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THE LIBRARIES COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
GIVEN BY
Virginia C, Gildersleeve
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HISTORY
INQUISITION
ESTABLISHMENT TILL THE PRESENT TIME
BY WILLIAM SIME,
AUTHOR OF THE HISTORIES OF THE REFORMATION, CHRISTIAN CHURCH, WALDENSES, &C.
♦• Instruments of crueltj are in their habitation."— Gbn. xlix. 5.
PHILADELPHIA: PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OF PUBLICATION.
GIFT OF
PREFACE
Among the numerous and varieJ methods which the Popish Church has adopted, to maintain its usurped sway over the minds and bodies of men, none has been more effectual than the erection of the Inquisition. Established for the purpose of taking cognizance of what it styles heresy, many are the victims which this tribunal has doomed to the rack and the flames, for en- deavouring to regulate their faith and worship agreea- bly to the unerring standard of revealed truth. For aaany ages, its procedure was comparatively unknown, the conduct of its ministers having been wrapt up in that mysterious secrecy by which all its transactions are characterized. What was long concealed is, how- ever, now unfolded, by the productions of many unex- ceptionable writers, not a few of whom were themselves connected with the " holy office," and are consequently well fitted to give ai impartial account of its iniquitous acts and deeds.
The design, accordingly, of this little volume, is to give a succinct and connected view of the rise, pro- gress, and present state of that infamous tribunal, more especially in Spain. Such a work, the writer conceives, will not be without use, notwithstanding the many de- tailed accounts that have been given of an institution, which has been, and still is, an outrage on humanity. To those whose avocations allow only of an occasional perusal of books, the fcUowing sheets will afford infor- mation on this subject, to obtain which otherwise, the
iii
iV PREFACE.
reading of many large works would be necessary ; and to the young student, it is hoped, they may pave the way for future research, excite an earl> abhorrence of tyranny and bigotry, and nurture the spirit of Christian philanthropy and liberality.
It has been the aim of the writer to condense as much information within a small compass as possible. Not a few cases of well-attested individual suffering have also been introduced, illustrative of the various topics brought forward in the course of the work.
It may also be mentioned, that the utmost care has been taken to insure the authenticity of the statements which are advanced; though it was deemed inexpedient to enlarge the volume by notes of reference to the wri- ters whence it is compiled, these for the most part being embodied in the text. To enumerate all the authors whose writings have been consulted, is as unneces- sary as it would be tedious. But it may be of import- ance to state, that among others whose names will be found in the work itself, materials have been collected from Limborch, Baker, Hurd, Montanus, Salgado, Father Paul, Gavin, Dellon, Buchanan, Puigblanch, Llorente, Blanco White, and Don Juan Van Halen.
EriNBURGH, July, 1834.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I.
Persecution for religious opinions, opposed to the spirit of Christianity, and to the sentiments of the primi- tive fathers — it increases with the growth of the Papal authority — edicts of the synod of Tours and of the Roman Pontiff against the Waldenses — the foundation of the Inquisition laid by Regnier and Guy — Innocent III. institutes two new orders of regu- /Tars — birth and education of St. Dominic — his erec- j tion of the Inquisition, and thirst for human blood — procedure of the first Inquisitors — difficulties which had to be surmounted previous to the establishment of the Inquisition — edicts of Frederick II. against heresy — erection of Inquisitorial tribunals indifferent countries — letter of Pope Gregory IX. to the Inquisi- tors— successful resistance of several states against the erection of these Courts, - - - 9
CHAPTER 11.
Rise and progress of the Inquisition in Spain — new pri- vileges conferred on the Inquisitors — their proceed- ings— sketch of the government of the ancient Span- ish Inquisition — dreadful persecution of the Jews and Moors at Seville in 1481 — they are exposed to similar ^persecutions in the other provinces of Spain — Tor- ^ quemada appointed Inquisitor-general — he frames ^laws for the government of the different tribunals— his audacity and cruelty — proceedings of his succes- sors Deza and Ximenes — the Reformers' works pro scribed— zeal of the Emperor Charles V. in behalf of the Inquisition — his son Philip II. is still more superstitious and intolerant — horrid cruelty of that infatuated monarch — his efforts to establish the 5* (V)
VI CONTENTS.
Inquisition in every part of his dominions—ignorance of the Inquisitors— ludicrous trial of the famous Galileo before the "Holy Tribunal." - - 25
CHAPTER HI.
Appointment of the Inquisitors in Spain — their exten- sive privileges — they pretend to have jurisdiction over the subjects of other states — imprisonment of Thomas Maynard— dignity and splendour of the In- quisitors— other officers belonging to the Inquisition — procedure of the tribunal of the " Holy Ollice " — eagerness of the Inquisitors to preserve secrecy in all their transactions— their manner of receiving and interrogating informers— their rigorous proceedings towards any of their servants who may dare to vio- late in the least their unjust orders— citing of the witnesses — apprehension of the person accused— his imprisonment — prisons of the Inquisition — exami- nation of a culprit — artifice and injustice practised by the judges to induce a person to criminate him- self— striking example of their duplicity and bar- barity. 56
CHAPTER IV.
Examination of the accused by torture — its different degrees— Puigblanch's description of this inhuman practice — it is sometimes inflicted on those who are condemned to death— sufferings of William Lithgow — innocence no protection against Inquisitorial cru- elty— barbarous usage of Johanna Bohorques — differ- ent punishments inflicted by the Inquisition — descrip- tion of an auto-da-fe — procession which accompanies the celebration of that ceremony — burning of heretics — account of the splendid auto-da-fe' which took place at Madrid in 1680— penitential habits which are worn by the criminals — hypocritical manner in which the In- quisitors deliver over a culprit to the civil power. 79
CHAPTER V.
Auto-da-fe celebrated at Seville in 1560 — the Inquisitor- general Valdes publishes a new code of laws for the governmBni of the holy office— p'-oceedings of the In-
CONTENTS. Vll
quisition during the reigns of Philip III Philip IV. and Charles II.~slate of the nation at the accession of Philip V. — M. Legal, the French commander, levies a contribution on the Dominicans in Saragossa— their stratagem to elude payment—the Inquisitors excom- municate M. Legal— he throws open the doors of the Inquisition and liberates the prisoners — the freema- sons become the objects of persecution by the holy office— state of the Inquisition during the reigns of Ferdinand VL Charles III. and Charles IV.— the In- quisitors prohibit the reading of French works at the period of the revolution in that kingdom— the Inquisi- tion suppressed by Bonaparte and completely abol- ished by the Cortes-General — it is re-established by Ferdinand VII. — persecuting spirit of the modern In- quisition—sufferings of Van Halen— sentence of death by the pendulum passed by the Inquisitors in 1820, 102
CHAPTER VL
The horrid procedure of the Inquisition is never calcu- lated to make converts— Case of Don Carlos de Sessa — of Isaac Orobio— the punishments inflicted by the holy tribunal encourage hypocrisy — examples — the Inquisition frequently condemns the innocent— trial of Melchior Hernandez — the Inquisitors proved to be actuated by avarice in their condemnation of prison- ers— examples— Nicholas Burton— a child— other of- fences besides heresy taken cognizance of by the Holy Office— its flagrant injustice — its barbarous proceedings against the dead— Marc Antonio de Do- minis, ^28
CHAPTER VIL
Hostility of the Inquisition to the progress of literature and science— examples— Don Melchior de Macanaz —Luis de Leon— Aonius Palearius— freemasonry a peculiar object of persecution by the holy tribunal- interesting trial of M. Tournon— his sentence— cruelty of the Inquisition in the nineteenth century— affectmg account of the sufferings of Don Miguel Juan An- toni ) Solano— his death while confined in the prisons
Vlll CONTENTS.
of the Inquisition— he is denied Christian burial- remarks by Puigblanch on the iniquitous procedure of the holy office, - - - - 152
CHAPTER VIII.
Portuguese " holy tribunal" — imprisonment of Dellon in the Inquisition at Goa — he is thrice examined before the Inquisitors—despair impels him to attempt com- mitting suicide— his fourth examination— sentence of death pronounced on him— preparations for celebrat- ing an auto-da-fe — the various dresses which were worn by the criminals— order of the procession — Del- Ion's sentence mitigated, and publicly read — ceremo- nies which are observed towards those who are con- demned to death— penances enjoined upon Dellon at his liberation. - - - - - 172
CHAPTER IX.
The Inquisition at Goa has made little iuipiovement since the time of Dellon— extracts from Dr. Bu- chanan's Christian Researches in Asia— he visits Goa —becomes acquainted with the Inquisitor Joseph a Doloribus — conversation between Dr. Buchanan and the Inquisitor respecting Dellon's account of the tri- bunal—attempt made by the Inquisitor to prove that the procedure of the holy office is ameliorated— the Doctor visits the Inquisition— he pleads, in vain, to see the dungeons and the captives— his remarks on the effiarts which ought to be made by Britain to abolish so odious a tribunal— true picture of the In- quisition by several writers— conclusion, - 191
APPENDIX.
No. I.— Articles of Torquemada, for regulating the pro- ceedings of the Inquisition, drawn up in 1484, 218
No. II.— Articles drawn up by the Inquisitor-general Valdes, in 1561, for the better regulation of the holy office, ..---.. 221
HISTORY
OP
THE INaUISITION.
CHAPTER I.
Persecution for religious opinions, opposed to the spiri of Christianity — its increase with the growth of the Papal authority — the foundation of the Inquisition laid by Regnier and Guy — Birth and education of St. Dominic— his erection of the Inquisition, and thirst for human blood — procedure of the first Inqui- sitors— erection of inquisitorial tribunals in difierent countries.
Nothing is more evident to every candid reader of the inspired volume, than that per- secution in any form is utterly opposed to the spirit of genuine Christianity. " Learn of me," said the Saviour, when he proposed himself as a model for his followers, " for I am meek and lowly in heart ;" and following up his principles of mildness, he reproved the indiscreet zeal of James and John, when they sought to call down fire from heaven to consune the Samaritans, because they re- fused to receive them into one of their vil- lages. Nay, so far from giving his disciples a power to persecute, thf Divine Founder of
9
10 HISTORY OP
the Christian rehgion foretold them that they must suffer persecution for his name. This they soon experienced ; but, instead of ren- dering evil for evil, they " approved them- selves as the ministers of God, by much patience, by afflictions, necessities, distresses, stripes, and imprisonments ;" thus showing by example, as well as by precept, that " the weapons of their warfare were not carnal, but spiritual."
While the objects of persecution, the Chris- tians acted agreeably to these principles, and for three centuries contended, that persecu- tion for religious opinions is not only absurd, but unjust and cruel in the highest degree. " Every one," says Tertullian, " hath a na- tural right and power to worship according to his persuasion ; for no man's religion can be hurtful or profitable to his neighbour." " There is no need of compulsion and vio- lence," says Lactantius, " because rehgion cannot be forced, and men must be made willing, not by stripes, but by arguments." The maxims of mildness towards those vvho were called heretics, are also inculcated by Chrysostom, in the following among many similar passages of his works : — " We ought to fight against heretics, not to throw down those who are upright, but to raise up those who are fallen ; for the war which is incum- bent on us is not that which gives death to the living, but that which restores life to the dead, seeing that our arms are meekness and
THE INQUISITION. 11
benignity. In dealing with heretics, we ought not to injure them in person, but seek to re- move the error of the understanding, and the 3vil of the heart. We ought always to be disposed to submit to persecution, and not to persecute ; to suffer grievances, and not to cause them. It is in this manner Jesus Christ conquered, since he was nailed to a cross — he did not crucify others." Even so late as the fifth century, St. Martin, in France, ex- communicated a bishop, for accusing certain heretics to the usurper Maximin, by whose means they were put to death; adding, in the spirit of genuine Christianity, that he looked upon that man as a murderer, who procured the destruction of a fellow-creature, chargeable, in strict justice, with nothing else than being mistaken in his opinions.
But in despite of the mild spirit of the gospel, exemplified in every page of the sa- cred writings, and of the opinions of the primitive fathers, who unanimously con- demned persecution for conscience sake, it was not long before those who pretended to be the disciples of Jesus began to imitate the conduct which they had censured in the heathen emperors. When the Roman em- pire became Christian, it still appeared to the civil magistrate that he was bound to sup- port the religion adopted by the state. — " Hence it was that laws were enacted against heretics, subjecting them to fines, imprisohment, and brnishment ; with this
12 HISTORY OF
limitation, however, in every case, that the ecclesiastical judge was to determine whether the opinions professed were heretical or not. The party accused, besides, was usually- charged at the same time with the crime of sedition or rebellion ; and whenever the punishment was capital, it was understood to be the result chiefly of a criminal oppo- sition to the civil authorities." The law and practice respecting heresy continued in this situation till the commencement of the ninth century. The trial of the whole case was in the hands of the civil magistrate ; and, with the exception of ecclesiastical censures, it be- longed to councils merely to determine whether the doctrine libelled was or was not heretical. In succeeding centuries, however, the power of the ecclesiastical tribunals, and of the papacy itself, increased in a most extra- ordinary degree. The zeal which animated the Church against heretics became fierce and ungovernable, and all who dared to advance sentiments opposed to those en- joined by the Romish hierarchy, were sub- jected to persecution in every form. " In the following ages," says Limborch, when speaking of the sixth and subsequent cen- turies, " the affairs of the Church were so managed under the government of the Popes, and all persons so strictly curbed by the se- verity of the laws, that they durst not even so much as whisper against the received opinions of the Church. Besides this, so
THE I.SQUISITION. 13
deep was the ignorance that had spread itself over the world, that men, without the least regard to knowledge and learning, re- ceived, with blind obedience, every thing that the ecclesiastics ordered them, however stupid and superstitious, without any exami- nation ; and if any one dared in the least to contradict them, he was sure immediately to be punished ; whereby the most absurd opinions came to be established by the vio- lence of the Popes."
The chief aim of the Roman Pontiffs, in- deed, now was to crush in its infancy every doctrine which had the smallest tendency to oppose their exorbitant power. In the year 1163, the Synod of Tours commanded all the bishops and priests in the country of Tou- louse, " to take care, and to forbid under pain of excommunication, every person from pre- suming to give reception, or the least assist- ance, to the followers of heresy, wherever they should be discovered.'' This decree had in view, more particularly, the Wal- denses and Albigenses, an eminent Christian community who inhabited the valleys of Piedmont and the south of France, and who held doctrines different from those which were commanded by the Popes, on pain of death, to be imphcitly believed. The Wal- denses, whose religious sentiments were simi- lar to those of the Protestants at the present day, had long continued to reject the absurdi 2
14 HISTORY OF
ties of Popery ;* and though, for several ages, they had escaped the notice of the Holy See, yet having in the twelfth century become exceedingly numerous, they excited the ut- most hatred of the Pope and his adherents. About the year 1200, accordingly, Pope In- nocent III. wrote to several archbishops and bishops in Guienne, and other provinces in France, enjoining them to banish the " Wal- denses, Puritans, and Paternines,'' from their territories, and commissioned Regnier and Guy, two zealous monks, to repair to France, for the purpose of discovering and subduing heresy. These two apostles of the Holy See may now be considered as having laid the foundation of the Inquisition, though the honour, or rather infamy, of erecting that hor- rid court, is due to another individual no less cruel. Regnier was subsequently appointed the Pope's legate in the four provinces of Nar- bonne, Aix, Aries, and Embrun : but having fallen sick, Innocent joined to him Peter of Castelnau — one, says Sismondi, " whose zeal, more furious than that of his predecessors, is worthy of those sentiments which the very jiame of the Inquisition inspires."
For many ages the method of proceeding
• A History of the Waldenses having been already published, the author considers it unnecessary to give here any particular account either of the history or doc- trines of that interesting people, more especially as that work contains a full account of the crusades against the Albigenses, and of the persecutions carried on by the Popish Clmrch against their brethren in Piedmont.
THE INQUISITION. 15
against heretics was committed to ths bish ftps, with whom the government and care of the churches were entrusted, acconhng to the received decrees of the Romish church. But imagining that they did not proceed with sufficient severity against the opponents of the Romish faith, and especially against the Waldenses, the Pope had recourse to other methods for the purpose of more effectually extirpating heresy. With this view, Inno- cent, in the year 1204, instituted two orders of regulars, namely, those of St. Dominic and St. Francis. Dominic and his followers were sent into the country of Toulouse, where they preached with great vehemence against all who held opinions different from those of Rome ; in consequence of which, the order of Dominic received the name of Predi- cants. Francis and his disciples acted a similar part in Italy. Both saints, as they are impiously called, were commanded by the Pope, "to excite the Catholic princes and people to extirpate heretics ; in all places to inquire into their number and quality; and to transmit a faithful account to Rome." Hence they were called Inquisitors.
The erection of that extraordinary court, "the Inquisition," is, indeed, uniformly as- cribed to Dominic, a man of the most blood- thirsty disposition, and whose deeds of cru- elty may not unjustly be compared with those of the infamous Nero. Dominic was born at the village of Cabaroga, in Spain, in the
16 HISTORY OP
year 1 1 70. Previous to his birth, his mother. Joanna, is said to have dreamed that she was with child of a pup, carrying in its mouth a hghted torch ; and after its birth, it put the world in an uproar by its fierce barkings, and at length set it on fire by the torch which it carried in its mouth. His followers have interpreted this dream, of his doctrine, by which he enhghtened the world; while others, with far more reason, consider the torch to be an emblem of that fire and faggot by which an almost infinite multitude of persons were burnt to ashes. Dominic " was educated for the priesthood," says a modern writer, " and grew up the most fiery and the most bloody of mortals. Before his time, every bishop was a sort of Inquisitor in his own diocese ; but Dominic contrived to incorporate a body of men, independent of every human being, except the Pope, for the express purpose of ensnaring and de- stroying Christians. He was well aware, that however loudly the priests declaimed against heresy, the lords of the soil would not suffer them to butcher their tenants under any such vain pretences. In Biscay, the priesthood was at a very low ebb in the eleventh century, and the clergy complained to the King of Navarre, that the nobility and gentry treated them very little better than their slaves, employing them chiefly only to breed up and sed their dogs. Nearly a cen- tury after tha* time in a neighbouring state.
THE INQUISITION. 17
when the renowned St. Bernard began, in a sermon to a crowded audience to inveigh against heresy, the nobiUty an i gentry all rose up and left the church, and the people followed them. The preacher came down and proceeded to the market-place, where he attempted to harangue on the same sub- ject ; but the populace, wiser than the preacher, refused to hear him, and raised such a clamour as drowned his voice, and compelled him to desist. Only one expedi- ent remained. Bernard recollected that Jesus had ordered his apostles, in certain cases, to shake off the dust of their feet, and, as though he were an apostle, and had received the same command, he affected to imitate the example. He left the city, shook his feet, and exclaimed, " May the Almighty punish this city with a drought." Thus far went the rage of Catholicism at the beginning of the twelfth century, and here its proud waves were stayed ; but at the commencement of the thirteenth, about the year 1215,* Dominic
* Although Dominic was both the projector of the In- quisition, and the first Inquisitor, historians differ as to the year when that iniquitous court was first erected ; some fixing the date of its establishment so early as in 1208, others in 1212, and not a few in the year above mentioned. This, however, can be but of little moment. It was in the beginning of the thirteenth century, " in an evil hour," to use the words of a late eminent and la- mented author, " and under some planet of malignani aspect and of disastrous influence," that St. Dominic, the father of the Inquisition, arose. 2*
18 HISTORY OF
broke down the dam, and covered Toulouse with a tide of despotism stained with human blood. Posterity will scarcely believe that this enemy of mankind, after forming a race like himself, first called preaching, and then Dominican friars, died in his bed, was canon- ized as a saint, worshipped as a divinity, and proposed as a model of piety and virtue to succeeding generations."
The Inquisitors, at first, had no tribunals ; they simply inquired after the number, strength, and riches of heretics, and gave information of all these particulars to the bishops, who at that time had the sole power of judging in ecclesiastical matters ; urging them to anathematize, or otherwise to pun- ish, such heretical persons as they brought before them. Sometimes they excited princes to arm their subjects against those whom they denounced as heretics, and at other times they inflamed the populace to take up arms and unite in extirpating them. Nay, in his zeal 'or the Popish faith, Dominic, amidst a vast concourse of people, in one of his sermons openly declared, " That he was raised to a new office by the Pope ; that he was resolved to defend with all his power the doctrines of the faith ; and that, if spiritual and ecclesiasti- cal weapons were not sufficient for this pur- pose, it was his fixed determination to call on princes to take up arms against heretics, that their very memory might be entirely de- Btroved " Nor v^as this an empty threat. In-
THE INQUISITION. 19
stigated by this inhuman monk, and by his adherents, armies were raised, styled cross- bearers, or crusaders, who massaxTed thou- sands of the Albigenses, laid their cities in ruhis, and compelled the few who escaped to seek refuge in other parts of the world.
