Juan Antonio Llorente

“ Those happy dispositions of the Court of Spain vanished at the fall of the minister who had inspired them. The victim of an intrigue, he shared the fate of those great men who do not succeed in destroying the prejudices and errors which they oppose. Urquijo was confined, and kept in the strictest solitude, in the humid dungeons of the citadel of Pampluna, where he was unable to obtain books, ink, paper, fire, or light. ”

“ It is an interesting circumstance that the Inquisition was at the same time proceeding against forty-five persons distinguished for their rank or personal qualities; of these forty-five persons, ten had been arrested. It is not to be supposed that the inquisitors only prosecuted these persons: the trial of Carranza, Archbishop of Seville, was the origin of a great number against bishops and other distinguished individuals. I have confined myself to those of which I could consult the papers; it would be a task beyond the strength of one man to read all that have accumulated in the archives. ”

“ The Inquisition presents to our view a tribunal, whose judges have neither obeyed the laws of the kingdom in which it was established, the bulls of the Popes, the first constitutions of the tribunal, or the particular orders of its chiefs; which has even dared to resist the power of the Pope, in whose name it acts, and has disowned the king's authority eleven different times ”

“ At the moment when the prisoners were coming out of the prison, in the presence of the principal magistrates of the city, and while the avenues and streets through which they were to pass were lined with soldiers, a furious troop of insurgents broke through the lines, killed a great number of men, dispersed the others, put the magistrates to flight, and seizing Perez and Mayorini, carried them off in triumph, shouting, Live our liberty! Live the Fueros of Aragon! ”

“ He accepted the appointment of Secretary to the Junta of Notables, which was then assembled at Bayonne, and soon after the office of Minister-Secretary of State. His generous intentions need no comments; they are known to all. The eulogium of this great man has just been made by our energetic and sincere advocate; the public will read it with pleasure and interest. During his ministry, he had the happiness of witnessing the decree which suppressed the formidable tribunal of the holy office, and declared it to be injurious to sovereignty. ”

“ And as M. Tournon has professed himself to be of the Catholic religion, he is required by the respect he owes to our Saviour Jesus Christ, true God and man, and to his blessed mother, the Virgin Mary, our Lady, to declare the truth according to his oath; because in that case, he will acquit his conscience, and it will be allowable to treat him with that mercy and compassion which the holy office always showed towards sinners who confess: and if, on the contrary, he conceals anything, he will be punished with all the severity of justice, according to the holy canons and the laws of the kingdom? ”

“ Although the prisoner has confessed all that the witnesses deposed against him in the first audiences, yet the fiscal terminates his requisition by saying, that he is guilty of concealment and denial, that he is, therefore, impenitent and obstinate, and demands that the question shall be applied to the accused.
It is true, that it is so long since torture has been inflicted by the inquisitors, that the custom may be looked upon as abolished, and the fiscal only makes the demand in conformity to the example of his predecessors, yet it is equally cruel to make the prisoners fear it. ”

“ It was well known that these misfortunes were the consequence of the system of the inquisitors, who were always eager to disgrace and humiliate those who did not debase themselves before the lowest among them, and to sacrifice every man who did not acknowledge their tribunal to be the most holy of institutions, and the only bulwark of faith, which they still declare and publish through their partisans, though in their hearts they are convinced of the contrary. ”

“ The wretch sees this implement of destruction swinging to and fro above him, and every moment the keen edge approaching nearer and nearer: at length it cuts 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 exterminating heresy, or ensuring confiscation. This, let it be remembered, was a punishment of the Secret Tribunal, A.D. 1820!!!
[2] The absolution ad cautelam is that granted by inquisitors to persons who have been suspected of heresy. ”

“ He thought that the introduction and establishment of tithes was a fraud of the priests, and the manner of explaining the commandment of the church, which ordained that they should be paid without any deductions for seed, or the expenses of the harvest, was a shameful robbery; that no attention ought to be paid to the commands of the Pope, because no God but avarice is adored at Rome, and all the measures of that government only tend to take money from the people on religious pretences. ”

