History of Civilization in England, Vol. 2 of 3

1484

By combining these three qualities, he has deserved and received the cordial approbation of the present Bishop of Barcelona, who, in his recent work on the Spanish Church, styles him ‘un monarca tan piadoso.’ Observaciones sobre El Presente y El Porvenir de la Iglesia en España, por Domingo Costa y Borras, Barcelona, 1857, p. 80.

1485

Even in Alison's History of Europe, where men of his character are usually made much of, he is treated with moderate disdain. ‘Charles IV. was not destitute of good qualities, but he was a weak, incapable prince.’ Vol. viii. p. 382, Edinburgh, 1849.

1486

Sempere, Monarchie Espagnole, vol. ii. p. 167. I need hardly say, that not the slightest credit is to be attached to the account given in Godoy's Memoirs. Every one tolerably acquainted with Spanish history, will see that his book is an attempt to raise his own reputation, by defaming the character of some of the ablest and most high-minded of his contemporaries.

1487

Ticknor's History of Spanish Literature, vol. iii. pp. 277, 278.

1488

‘In all its worst forms, therefore, oppression, civil, political, and religious, appeared to be settling down, with a new and portentous weight, on the whole country.’ Ticknor's History of Spanish Literature, vol. iii. p. 318.

1489

‘Caballero, fearing the progress of all learning, which might disturb the peace of the Court, sent, not long since, a circular order to the universities, forbidding the study of moral philosophy. “His Majesty,” it was said in the order, “was not in want of philosophers, but of good and obedient subjects.”’ Doblado‘s Letters from Spain, p. 358.

1490

'Le gouvernement de Charles IV avait épuisé toutes les ressources de l'État.’ Sempere, Histoire des Cortès d'Espagne, p. 323.

1491

In Spain, the voice of the people has always been opposed to the liberal party, as many writers have observed, without being aware of the reason. Mr. Walton (Revolutions of Spain, London, 1837, vol. i. pp. 322, 323) says of the Cortes, ‘Public indignation hurled them from their seats in 1814; and in 1823 they were overpowered, not by the arms of France, but by the displeasure of their own countrymen,’ &c. See also p. 290; and Quin's Memoirs of Ferdinand the Seventh, London, 1824, p. 121, where it is mentioned, that ‘in all the towns through which the King passed, the multitude, excited by the friars and clergy, overturned the constitutional stone, and uttered the most atrocious insults against the Constitution, the Cortes, and the Liberals.’ Compare Sempere, Histoire des Cortès, p. 335, and Bacon's Six Years in Biscay, p. 40. Indeed, a very intelligent writer on Spanish affairs in 1855, asserts, with, I believe, perfect truth, that Spain is ‘un pays où les populations sont toujours, à coup sûr moins libérales que les gouvernemens.’ Annuaire des Deux Mondes, 1854, 1855, Paris, 1855, p. 266.

1492

Buckle's History of Civilization, vol. ii. p. 117.

1493

Prescott's History of Ferdinand and Isabella, vol. i. p. xlviii.

1494

Ibid. vol. i. p. xcvi.

1495

Hallam's Middle Ages, ninth edition, London, 1846, vol. ii. pp. 153–157, which must be compared with Hallam's Supplemental Notes, London, 1848, pp. 323–327.

1496

Ibid. vol. i. p. 373. Prescott's Ferdinand and Isabella, vol. i. pp. xlv. xlvi.

1497

‘Ce fut alors que les successeurs de Pélage descendirent de leurs montagnes dans les plaines, de leurs forteresses perchées sur des rocs inaccessibles dans les villes populeuses, le long des fleuves, dans de fertiles vallées et sur les côtes de la mer; ce fut alors que la ville d'Astorgue revint du pouvoir des Arabes à celui des Asturiens et chassa toute la partie musulmane de ces habitants; ce fut alors, enfin, que commencèrent en Espagne ces concessions de franchises municipales par lesquelles les rois et les seigneurs chrétiens cherchèrent à attirer des populations chrétiennes dans les lieux d'où ils avaient chassé les Musulmans.’ Fauriel, Histoire de la Gaule Méridionale, Paris, 1836, vol. iii. p. 215. See also Sempere, Monarchie Espagnole, vol. ii. pp. 256, 257.

1498

On the increasing confidence of the Spaniards in the middle of the fourteenth century, see an interesting passage in Mariana, Historia de España, vol. iv. pp. 172, 173.