In course of time the Inquisitors took cog- nizance of other crimes, from their being sup- posed to have some affinity with, or to bear suspicion of, heresy : such as heretical blas- phemy, witchcraft, belief in omens, confes- sional seduction, and even polygamy. " The original simplicity of the Inquisition," says Dr. M'Crie, " soon gave place to a system of the most complicated and iniquitous circum- vention. Inflamed with a passion for extirpat- ing heresy, and persuading themselves that the end sanctified the means, they, (the Inquisi- tors) not only acted upon, but formally laid down as a rule for their conduct, maxims founded on the grossest deceit and artifice, according to which they sought in every way to ensnare their victims, and by means of false statements, delusory promises, and a tortuous course of examination, to betray them into confessions which proved fatal to their lives and fortunes. To this mental tor- ture was soon after added the use of bodily tortures, together with the concealment of the names of witnesses."
iTnnocent died in 1216, and was succeeded by Honorius III. who used every eflbrt to give permanency to the Inquisition ; which
20 HISTORY OP
was not, however, accomplished till 1227 under the pontificate of Gregory IX.
The growth of the Inquisition was very gradual, and not a few obstacles had to be surmounted previous to its complete estab- lishment in the diflerent popish countries of Europe. Two objections in particular were raised against its erection ; the one, that it was an encroachment on the authority of the bishop of the place ; the other, that it deprived the civil magistrate of the trial and punish- ment of heretics,a privilege which he formerly enjoyed. To remove the first of these difli- culties, the Pope appointed the bishop of the place to act in concert with the Inquisitor : this, however, was but a name, the Inquisitor having the sole power lodged in his hands. To remedy the second, the civil magistrate was allowed to appoint the subordinate offi- cers, and to inflict the legal punishment, after ^rial and condemnation by the Inquisitors.*
Notwithstandhig the opposition of the peo- ple to this novel tribunal, therefore the Popes, aided by the sovereigns of Europe, not only obtained its erection, but additional autho- rity to the Inquisitors. These hitherto un-
* On this privilege enjoyed by the civil magistrate. Dr. Jortin humorously remarks, that " the priest was the judge, and the king was the hangman !" A third pan of the property of heretics, was, however, allowed to belong to the magistrate for the benefit of the com- munity; but out of this again he had to defray the ex- penses of keeping up me prisons and supporting the prisoners.
THE INQUISITION. 21
precedented judges were soon afterwards em})Owered, as the representatives of the Pope, to sit and pronounce sentence on those whom they stigmatized by the name of here- tics. Their efibrts were greatly assisted by Frederick II., King of the Romans, who, in 1224, issued no fewer than four edicts against heresy, addressed " to his beloved princes, the venerable archbishops, bishops, and other prelates of the Church ; to the dukes, mar- quises, earls, barons, governors, judges, min- isters, and all other his faithful subjects throughout the empire." In these edicts "he takes the Inquisitors under his protec- tion, imposes on obstinate heretics the pun- ishment of being burnt to death, and of per- petual imprisonment on the penitent, com- mitting the cognizance of the crime to the ecclesiastical, and the condemnation of the criminals, as well as the infliction of the pun- ishment, to the secular judges."
The " Holy Office" soon extended its au- thority, and enlarged the number of its tribu- nals, in almost every kingdom of Europe where any were suspected of heresy. It was established in Toulouse in 1229, where it was first given in charge to the monks of the Cistercian order, and afterwards in 1233 to the Dominicans. Innocent IV. extended it to all Italy, except Naples, where its intro- duction was always opposed. In 1231, seve- ral Waldenses being discovered in the city of Rome, they were all either consigned to
22 HISTORY OF
the flames, or imprisoned till they should re- tract their errors. It soon declined, however, in Italy, and even in Rome itself, till, in 1545, it was restored by Paul III. who created the Congregation of the Inquisition, composed of cardinals presided over by the Pope. From Toulouse the Inquisition was brought to Spain in the year 1233; but did not go out of the kingdom of Arragon, till after its union with that of Castile, when, in 1480, it was established in Seville by Ferdinand and Isa- oella, under the authority of Sixtus IV. It was afterwards extended to more distant provinces, and every where entrusted to the management of Dominican friars. Germany, Austria, Hungary, Bohemia, Poland, Dalma- tia, Bosnia, and numerous other places, were soon compelled to receive these bloody tribu- nals. Portugal was subjected to its tyranny, in 1536 ; and, latterly, in 1571, Philip II. in- troduced it into America. " During the pon- tificate of Gregory,^' says the author of " Sketches of the Spanish Inquisition,'^ " it was introduced into the Christian kingdoms of Spain, (meaning those parts of Spain where Christianity was professed, to dis- tinguish them from those possessed by the Moors ;) and the Dominicans of that country soon found an ample field for the exercise of their office among the Jewish and Moorish proselytes, whom interest or fear had drawn within the pale of the Catholic Church. From this period the institution went on increasing
THE INQUISITION. 23
in extent and activity, till Ferdinand and Isa- bella became the sovereigns of all Spain. During their reign, it became the subject of much controversy between the courts of Spain and Rome. Isabella, a woman of con- siderable talents, appears to have foreseen the encroachments which the Inquisition would make upon the royal prerogatives, but her resistance was overruled, and, in 1482, the famous Torquemada was appointed In- quisitor-general of Castile. In the succeed- ing year his commission was extended to Arragon ; and following the successes of Fer- dinand and Isabella, he successively planted the Inquisition in the Moorish kingdoms of Seville, Cordova, Jaen, and Villa Real."
The following letter from Pope Gregory IX. to the Inquisitors of Navarre, may serve as a specimen, both of the cruelty of the papal see, and of the horrid use which these de- signing men made of the Scriptures of truth. "Since, therefore," says his HoUness, "ac- cording to the office enjoined us, we are bound to root out all offences from the king- dom of God, and, as much as in us lies, to op- pose such beasts, (the Waldenses and other heretics,) we deliver into your hands the sword of the word of God, which, according to the words of the prophet, Jer. xlviii. 10, ye ought not to keep back from blood ! but, in- spired with a zeal for the Catholic faith, like Phineas, make iihgent inquisition concerning these pestilent wretches, their believers, re-
24 HISTORY OF
ceivers, and abettors, and proceed against those who, by such inquisition, shall be found guilty, according to the canonical sanctions and our statutes, which we have lately pub- lished, to confound heretical pravity, calling in against them, if need be, the assistance of the secular arm !" Similar directions were given to the Inquisitors in other countries, all of whom, actuated by the same spirit, obeyed the Ijarbarous orders of their master with the utmost alacrity. To regulate the procedure of these courts, the Pope framed thirty-one rules, defining their jurisdiction and powers; and all rulers and magistrates were com- manded, by a Papal bull, issued for the pur- pose, to give, under the pain of excommuni- cation, the most punctual obedience, and every possible assistance to these spiritual courts of judicature.
Notwithstanding all the efforts of the Sove- reign Pontiff, however, many of the Roman Catholic states of Europe successfully resisted the introduction of the Inquisition. Though it was brought into France at a very early period, yet it was soon afterwards expelled, in a manner so effectual, as to preclude any renewal of the attempt. In several other countries, the inhabitants sometimes pro- ceeded to open violence, and had they not been overawed by an armed force, they would have put the Inquisitors to death, and demolished their iniquitous tribunals. These commotions were excited partly by the con-
-^ HE INQUISITION. 25
duct of the Inquisitors themselves, whose severity, avarice, extortion, aud cruelty, were quite unbearable, and partly by the great ex- penses which that extraordinary court en- tailed on the community.
CHAPTER II.
Rise and progress of the Inquisition in Spain — sketch of the government of the ancient Spanish Inquisition —dreadful persecution of the Jews and Moors — Torquemada appointed Inquisitor-general — proceed- ings of his successors Deza and Ximenes — zeal of the Emperor Charles V. in behalf of the Inquisition— his son Philip II. is still more superstitious and in- tolerant— ludicrous trial of the famous Galileo before the "Holy Tribunal."
In no place in the world have the dreadful effects of the Inquisition been more severely felt than in Spain. Although, therefore, some account of its establishment in that kingdom has been already given, it is necessary to enter somewhat more particularly into its origin and progress in that superstitious and afflicted country, where this scourge and dis- grace to h iimanity long existed.
As alre«.dy noticed, the Inquisition was in- troduced into Spain in 1233. At that period Spain was divided into four kingdoms, name- ly, Castile, which comprehended Seville, Cor- dova, and Jaen ; Arragon, comprehending 3
26 HISTORY OP
Valencia and Majorca ; Navarre ; and Por- tugal. The Dominicans were the chief order of monks in these kingdoms, and by them, under the authority of the Pope, the Inquisi- tion was at first erected, and widely extend- ed. In 1254, Innocent IV. conferred many additional privileges on the Dominicans, and at the same time extended the prerogatives of the inquisitors, permitting them to take the depositions of witnesses although their names were unknown. These prerogatives were subsequently enlarged by the kings of Arra- gon, who in 1292 published a decree, "com- manding the tribunals of justice to assist the Dominicans, to imprison all who might be denounced, and to execute the judgments pronounced by the monks." From that pe- riod till 1474, when Isabella ascended the throne of Castile, a succession of inquisitors continued to burn and banish great numbers, not only of Moors and Jews, but of Christians, whom they suspected, or pretended to sus- pect, of holding heretical opinions.
Such procedure was sanctioned by the Sovereign Pontiff, even under the rules of the old Inquisition. Imagining that many crimes which came under the jurisdiction of the civil magistrates, could not be committed unless accompanied by the holding of here- tical principles, the Popes enjoined the Inqui- sitors to proceed with vigour against all sus- pected persons. Numbers were accordingly dragged before the tribunal of the " Holy
THE INQUISITION. 27
Office,'' charged with blasphem/. sorcery, and schism. Nay, to remain excommuni- cated for a year, without seeking absohition, or performing the penance which had been imposed, was reputed heresy. The Inquisi- tors also proceeded against concealers, fa- vourers, and adherents of heretics, as being suspected of holding the same opinions. Hence all nobles who refused to take an oath to banish the heretics from their states — law- yers who assisted heretics by their advice — persons who declined taking an oath in the trial of heretics, &c. &c., were hable to sus- picion ; and in order to render the crime of heresy still more odious, the bodies of such persons as had held opinions different from those of Rome, were disinterred and burnt, their property confiscated, and their memory pronounced infamous.
Before proceeding with the history of the modern Spanish Inquisition, we shall give here some account of the government of the old tribunal, and the proceedings of the an- cient Inquisitors. " The first Inquisitors had no fixed salary," says Llorente ; "the Holy Office was founded on devotion and zeal for the faith ; its members were almost all monks, who had made a vow of poverty, and the priests who were associated in their labours were generally canons, or provided with be- nefices. But when the Inquisitors began to make journeys, accompanied by recorders, alguazils, and an armed force, the Pope de-
88 HISTORY OP
creed that all their expenses should be de- frayed by the bishops, on the pretence that the Inquisitors laboured for the destruction of heresy in their dioceses. The expenses of the Inquisition were afterwards defrayed by the fines and confiscation of the condemned heretics ; these resources were the only funds of the Holy Office ; it never possessed any fixed revenue."
No sooner was an Inquisitor appointed by the Roman Pontiff, than the magistrates of the place were commanded to arrest ail per- sons suspected of heresy, to furnish the In- quisitor and his attendants with lodgings, and to protect them from every insult. One of the first acts of the Inquisitor, was to publish an order, requiring all heretics voluntarily to confess themselves to be such, and promising them absolution, accompanied by slight pe- nance, provided their confession was made within a stated period. Those who were accused, and did not appear within the time prescribed, were shortly afterwards arrested and lodged in the Inquisition. The exami- nation of the accused person soon followed, and his answers were compared with the testimonies of the informer and witnesses against him. If he confessed himself to be guilty of one heretical word, he was imme- diately asked to abjure all his errors, as the admission of one was considered an acknow- ledgment of all the crimes laid to his charge. If he consented, "^e was reconciled, after un
THE INQUISITION. ST
aergoing various penances ; but if ht efusec', he was delivered over to the secular judge as an obstinate heretic. When an accused per- son denied all the charges, he was furnished with a copy of the process, but the names of the accuser and witnesses were carefully con- cealed. Many questions were asked at his examination ; such as, if he had any ene- mies; if he knew their motives for hating him ; if he suspected any particular person of wishing to ruin him, &c. In the event of his still denying the charges, notwithstanding he was convicted or strongly suspected, he was tortured to make him confess his here- sies. If the crime imputed to the accused was not proved, he was acquitted, but still the name of the accuser was withheld.*
On the union of the several kingdoms of Spain, by Ferdinand and Isabella, the boun- daries of the Inquisition were extended, and its privileges enlarged, in every corner of their dominions. At that period it was prin- cipally intended to prevent the relapse of the Jews and Moors who had been, or pretended to be, converted to the Romish faith. In Seville, especially, many of the Jews, not withstanding their profession of Christianity, still continued to practise in secret their an- cient rites, which having come to the ears of
* A more particular account of the government and proceedings of what is called the mcdern Inquisition, will be given afterwards.
3*
30 HISTORY OF
the archbishop^ great numbers of that unhap- py nation were arrested in 14S1, and thrown into dungeons.* After a tedious examina- tion, in some cases by torture, the Inquisitors condemned some of them to the stake, and
* " No object can be presented to the imagination more gloomy," says Puigblanch, " than the period of the regeneration of this establishment in Seville. It seems as if at sight of it nature herself had shuddered, or that she wished to consummate the infelicity of Spain, so unseasonable and great was the hurricanes of the year 1481, when the Inquisition began to display its fury." "This year of 1481," says Andrew Bernal- dez, an eye witness, "was a year of great rains and in- undations commencing at Christmas, and continuing onwards in such manner, that the Guadalquiver bore away and destroyed the village of Copero, in which were eighty families, as well as many other places upon the banks, and the flood rose up through the bat- tlements of Seville and the outlet of Coria, higher than it was ever known, where it remained stationary for three days, and the whole city was under the greatest apprehensions of being destroyed b} water." Accord- ing to this very author, a distemper also broke out in the same year, which desolated this southern part of the kingdom, till 1488. " This year," says he, " was quite out of the common order of nature in Andalusia, being, on the contrary, marked with a great and gene- ral pestilence, which occasioned an extreme mortality in all the cities, towns, and villages. In Seville, more than fifteen thousand persons died, and in Cordova the same number; and Xerez and Ecija lost each from eight to nine thousand, and the other towns and villages in the same proportion." He afterwards adds, "that a similar distemper returned with more or less activity, till at last it raged with great fury, causing the same destruction and ravages as in the first. Thus ominous were the auspices under which the re-organized Inqui aitioi. hoi^ted its bloody standard."
THE INQUISITIl N. 31
Others to perpetual imprisonment. " By di- vers ways and means," says Bernaldez, Inquisitors began to arrest men and women, the most guilty, as well as the most honour- able, some from among the magistrates, ju- rists, bachelors, and lawyers, and also men of great reputation. These they sentenced to be burnt with fire, and brought for th^ first time, to be consumed on the platform, (a burning place which they had constructed in a field ui the vicinity of the city,) six men and women, whom they cast into the flames. A few days afterwards they burnt three of the principal, that is, the richest, persons in the city, viz : Diego de Susan, a great rabbin, whose property was said to be worth ten millions ; the others were Manuel Sauli, and Bartholomew Toralva. Pedro Fernandez Benedeba, steward of the church of the dean and chapter, was next arrested, who was one of the principal of them, and had in his house arms to equip a hundred men ; also Juan Fernandez Abak^sia, who had long been a chief justice, and was a great lawyer, as well as many other principal persons, and very rich, whom they also burnt. At this all the confessed heretics were alarmed, and cast into great consternation, and fled from the city and archbishopric ; but an injunc- tion was laid for no one to abscond from Se- ville under the penalty of death, and guards were placed at the gates of the city ; in short, they ar-eFted so many, that there was no
32 HISTORY OP
place to put them in, and many fit J to the estates of lords, to Portugal, and to the coun- try of the Moors."*
This persecution of the Jews and Moors at Seville, was followed in every other pro- vince of the kingdom of Spain. Encouraged by Ferdinand and Isabella, the Inquisitors daily dragged several miserable victims before their tribunal ; and summarily consigned to the rack all whom they suspected, and to
* "In this same burning place of Seville," says Paigblanch, " which the Inquisition used for the first time in 1481, on the persons of six men and women of the Jewish persuasion, the tribunal performed its last tragedy in 1782, by the execution of a woman for being a Molinist. Persons who were there present, relate, that the prisoner was placed on a raised platform, sus- tained by four beams, resting on the four pillars ; that these, and the works which served as a base, were adorned with a lining painted black, on which were seen the usual fooleries, of dragons and devils in white, and on the tops of which were four figures in peniten- tial garments ; finally, that the prisoner, after being strangled, (she had been converted while going to the place of execution, and therefore met with this favour!) was burnt, together wath the whole platform and frame, for which purpose, barrels of pitch, faggots of vine- cuttings, and a large quantity of wood, had been placed underneath. The above six followers of the Jewish rites, (who were put to death in 1481) were executed, according to Pedro de Torres, canon of Calahorra, and also a cotemporary author, on the 10th of January, as well as seventeen others on the 26ih of March, and a great many more on the 21st of April; those who died up to the 4th of November, amounting to two hundred and ninety-eight; and besides seventy-nine others were condemned to perpetual imprisonment."
THE INQUISITION. 33
the flames those whom they pretended to have convicted, of still adhering to the Jewish faith. But even this was not enough. In 1482, the Inquisitors appointed a particular time for all the Jews to appear before them, and make confession of their errors. Alarmed for their safety, seventeen thousand appeared on the day appointed, who having pretended to embrace the Christian religion, were par- doned. But many others refusing to act in the same hypocritical manner, were seized and lodged in prison. Having been put to the most excruciating tortures, numbers of these unhappy persons abjured Judaism, and were consigned to the flames, some of them acknowledging Christ, and others calling on the name of Moses ! Such indeed was the Satanic zeal which animated the Inquisitors, that in the short space of forty years after the Inquisition had been established in Se- ville, four thousand persons were burnt in that bishopric alone ! A hundred thousand were reconciled and banished in Andalusia;* and the bones of multitudes, which were dug out of their graves, were burnt, their pro- perty confiscated, and their children disin- herited.
In 1483 the famous, or rather infamous, Thomas de Torquemada was appointed In- quisitor-general of Arragon, — a man every
• More than five thousand houses remained shut in Andalusia, whose inhabitants had been exterminated, in one way or another, b'- the Inquisition.
34 HISTORY OP
way fitted for increasing the prerogati\ es and revenues of the holy office. He first created four inferior tribunals — at Seville, Cordova, Jaen, and Villa Real; and then persuaded Ferdinand to create a royal council of Inqui- sition, at the head of which was placed Tor- quemada himself, who was assisted by two eminent counsellors. In order to arrange laws for the new council, Torquemada con- voked a junta, composed of the Inquisitors of the four tribunals above mentioned, the two assistants, and the members of the royal council. This assembly was held at Seville in 1484, and published a code of laws con- sisting of twenty-eight articles, * which were the first laws of the Spanish Inquisition. The tyranny, extortion, and cruelty of the various tribunals, excited . the indignation of the Jews, and plans were formed, in Arragon especially, to assassinate the Inquisitors, and free the country from their iniquitous yoke. These plans, however, being frustrated, still greater cruelties were inflicted on that un- happy people. From time to time additional laws were made, all tending to abridge the liberty of the people, and to advance the authority, and increase the revenues of the Inquisition. The severity of these laws obli- ged more than a hundred thousand families to emigrate to other kingdoms.
In order to avert the danger which threat
* See Appendix, No I.
THE INQUISITION. 3.^
ened them, the Jews in 14.92, offered to sup- ply Ferdinand with thirty thousand pieces of silver to assist Jiim in his wars ; they also promised to live peaceably, to comply with the regulations which had been formed for them, in retiring to their houses in the quar- ters assigned to them before night, and in re- nouncing all professions which were reserved for the Christians. Ferdinand and Isabella were willing to listen to these propositions ; but Torquemada, being informed of their inclinations, had the audacity to appear be- fore them with a crucifix in his hand, and to address them in these words : — " Judas sold his master for thirty pieces of silver, your highnesses are about to do the same for thirty thousand ; behold him, take him, and hasten to sell him !" The fanaticism of Torque- mada wrought so sudden a change in the minds of the sovereigns, that they immedi- ately issued a decree, by which all the Jews were compelled to quit Spain before the end of the following July, on pain of death. In consequence of this decree, all the Jews and Moors either fled or were banished from Spain. * The greater part of them took re-
* A hundred and seventy thousand families are said to have left Spain at this period. Nay, some writers make the number of expatriated Jews to amount to eight hundred thousand persons, whose immense riches were distributed among their persecutors. If the Moors, who emigrated to Africa, are added to the number, Fer- dinand and Isabella lost two millions of subjects by thes/? cruel measures
36 HISTORY OF
fiige in Portugal, where they suffered cruel- ties little short of those from which they had just escaped.