“ The second species of crime which caused a suspicion of heresy, was sorcery and divination. If the offenders only made use of natural and simple means of discovering the future, such as counting the lines in the palm of the hand, they came under the jurisdiction of a civil judge; but all sorcerers were liable to be punished for heresy by the Inquisition, if they baptized a dead person, re-baptized an infant, made use of holy water, the consecrated host, the oil of extreme unction, or other things which proved contempt or abuse of the sacraments and the mysteries of religion. ”

“ I have read the most celebrated trials of the modern Inquisition, and the details given by me differ essentially from those of other historians, not excepting those of Limborch, who is the most exact of them. The trials of Don Carlos of Austria, prince of the Asturias, of Don Bartholomew Carranza, archbishop of Toledo, and of Antony Perez, the first minister and secretary of Philip II., have been greatly illustrated in many important particulars. ”

“ So great a proof of love must compel your majesty's subjects to testify their gratitude by their submission and fidelity. This city, which has always been distinguished for its zeal, will, at this time, give a greater proof of it in immediately obeying your majesty's commands. God preserve the royal and Catholic person of your majesty! In the municipal council of Murcia, February 16th, 1568. ”

“ The curious will be amply gratified by the perusal of the history of the secret tribunal; the man of leisure cannot fail in finding occupation and amusement in the pages of Llorente; and the philosopher will discover in them ample scope for reflection on the aberrations of human reason, and on the capability of our nature, when under the influence of fanaticism, to inflict, with systematic indifference, death, torture, misery, anxiety, and infamy, on the guilty and the innocent. ”

“ He has supposed a love-intrigue between her and the inquisitor-general, which is absurd, since he was at Madrid. He has also introduced examinations which never took place in the tribunal; in short, the intention of the author was to criticise and ridicule the Inquisition, and the fear of being punished for it induced him to fly to Bayonne. A good cause becomes bad when falsehood is employed in its defence: the true history of the Inquisition is sufficient to show how much it merits the detestation of the human race, and it is therefore useless to employ fictions or satire. ”

“ If it is proper that he should remain in prison for an unlimited time, it shall be said in his sentence, that his punishment shall last as long as the inquisitors think proper. If the accused has really relapsed, after abjuring a formal heresy, or is a false penitent when he has abjured as violently suspected, and is convicted in the present trial of the same heresy, he shall be given up to the common judge according to the civil law, and his punishment shall not be remitted, although he may protest that his repentance is sincere, and his confession true in this case. ”

“ Your majesty has governed your kingdom so well, maintained your subjects in such a state of peace, and caused religion to prosper so much, that it is natural to conclude, that in an affair which concerns you so nearly, your majesty has only resolved on it for the service of God, and the general welfare of your people. ”

“ The inquisitor-general, who perceived the necessity of arresting the progress of Lutheranism in Spain, decreed, in concert with the Council of the Inquisition, several new articles in addition to the annual edict. These articles oblige every Christian to declare, if he knows or has heard of any person who has said, maintained, or thought that the sect of Luther is good, or that his partisans will be saved, and approved nor believed any of his condemned propositions: for example, that it is not necessary to confess sins to a priest, and that it is sufficient to confess to God ”

“ During the first fifteen centuries there were no tribunals of the Inquisition in Spain. The bishops alone were acquainted with points of doctrine, and heretics and blasphemers were punished by civil law. The abuse of the prohibitions of books commanded by the Inquisition, is one cause of the ignorance which prevails over the greatest part of this nation.... According to the bulls which created the holy office, the bishops are joint judges with the inquisitors, and sometimes the principal judges in the affairs which depend on the tribunal. ”

“ The viceroy renounced his design, but had the boldness to tell the Pope that he would not make peace until he had asked pardon of the king, his master, for having treated him with so little respect. This message increased the alarm of the old pontiff, who had recourse to the mediation of Venice. The Pope refused to negociate with the Duke of Alva, but said that he would consent to any proposal from the King of Spain, as he was persuaded that he would not impose any condition on him contrary to his honour, or to the dignity of the holy see. ”