1499

The deputies of the towns did, in fact, eventually overthrow their own liberties, as a Spanish historian truly remarks. ‘Il n'est pas étonnant que les monarques espagnols tâchassent d'affermir leur autorité autant que possible, et encore moins que leurs conseillers et leurs, ministres coopérassent à leurs desseins. L'histoire de toutes les nations nous offre de nombreux exemples de cette politique; mais ce qu'il y a de plus remarquable dans celle d'Espagne, c'est que les députés des villes qui auraient dû être les plus zélés défenseurs de leurs droits, conspirèrent ouvertement contre le tiers-état, et tentèrent d'anéantir les restes de l'ancienne représentation nationale.’ Sempere, Histoire des Cortès d'Espagne, p. 213. It strikes one as singular, that M. Sempere should never have inquired, why this happened in Spain, and not elsewhere. A later writer, reflecting on the destruction of the municipal element by the royal authority, gives a solution, which, like many other so-called solutions, is merely a statement of the same fact in different words. ‘Al fin la autoridad real logró alcanzar un gran predominio en el gobierno municipal de los pueblos, porque los corregidores y alcaldes mayores llegaron á eclipsar la influencia de los adelantados y alcaldes elegidos por los pueblos.’ Antequera, Historia de la Legislacion Española, Madrid, 1849, p. 287. This, instead of explaining the event, is simply narrating it afresh.

1500

The final destruction of popular liberty is ascribed by many writers to the battle of Villalar, in 1521; though it is quite certain that, if the royalists had lost that battle, instead of gaining it, the ultimate result would have been the same. At one time, I had purposed tracing the history of the municipal and representative elements during the fifteenth century; and the materials which I then collected, convinced me that the spirit of freedom never really existed in Spain, and that therefore the marks and forms of freedom were sure, sooner or later, to be effaced.

1501

‘Ceux qui servent la Messe en Espagne, soit Religieux, ou Séculiers, ne manquent jamais d'aider le Prêtre à s'habiller, et le font avec beaucoup de respect. Les plus grande Seigneurs s'en font honneur, et à mesure qu'ils présentent au Prêtre quelque partie des ornemens, ils lui baisent la main. On se met à genoux pour donner à laver au Prêtre pendant la Messe, et après qu'il a essuyé ses doigts, celui qui lui a donné l'eau demeurant à genoux lui présente le bassin retourné, sur lequel le Prêtre met sa main pour la lui laisser baiser. Au retour à la Sacristie, il ne manque pas d'aider le Prêtre à se déshabiller, après quoi il se met à genoux pour recevoir sa bénédiction et baiser sa main.’ Labat, Voyages en Espagne et en Italie, Paris, 1730, vol. i. p. 36.

1502

‘Telle est la coûtume du Païs, on s'exposeroit à laisser douter de sa foi, et passer au moins pour Maran, ou Chrétien nouveau, si on ne laissoit pas le tiers de ses biens mobiliers à l'Eglise.’ Labat, Voyages en Espagne, vol. i. p. 268.

1503

It was the opinion of the Pope, that Charles, by this act, had endangered his own soul. ‘Dans un bref adressé à Charles III; il déclara: “Que les actes du Roi contre les Jésuites mettaient évidemment son salut en danger.”’ Crétineau-Joly, Histoire de la Compagnie de Jésus, Paris, 1845, vol. v. p. 302.

1504

As this circumstance, which is noticed by Crétineau-Joly (Histoire de la Compagnie de Jésus, vol. v. p. 311) and other writers (Dunham's History of Spain, vol. v. p. 180), has been much misrepresented, and has even been doubted by one author, I will transcribe the statement of Coxe, whose information respecting the reign of Charles III. was derived from eye-witnesses. ‘A remarkable and alarming proof of their influence was given at Madrid, the year after their expulsion. At the festival of St. Charles, when the monarch showed himself to the people from the balcony of the palace, and was accustomed to grant their general request; to the surprise and confusion of the whole court, the voice of the immense multitude, with one accord, demanded the return of the Jesuits, and the permission for them to wear the habit of the secular clergy. This unexpected incident alarmed and mortified the King; and, after a vigilant inquiry, he thought proper to banish the Cardinal Archbishop of Toledo, and his Grand Vicar, as the secret instigators of this tumultuary petition.’ Coxe's Bourbon Kings of Spain, 2nd edit., London, 1815, vol. iv. pp. 368, 369. The remarks made on this event by M. Rio (Historia del Reinado de Carlos III., Madrid, 1856, vol. ii. pp. 197–199) are not very creditable, either to his criticism or to his candour. It is uncritical to doubt the statement of a contemporary, when that statement relates what is probable in itself, and what those who lived nearest to the period never denied. Indeed, so far from denying it, M. Muriel, the learned translator of Coxe's work into Spanish, gave it the sanction of his name. And, it is surely, to say the least, very uncandid on the part of M. Rio to impute to Coxe the error of placing this occurrence in 1767, and then proving that, owing to circumstances connected with the Archbishop of Toledo, it could not have happened in that year. For, Coxe distinctly asserts, that it was in 1768; ‘the year after their expulsion.’