The jurisdiction of the Inquisition was not, however, confined to the Jews and Moors, but extended to all those who in their opinions or practice differed from the Church of Rome The insolent Torquemada even subjected bishops to trial, and actually procured the condemnation of Don Pedro, bishop of Cala- horra, under the usual pretence of being a heretic. This fanatic, who was the first In- quisitor-general of Spain, died in 1498. — " The miseries which were the consequences of the system which he adopted," says Llorente, " and recommended to his succes- sors, justify the general hatred which followed him to the tomb, and compelled him to take precautions for his personal safety. It is not surprising that many should have conspired against his life, when his cruel administration is considered ; the Pope himself was alarmed at his barbarity, and the complaints which were made against him ; and Torquemada was obliged to send his colleague, Antonio Badoja, three times to Rome, to defend him against the accusations of his enemies."
Don Diego Deza, a Dominican, succeeded Torquemada as Inquisitor-general in Decem- ber 1498. No less cruel than his predecessor, Deza, during the period of eight years, pun- ished thirty-eight thousand four hundred and forty individuals ; two thousand five hundred
THE INQUISITION. 37
and ninety-two of whom were burnt in per- son, eight hundred and ninety-six in efiigy, and thirty-four thousand nine hundred and fifty-two were condenrnied to different pe- naces. The audacity of this tyrant rose at length to such a height, that Philip I. who then filled the throne, ordered Deza, in 1506, to retire to his archbishopric of Seville, and to invest another in his room. But unhap- pily for Spain, the death of the king that same year, restored Deza to his office, which so ter- rified the inhabitants of Cordova, that they rose in a tumult, broke open the prisons of the Inquisition, and liberated an immense number of prisoners. These events alarmed the Inquisitor-general to such a degree, that he resigned his office, which immediately re- stored tranquility in Cordova.
Two new Inquisitors were now appointed, namely, Ximenes de Cisneros for Castile, and Don Juan Enguera for Arragon. The for- mer of these prelates, considering it unneces- sary to have as many Inquisitorial tribunals as there were bishoprics, " established the In- quisition at Seville, Cordova, Jaen, Toledo, in Estremadura, at Murcia, Valladolid, and Calahorra, and appointed the e.vtent of terri- tory for the jurisdiction of each tribunal ; he also sent Inquisitors to the Canary isles. In 1513, the Inquisition was introduced at Cu- nga ; in 1524, at Grenada ; under Philip II. at Santiago de Galicia ; and under Philip IV. at Madrid. Cisneros also judged it neces- 4
38
HISTORY OF
sary, in 1516, to hai^e a tribunal at Oran, and soon after in America. The Inquisitor-gene- ral of Arragon adopted the same system, and sent Inquisitors to Saragossa, Barcelona, Valencia, Majorca, Sardinia, and Sicily." Ximenes was eleven years at the head of the Inquisition, during which period, fifty-two thousand eight hundred and fifty-five persons were condemned ; three thousand five hun- dred and sixty-four of whom were burnt in person, one thousand two hundred and thirty- two in effigy, and forty-eight thousand and fifty-nine sufiered various other kinds of pun- ishment.
Numerous attempts were made both by the Cortes and the people, during the reign of the Emperor Charles V. to obtain a reform of the " holy office :" but all their efforts were of no avail. Adrian, the successor of Ximenes, who was Inquisitor-general only for five years, condemned no fewer than two hundred and forty thousand and twenty-five individuals ; and the yoke of that monstrous institution, instead of being made lighter, was daily rendered more galling.
At the commencement of the Reformation, the most strenuous efforts were made by the Inquisitors to check its progress, and various methods were taken to prevent the circula- tion of the Reformer's works, and especially the Bible, among the people. In 1522 the Pone enjoined the governors of Castile to ^?>"vent the works of Luthe" from being in-
THE INQUISiriON. 39
troduced into the kingdom ; and orders were given to the Inqnisitors to seize and bnrn ail such obnoxious pubUcations! The Emperor Charles V. commissioned the University of Louvain to form a list of dangerous books, a measure which was cordially approved of by the Pope, in a bull which he issued on this subject, in 1539. " The Index was published in 1546," says Llorente, " by the University in all the states of Flanders, six years after a decree had been issued to prohibit the writings of Luther from being read or bought, on pain of death. In 1549, the Inquisitor-general, with the approbation of the Supreme Coun- cil, added some new works to the list of those which had been prohibited, and addressed two ordinances to the Inquisitors, enjoining them in the first, not to allow any person to possess them, and in the second, commanding the consultors of the holy office neither to read nor keep them, though the execution of the decrees might throw them into their hands. In 1546, the Emperor commanded the University of Louvain to publish the Index, with additions. This work appeared in 1550, and the prince remitted it to the In- quisitor-general, and it was printed by the order of the Supreme Council, with a supple- ment composed of books prohibited in Spain . some time after the Council framed anothei Index, which was certified by the secretary. All the Inquisitions received copies, and a bull from Julius III. rhich renewed the pro-
40 HISTORY or
hibitions and revoked the permissions con- trary to the new bulls : he charged the Inqui- sitors to seize as many books as they could ; to piblish prohibiting edicts, accompanied by censures ; to prosecute those who did not obey them, as suspected of heresy ; and to give an account of the books which they had read and preserved. The Pope added, that he was informed that a great number were in the possession of librarians and private persons, particularly Spanish Bibles men- tioned in the catalogue."
Nor were the Inquisitors dilatory in obey- ing the injunctions of his Holiness, and of their superstitious monarch. In 1558, the Inquisitor-general pubhshed a very severe edict against all who should retain a single volume of any of the works proscribed. Every Bible was ordered to be strictly ex- amined ; nay, the professors in the Univer- sity were compelled, on pain of excommu- nication, to give up their Hebrew and Greek Bibles to the commissaries of the Inquisition ; and even works on medicine were seized, although they were not mentioned in the In- dex.
In 1558, Philip II. issued a most sangui- nary law against all " who should sell, buy, keep, or read, any of the books prohibited by the Holy Office" — a law which not only affected the property, but the lives of those who darei to infringe it. From that period till the pi 'sent, the utmost vigilance has been
THE INQUISITION. 41
exercised by the Spanish Inquisition lo pre- vent the people from seeing any work, wliich, in the plenitude of its usurped authority, it has declared to be heretical. The Index was from time to time either revised or renewed, and the utmost care was taken to prevent the circulation of the word of God, unless that word was disfigured and corrupted by the votaries of Rome.
But it was not the works of the Protestants only, which were obnoxious to the Inquisi- tion. Their persons were equally hateful, and not long after the commencement of the Reformation, many of the followers of Zuin- glius and Luther were committed to the flames by the lords of the " Holy Inquisi- tion." The Emperor Charles V. so decidedly seconded all their endeavours to extirpate heresy, that, having with great difficulty in- troduced the Inquisition into the Netherlands, he bequeathed in his will the care of that in- famous tribunal to his son Philip II., in the words following : " Out of regard to my duty to Almighty God, and from my great affec- tion to the most serene prince, Philip II., my dearest son, and from the strong and earnest desire I have, that he may be safe under the protection of virtue, rather than the great- ness of his riches, I charge him, with the greatest affection of soul, that he- take espe- cial care of all things relating to the honour and glory of God, as becomes the most Catholic king, and a prince zealous for the 4*
42 HISTORY OF
divin* ornmands; and that he be always obedient to the commands of our Holy- Mother, the Church. And, amongst other things, this I principally and most ardently recommend to him, highly to honour and constantly to support the office of the holy Inquisition, as constituted by God against lieretical pravity, with its ministers and offi- cials, because by this single remedy the most grievous offences against God can be reme- died. Also, I command him, that he would be careful to preserve to all churches, and ecclesiastical persons, their immunities.'' And again, " I ardently desire, and with the great- est possible earnestness beseech him, and command him by his regards to me, his most afiectionate father, that in this matter, in which the welfare of all Spain is concerned, he be most zealously careful to punish all in- fected with heresy, with the severity due to their crimes, and that, to this intent, he confer the greatest honours on the office of the holy Inquisition, by the care of which the Catholic faith will be increased in his kingdoms, and the Christian religion pre- served."
Philip was possessed of a temper haughty and cruel, and gave full proof of his zeal to obey his father's commands. He conferred new powers on the Inquisitors throughout the Netherlands, and published the most sanguinary edicts against all who maintained or e''( n seemed to favour th^. Protestant doc-
THE INQUISITION. 43
triiiGs. Ill vain did the states A the Low Countries remonstrate against the Inquisition being ^stabUshed among them. Having taken an oatl: to devote the whole of his reign to the defence of Popery, that cruel and super- stitious monarch haughtily replied, " that he would be rather no king at all, than have heretics for his subjects." Notwithstanding his obstinacy, however, he ultimately failed in his attempts to force the Low Countries to receive the Inquisition. The Flemings per- sisted in opposing every thing resembling that cruel tribunal, and their resistance was the cause of long and bloody wars, which ex- hausted the treasures and armies of Spain during half a century, and eventually ended in favour of the people.
But it was not in the Low Countries only that Philip showed himself the patron of the Inquisition. In Spain he not only supported, but urged on its " ministers and officials" to the commission of the most appalling deeds of cruelty. On the 18th of October, 1559, an auto-da-fe* was celebrated at Valladolid, at which Philip himself was present, and gave most unequivocal proofs of his zeal in defence of the prerogatives of that tribunal. The In-
* An auto-da-fc^, or "act of faith," of which a more particular account will be given afterwards, is the burning of those persons whom the Inquisitors are pleased to pronounce defective in their belief of any of the articles of faith commanded to be believed by the Popish a in h.
44 HISTORY OP
quisitor-general having demanded ( f the king to continue to tliem his support, in these words, " Lord, continue to help us ;" Philip grasped his sword, and unsheathed part of it, to intimate his readiness at all times to obey the mandates of these ghostly fathers, — a pledge, which, alas ! he more than faithfully fulfilled.* The horrid ceremony of putting
* To give the reader some idea of the sermons, or rather blasphemous rhapsodies, which the friars deliver at an auto-da-fe, the following extracts are given from one which was preached on this occasion before Philip at Valladolid. "And thou, oh ! most holy tribunal of the faith, for boundless ages mayest thou be preserved, so as to keep us firm and pure in the same faith, and promote the punishment of the enemies of God. Of thee can I say what the Holy Spirit said of the Church, ' Thou art fair, my love, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon !' But what parallels, similes, or comparisons are these 1 What praise, or what height- ened contrast can that be which compares a delicate female, an unequalled beauty, to the tents of Kedar, and the spotted skins of Solomon 1 Saint Jerome dis- covered the mystery, and says, that the people of Kedar being fond of the chase, therein took great delight; and, for this purpose, had always their tents pitched in the field; on which, in order to prove the valour of their arms, they spread the skins of the animals killed in chase, and hung up the heads of the wild beasts they had slain. This was the greatest beauty of their tents; to this the Holy Spirit compares the beauty of the Church, and this is also to-day the glory of the holy tribunal of the faith. To have killed these horrid wild beasts and enemies of God, whom we now behold on this theatre, some by taking life from their errors, re- conciling them to our holy faith, and inspiring them with contrition for their faults: ; others by condemning them through their obduracy to 'he flames, where losing
THE INQUISITION. 45
to death twenty-eight faithful followers of the Redeemer, was condacted with great apparent solemnity, Philip, his son, and courtiers, sit- ting within sight of the prisoners. Among the Protestants condemned, there was a noble- man of the name of Don Carlos Sessa, who, when the executioners were conducting him to the stake, called to the king for mercy, saying, "And canst thou, 0 king! witness the torments of thy subjects ? Save us from this cruel death ; we do not deserve it." " No," replied Philip, sternly, "I would myself carry wood to burn my own son, were he such a wretch as thou !"* After which he beheld the bloody spectacle that followed, with a composure which showed that he possessed a heart destitute, not only of Christian feel- ing, but of the least spark of humanity.
No fewer than eighty individuals, profess- ing the Protestant religion, having been dis- covered in Seville, were all committed to the flames, in companies of fifteen or twenty. In 1560, the same punishment was inflicted on many other eminent persons, who, at the
Iheir corporeal lives, their obstinate souls will immedi- ately burn in hell; by this means God will be avenged ()f iiis greatest enemies, dread will follow these ex- amples, and the holy tribunal will remain trium- phant," &c.
* Pnilip was afterwards as good as his word. TJnder the plea of religion he caused the Inquisition to insti- tute proceedings against his eldest son Charles; and in the most unnatural and cowardly manner procured his death in a secret manner by means of poison.
46 HISTORY OP
place of execution, justly upbndded their judges with their ignorance and hardness of heart, and "resisted even unto blood,'' all the efforts of their persecutors to bring them again under the yoke of antichristian bon- dage. Among the sufferers on this occasion were eight females, of irreproachable charac- ter, and some of them distinguished by their rank and education, who were condemned to the most cruel death by their unhallowed judges. The most distinguished of these martyrs was Maria Gomez, who appeared on the scaffold along with her three daughters and a niece. After the reading of the sen- tence which doomed them to the flames, one of the young women went up to her aunt, from whom she had imbibed the Protestant doctrine, and, on her knees, thanked her for all the religious instructions she had received from her, implored her forgiveness for any offence she might have given her, and begged her dying blessing. Raising her up, and as- suring her that she had never given her a moment's uneasiness, the old woman pro- ceeded to encourage her dutiful niece, by re- minding her of that support which their Divine Redeemer had promised them in the hour of trial, and of those joys which awaited them at the termination of their momentary sufferings. The five friends then took leave of one another with tender embraces, and words of mutual comfort. The interview be- rween these devoted females was beheld by
THE INQUISITION. 47
ilie members of tlie "holy tribunal" with a rigid composure of countenance, undisturbed even by a glance of displeasure ; and so com- pletely had superstition and habit subdued the strongest emotions of the human breast, that not a single expression of sympathy es- caped from the multitude at witnessing a scene which in other circumstances would have harrowed up the feelings of the specta- tors, and driven them into mutiny. These, and numerous other sufferers, not only in Spain, but in every country of Europe where this tribunal had been erected, " counted not their lives dear unto them," but rejoiced, amidst torments the most agonizing, and in a death the most dreadful, that they were "con- sidered worthy to suffer" for their Redeem- er's sakp.
The zeal of Philip was equally conspicu- ous in Portugal. Having ascended the throne of that kingdom in 1580, at a period when the office of Inquisitor-general was vacant, Philip wished to place the Inquisition of Portugal under the dominion of that of Spain. Though this attempt was unsuccessful, yet numerous acts of cruelty were committed during the reign of that monarch, on those who dissented, or were suspected to dissent, from the received doctrines of the Popish Church.
Under the protection of Phihp, the Inquisi- tion flourished also in Sicily and Malta. The audacity of the. Inquisitors in Sicily had form-
48 HISTORY OP
erly raised a rebellion, which was not quelled without the greatest difficulty. Depending, however, on the court of Madrid, and sup- posing that all fear of the rebellion had ceased, the Inquisitors of Sicily celebrated an auto-da-fe in 1546, in which four persons were burnt in effigy. Similar ceremonies took place in 1549 and 1551. The Inquisi- tors now became as insolent as formerly, and treated the Sicilians of all ranks with so much severity, thai a new rebellion was rais ed in Palermo. The viceroy succeeded in restoring tranquillity, and the Inquisitors, while under the influence of fear, were for some time more moderate, celebrating their autos-da-fe privately in the hall of the tribu- nal.
In regard to Malta, again, when that island belonged to the Spanish monarchy, it was subject to the Inquisition of Sicily ; " but when it was given to the knights of Jerusa- lem," says Llorente, " it would have been contrary to the dignity of the grand-master, to permit the exercise of foreign jurisdiction in it, after having received that of ecclesias- tical power from the Pope. A man was ar- rested in the island as a heretic, and the Inquisition of Sicily took informations on the aff'air. The grand-master wrote to demand them ; the Inquisitors consulted the council which directed them, in 1575, not only to refuse them, but to claim the prisoner. The grand-master resolved to defend his privi-
THE INQTTIsn ON. 49
.eges, (Aused the man to be tried in the island, and he was acquitted. This act dis- pleased the Inquisitors, who, to revenge themselves, took advantage of an occurrence which took place in the following year. Don Pedro de la Roca, a Spaniard, and a knight of Malta, killed the first alguazil of the Sici lian Inquisition, in the city of Messina. He was arrested and conducted to the secret prisons of the holy office. The grand-mas ter claimed his knight, as he alone had a right to try him. The council being con suited, commanded the Inquisitors to con- demn and punish the accused as a homicide The Inquisitor-general communicated this resolution to Philip II., who wrote to the grand-master to terminate the dispute."
" The quarrels between the secular pow- ers and the Inquisition," continues the same author, " were not less violent in Sicily. In 1580 and 1597, attempts were made to ap- pease them, but without success ; and in 1606, the Sicihans had the mortification of seeing their viceroy, the Duke de Frias, con- stable of Castile, prosecuted and subjected to their censures. In 1592, the Duke of Alva, who was then viceroy, endeavoured by in- direct means to repress the insolence of the Inquisitors. Perceiving that the nobility of all classes were enrolled among the familiars of the holy office, in order to enjoy its pri- vileges, and to keep the people in greater order, he represented to the king, that the 5
50 HISTORY OP
power of the sovereign and the authority of his Ueutenant were almost null, and would be entirely so in timt, if these different classes continued to eujoy privileges which had the effect of neutralizing the measures of government. Charles II. acknowledged that this state of things was contrary to the dig- nity of his crown, and he decreed that no parson employed by the king should possess th )se prerogatives, even if he was a familiar or officer of the inquisition. The people then began to feel less respect for the tribunal, and this was the commencement of its decline. In 1713, Sicily no longer formed a part of the Spanish dominions, and Charles de Bour- bon, in 1739, obtained a bull, which created an Inquisitor-general for that country, inde- pendent of Spain; and in 1782, Ferdinand IV. who succeeded Charles, suppressed this odious tribunal.
Not contented with exercising his cruelty in every corner of his dominions, " Philip estabUshed the Inquisition also in the ships. In 1571, a large fleet having been drawn to- gether, under the command of John of Austria, and manned with soldiers of various nations, Philip, with consent of Pope Pius V., to pre- vent any corruption of the faith, deputed one of the Spanish Inquisitors of Spain, to dis- charge the duties of his office at sea ; and gave him power to preside in all tribunals, and to celebrate "acts of faith," in all places and cities to whi h they sailed. This erec
THE INQUISITION. 51
lion of the Inquisition at sea, was coni.rnied by Pins, in a bull which he sent Id the In- quisitor-general of Spain."
Instances of the conduct and cruelty of the Inquisitors will be afterwards given, in treat- ing of their manner of proceeding towards all who are unhappily lodged within the walls of their " holy," or rather unholy edifice. In the meantime, we shall give here the fol- lowing example of gross ignorance displayed by these spiritual guides, in their zeal to sup- press not only true religion, but even philoso- phy and science, under the pretext of labour- ing to extinguish heresy. Galileo, the chief mathematician and astronomer of his age, was the first who applied the telescope to any valuable purpose in the science of as- tronomy. Having become a convert to the system of Copernicus, or what is now called the Newtonian system, that is, that the sun is the centre of motion to a number of planets, and among others the earth, which revolve round the sun at different periods, GaUleo attracted the attention of the Inquisi- tors, was arraigned before their tribunal, and in danger of being put to death.
In order to give the reader a specimen of the manner of drawing up a criminal's indict- ment by the lords of the Inquisition, the fol- lowing amusing extracts are taken from the libel against Galileo : — " Whereas you, Gali- leo, of Florence, aged 70, were informed against in the year 1615, in this holy office,
52 HISTORY OF
for maintaining as true, a certain false doc- trine, held by many, namely, that the sun is the centre of the world, and immovable, and that the earth moves round it with a daily motion ; likewise, that you have kept up a cor- respondence with certain German mathema- ticians concerning the same ; likBwise, that you have published some letters concerning the solar spots, in which you have explained the same doctrine as true, and that you have answered the objections which in several places were made against you, from the au- thority of the Holy Scriptures, by construing or glossing over the said Scriptures, according to your own opinions ; and finally, whereas the copy of a writing under the form of a let- ter, reported to have been written by you to one who was formerly your scholar, has been shown to us, in which you have followed the hypothesis of Copernicus, which contains certain propositions contrary to the true sense and authority of the Holy Scriptures : —
" Now this holy tribunal, being desirous to provide against the inconveniences and dan- gers which this statement may occasion, to the detriment of the holy faith, by the com- mand of the most eminent lords, &c. of the Supreme and Universal Inquisition, have caused the two follo\^ ing propositions con- cerning the immovabi'ity of the sun, and the motion of the earth, o be thus qualified by the divines, viz.
