithful witness to the heart. Accompanied by these friends, they went to the chief church, where the bishop was waiting for them; and he gave them his benediction, full of tears of joy. Here they offered to the Lord the thanks they owed to Him for having brought them to the destination which they had so long desired; and for the great honor which, as to His servants and for His sake, had been shown them. Immediately after, the holy bishop took them to his house, and, making them welcome to everything in it, entertained them as well as he could; for he desired for occasions such as this and for giving to the poor, that his episcopate should be rich. Since this day was wholly given up to visits, it was not very pleasant for him; but when he was alone with his brethren he lifted up his voice with tears, like another Joseph, and said to them: “Is itpossible that I have seen the order of my father St. Dominic established in this country? Is it possible that my eyes have seen the thing which I so much desired?” After he had said these words, he remained for a long time unable to speak, his words being followed by an abundance of tears, which he shed from tenderness and the emotion of his soul. Everything else that followed was conformable to this, both in his conversation and his acts, which were those of an affectionate father. He gave them all their sustenance in his house, without growing weary of such guests. They, however, were not seeking comfort such as the good bishop provided them, but labors for themselves and souls for God; and after resting a few days they begged the bishop to put them in the way of attaining what they had come to find, as his bishopric was so rich in it. The festival of our father St. Dominic was at hand; and they resolved to celebrate it before separating, asking the blessing of the Great Father on that important act. Having no convent, they celebrated the festival in church, with the utmost solemnity and devotion; and in the evening they had some theological discussions, father Fray Pedro de Soto maintaining several positions, in which he displayed his admirable ability and great learning. Father Fray Miguel de Venavides presided, a man who surpassed those who in that period were of mark in virtue and scholarship, by the shoulders and more, like Saul in bodily presence among his subjects. The purpose of the discussions was to show that preaching the gospel (which was to be their occupation), even to the simple race of Indians, does not interfere with scholarship, but requires it, and much study; the contrary is a manifesterror, for the smaller the capacity of the Indian, the greater should be the capacity of the minister. He is called on to make the Indian capable of the loftiest mysteries taught by the faith; and we see by daily experience among Indians cases and matters which cannot be solved except by a man of great knowledge, learning, and ability. Since all cannot be so highly endowed, it is essential to have some ministers of superior attainments to whom the others may resort with their difficulties, and whose responses they may safely follow. The good bishop took particular pleasure in being present at and encouraging the discussions, and in perceiving that those who sustained theses and the others (who likewise exhibited their abilities) might aid him in weighty matters in the difficult duties of his office. This was afterward proved to be true in this province and in España, where he who presided accompanied the bishop and was of great assistance to him, as we shall see. After the festival was over, it was determined that father Fray Christoval de Salvatierra, who was the bishop’s companion—and who was of the same pattern in virtue, prudence, and zeal for the common good and especially for the good of souls (as will hereafter be recounted)—should take some of these fathers to some villages of Indians who had no one to instruct them, and whom he therefore had taken under his own charge. He went to visit and teach them when he had leisure from his heavy labors as vicar-general. The labor of his office, being in a new country, full of entanglements with regard to the conquistadors and new encomiendas and the collection of tributes, would have been intolerable for others; yet he took his vacation by working at otherkinds of labor, teaching new Indians, working with them, and introducing among them Christian policy and civilization so far as they were capable of receiving them. This avocation of his would have sufficed most men for their full duty, but he did it in addition to his regular work as vicar-general. The villages were at such a distance from Manila that it took more than a day to go there by sea, and much more by the rivers.14In order to teach the new fathers the manner of working with the Indians, and to begin to acquaint them with the language of the natives, which he knew very well, he went with them to the villages commonly known as Bataan. Those who had the fortune to go with father Fray Christoval were very well pleased, inasmuch as they were beginning to obtain that which they had followed with such desire from España. The rest of them, desiring greater convenience for living according to the custom of friars than could be afforded them in the house of the bishop (although he was a holy man), went to the convent of St. Francis, where they were received and entertained as might have been expected of fathers so religious and so zealous in following the rules of their great father and ours, which we accepted exactly as if we were of the same habit. Nothing less could have been expected, since those fathers then had as custodian the holy Fray Pedro Baptista, afterwards the most glorious martyrin Iapon, and as guardian father Fray Vicente Valero—another Nathaniel in guilelessness of soul, joined with a most solid virtue and devotion to his vows, which caused him to be esteemed and venerated among lay and religious. Some days afterward the Indians of Pangasinan were entrusted to our religious. They lived forty leguas