1505

See the statement of Florida Blanca, in Appendix I. to Coxe's Bourbon Kings of Spain, vol. v. p. 282. Another Spaniard, the Prince of the Peace, says, that at the accession of Charles IV., in 1788, ‘the cloisters were encumbered with an ever-increasing number of monks of all orders and of all ages.’ Godoy's Memoirs, edit. London, 1836, vol. i. p. 126. See also, on the state of ecclesiastical establishments in the same year, some interesting remarks in the Letters of Cabarrus; ‘con qué horrible desproporcion superabundan los individuos estériles á los operarios útiles y preciosos.’ Cartas escritas por el Conde de Cabarrus, Madrid, 1813, p. 133.

1506

Of it, a celebrated writer in the reign of Philip V. boastfully says, ‘Su exacta vigilancia comprehende igualmente á Naturales y Estrangeros.’ Uztariz, Theorica y Practica de Comercio, tercera impression, Madrid, 1757, folio, p. 27. When such a man as Uztariz could pen a sentence like this, we may imagine what was felt by the people, who were far more ignorant than he, and far more orthodox. M. Tapia, in a remarkable and unusually bold passage, frankly admits that it was the pressure of public opinion which prevented Charles III. from abolishing the Inquisition. ‘Estraño pareceria que habiéndose hecho tanto en aquel reinado para limitar el poder escesivo del clero, y acabar con absurdas preocupaciones, no se suprimiese el monstruoso tribunal de la inquisicion; pero es necesario tener presente que el rey despues del motin de Madrid procedia con timidez en toda providencia que pudiese contrariar la opinion pública; y él creia que los españoles querian la inquisicion, como se lo manifestó al ministro Roda y al conde de Aranda, añadiendo que en nada coartaba su autoridad.’ Tapia, Civilizacion Española, vol. iv. p. 98, Madrid, 1840. To us, the Inquisition seems rather a singular object for men to set their affections on; but of the existence of the passion there can be no doubt. ‘L'Inquisition si révérée en Espagne.’ Mémoires de Louville, vol. i. p. 36. And Geddes (Tracts, London, 1730, vol. i. p. 400) tells us that ‘the Inquisition is not only established by law, but by a wonderful fascination is so fixed in the hearts and affections of the people, that one that should offer the least affront to another, for having been an informer or witness in the Inquisition, would be torn in a thousand pieces.’

1507

‘The familiars of the Inquisition, Abrantes, Mora, and others, grandees of Spain, attended as servants, without hats or swords.’ Coxe's Bourbon Kings of Spain, vol. iv. pp. 418, 419. This was in the great case of Olavide.

1508

An accomplished modern geographer says: ‘From the extent of its coast-line, its numerous ports, its geographical position, and natural products, Spain possesses greater commercial advantages than any other country of Europe.’ Johnston's Dictionary of Physical, Statistical, and Historical Geography, London, 1850, p. 1213.

1509

‘No quiero hablar de los frutos de España, no obstante que los produzca tan exquisitos de todas especies. Solo diré que sus naranjas dulces las traxeron de la China los Portugueses, y que de Portugal se ha difundido su planta por lo restante de Europa. En fin, España es celebrada entre otras cosas por sus limones, por la fragrancia de sus cidras, por sus limas dulces, por sus granadas, por sus azeytunas, que merecieron ser alabadas hasta del gran Ciceron, y sus almendras, sus higos, sus uvas, etc.’ Bowles, Historia Natural de España, Madrid, 1789, 4to. p. 236.

1510

‘The marbles of Spain are in greater variety and beauty than those of any country in Europe, and most valuable kinds of them are in situations of easy access and communication with the sea; but they have long been entirely neglected, the greater part being unknown, even to the more intelligent of the natives.’ Cook's Spain, London, 1834, vol. ii. p. 51. In the Cabinet of Natural History at Madrid, ‘the specimens of marbles are splendid, and show what treasures yet remain buried in the Peninsula.’ Ford's Spain, London, 1847, p. 413.