"' That the su ' is the centre of the world,
THE INQUISITION. 53
and immovable, with a local motion, is an absurd proposition, false in philosophy, and absolutely heretical, because it is expressly contrary to the Holy Scriptures.
" ' That the earth is neither the centre of the world nor immovable, but that it pos- sesses a daily motion, is likewise an absurd proposition, false in philosophy, and, theolo- gically considered, at least, erroneous in point of faith.'
"But as it pleased us in the first instance, to proceed kindly with you, it was decreed in the said Congregation, held before our Lord N. Feb. 25. anno. 1616, that the most eminent lord cardinal Bellarmine should com- mand you, that you should entirely depart from the said false doctrine, and in case you should refuse to obey him, that you should be commanded by the commissary of the Holy Office to abandon the same, and that you should neither teach it to others, defend it, nor say any thing concerning it ; and that if you should not submit to this order, you should be put in jail," &c.
" Thus, for merely entertaining and ex- pressing an opinion with regard to the system of the universe," says an eminent modern writer, " was the greatest philosopher of his age subjected to be imprisoned in the jail of the Inquisition, which imprisonment almost necessarily inferred the forfeiture of life by means of burning ; and if the Holy Inquisi tors, in their great mercy, werf pleased nol 5*
54 HISTORY OP
to bum him t ; death, the circumstance of be- ing imprisoned by them, necessarily inferred the forfeiture of all his property, and the con- signing of his name to infamy."
After a long account of the errors of Gali- leo's writings, their condemnation of the same, and their deahngs with the author, in ordei to his recantation, the inquisitors pro- ceed in the words following : — " Invoking, therefore, the most holy name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and of his most glorious mother Mary, ever a virgin, we do, by this our defi- nitive sentence, &c. &c. judge and declare, that you the said Galileo, have, upon account of those things, which are produced in the written process, and which you have con- fessed as above, subjected yourself to a strong suspicion of heresy in this holy office, by be- heving and holding to be true a doctrine which is false, and contrary to the sacred and divine Scripture ; viz. that the sun is the centre of the orb of the earth, and does not move from the east to the west; and that the earth moves, and is not the centre of the world, and that these things may be con- sidered and defended as probable opinions, although they have been declared and deter- mined to be contrary to the sacred Scripture ; and consequently that you have incurred all the censures and penalties appointed and pro- mulgated by the sacred canons, and other general and particular a Us against such Dffenders ; fror. which il is nu pleasure that
THE INQUISITION. 55
you should be absolved, provided that you do first, with a sincere heart, and a true faith, abjure, curse, and detest, before us, the afore- said errors, and heresies, and every other error and heresy contrary to the CaihoUc and apostolic Roman Church, in the form which shall be presented by us to you."
In consequence of these proceedings, Gali- leo, contrary to his conviction, made a formal abjuration of his opinions, swearing that, " by the aid of God, he would in future be- lieve every thing which the holy Catholic Church held, preached, and taught. But whereas," he adds, " notwithstanding, after I had been legally enjoined and commanded by this holy office to abandon wholly that false opinion, which maintains that the sun is the centre of the universe, and immovable — I do, with a sincere heart, and a true faith, abjure, curse, and detest, not only this heresy, but every other error and opinion, which may be contrary to the holy Church ; and I swear, that for the future, I will never more say or assert, either by word or writing, any thing that shall give occasion for a like sus- picion, and that if I know any heretic, or person suspected of heresy, I will inform against him to this holy office, or to the In- quisitor, or ordinary of the place in which I shall then be. Sworn at Rome, in the con- vent of Minerva, this 22d day of July, anno 1633."
Thouy') G ilileo, by lenying on oath what
56 HISTORY OP
he believed to be true, appears here in a very contemptible light, yet it is evident that ne had no alternative between this and suiFering death. Had he been actuatsd by Christian principle, he would rather have died than have sworn to a falsehood, though it had been a matter of no more importance than that two and three make five. But if the philosopher appears contemptible in this matter, what shall we say of the holy Church of Rome (and of the Inquisition,) that im- posed such a hardship upon the wisest of her children ! She appears not only as the enemy of truth and righteousness, but also as the enemy of science and literature.
CHAPTER HI.
Appointment of the Inquisitors in Spain — their exten- sive privileges — procedure of the tribunal of the "Holy Office" — eagerness cf the Inquisitors to pre- serve secrecy in all their transactions — prisons of the Inquisition — examination of a culprit — artifice and injustice practised by the judges to induce a person to criminate himself — striking example of their duplicity and barbarity.
Having thus seen the complete establish- ment of the Inquisitiorj in Spain, before pro- ceeding further in its history, ue shall give an outline of the mode of procedure in the " Holy Office," together with some account of the officers belonging to that infamous tribu-
THE INQUISITION. 57
iial. At the head of the Inquisition in Spain, stands the Inquisitor-general. This high officer is appointed nominally by the king, but in reality by the Pope, for the Holy See enjoys the privilege of a veto on the election of the sovereign. The supreme Inquisitor cannot proceed one step in the discharge of his ofhce, till he has received the confirma- tion of the Sovereign Pontiff. When thus elected and confirmed, the Inquisitor-general appoints the subordinate Inquisitors, but in this last instance, the nomination of the su- preme Inquisitor is subject to the review of the king. S) high in dignity is the Inquisi- tor-general esteemed by the Romish Church, that he enjoys the title of " most reverend," a title which places him on an equal footing with bishops.
The privileges of the Inquisitors are many and valuable. They are not subject to the bishops of the provinces where they reside, or to the superiors of the religious orders to which they belong. They alone can publish .he edicts against heretics ; they can excom- municate, interdict, and suspend; and, ex- cept in a few cases which are distinctly speci- fied, they can prevent the ordinaries or resi- dent bishops from absolving those whom they have subjected to the censure of the Church. They may apprehend heretics, though they take refuge in churches ; make statutes, and increase the punishments on those who violate them • g 'ant indulgences
58 HISTORY" OF
of twenty or forty days ; and give full par- don of sins to all their officers who die in their service. " Whoever, by himself or others, shall kill, beat, or sthke any of the Inquisitors, or the officials of the holy office, or who shall injure or damage their effects, shall be delivered over to the secular power."
With a few exceptions, the Inquisitors may proceed against all persons whatsoever, both among the clergy and the laity. Bishops, priests, and friars, nay, princes and kings, must be subject to this extraordinary tribu- nal. Persons of every age and condition, and of both sexes, may be cited as witnesses, in the causes which it takes up. We have a striking example of this in the citation of Joan, daughter of the Emperor Charles V., before that tribunal, to give evidence in a case where a person was accused of holding doctrines contrary to the faith. So great was the awe with which this court inspired the superstitious emperor, that he commanded his daughter without delay to obey the sum mons, in order to avoid the sentence of ex- communication. She accordingly appeared before the Inquisitor-general on the day ap- pointed, and gave her evidence in the case under consideration.
The Inquisitors of Spain and Portugal, especially, pretend to have jurisdiction over the subjects of other kings. Of this we have a remarkable example in the case of Thomas Maynard, consul of the British nation in
THE INQUISITION. 59
Lisbon, under the protectorate of Oliver Cromwell, who was imprisoned in the Inqui- sition under pretence of having spoken some- thing against the Romish faith. M. Mea- dows, who at that period took care of the English aftairs at Lisbon, informed Cromwell of the imprisonment of the consul, and having received instructions from the Protector, he obtained an audience of the king of Portugal, and, in the name of Cromwell, demanded the liberation of Maynard. The king, how- ever, informed him, that this was not in his power — the consul being detained by the In- quisition, over which he had no authority. This answer was transmitted by Meadows to Cromwell ; and, having shortly afterwards received new instructions, he informed the king, that, seeing his majesty had no power over the Inquisition, he was commanded by the Protector immediately to declare war against it. This unexpected declaration so alarmed both the king and the Inquisitors, that they immediately gave Maynard liberty to leave the Inquisition. But, scorning to accept of a private dismission, the consul compelled the Inquisitors, in order to repair the injury done to his character, to give him an honourable acquittal. Very few, how- ever, are the individuals who thus escape ou* of the hands of these tyrants.
The Inquisitors can prevent cognizance being taken of any particular matter, may order any process to be stopped, and may
60 HISTORF OF
bring before themselves any cause, at what ever stage of the proceedings. They can further modify and alter all sentences of con- demnation, in the terms they may think proper. Nay, they even possess the charac - ter of legislators, being authorized to inter- pret the canon law, in matters relating to the government of the court. They may also compel the governors of cities to swear that they will defend the Church against heretics, and to extirpate all who are denounced here- tics by the Church. And for the better ap- prehending of heretics, as well as for their own safety, they may arm both themselves and their attendants. "Even in exterior pomp and parade," says Puigblanch, "the supreme chief of the Inquisition emulated kingly power and ostentation, both within and without his tribunal. It is well known that Torquemada, in his journeys, either be- cause he was influenced by fear, or sought to infuse it, carried about with him fifty fami- liars on horseback, and two hundred on foot. A penitent by profession — for this is'the real definition of a friar — bearing about with him arrogance and terror wherever he went ! In the service also of the Inquisitor-general, and of his tribunal, the grandees of the most dis- tinguished pedigree have been employed ; indeed, they have not disdained to accept the title and duties of bailiff". Even the Cortes of the kingdom have had to yield to his pre dominant authority."
THE INQUISITION. 61
Besides the Inquisitor-general, there are five counsellors, who have the title of A^ os- tolical Inquisitors. These counsellors delibe- rate upon all atiairs with the Inquisitor-gene- ral, settle disputes among the particular In- quisitors, punish the familiars attached to the institution, and receive appeals. These officers, together with an advocate-fiscal, two secretaries, a treasurer, accountant, reporters, bailiffs, and qualificators, constitute the su- preme council, or high court of the Inquisition in Spain. The provincial tribunals have three and sometimes four Inquisitors of the secular clergy, and a number of other officers bearing the same names, and occupying the same stations, as those attached to the su- preme council.
In regard to the mode of procedure before the tribunal of the holy office, it must be kept in mind, that the Inquisitors not only encour- age, but compel, by their threatenings and excommunications, every class of the com- munity to become informers^ or accusers of all whom they suspect of holding heretical tenets. Informations are consequently re- ceived, without any respect to the character of the persons by whom they are given. Thieves and cheats, prejudiced persons, the nearest relatives, and even children, are not only allowed, but invited to inform: while the names of the accusers and witnesses are uniformly kept hidden from the unhappy in- dividual who is thus denounced to the holy 6
b* HISTORY OP
oilict?. "Their form of proceeding," says Voltaire, « is an infallible way to destroy whomsoever the Inquisitors wish. The pri- soners are not confronted with the accuser or infoimer. Nor is there any informer or witness who is not listened to. A public 2onvict, a notorious malefactor, an infamous person, a common prostitute, a child, are in the holy otnce, though nowhere else, credi- ble accusers and witnesses. Even the son may depose against his father, the wife against her husband. This procedure, un- heard of till the institution of this court, makes the whole kingdom tremble. Suspi- cion reigns in every breast. Friendship and quietness are at an end. The brother dreads his brother, the fathei his son.'*
There are three ways in which the process may begin before the Inquisitorial courts. First, by investigation, where the Inquisitor summons certain individuals into his pre- sence, and inquires into the state of the town or district where they reside. Secondly, by accusation, where a direct charge of heresy is brought before the court, agamst one or more persons distinctly named. Thirdly, by denunciation, where the Inquisitor is merely informed, that certain heretical persons, or persons suspected of heresy, who are like- wise distinctly named, exist within the limits of his jurisdiction. The last is by far the most common mode, and it is that which the Inquisitors are most desirous to encourage
THE INQUISITION 53
Nor is it difficult to perceive the reason, seeing the denunciator does not bind him- self to prove the charge he prefers, and is under no apprehension of punishment.
When the information has been lodgea, the following questions are usually proposed* Whether the informer knows the person sus- pected of heresy, and if so, how long he has known him? Whether he has said or done the things imputed to him oftener than once ? and whether in jest or in earnest, and in whose company those things were said or done ? The answers to these and similar questions, are written down by the notary, and read over to the informer, who either subscribes them, or puts under them the mark of the cross. He is then sworn to se- crecy. " His name, his personal appearance, the place of his abode, and every other cir- cumstance respecting him, are studiously concealed by the Inquisitors, lest the prac- tice of informing should be discouraged ; and having once put the court in possession of the requisite intelligence, he drops away en- tirely from the view, and is never again mentioned, and, if possible, is never again referred to, in the whole course of the pro- cess. Thus does this odious tribunal, called by an abuse of language the Holy Oflce, in the very first step of its judicial procedure, afford to the most infamous the pleasure of gratification with the certainty of conceal- ment, and provide an opportur tty for indulg
S4 HISTORY OF
ing the worst feelings and passions of oui nature — personal malice, envy, and revenge." Nay, not only are informers and witnesses sworn to secrecy ; every individual connect- ed with the Inquisition, from the highest rank to the keeper of the jail, must take a similar oath ; and strict watch is kept on all their movements. A striking example of the rigour with which all are treated who deviate in the smallest degree from this In- quisitorial injunction, is given by Gonsalvius Montanus, in the following narrative : " One Peter ab Herera," says he, "a man not alto- gether vile, but of some humanity, and not very old, was appointed keeper of the tower of Triana, which is the prison of the Inquisi- tion. It happened, as it often doth, in such numerous and promiscuous imprisonments, that among other prisoners committed to his custody, there was a certain good matron, with her two daughters who were put in different cells, and earnestly desired the lib- erty of seeing one another, and comforting each other in so great a calamity. They therefore earnestly entreated the keeper, that he would suffer them to be together for one quarter of an hour, that they might have the satisfaction of embracing each other. He being moved with humanity and compas- sion, allowed them to be together, and talk with one another, for half an hour ; and aftei they had indulged their mutual affections, he out them as they werr before, in their sepa-
TIIK INQUISITIO.y. ().J
"•ate prisons. A few days after t lis they were put with great cruelty to the torture ; and the keeper being afraid, that through the severity of their torments, they should discover to the lords, the fathers Inquisitors, his small Immanity in suffering them to con- verse together for half an hour without the Inquisitor's leave ; through terror went him- self to the holy tribunal, and of his own accord confessed his sin, and prayed for par- don; foolisaly believing, that by such his confession, he should prevent the punish- ment that threatened him for this action. But the lords Inquisitors judged this to be so heinous a crime, that they ordered him im- mediately to be thrown into jail, and such was the cruelty of his treatment, and disor- der of mind that followed on it, that he soon grew distracted. His disorder and madness did not, however, save him from a more grievous punishment. For after he had lain a full year in that cursed prison, they brought him out in the public procession, clothed with the yellow garment, and a halter about his neck, as if he had been a common thief; and condemned him first to receive two hun- dred lashes through the streets of the city, and then to be banished to the galleys for six years. The day after the procession, as he was carried from the prison to be whip- ped, his madness, which usually seized him every hour, came on him, and throwing him- self from the ass, on which, for the greater 6*
66 HISTORY OF
shame, he was :arried, he fle\i upon the In quisitory alguazil, and snatching from him a sword, would certainly have killed himself, had he not been prevented by the mob who attended him, who set him again upon an ass, and guarded him till he had received the two hundred lashes according to his sentence. After this, the lords Inquisitors ordered, that as he had behaved himself indecently towards the alguazil, four years more should be added to the six for which he was at first condemn- ed to the galleys.'^
When the tribunal judges that the words or actions which are denounced, are sufficient to warrant an inquiry, witnesses are cited, none of whom are informed of the subject on which they are to make depositions. They are only asked in general terms, " If they have ever heard or seen any thing which was, or appeared contrary to the Catholic faith, or the right of the Inquisi- tion V The consequence is, that sometimes circumstances foreign to the case in hand are recollected, and deposed to by the witnesses, which tend to criminate others, against whom new processes are immediately commenced ! " When we speak of witnesses in Great Bri- tain," says an eminent writer, " we almost unavoidably think of a charge regularly brought, the judges upon the bench, the jury sworn, the criminal apprehended, and in open court, the people admitted as auditors, •iud the w^ole judicial assembly feeling and
THE INQUISITION. 67
actiuL under the assurance that they are re- sponsible to an intelligent and watchful pub- lic, for every part of their proceedings. But, in the Inquisitorial tribunal, when the wit- nesses are summoned, the party accused has not even been taken into custody. He re mains in his own house, and in the bosom of his family, engaged in his ordinary occu- pations, and entering, it may be, into the amusements of the place where he lives ; utterly ignorant of all that has been done against him, and utterly unprepared for all that is to follow. In truth, the depositions of the witnesses are viewed, rather in con- nection with the charge, than with the issue, and relate not so much to the guilt or the innocence of the party accused, as to the suf- ficiency or insufficiency of the information. Like the informer, the witnesses are sworn to secrecy ; their names and personal history are most industriously concealed ; and there are instances upon record, where brothers and sisters have given evidence against bro- thers and sisters, where the wife has deposed against the husband, and the husband against the wife."
The next step, is the apprehension of the person accused. This is given in charge to the high bailiff", who executes his commission by carrying with him a competent number of officers, taking the precaution to surprise the unhappy victim, which is generally done at right. Not the slightest hint of insecuritj?
68 hisioaY of
is given, not a suspicion is breathed, till about midnight, a band of monsters calmly ap- proach the residence of the accused and de- mand an entrance.* To the question, " In whose name is this required ?" the answer is, " The Holy Office.'^ ^' The thunderbolt, launched from the black and angry cloud," sa.ys Puigblanch, " strikes not with such alarm, as the sound of ^ Deliver yourself up a prisoner to the Inquisition.' Astonished and trembling, the unwary citizen hears the dismal voice ; a thousand different affections at once seize upon his panic-struck frame — he remains perplexed and motionless. His life, in danger, his deserted wife and orphan children, eternal infamy, the only patrimony that now awaits his bereft family, are all
* The following affords a view of the secrecy with which the affairs of the holy office are conducted: " When the familiar is sent for to apprehend any per- son," says Limborch, " he has the following order put into his hand : * By the command of the reverend father N. an Inquisitor of heretical pravity, let B. be appre- hended, and committed to the prisons of this holy office, and not to be released out of them, but by the express order of the said reverend Inquisitor.' And if several persons are to be taken up at the same time, the fami- liars are commanded so to order things, that they may know nothing of one another's being apprehended. And at this the familiars are so very expert, that a father and his three sons and three daughters, who lived together in the same house, were all carried pri- soners to the Inquisition, without knowing any thing of one another's being there until seven years after- wards, when they that were alive came forth to an auto-da-fe'."
THE INQUISITION. 69
ideas which rash upon his m.nd — he is at once agitated by an agony of dilemma and despair. The burning tear scarcely glistens on his livid cheek, tiie accents of woe die on his lips, and amidst the alarm and deso- lation of his family, and the confusion and pity of his neighbours, he is borne away to dungeons, whose damp and bare walls can alone witness the anguish of his mind. " Here," continues the same elegant writer, " was usually confined the father of a family, perhaps his amiable wife, or tender daugh- ter, the exemplary priest, or peaceful scholai ; and in the meantime his house was bathed in tears, and filled with desolation. Vene- rable matrons and timid damsels have been hurried from their homes, and, ignorant of the cause of their misfortune, have awakened from the frenzy of the brain, and found them- selves here alone, and helpless in a solitary cell. Here the manly youth, torn from his bewailing kindred, and often wrested from ties still more endearing, pines amidst damp seclusion and chill despair, and vainly in- vokes the names of objects which so lately thrilled him with pleasure. The dripping vaults re-echo the sighs of the aged father, no longer encircled by the fond endearments of a numerous progeny ; all, in short, are condemned to drag existence amidst a death- like silence, and, as it were, immured from the sight of their weeping relatives."
The prisoners are confined in separate
70 HISTORY OP
cells, which are not only small, but contain no other furniture except a wooden bed stead, a table, one chair, and sometimes none. There are usually two rows of cells, built over each other. The upper rows are light- ed by means of a small iron grate, and the lower are perfectly dark. In each cell there are placed two pots of water, one to wash in, and the other to drink. The treatment of the prisoners varies according to their rank ; their allowance sometimes amounting to no more than three half-pence or two pence a day. The under rows of cells are appropriated for heretics. There, in solitude and silence, they never see a human being except their keeper. Thus persons the most nearly related to each other, may be confined in contiguous cells without knowing it; and the merciless turnkeys are constantly on the watch, to prevent the utterance of any sound, lest it should occasion the discovery of some secret. If a person bemoans himself, or be- wails his misfortune, or prays to God with an audible voice, he is instantly silenced. As persons may know one another by their cough, as well as by their articulate voice, no one is allowed even this expression of his misery, in the dungeons of the Inquisition. Limborch relates the following instance of such unheard of barbarity, which, he says, he had from several persons. " A prisoner in the Inquisition coughed ; the jailers came to him, and admonished him to forbear cough-
THE INQUISITION.
ing, because it was wilawful to make any noise in that house. He answered tiiat it was not in his power to forbear. They ad- monished him, however, a second time, to forbear it, and because he did not, they strip- ped him naked, and cruelly beat him ; this increased his cough, for which they beat him so often, that at last he died through the pain and anguish of his stripes !"