“ A third letter on the 9th May, states that the Inquisition of Rome had annulled the sentence which that of Ravenna had pronounced against Solomon Moses Viviani, who had relapsed into Judaism, after having abjured it to become a Christian. In confirming the revocation, the Pope said: "The divine law is not of the same nature as that of man, but a law of persuasion and gentleness; persecution, exile, and imprisonment, are only suitable to false prophets and the apostles of false doctrines. Let us pity the man who does not see the true light, or who even refuses to see it ”

“ If he is convicted of bad faith in his own cause, and is consequently liable to be relaxed, or if he is equally so in any other affair, he may be tortured, though he must be given up to the secular judge for what concerns him personally. If he does not reveal anything in being tortured as a witness, he shall nevertheless be condemned as an accused; but if the question forces him to confess his crime, and that of another person, and he solicits the indulgence of his judges, the inquisitors shall conform to the rules of right. ”

“ Charles, his grandson, resided in Flanders, but he sent into Spain several men who enjoyed his confidence: amongst them were his governor, the Duke d'Ariscot, and Adrian de Florencio, who was Dean of Louvain, and born at Utrecht. As the two sovereignties of Castile and Aragon were now united, it appeared natural that there should be but one inquisitor-general for the monarchy, but Cisneros had too much penetration to omit this opportunity of recommending himself to the favorite, and, consequently, to the prince. ”

“ It is easy to suppose that Campomanes had a great many enemies among the clergy; he was denounced to the holy office as an anti-catholic philosopher. The charges were numerous, but they did not prove that he had advanced any heretical proposition; they only tended to create a suspicion that his works were opposed to the spirit of Christianity. He was invited to attend the auto-da-fé of Don Paul Olavide, in order to inform him of the punishment he would incur by professing the same opinions; but though the inquisitors knew him to be their enemy, they did not dare to go any further. ”

“ That the challenge of witnesses shall be permitted; and if one of those called by the procurator-fiscal is convicted of giving false testimony, he shall be subject to the punishment of retaliation, according to a law of Ferdinand and Isabella, in the beginning of their reign.
That when an accused person has been reconciled, he shall not be arrested for things which he has not confessed, because it is to be supposed that he forgot them.
That no persons shall be molested or imprisoned for a simple presumption of heresy, arising from their having been brought up among Jews or heretics. ”

“ When the king received the letter, the Spanish monks were negotiating their ransom. He sent for them, and said, "Why do they endeavour to make this renegado a Christian by their tortures? If this Inquisition is not suppressed, or if the inquisitors do not send the renegado immediately to the galleys with the other slaves, I will burn all the Christians who are in my power: write, and tell them so." The monks obeyed, and added, that if justice and religion required the execution of the prisoner, they were ready to suffer martyrdom. The king of Tunis afterwards accepted the ransom of the monks. ”

“ Yet neither an ecclesiastic nor a layman could prevent fraud: the same may be said of the members of the Council of Castile, because in case of any intrigues, for example, in a conflict for jurisdiction, the counsellors assembled at the house of the inquisitor-general, and their chief sealed their papers with his private seal.
The most decisive proof of the entire independence of the Inquisition, exists in two laws of Charles III., concerning bigamy and the prohibition of books; they were insufficient to restrain the inquisitors within their jurisdiction. ”

“ If the sick person is in danger of dying, or is a woman about to be delivered, the rules appointed for such cases shall be followed. If the accused does not ask for a confessor, and the physician declares that he is in danger, he shall be induced to make the request, and to confess himself. If the accused makes a judicial confession of his crime, agreeing with the charges, he shall be reconciled, and when he has been acquitted by the tribunal, the confessor shall give him absolution. In case of death, ecclesiastical sepulture shall be granted, but secretly, unless it is inconvenient. ”