1511

‘Hay infinitas minas de cobre en España las quales nunca se han tocado.’ Bowles, Historia Natural de España, Discurso Preliminar, p. 34.

1512

In 1832, Cook writes, ‘The lead-mines of the Sierra de Gador are in a state of repletion at present from the enormous quantity of the mineral, and the facility of raising it.’ … ‘Lead abounds in other parts of the same chain, nearer to Almeria.’ Cook's Spain, vol. ii. p. 75. ‘The most valuable of the existing Spanish mines are those of lead in Granada; and the supplies obtained from them during the last twenty years have been so large, that they have occasioned the abandonment of several less productive mines in other countries, and a considerable fall in the price of lead.’ M'Culloch's Geographical and Statistical Dictionary, London, 1849, vol. ii. p. 705.

1513

I use the popular language in referring coal to the inorganic world, despite its cellular tissue and vegetable origin.

1514

‘The most valuable of the whole mineral riches of Spain will be, in all probability, in a few years, the iron, which is found every where, and of the best qualities.’ Cook's Spain, vol. ii. p. 78. See also Bowles, Historia Natural de España, pp. 56, 67, 106, 273, 346, 415, and Ford's Spain, pp. 565, 618.

1515

‘The quantity is inexhaustible, the quality excellent, the working of extraordinary facility, and they possess an easy communication with the sea; yet they are practically useless, and afford only a miserable existence to a few labourers and mules used in conveying the mineral to Gijon.’ Cook's Spain, vol. ii. pp. 79, 80. ‘In the immediate neighbourhood of Oviedo are some of the largest coal-fields in Europe.’ Ford's Spain, p. 381; compare pp. 392, 606.

1516

‘La nacion española posee casi quantas producciones naturales puede apetecer la necesidad, ó curiosidad de los hombres.’ Campomanes, Apendice á la Educacion Popular, vol. iv. p. vi. Madrid, 1777.

1517

‘Ils sont fort charitables, tant à cause du mérite que l'on s'acquiert par les aumônes, que par l'inclination naturelle qu'ils ont à donner, et la peine effective qu'ils souffrent lorsqu'ils sont obligés, soit par leur pauvreté, soit par quelqu'autre raison, de refuser ce qu'on leur demande. Ils ont encore la bonne qualité de ne point abandonner leurs amis pendant qu'ils sont malades.’ … ‘De manière que des personnes qui ne se voyent point quatre fois en un an, se voyent tous les jours deux ou trois fois, dès qu'ils souffrent.’ D'Aulnoy, Relation du Voyage d'Espagne, Lyon, 1693, vol. ii. p. 374. ‘They are grave, temperate, and sober; firm and warm in their friendships, though cautious and slow in contracting them.’ A Tour through Spain by Udal ap Rhys, second edition, London, 1760, p. 3. ‘When they have once professed it, none are more faithful friends.’ … ‘They have great probity and integrity of principle.’ Clarke's Letters concerning the Spanish Nation, London, 1763, 4to. p. 334. ‘To express all that I feel, on the recollection of their goodness, would appear like adulation; but I may venture at least to say, that simplicity, sincerity, generosity, a high sense of dignity, and strong principles of honour, are the most prominent and striking features of the Spanish character.’ Townsend's Journey through Spain, second edition, London, 1792, vol. iii. p. 353. ‘The Spaniards, though naturally deep and artful politicians, have still something so nobly frank and honest in their disposition.’ Letters from Spain by an English Officer, London, 1788, vol. ii. p. 171. ‘The Spaniards have fewer bad qualities than any other people that I have had the opportunity to know.’ Croker's Travels through Spain, London, 1799, pp. 237, 238. ‘Spanish probity is proverbial, and it conspicuously shines in commercial relations.’ Laborde's Spain, London, 1809, vol. iv. p. 423. ‘Certainly, if it be taken in the mass, no people are more humane than the Spaniards, or more compassionate and kind in their feelings to others. They probably excel other nations, rather than fall below them, in this respect.’ Cook's Spain, London, 1834, vol. i. p. 189. ‘The Spaniards are kind-hearted in all the relations of life.’ Hoskins' Spain, London, 1851, vol. ii. p. 58. Finally, I will adduce the testimony of two professional politicians, both of whom were well acquainted with the Spaniards. In 1770 Mr. Harris, afterwards Lord Malmesbury, writes, ‘They are brave, honest, and generous.’ Diaries and Correspondence of the Earl of Malmesbury, London, 1844, vol. i. p. 48. And Lord Holland, according to Moore, deemed ‘that the Spaniards altogether are amongst the best people of Europe.’ Moore's Memoirs, edited by Lord John Russell, vol. iii. p. 253, London, 1853.