Very soon after the accused is conducted to the Inquisition, he is brought forth from his cell and examined. The place where he appears before the Inquisitors is called the table of the holy office. At the further end of it there is placed a crucifix, raised up al- most as high as the ceiling. In the middle of the room stands a table, at the end of which, nearest the crucifix, sits the secretary or notary of the Inquisition. The culprit is brought in by the beadle, with his head, arms, and feet naked, and is followed by one of the keepers. His attendants conduct him to the door of the chamber of audience, which he enters alone, and is ordered to sit down on a bench at the other end of the table, directly opposite the notary. The In- quisitor sits on his right hand. On the table near the culprit hes a missal, or book of the Gospels, on which he is ordered to lay his hand, and swear that he will declare truth, and keep secresy.
He is then asked if lie knows where he is, whether he is aware that he is within the
72 HISTORY OF
walls of the Inquisition, and why it is that men are usually detained in the custody ot the holy office. If he says that he cannot guess at the cause of his imprisonment, but knows that he is a prisoner in the holy office, where heretics or persons suspected of heresy are confined, he is informed, that seeing he knows that persons are confined there foi their profanation of religion, he ought to con elude that he is confined for the same reason ; and must therefore declare what he believes to be the cause of his apprehension and con- finement in the prisons of the holy office. If he says he cannot imagine what it is, he is desired to recollect himself, to run over in his mind the events of his past life, and to search out and ascertain whether he may not, on some occasion, have said or done some- thing contrary to the purity of the Catholic faith, and the authority of the Inquisition. If he still persists in maintaining his igno- rance, he is informed that every degree of mercy is shown towards those who confess, while the obstinate are treated with the ut- most severity.
The prisoner is next obliged to declare his whole genealogy and descent, and to make known whether any of his ancestors, or him- self, his brothers, wife, or children, had at any time previous been arraigned before the tri- bunal. These questions are put for the pur- pose of implicating the accused in a stronger manner, and to obtain possession of the pro-
THE INQUISITION. 73
perty he may have inherited, by declaring the right of succession null and void, to the de- struction, perhaps, of many families. Nu- merous other questions are asked, varied in every possible way, and every art of un- righteous investigation is tried ; and if, after a'l, he still persists in declaring himself igno- rant of any word or action that can be con- strued into heresy, he is informed, that he must be carried back to his dungeon, to aid his memory by reflection. This ceremony is performed three times, with some interval between each.
" The idea all this presents is," says Puig- blanch, " that the court wishes the prisoner to confess, under the hope of being treated with greater kindness ; but, without dread- ing the charge of temerity, and judging only from the strict nature of the process, I may venture to attribute to such a practice the highest refinement of the Inquisitorial test. At least it will not be denied that the pri- soner is compelled to scrutinize every act and period of his life, till at last he hits on the cause of his impeachment. Scarcely re- covered from the surprise caused by his ar- rest, and appalled by the contrast his imagi- nation forms of the many and secret steps previously taken, compared with the state of security in which he lately lived, from that moment the prisoner begins to despair, and hopeless and dismayed, he already beholds the torment that awaits him. Bewildered,
74 H.STORY OF
as in the mazes of a labyrinth, where\er he tnrns his eyes, some fresh object increases his pain, and adds to his anguish. Under the undoubted supposition, that in this abode of wretchedness, the appearance of the most officious charity conceals acts of the most in- sidious cruelty, he beholds no one who is not an enemy, and hears nothing that is not di- rected to fiis ruin. Secluded from every spe- cies of intercourse, if his keeper says any thing unconnected with the service of his person, it is to assure him that it will be much in his favour to confess according to the plea- sure of the Inquisitors. If an attorney is allowed him, it is after he has sworn to use every exertion to induce his client to confess, and that he will abandon his defence from the moment he discovers his guilt. Thus is it that the prisoner has more to fear from his advocate than from the proctor of his enemies."
If, on the other hand, the prisoner knows the reason why he is apprehended, and hap pens to confess every thing of which he has been accused to the Inquisitor, he is com- mended, and encouraged to hope for a speedy deliverance. If he confesses some things, but cannot guess at others, he is also commended for having resolved to accuse himself, and exhorted, " by the bowels of mercy of Jesus Christ," to proceed, and in- genuously to confess every thing else of which he is accused, that he may experience
THE INQUISITION. 75
that kindness and mercy which this tribunal uses towards tliose who manifest a real re- pentance of their crimes by a sincere and voluntary confession !
In these examinations, the Inquisitors have recourse to the meanest artifices, in order to draw from the prisoner a confession of those crimes of which he is accused, making great professions of sympathy, and numerous pro- mises of favour, if he will but yield to their solicitations. By these flattering assurances, they sometimes impose on the unwary ; and when they have gained their object, they forget their promises, and treat the unhappy objects of their deception with the utmost rigour. In proof of this, the following among other stratagems, drawn up by Nicholas Eymeric, Inquisitor-general of Arragon, about the middle of the fourteenth century, are submitted to the reader: — "When the pri- soner has been impeached of the crime of heresy, but not convicted, and he obstinately persists in his denial, let the Inquisitor take the proceedings into his hands, or any other file of papers, and looking them over in his presence, let him feign to have discovered the offence fully established therein, and that he is desirous he should at once make his confession. The Inquisitor shall then say to the prisoner, as if in astonishment, ' And is it possible that you shall still deny what I have here before my own eyes ?' He shall then seem as if he read, and to the epd that the
76 HIST IRY OF
prisoner may know no better, he shall fold down the leaf, and after reading some mo- ments longer, he shall say to him, * It is just as I have said, why, therefore, do you deny it, when you see I know the whole matter? When the Inquisitor has an opportunity, he shall manage so as to introduce to the con versation of the prisoner some one of his accomplices, or any other converted heretic, who shall feign that he still persists in his heresy, telling him that he had abjured for the sole purpose of escaping punishment by de- ceiving the Inquisition. Having thus gained his confidence, he shall go into his cell some day after dinner, and keeping up the conver- sation till night, shall remain with him, under pretext of its being too late to return home. He shall then urge the prisoner to tell him all the particulars of his life, having first told him the whole of his own ; and in the mean- time spies shall be kept at the door, as well as a notary, in order to certify what may be said within ! !" All this needs no comment, it speaks for itself; and were it not given on the most unexceptionable authority, we could not but reject it as a fiction. But, alas ! what the fanatical Eymeric taught has been too implicitly tolbwed ; and thus the procedure of a court, impiously called holy, is suffi- cient to put the most barbarous nations, nay devils themselves, to the blush.
Gonsalvius, for example, mentions a strik- ing instance of the duplicity and cruelty of
THE INQUISITION. 77
the lords of tlie Holy Office. "In the first fire that was blown up at Seville," says the author, "in 1558 or 1559, among many others who were taken up, were a certain pious matron, her two daughters, and her niece. Unable to effect his purpose by means of the torture, the Inquisitor ordered one of the daughters to be brought before him. Having discoursed with her for a considerable time, he pretended to feel the greatest affliction for her amidst her trials. All this, as the event showed, had only this tendency, that after he had persuaded the poor simple girl that he was really, and with a fatherly affection, con- cerned for her calamity, and would consult as a father, what might be for her benefit and salvation, and that of her relatives, she might throw herself upon his protection. After spending several days in such familiar discourses, during which he pretended to mourn with her over her suflerings, and to be affected with her miseries, adding innu- merable promises of his desire to free her from them ; when he perceived that he had deceived the girl, he proceeded to persuade her to discover all she knew, not only of her- self, but of her mother, sisters, and aunts, protesting upon oath, that if she would faith- fully reveal to him every particular, he would find out a method to relieve her from all her misfortunes, and to send them all back again to their homes. Possessed of no great pene- tration, the girl, allured by the premises and 7*
78 HISTORY OF
persuasions of this father of the holy faith, proceeded to inform him of some things re- lative to the doctrines which she had been taught, and concerning which they had been accustomed to converse with each other. Having now got hold of the thread, the In- quisitor dexterously enough endeavoured to find his way through the whole labyrinth— often calling the girl to audience, that what she had deposed might be taken down in a legal manner; and always persuading her that this would be the only just means to put an end to all her evils. But when the poor girl expected the performance of his numer- ous promises, the Inquisitor, finding the suc- cess of his craftiness, by which he had in part drawn from her what before he could not extort by torments, determined again to put her to the torture, in order to force out of her what he imagined she had yet concealed. She was accordingly subjected to torture, both by the rack a'ld water, till the Inquisitors had squeezed out of her, as with a press, both the heresies and accusations of the persons they had been hunting after ; for, through the ex- tremity of her torture, she accused her mo- ther and sister, and several others, who were ap^prehended and tortured, and burnt alive n he same fire with the girl !"
TiiK iNQiirsrrio.v
CHAPTER IV.
Examination of the accused by torture — its different degrees — it is sometimes inflicted on those who are condemned to death — innocence no protection against Inquisitorial cruelty — different punishments inflicted by the Inquisition — description of an auto-da-fe — hy- pocritical manner in which the Inquisitors deliver over their victims to the civil power.
After undergoing the usual number of ex- aminations before the Inquisitors, if the pri- soner still persists in protesting his innocence, he is condemned to the torture.* Attempts are first made, however, to frighten him by a variety of Inquisitorial methods. The in- struments of torture are shown him at a dis- tance. Having been conducted into a large room, feebly lighted, the executioner is point- ed out to him, dressed in a black gown which reaches down to his feet, and having a long cowl drawn over his head and face. This revolting figure has in his hand an iron col- lar, or some other instrument of torture, and
* Not only are persons against whom something has been proved subjected to this monstrous engine of Inquisitorial cruelty, for the purpose of drawing from them some additional confessions; those also who can- not make their innocence plainly appear to the Inqui- sitor, (and who can in a court so iniquitous 1) who in the smallest degree contradict themselves, who faulter, tremble, or even turn pale, are considered guilty, and as such are condemned the rack!
so HISTORY OF
Stares in solemn silence a: the prisoner, through two holes which are cut for this purpose in his cowl. "All this," says Gon- salvius, " is intended to strike the miserable wretch with greater terror, when he sees him- self about to be tortured by the hands of one who thus looks like the very devil."
The majority of the historians who have been consulted, agree in stating that the dif- ferent degrees of torture formerly in use were five in number. First, the threaten- ing of the torture. Secondly, The steps taken when conducting the prisoner to the place where the torture is inflicted. Thirdly, Stripping and binding the prisoner. Fourth- ly, Elevation on the pulley. And lastly, Squassation, or the sudden precipitation and suspension of the body. To these we may add, the wooden horse, the thumb screws, the iron slipper, &c. The measure of severity with which the prisoner is to be tortured, is pointed out by the Inquisitor in the terms in which he is pleased to pronounce sentence. If he says, " Let the prisoner be interrogated by torture," he is merely hoisted up on the rope, but does not undergo the squassation. If he says, " Let him be tortured," he must undergo the squassation once, being first in- terrogated while hanging in the air. If he orders him " to be well tortured," he must suffer two squassations. If he adds the ex- pression, « severely tortured," he is subject- ed to undergo within an hour thr^^e different
THE INQUISITION. 81
sqiiassalions. If " very severely," it is done with twistings and additional weights sus- pended to his feet. And if " very severely, even unto death," the prisoner is in immi nent danger of his life. " Should the prisoner, in consequence of the agony which he suf- fers, be forced to make any confession, that confession is immediately taken down by the notary ; and if he adheres to it at his next examination, which commonly takes place in twenty-four hours after the infliction of the torture, and at the same time acknowledges his guilt, he is condemned, it is true, as a he- retic upon his own confession, but is repre- sented as penitent, and is restored to the bo- som of the Church ; though not without un- dergoing certain punishments, more or less severe, and certain painful varieties of pen- ance.* But, should he either retract his con- fession, or persist in his heresy, he is delivered over to the secular power, and is burnt alive at the next auto-da-fe.''^
However unwilling we are to shock the
* This does not, however, hold good in every case; individuals, as we have already seen, and shall after- wards have occasion to notice, who have been sub- jected to the torture, and made confession, having sub- sequently been condemned to the flames. No doubt the Inquisitors pretended to have had good grounds for thus acting; but where was there ever a deed of blood per- petrated, (and innumerable have been the number which have been committed by these demons in human form), that they could not colour over, in a manner sutficient to satisf} ttf consciences of at least Romish eccktiastics ?
82 HISTORY OP
feelings of the reader by any furtner descrip- tion of the various kinds of torture inflicted by the Inquisition, it is necessary, in a histo- ry hke the present, to give some more par- ticular account of this part of the procedure of that infamous court. The following par- ticulars relative to the torture, which are given by Puigblanch, are stated in a manner as unrevolting as possible, although, on such a subject, no words which describe this bar- barous mode of Inquisitorial punishment can be used, without giving pain to every mind not altogether destitute of humanity.
" Three kinds of torture have been gene- rally used by the Inquisition, viz. the pulley, the rack, and fire. As sad and loud lamen- tations accompanied the sharpness of the pain, the victim was conducted to a retired apart- ment, called the hall of torture, and usually situated under ground, in order that his cries might not interrupt the silence which reigned throughout the other parts of the building. Here the court assembled, and the judges being seated, together with their secretary, again questioned the prisoner respecting his crime, which if he still persisted to deny, they proceeded to the execution of the sen- tence.
" The first torture was performed by fix- ing a pulley to the roof of the hall, with a strong hempen or grass rope passed througli it. The executioners then seized the culprit, md leaving him naked to his drawers, put
THE INQUISITION. 83
shackles on his feet, and suspended weights of one liiindred pounds to his ankles. His hands were then bound behind his back, and the rope from the pulley strongly fastened to his wrists. In this situation he was raised about the height of a man from the ground, and in the meantime the judges coolly ad- monished him to reveal the truth. In this position, as far as twelve stripes were some- times inflicted on him, according to the infer- ences and weight of the off'ence. He was then suffered to fall suddenly, but in such manner that neither his feet nor the weights reached the ground, in order to render the shock of his body the greater.
" The torture of the rack, also called that of water and ropes, and the one most com- monly used, was inflicted by stretching the victim, naked as before, on his back, along a wooden horse or hollow bench, with sticks across like a ladder, and prepared for the pur- pose. To this his feet, hands, and head were strongly bound in such manner as to leave him no room to move. In this attitude he experienced eight strong contortions in his limbs, viz. two on the fleshy parts of the arm above the elbow, and two below, one oi each thigh, and a so on the legs. He was besides obliged to swallow seven pints of wa ter, slowly dropped into his mouth on a piece of silk or ribbon, which, by the pressure of the water, glided down his throat, so as to produce all the horrid sensations of a person
84 HISTORY OP
who is drowning. At other times his face was covered with a thin piece of Unen, through which the water ran into his mouth and nostrils, and prevented him from breath- ing. Of such a form did the Incuisition of Valladohd make use, in 1528, towards the Hcentiate Juan Salas, physician of that city.
" For the torture by fire, the prisoner was placed with his legs naked in the stocks ; the soles of his feet were then well greased with lard, and a blazing chafing-dish applied to them, by the heat of which they became per- fectly fried. When his complaints of the pain were loudest, a board was placed be- tween his feet and the fire, and he was again commanded to confess, but this was taken away if he persisted in his obstinacy. This species of torture was deemed the most cruel of all ; but this, as well as the others, was indiscriminately applied to persons of both sexes, at the will of the judges, according to the circumstances of the crime, and the strength of the delinquents.
"The torture by fire, however, does not ap- pear to have been much in use except in Italy, and this when the culprit was lame, or through any other impediment prevented from being suspended by the pulley. In the latter country also, other minor tortures were used with persons unable to withstand those already described. Such were that of the dice, of the canes, and of the rods. For the first, the prisoner was extended on the
THE INQUISITION. 85
ground, and two pieces of iron shaped like a die, but concave on one side, were placed on the heel of his right foot, then bound fast on with a rope, which was pulled tight with a screw. That of the canes was performed by a hard piece being put between each finger, bound, and then screwed as above. That of the rods was inflicted on boys who had passed their ninth year, but had not yet reached the age of puberty, by binding them to a post, and then flogging them with rods. " The duration of the torture, by a bull of Paul III. could not exceed an hour; and if in the Inquisition of Italy, it was not usual for it to last so long, in that of Spain, which has always boasted of surpassing all others in zeal for the faith, I. was prolonged to an hour and a quarter. The sufferer, through the intensity of pain, was sometimes left senseless, for which case a physician was always in attendance, to inform the court whether the paroxysm was real or feigned ; and according to his opinion, the torture was continued or suspended. When the victim remained firm in his denial, and overcame the pangs inflicted on him — or when, after confessing under them, he refused to ratify his confession within twenty-four hours after- wards— he has been forced to undergo as far as three tortures, with only one day's inter- val between each. Thus whilst his imagina- tion was still filled with the dreadfu idea of his past suflerings, which the <Co ipilation 8
86 HISTORY OF
of Instructions' itself calls agony, his limbs stiff and sore, and his strength debilitated, he was called upon to give fresh proofs of his constancy, and again endure the horrid spec- tacle, as well as the repetition of excruciating pangs, tending to rend his whole frame to pieces."
But enough, and more than enough has been brought forward, on this inhuman and revolting practice of men, who nevertheless style themselves priests of the compassionate Redeemer ! ! Rather may we not call them and does not their horrid conduct entitle them to the appellation of ministers of dark- ness, and monsters of cruelty ? " My soul come not thou into their secret ; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united."
Such is a specimen of the tortures of the Inquisition, when there is not sufficient proof of the crimes of which their unhappy victims are accused. Instances, however, are on record, where the torture has been inflicted on persons who are condemned to death, as an additional punishment ! One of these may be mentioned here. William Lithgow a British subject, informs us in his travels, that, in 1620, he was apprehended at Malaga, in Spain, as a spy, and exposed to the most cruel torments on what is called the wooden horse. But nothing having been extorted from him, he was delivered over to the In- quisition, as a heretic, under pretence that his journal contained blasphemies against
THE INQUISITION. 87
the Pope and the Virgin Mary. Ila -ing ac- knowledged, in presence of tlie Inquisitor, that he was a Protestant, he was admonished to return to the Popish faith, and allowed eight days in a dungeon to deliberate on his conversion. In the mean time the Inquisitor and his minions often visited him, in order to persuade him to renounce his opinions— sometimes promising, sometimes threatening, and sometimes disputing with him on the heretical nature of his tenets. All their efforts being in vain, Lithgow was con- demned, first to suffer eleven of the crudest tortures, and then to be carried privately to Grenada, and burnt at midnight. He was accordingly carried to the hall of torture, where the inhuman process of filling him with water till he was ready to burst, was first resorted to. They next tied a cord round his neck, and rolled him seven times along the floor, till he was nearly strangled, after which they hung him up by the feet till all the water in his bowels had disgorged itself at his mouth. These and other cruel- ties having been finished, during which, not- withstanding the agonies he endured, he made no confession, he was remanded to his dungeon, till the last part of his sentence could be executed. But, by a remarkable interposition of Divine Providence, he was shortly afterwards delivered out of thdr hands, and arrived safely in England.
Should the prisoner, as already "tatcd
P8 HISTORY OF
make confession while endnring the torture, that confession is immediately taken dowL by the notary ; after which he is carried to another place, where his confession is read over to him, and he is required to subscribe it. But here Gonsalvius observes, "that when the prisoner is carried to audience, they make him pass by the door of the room where the torture was inflicted, where the executioner shows himself, in that shape of a devil described before, that, as he passes by, he may, by seeing him, be forced to feel, as it were, over again, his past torments."
If there be very strong evidence against the accused — if new proofs of his guilt be brought forward — or, if it be considered that he was not sufficiently tortured formerly, he may be subjected to this cruel ordeal again, " when his body and mind are able to en- dure it."