distant, and, being all heathen, had need of someone to labor among them. The order likewise took charge of the Indians of Bataan, to whom, as has been said, the father provisor ministered because he had no one to send; as also of the Chinese or Sangleys, who up to that time had had no ministry. Many thousands of them had come and were still coming every year from their own country, on account of their trade and commerce in this colony, which is very great. Many of them were traders, and many were mechanics. No one desired to undertake the ministry to them, because of the great labor and the little fruit; but since the new laborers had come fresh, and were eager for work, this claim of itself was sufficient for them to regard it as a great favor to be permitted to occupy themselves where the toil was greatest. The father vicar-general sent for the absent brethren, and gathered all together in the convent of St. Francis; and there offered a long prayer for them, asking for the grace of the Holy Spirit. He then made them a spiritual and devout address. After it was concluded, he who in lesser things had never been accustomed to proceed without consultation, now, without further consultation than that which he had had with God, assigned and distributed them after the following manner. To the district of Bataan he sent as vicar father Fray Juan de Sancto Thomas (or de Ormaça),with three associates: father Fray Alonso Ximenez and Fray Pedro Bolaños, and Fray Domingo de Nieva. To the province of Pangasinan he assigned, as vicar, father Fray Bernardo Navarro (or de Sancta Cathalina), with five associates: fathers Fray Gregorio de Ochoa, Fray Juan de Castro (nephew of the vicar-general), Fray Pedro de Soto, Fray Marcos de San Antonio, and father Fray Juan de la Cruz. The father vicar-general remained with the others in the convent which was to be established in Manila, and was intended for the conversion of the Chinese. It was only necessary for him to give the directions and to arrange all things, every man doing that which fell to his lot. The reason was not only their great virtue of obedience, but the fact that the holy old man had held this chapter in a manner so spirited and so extraordinary as to convince them that in his address he had said to them that which it was their duty to do, and that it was God who had thus given them their commands. The father vicar-general immediately began to give his attention to the convent which was to be established in Manila; but when he looked for a situation he did not find a suitable one. That part of the city that was submerged at high tide did not seem desirable; but that which was not submerged was so taken up by the cathedral and the other convents that the matter was a very difficult one. Being such, the good bishop laid it before the Lord in his prayers; and having earnestly besought His help, he arose from prayer with great happiness, and went, though it was late at night, to his sub-chaplain and steward, Francisco Zerbantes, telling him that he had the site for the friars, and directing him to see if he could obtainthree hundred pesos, which the owner asked for the place; for the bishop had not even one peso with him. The steward—whose accounts were always indicating a deficit, because every third of their yearly income15scarcely fell due before the poor took it away from the bishop—frankly responded that he did not dare attempt to get that sum and did not see how he could, because even for their ordinary subsistence the means were frequently insufficient, so that he was embarrassed. The bishop was not disconcerted by this, but (though it is not known how or where) he quickly procured the three hundred pesos; and he told the steward to give the money to a Spaniard called Gaspar de Isla, who was diking a small place which was all flooded, and much more the land about it. For this reason, though many had looked at it, no one had regarded it as good for a convent. But the bishop, with great insistence, directed the steward to take the next morning a stole, some holy water, and two sticks to make a cross; and he embarked in a banca, or little canoe, and went to the place (for it was overflowed to that extent), and blessed it. He took possession on August 16, 1587, and set up a cross in token that the convent should be built there, as it was; and the site has turned out to be very healthful, with very pleasant views. It has been surrounded by very good houses, and has had other advantages. The bishop gave for the building two thousand pesos—a thing apparently impossible, because of his poverty, but worthy of his great soul, and of the great affection which he felt toward the friars. They immediately began to builda house there and a poor little wooden church. They finished soon, and the religious began to occupy it on the first day of the following year, 1588, to the great joy of themselves and of the whole city. The first superior of the convent, with the title of vicar, was father Fray Diego de Soria, a great preacher, and a very devout man, so that he immediately made many persons greatly devoted to him. The new convent began to be very much frequented, and to be so well assisted by alms that for many years there was no occasion to cook food; because every day the amount of cooked food which was provided was too great rather than too small. There were many who came to its assistance with alms, some one day, some another; but Captain Francisco Rodriguez sent every day, so that the religious were as sure of this supply of food as if they cooked it at home. The Lord paid His accounts, as He is accustomed to, promptly. The captain had lived for ten years in marriage without any children, for whom both husband and wife were most desirous, and they had some in payment for these alms; for there is nothing that the Lord denies to those who have mercy on the poor. As the number of the religious increased, it became necessary to do the cooking in the convent; but the devotion of the city and the contribution of alms has