1518

This their whole history decisively proves; and as to their more recent state, the author of Revelations of Spain in 1845, vol. i. p. 340, says: ‘But religion is so deeply rooted in the national character, that the most furious political storms, which prostrate everything else, blow over this and leave it unscathed. It is only amongst the educated male population that any lack of fervour is witnessed.’

1519

‘The habitual temperance of these people is really astonishing: I never saw a Spaniard drink a second glass of wine. With the lower order of people, a piece of bread with an apple, an onion, or pomegranate, is their usual repast.’ Croker's Travels in Spain, London, 1799, p. 116. ‘They are temperate, or rather abstemious, in their living to a great degree: borracho is the highest term of reproach; and it is rare to see a drunken man, except it be among the carriers or muleteers.’ Dalrymple's Travels through Spain, London, 1777, 4to. p. 174. ‘Drunkenness is a vice almost unknown in Spain among people of a respectable class, and very uncommon even among the lower orders.’ Esménard's note in Godoy's Memoirs, London, 1836, vol. ii. p. 321.

1520

‘This is the most wonderful country under the sun; for here, intellect wields no power.’ Inglis' Spain, London, 1831, vol. i. p. 101. ‘Tandis que l'activité publique, en Espagne, se porte depuis quelques années dans la sphère des intérêts pratiques et matériels, il semble, au contraire, qu'il y ait une sorte de ralentissement dans la vie intellectuelle.’ Annuaire des Deux Mondes for 1850, p. 410. ‘La vie intellectuelle n'est point, malheureusement, la sphère où se manifeste le plus d'activité en Espagne.’ Ibid. for 1856–1857, p. 356. Now, listen to the practical consequences of not giving free and fearless scope to the intellect. ‘It is singular, upon landing in the Peninsula, and making a short excursion for a few miles in any direction, to see reproduced the manners of England five centuries back, – to find yourself thrown into the midst of a society which is a close counterpart of that extinct semi-civilization of which no trace is to be found in our history later than the close of the fourteenth century and the reign of Richard the Second.’ Revelations of Spain in 1845 by an English Resident, vol. ii. p. 1.

1521

‘That the Spaniards, as a people, are ignorant, supremely ignorant, it is impossible to dissemble; but this comes from the control of education being altogether in the hands of the clergy, who exert themselves to maintain that ignorance to which they are indebted for their power.’ Spain by an American, vol. ii. p. 360. ‘The schools in Madrid are all conducted by Jesuits; and the education received in them, is such as might be expected from their heads.’ Inglis' Spain, vol. i. p. 156. ‘Private education here, is almost entirely in the hands of the clergy.’ Revelations of Spain in 1845, vol. ii. p. 27. In Spain, as in all countries, Catholic or Protestant, the clergy, considered as a body, inculcate belief instead of inquiry, and, by a sort of conservative instinct, discourage that boldness of investigation without which there can be no real knowledge, although there may be much erudition and mere book-learning. In Spain, the clergy are stronger than in any other country; therefore in Spain they display this tendency more fearlessly. A good instance of this may be seen in a work lately published by the Bishop of Barcelona, in which a violent attack upon all physical and philosophical knowledge is concluded in the following terms: ‘No intento recriminar á ningun católico de los que se asocian al nuevo sistema de filosofar y de extender indefinidamente el imperio de esta ciencia, pero deseo que fijen toda su atencion en los puntos que no haré sino indicar. Primero, que las escuelas de Holanda, Alemania, Inglaterra y Francia desafectas al Catolicismo, han iniciado y promovido con el mayor empeño ciertas discusiones filosóficas, presentándolas como un triunfo de la razon sobre la Religion, de la filosofía sobre la teología, del materialismo sobre el espiritualismo. Segundo, que sus máximas no son, en gran parte, mas que reproducciones ó nuevas evoluciones de errores mil veces refutados y condenados por la sana filosofía y por la Iglesia; bajo cuyo concepto no tienen por qué felicitarse en razon de su progreso, sino mas bien avergonzarse por su retroceso.’ Costa y Borras, Iglesia en España, Barcelona, 1857, p. 150.