Ever ready to inflict punishment, the In- quisitors not unfrequently condemn the inno- cent to endure the most excruciating tortures ; and, after subjecting them to agony or death, in solemn mockery pronounce them to be 'nnocent. The following example, illustra- tive of such unheard of barbarity, occurred at Seville, in 1559. Maria de Bohorques, the natural daughter of a Spanish grandee of the first class, avowed her faith before the Inquisitors, defended it as the ancient truth of God, and was tortured to induce her to implicate I ler friends. First, two Jesuits, and
THE INQUISITION. 89
then two Dominicans, were sent lo d(ibate with or ensnare her ; but she continutid sted- fast — her convictions acquired strength, and her views grew clearer during the discus- sions; and nothing remained for Maria, but to form her part in the bloody pageant of an auto-da fe. She there tried to comfort her companions in tribulation, but was gagged. Her sentence was read, the gag removed, and she was asked to recant. " I neither can nor will," was the resolute reply ; and she proceeded to the place of execution. After she was bound to the stake, the lighting of the pile was delayed for a little, that another attempt might be made to reclaim her. She was, by the grace of God, immovable still — was strangled, and burned, one of her last employments being to comment on the creed in the Protestant sense. In 1560, no fewer than eight females, of irreproachable charac- ter, and some of them distinguished by rank and learning, perished in a similar manner in another Auto at Seville. Maria Gomez, her three sisters, and her daughter, were of the number. After being sentenced to the flames, the young woman thanked one of her aunts, who had taught her the truth ; and then, amid many affectionate expressions, ac- companied with confidence in Him for whose truth they were dying, they prepared for their fiery doom. After describing the touch- ing scene. Dr. M'Crie inforr s us, that "so completely had superstition and habit sub- 8*
90 HISTORY OF
dued the strongest emotions of the human breast, that not a single expression of sympa- thy escaped from the multitude at witness- ing a scene which, in other circumstances, would have harrowed up the feelings of the spectators, and driven them into mutiny."
We know that these details must lacerate the feelings of our readers ; but it is needful fully to elucidate the spirit of Popery, where- ever it appears full-grown. To complete our abstract, therefore, we must further narrate, that, at the same Auto, an event took place which gives the Inquisitors a full title to the epithet of Cannibals, which it caused to be applied to them. Dona Juana de Xeres y Borhorques had been apprehended, in conse- quence of a confession extorted from her sis- ter Maria by the rack. Being six months gone in pregnancy. Dona Juana was impri- soned in the pubUc jail till her delivery. Eight days thereafter her child was taken from her, and she was placed in a cell in the Inquisition. A young woman was imprison- ed beside her, who exerted herself to the utmost to promote the afflicted lady's re- covery ; but the attendant was soon subjected to the torture herself, and remitted to her cell mangled by the process. As soon as Dona Juana could rise from her bed of rushes, she was in her turn tortured by the Inquisitors. She would not confess. She was placed on one of their instruments of crueltv The cords penetrated through the
THE INQUISITION. 9x
delicate flesh to the bone of her arms and legs. Some of the internal vessels burst. The blood flowed in streams from her mouth and nostrils. She was conveyed to her cell in a state of insensibility, and died in the course of a few days. The Inquisitors, for once, pronounced the lady whom they had murdered, innocent, on the day of the Auto. They feared the recoil which their atrocity might have occasioned ; so that in this fiend- ish proceeding we see Popery in its twofold character — shedding the blood of God's saints, and then like a dastard or a syco- phant, fawning upon those whom it has in- jured, when there is danger of retaliation.
" The punishments inflicted by the Inquisi- tion," says a modern writer, " may be re- garded as of two sorts, — punishments not is- suing in death, and punishments which have that issue. Under the first of these heads are comprehended the ecclesiastical punish- ments, such as penances, excommunication, interdict, and the deprivation of clerical offices and dignities; and under this head too, are included the confiscation of goods, the disin- heriting of children, for no child, though he be a Catholic, can inherit the property of a father dying in heresy ; the loss of all right to obedience, on the part of kings and other feudal superiors, and a corresponding loss of right to the fulfilment of oaths and obligations on the part of subjects; imprisonment in nj ■)nasteries or in jails, whipping, the galleys,
92 HISTORY OF
and the ban of the empire. Under the second head, or that of punishments issuing in death, there are only two instances, viz : strangling at the stake, and death by fire. These in- stances may easily be comprehended in a short account of the auto-da-fe."
" In the procession of the auto-da-fe," says Dr. Geddes, "the monks of the ordei of St. Dominic walk first. These carry the standard of the Inquisition, bearing on the one side the picture of St. Dominic him- self, curiously wrought in needle-work, and on the other, the figure of the cross between those of an olive branch and a naked sword, with the motto ^justitia et misericordia.^ Immediately after the Dominicans, come the penitents, dressed in black coats without sleeves, barefooted, and with wax candles in their hands. Among them, the principal offenders wear the infamous habit called the sanbenito. Next come the penitents, who have narrowly escaped the punishment of death ; and these have flames painted upon their garments or benitoes, but with the points of the flames turned downwards, im- porting that they have been saved, <yet so as by fire.' Next come the negative and the relapsed, the wretches who are doomed to the stake ; these also have flames upon their habits, but pointing upwards. After the ne- gative and the relapsed, come the guilty and the impenitent, or those who have been con- victed of heresy, and who persist in it ; and
THE INQUISITION. 93
these, besides the flames pointing upwards, have their picture (drawn for tliat purpose a few days before,) upon their breasts, with dogs, serpents, and devils, all with open mouths, painted about it. This part of the procession is closed by a number of indi- viduals carrying the figures of those who have died in heresy, or large chests, painted black, and marked with serpents and devils, containing their bones dug out of their graves, in order that they may be reduced to ashes. A troop of familiars on horseback follow the prisoners; and after these come the subordinate Inquisitors, and other function- aries of the Holy Office, upon mules ; and last of all comes the Inquisitor-general him- self, in a rich dress, mounted upon a white horse, and attended by all the nobility who are not employed as familiars in the proces- sion. The train moves slowly along, the great bell of the cathedral tolling at proper intervals.
" At the place of execution, stakes are set up according to the number of the sufferers. They are usually about twelve feU in height, and at the bottom of each there is placed a considerable quantity of dry furze. The negative and the relapsed are first strangled at the stake, and afterwards burnt. The convicted and the impenitent, or the profess- ed, as they are otherwise called, are burnt alive. To these, certain Jesuits who are ap- po/nted to attend them, address many exhor-
94 HISTORY OF
tations, imploring them to be reconciled to the Church of Rome, but commonly without effect. The executioner therefore ascends, and turns the prisoners off from the ladder, upon a small board fastened to the stake, within half a yard of the top ; and the Je- suits having declared, ' that they leave them to the devil who is standing at their elbow,' to receive their souls as soon as they have quitted their bodies, a great shout is raised, and the whole multitude unite in crying, ' let the dogs' beards be trimmed, let the dogs' beards be trimmed.' This is done by thrust- ing flaming furze, tied to the end of a long pole, against their faces ; and the process is often continued till the features of the pri- soners are all wasted away, and they can be no longer known by their looks. The furze at the bottom of the stake is then set on fire, but as the sufferers are raised to the height of ten feet above the ground, the flames sel- dom reach beyond their knees, so that they really are roasted, and not burnt to death. — Yet though, out of hell," as Dr. Geddes adds, " there cannot be a more lamentable specta- cle than this, it is beheld by people of both sexes, and of all ages, with the utmost de- monstrations of joy — a bull feast, or a farce, being dull entertainments compared with an auto-da-fe."
In order, however, to give the reader a still more distinct account of the parade and ceremony attending an auto-da-fe, we shall
THE INQUISITION. 95
select the celebrated one which took place at Madrid in IGSO, in presence of Charles II. and the royal family. On the day appointed, the procession began to move from the In- quisition, in the following order, at seven o'clock in the morning.
" The soldiers of the faith came first, and cleared the way; next followed the cross of the parish of St. Martin, covered with black, and accompanied by twelve priests clothed in surplices, and a clergyman with a pluvial cope ; then came the prisoners to the amount of one hundred and twenty, seventy-two of whom were women, and forty-eight men ; some came forth in effigy, and the remainder in person. First in the order of procession were the effigies of those condemned persons who had died or made their escape, and amounting in all to thirty-four ; their names were inscribed in large letters on the breast of their effigies; and those who had been condemned to be burned, besides the coroza or cap on their heads, had flames represented on their dress ; and some bore boxes in their hands, containing the bones of their corres- ponding originals. Next came the fifty-four who had been reconciled, the most guilty wearing a sanbenito with only one branch, and carrying in t\.ieir hands, as did also the above, a yellow candle unlighted. Lastly came twenty-one prisoners condemned to death, each with his coroza and sanbenito coriespo ding to the nature of his crime, and
96 HISTORY OF
the most of them with gags on their mouths : they were accompanied by numerous fami- liars of the Inquisition in the character of patrons, and were besides each attended by two friars, who comforted the penitent, and exhorted the obdurate. The whole of this part of the ceremony was closed by the high bailiff of Toledo and his attendants. Behind the effigy of each culprit were also conveyed boxes containing their books, when any had been seized with them, for the purpose of also being cast into the flames. The courts of the Inquisition followed immediately after, preceded by the secretaries of those of To- ledo and Madrid, with a great number of commissaries and familiars ; among whom walked the two stewards of the congrega- tion of St. Peter Martyr, carrying the sen- tences of the criminals inclosed in two pre- cious caskets. So far the procession on foot. " Next, on horseback, paraded the sheriffs and other ministers of the city, together with the chief bailiffs of the Madrid Inquisition. Then came a long string of familiars on horses, richly and variously caparisoned, wearing the habit of the Inquisition over their own dress, the proper insignia on their breasts, and staffs raised in their hands. In succession followed a great number of eccle- siastical ministers ; such as notaries, commis- saries, and qualificators, all bearing the same insignia, and mounted on mules with black trappings. Behind them went the corpora-
THE INQUISITION. 97
tion of Madrid, preceded by the niay.>r, and followed by the fiscal-proctor of the tribunal of Toledo, who carried the standard of the faith, of red damask, with the jirms of the Inquisition and of the king, accjmpanied by the royal council and board of Castile. Lastly came the Inquisitor-general, placed on the right hand of the president of the council, an office at that time filled by the Bishop of Avila. He was accompanied by an escort of fifty halberdiers, dressed in satin. He was clothed in a suit of black silk, embroidered in silver, with diamond buttons, &c. and attended by eighteen livery servants. The whole of the procession was closed with the state sedan chair and coach, belonging to the Inquisitor-general, together with other coach- es, in which were his chaplains and pages.
" On the arrival of the procession at the theatre, which had been fitted up for the occasion, the prisoners ascended by the stair- case nearest their destined seats ; but, before occupying them, they were all paraded round the stage, in order that their majesties, who were already seated in their balcony, might have the satisfaction of viewing them near. The tribunals, and persons invited, then pro- ceeded to take their respective seats, and the Inquisitor-general ascended his throne. Mass being commenced, and the gospel ended, the oldest secretary of the tribunal of Toledo, read from the pulpit the form of the oath taken by the mayor of the city of Madrid, as 9
08 HISTORY OP
well as by all the people. A bombastic ser- mon was then preached by a Dominican friar, qualificator of the supreme council of the Inquisition, and preacher to the king. After sermon they proceeded to the reading of the trials and sentences, beginning with those who had been condemned to die. This part of the ceremony lasted till four in the afternoon, when those who were condemned to death were delivered over to the civil ma- gistrates, and whilst the latter proceeded on to the place of execution, and met their final end, the reading of the proceedings con- tinued, as well as the abjurations of those who had been reconciled, which lasted till half-past nine at night, when those who had been absolved returned to the prisons of the Inquisition.
" The prisoners personally condemned to death, amounted to nineteen ; thirteen men, and six women, principally of the Jewish persuasion. They were conducted to the gate of Fuencarrel, mounted on mules with pack-saddles, preceded by the effigies of those who had died or made their escape. Of thc^je personally condemned for execution, eleven were impenitents ; viz. eight obdurates, and three convicted, but refusing to confess. The burning place was sixty feet square, and seven high, and consequently sufficiently capacious, when twenty stakes with their corresponding rings were fastened thereon. Some were previo isly strangled, and the
THR INQUISITION. 9?
Others at once thrown into the fire. Tlie ministers having cast the bodies of those who were strangled into the flames, together with the efligies and bones of the deceased, more fuel was added, till all was converted into ashes, which was not till nine in the morning. Two days afterwards, six of those who had been condemned to do penance were flogged, among whom were two wo- men. Such was the form and solemnity of this auto-da-fe, the largest and most splendid ever known."
The penitential habits with which the In- quisitors array the culprits at an auto-da-fe, are truly ludicrous. A garment or tunic of yellow linen or cloth, reaching down to the knees, which is called the sanbenito, and a conical cap called the coroza, are the dress of the victims of the Holy Ofiice. When the person is to be executed as impenitent, both the sanbenito and coroza are embellished with flames and pictures of devils, and a rude likeness of the individual who wears them, is also painted on the sanbenito, burn- ing in flames, with several figures of dragons and devils in the act of fanning them. When the individual has repented after sentence has been pronounced, he wears the same dress, but the flames are reversed, to show that the culprit is not to be burnt until he has been strangled. Those who only do penance, wear the tunic either with or without a cross,
100 HISTORY OF
according to the different degrees of crime of which they have been convicted.
It only remains to mention here, the hypo- critical manner in which the Inquisitors de- iver over those who are sentenced to death, into the hands of the secular power. Having declared the condemned individual " an apos- tate heretic, a defaulter, and an abettor of heretics, and that he has thereby fallen into and incurred the sentence of grievous excom- munication," &c. they, adding insult to cru- elty, add, " Nevertheless we earnestly beseech and enjoin the said secular arm, to deal so tenderly and compassionately with him, as to prevent the effusion of blood, or danger of death ! !" No words can do justice to such a master-piece of hypocrisy ; for let it be remembered that the Inquisition positively commands the civil magistrate to put the condemned to death. The gross falsehood of its professions, therefore — the aspect of meekness which it thus displays, while it thirsts for the blood of, and. dooms to the flames, its wretched victim — literally prove that "there is no faithfulness in their mouth — . that their inward part is very wickedness— and that their throat is an open sepulchre." "Is there in all history," says Dr. Geddes " an instance of so gross and confident a mockery of God, and the world, as this of the Inquisition, beseeching the civil magis- trate not to put the heretics they have con- demned and delive-^d to them to death ? For
THE INQUISITION. 101
were they in earnest when they mh-de this solemn petition to the secnlar magistrates, why do they bring their prisoners out of the Inquisition, and deliver them to those magis- trates with coats painted over with flames ? Why do they teach that heretics, above all other malefactors, ought to be punished with death ? And why do they never resent the secular magistrates having so little regard to their earnest and joint petition, as never to fail to burn all the heretics that are delivered to them by the Inquisition, within an hour or two after they have them in their hands ? And why, in Rome, where the supreme, civil, and ecclesiastical authority are lodged in the same person, is this petition of the Inquisi- tion, which is made there as well as in other places, never granted?" The truth is, as already noticed, the Inquisitors are com- manded by the bulls of various Popes, to compel the civil magistrate, under penalty of excommunication, and other ecclesiastical censures, within six days, readily to execute the sentences pronounced by the Inquisitors against heretics, that is,* to commit them to the flames !
0*
HISTORY OF
CHAPTER V.
\uto-da-f5 celebrated at Seville in 1560 — proceedings of the Inquisition during the reigns of Philip III. Philip IV. and Charles II.— M. Legal, the French commander, throws open the doors of the Inquisition, and liberates the prisoners — state of the Inquisition during the reigns of Ferdinand VI. Charles III. and Charles IV. — it is suppressed by Bonaparte — is re- established by Ferdinand VII. — persecuting spirit o^ the modern Inquisition.
Previous to giving any further account of individual persecutions by the Inquisition, we shall now resume the history of that tribunal in Spain. On the 22d of December 1560, a splendid auto-da-fe was celebrated at Seville, at which fourteen individuals were burnt in person, three in effigy, and thirty-four were subjected to various penan- ces. * Several of the sufferers were Eng- lishmen, whose only crime was that they possessed wealth. Under the pretext that they were guilty of heresy, their property
• Constantine Ponce de la Fuente, one of the victims, was persecuted with so great a degree of barbarity, that tift exclaimed, " My God, were there no Scythians or cannibals into whose hands to deliver me, rather than to let me fall into the power of these barbarians !" — Olmedus, another sufferer at Seville, who died in prison from bad treatment, was once heard to exclaim, " Throw me any where, O my God, so that I may but escape the hands c f these wretches."
THE INQUISITION 103
was seized by the hands of the avaricious Inquisitors, and not a few of them were con- demned to the flames.*
In 1561, the Inquisitor-general, Valdes,
• The unspeakable cruelty and inhumanity exhibited at an auto-da-ft^, with its effects on the public mind are exhibited briefly in the following account: — "Amid this horrid exhibition scenes of atrocity occurred which it is appalling even to describe. Those about to be put to death were teased by Jesuits to recant. The execu- tioners and these ghostly attendants united their endea- vours to add to the misery of their victims; and when there was no hope of recantation, they were left in the hand of him who was supposed to be the fomenier of their heresy — Satan. When the priests abandoned them, a shout was raised by the people. This was like the death-knell, and, amid coarse and ribald expres- sions, blazing furze was first thrust into the faces of the sufl'erers. This inhumanity was commonly continued until the face was black as coal, and was accompanied with loud acclamations from the spectators. If the wind was moderate, the agony of the murdered men lasted perhaps for half an hour, but on other occasions an hour and a half or two hours were needed to termi- nate their sufferings.
"In the year 1706, Mr. Wilcox, afterwards bishcp of Rochester, was chaplain to the English factory at Lis- bon, and furnished Burnet, bishop of Salisbury, with the following account of an auto-da-fd", at which Wil- cox attended as a spectator. 'Five condemned persons appeared,' he says, 'but only four were burnt — Antonio Travanes being reprieved after the procession. Heytor Dias and Maria Pinteyra were burned alive, and the other two were strangled. The woman,' says Wilcox, ♦ was alive in the flames for half an hour, and the man above an hour. The king and his brother were seated at a window so near as to be addressed for a consider- able time, in very moving terms, by the man as he was burning; and tl lugh he asked only a few more faggots,
104 KISTORY OF
published a new code of laws, for the regu- lation of the different tribunals of the " Holy- Office" throughout Spain. This code con- sisted of eighty-one articles, " which have been, till the present time, the laws by which the proceedings of the Inquisition have been regulated."*
From 1560 to 1570, one auto-da-f^, at least, was celebrated annually in every In- quisition throughout Spain, at which many adherents of the Reformation were consign-
he was not able to obtain them. Those who were burned alive,' Wilcox continues, * are seated on a bench twelve feet high, fastened to a pole, and above six feet higher than the faggots. The wind being a little fresh, the man's hinder parts were perfectly roasted; and as he turned himself, his ribs opened before he ceased to speak, the fire being recruited only so far as to keep him in the same degree of heat. All his entreaties could not procure for him a larger allowance of wood to shorten his misery and despatch him.'
<"But, though out of hell,' says one who witnessed an auto-da-fe, ' there cannot possibly be a more lament- able spectacle than this, added to the sufferers (as long as they can speak) crying out, ' Misericordia por amor di Dios /' (Mercy, for the love of God !) yet it is beheld by people of both sexes, and all ages, with such trans- ports of joy and satisfaction as are not, on any other occasion, to be met with.' He adds, at another place: That the reader may not think that this inhuman joy is the effect of a natural cruelty that is in these people's dispositions, and not of the spirit of their religion, he may rest assured that all public malefactors, except heretics, have their violent deaths nowhere more ten- derly lamented than amongst the same people, even when there is nothing in the manner of their deaths •hat appears inhuman or cruel.'"
* See Appendix, No. II.
THE INQUISITION 105
ed to the flames. Thirty individuals were burnt at Murcia ia 1560, twenty-three in 1562, seventeen in 1563, and thirty five in the two years following, besides many in efligy ; and great numbers were condemned to ditierent other punishments. Similar tra- gedies were acted in Toledo, Saragossa, Gre- nada, &c., where not a few of the victims who were sacrificed to the cruelty of this barbarous tribunal were the disciples of Lu- ther and Calvin.
During the remaining years of Philip II. the power and insolence of the Inquisitors daily increased, and the kingdom of Spain literally groaned under their oppressive yoke. Philip III. who succeeded his father in 1598, was no less bigoted and superstitious. Hav- ing assembled the Cortes of the kingdom at Madrid, in 1607, the members of that assem- bly represented to their new sovereign, that in 1579 and 1586, they had required a re- form of the abuses committed in the tribunal of the Inquisition, to put an end to the right which the Inquisitors had usurped, of taking cognizance of crimes not relating to heresy ; that Philip II. had promised to do this, but died before he could perform it, and that in consequence they renewed the request. Philip replied, that he would take proper measures to satisfy the Cortes. In 1611, when he convoked the new Cortes, they made the same request, and received the same answer ; but nothing was attempted, and the Inquisi-
106 HISTORY OP
tors became daily more insolent, md filled their prisons with victims.