always continued and still continues. Thus the convent has been and is maintained solely by them, having been unwilling always to accept an endowment, though many have been offered to it. Thus without endowment or possessions they get what they need, with greater certainty than if they had these. For, however certain such things may be imagined to be, they may fail, as many others have failed; but the word ofGod, in whom the fathers trust, cannot fail. This has been so clearly observed that when our lord the king commanded that this convent, like the others in the city, should receive as a contribution to its support four hundred pesos a year and four hundred fanegas of rice (which takes the place of wheat in this country), they for a long time declined to collect it, since it seemed to them that it was in the nature of an endowment, as being something sure and certain; yet afterward, when they saw that it was pure charity, and that he who gave it could take it away when he chose, they accepted it—on condition, however, that if the ministers of the king take it from us, even unjustly, we shall not ask for it as a right. At this time this has been done, the allowance having been taken away; but the Lord in return has given much more than that. In these first years Doña Ana de Vera, wife of the master-of-camp Pedro de Chaves, and Doña Marina de Cespedes were great benefactors of the religious; and to them the convent, in gratitude, has given chapels in the church for their interment. In general, both poor and rich have given alms to the convent out of good-will; and the religious have paid them all very fully, not only by commending them to the Lord in all their masses and prayers, but by earnestly laboring for the good of their souls with sermons, advice, and exhortation, as well as other spiritual exercises. This was soon evident in the reformation that began to be seen in their habits, and in the improvement in their life. Accordingly, one of the citizens wrote to Captain Chacon (who was at that time governor of the province of Nueva Segovia) telling him as news that the Dominican friars had come to Manila; and that thecity was turned into a monastery in the reformation of the lives and morals of the inhabitants, and, in particular, in the abstraction of the women from worldly concerns. This was indeed the case; one reason was, that the example given by the religious was of great influence, and, though they were few in number, they effected as much as if they were many. They acted in harmony, and devoted themselves to the divine offices as systematically as in great and well-ordered convents. They were all men of education (some of very superior education), all virtuous men, all given to prayer, all very penitent, very harmonious, very zealous for the salvation of souls, very poor, and disengaged from the things of this world. Therefore, all esteemed them and desired them as guides of their souls; and they performed this office with so much care and diligence that the reformation of the aforesaid city resulted. For those who confessed to them were either obliged to reform, or were dismissed by them; for in the conduct of the penitents they refused to consent to deceit, in the collection of tributes they would not allow extortion, in women they would not suffer frivolity or impropriety of manners. As learned men, they revealed the evils in such acts, and could make these understood by their penitents; and as men without any personal motive they held themselves ready to dismiss those who with vain and plausible reasons, with the pretext of evil customs, or with other like cloaks strove to cover their acts of injustice, and to justify the wrongs which they committed through evil desires. Hence those persons who confessed in the Dominican convent came to be known and esteemed, as they still are; and there came toexist in the city more light in regard to things to which previously no attention had been given, and more care was taken of conduct. This was the reason why they said that the city had become a monastery; and in truth, in many cases the conduct of those who confessed there deserved that name—for example, that of Doña Ana de Vera, Doña Marina de Cespedes, Catalina de Villegas, and many other women very well known and esteemed in the city on account of their virtue. In this they all owed no little to the aid of their holy confessors, who with great care, much teaching, and their own examples, did the work of God, and succeeded in attracting many people to the knowledge of Him and to His service. Many, in health, did not follow their counsels, regarding them as too severe, and sought for confessors who feared to lose their penitents, and who, by making their theology liberal, unburdened the consciences of those who confessed to them. Yet even these persons in the hour of death, when their desires had lost some of their force, called for the Dominicans and gave to them the charge of their souls, fearing to lose them by following the road which they had taken in health. And this freedom and courage has always been maintained in this convent; and they have used it without respect of persons—with rich and poor, with governors and other officials. Hence it is necessary for them to live in such a manner that no reproach can be cast upon them, and to be content with but little for their sustenance, since that little cannot fail them. Withal they have no regard to pleasing men, for to Saint Paul it seemed that with that desire it was impossible to unite the service of God—mankind being in generalgreater lovers of themselves than of God, and hence he who is very desirous to please men being necessarily at enmity with God. Therefore, these religious were very careful in this respect, and strove so to conduct themselves toward men that the supreme place should always be held by God; and on this account they had the reputation of rigor—though they were not rigorous, except to those who through their own desires or selfishness tried to cast aside their duties to God.