Philip IV. was equally averse to any re- form in the court of Inquisition ; on the con- trary, he even permitted the Inquisitors to take cognizance of the offence of exporting copper money, and to dispose of a fourth of what fell into their hands. During the reign of this monarch, and that of Charles II. nu- merous autos-da-fe were annually celebrated throughout Spain ; and many were the vic- tims which were sacrificed to Inquisitorial cruelty in that blinded country, who, though « tried by fire," were found steadfast defend- ers of the truth, and eminent witnesses against the idolatries of Popery, and against that bar- barous tribunal which for so many ages has shed the blood of the saints.*
* "The Inquisition," says Salgado, " is subject to no other laws, but arbitrarily racks souls, and murders bo- dies, of which there are clouds of witnesses, — men condemned, because the Inquisition would be cruel. What blasphemy in this tribunal ever to pretend to be actuated by a divine impulse, where every brick seems a conjuring spell, and every officer a tormenting fiend ; for suppose a Jew, a Mahometan, or a Christian, in their hands, what do they pretend to do with such an onel Would they chastise him? What need have they then of so many officers 1 Why such scanda- lous methods, as a secret chamber, an unseen tribu- nal, invisible witnesses, a perfidious secretary, and merciless servants,~confiscation of goods through fraud and guile, keepers as hard hearted as the relentless walls, the fiscal mutes, the shameful sanbenitos, un- righteous racks, a th'^atre filled \^ Uh horror to astonish
THE INQUISITION. 107
On the death of Charles II. in 1700, and the accession of his uncle Philip V., a kind of civil war broke out in Spain, in conse- quence of the pretensions of the Archduke Charles of Austria. Among the troops em- ployed by Philip, were about fourteen thou- sand auxiliaries provided by the King of France. This force was sent into Arragon, the inhabitants of which had declared for Charles. The people were soon overawed ; and in their victorious career, the French came into possession of the city of Saragossa, in which there was a mimber of convents, and in particular one belonging to the Domini- cans. M. de Legal, the French commander, found it necessary to levy a pretty heavy con- tribution, on the inhabitants, not excepting the convents. The Dominicans, all the friars of which were familiars of the Inquisition, ex- cused themselves in a civil manner, saying that they had no money, and that if M. Legal in- sisted upon the demand of their part of the contribution, they could not pay him in any other way, than by sending him the silver images of the saints. These crafty friars
the prisoner, a hypocritical sentence, a disguised exe- cutioner, and a peremptory judgment 1 In all the times of Paganism, no such Roman tribitnal was ever erect- ed. In their amphitheatres, men had not quite put off humanity; those condemned to die were exposed to wild beasts to be torn to pieces, they knew their execu- tioner; but here the condemned are tormented by dis- guised ones ;— men they should be by their shape, but devils by their fier '.eness and cruelty."
108 HISTORY OP
imagined that the French commander would not presume to insist upon such a sacrifice, or if he did, that they would, by raising the cry of heresy against him, expose him to the vengeance of a blind and superstitious people. But" M. Legal was indifferent alike to the destruction of the images, and to the rage both of the priests and people. He therefore informed the Dominicans, that the silver saints would answer his purpose equally the same as money. Perceiving the dilemma in which they had now placed themselves, the friars endeavoured to raise a mob, by carry- ing their images in solemn procession, dressed in black, and accompanied by lighted can- dles. Aware of their intention, M. Legal ordered out four companies of soldiers well armed, to receive the procession, so that the design of raising the people completely failed.
M. Legal immediately sent the images to the mint, which threw the friars into the greatest consternation, and they lost no time in making application to the Inquisition, to interpose its supreme power in order to save their idols from the furnace. With this re- quest the Inquisitors speedily complied, by framing an instrument, excommunicating M> Legal, as having been guilty of sacrilege. This paper was put into the hands of the secretary of the holy office, who was ordered to go and read it to the French commander. Instead of expressing either displeasure or
rilE INQUISITION. 109
surprise, M. Legal took the paper from the secretary after hearing it read, and mildly said, " Pray tell your masters, the Inqui- sitors, that I will answer them to-morrow morning."
The Frenchman was as good as his word. Having caused his secretary to draw out a copy of the excommunication, with the sim- ple alteration of inserting " the Holy Inqui- sitors," instead of his own name, he ordered him on the following morning to repair with it, accompanied by four regiments of soldiers, to the Inquisition, and having read it to the Inquisitors themselves, if they made the least noise, to turn them to the door, open all the prisons, and quarter two regiments in the sacred edifice. These orders were implicitly obeyed. Amazed and confounded to hear themselves excommunicated by a man who had no authority for it, the Inquisitors began to cry out against Legal as a heretic, and as having publicly insulted the Catholic faith. « Holy Inquisitors," replied the secretary, « the king wants this house to quarter his troops in ; so walk out immediately." Hav- ing no alternative, the holy fathers were compelled to obey. The doors of all the pri- sons were thrown open, and four hundred prisoners set at liberty. Among these were sixty young women, who were found to be the private property of the three Inquisitors, whom they had unjustly taken from their 10
no HISTORY OF
fathers' homes in the city and neighbour hood !
The next day the Inquisitors complained to Phihp ; but that monarch calmly replied, " I am very sorry ; but I cannot htlp it ; my crown is in danger, and my grandfather de- fends it, and this is done by his troops. If it had been done by my troops, 1 should have applied a speedy remedy ; but you must have patience till things take another turn." They were accordingly obliged to exercise that pa- tience for a period of eight months.
The archbishop, however, deeply con- cerned for the honour of the holy tribunal, requested M. Legal to send the women to his palace, promising that he would take care of them, and threatening with excommuni- cation all who should dare to defame, by groundless reports, the tribunal of the Inqui- sition. M. Legal professed his willingness to comply with this request ; but as to the young women, he informed his grace, that they had already been taken away by the French officers. This afiair, which is related by Gavin, and other writers, shows at once the detestable nature of a tribunal where deeds of darkness, " of which it is a shame even to speak," were so unblushingly com- mitted. For these young women " were chiefly ladies, beautiful and accomplished, who had been forcibly carried away, at the pleasure of the Inquisitors, from the most opulent families i i the city, to enrich their
THE INQUISITION. Ill
seraglio, and who probably would never iiave been seen without the walls of the lioly oilice, but for such a deliverance as that whicli vvas effected by the French soldiers."
Philip was not so devoted to the court of tlie Inquisition as his predecessors had been. In the first year of his reign, a solemn auto- da-fe was celebrated in honour of his acces- sion to the throne ; but though Philip declared it to be his intention to protect the tribunal of the holy office, yet he decidedly refused to be present at a scene so barbarous. During the reign of this monarch, however, which lasted forty-six years, one auto-da-fe was annually celebrated by every Inquisition througliout the kingdom, at which, it has been calculated, upwards of fourteen thou- sand individuals suffered, who had been con- demned by the holy tribunal to different punishments. It was in the reign of Philip, too, that the freemasons became the objects of persecution by the Inquisition. Pope Clement XII. had excommunicated them in a bull which he issued in 1738; and, copy- ing the example of his holiness, Philip in 1740 enacted several severe la\^s against all who were, or should be connected with that order ; in consequence of which many of the fraternity were arrested and condemned to the galleys. Never behind in any species of cruelty or oppression, the In ^uisitors appre- hended every freemason upon whom they could lay their hands ; and in a short time
112 HISTORY OP
they seemed to be more intent upon their suppression than even upon that of heretics. The same rigour against freemasonry ex- isted under the reign of Ferdinand VI., which lasted from 1746 to 1759. Yet during these years, no general auto-da-fe, and only thirty-four private ones, were celebrated in Spain. At these private acts of faith, one hundred and eighty individuals were punish- ed, ten of whom only were burnt alive. Historians differ in opinion as to the cause of this decrease in the number of autos-da- fe at that period in Spain, and the conse- quent diminution of the victims who were sacrificed by the tribunal of the holy office. The following account, given by Llorente, who was secretary to the Inquisition, seems to be the most probable : " The rise of good taste in literature in Spain," says that au- thor, " the restoration of which was prepared under Philip V. was dated from the reign of Ferdinand VI. On this circumstance is found- ed the opinion, that the accession of the Bourbons caused a change in the system of the Inquisition ; yet these princes never gave any new laws to the Inquisition, or sup- pressed any of the ancient code, and conse- quently did not prevent any of the numerous autos-da-fe which were celebrated in their reigns. But Phihp established at Madrid two royal academies, for history and the Spanish language, on the model of that of Paris, and favouied a friendly intercourse
THE INQU SITION. 13
between the literati of tli-^ two iiatic lis. I'lie establisliment of weekly papers made the people acquainted with works they had ne- ver before heard of, and informed them of resolutions of the Catholic princes concerning the clergy, which a short time before they would have considered as an outrage against religion and its ministers. These circum- stances, and some other causes, during the reign of Philip V., prepared the way for the interesting revolution in Spanish literature, under Ferdinand VI. This change was fol- lowed by a great benefit to mankind ; the Inquisitors, and even their inferior officers, began to perceive that zeal for the purity of the Catholic religion is exposed to the admis- sion of erroneous opinions."
The Inquisition remained in nearly a simi- lar condition, during the reigns of Charles III. and Charles IV., the former supporting it because he hated freemasons, and the lat- ter " because the French revolution seemed to justify a system of surveillance, and he found a firm support in the zeal of the In- quisitors-general, always attentive to the pre- servation and extension of their power, as if the sovereign authority could find no surer means of strengthening the throne than the terror inspired by the Inquisition."
A great number of the works which were published in France, at the period of the re- volution in that country, having been con- veyed to Spain, and eagerly read by the 10*
1 14 HISTORY OP
people, the Inquisitors lost no time in pro- hibiting and seizing all books, pamphlets, and newspapers relating to French affairs, and gave peremptory orders to every person to denounce all who were friendly to the revolutionary principles. The consequence was, that informations were lodged against vast numbers, who were immediately appre- hended, and thrown into prison. Among others, two booksellers in Valladolid were condemned in 1799 to two months' imprison- ment, two years' suspension of their trade, and to banishment from the kingdom.
The invasion of Spain by Bonaparte in 1808, and abdication of the throne by Charles IV. in favour of his son Ferdinand VII., gave a tremendous blow to the Inquisition. In that year Napoleon Bonaparte suppressed the holy office at Chamastin near Madrid; and, with the approbation of Joseph Bona- parte, Llorente burnt all the criminal pro- cesses in the Inquisition, excepting those which belonged to history.
On the 22d of February, 1813, the Cortes- general of the kingdom assembled at Madrid, and having decreed that the existence of the Inquisition was incompatible with the politi- cal constitution which had been adopted by the nation, that assembly fully suppressed that odious tribunal, and restored to the bishops and secular judges, the jurisdiction which thev had anciently enjoyed.
"Thus eided the existence of a tribunal,"
THE INQUISITION. 115
to use the words of the translator of Puig- blancli, " which in Spain had lorded it over the people for more than three hundred and twenty years, had been an outrage to hu- manity, and a powerful engine of internal police in the hands of despots. Thus perish- ed a tremendous and inconsistent power, which even in Rome no longer held sway ; and though the triumph was unfortunately short, the daring and enlightened measure of the Cortes will ever remain on record as part of that great attempt to rally round the sacred standard of civil and religious liberty, as far as was possible in a country so be- nighted as that over which they presided ; and, as a meritorious act, the destruction of the Inquisition thence entitles them to the respect of their contemporaries, and the gra- titude of posterity."
But, alas ! notwithstanding the abolition of this most detestable tribunal, and the praiseworthy efforts of many Spanish pa- triots to prevent its ever again disgracing their country, it is most distressing to b€ compelled to add, that it was soon after wards re-established by Ferdinand VII. No sooner did that monarch find himself again in possession of the throne, for his restora- tion to which he was indebted to the valour of the British nation, than he annulled the acts of the Cortes, and re-eSablished the In- quisition in ts full powers. The fo'lowing
116 HISTORIC OF
are the terms of the edict, which set up anew this unjust court.
" The past tumults, and the war, which have desolated ail tiie provinces of the king- dom for the space of six years — the residence therein during this period of foreign troops consisting of many sects, ahiiost all infected with abhorrence and hatred of the Catholic religion, and the disorders these evils always bring with them, together with the little care latterly taken to regulate reUgious concerns are circumstances which have afforded wick- ed persons full scope to live according to their free will, and also given rise to the in- troduction and adoption of many pernicious opinions, through the same means by which they have been propagated in other coun- tries," viz. the press : '^ Wherefore I have resolved that the council of the Inquisition, together with the other tribunals of the holy office, shall be restored, and for the present continue in the exercise of their jurisdiction, as well ecclesiastical — a power granted them by the popes at the request of my august predecessors, united with that vested in local prelates by virtue of their ministry — as also royal, conferred upon them by successive monarchs ; the said tribunals, in the use of both jurisdictions, complying with the statutes by which they were governed in 1808, as well as the laws and regulations it had been deemed expedient to enact at various times,
THE INQUISITION. 117
ill order to prevent certain abuses." Dated Madrid, July 21, 1814.
No sooner accordingly were the Inquisitors re-invested with power, than they began to display a similar spirit to that of their perse- cuting predecessors. On the 12th of February, 1815, they issued the following injunction to all confessors throughout European and American Spain.
" 1st, Each one is with the greatest efficacy to persuade the penitent to accuse himself before the said confessor, of all the errors or heresies into which he may have fallen, with- out promising him the benefit of absolution in any other form, assuring him of the in- violable secrecy he will keep, and which is kept in the holy office, and that the smallest injury shall not thence result to him ; rather that this measure will serve as a means to prevent his being punished, in case he should be accused by any other person of the errors and heresies which it behoves him to mani- fest, and to which he otherwise stands liable.
" 2dly, In case he should consent, the con- fessor shall take down his declaration under oath to speak the truth, and the act shall bear the following heading : ^ In the town of N., on such a day, month, and year, spontaneously appeared before me the undersigned confes- sor (expressing his name, country, and
profession.') The document shall then re- late, in the most specific manner, all his er- r( rs and the r accompanying circumstances,
118 HISTORT OF
the time and place in which he njay have committed them, seen, or heard them com- mitted ; and if any persons were present, they are to be named, and he is also to spe- cify of them all he knows. He is then to sign his declaration, if he knows how ; and, if not, he is to make a cross, but the confessor is always to sign it.
« 3dly, He (the confessor) shall cause him to abjure his heresy, and absolve him by reconciling him to the church; he shall moreover enjoin him secretly to confess all his errors, and impose on him such penance as he may deem fit ; which being done, the whole is to be forwarded to the Holy Office.
"Finally, if the most efficacious persua- sions have not been able to prevail on the penitent, in case he should evince due signs of repentance and detestation of his offences, the confessor shall absolve him from excom- munication in the internal form only," (that is, not exempt him from the future prosecu- tions of the Inquisition,) " explaining this to him for his government and information. As soon as the statement of all this has been drawn up by the confessor, he is also to for- ward it to the Holy Office."
On the 5th of April, Don Francisco Xavier de Mier y Campillo, the Inquisitor-general, published an edict, offering a term of grace to those who had fallen into the crime of heresy, provided they denounced themselves before the end of the year; and declaring
THE INQUISITION. 119
that "Spain was infected by the new and dangerous doctrines which had ruined the greatest part of Europe." And on the 22d of July following, the Inquisitors issued an order for the suppression of almost every work which had been published in Spain during the revolution, subjecting every reader and retainer of any of the pro- scribed books to the most grievous punish- ments.
Thus, although both the king and the In- quisitors pretended that reformations had taken place in the holy tribunal, and the lat- ter in particular boasted of the "sweetness and charity which are now used in the ec- clesiastical procedure," yet it is evident that the re-established Inquisition differs little or nothing from that which was suppressed. It does not appear that a single public auto-da- fe lias been celebrated since that period,* and it is to be hoped that a scene so barbarous will never again be exhibited in Spain ; yet,
* " I myself," says the Rev. Joseph Blanco White, " saw the pile on which the last victim was sacrificed to Roman infallibility. It was an unhappy woman whom the Inquisition of Seville committed to the flames, under the charge of heresy, about forty years ago, (this was written in 1825.) She perished on a spot where thousands had met the same fate. I lament from my heart, that the structure which supported their melting limbs, was destroyed during the late convul- sions It should have been preserved, with the infalli- ble ard immutable canon of the Council of Trent ovef it, foi the detestation of future ages."
120 HISTORY OF
while that odious tribunal exists, who car be safe in that oppressed and degraded coun- try ? Its secret prisons, and its various modes of torture and other punishments, still remain. Spain, therefore, can never be hap- py, or its inhabitants one moment secure, while the falsely denominated " Holy Office- ' continues to enjoy the smallest footing m that kingdom.
Nor let these remarks be termed the effects of prejudice. On the contrary, it is proved by numerous living authors, who adduce facts, the best of all evidence, in support of their statements, that the procedure of the modern Inquisition is equally cruel with that of the ancient, excepting indeed the celebra- tion of public autos-da-fe. Among these none give a more ample detail of the present state of the holy tribunal, than Lieut. Colonel Don Juan Van Halen, and Llorente. The former of these writers has published a nar- rative of his imprisonment in the dungeons of the Holy Office in 1817. He was con- fined first in the Inquisition of Murcia, ana subsequently in that of Madrid, for the active part which he took in the exertions of the liberales to deliver their country from ty- ranny, both civil and ecclesiastical. He was arrested at Murcia, on the 21st of September, and all his papers were seized, among which were several that very nearly involved many eminent persons in the same persecution. Passing over the sufierings which he en-
THE INQTTISl riOIV. 121
dured while confined in the Iiu uisitiun ot Murcia, we shall give here, in his own words, an account of part of those which were inflicted on him in Madrid.
" About eight o'clock at night, on the 2Cth of November," says he, " Don Juanita, (one of the Inquisitors,) entered my dungeon, with a lantern in his hand, followed by four other men, whose faces were concealed by a piece of black cloth, shaped above the head like a cowl, and falling over the shoulders and chest, in the middle of which were two holes for the eyes. I was half asleep when the noise of the doors opening awoke me, and, by the dim light of the lantern, I perceived those frightful apparitions. Imagining I was labouring under the effects of a dream, I ear- nestly gazed awhile on the group, till one of them approached, and, pulling me by the leather strap with which my arms were bound, gave me to understand by signs that I was to rise. Having obeyed his summons, my face was covered with a leather mask, and in this manner I was led out of the prison. After walking through various pas- sages on a level with that of my dungeon, we entered a room, where I heard Zorilla (the other Inquisitor) order my attendants to untie the strap.
"^Listen, with great attention,' he then
exclaimed, addressing me, 'since you have
hitherto been deaf to the advice which this
holy tribunal has repeatedly given you in
II
122 HISTORY OF
their spirit of peace, humanity, and reUgioas charity. Propagator of secret and impious societies, estabUshed by the heresies of their members to destroy our holy rehgion and the august throne of our CathoUc sovereign, you have maintained, for the space. of a year, an uninterrupted correspondence with more than
two hundred sectarians This holy tribunal
has at last recourse to rigour. It will extort from you the truths, which neither the duty of a religious oath, demanded without vio- lence, nor the mild admonitions which ha\e been so often resorted to, in order to induce you to make the desired declarations, have been able to obtain. This evident pertinacity obliges us to use a salutary severity. We judge the cause of our Divine Redeemer and of our Catholic king, and we shall know to fulfil the high ministry with which the su- preme spiritual and temporal authority has invested us. The most rigorous torments will be employed to obtain from you these truths, Dr you shall expire in the midst of them. All the charges I have just mentioned in a sum- mary manner must be amply explained, — yes ! amply explained ! justice, God, and the king require that it should be so. This holy tribunal will fulfil their duties — yes !'
" The agitation of the moment permitted me to utter only a few words, which, how- ever, were not listened to, and I was hurried away to the further end of the room, the jailei aud his assistants exerting all their
THE INCiUISITlON. 123
Strength to» secure me. Having succeeded in raising me from the ground, they placed under my arm-pits two high crutches, from which I remained suspended ; after which my right arm was tied to the corresponding crutch, whilst the left being kept in a hori- zontal position, they encased my hand open in a wooden glove extending to the wrist, which shut very tightly, and from which two large iron bars ran as far as the shoulder; keeping the whole in the same position in which it was placed. My waist and legs were similarly bound to the crutches by which I was supported ; so that I shortly re- mained without any other action than thai of breathing, though with difficulty.
" Having remained a short time in this painful position, that unmerciful tribunal re- turned to their former charges. Zorrilla, with a tremulous voice that seemed to evince his thirst for blood and vengeance, repeated the first of those he had just read, namely, whether I did not belong to a society whose object was to overthrow our holy religion, and the august throne of our Catholic sove- reign ? I replied that it was impossible I should plead guilty to an accusation of that nature. ' Without any subterfuge, say whether it is so,' he added, in an i.ngry tone.
" ' It is not, sir,' I replied. The glove which guided my arm, and which seemed to be resting on the edge of a wheel, began now to turn, and, with its movements, 1 fen
124 HISTORY OF
b}' degrees an acute pain, especially from the eloow to the shoulder, a general conv^ulsion throughout my frame, and a cold sweat over- spreading my face. The interrogatory con- tinued, but Zorrilla's question of < Is it so ? is it so ?' were the only words that struck my ear amidst the excruciating pain I endured, which became so intense that I fainted away, and heard no more the voices of those can- nibals.
" When I recovered my senses, I found myself stretched on the floor of my dungeon, my hands and feet secured with heavy fetters and manacles, fastened by a thick chain, the nails of which my tormentors were still rivet- ing ! Left by those wretches stretched in the same place, I could have wished that the doors, which closed after them, should never again open. Eternal sleep was all I desired, and all I asked of Heaven. It was after much difficulty that I dragged myself to my bed. It seemed to me that the noise of my chains would awaken the vigilance of my jailers, whose presence was to me the most fatal of my torments. I spent the whole of the night strugghng with the intense pains which were the effects of the torture, and with the workings of my excited mind, which offered but a horrible perspective to my com- plicated misfortunes. This state of mental agitation, and the burning fever which was every moment increasing, soon threw me into a d^'irium, du*'ng which I scarcely noticed
THE INQUIMTION. /g.*)
the operation performed by my jailers, of opening the seams of my coat to examine tlie state of my arm."
Having undergone innumerable sufferings, his enemies being bent on his destruction, Van Halen at length succeeded, on the 30th of January, 1818, in making his escape from the prisons of the Inquisition ; upon which he repaired successively to France, England, and Russia, returning to Spain in 1821.
Llorente again, records the following fact, which he says was given by one who was present when the Inquisition was thrown open in 1820, by orders of the Cortes of Madrid. Twenty-one prisoners were found in it, not one of whom knew the name of the city in which he was; some had been confined three years, some a longer period, and not one knew perfectly the nature of the crime of which he was accused. One of these prisoners had been condemned, and was to have suffered on the following day. His punishment was to be death by the pendu- lum. The method of thus destroying the victim is as follows: — The condemned is fastened in a groove upon a table, on his back ; suspended above him is a pendulum, the edge of which is sharp, and it is so con- structed as to become longer with every movement. The wretch sees this implement of destruction swinging to and fro above him, and every moment the keen edge ap- proaching nearer and nearer : at length it cuts II*
126 HISTORY OF
the skin of his nose, and gradually cuts on, until life is extinct. It may be doubted if the Holy Office, in its mercy, ever invented a more humane and rapid method of extermi- nating heresy, or ensuring confiscation ! This, let it be remembered, was a punishment of the secret tribunal, A. D., 1820 ! !
How, indeed, is it possible that any ame- lioration can have taken place in the Inqui- sition, that great bulwark of Rome, when Popery, and the measures of the Holy See, continue unaltered? Though not bearing directly on the point in hand, yet illustrative of the hatred which the Romish Church bears to Protestants and to their works, and of her determination still to persecute when in her power all who dare to call in question any of her dogmas, the following extracts from a speech delivered before the British Parliament, in May, 1825, by Sir Robert H. Inglis, are submitted to the reader ; — " I will tell you," said the Honourable Baronet, " not what the literature of the Church of Rome is, but what it is not. Her tyranny over litera- ture, her proscription at this day of all the great masters of the human mind, can be paralleled only by the tyranny and the pro- scription which she exercised five centuries ago over the minds and bodies alike. The volume which I hold in my hand— the Index Librorum Prohibitorum — contains a list of the books which are at this time proscribed in ne Church of Rome under the penalties
THE INQUISITION. 127
of the Inquisition. It was printed at Rome, by authority, in 1S19, and I bought it there in 1821.* The first book in this great cata- logue of works, which are taken fronn the faiiliful every where, and are given up to the Inquisition, is « Bacon de Augmentis Scicjn- tiarum.' < Locke on the Hunian Under- standing,' and « Cudworth's Intellectual Sys- tem,' follow in the train. Many other English works are proscribed. One only I will niBiition, the « Paradise Lost' of Mil- ton. The reading of the work was inter- dicted, indeed, nearly a hundred years ago ; but the prohibition was renewed in 1819. Is not this enough to prove that the character of the Church of Rome is not so open to a beneficial change as some of my honourable friends are wiUing to hope and believe it to be ? I pass over large classes of books, the very possession of which is forbidden, but I must notice the impartial prohibition of science. Will the House believe it possible, that the celebrated sentence, in 1633, against Galileo — a sentence immortalized by the exe- cration of science in every country where the mind is free — should be renewed and pub- lished in 1819? Yet of this fact I hold the proof in my hand, in the volume of the ' In- dex,' which I have already quoted. The work of Algarotti, on the Newtonian system, shares the same fate : so that every modifica-
[* A copy of this work is to be found in .he Frank l.n '^iibrary in Philadelphia.]
128 HISTORY OF
tion of science — in other words, every effort of free inquiry — every attempt to disengage the mind from the trammels of authority, is alike and universally consigned to the Inqui- sition. Am I not justified in saying that the Church of Rome remains unchanged, the un- changeable enemy to the progress of the human mind ? Every other institution is advancing with sails set, and banners stream- ing, on the high, yet still rising tide of im- provement : the Church of Rome alone re- mains fixed and bound to the bottom of tht stream, by a chain which can neither be lengthened nor removed.'^
CHAPTER VI.
The horrid procedure of the Inquisition is never calcu- lated to make converts — the punishments inflicted by it encourage hypocrisy — it frequently condemns the innocent — the Inquisitors proved to be actuated by avarice in their condemnation of prisoners — other offences besides heresy taken cognizance of by the Holy Office — its flagrant injustice — its barbarous proceedings against the dead.
Having given a historical sketch of the " Holy Office," falsely so called, more par- ticularly as it exists in Spain, we shall now select several instances, in addition to those which have been already noticed, of the suf ferings of individuals, who have unhappily
THE INQUISITION. 129
fallen into the luinds of the Inquisitors, those declared enemies of humanity.
Notwithstanding all tlie etforts of the In- quisitors to force their prisoners to accuse themselves, in order to es^^ape a cruel and ignominious death, multitudes have continu- ed steadfast in the truth, and submitted to be " tortured, not accepting deliverance," nay ** gave their bodies to be burned," rather than, by a cowardly confession, to accuse themselves unjustly, and wound their own consciences. In proof of this we select the following interesting cases.
In the auto-da-fe which was celebrated at Valladolid in 1559, Don Carlos de Sessa, a nobleman of Verona, was among the number of those who were burnt for having espoused the doctrines of the Reformation. He was arrested at Logrogna, and confined in the secret prisons of the Inquisition at Vallado- lid. After undergoing the usual examina- tions, his sentence was read to him on the 7th of October, by which he was informed that he was to suffer death on the following day. Unmoved by the tidings, De Sessa re- quested pen and ink, and wrote his confes- sion, which was not a recantation of his faith, but a firm adherence to the reformed principles. In these principles, — the very reverse of those which are taught by the apostate Church of Rome, — he declared that he was determined, to die, and would give himself to God through the merits of his Re-
130 HISTORY OF
deemer, the Ljrd Jesus Christ. His perse- cutors vehemently exhorted him during the night, and on the following morning, to re- tract ; but without success. He was accord- ingly gagged, that he might be prevented from stating his principles to the people. When he was fastened to the stake, the gag was taken from his mouth, and he was again exhorted to return to the Romish faith, in which case the Inquisitors would have ex- tended their mercy so far, as to have strangled him first before he was burnt. But with a loud voice, and great firmness, De Sessa replied, '' If I had sufficient time, I would convince you, that you are lost, by not following my example. Hasten to light the wood, which is to consume me." Fire was then set to the pile, and, after great suffering, his body was consumed to ashes.
Dr. Juan Gonzalez, who suffered at Seville in 1559, was descended of Moorish ancestors, and at twelve years of age had been impri- soned on suspicion of Mahometanism. He afterwards became one of the most celebrat- ed preachers in Andalusia, and a protestant. In the midst of the torture, which he bore with unshrinking fortitude, he told the Inqui- sitors, that his sentiments, though opposite to those of the Church of Rome, rested on plain and express declarations of the word of God, and that nothing would induce him to inform against his brethren. When brought out on the morning of the auto, he appeared
THE INQUISITION. 131
With a cheerful and uudaiiiited air, though he had left his mother and two brothers be- hind him in prison, and was accompanied by two sisters, who, like himself, were doomed to the flames. At the door of the Triana he began to sing the 109th Psalm, and on the scaflbld he addressed a few words of consola- tion to one of his sisters, wlio seemed to him to wear a look of dejection, upon which the gag was instantly thrust into his mouth. — With unaltered mien he listened to the sen- tence adjudging him to the flames, and sub- mitted to the humiliating ceremonies by which he was degraded from the priest- hood. When they were brought to the place of execution, the friars urged the females, in repeating the creed, to insert the word Ro- man in the clause relating to the Catholic Church. Wishing to procure liberty to him to bear his dying testimony, they said they would do as their brother did. The gag be- ing removed, Juan Gonzalez exhorted them to add nothing to the good confession which they had already made. Instantly the execu- tioners were ordered to strangle them, and one of the friars turning to the crowd ex- claimed, that they had died in the Roman faith, — a falsehood which the Inquisitors did not choose to repeat in their narrative of the proceedings.
The case of Isaac Orobio, who was ac- cused of Judaism before the Inquisition at Seville, gives another striking example of
132 HISTORY OF
firmness amidst tortures the most excruciat- ing. It would be exceedingly painful to recur to this diabolical practice — the anguish which Orobio endured during the torture by the rack, the pulley, and several other en- gines of cruelty equally horrid, being such as is sufficient to freeze the very blood in the veins. It is enough to state, that one tor- ment after another, all of them the most agonizing, were inflicted on him, with a view to make him confess: but all to no purpose. He was accordingly carried back to his dungeon, where he was attended by the physician of the Inquisition, and nearly three months elapsed before he was able to walk about his cell. Having made no con- fession while undergoing the torture, he was condemned, not as being convicted, but as being suspected of Judaism, to wear the in- famous sanbenito for two years, and after- wards to perpetual banishment.
On the other hand, many examples might be produced in order to prove, that even although the terrors of torture and of death may lead a prisoner to confess — the Inquisi- tion, far from eftectuig any change of senti- ment, is suited only to encourage hypocrisy. One of these was exhibited in the case of Benanat, a clergyman, in Catalonia, about the year 1334. Having been condemned to the flames for holding sentiments different from those of the Romish creed, he was placed on the pile, and the faggots kindled.
THE INQUISITION. 133
But when one of his sides uas scorched, and the pain had become so great that he could not endure it, he cried out to be removed, for he was ready to abjure. He was accord- higly taken down, and on abjuring, was re- conciled to the Church ; but fourteen years afterwards it was discovered that he had continued to adhere to his former opinions Imprisoned a second time, and placed on the burning pile, he died persisting in his heresy, as most probably he would have done at his former condemnation, if the first sentence, Uke the second, had been irrevocable.
The author of the History of the Inquisi- tion at Goa, the Sieur Dellon, gives us other two examples which occurred about the mid- dle of the seventeenth century ; the first in the case of a very rich new Christian, that is, a converted Jew, named Lewis Pezoa, who, with his whole family, had, by some of his enemies, been accused of secret Judaism. Himself, his wife, two sons, and one daugh- ter, together with several other relatives who resided with him, were accordingly appre- hended and confined in the secret prisons of the Inquisition at Coimbra. Pezoa, how- ever, not only denied, but completely refuted the crime of which he was accused ; and de- manded that the names of his accusers might be given him, that he might convict them of falsehood. Yet all this availed him nothing. He was condemned to be delivered over to the secular power ; and intimation of this 12
134 HISTORY OF
sentence was delivered to him fifteen days before it was pronounced. The Duke de Cadoval, who was very intimate with the Inquisitor-general, having ascertained the situation in which Pezoa was placed, and understanding that, unless he confessed pre- vious to his appearing at the auto-da-fe, he could not escape the fire — remonstrated in so urgent a manner with the Inquisitor, that he at length obtained the promise that the sen- tence of death passed upon Pezoa should be commuted, provided he confessed either be- fore or at the place of execution. The Duke in vain exerted all his ingenuity to prevail on Pezoa to confess. On the day appointed for the auto-da-fe, accordingly, Pezoa came forth, wearing the sanbenito and coroza, and proceeded with the other individuals who were condemned to the place of execution. His friends, now more anxious for his deli- verance than ever, besought him with tears, in the name of the Duke de Cadoval, and by all that was dear to him, to preserve his hfe ; intimating, that if he would confess, the Duke had obtained his pardon from the Inquisitor- general, and would make up for him the pro- perty which had been confiscated. All, how ever, still proved fruitless. Pezoa continued to protest his innocence, and constantly af- firmed that the crime laid to his charge was a falsehood, invented by his enemies, who were anxious for his destruction. At the coHchision of t'. ^ f rocession, the sentences of
TlIK INQUISITION. 135
those who were condemned to pcjrforrn cer- tain penances were first read ; but previous to the ceremony of deUvering the relapsed to tlie secular power, the friends of Pezoa again entreated him with so much importunity and earnestness, that his constancy was at length overcome ; when, rising up, he exclaimed, " Come then, let us go and confess the crimes I am falsely accused of, and thereby gratify the desires of my friends." His confession having been received, he was remanded to prison. After two years further confinement, he was compelled again to appear at a pub- lic auto-da-fe, and sentenced to five years additional imprisonment, to banishment to the galleys for other five years, and confisca- tion of his property. While at the galleys, ^e learned for the first time that his wife and daughter had died in prison shortly after their confinement ; and that his two sons, Jess firm than himself, had made a timely confession, and were sentenced to banish ment for ten years.
The other case noticed by the same writer, is that of the major of a regiment, who was accused of Judaism, by persons who seemed to have no other means of saving their own lives than that of confessing themselves to be guilty of the same crime, and naming many innocent persons as their accomplices, in order to discover the witnesses who had deposed against them. On his apprehension, the poor officer was thrown into the secret prisons of
136 HISTORY OF
the holy ciTice, and often examined for the purpose of drawing from his own Ups an avowal of the cause of his imprisonment. Not being able, however, to declare what he was ignorant of, he was informed, at the end of two years, that he was accused and con- victed in due form of being an apostate Jew. This he positively declared to be false, so- lemnly protesting that he had never deviated from the Christian faith. Every effort was now made by the Inquisitors to lead him to confess. Not only his life, but the restora- tion of his property, was promised ; but all to no purpose. It was then attempted to in- timidate him, by threatening him with a cruel death. Nothing, however, could shake his resolution; and he boldly told the judges that he would rather die innocent, than save his life by a meanness which would bring on him everlasting infamy. The Duke d'Aveira, who was then Inquisitor-general, was very desirous of saving the major's life. He ac- cordingly one day privately paid him a visit, and urgently entreated him to seize the oppor- tunity which he enjoyed of avoiding punish- ment, by making confession. The major, how- ever, displayed a determined resolution not to wound his conscience, or injure his reputa- tion, by acknowledging crimes which he nevei committed. Irritated at his constancy, the In- quisitor-general passionately addressed him m language to tht following import : — " We will ra her cruse you to be burnt as guilty,
THE TNQUISIT.ON. 137
than allow it to bi^ supposed that we have imprisoned you without cause !" At the ap- proach of the auto-da-f(L*, the major was ap- prised of his sentence, which was to be burnt alive, and a confessor was sent to his dungeon in order to prepare him for his execution. Overcome by the fear of a death so horrid, the major at length resolved to play the hy- pocrite ; and, on the evening previous to the bloody ceremony, he acknowledged every thing, however false, that had been laid to his charge. He was accordingly led out in the procession with a robe on which the flames were reversed, to intimate that by his confession, though late, he had escaped death, to which he had been condemned by the holy tribunal. All the other promises of the In- quisitor-general were forgotten. His pro- perty was confiscated, and himself sentenced to the galleys for five years.
It has been clearly shown, that the Inquisi- tors not unfrequently condemn the innocent to the flames, under the pretence of Judaism or heresy, while the chief motive of these un- just judges evidently is, to obtain possession of their property. This will still further ap- pear from the proceedings which were in stituted against Melchior Hernandez, a rich merchant of Murcia, who was imprisoned in the Inquisition ol that place in 1564. At his first audience, he was accused of having fre- quented a clandestine synagogue in Murcia, and of having acted and discoursed in a man 12 *
138 HISTORY OF
ner that pioved his apostasy from the Christian faith. * There were nine witnesses produced against him ; but Melchior not only denied all their averments, but showed that their evidence was contradictory, and that several of them were his avowed enemies.
After repeated audiences, in which this unhappy person was exceedingly harassed, he at length told his judges, that he remem- bered being in a house in 1553, where several persons, whom he named, were present, and discoursed on the law of Moses, but that he himself did not join in the conversation. No- thing more could be forced from him, though he was subjected to the torture ; and accord- ingly, on the 18th of October, 1566, he was declared to be a Jewish heretic, and con- demned to the flames. On the day of his exe- cution, the 9th of December, the fear of death induced him to accuse fourteen or fifteen in- dividuals as forming part of the assembly, and to confess that he himself believed for twelve months what was said in the Mosaic Law; but that he had not confessed, because he thought there was no proof of his heresy in the depositions of the witnesses. In conse- quence of this confession, Melchior was re- manded to prison, instead of being conducted to the place of execution.
* It ought to be noticed here, that Melchior was of Jewish extraction, though himself a Christian, and his enemies pretended that he was secretly attached to the {t igion of his V refathers.
THE INQUISITION. 139
From this period till the 8th of June 15G7, when it was again determined he should be burnt, Melchior was admitted to numerous audiences, and closely questioned, for the purpose of eliciting from him further evi- dence of his own heresy, and new accusa- tions against others. In order to escape a seco; 'd time, he denounced a great number of individuals, and added new accusations against himself. The execution of the sen- tence was accordingly for some time longer suspended, in the hope of his accusing more of liis acquaintances. But after fifteen audi- ences, having made no more disclosures, he was sentenced for the third time to be com- mitted to the flames. Still desirous to save his life, on the day appointed, Melchior had recourse to the same expedients as formerly, pretending that he remembered others who were guilty; and in five subsequent audi- ences he not only accused many individuals, but added greatly to the list of crimes alleged to have been committed by himself.
The Inquisitors then told him, " That he was still guilty of concealment, in not men- tioning several persons not less distinguished and well known than those he had already denounced, and that he could not be sup- posed to have forgotten them." Confounded at the injustice and barbarity of his oppres- sors, Melchior exclaimed, " What can you do to me ? burn me ? well, then, be it so : I cannot a^nfess vc'iat I do not kii )w. Know,
140 HIST 3RY OP
however, that all those whom I have accused, are perfectly innocent. I have invented what I said, because I perceived that you wished me to denounce innocent persons ; and, un- acquainted with the names and quality of these unfortunate people, I named all whom I could think of, in the hope of finding an end of my misery. I now perceive that my situation admits of no relief, and I therefore retract all my depositions ; and now I have fulfilled this duty, burn me as soon as you please." Hardened in their iniquity, the In- quisitors condemned Melchior for the last time to suffer death on the 7th of June. Pre- vious to this, however, they again and again solicited him to retract his last declaration. ; but all they could obtain from him was, " That he knew nothing of the subject on which he was examined.'^
The Inquisitors then asked him how this declaration could be true, seeing he had seve- ral times declared that he had attended the Jewish assemblies, believed in their doctrines, and persevered in the belief for the space of one year, until he was undeceived by a priest. <' I spoke falsely," replied Melchior, " when I made a declaration against myself." "But how is it," rejoined the Inquisitors, "that what you have confessed of yourself, and many other things which you now deny, are the result of the depositions of a great many witnesses?" "I do not know if that is true or false," answered Melchior, "for I have
THE INQUISITION. 141
not seen the writings of the trial ; but if the witnesses have said that which is imputed to them, it is because tliey were placed in the same situation as I am. They do not love me better than I love myself; and I have certainly declared against myself both truth and falsehood." " What motive had you for declaring things injurious to yourself, if they were false ?" said the Inquisitors. " I did not think it would be injurious to me," re- plied Melchior ; " on the contrary, I expected to derive great advantages from it ; because I saw that if 1 did not confess any thing, I should be considered as impenitent, and the truth would lead me to the scaffold. I thought that falsehood would be most useful to me, as I found it to be so in two autos-da-fe."
Before his execution, Melchior made the following declaration : — " That at the point of appearing before the tribunal of the Al- mighty, and without any hope of escaping from death by new delays, he thought him- self bound to declare that he had never con- versed on the Mosaic Law ; that all he had said on the subject was founded on the wish to preserve life, and the belief that his con- fe*?sions were pleasing to the Inquisitors ; that he asked pardon of the persons implicated, that God might pardon him, and that no in- jury might be done to their honour and repu- tation." After making this declaration,